Pope: 'I will not debate war with Trump'

Bibi-sipodkast on suurin edes kertoi. Kutona on parhaimillaan elämässä. Siksi meillä on myös lemmikit pervetulleita. Kun on kotonna hyvä, on usein myös elämässä hyvä. Mokra huolehton koti. Sato, pisteffi. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm John Utte-Gileel, 15-alus GMT, on Monday 13 April. These are main stories. Pope Leo has responded to scatting criticism from Donald Trump by saying he has no intention of debating with the US President but will continue to speak out against war. A US blockade of the Iranian coastline is coming into force as Tehran warns of retaliation. Hungary's incoming Prime Minister, Peter Mojoa, has promised to usher in a new era for the country which he said had become the poorest and most corrupt in Europe. Also in this podcast. We need to design something original for the astronauts to use to indicate zero gravity. How a plushy toy, designed by an eight-year-old, became part of the Artemis Moon mission. What has turned into an extraordinary spat between the world's most powerful man and the first American head of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Leo has said he has no fear of the Trump administration and plans to continue speaking out against war. This comes after Donald Trump lashed out at the Pope over his opposition to US immigration policy and the war in Iran. The US President accused the pontiff of being "weak on crime" and "terrible for foreign policy." An uploaded and AI-generated image of himself dressed as Jesus, curing the sick. Before later telling reporters that he is "not a big fan of the Pope." We don't like a Pope that's going to say that it's okay to have a nuclear weapon. We don't want a Pope that says "Grom is okay in our cities." I don't like it. I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime. He's a man that doesn't think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world. I'm not a fan of Pope Leo. The Pope has described Mr. Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization as unacceptable. Speaking on route to another mainly Muslim country, Algeria, a visit that has been described as an attempt to build bridges between the Muslim and Christian world hopefully I'll spoke about why he felt compelled to speak out. I do not look at my role as being political politician. I don't want to get into it to be with him. I don't think that the message in the gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing. And I will continue to speak out loud with this against war looking to push off peace, promoting dialogue and the moral play later on in relationships among the states to look for just solutions to the problems. Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has the stand up and say there's a better way to do this. Pope Leo's visit to Algeria kicks off a 10-day tour of Africa. One of the fastest-growing regions for the church and home to a fifth of the world's Catholics. Our global religion correspondent, LeBoude DeSekko, told me more about the roul that's threatening to overshadow his visit. The tensions between the Trump administration and Pope Leo have been going on for quite some time but more recently they've sent it around the war. And we saw for example on Palm Sunday. He was very pointed, didn't name the Trump administration or Donald Trump but said Jesus does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war but rejects them. He used his Easter message to urge world leaders not only to work towards peace but actively pointed out people that prefer conflict to try to resolve things peacefully. So this has been coming for quite some time. And I suppose we've seen Donald Trump and his administration really kind of lean into the support of conservative Catholics. There are a number of very high profile conservative Catholics within the administration, JD Vance, the Vice-President for example. So for Donald Trump, the conservative Catholic vote is an important one and I guess for him this is partly why he might be speaking to this at the moment. And a lot of people were very puzzled about President Trump making that expletive laden threat against Iran on Easter Sunday, ending with the words "Praise B to Allah". This is alarming Republicans given that they rely so much on the Christian vote. I think that consistently there have been some Christians that have been able to say, "Look, we look past some of what Donald Trump says and his behaviour. We're not looking at him to be a priest. We're looking for him to enact the policies that we want." With that said, even for those Christians, conservative Christians, the timing of it, Easter Sunday and the language and that praise B to Allah was very jarring for a number of people. And Levy, this row is threatening to Overshadow Pope Leo's visit to Algeria, the first papal visit to the mainly Muslim nation at the start of an African tour. Well, ironically one of the themes of his stop in Algeria is the dialogue with the Islamic world and he will be visiting the great Mosque of Algiers. That will be an important moment. He'll also stop at the Basilica of Our Lady in Africa, which is a place of prayer and pilgrimage for Muslims and Christians. It is a bit of a chicken and egg situation because I suppose the Vatican would say it only will Overshadow it if the media keeps giving it the importance that we are giving it. With that said, it is difficult when you have such heated comments from certainly one of the most powerful men in the world and one of the most powerful religious leaders in the world. Levy, as we recall this podcast, the US is about to launch its own blockade of the crucial O route in the Middle East, the straight-off or moves. The US military says the blockade will only apply to ships that go through Iranian ports. This has once again led to oil prices rising above $100 a barrel. Tehran has choked off global energy supplies since the start of the US is really worn it by preventing most tankers travelling through the strait. Its response to the US counter-blockade was to call it piracy and to say it would not surrender to threats. This all comes after direct high-level talks between the US and Iran in Pakistan over the weekend, which ended without any deal being reached, and with just days to run on the two sides fragile ceasefire. Levy Nathus, both to Nicholas Hoppton, who was the UK ambassador to Iran from 2016 to 2018. How will President Trump's blockade work? The understanding that I have of the proposal is that the US will stop any ships passing through the straight-off or moves that have taken money or paid money to the Iranians. So that will affect a large amount of shipping which might not directly connect to Iran but has perhaps paid some sort of toll or levy to the Iranians because they are now of course day-factoring control. And listening to a US admiral retired yesterday, he suggested that it would take a huge amount of US naval assets in order to make an effective blockade. And generally it doesn't seem a very clear proposal because it is puzzling how a proposal to close the straight-off or moves is meant to open it. What will be the response from Iran to this naval blockade? The initial response was to say that they would not accept a US naval blockade of the straits. The way I think they will be interpreting it like many is that the announcement is actually due to the President's frustration that the talks between the US and Iran on Saturday in Pakistan did not produce immediately a deal on the American terms. The hope must be that JD Vance and his Iranian interlocutors do manage to return to talks and then in due course negotiations sooner rather than later and that this question of a blockade may be just a distraction for a few days but equally it could lead to an escalation and a breakdown in the ceasefire and a return to full on war. So you think there is still a path towards a negotiated settlement here? There has to be. Before the war the straight-off or moves was not part of such negotiations now it will be an essential part of any negotiations because Iran has a lot of things to do with the negotiations. a day factor control over the straits of all this. But could disruption to Iran's own oil exports cause enough damage to its economy that it feels significantly under pressure to come back to the negotiating table? Over time perhaps, but certainly I don't think it's a short silver bullet to get Iran to do exactly what the United States wants. Iran does rely on its oil exports mainly to China. The Iranian economy is in a very bad state, but at the same time, I don't think turning off Iran's oil exports and through the strait of all mues will immediately cause a significantly different situation. It will just increase hardship for the Iranian people and the regime is resilient and ruthless and they are perfectly capable of taking a lot of pain for their people. You mentioned China and the impact of a squeeze on Iran's oil exports on China. Is there a more vocal response now from China if they start to really feel the effects of a US blockade? Quite possibly. And then the question is, would they put pressure on Iran, I suppose, to comply to the US demands? I can't see that happening. I think Chinese are feeling very comfortable that the US is making a mess of its war with Iran. Also, they are probably quite pleased that the fact that so many US military assets have been taken to the Gulf means that those assets aren't in the South China Sea, and which obviously has implications with the question about Taiwan. But I think the Chinese will probably feel the need to get more involved if a blockade actually becomes a reality and the US navy does stop pretty much all shipping going through the straight-of-war moves, which will obviously impact on China, it will impact on the United States as well, and on Europe and particularly on Asian economies. That was the former British ambassador to Iran, Nicholas Hopton. Well, while the world's eyes are once again focused on the straight-of-war moves, the number of executions inside Iran is reported to have risen sharply. A joint report by two NGOs says that the Iranian authorities executed more than 1,600 people last year. The highest number since 1989, and they warn that the regime may use capital punishment even more extensively this year after its crackdown in January in which thousands of peaceful protesters were gunned down. Here's our Middle East analyst, Dastien Asher. Most of the executions last year were for murder or drug offences as is the usual pattern in Iran. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights Group says the number was almost 70 percent more than for 2024. The figure has been writing significantly in a year since the mass demonstration sparked by the death of a young Kurdish Iranian woman Masa Amini while a macustody of the morality police in 2022. The number of executions is never completely clear as the Iranian authorities don't disclose official figures. A number of Iranian activist organizations keep a tally with the Iran Human Rights Group verifying each death with at least two sources. The group says the rate of execution goes up when the regime feels under threat, and that the aim is to force stall internal opposition by instilling fear in the population. Almost all executions are carried out inside prisons, but public hangings did also increase in 2025. There were some executions last year for protesters or alleged spies that that figure could be considerably higher this year in the wake both of the mass anti-government protest in January and the war with the US and Israel. Hundreds of people who were detained during the protests remain at risk of death sentences and execution activists say that is of course without counting the thousand shot dead by the security forces during the demonstrations themselves. Sebastian Ashe and we have more on this on our YouTube channel just search for BBC News on YouTube and you'll find global news podcast in the podcast section. There's a new story available every weekday. Still to come in this podcast the Philippines accuses China of using cyanide to poison the waters in a contested part of the South China Sea. These Philippine soldiers were not able to catch any fish in case if they catch an fish it could be contaminated and the second reason is also destroying the corals nearby. This is poison water. Available now on the documentary from the BBC World Service. Iceland's location in the middle of the North Atlantic means it plays a vital role in Arctic security which makes it surprising that it doesn't have a military of its own. I'm Sandra Kampel and I travel to Iceland to find out if a politically volatile world is forcing the country to think more about its own defence and security. Listen now by searching for the documentary wherever you get to your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. Hungary's incoming Prime Minister, Peter Mojo, says Sunday's elections in which he defeated the populist pro-Cremlin Nationalist of Iqtaurban saw history in the making. He vowed to usher in a new era to draw a line under Mr. Orban's 16 years of rule, proclaiming that Hungary's place was in Europe. Saying there was no time to waste, Mr. Mojo called on the president to convene the newly elected parliament as soon as possible. Our country has no time to lose. Hungary is in trouble in more than one ways. It's been robbed, it's been betrayed, it's been indebted, it's been devastated. We became the most impoverished and the most craft country in the EU. And I would like to repeat what I said last night. That this government will represent every Hungarian. Also those who did not vote for this about it, we will represent every Hungarian within the country but also across the borders. Congratulations have poured in from across the European Union after Peter Mojo's landslide victory. The head of the European Commission, Oslo von der Leyen, said Hungary had chosen Europe. Britain's Prime Minister, Kirstalmer, described it as a historic moment not only for Hungary but for European democracy. And Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Mr. Mojo's victory showed that democratic societies are still resilient against Russian propaganda. Right-wing populism suffered a major defeat in Hungary yesterday. And this has implications beyond Hungary's borders. Hungary is sending a very clear message against right-wing populism around the world. In that sense yesterday was a good day. So how was Peter Mojo able to win more than two-thirds of the seat's imparlemant given Mr. Orbán's stranglehold on the media and the political system? A question for our Budapest correspondent Nick Thorpe. I think there are many sort of key explanations all equally valid for Peter Mojo's enormous victory in this election. One was the fact, perhaps the most important of all, was that he's also coming from the centre right. Liberals and more left-minded people, whenever they've criticised Viktor Orbán in the past, Mr. Orbán is very skillfully and was able to turn that to his own advantage and say turn rounds and say to the Hungarian people, "Look, these foreigners are interfering with us again. We are true patriots." Viktor Orbán in a way had the monopoly of national feeling until now. And Peter Mojo coming also from the right, but as a centre right rather than a nationalist or a far right politician, he was able to criticise Mr. Orbán from a right-wing perspective, from a conservative perspective, from a national perspective. He was interesting watching him on his endless national tours. He'd always arrive walking through the crowd, carrying a Hungarian trickle of flag in his hand. So he managed to sort of break Mr. Orbán's monopoly on what it is to be Hungarian, what it is to stand up for national interests, the Hungarian national sovereignty. That's a key issue in all of this. So how will Peter Mojo change Hungary? Given the fact that he's had this last-line victory and significantly a two-thirds majority in Parliament. It's very much about the two-thirds, Jeanette. Viktor Orbán in the last 16 years has reshaped Hungary in his own image. He changed the electoral system. He changed the economy. He changed the way that the constitutional court judges are elected. He put his own person at the head of the Supreme Court. And indeed if Tisseraen Vietamadiya had not won a two-thirds, they would have had to continue to govern in a way inside the House that Viktor Orbán built. With this two-thirds majority, they can change different aspects. They can get rid of the very party loyal, public, main state prosecutor. They could start to restore balance in the judiciary, end the political interference in the judiciary. These are all promises that Peter Mojo made in his campaign and in the Tissera Party programme. What does this mean for Hungary's relationship with the rest of the EU. Donald Trump's victory in the US seemed to give the populist right a new momentum. Does Mr. Orban's defeat mean the tide is shifting? It could mean that and certainly the right in Europe have lost an iconic figure in Victor Orban. Of course, they haven't lost him, you know, he's still around, he's only 62 years old, but I think we could see a change in the right wing because Victor Orban's message to them is the lesson he taught his fellow nationalists across Europe was radicalise yourselves. Don't be afraid of radical nationalism because as you can see in my case, it's successful. So I think we might see those nationalist parties across Europe going more, moving perhaps a bit more to the centre, de-radicalising themselves because at the end of the day Victor Orban's experiment with a liberal democracy or whatever we try to call it has for the time being at least failed. Nick Thorpe in Budapest, well the Ukrainian government, was one of the first to congratulate Peter Modjow for his election victory. President Zelenskiy said his country was ready to work with Hungary after a bruising relationship with Mr. Orban who has repeatedly blocked support for Ukraine, including a vital EU aid package. I asked our correspondent in Kiev if the Ukrainians were hoping this would change. Yeah, there's certainly hoping here that a big block on EU support and speedy EU support Ukraine will be removed. I was speaking to someone last night and was saying that Hungary had basically been a spoke in the wheels of the EU for so long and that was having a direct effect on Ukraine because Victor Orban had been blocking additional sanctions on Russia, he'd been blocking assistance to Ukraine. So I think people here on Sunday massive illusions, they don't think that suddenly absolutely everything is going to change. They don't know Peter Modjow very well and they're not entirely sure what he stands for but they do know that he's not Victor Orban. And they know precisely what Orban has meant for Ukraine and it has been problem after problem. I mean people here when I've spoken to them about the relationship, they see Victor Orban as essentially Putin's man in Europe. And they say that you know, although the real enemy is Vladimir Putin and he's still in place losing Victor Orban from the sort of geopolitical stage can only be good news for Hungary. So certainly a lot of relief here today, I won't say they're celebrating but certainly a lot of relief that as far as Ukraine is concerned, this is a very very positive result. As you say, Peter Modjow's still a bit of an unknown quantity for many people. What have you been able to glean about his attitude to the war in Ukraine? Well, I don't think we're going to see a complete reversal in the sense that Hungary is suddenly going to say, sure we're going to help with military aid, we're going to send troops to some kind of support for Ukraine. That's a position that would, for example, Italy doesn't do either. So you know, I don't think we're going to see a massive change on that front. But I do think the mood moves it will be completely different. I think that the kind of complete block on aid is going to be removed. I think Peter Modjow has suggested he's going to be far more flexible, far more sympathetic to Ukraine in that sense. And that's what people are looking for. It's interesting to see he has made a few comments already saying that he would be open to dialogue with Russia, but not as friends. And when you talk to Ukrainians, what they see is that they believe Viktor Orban was very very close to Russia. And that was why he was so detrimental to Ukraine. So essentially, I think the message from people here is things can only get better. They couldn't possibly get worse. Because it all comes at a very difficult time for Ukraine with more Russian attacks following the end of a Nistatruth. We were up in Hardgift just next to the Russian border as that truce was supposed to be in place. It wasn't a very firm. There were violations on both sides. But certainly as it ended, the sirens went off and the drones and the missiles started firing again. So for Ukraine, it is a difficult time and certainly this will be a help. We'll be a boost. Sarah Rainsford in Kiev. The Philippines has raised the alarm that Chinese fishermen may be using cyanide to poison the waters around a disputed atoll in the South China Sea. One of the world's most hotly contested regions. As we record this podcast, there's been no reaction yet from China to these claims. Our Global Affairs reporter, Umbarassonitur Rajan told us more about them. This is a contested area. Both countries have a claim. And there is a reef over which the Philippines deliberately landed second World War era ship. And this is where a few the Filipino troops are staying there. The reason why the Philippines did this was to assert their sovereignty. And the second Thomas shore. This has been a bone of contention. There have been clashes even before. Now the Philippines is saying that basically some of these Chinese fishermen will come around. They were pouring cyanide. These are accusations. Into the water surrounding the shore, basically. So what it means is that these Philippine soldiers were not able to catch any fish. In case if they catch any fish, it could be contaminated. And the second reason is also destroying the corals nearby. And in the long run what the Filipino officials are saying is that the Chinese were hoping that this old ship will corrode. And then it will automatically disintegrate. That is one of the reasons why they are pouring this. And they've noticed this for the last one year. There have been different occasions. They have taken some bottles from water. And they've tested these waters around the area. And it contains cyanide. And it is a very dangerous sign. That is why they had a big announcement today about these efforts by Chinese fishermen. I mean, accusing them of pouring cyanide. If true, that would be devastating for the marine wildlife there. Little over any humans that tried to eat the fish they caught. What's the Chinese response bin if any? The AFP news agency and other journalists, they've tried to contact the embassy in Manila, the Chinese embassy in Manila, who have not responded. But it is not only this occasion. There have been other clashes in this particular area in the last few years, where it was quite common incident when Chinese coast guard vessels ram into the Filipino vessels. And also, resupplying these troops is a big challenge for the Philippines. Some of the ships, they have been blocked by the Chinese once they had to deliver food by helicopter. So it is a challenge, but they don't want to give up because giving up that area means that China will take over this reef immediately. And this is a very contested area and a busy shipping lane. And that's why the Philippines want to stay there. Umbarassan et irojin. When the four Artemis astronauts splash down this weekend after their trip around the moon, a small soft toy called Rise also returned with them. It's a smiling moon wearing an earth baseball cap. But it wasn't up there just to be a mascot or for the astronauts to play with. It was used as a zero gravity indicator for videos and was designed by an 8 year old boy from California called Lucas Ye. He won a competition run by NASA and a crowdsourcing company. Luke Jones had a chat with Lucas and his mother Clara. Got you. So what did you decide to do? Tell us about your design. It's this little moon, plus E that they rise and is representing Earth by taking our Apollo 8. And the visor of the cap is the deep space between Earth and the moon. Orion constellation on the visors representing the Orion and the rockets on both sides are representing the past and future moon missions. And on the back it's there's Neil Armstrong's footprint he made on 1969 on Apollo 11. You guys got to experience a bit more of the Artemis 2 mission than other people did. You actually got to go and see the astronauts returning. Yeah, we let's see that I think Thursday morning that we got an invitation from NASA. I'm so saying that he would like you to be part of our VIP to come and watch the flash down with us and we're like, oh my goodness, this is, you know, such a surprise and the light. And it's a long story short that we got there sitting down with real scientists, aerodynamics, you know, heat shield experts and real engineers who worked on the many aspects about the reentry. And we're celebrating every single moment a start from I think 433 of the separation to the reentry around 450 ish. It's very, very exciting. And Lucas, do you think you maybe have a future working in space? Were you thinking, I'd like to do this as a job one day? Yeah, I would like to work that master and probably to go on a mission to Mars or a man mission even further to one of Jupiter's moons. And we know actually, of course, that the astronauts came back safe and sound, but what about RISE? What happened to RISE, Lucas? Do we know where he is? A Le Commander named Reed Wiesman, tied up RISE to his water bottle. Fantastic, so you made it back? Yeah. That was Lucas Yee and his proud mother Clara. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at [email protected] And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Nick Randall. The producers were Mazar Fashakir and Oliver Burlow. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janet Jalil. Until next time, goodbye. Listen now by searching for the documentary, wherever you get to your BBC podcasts.