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For daughters everywhere search for dear daughter wherever you get your BBC podcasts this is the global news podcast from the BBC World Service I’m Valerie serson and in the early hours of Tuesday the 12th of March these are our main Stories the US state department says it’s trying to expedite
The deployment of a unbacked multinational police force to Haiti where gang violence is dragging the country into Anarchy Ukraine’s President says 2,000 kilometers of defensive fortifications are being constructed to counter Russia’s Advance also in this podcast the notion that a great collector suddenly discovers great cashes of works of the
Russian Avon guard hiding under people’s bed in the Beller Russian Forest it’s right up there with the Earth is flat the fake pieces of Russian Art that have been sold for hundreds of thousands of Dollars the US state department says its leading efforts to help the deployment of a unbacked thousand strong multinational police force in Haiti where heavily armed gangs have stepped up a Campaign Of Violence a state department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US was in contact with the government in Kenya the country which
Would lead the mission the US Secretary of State Anthony blinkin is in Kingston in Jamaica for an emergency meeting of leaders from Caribbean Nations where a plan to speed up a political transition in Haiti is being discussed the proposal that is on the table that kcom has
Developed over the the past uh several days in consultation with uh Haitian stakeholders and consult with the United States would expedite a political transition through the creation of a broad-based independent presidential College to steer the country toward the deployment of a multinational security support Mission uh and free and fair
Elections and that’s what I expect the secretary will be discussing Henry Isaac is a journalist in Porto prince in Haiti The Gangs have uh rather calmed down in the last few hours it’s very fragile I think everybody’s waiting for what comes out of Kingston but we’re running low on
On gas on oil food food water it’s it’s a a situation that RIS becoming very difficult of course organizations such as the wfp the UNICEF Are all uh raising alarms about uh how uh the situation may aggravate in the coming hours and days so that’s why everybody’s helpful for a
Resolution or some sort of path forward at least politically to start and address the security situation but people are also very realistic about the possible outcomes as the political situation remains very very complicated it’s unclear if they will find one common ground to help the country get
Out of that political void that we’re facing right now Henry isacs in Haiti as the conflict in Ukraine grinds on the President valdimir zilinski says his country is constructing defensive fortifications 2,000 kilometers long and three lines deep he called it a massive task but said the pace of construction
Is good here’s that Ard Ukraine it appears is adapting its military strategy following an ineffectual counter offensive last year and then recent losses of territory during sustained Russian offensives Mr zalinsky called Shoring up defenses a massive task he spoke on social media of lines 2,000 km long but appeared to suggest a
Much shorter distance to the French broadcaster bfmtv he told it that the situation facing his country’s troops was now much better than over the last 3 months claiming without providing evidence that Russian advances had been halted Danny Abad the trial of a British hedge fund Trader which is being watched closely by
Tax authorities around the world has opened in Denmark sanj sha is charged with defrauding the Danish treasury out of almost $2 billion by claiming tax refunds on the trading of shares a strategy that’s become known as a comeek scheme he denies any wrong doing I asked our international business correspondent
Theo leot to tell us more about the man at the center of the trial well he’s a colorful manval he’s a British Trader who founded a london-based initially hedge fund called solo capital and then he moved to Dubai where he gained a reputation for hosting extravagant parties he led an Autism charity that
Held really high-profile fundraising events with very much a larger than life character but he’s also been implicated in a massive europe-wide Trading scam called kamx and he’s on trial in Denmark accused of defrauding the country’s government of some $1.8 billion in Lost taxes between 2012 and 2015 through this
Complex trading fraud you say it’s complex can you describe it in simple language about what it actually means I’ll do my best it’s a tax fraud that initially began in Germany in the early years of the century and it involved shares being sold just before the payment of a dividend then those shares
Actually being delivered and the transaction completed just after the dividend payment and this created confusion over who actually owned the shares when the dividend was paid and the net result was that two parties the buyer and the seller could both claim a refund on a tax payment that had only
Been made once and that’s the basis of it and this scam was elaborated you had enormous structures where huge amounts of shares were being traded time and time again with the sole purpose of getting multiple tax refunds on a tax that had only been paid once it was
Prevalent in Germany initially then they changed the law there so it moved through Denmark France Belgium Italy and Austria much of it was orchestrated from London although the British ex cheer wasn’t really a victim and those implicated they’ve included us Pension funds German banks International lawyers
And many many others and it’s thought to have cost governments across Europe at least 10 billion EUR and this man is not the only one charged over this is he no in Denmark there are I think nine people US citizens British citizens who are also being investigated but Sanjay sha
Is being portrayed by prosecutors as the Kingpin one of the real leaders he’s been attracting all of the focus and don’t forget Denmark’s been building up to this for years it’s a very complex subject this is not the first legal action that’s taken it did for example try and pursue some 100 financial
Institutions through London’s high court for repayment of lost tax in the case of Mr sha he’d been identified by wh blurs as a key figure in the trade but before he could be Tried by Denmark he needed to be extradited so there’s an extradition battle eventually Dubai
Agreed to him being sent to Denmark and the case against him of course by its very nature is very complex so we shouldn’t be surprised it’s taken quite a few years to get to this stage so this court case is happening in Denmark now you’ve mentioned other countries
Involved is this worldwide is this something lots of nations are going to be looking at closely well the fraud was largely perpetrated on European governments so it’s in Europe that we’re seeing the attention of prosecutors on a number of people many of them in the US
Some in London why I think this case is key is because it’s so high-profile and it’s a test of the legal arguments Mr sha says he didn’t do anything wrong that the Danes don’t understand their own tax laws so arguments of that nature will be tested if he is successfully
Prosecuted it will certainly energize other European governments to prosecute more people allegedly involved in the kamak scam fear legged five skiers who disappeared during a storm in the Swiss Alps have been found dead as rescue teams described finding an ugly picture when the bodies were found as we record
This podcast teams are still searching for another person from the group who all went missing around T blanch Mountain on Saturday near the matorn mountain that straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy our Geneva correspondent imagent folks tell me war we know that they set off from seat on
Saturday morning to do a very well known challenging but fine if you’re an experienced ski tour route from terat to a place called ARA up to an altitude of well over 3 and 1 12,000 M now I think the weather was quite good when they set off but they were absolutely overwhelmed
By weather conditions that even the rescue service is described as catastrophic with heavy snow and very high winds we’re going to hear from anjan truer he’s a head of Tat’s Mountain Rescue service and he can tell us a bit more about what actually happened you can imagine you go skiing
And suddenly the weather changes and it becomes bad you can’t see anything anymore and then come high winds you are up there in a socalled white out and you lose orientation without the necessary equipment and IM we understand they try to dig a cave for shelter that’s right and in fact Mr
Truer who you who you heard from there I actually talked to him last night before he was one of the people who actually sadly found the five people dead he had told me then that it’s a good possibility if they have dug this snow hole um then they could survive this
Happened a few years ago with some German ski tourers on the same route and they managed to stay warm by digging the snow hole this time it appears that they tried but weren’t able to do it and the conditions were as I said very very difficult minus 16 but also with winds
On top of that of up to 100 km an hour so the wind chill factor and they were really very high up where things went wrong for them so what about the chances of finding this missing person alive to be honest I think the Rescue Services would say at this point
Possibly not very high but you know as they say hope is the last thing that people give up so a very very risky rescue operation and very still very challenging conditions still windy still cold at least the visibility is a little bit better imagine folks it’s 8 months before the presidential
Election in America and the rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump is already in full swing both men could formally clinch their party’s nomination this week and they’ve headed straight for the most marginal state in the country Georgia Joe Biden won it last time by just 0.3% that’s fewer than 12,000 votes but
That victory in Georgia was due in large part to almost 90% of the sizable africanamerican Community there backing him yet there are worrying signs for Democrats as support among black voters has shown a significant dip in recent polls our correspondent Gary odonahue reports going door too in this Atlanta
Suburb voting rights Advocates are testing the mood among African-American voters for the upcoming election how you feel are you going to vote this upcoming election wasn’t looking at doing it okay it’s an attitude members of the new Georgia project are trying to combat and they’re finding frustration with the
Democrats on the doorstep Jacqueline Howard is a local teacher the Republicans they can say one thing and people will catch on to it you know and it it sticks and so I want us to have more on liners I do want more aggression 88% of black voters in Georgia supported
Joe Biden in 2020 but some surveys show that as many as one in four could now back Donald Trump Karen Blair from the new Georgia project says the cost of living is a big factor people do talk about the price of gas the price of food and we absolutely think and demand that
More be done from this Administration and from the next to address those economic concerns that people have across town the Cascade roller skating rink is a big community venue for African-Americans it’s also used at elections for get out the vote organizers the owner Greg Alexander says few are excited about a trump Biden
Rematch a lot of people in my community kind of feel like we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place Biden is a good president he’s not a great president and a lot of us are concerned about his age look I’m not a young guy that’s no
Secret but here’s the deal I understand how to get things done for the American people the Biden campaign has sought to address the age issue headon with the first of a number of adverts in the coming weeks here in Georgia his Focus was squarely on voters of color and we’re
Here to say simple thank you thank you thank you 2020 was the first time in more than a quarter of a century that Democrats won the presidential election here and with more than a third of Georgia’s voters coming from the africanamerican community Joe Biden knows he needs that
Support to win and cannot take it for granted 70 miles up the road Donald Trump was making his own pitch to Georgia’s black voters some recent polls have shown him with an overall lead here despite facing 13 criminal charges in the state for alleged attempts to
Overturn the result in 2020 I did more for black people than any president other than Abraham Lincoln it’s true the road to the White House Runs straight through Battlegrounds like Georgia and a handful of other key swing States expect to see many more of these head-to-head clashes between the two
Candidates in the coming months Gary odonahue still to come it’s in all our interests to protect the quality of the written word and to protect the quality of the imagination the authors whose work is being used to develop AI without their Permission hi I’m Sophia Smith gayer and I’m Sai kle and we’re the hosts of a brand new podcast from the BBC World Service where to be a woman so what’s the podcast about Sai it’s all about where in the world women are living their best lives what female Wellness
Looks like globally and what the rest of us may be able to learn from it and where can people find it just search for where to be a woman wherever you get your BBC podcasts and follow or subscribe so you never miss an episode in India a new citizenship law
Is coming into place which critics are calling anti-muslim the law grants fast-tracked Indian nationality to Hindus and five other minority religions who sought sanctuary in India from three neighboring countries but not if they’re Muslim the law was passed in 2019 but has been delayed due to protests our
South Asia editor and barisan Ean told me more the citizenship Amendment act which is a very controversial legislation that allows Indian nationality to Hindus parses siks Buddhists Janes and Christians and who fled from countries like Afghanistan Bangladesh and Pakistan only these three countries so that they can get the India
Citizenship now this is controversial because it is excluded one of the other religions uh Muslims and Islam so now that has triggered a lot of anger within India because many people fear this is only a precursor to something more Sinister by the Hindu nationalist BJP government in Delhi because then they
Will introduce the national register for Citizens that will have an impact on the country’s 200 million strong Muslim minority however the Indian government strongly rejects these allegation and says that these are persecuted minorities these six people these six groups of religious minorities from these three countries they needed
Protection and that is why we have implemented and we are not taking away citizenship from anyone so when this Act was passed when the law was passed in 2019 that sparked Nationwide protests you know students political parties activists they joined and during the clashes about 100 people were killed and
Hundreds more were injured so the government was basically extending this Law Without implementing it without announcing uh these rules what makes them eligible to become Indian citizens now just weeks before India’s national elections this has been announced once again uh triggering a lot of concerns well it’s triggering concerns not just
In India but also elsewhere because the United Nations is saying this law is discriminatory when it was passed there were widespread condemnation and criticism from the UN and other human rights groups and it’s also many Indian activists were pointing out political parties were pointing out India is a secular Democratic country and you
Cannot have one religion outside saying we are going to give nationality based on religion so that is not in the Constitution so this violates Constitution and that is why this plan has to be sheld and they also point out that this is a broader agenda of making
India more Hindu Centric and that’s why the government of prime minister Narendra Modi is implementing but the government is again flatly rejecting these accusations and insists that it was only to give those persecuted religious minorities from these three countries andan Ean c fishing involves the creation of a fake identity online
Then using the deception usually to mislead a victim into an internet-based romantic relationship or to commit financial fraud now a man from County down in Northern Ireland has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of a young girl who killed herself after he blackmailed her online Alexander McCartney who’s 25 has also admitted
More than 180 charges relating to the systematic online abuse of children using catfishing our correspondent Jennifer eriri has been following the case at Belfast Crown Court Alexander McCartney did not have to leave his home in a rural part of Northern Ireland in order to abuse children his cunning took
The form of catfishing using a fake identity to trick people into online friendships for malevolent purposes for years he deceived children into sending him sexual ual images of themselves which he then used to threaten them saying he would upload their images online if they did not do what he asked
He was himself a teenager in 2018 when a girl under the age of 13 took her own life after being blackmailed by him he was only stopped after police and Scotland acting on a report in the same year 2018 that another girl who was 12 was being blackmailed triggered an
Investigation that uncovered the scale of his activities thousands of child abuse images were found under devices seized from his home his manipulation spanned the globe with victims identified in both New Zealand and the United States McCartney has been in custody since 2019 he previously pleaded guilty to
185 charges over a period from 2 13 to 2019 involving more than 60 victims and will be sentenced in May Jennifer oi the Publishers Association has written to the world’s biggest tech companies warning them if they want to use the work of British authors to build their
Large language AI models then they must pay them three American Authors filed a class action against the chip company NVIDIA on Friday accusing it of using their copyrighted books without permission to train its Nemo AI platform Sarah monu asked the crime writer Val mcdermid how she found out her Works had
Been used by artificial intelligence I was sent a a link to a website that has been clocking the way that uh the the texts that have been used in this way uh and 147 pieces of my work including every one of my published novels has been used to train AI models would for
Example I notice it because would be some phrasing that you Ed that would pop up when I asked a question of of a large language model yes I would yes you would I mean if you if you asked a large language model to write a kirri story
For example using one of my lead characters you would have something that was recognizably kareni although it wouldn’t be anything like the quality of Storytelling I would like to say that I produce what powers do you have because it’s obviously there increasing number there authors in the states who have
Been pursuing this and now of course publishing houses here who have been getting increasingly vocal yeah I think the only redress we have at this point since the the tech companies are not particularly willing to to engage with meaningful discussions about it is to go down the legal route which unfortunately
Will take time and be even more expensive I mean it’s in all our interests to protect the quality of the written word and to protect the quality of the imagination which is ultimately what this is about um you know my my work is the product of of years of
Practice but it’s also the product of my imagination that I have come up with stories that nobody else has come up with in quite this way uh and I don’t see why that should be available to be ripped off in this way is it too
Late I don’t know I hope it isn’t too late because I I think if we go down this road what we will ultimately see as the impoverishment of the culture uh it will sideline authors who are effectively no longer needed uh and uh thus ultimately we end up with a much
Poorer culture we end up with a much poorer set of imaginative options uh I think if you put ideas broad ideas into AI models what you get are poor replicas at the moment and that will improve obviously as as the machines learn better from everyone else’s work but I
Would like to think that the human element will be missing except isn’t this the direction we’re headed it’s for example if they were prepared to pay you wouldn’t that solve your particular issue well it would solve it on the surface and that at least authors would be being recompensed for their work um
The route we’re going down with AI model is the idea that uh you no longer have to pay authors to produce something in the first place you just rip off everything that’s been done before uh feed it through the computer put a different name into it uh a different
Style into it you know say something write something something in in the style of Val mcdad and Ali Smith uh and you get something different how serious a moment do you think this is for uh writers I think it’s a very serious moment if you create a culture where
It’s no longer economically viable for people to be writers why would they write are we really at that point I I don’t want to be a sort of doomsayer but the bottom line is if you’re not being paid for what you do then you’re doing it in the interstices of what you are
Doing in order to make a living and so you don’t have the kind of focus the kind of practice the kind of daytoday learning your craft that good writers aspire to the author Val mcdermed and the BBC contacted open AI Google Deep Mind and meta for a response but didn’t
Hear back and finally more fakes than Originals that’s how one expert has described the market for Russian Art in a new documentary here on the BBC World Service hunting down an elusive art dealer who began Selling paintings in the early 2000s the program reveals fake pieces of work that have been sold for
Hundreds of thousands of dollars Gregor atan compiled this report 9:30 on a summer evening an auction in London in the 1950 and it’s a Scramble for an avangard Russian Masterpiece once banned by Stalin for half a million pound in 1 hour 2 minutes they belong to the gugenheim the demand
For these radical modern pieces after World War II also brought a wave of forgeries and it still fools buyers today James bik has spent much of his life in Russia and Ukraine as an art dealer he is one of the outspoken few to publicly question the true value of
These Works including by a Russian Israeli art dealer called lean Zak the Zach collection it’s Disneyland isn’t it the notion that a great collector suddenly discovers great caches of works of the Russian avangard hiding under people’s bed in the Beller Russian Forest it’s right up there with
The Earth is flat Leon Zach owner of the Zach collection which has pieces hanging in European and American museums and in Beatrice gel’s Home her parents bought several pieces from the Zach collection Beatrice’s family was sold a piece supposedly by the Russian Master litski a heavy weight of Modern Art after he
Died when we had the first inheritors meetings when one of the experts said that a whole range of paintings were dubious we were absolutely shocked and we didn’t believe it to start with James looked over the painting carefully it did not look good so we went to heisers
Analytical a lab which specializes in sporting fakes using AI Dennis MV is its founder on the simplified graph it’s quite clear that the magenta line representing the subject painting is really far away from the expected distribution of what we’d expect from a authentic litsky therefore I’m afraid
The painting is a forgery this was backed up by more traditional scientific analysis that found modern fibers within the paint but what about the
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