Venezuelan opposition leader criticises US oil deal

This BBC Podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to peer deeper into the universe than ever before, unlocking some of its greatest secrets, but after launch, a devastating flaw emerged. The significant spherical aberration appears to be present in the optics. National disaster, humble launch of Flood Mirror. The BBC Space Podcast 13 minutes is telling the inside story of how NASA rescued Hubble. The future of space astronomy depends on it. From the BBC World Service, 13 minutes, trouble with Hubble, all ever-sales available now, wherever you get your BBC Podcasts. Welcome to The Haunted Library. Join me, Colin Morgan, as I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. A story of science and ambition, loneliness and longing, and what it truly means to be human. Listen to The Haunted Library, wherever you get your podcasts, or find us on YouTube. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles, and in the early hours of Friday, the 30th of October, these are our main stories. Venezuela's opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, just back from a year in exile, questions a massive oil deal between Caracas and Washington earlier this year. In Spain, an investigation is well underway into the high-speed train crash that left at least 69 people dead, and peace returns to parts of hair sun in Ukraine, almost five years after Russia's invasion. One resident tells us what it's like. Also in this podcast, we pay tribute to the British actor Patrick Stewart, who gained international fame as captain John Luke Picard in Star Trek, and has died at the age of 86. And we will try to have an even better hollow in this year. I'm going to an underground hard techno party with a massive capacity. This is definitely considered as a sign of opposition to the government. It is possible that they just show up at the parties and arrest everyone. A special report on the young Iranians fighting back against the Halloween ban. The political transition in Venezuela will be irreversible, organized, and peaceful. The words of the Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Karina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate was addressing supporters in the capital Caracas just days after returning from a year in exile. This Machado was widely seen as likely to win the presidential election in 2024, but she was banned from running by the Supreme Court. She told the crowd she'd come back to finish the task of bringing political change to Venezuela. I have returned to mobilize society to organize all our teams and citizen networks to listen, to incorporate all sectors, all organizations, political and civil in the construction of this new republic that's emerging. And I have returned to finish a task and fulfill a mandate. Acting President Delci Rodriguez also confirmed earlier that elections would take place under the country's constitution. Many are asking about the electoral timeline. I've said it before. There will be elections, all those mandated by a constitution, organized by a renewed electoral authority, with the world as a witness. Elections should not be a problem, nor should they take us back to a time of confrontation, something no one wants anymore. Miss Machado has been questioning a major oil deal struck with the U.S. The would see Venezuela hand over 20% of its oil reserves to Washington. Our Latin America correspondent Will Grant told me more about her concerns. Her key point on the oil deal is that she hasn't read it, nor has the vast majority of Venezuelans. They simply don't know what's in there. They're told to trust it. They did seem Venezuela's interest, and they are told that by government they don't trust. She said, "Look, we're not against the idea of foreign investment. Clearly we're not. We're not about to come in here and rip up the deal. We will honor, assuming the next government, any deals that have been signed correctly and openly within the margins of the law with this administration. But we will bring proper rule of law. We will bring security and economic guarantees to foreign investors, and in that sense it will be a better deal moving forward." So she gave details as she sees them for a timeline for new elections, and she was pretty clear about when that was going to be, something that Delta Rodriguez is rather vague on. "Clear in the sense that she said 2027, but she couldn't be any clearer than that. I mean, I think the truth of the matter is, there are going to be conflicting forces. Those that want to go far faster, and those who want this say time and feel that too much has been given away. There is a real series of viewpoints in Venezuela that are vying for power, vying to be her. But her key point is that she is now back. It felt to me very much like she was launching a presidential campaign with this speech. She was talking about the reason she is back was to take part in what she called an irreversible transition to democracy, that she had come to carry out a mandate. And she said that on that route back to the capital Caracas, from where she entered the country in the state of Lada, about 335 kilometers, she heard one word above all others, wistly but that, freedom, and that she will be working towards that end through organising thousands, as she put it, of neighborhood level committees who will make their voices heard. How all of this is played out is obviously very, very hard to say. But it did come at the same time as quite a conciliatory speech from Chelsea Rodriguez herself. After a year in exile, if you like, do you think Maré Carina Machado has lost any of her popularity and political momentum? Not if her return to Caracas was anything to go by. That was a major outpouring of support. And what was interesting about it is that people were caught by surprise. They didn't know that she was coming that day. There'd been no prior warning. They simply heard and took to the streets to see her caravan as it passed through their town. She may still be facing charges, which she says are politically motivated, which include everything from treason to conspiracy to insurrection. But it would be very problematic for the Chelsea Rodriguez government to arrest her again or anything like that. So I think what we're going to see now is a sort of electoral if you'd like. At least in terms of this move towards 2027 when she says there's going to be an election. Delsi Rodriguez made it clear in her speech that she's told the security forces not to detain people without full judicial warrants. And that Venezuela was open, which I took as perhaps a message to the other exile political leaders that they can come back and that they can form part of her team ahead of this sort of democratic transition taking hold. Will Grant, a young athlete, an architect, a journalist and a former government minister, four amongst the several dozen spaniards still officially missing after Wednesday's train crash south of Madrid. Families there have been searching hospitals hoping to find them amongst the injured. Well, the transport minister has blamed human error for the incident, which saw a train going at almost 200 kilometers an hour, plow into stationary train carriages. At least 69 people were killed. Spain's main opposition party is calling on the government itself to take political responsibility for the crash. The second major rail disaster this year, Sarah Reinsford reports. In the fields of central Spain, they work through the wreckage of a disaster that has killed dozens and shattered this country. There were no more bodies to recover and work paused for a moment of silence. Some of the injured are being treated in Toledo. We found sailor in the hospital grounds making frantic calls. Her father is in intensive care, but she told me she still can't find her mother. They were together when it happened, but got separated. All we know is that mom was given a red sticker. That means she was badly hurt. We don't know where she is. My sister is looking for her in all the hospitals. Some families have taken their search to social media, posting pictures of their loved ones and details about what they were wearing, even their seat on the train. And as the families continued their search, all Spain is looking to understand what happened here. Why one high speed train full of people plowed into the back of another. There are now some important clues. Audio leaked to Spanish media records key conversations between the two drivers and the control centre in Madrid. This is after a computer failure caused several trains on the line to stop. At one point, an operator tells the Renfe train driver to resume his journey at normal speed. Normal speed, the driver checks. He's told yes. But up the line, an Iriotrain has also stopped. The driver there informs the control centre, she's just outside order. Minutes later, she's told her train can restart. She then calls back and tells the controller the train won't move. That suggests the controller knew the line was blocked, five minutes before the fatal crash. But there are questions too about the signal system that failed in the first place. And why this is the second disaster on Spain's railways this year? "We have to express our support." In Felipe called the crash a devastating blow and said an investigation would determine how it happened. So many families want answers. Sarah Reignsford reporting from Spain. Last week we brought you the news that the U.S. First Lady, Melania Trump and Pope Leo had collaborated to bring about a temporary ceasefire in Oleschi, a city in the Heishan region of Ukraine. It was occupied shortly after Russia's invasion back in 2022. The six-day truce which came into effect on Tuesday was intended to allow food and medicine in and those who wanted to go to get out. Posting on social media, Mrs. Trump said the area covered by the ceasefire has expanded beyond Oleschi within the Heishan region to provide safe passage for the humanitarian convoy. Zorina Zabrisky is an American journalist in Heishan, where she's been for the last three years. Sean Lay asked her what impact the ceasefire was having. "The last few days we have this really unusual surreal quiet. When we don't hear the drones buzzing, usually these are human safari, FPV drones, attack and civilians in the streets, we don't hear artillery, we don't hear tanks, it's quiet. But this silence is quite deceptive because there are still a lot of mines that were dropped by the drones and unfortunately we lost two people in the last two days. Actually my colleagues, it's a very bitter loss and we have a warning against mines to be watching out when you're walking around." That was obviously a tragedy. What are the challenges for people living in Heishan at the moment? The guns may have fallen silent for now, but what are the difficulties? "Number one concern is the knowledge that in two days it will all start again. We have rumors and pretty much everybody believes that it's true that Russians will sneak in a lot of weapons, artillery, drones and as soon as the ceasefires over Heishan will be attacked with unprecedented force." It's a kind of a mixed blessing this ceasefire. "It's very bitter sweet because pretty much everyone speaks to is happy and smiling almost with tears in their eyes but also feeling slightly doomed in the knowledge that it's so short-lived." "Have people been venturing out that they've been using the opportunity that this presents?" In Hirshan around 2 p.m. we say "good evening" because by three there's nobody in the street. Right now it's very different. You see a lot of people walking towards their neighborhoods towards the water where everything is destroyed. It's post-apocalyptic surreal and people walk either to pick up some of their belongings or just to come and see what used to be their home. Zorina Zabriski speaking to Shornley. Now let's take you on board the USS Enterprise. "It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a witness. That is life." Those words of wisdom from the main character of Star Trek, the next generation, Captain John Luke Picard, or the British actor who played him for so many years, Patrick Stewart has just died. He was 86. He was a renowned Shakespearean stage actor before his Picard days and later became known to a new generation as Professor Charles Xavier in Hollywood's X-Men films. Entertainment journalist Sandra Monetti knew him well. He was a very proud Brit. The last time I saw him was on the date of King Charles' coronation. Patrick was hosting a celebration or the British community here in Los Angeles. And like many of those of us who have moved from England to America, we remain fiercely patriotic and love all things royal. He had been knighted, of course, so many happy memories. I just feel so privileged to have met him. A great talent, but a lovely man as well. Our correspondent, Daniela Rell, floats back on the actor's life and career. Captain's log is started 4-1-1-5-3.7. Our destination is planet Denim IV. Patrick Stewart, as Captain John Luke Picard, "I did the fusion generators on the search control, yet moving much too slowly." Bald, middle aged, not the stereotype of a Hollywood leading man, "Paul Dex, Paul Stations." But formidable. "Battle Stations." "I even threatening." "Make them pay for what they've done." He had three-inch a starship commander, and he had to drop his Yorkshire accent. "Let's see what's out there." "Engage." "We did toy with the Yorkshire accent. It was incomprehensible to the producers in Hollywood." "Can you imagine?" "Space. Final frontier." "Make it so." "I so?" His childhood was turbulent. His father had a violent temper, a former sergeant major who suffered post-traumatic stress. Patrick escaped onto the stage. "When there was an audience there, and the lights were turned on, and people were sitting in the darkness looking at me, I never had stage fright. I never felt embarrassed in any way. I was totally at home." "Tick from his heart. Tick from his brain. From time, what should not them be spared." He spent 16 years with the World Shakespeare Company. "And he said in Rome, 'Potain us and you, look, and your maids manage this wall!' "Sink, Rome!" "All that has happened to Frank since he came here is one injection on the morning he was admitted." And it TV works, without really becoming a household name. "Don't mention the Duke. This is an uncoded channel." But Hollywood came calling, first apart in David Lynch's adaptation of the sci-fi novel "June." "Let's think with a financial statement like this, you can have this duck." Later, as the restaurant matredee from Hell, in Steve Martin's LA story. "You can have the chicken." "You can try to track him using cerebral, but his movements are inexplicably erratic." After Star Trek came another blockbuster franchise, X-Men. He returned to his first love theatre, with a grizzled Macbeth, and had acclaimed waiting for Goddo with his friend and fellow-night Syrian mechalla. And there was time for a last trip to the final frontier, revisiting his most famous character at the age of nilly 80. "I'm all in." Jean-Luc Picard, thoughtful, cultured, the very moral centre of the universe. "Be me, oh my god." And Sir Patrick Stewart, finest creation. Daniela Ralf, on the life of the British actor Patrick Stewart, who's died at the age of 86. Still to come in this broadcast. "The appeal judges said such shocking criminality would mean that it was inappropriate to fix a non-parole period, so that means that she now faces a prospect of dying in prison." Erin Patterson, the Australian woman, who murdered her relatives by serving them deadly mushrooms, loses an appeal against her conviction. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to peer deeper into the universe than ever before and locking some of its greatest secrets, but after launch, a devastating flaw emerged. "The significant spherical aberration appears to be present in the optics." "National disaster, Hubble launched a flawed mirror." The BBC Space Podcast 30 minutes is telling the inside story of how NASA rescued Hubble. "The future of space astronomy depends on it." From the BBC World Service, 13 minutes, trouble with Hubble, or ever since, available now, wherever you get to your BBC Podcasts. "Welcome to the Haunted Library. Join me, Colin Morgan, as I read Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, a story of science and ambition, loneliness and longing, and what it truly means to be human." Listen to the Haunted Library, wherever you get your podcasts, or find us on YouTube. The real-life dramas of one of Italy's most prominent dynasties, Fiat's Agnieli family. "Fiat was so important in Italy's economy." "Italy was Fiat, Fiat was Italy." Inheritance Fiat from the BBC World Service. "It's about money." "Power the Successional Story." "Listen now, wherever you get, your BBC Podcasts." A question of science is back with a brand new series. Join me, Professor Brian Cox, and a studio audience as we discuss and debate the most pressing scientific questions of the day. Questions such as, "How is AI transforming medicine? Can we cure addiction? How can we save our oceans? Can we beat superbooks?" Every episode driven by your curiosity. And this is the most important bit by a panel of people who know what they are talking about. Listen to Series 2, the question of science now, wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast. Opinion polls suggest Democrats will make significant gains in next week's US midterm elections. And that could lead to the Republicans losing one or both houses of Congress, making Donald Trump a lame duck president. But he and the Republicans are fighting back. The governor of Alaska has ordered an investigation into an alleged scheme to split the Republican vote there. A New York Times article claimed that the Democratic candidate for the Senate, Mary Peltola, and her campaign group conspired to manipulate the ballot by recruiting Daniel J. Sullivan to run alongside the Republican incumbent, Daniel S. Sullivan. Mary Peltola has denied all allegations of recruiting what's known as a spoiler candidate. Our State Department correspondent, Tom Bateman, explains. The two major candidates for the Democrats and Republicans are the Republican incumbent senator, Dan Sullivan, and his Democratic challenger, a woman called Mary Peltola. Now, what happened in the primaries was another man called Dan Sullivan emerged and has made his way through to this final ballot, meaning that there are two Dan Sullivan's. The voters have to choose from. The Republicans had always claimed that the second Dan Sullivan was a plant, that this man was put up to it by the Democrats in order to try and split the Republican vote. Now, the Democrats always denied that. It went to the Alaska Supreme Court that signed off on all of this, said it was legitimate, as a practice known as ballot stacking, and it was okay. What has happened since then is the New York Times have investigated. They have found that the Democrats did indeed plant this candidate. That is added to this environment where Donald Trump is saying this is a fraud. His Justice Department filed a lawsuit over this, saying that the results should be annulled if that becomes a factor, and the Republicans lose on Tuesday. Now, again, the Democrats deny having put the second Dan Sullivan up to this, but it is all setting the stage for an extremely contentious, and what is a very tight race already on Tuesday and the potential for litigation afterwards. Both the House of Representatives and Senate are controlled by the Republicans. It is clear from the polling that the Democrats believe that they can flip the House of Representatives to their control and potentially the Senate. What you are seeing is an incredible focus from both parties on these areas where they think they might be able to take a seat from the Republicans. And so you get this incredibly closely fought race, and now this roul over accusations coming from the Republican side of cheating on behalf of the Democrats, which they are furiously denying. I think what it speaks to is the expectation that if Donald Trump loses key seats for the Republicans here, that he will once again try and repeat what he did after the 2020 presidential election, which is to claim that there is fraud, that the vote is rigged. Of course, he falsely claimed that about the 2020 presidential election. I think there is a sense in places like Alaska and elsewhere, where his Republican party loses, you are going to see that same game plan playing out. Tom Bateman in Washington. Now to Nepal, which is still reeling from major flash floods this summer caused by a glacial collapse, which killed over 1,500 people and devastated large swathes of the country. A study has found that at least 300,000 people could now be living in the path of future disasters in parts of the Himalayan region. The founder, despite the looming climate threat over the past decade, the amount of built-up land in high-risk zones has risen by almost 45%. But, well people move away from the danger. Our environment correspondent, Navin Sinkadka, told Anchor Decimal. They are talking about built-up areas, almost 45% increase in built-up areas, and this is like 50 kilometres downstream from the catamount areas where all these rivers and lakes originate. Now, if these people will be compensated, that's a very difficult one, because you know, we're talking about very poor governments. Compensation is not that easy A, B, they have not even been mapped. So, when I reached out to authorities, now they are saying that they will map, you know, where are those places, and they will try to move people in Pokhara, for example, which is a very, very popular tourism hub, world-renowned trekking region. When I spoke to the mayor for this story, that mayor was telling me, that, you know, settlements are required to be, according to the law, 20 metres away from the rivers. But, in this case, just within 5 metres, so moving those people is not easy, because, you know, they want compensation, the governments, they have fun crunch. There's no money. More importantly, communities are very much with the answers to land, property, they have sentimental attachment. We know it's a big tourism area as well. How is the industry fairing at the moment? The trend is that if a place is beautiful, is promising, then suddenly entrepreneurs go there, invest money, build up structures, and it sees people. There's no proper regulation. Therefore, tourism bodies, like, for example, this particular hotel association in Pokhara itself, or, let's say, in Uttarakhand, again, that's a pilgrimage tourism, they are now waking up to these risks, and now trying to regulate. But, again, it's not easy, because people have already invested, and tourists still go there. That will require, you know, some time. But, I think the alternatives will have to be resolute on what they are deciding. We know there's devastating floods from the summer, wreaked a lot of havoc, but it wasn't a one-off disaster, was it? There have also been some other situations and floods happening in that region since. Almost one and a half months since the Ruswar flood happened, the big one. There was another corridor, Budi Guntuki. We saw another flood, not as big, but there were some damages in India as well. So, you know, this is all in the wake of what's happening to the Himalayas. Let's not forget that the Himalayas already were not firm, because it's an earthquake-prone zone, but climate change, what it is doing to those frozen ground, to glaciers, snowfills, that is kind of destabilizing mountains, and the mountains are coming down. And they don't just fall there, they come down to the human settlement areas, and then wipe out everything on their way. Naveen Sinkadka speaking to Ankara Sain. A woman in Australia who murdered three relatives and tried to kill another by serving them a meal containing death-cap mushrooms in 2023, has lost an appeal against her conviction. Erin Patterson was jailed for life last year. She'll also have her sentence reviewed after appeal by the prosecution was upheld. Here's our Australia correspondent, Katie Watson. Two appeals heard being launched. There was the appeal by Erin Patterson, who had concerns over some of the evidence that was and wasn't allowed during her trial, as well as the way she was cross-examined. And the way that the jury had been held during deliberations. Now the appeal judges in the Victorian Court of Appeal dismissed that appeal. But at the same time, the prosecution had their own appeal. They said that the life sentence that she was handed out last year was manifestly inadequate, because in that life sentence, she was given the opportunity of parole after 33 years. Now they said that because of the nature of the crimes that long planning and the cover-ups and the consistent lies when her relatives lay dying, that constituted the fact that she should never be allowed out of prison. Now the appeal judges said that they agreed they said that the offending was extraordinarily cold and calculated. That stands to be denounced in the strongest terms. They said such shocking criminality would mean that it was inappropriate to fix a non-parole period. So that means that she now faces a prospect of dying in prison. She has 28 days to decide whether or not she wants to take her case to Australia's high court. But it's quite hard to get them to listen to the case and rule on the case. So I think her options now are pretty limited. Katie Watson in Sydney. To Iran now wears since the conflict with America began in February. The authorities have increasingly come down hard on any signs of internal dissent. And that even extends to Halloween celebrations. The Islamic Republic has long viewed the event, which takes place on October 31st each year, with great suspicion. Raids at parties have led to hundreds of arrests over recent years and restrictions on celebrations continue to be enforced. But as Ruby Gleason reports, some Iranians are gearing up to celebrate despite the risks. Two young women pull back their hijabs to reveal matching cropped pink hairdos and ice-blue contact lenses. They squeeze through a costume crowd towards a DJ set. Inside, it could be any Halloween party, except it's not where you might expect. This was Tehran, last Halloween. Halloween celebrations have banned in the Islamic Republic. And hundreds of people have been arrested and detained for taking part in recent years. Yet that hasn't stopped some Iranians from planning underground parties. I spoke to young people in Tehran about their Halloween plans for this weekend. We've disguised their voices for their safety. I'm actually going to two parties. I'm going to address her as a female prisoner in an orange-yum suit. The events being held in Tehran are mostly underground graves with DJ sets. We will try to have an even better Halloween this year. I'm going to an underground hard-techno party with a massive capacity. There will be more than 100 people. Then I'm going to throw a party with my friends. There will be a DJ there too. I expect there will be alcohol and drugs as well. Yeah, and some people have told me that this is just for fun. It's just about having a good time. That it's not political. With this being the first Halloween party, since the killing of Ayatolle Haminay, since the outbreak of war with the U.S., the devastation that's come out of that and the spiraling economic crisis. For you, it's their kind of broader statement to all of this, is about taking a stand against the government at all. - We do this stuff because there are no other happy events in Iran, so it gives us a reason to celebrate something. And this is definitely considered as a sign of opposition to the government, because it is possible that they just show up at the parties and arrest everyone. - To answer your question about whether this is against the government, it certainly is. It's about having fun and enjoying ourselves. There are no opportunities in Iran to have fun. That's why we are using these Western events as a way to have fun. Often the authorities will probably try to come and arrest people as much as they can. But obviously they can't come to every party in Iran. - In 2024, state media reported that 260 people were detained on suspicion of promoting more authorities described as satanism and public indecency. Iranian authorities say Halloween is contrary to Islamic customs. And about 70 kilometers outside of Tehran, a Halloween event due to take place this weekend has been cancelled. The organizer told me authorities ordered him to contact attendees, cancel the venue and call it off completely. If he didn't comply, he says he was told his SIM card and bank account would be cancelled. However, out of sight, some parties are still set to go ahead this weekend. For the equivalent of $11, guests get access to a sound system, DJs, Halloween makeup, traditional Persian food. That's if, of course, it doesn't get shut down. Not everyone is celebrating Halloween. Some people told me it's limited to richer more middle-class parts of the country. Whilst some people told me they traditionally taken part but wouldn't be this year. Whether it's defiance in the face of authority or just a brief escape from it or many young Iranians are determined to mark the occasion this weekend. Ruby Gleason with that report. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at [email protected]. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag #globalnewsport. 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 Darcy O'Bree and the producer was Emma Joseph. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Nick Biles, and until next time, goodbye. The Hubble Space Telescope was designed to peer deeper into the universe than ever before. Unlocking some of its greatest secrets. But after launch, a devastating flaw emerged. National disaster, Hubble launch with Flood Mirror. The BBC Space Podcast, 13 minutes, is telling the inside story of how NASA rescued Hubble. From the BBC World Service, 13 minutes, trouble with Hubble, all episodes available now, wherever you get to your BBC Podcasts.