--:-- [Upbeat music fades out]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Julia McFarlane.
--:-- [Music transitions to a gentle background hum]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): In the early hours of Wednesday the 9th of July, these are our main stories. President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been holding another meeting in the White House to discuss efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two of the Taliban's top leaders, accusing them of persecuting women and girls in Afghanistan.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): King Charles has said the relationship between the UK and France is vital for preserving peace in Europe, as France's President Macron attends a state banquet at Windsor Castle.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Also in this podcast, it's a best-selling memoir which spawned a star-studded movie. But is the story just too good to be true?
--:-- [Music transitions to a gentle background hum]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): We begin in Washington. And as we record this podcast, President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been meeting again to discuss efforts to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, a day after the two leaders had dinner at the White House.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Earlier, Mr. Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, suggested an agreement between Israel and Hamas was close.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Our North America correspondent Peter Bowes reports.
--:-- Peter Bowes: This latest meeting between President Trump and the Israeli Prime Minister appears to be a last-minute addition to Benjamin Netanyahu's schedule during his visit to Washington.
--:-- Peter Bowes: Earlier, at a Cabinet meeting, Mr. Trump said the plan was to talk almost exclusively about Israel's war in Gaza, which he said they had to get sorted.
--:-- Peter Bowes: Steve Whitcoff, the US Special Envoy to the Middle East, who was also at the Cabinet meeting, said it was hoped an agreement would be reached by the end of the week.
--:-- Peter Bowes: He added that it would involve a 60-day ceasefire, with 10 hostages being released along with the bodies of nine others.
--:-- Peter Bowes: Progress towards a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has proved elusive for mediators during talks in Doha.
--:-- Peter Bowes: But it's been reported by the US news website Axios that a Qatari delegation met officials from the White House hours before Mr Netanyahu's arrival for his latest meeting with the president.
--:-- Peter Bowes: Unlike last night's dinner, news outlets have not been invited to attend the meeting.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Meanwhile, international lawyers have raised concerns about a new Israeli proposal for the relocation of Palestinians in Gaza.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, has laid out plans to move civilians in the territory to a camp in the city of Rafah.
--:-- Nick Beak: Talks may have restarted to find peace in Gaza, but war cannot be escaped, nor the Israeli bombs.
--:-- Nick Beak: A family grieves for baby Yakin and her parents, all three killed in an airstrike.
--:-- Nick Beak: Mohammed is the baby's grandfather.
--:-- Mohammed: Was she bombing Israel?
--:-- Nick Beak: A five-month-old baby targeted by a war plane.
--:-- Nick Beak: What ethics are they talking about? What ceasefire or negotiations are they talking about?
--:-- Nick Beak: If a 60-day ceasefire is agreed, Israel's defence minister believes it can be used to create a so-called humanitarian city on the ruins of Rafa in the south of the territory.
--:-- Nick Beak: Israel Katz is reported to have ordered the army to make plans to transfer all Palestinians in Gaza into a new camp.
--:-- Nick Beak: Critics within Israel have condemned it as a ruse to ultimately force the whole population out of Gaza.
--:-- Nick Beak: The British human rights lawyer, Baroness Kennedy, went further.
--:-- Baroness Kennedy: I have now moved to a position where I believe that we're now witnessing a genocide taking place before our eyes.
--:-- Baroness Kennedy: And I was very reluctant to go there because the threshold has to be very high.
--:-- Baroness Kennedy: There has to be specific intent for genocide.
--:-- Baroness Kennedy: But what we're now seeing is genocidal behaviour.
--:-- Nick Beak: Israel has consistently rejected the charge of genocide and says its ongoing mission in Gaza is to bring home the 50 remaining hostages and to destroy Hamas.
--:-- Nick Beak: But Israel has also paid a price for its resumption of military activities in March, which broke a previous ceasefire.
--:-- Nick Beak: Five more IDF soldiers were killed in an ambush.
--:-- Nick Beak: Hamas may be severely weakened, but it is not defeated.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): At least three crew members of a Greek cargo ship have been killed in an assault off the coast of Yemen.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The EU military force in the Red Sea said at least two others were hurt, including a Russian who lost his leg.
--:-- Eletra Naismith: The Eternity Sea was surrounded by speedboats firing sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades.
--:-- Eletra Naismith: Its bridge and engine room were completely destroyed before the mostly Filipino crew were rescued by a passing merchant vessel.
--:-- Eletra Naismith: The US embassy in Yemen blamed Houthi fighters for the attack, which is said was the most violent yet.
--:-- Eletra Naismith: The critical waterway has been calm for months, but this is the second attack in as many days on ships whose sister vessels have called at Israeli ports.
--:-- Eletra Naismith: It's raised fears of a renewed Red Sea campaign by the Houthis in support of the Palestinians.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for two senior Taliban leaders in Afghanistan, accusing them of persecution of women and girls.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The crimes are alleged to have happened after the Taliban seized power in the country and continued until at least January this year.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: This is a very significant development, especially for those who've been fighting for the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: Now the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for the two leaders.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: One is the supreme leader of the group Haipatullah Akhunsada and the Taliban Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: And the court accuses them of committing gender-based persecution.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: Now what the judges are saying is that while the Taliban have imposed certain rules and prohibitions on the population as a whole, they have specifically targeted girls and women by reason of their gender, depriving them of fundamental rights and freedom.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: We don't know how these arrest warrants can be implemented because the Supreme Leader, he's very secluded, he's elusive, he remains in southern Afghanistan and he doesn't travel much.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: Now, this raises a question in case of the ICC goes beyond this issue, use arrest warrants for other leaders in case of some of the Taliban foreign minister or the home minister, then it could be a problem because, you know, some of the countries which are signatory to this ICC, they are bound by the rules by taking them into custody.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: But as far as these two leaders are concerned, there is no indication they'll be travelling anywhere very soon.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: And how has the Taliban themselves responded to the news of this arrest warrant?
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: The Taliban, they have reacted very sharply.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: What they are saying is these announcements have no impact whatsoever on the firm resolve and sharia-based position of the Islamic Emirate.
--:-- Anbarasan Etta Rajan: And we do not recognize any institution under the name of an international court, nor are we accountable to it or bound by its decision.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Here in Britain, King Charles has told a state banquet for the French President Emmanuel Macron that the relationship between the UK and France is essential for preserving peace in Europe.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Speaking at Windsor Castle, west of London, the king said both countries faced a multitude of complex threats and would face them together.
--:-- James Landale: In the bright Windsor sunshine, President Macron was greeted with all the pomp demanded of his rank.
--:-- James Landale: There were marching bands and a guard of honour.
--:-- James Landale: As he and the King paraded through the town in an open carriage, followed by the Queen and Mrs Macron, the streets thronged with cheering crowds.
--:-- James Landale: Britain and France may have much in common.
--:-- James Landale: A sea, a tunnel, nuclear weapons and permanent seats at the UN Security Council.
--:-- James Landale: But they've also been divided over Brexit and a defence pact with the US and Australia that excluded France.
--:-- James Landale: Wounds that still linger in the minds of French diplomats.
--:-- James Landale: And there remain differences of nuance.
--:-- James Landale: How to manage Donald Trump, when to recognise a Palestinian state and how to stem the flow of illegal migration.
--:-- James Landale: In a speech to MPs and peers, President Macron said Britain had to address the pull factors that encourage a third of people entering the EU illegally to try to go on to the UK.
--:-- James Landale: France and the United Kingdom have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and firmness.
--:-- James Landale: The decisions that we will take will respond to our aims for cooperation and tangible results on these major issues.
--:-- James Landale: But today was all about Franco-British unity, the defence of Ukraine, the shared military cooperation, the people-to-people contacts.
--:-- James Landale: At a state banquet this evening, the king said both countries faced complex threats, but must tackle them together as friends and allies.
--:-- James Landale: I believe firmly that the job between the Kingdom of France and France is essential.
--:-- James Landale: Friendship between Britain and France is vital, he said, if the liberties and peace of Europe are to be preserved.
--:-- James Landale: The King also spoke of a thousand years of shared history and culture.
--:-- James Landale: To that end, President Macron announced the Bayer Tapestry would be loaned to the British Museum next year for the first time in 900 years.
--:-- James Landale: The fact it records a successful French invasion of these islands did not go unnoticed, but it did not seem to matter and that it would seem was the point.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): It's a multi-million best-selling book and has been adapted into a film featuring the stars Gillian Anderson and Jason Isaacs.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Are you walking the path?
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Yes we are.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): That's a long old hike.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Yeah.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Retired are you?
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The Salt Path is the story of a couple who decide to walk England's 1,000-kilometre southwest coast path after their home is repossessed.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Now the author, Rainer Wynne, has been accused of fabricating or giving misleading information about some elements of her memoir.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): An investigation by the Observer newspaper in Britain has suggested that some of Wynne's claims about her husband's illness and the events that led to the couple losing their home were misrepresented.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Rainer Wynne has denied the accusations.
--:-- Evan Davis: I started out with a load of documents from the land registry.
--:-- Evan Davis: And then through lots of phone calls, what I discovered was that Raina and Mothwind's real names are Tim and Sally Walker.
--:-- Evan Davis: And they lost their home, actually, because Sally Walker was accused of stealing tens of thousands of pounds from her employer, who was an estate agent in this North Wales town where she was a bookkeeper.
--:-- Evan Davis: They accused her of stealing over £60,000.
--:-- Evan Davis: And she was arrested and questioned by the police and then subsequently borrowed £100,000 from a rich relative of Tim Walker's, her husband's.
--:-- Evan Davis: And that £100,000 was used to pay back the money that was missing from the estate agent and cover legal costs.
--:-- Evan Davis: But then it went on their house essentially as a private mortgage.
--:-- Evan Davis: And when their rich relative's business went bust, the people he owed money to took over that debt and tried to recover it.
--:-- Evan Davis: And eventually, the courts foreclosed on their home and gave it to the people they owned the money to, to recoup their debt.
--:-- Evan Davis: But the Walkers then essentially did lose their house, as they said, but under very, very different circumstances, when in effect, Sally Walker was accused of criminal behaviour.
--:-- Evan Davis: And indeed, you've also been examining the condition which in the memoir, Moth, the husband, Tim Walker, is living with.
--:-- Evan Davis: And you find his experience there has been unusual.
--:-- Evan Davis: When I spoke to neurologists who specialise in this condition, they say they've never come across anything like this.
--:-- Evan Davis: They've never come across anyone who's lived as long as Moth.
--:-- Evan Davis: The usual life expectancy with this illness from onset of symptoms is six to eight years.
--:-- Evan Davis: It's tragically short.
--:-- Evan Davis: And Moth has been around for 18 years with this condition.
--:-- Evan Davis: He's not got any visibly acute symptoms, whereas people with that condition towards the later stages are very visibly unwell.
--:-- Evan Davis: Their body isn't responding.
--:-- Evan Davis: Quite often, they have a lot of difficulty with speech.
--:-- Evan Davis: And towards the end of their lives, they need 24-hour care.
--:-- Evan Davis: So neurologists that I spoke to were really sceptical.
--:-- Evan Davis: They said, maybe he's been misdiagnosed.
--:-- Evan Davis: But in the books, we hear that he's had lots of trips to the doctor and we don't hear anything about a misdiagnosis.
--:-- Evan Davis: I cannot prove that Moth or Tim Walker don't have this condition.
--:-- Evan Davis: His medical records aren't public and nor would it be right for me to go digging into them.
--:-- Evan Davis: But he has made the details of his condition very public.
--:-- Evan Davis: I think it's right and proper now that we do raise questions.
--:-- Evan Davis: One reaction to a memoir is, does it really matter whether it's true or not true?
--:-- Evan Davis: I mean, you know, it is a description of a couple making a journey.
--:-- Evan Davis: A lot of people found it very inspiring, and I don't know whether the truth matters.
--:-- Evan Davis: All the way along, this book has really been sold as a true story.
--:-- Evan Davis: That has been one of the major headlines behind it.
--:-- Evan Davis: And also, you know, in very big letters in the trailer of the movie that's recently come out, which is supposed to be the true story of this couple.
--:-- Evan Davis: And I think, firstly, in this day and age when truth is under assault anyway, people have really been affected by this book.
--:-- Evan Davis: They've opened their hearts to this couple.
--:-- Evan Davis: And I think telling the public that it's true in that way and putting that centre stage, it does hurt the bigger picture of truth.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): And in a statement, Rainer Wynne described the Observer article as highly misleading and said she and her husband would be taking legal advice.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Still to come on this podcast.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): When a small town in Italy announces that they're putting their houses up for one euro, they are flooded with emails.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The tempting offer of a cut-price home in Italy.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): So watch the catch.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Social Casino. Welcome to Moto Casino, where the excitement never ends.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): With thousands of the hottest free-to-play social casino games, fastest payouts, and the best promotions in the industry.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): No tricks or gimmicks.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Owned and operated in the USA.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Moto Casino is a free-to-play social casino.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): No purchase necessary.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): 21 plus to play.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Void or prohibited.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Sign up today for a generous welcome bonus.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Moto Casino.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): America's Social Casino.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Download the Moto Casino app today.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Go on.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Get a little out there.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Into the big heart of Nevada, where you can go off-road and off the map, on two lakes or on horseback.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Dip into hot springs and dive into deserts.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Climb a mountain or make your best effort.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): See thousands of stars in some of the darkest skies.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Stake out haunted hotels.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Can you make it to sunrise?
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Hi, I'm Cindy Crawford, and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Well, I don't know about you, but like I never liked being told, oh wow, you look so good for your age.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Like why even bother saying that?
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Why don't you just say you look great at any age, every age?
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Meaningful Beauty, beautiful skin at every age.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Learn more at MeaningfulBeauty.com.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): This message is sponsored by Greenlight.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): With school out, summer is the perfect time to teach our kids real-world money skills they'll use forever.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Greenlight is a debit card and the number one family finance and safety app used by millions of families, helping kids learn how to save, invest, and spend wisely.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Parents can send their kids money and track their spending and saving, while kids build money confidence and skills in fun ways.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Start your risk-free Greenlight trial today at greenlight.com slash iHeart.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): That's greenlight.com slash iHeart.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Here in Britain, an inquiry into an administrative computer scandal at the post office, which led to thousands of its employees being wrongly accused of stealing from company accounts, has published its first report.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): It outlined what it described as a disastrous human toll and criticised the post office's attitude.
--:-- Rob Watson: It's been described, Julia, with good reason, as the biggest miscarriage of justice in British history, which I think gives you a sense of why it's such an important story.
--:-- Rob Watson: It's also important because the sub-postmasters, the people running the 11,000 or so branches of the post office up and down the country where you take parcels or maybe cash your state pension if you're elderly, were and still are often at the centre of community life, particularly for those not particularly good at doing things online or digitally, Julia.
--:-- Rob Watson: Anyway, over 900 of these postmasters were wrongly accused of stealing money, some of them imprisoned, thousands more used their own money to balance accounts, and all of it due, as you were saying, to a problem with a new software system which the post office denied for years and years.
--:-- Rob Watson: And what this report does is highlight just the sheer scale and depth of the suffering of these people from bankruptcy to health problems, addictions and even suicide.
--:-- Rob Watson: And we heard a little bit about this from the Inquiries Chair just then.
--:-- Rob Watson: It wasn't just the sub-postmasters who were affected, but their families too.
--:-- Rob Watson: Yes, in addition to the thousands of postmasters affected, and it was thousands, this report considers for the first time the harm done to their children and wider families.
--:-- Rob Watson: And it's hard not to be shocked, Julia, by the stories of family heartache and breakup, even cases of children being taken away from their parents' young children when they were put in prison for theft they hadn't committed.
--:-- Rob Watson: So what this report has suggested, and the government has approved the idea, is that for compensation payments to family members, especially children whose life chances were affected by the post office's behaviour, although how they're going to prove that won't be easy.
--:-- Rob Watson: In summary, really, Julia, this is a scandal that is far from over, both in terms of the issues of compensation and, of course, the possible prosecution of senior officials at the post office, allegedly responsible for this massive miscarriage of justice.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Officials in Nepal say at least eight people have been killed and 20 are missing after flash floods on the border with China.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): 11 people are reported to be missing on the Chinese side.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Very early in the morning there was a sudden rise in the level of this river.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: It comes in from Tibet and flows through Nepal and ultimately mixes with the Ganges in northern India.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: So this had swollen quite significantly.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And then it swept away this key thread bridge between China and Nepal.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Around four hydropower stations in Nepal have been damaged.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And not to talk about debris being swept down.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And as a result, in many parts, instead of water, you'll see this brown sludge, which means there's a huge loss to the aquatic life in the river.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And also this threatens critical infrastructure like barrages, dams, down the stream.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And there's this quite acrimonious war of words that suddenly erupted over this.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Rather than arguing with each other, I have seen two different versions.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: The Chinese media have categorically said that there was this incessant rainfall in northern Nepal.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And they've also said this is very common during monsoon.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And that's why there was this flood.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: But when I checked with the Nepalese authorities, what they have told is there was no rainfall as such, neither in the Nepalese side nor towards the border area in the Chinese side in Tibet.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: So there's this question, what caused the floods?
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Now, what they've also told me is there was no early warning.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And therefore, some experts are saying this might be a case of glassy lakes bursting out in Tibet, which has happened in the past.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: But satellite imagery is, it's full of cloud as of now.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: So it needs to be clear up and then we'll know what exactly happened.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: In Nepal, it's a mountainous area.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: It's prone to flash flooding.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: But it's apparently getting worse every year.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: You talked about Nepal's topography, Nepal's geography.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: It's the same thing across the border in China.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: So all this glacial melting, permafrost thawing, and then that triggering landslides, mountains coming down, you know, and blocking rivers and so on and so forth.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Tibet, for instance, is one of those places which has seen expansive enough water bodies.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Just when, because of global warming, we are seeing water bodies disappearing elsewhere and drought and desertification.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: But Tibet, we're just seeing the opposite picture.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: There's this massive expansion of water bodies because there's this fast melting glaciers.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: All these snow-filled ice packs, they are melting.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And as a result, what happens is a small trigger.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Any avalanche, anything happens, falls into those lakes, they tend to burst out.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Again, we are not saying that was the reason, but these are things that cause floods downstream.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: Therefore, experts say all these risks are to be monitored.
--:-- Navin Singh Khadkar: And then there has to be this transboundary management of river systems, early warning and so on and so forth, particularly where you have critical infrastructure downstream.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): A court in Pakistan has ordered YouTube to block or remove 27 channels accused of violating a controversial law against fake news.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Several of the accounts belong to prominent local journalists.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Others are linked to the party of the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan.
--:-- Azadeh Moshiri: Government has previously said the law is aimed at hate speech, misinformation and any content that could incite violence.
--:-- Azadeh Moshiri: But rights groups such as Amnesty have called it draconian.
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Now, ever thought about escaping to the Italian countryside?
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): It's a scheme that's been running for several years.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Small Italian towns are selling dilapidated old houses for one euro in the hope of attracting international buyers and stimulating economic growth.
--:-- Lauren Markham: When a small town in Italy announces that they're putting their houses up for one euro, which is generally the starting price, they are flooded with emails, like hundreds if not thousands of people inquire.
--:-- Lauren Markham: So it's incredibly popular.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Certainly once people understand the catches, and there are a number, they don't always follow through.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Every town does it somewhat differently, but generally there is some commitment that you're required to make to restore and renovate whatever property you're buying.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Some towns require some kind of residency in Italy so that it's not just, for instance, a vacation home.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Some towns really are looking for people not just to fix up these tumble-down properties, but really bring life back into depopulating towns.
--:-- Lauren Markham: You know, people who will buy the food and attend the events and help restaurants stay open or new ones open.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Some places have actually asked that if you come, you launch some sort of business or some sort of social enterprise for the community.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Yeah.
--:-- Lauren Markham: What are local residents making of this influx of foreign buyers?
--:-- Lauren Markham: It really depends place to place.
--:-- Lauren Markham: And I would also say it depends on when in the lifespan of the one-year house scheme you talk to them.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Often at the beginning, there's a lot of suspicion.
--:-- Lauren Markham: I talked to the mayor of one town and some folks from that town who recounted that at the beginning, a lot of residents felt like, oh, you're selling off our properties like they're nothing.
--:-- Lauren Markham: You're making us a discount town.
--:-- Lauren Markham: I think in general, that suspicion has ceased now that those properties are sold.
--:-- Lauren Markham: New life is in the town.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Businesses that were on the brink of collapse are able to run.
--:-- Lauren Markham: So I think for the most part, there is a sense of toward the completion.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Many people seem to feel, even the neighbours, right, relatively happy that the house next door is not kind of falling to ruin.
--:-- Lauren Markham: But at the same time, I think that there is a sort of forlorn sense that this era of our town is gone, that these new people are ushering in a new era, which even if there's like hope and optimism around that, there's also, of course, I think, a sense of mourning.
--:-- Lauren Markham: It's also not just Italy.
--:-- Lauren Markham: There are other countries experimenting with similar schemes, aren't there?
--:-- Lauren Markham: Yes.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Greece has sort of flirted with the idea.
--:-- Lauren Markham: Japan is selling homes.
--:-- Lauren Markham: I mean, if you're on Instagram, I would be surprised if you haven't at some point come across the like, this town in Spain will pay you, you know, 5,000 euro to live there if you have a child.
--:-- Lauren Markham: So it's happening all over the place.
--:-- Lauren Markham: We are facing a global population decline.
--:-- Lauren Markham: These rural towns have a hard time keeping their young people and attracting people to move there.
--:-- Lauren Markham: So they're looking abroad to sort of say, okay, can we get the remote worker or can we get somebody who has money or can we get someone who has a flexible life and can live half the year here to help keep our town afloat?
--:-- [Soft music continues]
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): If you want to comment on this podcast or any of the topics covered in it, you can send us an email.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): You can also find us on X at BBC World Service.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Use the hashtag Global News Pod.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The producers were Liam McSheffrey and Alfie Habishan.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): The editor is Karen Martin.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): I'm Julia McFarlane.
--:-- Host (Julia McFarlane): Until next time, goodbye.
--:-- [Music transitions to a gentle background hum]
--:-- Asma Khalid: America is changing.
--:-- Asma Khalid: And so is the world.
--:-- Asma Khalid: But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval.
--:-- Asma Khalid: It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.
--:-- Asma Khalid: I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C.
--:-- Tristan Redman: I'm Tristan Redman in London.
--:-- Tristan Redman: And this is The Global Story.
--:-- Tristan Redman: Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet.
--:-- Tristan Redman: Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
