--:-- Alex Ritson: 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.
--:-- Alex Ritson: This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Alex Ritson, and at 0500 GMT on Monday 29th September, these are our main stories. In Moldova, a pro-EU party wins the election mired in claims of Russian interference. Hong Kong democracy campaigner Nathan Law says he was denied entry to Singapore. Donald Trump says talks on a peace deal in Gaza are in their final stages, ahead of a meeting with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu. Also in this podcast, Swiss voters narrowly approve the introduction of electronic national identity cards. and in golf, Europe beat America to win the Ryder Cup despite a bad-tempered contest.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Results are in for a parliamentary election in Moldova that's being seen as a turning point for the former Soviet Republic. The governing party has won a clear majority with about 47% of the votes, allowing the party to govern alone. The pro-Russian patriotic bloc came second with 25%. Pass aims to build stronger ties with the European Union, so for them the win is welcome news. The election, though, has seen high levels of Russian interference, although that's rejected by the Kremlin.
--:-- Alex Ritson: I got the latest from our correspondent, Sarah Rainsford, who's in the capital, Chisinau. We were in the governing party headquarters, their election headquarters this evening, and every so often there was a round of applause and some cheers drifting down the staircase from upstairs as the results were coming in.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: And I spoke to a couple of party representatives who told me at first that they were quietly confident as the results came in, but they also said that they were surprised. And I think that reflects the fact that there was so much concern, particularly in the governing party pass ahead of this vote, about the degree of Russian interference in the election process and how that would be reflected in the results.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: And I think they expected it to have a much bigger impact than they've actually seen. And it looks that they have a substantial margin over the next biggest party or the next biggest electoral bloc. And that isn't how they had expected this to pan out.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: Although the leader of the main opposition bloc has claimed that actually he's won, it's all fake, and his supporters should come out onto the streets to defend their vote. So we've yet to see whether that will happen.
--:-- Alex Ritson: It's supposed to happen on Monday. Because it really does feel like this whole election has been a crossroads for Moldova.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been coming to Moldova for many years, and I think I've talked quite a lot about decisive elections in Moldova, and they always seem to be decisive here. And that's partly because of just the way this country is and the relationship that there is with Russia.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: You know, this is and always was for a long time, Russia's backyard. And Russia was very keen to keep its influence here, you know, to keep supporting pro-Russian politicians of whom there are plenty. And it kind of did that with, you know, differing degrees of success for a very long time.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: And then came the four-scale invasion of Ukraine, which is on Moldova's border. And it was at that point that the pro-European president, as we now call her, Maya Sandu, took the really quite bold and, I think, significant step of really pivoting away from Moscow, stepping out of Russia's shadow and moving much more definitively towards building a path towards EU membership.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: So really focusing on accelerating the process of integration within Europe and really, you know, talking tough on Moscow. And I think that hasn't happened here before. And that is why I think Russian efforts to affect the votes, to influence the vote here, have been so obvious and so large.
--:-- Alex Ritson: How will Russia take losing this campaign? It's a good question. And it's not just Russia, actually. It's those people who genuinely actually wanted to move back towards better relations with Russia. I think those people will be disappointed. The people who took the money to vote in certain ways, how will they respond? Will we see protests? Will there be unrest? I think that's still an open question.
--:-- Sarah Rainsford: Sarah Rainsford.
--:-- Alex Ritson: We have a real chance of greatness in the Middle East. That's what President Trump has posted, saying he's once again closed to a deal to end the war in Gaza and that everyone is on board for something special. It comes as he's about to meet the Israeli Prime Minister in Washington on Monday.
--:-- Alex Ritson: But speaking to Fox News, Benjamin Netanyahu appeared less optimistic than the U.S. leader. Well, we're working on it. It's not been finalized yet, but we're working with President Trump's team, actually, as we speak. And I hope we can make it a go because we want to free our hostages. We want to get rid of Hamas rule and have them disarmed, Gaza demilitarized, and a new future set up for Gazans and Israelis alike and for the whole region.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Michel Elouz, though, is still waiting for the return of the body of his son, Guy, who was taken hostage by Hamas two years ago and died in Gaza. Mr Elouz told the BBC he didn't believe the Israeli prime minister was interested in finding a solution which would help the hostage families.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Since October 7, I actually don't understand my government, and especially Bibi Netanyahu, my prime minister. I hope that's going to be a deal, but I know Bibi Netanyahu is going to destroy this deal as well and he will not accept the deal of Trump. Trust me. Our children are not interested in him at all. Believe me, the thing that's interesting is only the political coalition.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Walid Kalani is the Hamas spokesman in Lebanon. He claims no knowledge of a U.S. peace plan. The movement issued a statement in the past few hours saying until this moment we have not received any proposal from the mediators. However, and despite all this, we are open to any proposal that is presented to us and we are ready to consider these proposals to be positive.
--:-- Alex Ritson: The suggestion is that this plan includes the release of all hostages within 48 hours. Is Hamas willing to do that? Distracting people and the world with ideas about proposals that might be unrealistic. These proposals aim to divert eyes from the massacres that are happening in the Gaza Strip. and from this ethnic cleansing of more than a million humans in the city of Gaza.
--:-- Alex Ritson: But you can blame Hamas, which launched that operation October the 7th, killing civilians, even children, which is a clear war crime. You know, that's what started this cycle of violence. The 7th of October was a military operation with political dimensions. It was a result of the fact that the Palestinian people have endured multiple tragedies.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Gaza Strip was besieged for 17 years. Before 7th of October there were more than 5 Palestinian prisoners in the jails of the occupation Some have spent more than 40 years in their cells The Palestinian people are suffering They are the only people still under occupation and scattered across the far corners of the earth.
--:-- Alex Ritson: That's why there was the 7th of October. After all, hope for solutions was lost. The Palestinians have tried peace with this enemy for more than 33 years of negotiations. Hamas spokesman Waleed Killani speaking to the BBC's Owen Bennett-Jones.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Donald Trump's vision to end the war in Gaza was presented to Arab leaders last week as a 21-point plan. Our Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher told Bernadette Keogh how it's different from earlier US blueprints.
--:-- Sebastian Usher: We've heard from Mr Trump saying that everyone is on board. What he means by that are Arab countries. He met them during the UN General Assembly a few days ago. We didn't have much come out of that. But what's emerged since in the Arab media, the Israeli media, is this 21 point US plan, this new peace plan, which essentially is what Mr Trump is talking about, what we're hearing other people talk about more clearly now.
--:-- Sebastian Usher: It's been published fully. Some newspapers say that they've got a copy of it. And what's interesting about it is it goes to some extent further than what we've seen before. What Mr Trump himself has said is that it's not just about ending the war in Gaza, but actually trying for a kind of new future across the Middle East.
--:-- Sebastian Usher: Now, that is a small part sort of at the end of it. I think the real issue, and you heard that scepticism there from a father of one of the hostages, the sense that Netanyahu won't go along with this, that Trump won't be able to persuade him.
--:-- Sebastian Usher: And I think the major obstacles between Israel and Hamas are things that they haven't conceded on. If this deal is to go through, they will have to and more. Essentially, one shift that there's been from the vision that President Trump laid out months ago, that very controversial idea that Palestinians essentially would be leaving Gaza and be rebuilt as a big resort.
--:-- Sebastian Usher: That's not part of his plan. Essentially, it says that they should be encouraged to stay. But Hamas has to completely pull out of any role whatsoever in the future of Gaza. The Palestinian Authority at some point will be brought in after it's been reformed. The Palestinians, Gaza will be de-radicalised, according to this, and become a peaceful neighbour.
--:-- Sebastian Usher: Now, that's going to be hard for Hamas to swallow, total withdrawal and a demilitarization of Gaza and removal of other arms. They haven't accepted that so far. So that's one thing. On the Israeli side, there is talk in this of a potential path if things go well with Gaza to Palestinian statehood. that's something we heard Mr Netanyahu again at the UN General Assembly in his very impassioned speech saying that there's no way he's going to allow that.
--:-- Alex Ritson: So you know there are still major obstacles that this could all collapse on as we've seen so many times before and we have heard this kind of optimism from Mr Trump before as well of course.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Well we've seen that as you say possible deals apparently close and then disappearing. What are the possible next steps now though? Well we're going to have this meeting between President Trump and Mr Netanyahu. I think obviously the focus of it will be this new plan.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Also, I think that President Trump will have a new issue that's arisen the last few weeks over Mr Netanyahu, which is the attack on Qatar, trying to eliminate the Hamas political leadership there, which President Trump took very badly.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Today, for example, there was a release of a US national from Afghanistan and the Secretary of State Marco Rubio went out of his way to praise Qatar for the vital role that it played in that. So both politically, diplomatically, but also I think personally for Mr. Trump and his business interests and his family interests, Qatar is important and he doesn't want Qatar to be upset.
--:-- Alex Ritson: So I think he'll have some strong words for Mr. Netanyahu over that. Whether he is able to present this in a way that Netanyahu feels he has no way to manoeuvre his way out of this, I think is a huge open question.
--:-- Alex Ritson: The mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, has ended his bid for re-election barely a month before voting day. His withdrawal narrows the race to lead the United States' largest city to a three-way contest between the Democrat frontrunner Zoran Mamdani, the former governor Andrew Cuomo, and the Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa, who's now polling a distant third.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Will Grant reports. I cannot continue my re-election campaign, said Mayor Adams in a video published on social media. He was quick to blame the decision on media speculation and on a move by the campaign finance board to withhold millions of dollars from his re-election bid, saying it had undermined his ability to raise the funds needed for a serious campaign.
--:-- Alex Ritson: His decision comes amid pressure from rivals to the Democratic Party's nominee, Zoran Mamdani, who want to narrow the field against the left-wing frontrunner. They include the former governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Mayor Adams had also been standing as an independent following an indictment for alleged bribery and fraud over international campaign donations. Mr Adams had denied the charges and claimed the case against him was politically motivated.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Earlier this year, the Trump administration instructed federal prosecutors to drop the charges. However, the scandal harmed Mr Adams and any chances he had at re-election.
--:-- Alex Ritson: A former New York policeman, Eric Adams implemented a tough anti-crime policy in New York. But his relationship with the Democratic Party deteriorated during the Biden administration as he criticised the White House's immigration strategy.
--:-- Alex Ritson: His time in office has been riddled with accusations of corruption, including against members of his inner circle. And his own indictment came over allegations he had solicited donations from Turkish nationals and given favours to wealthy benefactors.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Will Grant.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Pakistan is one of only two countries where polio hasn't been eradicated despite a decades-long campaign, because some radical clerics accused the vaccine of being a Western plot to sterilise Muslim women. And now it looks like something similar is happening regarding the HPV vaccine, which protects women against cervical cancer.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Dr Saeeda Rashida Batool is the district health officer in the capital Islamabad, where take up of the new jab started off at 29% but went down to 8% after a week. She told Owen Bennett-Jones that misinformation and anti-vax conspiracy theories on social media were to blame.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Some said it's going to make the girls infertile. Then some said it's some kind of foreign agenda and it's new vaccine. They're trying on our kids. So there were multiple myths, misinformation. Then we had one video running all around social media with girls coughing and they were fainting.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Actually, it was very old video, but it made a mess. Do you have any idea who was organising that disinformation campaign? Mostly it started from Punjab province. There was like social media, young boys, young girls. They didn't know nothing. But just for the sake of few minutes of fame, that's what I understand.
--:-- Alex Ritson: And then you pushed back, the Minister of Health and yourself went on television and showed your own daughters being vaccinated. My own daughter, I got her vaccinated. And then on fifth or seventh day, the federal minister, he got her daughter vaccinated in front of media to dispel this myths and misinformation.
--:-- Alex Ritson: And did that make a difference to the acceptance rate? It really did. On 8th, our coverage went up to 45% in Islamabad, then 53%, 55%. And the second week was way better than the first week.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Well, obviously, that's a huge success and testament to your campaign. But that's Islamabad, which is meant to be a highly educated place compared to many others. If you're out in the northwest, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, presumably, then that's where the polio resistance has been strongest.
--:-- Alex Ritson: I mean, presumably people are just not taking the vaccine there. We have anti-vax here in Pakistan too, but we were not expecting this much resistance in Islamabad because mostly people are educated. But we have people from Kashmir, from KPK. People come here for medical interventions.
--:-- Alex Ritson: So people come and go This is guarding against a disease that can be sexually transmitted Is that part of it that clerics and conservatives are saying this will just encourage our young girls to be promiscuous? Yeah, most of the people like they think that you're encouraging girls towards this behaviour. So this was making things difficult.
--:-- Alex Ritson: We were expecting 90% of the target from school. It was actually only 16%. We got most of the target in community. Nurses have been shot dead trying to give polio vaccines. Are you afraid that your teams will face violence doing this?
--:-- Alex Ritson: It was going towards that, but thankfully with the intervention of politicians, then some of our religious scholars too, they made statements for this campaign. It made difference. I'm hopeful that by next week we'll get up to that target.
--:-- Alex Ritson: You say you've had the support of some clerics. Tell us more about that. From the very beginning, we made sure that the clerics and the religious scholars, they are part of our committees. In Islamabad, they didn't make any statement against the vaccine, but they said, we'll just stay quiet because they were afraid.
--:-- Alex Ritson: There was one statement from, I think, in SIN, a person in the rally made some statement, and it was, like, against this campaign. So it was from a religious party, a political party, actually. But later on, we had discussion, and they made a rebuttal. So basically, some clerics are with you, and some are against you.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Yes. And, you know, one positive thing was we had madrasas, religious schools, and we got those girls vaccinated. Dr Saeeda Rashida Batool from Islamabad.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Still to come, guess what's growing in the UK for the first time? With climate change, because we grow crops now, which 10 years ago we wouldn't have thought it would be viable. We'll be right back.
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--:-- Alex Ritson: We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now. Meaningful Beauty, beautiful skin at every age. Learn more at MeaningfulBeauty.com.
--:-- Alex Ritson: 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. However, despite that belief, more than half of those individuals say they have avoided taking medication due to concerns about potential side effects.
--:-- Alex Ritson: 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. Dr. Brown explains.
--:-- Dr. Whitney Brown: As part of my treatment plan, I offered the GeneSightTest, which analyzes how a patient's genes may influence how they metabolize or respond to certain mental health medications. It gives me insights and takes out some of the guesswork that can be associated with prescribing them.
--:-- Alex Ritson: If you or someone you love is facing challenges with depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor about how genetic testing may help. To learn more, visit genesight.com. That's genesight.com.
--:-- Alex Ritson: The activist Nathan Law, known for his role in Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy protests, says he's been denied entry to Singapore despite having a valid visa. He's been living in exile since fleeing Hong Kong in 2020 when China imposed the national security law.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Hong Kong has cracked down on democracy activists since the Umbrella Movement and put a six-figure bounty for any information leading to the arrest of Nathan Law and several other self-exiled activists. Our correspondent Danny Vincent told us more from Hong Kong.
--:-- Danny Vincent: I've seen a statement from Nathan Law that he's put out. According to the statement, he says that he applied for a Singaporean visa to go to a closed-door event in Singapore. He was granted the visa around three weeks before travelling to the country.
--:-- Danny Vincent: But despite this, he was detained when he arrived. He spent a total of 14 hours in Singapore. He fears, well, he believes that the decision to deny his entry was political, though he says it's not clear if the Chinese or Hong Kong authorities were involved directly or indirectly.
--:-- Danny Vincent: We do know that Hong Kong and Singapore have an extradition agreement. Nathan believes that that is not relevant for people that are considered political criminals. However, he was detained in the country. He was deported. And I think to many activists, many Hong Kongers in exile around the world, they may feel that this is another sign that China is potentially influencing other countries when it comes to activists abroad.
--:-- Danny Vincent: Yeah, that is the worry. Is it likely to be true? We haven't had confirmation from Singapore, the Hong Kong authorities or Beijing as of yet. But we do know what China's attitude is when it comes to activists abroad. Nathan Law is considered one of the most prominent Hong Kong activists in exile.
--:-- Danny Vincent: In 2023, the Hong Kong police issued a £100,000 bounty for information regarding his arrest. when the UK government criticised this, the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities basically accused America and the UK of harbouring criminals.
--:-- Danny Vincent: So we do know what the Chinese authorities' position is with things like this, but we don't have exact confirmation if that is the reason why he's been deported from Singapore.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Briefly, Danny, what is left of the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong now? The majority of Hong Kong's political opposition have either fled like Nathan Law or they've been arrested.
--:-- Danny Vincent: There are still ongoing court cases. The biggest court case is Jimmy Lye's case. He's the media mogul and democracy activist charged under the national security law.
--:-- Danny Vincent: Many years ago, there were protests across the city. A few years ago, when these trials began, you'd see protests outside court. Now, inside and outside court, there's very little sign of dissent in this city.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Rice is generally grown in warm and humid climates, with about 90% of global supplies coming from Asia. But as the world heats up, rice has been successfully grown in the UK for the first time.
--:-- Alex Ritson: The trial crop is part of a test to see how Britain's food supply and farming industry could adapt to global warming. Our correspondent Georgina Ranard went to see the rice plants before harvest.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Be careful because it's quite boogie in there. I once nearly fell over because my belly got stuck. Nadine is showing me the first rice ever grown in the UK. From risotto to basmati, this crop is her pride and joy and completely unique.
--:-- Alex Ritson: I'm only amazed how it's actually doing because they're big, happy, bushy plants. They're all flowering. Working on a farmer's land, Nadine flooded this field and grew varieties suited to colder places.
--:-- Alex Ritson: They just started growing and growing and growing. And every time I came here, they looked better. This is the edge of the range where rice can normally grow. But this crop flourished this summer, the hottest on record.
--:-- Alex Ritson: With climate change, because we grow crops now, which 10 years ago we wouldn't have thought it would be viable I have to admit I don't eat a lot of rice You don't eat a lot of rice I am more a potato person Oh I think if you cut us open we look like a potato inside of us We eat quite a lot of them, don't we? We do like chips.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Craig and Sarah's families have been in the Fens in Cambridgeshire for generations. But with traditional farming threatened by climate change, they want to diversify. It's on their land that the rice is growing.
--:-- Alex Ritson: We didn't think we could contemplate that once upon a time, did we? No, never. A million years. Now we've had our first year of growing it. We see that things need to change and that the future isn't stable.
--:-- Alex Ritson: We want to be able to write our own destiny and not have it decided for us. I suppose from my slightly emotional perspective, I think our legacy for our children and hopefully their children is really important to us and I want them to know that we at least try to make a difference.
--:-- Alex Ritson: We personally love the place. We're here through and through. We've been here for 500 plus years. We've got no choice but to look. Georgina Ranard with that report.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Switzerland has narrowly approved a plan to introduce electronic identity cards. Supporters say it will make life much easier for everyone, allowing a range of bureaucratic procedures from getting a telephone contract to proving you're old enough to buy a bottle of wine to happen quickly online.
--:-- Alex Ritson: But opponents argue that it could undermine individual privacy and data could be stolen. Imogen Foulkes reports from the Swiss capital Bern.
--:-- Alex Ritson: The closeness of the vote in Switzerland is a surprise. Opinion polls had suggested up to 60% backed the idea of digital IDs, which had the approval of the Swiss government and both Houses of Parliament.
--:-- Alex Ritson: But it's the second time the Swiss have had a nationwide vote on the issue. An earlier proposal was rejected in 2021 amid concerns that data would be held centrally and controlled largely by private providers.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Today's revised proposal keeps the system in government hands. Data will be stored only on the smartphones of individual users and, crucially, digital IDs will be optional. Citizens can continue to use Switzerland's national identity card if they choose.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Those changes seem to have reassured just enough voters to get the proposal for digital IDs over the line. Imogen Foulkes.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Imogen Foulkes.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has lauded India's cricket win over Pakistan in the Asia Cup final referring to the four-day conflict between the neighbours in May he wrote on X Operation Sindor on the games field outcome is the same India wins congrats to our cricketers.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Politics was never far away from the tournament itself India refused to accept the trophy from a Pakistani official. Instead, the team pretended to lift the prize. They'd refused to shake hands with Pakistan in any of the three games they played, and players from both sides made gestures on the field referencing the conflict.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Shobha Day is an author and journalist in Mumbai in India, and Talat Hussain is a journalist in Islamabad whose son plays for the Pakistan team. They spoke about the attitude of the two teams just before the final.
--:-- Shobha Day: The overall mood and the hangover of the previous two matches is too much for the teams to simply conduct themselves as if this were a normal match. And frankly, this is not a normal match.
--:-- Shobha Day: It looks to be in a war between these two countries by other means. It's, I think, important to remind our players on both sides that they're not gladiators, They're not spokespeople for the government.
--:-- Shobha Day: They're not subservient to political forces on either side of the border. What happens at the border should be resolved not by cricketers or converting the cricket field into a combat zone.
--:-- Shobha Day: They should stick to cricket to see such unsportsmanlike behavior from both sides. And I'm not sure whether they have received instructions from their respective governments to either end this kind of extremely ungentlemanly conduct.
--:-- Shobha Day: Because for a gentleman's game that cricket claims it is, it seems to be being played without minors gentlemen. It's very important to pass on the right message to younger players.
--:-- Shobha Day: Really, the governments don't have to direct the players to do this. The overall environment is totally vitiated. The two countries fought a war and it was referred to by the US president at least three dozen times.
--:-- Shobha Day: It's the talk of the town, as it were. The mood is exceedingly sour. The social media is erupting. I think while the point is well taken, players trying to resist this. But at times I sympathise with them because the burden of expectations and the burden of social media is too much.
--:-- Talat Hussain: Shobha, Day and Talat Hussain.
--:-- Alex Ritson: In golf, Team Europe have retained the Ryder Cup, taking place in New York State. The final day saw an impressive fight back from the US team, but Ireland's Shane Lowry managed to get the half point they needed to keep the trophy in European hands, before England's Tyrrell Hatton added another half to secure the win.
--:-- Alex Ritson: However, the behaviour of some of the supporters has somewhat overshadowed the tournament. The Northern Ireland golfer Rory McIlroy was subject to heckling on Saturday, which was seen as crossing the line.
--:-- Alex Ritson: I don't mind them having a go at us. That's to be expected. That's what a way what Ryder Cup is. Whenever they're still doing it while you're over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that's the tough thing. So give us the respect and let us hit shots.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Extra security was deployed to keep the rancorous crowd in check. But why has this tournament in particular seen such levels of player abuse? Brian Arman Graham is the deputy sports editor of Guardian US.
--:-- Alex Ritson: He spoke to Owen Bennett-Jones from Bethpage Black Golf Course. Well, it's calmer today. The singles spreads fans across the course, and the tone was more partisan than hostile.
--:-- Alex Ritson: There's been more visible security and frequent etiquette reminders. You still get spikes of noise, but I think we're well short of what we saw yesterday afternoon. Which was quite grim, wasn't it? I mean, I was watching a bit of it on and off, and it seemed very aggressive, a lot of it.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Oh, it was. U.S.-hosted cups have had their edgy moments in the past at Brookline, Hazeltine, Kiwa, but this crossed the line more often and more publicly. You saw players backing off shots, opponents rushing their own fans, state troopers shadowing a match.
--:-- Alex Ritson: That cocktail felt very unprecedented. Well, players shushing the fans, but also players winding them up, frankly. Yeah, I mean, you know, a lot of this is part of the sort of like the Ryder Cup, you know, the tenor of these matches.
--:-- Alex Ritson: And frankly, it's the way a lot of the organizers sell these matches as something unique in golf. But I do think this year has been different in as much as, you know, passion is welcome, but interference and abuse really are not.
--:-- Alex Ritson: How much of it is to do with alcohol? I think alcohol has a good deal to do with it. I know this year for some ticket levels, you know, alcohol was actually free for a lot of ticket holders.
--:-- Alex Ritson: You know, you know, but of course, that's part and parcel with the ticket prices, which started at seven hundred fifty dollars, you know, on a course where anybody with seventy dollars. It's a public course here in New York. So anybody with seventy dollars and a good deal of patients can play it.
--:-- Alex Ritson: But, you know, a lot of the you know, the ticket prices came with alcohol. And I think that was part of it. Brian Arman Graham.
--:-- Alex Ritson: And that's all from us for now. But there'll be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.
--:-- Alex Ritson: You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Chris Cousares. and the producers were Maren Straughan and Anna Aslam. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Alex Ritson and until next time, goodbye.
--:-- Alex Ritson: America is changing and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere. I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is The Global Story.
--:-- Alex Ritson: Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
