--:-- [Upbeat music plays in the background]
--:-- Host: This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Go on, get a little out there, into the big heart of Nevada, where you can go off-road and off the map, on two lakes or on horseback. Dip into hot springs and dive into deserts. Climb a mountain or make your best effort. See thousands of stars in some of the darkest skies. Stake out haunted hotels. Can you make it to sunrise? There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be. Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com.
--:-- Host: In the shadows and flames, primals will fall and from the blood and ash, new gods will rise. Poppy was never meant to awaken, and consequences are devastating. Stirring ancient powers from their slumber, transforming Castile and Kirin in ways the fates couldn't foresee. The great conspirator has returned to stop the primal of death. The gods have awakened, harboring blood-soaked secrets, and every choice can undo everything. The primal of blood and bone, perfect for fans of Sarah J Maas and Rebecca Yaros. Available in print, e-book, and audiobook.
--:-- Host: This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles, and in the early hours of Sunday, the 6th of July, these are our main stories.
--:-- Nick Miles: After his spectacular falling out with Donald Trump, Elon Musk says he's founded a new political party in the United States.
--:-- Nick Miles: The authorities in Texas say flash floods that swept through a summer camp for children are now known to have killed 32 people. Reports from Israel say the government will send a delegation to Qatar for new proximity talks with Hamas about a ceasefire.
--:-- Nick Miles: Also in this podcast, Chile's kidnapped children. He was born on the 3rd of July, 1978. He's 47 years old. I don't know if he's alive or dead. Could DNA evidence finally provide answers for the families?
--:-- Nick Miles: Donald Trump's relationship with the tech billionaire Elon Musk was always likely to be a volatile one. Just a few short weeks ago, Mr. Musk was still a close confidant of the president, walking the corridors of the White House as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE.
--:-- Nick Miles: Then came the spectacular fallout with his boss over the president's new spending bill. And now a new twist. Elon Musk has announced that he intends to set up a new political party.
--:-- Nick Miles: He said on his social media platform X that the America Party would give voters back their freedom. There are a few details of what the party would stand for, but more clues about what it's opposed to.
--:-- Nick Miles: As I've been hearing from our North America correspondent, Aronadai Mukherjee.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: This is something that Elon Musk had mentioned earlier on as well when he was putting out a series of those posts on his social media platform X when the bill was being debated in the Senate as well as the House of Representatives saying that if this bill does pass, then he is going to float a new political party.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: True to that, he did put out that poll on the 4th of July. Over a million people responded to that, and 65% said yes.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: Now, we don't know what those numbers actually are going to translate onto, whether that really means anything beyond. But given that he is the richest man in the world and he is someone who has been the largest donor to Donald Trump's political campaign, also was the former head of the Department of Government Efficiency, it is certainly going to make headlines.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: From what you're sensing, do you think there is some kind of appetite amongst American people for a third political party?
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: Well, going by the poll, it seems to suggest yes, but I think the poll would be a very premature and a very small understanding of what the larger mood or atmosphere might be.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: It would be hard to say what kind of overall appetite there is across the US for a new political party.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: I think given the kind of posts on X that we've seen in the past, this could also be seen as something of him trying to test waters.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: Given the kind of very serious opposition that he had to the big, beautiful bill, this is what it all stems from.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: He had very categorically pointed out that this is a party that had promised to cut down on expenses, but it was doing just the opposite.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: So this is a man who says that he is ideologically committed to the fact that America needs to save, and forming a new political party, according to him, is the only way to do it.
--:-- Nick Miles: And no reaction yet from Donald Trump to this. But in the past, Donald Trump has threatened to deport Elon Musk.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: So there could be two. There could be one that we don't hear anything from Donald Trump at all. He just completely ignores this.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: Or also knowing Donald Trump, he could even get into it and could see a series of tit for tat posts on social media.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: That could also be a very possibility. These are two individuals who is very hard to predict, as you would know.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: But Donald Trump in the past has essentially accused Elon Musk of doing all of this and opposing the big, beautiful bill, because he feels the bill will not be providing too many incentives to Elon Musk's electric vehicle venture.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: And even saying that the Department of Government Efficiency, which Elon Musk set up, could actually go back to hurt Elon Musk himself.
--:-- Aronadai Mukherjee: Elon Musk responded to that by saying that, look, this is not about that at all. This is me being ideologically committed to bringing down the national deficit, which is a huge concern for the American economy.
--:-- Nick Miles: So he's projecting himself as a person who's ideologically committed. Donald Trump, clearly not in agreement.
--:-- Nick Miles: Aronadai Mukherjee.
--:-- Nick Miles: Rescuers in Texas say at least 32 people, including 14 children, are now known to have died in flash floods in the state's central region.
--:-- Nick Miles: A Kerrville city official said hundreds of people were taking part in rescue operations.
--:-- Nick Miles: The Kerr County Sheriff said state teams would not stop until every single person was found.
--:-- Nick Miles: A number of people are still missing, including over two dozen girls from a summer camp.
--:-- Nick Miles: There have been warnings of more extremely heavy rains to come.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our North America correspondent, Gary O'Donoghue, is in Kerrville.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: As the number of confirmed fatalities continued to rise, rescue teams worked searching for the two dozen or so missing people from a camp for young Christian girls along the Guadalupe River, close to the small settlement of Hunt.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: Dozens of helicopters and boats were being employed, with more than 500 local and state personnel involved.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: It's been confirmed that the director of the camp, Jane Ragsdale, was one of those who died.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: More than 800 people have been evacuated from the area.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: This man's home was destroyed. I'm homeless. It floated down the river maybe 80 yards. And these two trees, it just lodged in between two trees. So it's not going anywhere.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: Local authorities have set up a number of centres in the area where anxious parents and friends are waiting for news.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: Washed away roads and further rain are hampering the efforts.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: The torrential rain early Friday morning took everyone by surprise.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: In some places, between 12 and 15 inches fell in a matter of a couple of hours. And the Guadalupe River rose by 26 feet in 45 minutes, its second-highest level on record, according to officials.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: It's been declared a mass casualty event, and along with the missing children, officials are not sure how many other visitors could have been in the area for the holiday weekend.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: The Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowed to spare no resources to find those still missing.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane and whatever is needed is going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person and ensure everybody involved in this is going to be fully accounted for.
--:-- Nick Miles: The hill country, located in south-central Texas, is a scenic and popular spot for vacations and children's summer camps, particularly around the July 4th Independence Day holiday.
--:-- Nick Miles: Donald Trump described the situation as terrible and shocking, and said Texas would receive all the federal help it needed.
--:-- Gary O'Donoghue: Gary O'Donoghue in Texas.
--:-- Nick Miles: A plane carrying people deported by the Trump administration has arrived in South Sudan after the migrants lost a last-ditch legal effort to halt their transfer.
--:-- Nick Miles: US officials say the men had been convicted of violent crimes.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our Africa regional editor, Will Ross, reports.
--:-- Will Ross: There are warnings that South Sudan's on the brink of civil war.
--:-- Will Ross: The US State Department website tells people not to travel there due to the risk of crime, kidnapping, and armed conflict.
--:-- Will Ross: But eight men deported from America have now been flown to the capital, Juba.
--:-- Will Ross: Their lawyer argued the move was punitive and unconstitutional.
--:-- Will Ross: A court ruling had temporarily stopped them being taken there, and instead, they were held at a US military base in Djibouti for over a month.
--:-- Will Ross: What happens to them next is unclear.
--:-- Will Ross: Only one is South Sudanese. The others are from various countries as far away as Cuba, Myanmar, and Vietnam.
--:-- Nick Miles: Now, the prospect of another ceasefire deal in the Gaza conflict.
--:-- Nick Miles: Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the government will send what's called a delegation for proximity talks to Qatar with Hamas on the latest US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce.
--:-- Nick Miles: Hamas has agreed to negotiations but demanded some changes.
--:-- Nick Miles: Mr Netanyahu described those demands as unacceptable but earlier an Israeli official told local journalists that there was something to work with in the way Hamas had responded.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our correspondent, Sebastian Asher, who's in Jerusalem, told us more about the talks.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: This will take place in Qatar, which with Egypt and the US has been one of the main mediators.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: So that's definitely a positive move from the Israeli side.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: It's a sign that it is taking seriously not just the new proposal, the modified proposal, or the U.S. back proposal for a ceasefire and release of hostages, but that it is giving Hamas some benefit of the doubt, which it didn't do last time.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: So there's definitely been a shift.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: It's whether there's been such a big shift in what Hamas is actually asking for.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: Hamas is presenting this, I think, as relatively minor adjustments and amendments to the deal, as far as we know, that is now being put forward.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: But that may well not be how Israel sees it.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: It wants an end to this new aid distribution system, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been very controversial.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: It's seen many Palestinians killed.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: The territorial question is huge.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: Israel has taken more and more territory.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: Whether the Israeli military, the Israeli government would accept a big change to that in which Israel would withdraw from much of the territory that it now controls is a big question.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: And also international guarantees what Hamas wants, essentially from the US, from other countries, over a commitment for the ceasefire to lead to a permanent end to the war.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: These are all not minor but significant issues that have been the main stumbling blocks in the past.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: Whether or not Benjamin Netanyahu, who meets President Trump in Washington on Monday, is under a lot of pressure, will really define whether or not Israel accepts those three specific amendments you've been outlining.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: There is a big question over the Israeli prime minister whether he is now at a position where he feels that it is in his interest, not just his country's interest, but his own political, personal interest to bring this to a conclusion.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: That hasn't been the sense until now.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: There are many in Israel who believe that he's prosecuted this war as much for his own ends to avoid a day of reckoning over what happened on October 7, 2023, the major security failings.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: Mr. Netanyahu's own judicial issues, the court cases that continue, that being prime minister allows him essentially to put off all of those personal issues.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: He and his supporters would say absolutely not that what they've done, not just in Gaza, but look at Lebanon, where Hezbollah has been defanged, where in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad was deposed to a considerable degree, thanks to military actions that Israel had taken in the region, particularly the way that it had weakened Hezbollah and weakened Iran.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: And then talking about Iran, the conflict that has just come to an end, at least for now, between Israel and Iran, which again weakened Iran and gave Netanyahu a boost, I think, here in Israel, where many people supported him in that if they don't support him in other issues.
--:-- Sebastian Asher: So he would point to all of this and say, look, it proves that my constant, repeated argument that only military force can really result in final success is the way for Israel to go.
--:-- Nick Miles: Next to Iran and the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has made his first public appearance since the end of the short-lived war with Israel 12 days ago.
--:-- Nick Miles: State television showed him greeting worshippers at a mosque on Saturday during a ceremony for the religious festival of Ashura.
--:-- Nick Miles: Khamenei's last appearance was in a recorded address during the conflict with Israel.
--:-- Nick Miles: Meanwhile, it's still not clear how much damage has been done to Iran's nuclear programme.
--:-- Nick Miles: On Friday, President Trump said it's been set back permanently, but Mr Trump said it's possible the Iranians could restart production somewhere else.
--:-- Nick Miles: Iran says the damage was minimal, but it remains open to diplomacy and committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
--:-- Nick Miles: But has the crisis changed Iran?
--:-- Nick Miles: Our chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette, has just visited Tehran, one of a small number of Western journalists allowed in.
--:-- Lise Doucette: Now she's back in London and she gave us her reflections of a country reeling from its 12-day war with Israel.
--:-- Lise Doucette: It's always been said, and I've seen it over many years of visiting the country, there are two faces of Iran, not to simplify too much.
--:-- Lise Doucette: One is the face that you often see from outside the country, the harsh, dark face, the slogans of death to America and death to Israel.
--:-- Lise Doucette: That hard face has become even harder now after the 12-day Israel war and the strikes by the United States on Iran's nuclear sites.
--:-- Lise Doucette: But the other face of Iran, the open face, the face of a country which has long been described as one of the most pro-American countries in the Middle East, that part of Iran has become even bolder.
--:-- Lise Doucette: I was really struck by how many women, and not just in the capital, Tehran, were no longer wearing the obligatory headscarf or the long coat, even though it's illegal.
--:-- Lise Doucette: They're supposed to. They're supposed to do it. And they were more openly critical, less for TV cameras, but for radio, to say, we don't want the bomb. We want more freedoms.
--:-- Lise Doucette: I want my business back, not the bomb, what businessmen said to me.
--:-- Lise Doucette: But for the hardliners, it was really striking how many are openly saying that Iran now should get the bomb, that nobody will attack the capital of a nuclear state.
--:-- Lise Doucette: We should be like a North Korea. Culturally, Iran is definitely not North Korea.
--:-- Lise Doucette: And so you've got a real sense that the Islamic Republic of Iran is at a crossroads, probably the most consequential crossroads since the 1979 revolution.
--:-- Nick Miles: Now, how do you find someone when you don't know where they live, you don't know what their name is, or even what they look like?
--:-- Nick Miles: Well, that has been the harrowing experience for thousands of parents in Chile whose children were kidnapped during the Pinochet dictatorship in the 1970s.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our correspondent, Ioni Wells, has been investigating how modern DNA tests, despite some problems, are providing hope for the families.
--:-- Ioni Wells: It's Mother's Day here in Chile, and I'm at the house of Maria Cristina.
--:-- Ioni Wells: She's got the whole family round for lunch. They're all tucking in to rice and meat.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Even the two dogs and the cat are under the table looking for scraps.
--:-- Ioni Wells: But one of her sons is not here.
--:-- Ioni Wells: He was born on the 3rd of July, 1978. He's 47 years old. I don't know if he's alive or dead.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Maria was breastfeeding her son Christian when a social worker told her he was sick and needed to be treated.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Then, one morning, two women and a man dressed in white arrived.
--:-- Ioni Wells: He said, we came to get the baby.
--:-- Ioni Wells: I asked why they were taking my son.
--:-- Ioni Wells: He threw himself on top of me, threw a punch, knocked me to the ground.
--:-- Ioni Wells: They took the baby and sped off.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Nobody helped me.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Maria tried asking doctors where her son was, but was told he didn't exist.
--:-- Ioni Wells: She and her daughter Ingrid have done DNA tests, hoping it could help them find Christian.
--:-- Ioni Wells: But one of the problems is he would have to do the exact same type of test to find a match.
--:-- Ioni Wells: We've sold about 20 cases since 2018, but we are always working to find more connections.
--:-- Ioni Wells: The state does carry out DNA testing too to help investigators.
--:-- Ioni Wells: But one of the challenges is there's no central database connecting all these different DNA test results globally.
--:-- Ioni Wells: That's a challenge for people like Maria if their children could well be in Europe.
--:-- Ioni Wells: I started this work because I was looking for my own sister, who was born in 1972.
--:-- Ioni Wells: My mother was told that she had died.
--:-- Ioni Wells: I'm in the Museum of Memory and Human Rights in Santiago.
--:-- Ioni Wells: I'm here to meet Marisol Rodriguez, who runs an organisation called Hijos y Madres del Silencio.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Silencio. She helps families that were separated during the dictatorship, before the dictatorship, and helps to reunite them using a combination of DNA testing, artificial intelligence, and social media research.
--:-- Ioni Wells: This was a state policy during the dictatorship where they wanted to exterminate poverty by taking children away from poor families.
--:-- Ioni Wells: So if they didn't give them up for adoption, they sold them abroad.
--:-- Ioni Wells: They made it look like a real adoption, with false stories and said that the mothers were alcoholics or poor or had abandoned them.
--:-- Ioni Wells: Marisol's investigations often start by spreading photos of separated children or parents on social media.
--:-- Ioni Wells: We have also used artificial intelligence.
--:-- Ioni Wells: With photos of the mothers and their family, they could reveal what a child could look like, and simulations have been shown in different countries.
--:-- Ioni Wells: She feels the state should be doing more to help victims.
--:-- Ioni Wells: We need a commission to investigate the cases and provide reparations.
--:-- Ioni Wells: These were crimes against humanity committed by the state.
--:-- Ioni Wells: It's a failure of the state.
--:-- Ioni Wells: The Chilean government acknowledged its response to forced adoptions had been late, but emphasized ongoing efforts to support family searches and access to justice before this government's term ends.
--:-- Ioni Wells: For those searching, like Ingrid and Maria, that doesn't provide much comfort.
--:-- Ioni Wells: But while DNA tests also feel like searching for a needle in a haystack, the technology has provided her mother Maria with some hope.
--:-- Ioni Wells: I'm going to be 68, but I haven't lost faith that someday I'll see my son.
--:-- Nick Miles: Maria Cristina, ending that report by Ioni Wells in Chile.
--:-- Nick Miles: Still to come.
--:-- Nick Miles: It does sound quite a bizarre story, doesn't it, that a manga comic can predict an earthquake and people would believe it.
--:-- Nick Miles: In Japan, the authorities are calling on people to trust in science and not in comic books.
--:-- Nick Miles: We'll be right back.
--:-- Nick Miles: Download the Moto Casino app today.
--:-- Nick Miles: Go on, get a little out there into the big heart of Nevada, where you can go off-road and off the map on two lakes or on horseback.
--:-- Nick Miles: Dip into hot springs and dive into deserts.
--:-- Nick Miles: Climb a mountain or make your best effort.
--:-- Nick Miles: See thousands of stars in some of the darkest skies.
--:-- Nick Miles: Stake out haunted hotels.
--:-- Nick Miles: Can you make it to sunrise?
--:-- Nick Miles: There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be.
--:-- Nick Miles: Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com.
--:-- Nick Miles: Confidence is beautiful. Learn more at MeaningfulBeauty.com.
--:-- Nick Miles: According to a nationwide survey conducted by GeneSight, nearly 9 in 10 Americans who've been diagnosed with depression or anxiety believe that mental health medications are somewhat or very effective.
--:-- Nick Miles: However, despite that belief, more than half of those individuals say they have avoided taking medication due to concerns about potential side effects.
--:-- Nick Miles: That's why Dr. Whitney Brown, a family and psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner based in Alabama, often recommends genetic testing to our patients as part of their treatment journey.
--:-- Nick Miles: Dr. Brown explains.
--:-- Dr. Whitney Brown: As part of my treatment plan, I offer the GeneSight test, which analyzes how a patient's genes may influence how they metabolize or respond to certain mental health medications.
--:-- Dr. Whitney Brown: It gives me insights and takes out some of the guesswork that can be associated with prescribing them.
--:-- Nick Miles: If you or someone you love is facing challenges with depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor about how genetic testing may help.
--:-- Nick Miles: To learn more, visit genesight.com.
--:-- Nick Miles: That's genesight.com.
--:-- Nick Miles: The funeral of the Portuguese footballer Diego Jota and his brother Andre has taken place following their death in a car accident on Thursday.
--:-- Nick Miles: Figures from across the football world, including teammates from Jota's club Liverpool and the Portuguese national team, attended Saturday's service in his hometown of Gondomar in northern Portugal.
--:-- Nick Miles: Large crowds of mourners also gathered outside the church and packed nearby streets to pay their respects, with many wearing football shirts bearing Jota's name.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our correspondent, Guy Hedgco, reports from Gondomar.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: This was an emotional farewell for Diogo Jota, who was loved and admired across Portugal.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: The funeral of the two brothers took place in their hometown of Gondomar, a sleepy town on the outskirts of Porto.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: Today it was the focus of a nation's grief.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: A number of Portuguese international football players filed into the church for the funeral service.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: So too did teammates of Jotas from Liverpool, including club captain Virgil van Dijk.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: The team's coach, Arnaz Slott, also attended.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: Outside, in the heat, several hundred people gathered, many wearing replica shirts of Jota.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: I grew up watching Portuguese soccer all my life.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: So I watched all these players from kids growing up, playing in small teams, making it to the Bay Games.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: So he's one of them that made it.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: And he deserves him and his brother to deserve all the respect in the world.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: These people were able to follow the church service, which was relayed to them via public address.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: Many cried throughout and others repeated the prayers that were being said inside by the Bishop of Porto.
--:-- Guy Hedgco: To the sound of the Ave Maria, the coffins of the two brothers were carried out before being buried in the church cemetery.
--:-- Nick Miles: Guy Hedgco in northern Portugal.
--:-- Nick Miles: Let's have a look at a story from Japan now, where the authorities are calling on people to trust in science and not in comic books.
--:-- Nick Miles: The warning comes after tremors which hit the southwest of the country coincided with a prediction of a major earthquake in a manga comic.
--:-- Nick Miles: Japanese officials are urging the public not to believe unfounded rumours.
--:-- Nick Miles: We'll be right back.
--:-- Nick Miles: Elle est hyper chaude. Elle est hyper chaude. Oui, elle est hyper chaude.
--:-- Nick Miles: Really hot, they're saying, really hot.
--:-- Nick Miles: The sound of some of the first people to dive into the River Seine in Paris on Saturday morning.
--:-- Nick Miles: The historically polluted river received a significant clean-up for last year's Summer Olympics.
--:-- Nick Miles: The local officials say the water is now safe to swim in.
--:-- Nick Miles: Three designated areas will operate over the summer months, complete with lifeguards.
--:-- Nick Miles: Andrew Peach spoke to Dan Angelescu, the founder and CEO of Fluidion, a water monitoring tech company based in Paris and Los Angeles.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: The company has been testing bacterial levels in the Seine almost every day recently.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: So is the river really safe?
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Yes, today the water was actually relatively good, with one exception, which is that we detected a large number of bacteria that were attached on what we call aggregates.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: So these are essentially microscopic fecal particles, which carry more than one bacterium.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: So these go under the radar of the laboratory methods.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: But based on the laboratory methods, the water quality looked safe and okay today.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Everything about your answer suggests it's on the edge of being safe. It's not a clean bit of health. It's something that needs to be tested.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: And then we think, well, is it the right side of the line or the wrong side of the line.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Is that about right?
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Yes, we are actually in a grey zone where, in fact, different methodologies give you different assessments.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: We went away from the laboratory standard methods because these are outdated and they cannot measure all the bacteria present in the water.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: So we developed methods that can measure the bacteria comprehensively.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: And this show a slightly different picture of water quality from what the current regulatory methods show.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: And they show that sometimes in rivers like the sand, where there is significant amount of sewage that's untreated that goes in the river upstream of the bathing sites, you can have these microparticles, microfecal particles, if you'd like, that carry a lot of bacteria and also a lot of pathogens with them.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: And these go under the radar of the standard laboratory methods.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: This is why we've been developing new methods and new instruments that allow us to measure these and faster and we see a very different picture sometimes.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Everything you're telling me about the water in the Seine carrying bits of sewage and E. coli pathogens is telling me I shouldn't be swimming in it.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Why is anyone swimming in it?
--:-- Dan Angelescu: Well, because it's Paris and it's fun and it's summer and it's hot, so all the good reasons, it would really help if water quality was really good as well.
--:-- Dan Angelescu: And on some days it is, but it requires very careful monitoring and monitoring with the correct methods, which currently the standard methods do not apply to waters like the Seine in Paris.
--:-- Nick Miles: And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later.
--:-- Nick Miles: If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email.
--:-- Nick Miles: The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.
--:-- Nick Miles: You can also find us on X at BBC World Service.
--:-- Nick Miles: Use the hashtag Global News Pod.
--:-- Nick Miles: This edition was mixed by Derek Clark.
--:-- Nick Miles: The producers were Lear McSheffrey and Charles Sanctuary.
--:-- Nick Miles: The editor is Karen Martin.
--:-- Nick Miles: I'm Nick Miles, and until next time, goodbye.
--:-- Nick Miles: America is changing. And so is the world.
--:-- Nick Miles: But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval.
--:-- Nick Miles: It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
--:-- Nick Miles: I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C.
--:-- Nick Miles: I'm Tristan Redman in London.
--:-- Nick Miles: And this is The Global Story.
--:-- Nick Miles: Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet.
--:-- Nick Miles: Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
