Trump: US will be Iran's 'worst nightmare' if there's no peace plan

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1:03here. They scale here. Not culture or business. Culture and business. Puerto Rico. It's not what's next. It's where. Visit investpr.org forward slash business. Hello and welcome to NewsHour Live from the BBC World Service in London. I'm Rebecca Kesby. Today, President Trump repeated his claim that Iran is, quote, begging to make a deal now that they are, in his words, militarily obliterated. His comments made at a cabinet meeting came as the Iranian news agency Tuss Nim, which is affiliated with the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, reports that Tehran has responded to the US's reported 15-point peace plan, though for days Iran has denied that any negotiations as such are taking place, which airing the session President Trump had this to say about the Iranians. They are begging to make a deal now me. They're begging to make a deal. They're not fools. They're

2:07very smart, actually, in a certain way, and they're great negotiators. I say they're lousy fighters, but they're great negotiators. Well, the US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the military campaign so far is a pure American success, but Iranian missiles have continued to land in the region, and US ground forces are still en route to the Gulf. We'll look at the military situation in a moment. First, let's focus on the diplomacy, and we're joined live now by Chief International Correspondent, Lise Du Sett, who's in the studio. Lise, first of all, what do we know about this 15-point plan and the response, and is it any different to what they were talking about before the war erupted? Yes, there is a suggestion that this so-called 15-point plan is actually a rehashing of a plan as way back as May 2025, and that was before the June War, the June, 12-day war in June, and then since then we've had another war. There was a 15-point plan that was released. It's not clear whether it was the actual one, because actually at least one

3:08of the items was repeated twice about the Boucher nuclear power plant. But from what we understand, if that is the plan, it is a surrender document, and it's absolutely maximalist demands of the United States, and one has to assume of Israel as well. Possibly some input from Arab Gulf states, and Iran simply cannot accept it. And similarly, Iran's fine foreign plan is one that the United States cannot accept, and it is in the manner of negotiations that you do start off with maximalist positions. But at this point in this war, it underlines just how vast the gaps are and how deep the misunderstanding is, not to mention the depth of mistrust. So there's been confusion all week as to whether these talks were happening and how they were happening, whether the Pakistanis may be involved. In the past few minutes, we've had another truth social media post by President Trump saying that the pause in the period of energy plant destruction is now going to be 10 days from now April the 6th. He's saying, and he's talking

4:13about how well this is going, and that it's not being reported properly by the fake news media, he said, what do we read into those comments? Both sides say the other side has been defeated. Both sides say the other side is desperate for a deal. And President Trump uses the form, they're begging me for a deal. Now, as you say, he's just come out and said, and I'll read as per Iranian government request, in other words, they're desperate for a deal. So they have asked for an extension, and he has agreed because he says, despite what the media is saying, that in fact, these talks are going very well. So it's for another 10 days, which will take it to April the 6th. What is good about this is whether you, there is a disagreement as to whether or not this is really talks, messages are certainly being passed. But what is important is that a channel has been opened, and they're giving time for proposals to be swapped back and forth. And we, from what we understand, these indirect talks are going largely through Pakistan, through the Army Chief,

5:17Field Marshal Assumounir, who has cultivated a very close tie, very close ties with President Trump. And it seems he also knows Mohamed Baghraq Ali Bahf, the, who we understand the speaker of the parliament, who also held top roles in the security establishment in Iran, who is the person when President says we're talking to a top official. Good to see you. Thank you so much for the latest there. That's our Chief International Correspondent Lee's due set. Well, the Pentagon has confirmed that around 2000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division are on their way to the Gulf. That's on top of four and a half thousand Marines expected to arrive there. And does that make some kind of U.S. land incursion in Iran inevitable, or at least possible, probable at this point? It's a question I put to Brian Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former senior U.S. naval officer. I think that there is a likelihood of a ground incursion. I think one of the challenges the U.S. faces is opening up the straight-ahour moves. It will be extremely difficult,

6:18unless you could put boots on the ground to go secure locations along the coastline, because of the number of places you can hide drones and weapons along the Iranian coast means that you're going to have to search house to house and be ready to respond whenever those threats come out. Unless they can get the Iranians to agree to some secession of hostilities, the U.S. will have to put some kind of troops out there to maybe secure those locations. And I think the bigger threat is going to be use of weapons against U.S. troops once they get ashore. And so, I mean, if you were still serving, how confident would you be about the planning behind any potential land incursion? Because, I mean, we've already heard from President Trump. He says nobody was anticipating Iran would respond in the way that they have. He seems to have been surprised by the way things have happened. Yeah, and all the wargaming, and we've done several wargames. I mean, we've done wargames that Hudson Institute, and I've also done wargames when I was in the Navy on Iranian scenarios. And they all involved eventually, the Iranians closing the straight-of-her moves. So this was a

7:20foreseen circumstance. I just may not be that the current team maybe didn't raise that to the president as something that was likely to happen. But in all the wargaming I've done, this is where they end up going, as they eventually closed the straight. Is that credible, though? I mean, is it credible that his advisors wouldn't have told him that this was a possibility? They may not have made it clear that it was a high potential. They may have downplayed it potentially, thinking that the Iranians would be cowed, like they were in previous strike operations. They'd pay back down a couple of previous times. They may have thought they would back down again this time. But when you are on operations in uniform and you're carrying out a campaign such as this, how important is the language coming from the leaders? Because we've also been hearing from the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who repeatedly says no mercy will be shown to the enemy. He talks about stupid rules of engagement, which has got many people quite worried because that doesn't sound particularly American.

8:20You know, Americans take prisoners. But we know that when that warship was sunk, rise at the beginning of the war, it's thought that American servicemen allowed those Iranians to drown. There was no attempt to try and rescue any survivors. There's a separation between the rhetoric you hear at the political level and how the uniform people actually operate. Because the military still retains a pretty strong targeting system to try to avoid hitting civilian targets and making sure they're minimizing casualties, that's still in place. I mean, all that is sort of baked into a lot of the way that the military does things at the uniform level. So I think a lot of times this rhetoric that you hear at the political level is disconnected maybe from how the military folks are actually operating. But I think there are certain circumstances where it does play out like, for example, that submarine attack on the ship where it's sort of a political decision whether you go and try to rescue survivors. And clearly, the ship was prevented from doing that. So in some cases, this political rhetoric does

9:22break that pass over that gap. But most of the time, it doesn't. But doesn't that actually put American servicemen potentially in a difficult position because you've got Emma flying over hostile territory, you know, could easily be shot down by the enemy and end up behind enemy lines. And if they're hearing all, you know, stupid rules of engagement, no mercy from the leaders of the United States, what's to stop the Iranians from having the same policy? Right. I mean, that's always the challenge and that's in the past why we haven't had leaders convey those kinds of sentiments is because we're concerned that the enemy would start applying that same idea in his own operation. So that's traditionally been why you haven't heard that kind of rhetoric out of the political leadership. But also, I think, to a certain degree, you kind of expect that in this case, enemy forces might be fairly aggressive in other kind of treat prisoners just because of the way this war is played out. Attacking civilian power plants technically would

10:24contravene the Geneva conventions, wouldn't it? Correct. Yeah, it would. So any service personnel ordered to make those strikes, doesn't that put them in a difficult position and potentially a one where they could be liable for war crimes? It depends on which power plants you hit. I mean, it gets into a lot of intricacies regarding what those power plants are used for. For example, in past wars, countries have attack power plants because those power plants might be supporting a war industry. So there are times when attacking civilian energy infrastructure might be a valid set of targets because they're militarily relevant. That's the that's the question you would get into is are they attacking civilian energy infrastructure independently of its military value? Or are they doing it as part of a larger military operation? That's Brian Clark from the Hudson Institute, former senior US naval officer. Well, footage and interviews obtained by the BBC do give us an insight into the experience of Iranians living through this war as the BBC's Fergal Keen reports.

11:31A man feels the shock waves of missiles striking nearby. From his balcony, he sees the tracer fire bright red against the dark blue of the night sky, another night under fire into Iran. It is a city of fitful sleep where the barking of dogs signals approaching destruction. We've been able to obtain testimony from several ordinary Iranians in different parts of the country. To protect them from official retaliation, we've changed their names and used other voices to speak their words. I'm afraid that one day the war will end and something good will not have happened. Mariam is an artist who's long struggled with the lack of freedom as a woman and a painter, but she's decided to stay despite the dangers of war. Some of my friends left Iran. I stayed to see what will happen. I didn't want to go far away. I wanted to stay here,

12:31observe and if I can build something can produce something. The problems I have are the same problems as all people. Basic needs. I cannot provide them. Each morning brings a ritual of grim transformation. Not just security bases, but homes, shops, offices in rubble. Streets filled with shards of steel. Weary civilians cleaning up the mess made in a war they did not choose. Pro regime demonstrations, portraying a united nation are the only ones allowed. Any dissenters would be swiftly silenced. But at home, with family, with friends they trust, those who oppose the regime are willing to share their feelings. My father, who until 20 years ago would have given his life a harmony, after his death brought sweets home to celebrate. This man, we're calling him Mahmoud, is furious with what's happening to his country.

13:35They are a group of savages with masks, chanting with loudspeakers, guns and vehicles, constantly moving through the streets, shouting. And everyone is at home, worried, afraid. With satellite signals full of noise and disruption and no internet, they've blocked the roads, they intimidate every car they see and behave however they want. That report using testimony and footage from inside a ran put together by the BBC's Furgle King then. Still to come, the UK government is considering asking foreign tourists to pay for entry into British museums and galleries to improve funding for the arts. But is it a good idea? I believe there is a sense of, you know, charging tourists because like, it's not for free. People have to understand that everything has its price and people have to do it their bit.

14:42But not to high, I believe. Would you pay to come here? Yes, because in Germany you have to pay for everything, for every gallery, for every museum. So we will come to pay. More on that to come and our headlines this, our Iranian media says a response has been sent over Donald Trump's proposal to end his war as the US president extends his pause on strikes targeting Iranian energy sites. This is Rebecca Kesby with News Hour Live from the BBC. Next we head to Cuba in the grip of a nationwide cute energy crisis. There are rolling blackouts so severe. Even hospitals are struggling to provide basic emergency and intensive care services. UN Chief Antonio Guterres has warned of a humanitarian collapse if the situation continues. The energy crisis has been caused by a near total US blockade on oil reaching the island.

15:47It follows the US attack on Venezuela in January. And Cuba has been totally dependent on Venezuelan oil for years. Now, the president of Cuba says that 94-year-old Raul Castro, former leader and brother of Fidel, is involved in talks with the US to try to break the deadlock. So will it work? Rory Nichol is a journalist with the Guardian and I asked him how significant Mr Castro's involvement might be. It's interesting that the Castro is right at the middle of these discussions because for a lot of Cubans in Miami, the Castro's are anathema and they want them gone. At the moment, we don't know that much more about them. Except there is the option of an economic style deal that would leave the authorities here broadly in place as rumours that they would like to the president who's called Miguel Diaz Canal. It's not a Castro. They were hoping that he might step down. The Americans are certainly hoping that. But it does seem if Raul's involved then the hope is that there's some sort of economic deal that can be done.

16:51I mean, he is retired now, isn't he? He's 94. But what kind of power or influence does he still have in the country? Huge, absolutely huge. It's been interesting over the last few weeks, watching various Castro's come to the fore. And it does seem very much that they are still holding a great deal of the levers of power in the country. And is anyone talking about regime change? As we know, Mr. Trump does like that idea in other countries. Clearly, Donald Trump wants to do a deal in Cuba that sees the transition to at least a more liberal economy. And he does seem to be prepared to countenance the Castro's still in power. That will be a very bitter pill for Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, to swallow because he has the son of Cuban immigrants. He has really committed much of his career to trying to dislodge the Castro's. And certainly, it will be appalling for the Cubans in Miami. They're all set to have huge parties if the Castro's full. And Rory, just in terms of how badly affected ordinary people are,

17:51I mean, we've heard that there have been some sort of protests as people have been worried about the cost of fuel, whatever fuel there is. What are the conditions like? What resources there are have been directed in large part towards the hospitals to try and maintain at least some semblance of healthcare. The situation is very odd in that there's not much transport, but there's food. If you can afford it, there is a big change between the rich and the poor now. But what I'm really noticing is the level of anxiety amongst the population is just off the scale now. Nobody knows what the future holds. Is it going to be a transfer to more liberal economies still under the Castro's? Or is it going to be a situation that we go into the summer when it gets very hot? And that we protest and what that might mean. Of the ordinary Cubans you've managed to speak to so far, what are they telling you about how they're surviving? But if you've got money from abroad, you can go and shop. If you don't have money from abroad and if you're one of the sort of 50% of the population

18:54that is employed by the state, you're really, really in trouble. I take my small son to kindergarten and you used to never see beggars and just on the street outside his kindergarten I get asked for money by three people the other day in less than five minutes. Often those people that you're asking for money are very elderly people trying to maintain their dignity. They'll often offer you something from their house. It's awful because these are the people that built the revolution. They've got an enormous amount of dignity and their desperate. Journalist Rory Nichol in Cuba there. Now the stages of life bring different challenges, experiences and needs and in society we all have to live together whichever life stage we're at. Could we be doing that better? Well a new exhibition here in London explores experiences and perceptions of human aging all the way from adolescence to older age. They do it through art, science and popular culture. It's called The Coming of Age and opens at the Welcome Collection in London.

19:56My colleague Jane Hill was shown around by the curator, Shamita Sharma Charja and began by looking at some beautiful objects from Japan. The very first objects when you enter the exhibition are a pair of silversake cups and they're a kind of object that are given to people in Japan in the year that they turn 100. Now when this practice first started in 1963 only 153 cups were given out that year but by 2014 over 29,000 cups were supposed to be given out in that year alone at the cost of about 1.2 million pounds in the Japanese government. So the scheme was stopped and there was a public outcry so then they reinstated it using a smaller nickel alternative. Let's walk around sadly we can't look at every single thing in a fairly sizable exhibition but explain what we're looking at here because it looks to me like a very thin bone, almost like a cane. So we're looking at Charles Darwin's walking stick

21:00and on the top is a skull with bright green eyes. Charles Darwin used to call this his walking maturi or memento mori meaning it was a reminder that one day we all must die. This walking stick is next to a contemporary artwork by an artist called Daphne Wright and it's of a Zimmer frame and the Zimmer frame is actually kind of paired all the way back to its core and covered with unfair play so it looks incredibly vulnerable. I just thought it was really interesting that in the 19th century Charles Darwin's walking stick was like a symbol of erudition whereas Zimmer frame today is not seen in the same way. So we're looking at a very unusual artwork here. So this is a ceramic series called Wild Apple's by the artist Serena So we're walking into a circular space and all around a scattered apples and in and amongst the apples there are three roughly hune kind of tree trunks that are top of which are three

22:04ceramic figures. Serena. All women. All women. Yes so Serena really was looking at experiences of menopause. Serena was very interested in the type of object that we have in our collection here at welcome called the anatomical venuses which were the 16th century teaching tools that were used to teach men about women's bodies and so Serena was really turning that medicalised male gaze on its head and her figures are standing up and they are bearing their lived experiences of their bodies. Well we started with the beautiful Japanese sarkeballs and as we come to the end of the exhibition something else I can tell clearly from Japan what is this? That's right so we're looking at a display of objects from the restaurant of mistaken orders which is a social enterprise in Japan where all of the floor stuff of this restaurant have dementia. So I think the idea is about embracing imperfection so you can see in the logo of the restaurant this is the English

23:08version of it it says restaurant and mistaken orders and the K is on its side but the idea is that you know Japan is this country that is kind of famed for its precision and attitudes towards work and actually thinking maybe not everything has to be perfect and it's about fostering understanding. What would you like people to take away at the end of this exhibition? What are your thoughts about aging? How we all view older people? Do we value older people in their experience enough? Is it throwing up those sort of questions? What I would really like for this exhibition is for people to come away kind of just thinking about their own experiences and reflections on aging throughout their life course from you know kind of adolescence to middle age and becoming older but also kind of having a really realistic view of age and seeing that there are challenges and benefits to each stage of life. Shamita Sharma Charja they're speaking to the BBC's Jane Hill the

24:09coming of age opening at the Welcome Collection in London. At Amika Insurance we know it's not just what's inside your home that matters it's who you share it with that's why we work even harder to protect it and as a mutual insurance company we're built for our customers. We prioritize your needs and are here for you when you need us. Amika Empathy is our best policy. Visit amika.com and get a quote today. Craving the coffee flavor you love but without the caffeine kachavas got you covered with their newest coffee flavor this all-in-one nutrition shake delivers bold authentic flavor crafted from premium decaffeinated Brazilian beans with 25 grams of protein 6 grams of fiber greens and so much more treat yourself to the flavor and nutrition your body craves go to kachava.com and

25:12use code news new customers get 15% off their first order that's KAC HAVA.com code news Join Wharton professor Katie Milkman an award-winning behavioral scientist and author of the best selling book How to Change as she shares true stories from Nobel laureates authors athletes and everyday people about why we do the things we do and how to make better choices to help avoid costly mistakes each episode covers the latest research in behavioral science and dives into themes like the power of self control shaping your mindset for success navigating new beginnings and why starting over can feel so hard listen to choiceology at Schwab.com slash podcast or wherever you listen. Finding great candidates to hire can be like well trying to find a needle in a haystack

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27:21the Philippines has declared a state of emergency over the fuel crisis but other countries are also hit by the knock on high prices across their economies will bane has been speaking to businesses in the region if gas prices continue to rise and may start driving a tuk tuk and working construction instead that will be better since I'm not making any income the war in Iran may only be weak but it's already shifting the economic reality for workers right across Asia whether they be driving a tuk tuk in Cambodia or reading the news in Thailand we're reading the news we always have to wear suits and ties so I discuss with the net team that we could set an example and corporate with the government so we started a program and took off our suits sending a signal to the puppet that does could help yes the sky high cost of energy sparked by the war is having unusual consequences with even office attire seemingly being sacrificed that newsreader on Thailand's main public broadcaster was responding to recommendations from the government there to tie

28:24citizens to try and save energy that included not turning the air conditioning down below 26 or 27 degrees Celsius and as a result well they didn't want sticky workers in their suits and hope the newsreaders could set a trend for a more casual look it's just one of the ways many countries across Asia have been responding to the energy crisis to why our Asia's economy so exposed Doris Lu is an economist based in Malaysia 84% of oil that bus through the street of hormones goes to Asia 83% of LNG that bus through hormones goes to Asia so in the sense Asia is very energy dependence and so suddenly Asia countries find themselves out of these sources the effective blockade on the straight of hormones isn't just causing supply disruptions and shortages of oil and gas the shocks flowed all the way through to the price of Vietnam's national dish the noodle soup beef foe that's according to this restaurant owner in Ho Chi Minh City not only beef but prices for every ingredient for fernodore like vegetable, lemon,

29:27acesterole have increased since the petrol price so in my restaurant it costs just 30 000 Vietnamese don't but bolder for but I'm planning to increase the price to 35 000 Vietnamese don't but bold in the coming day. Malaysia is often referred to as the workshop of the world with many of the world's biggest exporting nations calling the continent home as a result any shock in terms of input costs there could have far reaching ramifications Moody and Rubel is the owner and regional managing director at Denim expert limited a garment manufacturer in Chidagon Bangladesh It is a total supply chain disaster right basically the price will increase for everyone around the world than every product of the world more or less I believe so. That report by Will Bain there speaking to businesses across the Asia region and you can hear more on his report on business daily you can get the podcast just do a search for business daily wherever you get your

30:29podcasts you're listening to news our live from the BBC on Rebecca Kesby next let's head to New York because the former president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores have been appearing in court there they were seized by US forces in January and now stand accused of a variety of drug trafficking charges Mr. Maduro has been denied access to Venezuelan government funds to pay his legal fees which his lawyers say is a violation of his constitutional rights well there've been some scuffles but lots of protesters outside the court house pro and anti Maduro protesters gathered there well this is what some of Mr. Maduro supporters had to say outside the court

31:40we expect that the United States if it's true justice exists there's a trial that leads to the freedom of president mature because that kidnapping harmed the main principles of rule of law and we want justice well on North America correspondent Nedta Feek has been outside the court and I asked her about the charges Mr. Maduro is facing Nicholas Maduro is charged with narco terrorism and drug trafficking here in the federal court in New York and essentially they accuse him of this conspiracy to work with groups that the United States has designated terrorist groups like the FARC in Columbia and working with them to import cocaine into the United States and this original indictment actually dates back to 2020 and so this has been the justification in which the United States says they seized Nicholas Maduro and his wife and brought them here to the United States to face those charges and I can also note that his son and a

32:40current sitting minister of justice and interior are also defendants in that case so in terms of his defense team what are they saying and can you tell us more about how he's been denied access to the government funds to pay the legal fees is he going to struggle to pay them now well this was really the majority of what this hearing today was about this 90 minute hearing because before both sides can get to even weightier issues in this complex legal case Nicholas Maduro's lawyers say they have to be paid and they say that it is his constitutional right to be able to not just have a lawyer because there are court appointed lawyers but to have a lawyer of his choosing and really it was interesting to hear the judge essentially agree with the defense on that point because prosecutors said that sanctions barred the Venezuelan government from being able to basically bankroll his legal fees and they said those sanctions were based on national security concerns but the judge said actually the fact that the defendants are now in federal detention

33:44means they pose no additional threat and there's also the situation where the U.S. government is now working with Venezuela's government selling oil he pointed out that the Strait of Hormuz even makes that more of a concern at the moment with the two countries cooperating even further so here the judge said actually the paramount issue is the right to defense and so he asked the government for suggestions on how to remedy that if he rules interesting stuff and I mentioned there's quite a lot of people outside the court and we understand they're both pro and anti Maduro protesters what can you tell us about the mood there yeah that's right we saw that in January as well for the Maduro's first court hearing and it was really interesting to me that inside it was actually much more subdued the atmosphere last time Maduro yelled out that he had been kidnapped that he was the president of Venezuela today he didn't speak he was very quiet his appearance hadn't changed much but outside of the courthouse was where there was some real drama you have Venezuelans who are happy they say that he is facing justice they are against Maduro and they were playing

34:48loud celebratory music trying to drown out a separate crowd that said that they were there protesting against U.S. imperialism and they won in Maduro freed and at one point a few punches were thrown at one of the men that came from the anti Maduro side to the pro Maduro side so you can just see how the emotions are still high around this case that's the BBC's net attack fake outside the court earlier well since Nicolas Maduro was seized by U.S. forces Venezuela's government has been working with Washington opening up oil and mining sectors to for an investment and releasing some political prisoners but beyond all the political shifts how much has actually changed for Venezuelans our South America correspondent Ioni Wells reports from coastal communities in northeastern Venezuela the off the coast of sucre one of Venezuela's poorest states is where the U.S. military action against Venezuela started these strikes on small alleged drugs muggling boats now responsible for killing more than 150 people started months before the U.S. special forces

35:52raid on Caracas and the seizure of Nicolas Maduro now with Maduro appearing in court in New York the U.S. and Venezuela say change is coming but here in sucre then one believe it here in the coastal town of Whirrier many families tell me their relatives were killed in the boat strikes well morning I got up as usual thinking he was fishing I found out that news on social media Dianis Noriega a mother of five tells me her husband Luis was one of them it's cool the kids were telling my daughter that her dead was blown up on a boat she fell into depression the U.S. claim those on board were narco terrorists but hasn't yet offered evidence Dianis tells a different story poverty pushing ordinary fishermen to take these jobs poverty she says the military action can't bomb away since Maduro's arrest there are already some tangible changes in the nation's capital Caracas but the release of some political prisoners

36:53hezuz Armas who worked on the opposition's last election campaign was detained for 10 months before his release in February they told me they used plastic bags and put these plastic bags all over my face in January 3rd was a really big step it's not enough we want the investment of the U.S. we want the investment of the international companies and we want democracy now here on the coast jobs are scarce and shortages are common cues of cars stretched from miles in the capital Kuma now waiting for fuel and people have had no water for two weeks not even for flushing the toilet in the fishing town of Waka the first delivery of cooking gas since December has just arrived in the world's most oil-rich nation this fishermen Pablo Marín can barely afford fuel average salaries are less than $200 a month and yearly inflation of nearly 500 percent last year makes his earnings in Venezuela's currency worthless 10 years ago money had value now you're paid in cash and it's worth nothing

37:59in another country in Ecuador a family could make 500 dollars catching 100 kilograms of fish pay for fuel and still have enough leftover for food here if you catch 100 kilograms of fish you would have to find another 100 to cover your expenses so you're left with nothing just off the coast here the oil company shell has signed deals with the U.S. and Venezuelan governments for a huge new gas project since Maduro's arrest Jumarri Martinez a resident from a local family of fishermen has hopes the local area will benefit it's unclear whether these offshore projects will employ local workers will lead to investment onshore we're hoping for a new change a new improvement new projects and that new opportunities will be offered to the fishermen to the Venezuelan people as a whole this part of Venezuela in superfield feels miles away

39:03from the political bubble of Caracas with all the torque of new mining and oil deals that poverty the economic crisis destitution are all very embedded in this part of the country and even with the talk of new foreign investments quite literally on the horizon here prospects of real change for people still feels very distant I only was reporting from Venezuela well here in the UK general entry into museums and art galleries is completely free for everyone and has been for the past 25 years you only have to pay for some special exhibitions but now the government is considering charging foreign tourists and entry fee they say to help fund the arts in the country the British Museum here in London gets around six and a half million visitors a year so we asked some of them what they made of these new plans I believe there is a sense of you know charging tourists because like it's not for free people have to understand that everything has its price and people have to do it their bit but not too high I believe

40:09would you pay to come here yes because in Germany you have to pay for everything for every gallery for every museum so we we will come to pay so what does all this mean for the museums I spoke to Karen Hinsboe interim director at the tape galleries is this a good idea this particular suggestion would not be my way to go for for tape for instance we actually did do some calculations a little while back and it would not be a financial benefit for us at all it would actually be a loss because of the added spending from the visitors they give donations they buy coffee they buy the catalogs etc etc so there's an additional have spent for each visitors and since we have such high numbers at tape the overall result would be a loss and then I think obviously you also have to consider that the museums they are actually also a reason for tourists to come in the first place and does it matter how much people are charged I mean if it was a fairly reasonable amount do you think that would still put people off even going to the museums

41:15it's still a barrier there's something with the free entrance that may get so open and so accessible and so accommodating so even a modest fee would reduce number significantly right I mean this is a problem that many countries across the world have to grapple with and other countries they maybe have one fee for local people one fee for foreign tourists some allow students to get in free I think the French art galleries allow artists to get in free I mean is there something that could be done around that yes of course that it's also just enough for levee of a tourist levee and if you invite that in the UK that's been done in several other countries and cities around the world and it's in Europe at least and that seems to work quite well and if you ring fence that for the museum that that would be quite a significant contribution but I think I would also maybe reverse this this argument because it's very financial but there's something in granting everyone free access the UK has some of the best collections in the world

42:18and the thought of just like having complete free access to them to the cultural inheritance to like the DNA of the UK I think that's such a glorious thought and also I've been working in in other countries and I've been working in Oslo and in Copenhagen and and and it's looked upon with admiration yes but some might argue that it is a bit of a luxury at the moment given the financial situation of the UK at the moment and it wasn't always the case that museums in Britain were free I mean I think it came in fairly recently back in 2001 under the last Labour government and before that people were paying to get into museums and art galleries but what it did result in it was so many more people went to see the UK collections and also I'm not sure about the financial benefit overall I'm not sure it's not the only museum at all that would not benefit from this financially and we also have to remember when the

43:20tourists come they do also spend in other places so they's quite a significant I don't know financial ecosystem around all of this as Karin Hinsbo their interim director at the Tate galleries all of which are very good speaking to me about the proposal to start charging foreign tourists and entry fee this is Rebecca Kesby with News Hour Live from the BBC now the International Olympic Committee has introduced a blanket ban on transgender women taking part in any female categories across all sports it follows various controversies in Olympic sports not least the women's boxing event at Paris Games in 2024 where some competitors protested in the ring making double X signs with their hands and arms after reports that two people taking part had previously failed agenda eligibility well now the IOC says it's bringing in one-off gene screening tests which will be used to

44:21determine eligibility for all athletes his IOC president Kirsty Coventry speaking earlier today today we the International Olympic Committee have published a policy on the protection of the female category I understand that this is very sensitive topic as a former athlete I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition the policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart the scientific evidence is very clear male chromosomes give performance advantages in sports that rely on strength power or endurance at the Olympic Games even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat so it's absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category well for more details I spoke to Tarek Punger global sports correspondent at the New York Times and first he explained how this test would work the test the IOC says is pretty straight forward

45:26it's cheek swab or a blood test really and it'll be it'll be a one-off test and that will determine whether athletes can compete in the female category right so it lasts for a lifetime and it determines whether there's any why chromosome as part of somebody's blood makeup I think is how it works that's right yeah absolutely yeah okay so this is a little bit of clarity then because it doesn't stop trans athletes taking part in the Olympics I think they're still eligible to take part in whichever categories they chromosomely would be allowed to take part in but it does kind of get rid of this idea of testosterone levels which was a thing for a while yeah this is this is a really big deal because really the kind of controversy and all the debates were about the female category you're right to say it doesn't stop transgender athletes from competing in sport they can compete in the male category or in some cases in the mixed category

46:31because you also have those at the Olympics but the the hot potatoes always been the women's category and this has come under Kirsty Coventry who was elected as the first woman to lead the IOC last year and she made protecting the female category a big part of her platform then and reiterated that today in a news conference afterwards so it is it is in a sense anyone with a why chromosome in the most broad sense can no longer compete in women's sport at the Olympics and this also includes athletes like Caster Cemenia these are the so-called DSD athletes differences in sexual development who appear to have a blanket ban here with with a very narrow exception so yeah it's a big day yes there are some very rare cases where some people may have xy chromosomes and may not be aware of it for much of their their childhood I think that's where Caster Cemenia's case

47:36came in there but it's also a point of clarity because there have been sports within the Olympic family that have had different rules for competing I think cycling made a ruling some years ago swimming as well but this I guess unifies everybody at the Olympics yeah it does and it also is part of you know the broader debate here and on gender and sex that has been taking place in the last I don't know five years that has become quite tribal in its nature and here is the IOC now taking a lead where it comes to sport people have been asking them to do that and you're quite right in that other sports have already had rulings on this I would say that the kind of first mover in this space in terms of a big sport was trekking field athletics they were very very categoric with their latest policy last year in which it's this it's this cheek swab test or a

48:41blood test and the white chromosome effectively is is banned from women's sport so here you have the IOC almost following its its lead and the cursory commentary the IOC president did thank those other sports for participating in what they have done with their own policy however there are big question marks about this the IOC has insisted this is science led but hasn't produced any of the science that has led to this decision or told us which medical experts they have used for this process that's taric punger their global sports correspondence at the New York Times finally capybaras are the world's largest rodents in reality they look like very cute giant guinea pigs they also love water and this is what they sound like

49:52so they are native to South America but now the hunt is on in southern England because a capybara has escaped from Marwell Zoo in Hampshire Samber made a break for it nine days ago leaving behind her South American compatriot tango local people are being asked to keep a lookout for Samber and Laura Reed chief executive of Marwell Zoo is hoping to tempt her back we have got an area of land surrounding the itch and river in Hampshire where we believe she might be hiding out and this area is not only private land but it's also not that far from Southampton Airport so we want to get thermal drains up we've got a drone pilot going out tonight quite late from 11pm just to scan another area so they've got thermal imaging on the drone and then they can hone in and see if they can see anything but obviously in the dark we are just dependent on the thermal so it's very difficult though because the shape and size of a capybara is very similar to the shape and size of a munch up deer and we have a lot of those in Hampshire in this particular area so it's a process

50:53of elimination obviously we had the footage from Sunday and a sighting on Monday so she's got food she's got shelter she's by the water we you know certainly she was and we don't see any reason why she would have strayed away from water now she's found it because that's where they feel safe and secure and she has no natural predators so there's no reason for us to believe that harm would have befalled her so we are still remaining optimistic and we are still being everything into our efforts to find her. Laura Reed there and Samber still on the loose I'm told they are vegetarian and pose absolutely no threat to locals no doubt lots of people are down by the river having a good look for Samber in case they can find her that's it for this edition of News Hour from me and the whole team in London thanks for joining us. Warning the following zippercruder radio spot you are about to hear is going to be filled with efforts when you're hiring we at zippercruder know you can feel frustrated for Lauren even like

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