IDF says it will investigate the deaths of Palestinian civilians near an aid distribution centre in Gaza on Tuesday
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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Jackie Leonard, and in the early hours of Wednesday, the 4th of June, these are our main stories. The Israeli military says it will investigate the deaths of 27 Palestinian civilians near an aid distribution centre. It's the third such incident in as many days. There's been anger in the Netherlands at the decision of the far-right leader Geert Wilders to bring down the coalition government. And Lee Jem Young, the man set to be South Korea's next president...

has promised to unite a divided country after his convincing victory. Also in this podcast, how China is censoring online mention of today's anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. People say I'm 46 years old, their post will just be completely wiped from the platform. Can't post an emoji of a cake because it represents a birthday, an anniversary.

The Israeli military says it's to investigate the reported killing on Tuesday of 27 Palestinians near a US-backed aid distribution centre in Gaza.

A government spokesman, David Mensah, earlier denied that Israeli forces had targeted civilians. He said that IDF troops had fired warning shots towards people who were approaching them. Our soldiers identified several individuals who were deviating from the approved access route. Now this occurred approximately half a kilometre from the aid distribution site.

Now, our troops diligently issued warning shots. And as some of the suspects continued, despite these warning shots, advancing towards the troops in a threatening manner, further fire was directed near these specific individuals.

In the Gaza Strip, local officials say that dozens of people were also injured in the incident in the city of Rafah near the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation distribution centre. These people spoke to the BBC Arabic service Middle East Lifeline programme.

I arrived at the food distribution point at five in the morning, hoping to bring food and water to our family. I never imagined what I would witness there. The checkpoint opened at six o'clock. Suddenly, gunfire erupted from all directions. What did we do wrong? We're not connected to Hamas or any political leaders. We're just civilians struggling to survive in the ruins of our homes.

By day, we rush our children to hospitals. By night, they sleep on the rubble. Why is this happening to us? We're exhausted, helpless and forgotten. An Australian doctor, Ahmed Abu Suaid, described the scene at the emergency department of the nearby Nasser Hospital.

These are civilians who went to get, again, for the third day in a row, civilians that went to get something to eat and they were attacked. We've seen gunshot wounds to the head and the chest, as I said before. The hospital resources keep getting choked by lack of supplies and lack of resources and lack of space. And my message to the world is that these people need help. This needs to stop. It's not a political message. It's a humanitarian message. They need food. They need aid. They deserve their right to live.

The UN's human rights chief, Volker Turk, has called for an independent investigation, saying the killings may constitute a war crime. And now the United States is saying there's room for improvement in the US-backed relief effort in Gaza. Our Middle East regional editor is Sebastian Ascher, and he spoke to us from Jerusalem. What happened is a repeat of what happened on Sunday morning when large numbers of Palestinians who had been

heading towards this aid distribution site in Rathrem, south of Gaza, received heavy casualties. On Sunday, it was around 31 people who reported to have been killed, around 200 wounded.

And today, similar figures. And again, you know, we're getting those reports, not from Hamas sources, but from the hospitals, from the field hospitals, from the International Red Crescent, from the doctors who are treating the Palestinians and who are saying that they had bullet wounds. Now, what we can't be so sure about is what the cause was of their wounds, of the deaths.

The Palestinians, the eyewitnesses, the people who came to the hospitals, to the field hospitals with their relatives either alive or wounded, put the blame 100% on Israeli troops saying that they were being fired on from all directions, that tanks were involved, that quadcopter drones were

We're firing down at them. What we are hearing from the Israeli side, as you played out, there is a different story. This time, different slightly from Sunday, when the Israeli forces didn't say that they'd actually fired at people who were there. This time, we're hearing that they did fire at people

people who were suspects and who were moving towards him in a threatening manner. Now, there was a press conference from the IDF spokesman after David Mensah spoke. I mean, the only thing really new that came out of that was to say that they are going to mount an investigation into what happened. But with the record there's been with the Israeli military before, I don't think that we're expecting to hear anything too soon that will change the version that they're putting out.

What are the key issues with the GHF system and what do they say about the incident? I think the biggest issue, which the warning came from the UN, from other aid agencies, which have been doing this for a long time, is that those aid agencies were essentially running hundreds of distribution sites and were going to the places when they could. Often they couldn't, but when they could, where the Palestinians are this.

way of doing it is I think there's only three distribution sites at the moment open in Gaza. That means tens of thousands of people have to gather. So, you know, incidents like this are likely to happen. Very briefly, I think this at the distribution site is really where the key of it stands. The

The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has essentially said that nothing has gone untoward. It's been without incident where they are. What they're saying is the zone where they are is fine. It's outside that where it's still a battle zone where these deadly incidents are happening.

That was Sebastian Ascher in Jerusalem, and since he spoke to us, the US and Israeli-backed organisation involved in the food distribution, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, says it will halt its operations on Wednesday for what it called organisational reasons, but would resume on Thursday.

Ukraine's security service has confirmed that its agents carried out an operation to sabotage the Kerch Bridge, which links Russia to occupied Crimea. The SBU said the underwater explosions caused no civilian casualties. The road and rail bridge is a key supply route for Moscow's forces and has been targeted on two previous occasions since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. From Kiev, here's Paul Adams.

The SBU said the attack on the Kerch Bridge had been planned for months. It said agents planted the equivalent of more than 1,000 kilograms of TNT underwater to damage the bridge's foundations. Video footage from early this morning appears to show the moment of detonation. Traffic was halted for a few hours, with the bridge reopening soon afterwards, but it was briefly closed again this afternoon amid unconfirmed reports of a second explosion.

The Kerch Bridge was opened by President Putin with great fanfare in 2018, following Russia's annexation of Crimea four years earlier. Ukrainians, who still claim Crimea as their own sovereign territory, have long regarded the bridge as a symbol of occupation. When the SBU exploded a truck bomb on one of its spans in 2022, the news was greeted with euphoria across Ukraine.

This operation appears to have been less successful, but coming hot on the heels of Sunday's spectacular attack on Russian aircraft, it sends a clear message. Despite Russia's overwhelming strength in numbers, Ukraine is developing a whole range of capabilities and is very happy to keep the Kremlin guessing about where and how the next ingenious attack will come. That was Paul Adams.

Next to the Netherlands, the far-right politician Geert Wilders claims he'll be elected the next prime minister. He was speaking after he collapsed the Netherlands governing coalition, prompting the current prime minister, Dick Schoof, to resign. Mr Wilders had demanded the government sign up to tough anti-immigration measures and left the coalition when it refused. His coalition partners said most of his demands were already government policy and his actions were irresponsible.

With the government in the Netherlands now in meltdown, our correspondent in The Hague, Anna Holligan, has this assessment. This coalition was a marriage of convenience that seemed destined to end since the start. It was characterised by infighting and struggled to push through many of the policies it had proudly promoted and promised the country. It was made up of two centre and two hard right parties.

Mr Wilder's decision to torpedo the government has been met with a

fiery response from his former coalition partners. One said he was putting his own ego ahead of the national interest. Another said it was a kamikaze move and irresponsible, coming just weeks ahead of the NATO summit, which will be held here in The Hague. However, Mr Wilders, Ger Wilders, appears to be emboldened. He made a statement earlier saying that he would be the next prime minister of the Netherlands. So what are his chances? Well,

According to the latest polls, the hard right, his party, the PVV and the green left seem to be neck and neck. So Dick Schoof, the prime minister, shared a picture earlier going up the red carpeted steps to the palace. He submitted his and the rest of the cabinet ministers resignation to the king. And it's likely there will be snap elections in the autumn. Anna Holligan.

The tech billionaire Elon Musk has stepped up his criticism of Donald Trump's planned tax and spending bill, calling it a disgusting abomination. In his strongest criticism yet of his former boss's plans, Mr Musk said they would swirl what was already a gigantic government deficit. A White House spokeswoman said the president would not change his position on what he calls the big beautiful bill.

If passed by the Senate, it would provide big tax cuts for the wealthy, boost spending on defence and immigration enforcement, and increase the US budget deficit by trillions of dollars over the next nine years. Paul Henley spoke to Emily Brooks, who reports on the US House of Representatives for the Hill political website in Washington, D.C. So what's her assessment of Mr Musk's words?

Elon Musk is saying that he cannot stand it anymore. He's saying this big, beautiful bill, as it is officially called, of President Trump's top legislative priorities on tax cuts, boosting border spending and defense spending, along with spending cuts to some social safety net programs.

is a disgusting abomination. And he said, shame on those who voted for it. You know you did wrong. You know it. And so those would all be...

House Republicans who voted to pass the bill last month. Right now it is in the hands of the Senate. And he is referencing the spending projections and revenue projections that show this bill would add trillions to the deficit over the course of a decade, accounting for the cost of extending those tax cuts

Although it does cut spending in other areas, according to these projections that we've seen from several places, it is going to add to the deficit, despite Republicans saying that it won't. But they're not convincing Elon Musk. And how much will the public rebuke concern Mr. Trump? The White House did respond to this. Caroline Levitt, a

press secretary from her press briefing minutes after he said this. And he said that the president already knows where Elon Musk stands on this bill, doesn't change the president's opinion. So, you know, it is an interesting and delicate dynamic here. Elon Musk last week stepped away from his special government employee status with Doge, the government cost slashing company.

presidential agency created that was sort of his brainchild. But, you know, he said that he's still going to be involved, a friend of the administration. They had this big press conference saying that, you know, trying to keep Elon Musk in the fold here. But, you know, it is complicated because this is going to be Republicans' turn.

top legislative achievement, if they can get it across the finish line, that Republicans and the president are really trying to say is great. It's going to include some of Trump's campaign promises, like ending taxes on tips and overtime. So definitely complicates it that the world's richest man and a top ally is trashing it. That was Emily Brooks of the Hill political website.

In South Korea, the opposition candidate Lee Jae-myung has been declared the winner in Tuesday's presidential election. It was a clear rejection by South Koreans of the former president's failed attempt to impose military rules six months ago. In his victory speech, Mr Lee promised to lead the country beyond the recent political turmoil. The first mission that you have granted me to overcome...

the insurrection and not to threaten the civilian with the weapons that shouldn't be used against the people. Our correspondent Shaima Khalil spoke to us from Mr Lee's victory party in Seoul.

The Democratic Party rally feels like a big street celebration. Supporters of Lee Jae-myung have been chanting his name, saying, for real this time, and let's win together. There are supporters waving the party flag, others with the South Korean flag. Chants and cheers erupt so loudly we can hardly hear ourselves. There are rows of supporters with blue hats and glowing blue headdresses. They're sat in front of a big screen carrying signs that read, we believe in Lee Jae-myung.

This is Mr. Yi's second attempt at the presidency. He lost by a very thin margin to now impeach President Yoon Suk-yool three years ago. He promised his supporters this time that he'll reward their loyalty with a win. This snap election that is ushering Mr. Yi to power was the result of the fallout of Yoon's failed martial law declaration on December 3rd. On the big screen just opposite me, organizers replayed footage from that day, which triggered one of South Korea's worst political upheavals.

This election has been so charged.

For voters, this was not just about choosing a new leader, but also about restoring confidence in their democracy. There are so many challenges facing the incoming president. An ailing economy with slow growth, negotiations on Trump tariffs, balancing the relationship with Beijing and Washington, and the ongoing threat from North Korea and its continuing nuclear weapons program. But one of the new leader's biggest challenge, and his most urgent perhaps, is unifying this deeply polarized country. That was Shaima Khalil.

Today is the 4th of June. It's the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing. In 1989, the Chinese army opened fire on students who were peacefully protesting for democratic freedoms, killing and injuring hundreds, perhaps thousands. The BBC's Kate Adie was one of the few journalists who witnessed the events first-hand.

The troops have been firing indiscriminately, but still there are thousands of people on the streets who will not move back. Kate Adie in Tiananmen Square in 1989. Well, since then, China has strictly censored any discussion or mention of the massacre, especially on social media. Extra measures were brought in ahead of the anniversary, as we heard from our China media analyst, Kerry Allen.

So, for example, the number four six represents the 4th of June. That might be censored. So if people say I'm 46 years old, their post will just be completely wiped from the platform. Actually, on this anniversary, one of the things that happens that's quite unusual is that even candle and cake emojis are removed from social media platforms like Sina Weibo.

So you can't post an emoji of a cake because it represents a birthday, an anniversary. You can't post an emoji of a candle because that's a common way of marking your respect to somebody that's died. And it was 36 years ago. There is no sign of relaxing the measures to stop people talking about it, is there? There isn't, no. And if anything, I think China's growing its global reach in preventing people talk about it. So one thing that used to happen is...

Some people might go to Hong Kong, which had a well-known vigil in Victoria Park. But in 2020, a national security law was introduced in the city and people began...

people began feeling fearful that they might be persecuted and seen as dissidents. So these common vigils have stopped happening or people feel more fearful that they can take part in them. But also China's grown its media reach more globally. So previously people used to have more trust in

independent media. But nowadays, you've got outlets like CGTN that spread state media messaging, or in this case, don't mention Tiananmen whatsoever, that are growing influence in areas like Africa. So it is the case that even when people travel outside of China, they're seeing media that they would see back in China that very much gives the impression that this is not a story. That was our China media analyst, Kerry Allen.

Still to come... It's one of the earliest Union flags. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been flying from a ship in action. A rare naval flag flown on a ship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 is going up for auction.

The US Special Envoy for Syria, Thomas Barak, has said that Washington is to reduce its military presence there to just one base. The comment follows an announcement in April that the Pentagon is to halve its current deployment of 2,000 troops in Syria following the reduced threat from Islamic State remnants.

Last month, President Trump announced the lifting of all US sanctions on Syria, six months after the former president, Bashar al-Assad, was ousted by Islamist rebels.

When the former rebels, who now rule Syria, came to power in December last year, they immediately dismantled the old regime's security forces. Overnight, about 500,000 Syrian soldiers, police and intelligence officers, even some civil defence workers, lost their jobs.

Many of those sacked were guilty of atrocities, but many others probably weren't. Tim Huell reports on how they're living now and whether their discontent poses a threat to Syria's stability. I went to many factories asking them for a job. They all refused.

because I was in the army. I'm in a scruffy rented flat in Damascus, sipping tea with a man called Talal. We've agreed not to give his full name.

He's one of about half a million former members of dictator Bashar al-Assad's security forces, army, police and intelligence, who were all summarily dismissed after rebels overthrew the regime last December. It's really hard to describe how difficult the situation for me right now. Like other former soldiers, he now has no regular source of income. But he says he never wanted to join Assad's army, he was forced into it.

We knew what was going on. It was really unfair what the army is doing. But in my case, I cannot really leave or I cannot speak even because I know the intelligence will be interrogating my family and arrest them.

Talal served with the elite Republican Guards. Human rights groups have accused some of their commanders of committing atrocities. But Talal was a junior officer, and he says he did nothing he's ashamed of. My job is protecting Damascus International Airport and the villages surrounding the airport.

And it was a clear order that we cannot shoot unless it's necessary. Tawal is so confident of his record, he's taking us to a village where he used to serve.

There's more and more young men kissing and embracing Talal. He's a very good guy. He's top. Were there a lot of people like Talal in the army, did they think? Yes, a lot of the national guards were good guys. They were invited to our weddings, so not everyone is committing crimes. All just...

Too good to be true? According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, more than 200,000 people were murdered by Assad's forces.

But Kilman Abuhawa, who is investigating mass graves around Damascus, says not more than 15% of regime servicemen intentionally committed crimes. There are courts, so the guilty should be prosecuted. The innocent should get their jobs back. And according to Nanar Hawash of the international crisis group think tank, it's not just a question of justice. Dismissing 500,000 abled men...

who are experiencing a 14-year high-intensity civil war, this creates a fertile ground for an insurgency, a ticking time bomb. In March, Assad loyalists attacked forces of the new government on the Mediterranean coast, heartland of the Alawite minority that President Assad belonged to. The uprising was put down, with hundreds of Alawite civilians murdered.

but could former Assad officers attack again?

Nanar Hawash draws a parallel with Iraq after the overthrow of its dictator, Saddam Hussein. His security forces were also dismantled, and gradually many ex-soldiers took up arms against the new government, joining the jihadi group ISIS. The consequences in Iraq didn't really happen overnight. They took around two years to start, and I see the same kind of trend in Syria. In the end, exclusion...

Repression will fuel an insurgency. I tried and failed to get an interview with the new Syrian government, headed by the former rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, who are still designated as terrorists by some Western states. It's hard to know if they'll gradually soften their policy towards servants of the old regime, but for now those ex-officers are a large section of Syrian society and their position is very precarious.

That report by Tim Huell. Now, it's a case that has caused outrage across India, the death of a 10-year-old rape victim in the eastern state of Bihar, allegedly after a delay in medical treatment. An editorial in the Times of India entitled Bihar's Shame highlighted her story. The girl's uncle says the child had to wait hours before being admitted for treatment. The hospital has denied the allegations.

The girl is from the Dalit community, which is at the bottom of the Hindu caste hierarchy. The BBC's Sanjay Dasgupta has been following the story and began by telling us about the extent of sexual abuse of Dalit women and girls. And I should warn you, you might find some of this distressing. Within that community, as elsewhere in India, the reality is that the women are the worst off.

Now, here is one bit of statistics. Facts do not necessarily always tell the whole story, but a disturbing surge of 45% in reported cases of rape against Dalit women in the five years between 2015 and 2020. Latest data reveals about 10 incidents of rape against Dalit women every year.

every day in some corner of India or the other. And what can you tell us about what happened to this particular 10-year-old girl? In this case, this 10-year-old Dalit girl was found in a pit in the district of Muzaffarpur in Bihar with 20 knife wounds, raped, brutally assaulted.

She was taken initially to the local hospital in Muzaffarpur, treated. This happened on the 26th of May. On the 30th, the local doctors decided that this was beyond their capabilities and the facilities they had. So they referred her to the capital, the state capital, the Patna Medical College Hospital, which is even today one of India's premier hospitals. Here, the girl's family says she was kept in the ambulance outside the hospital waiting for three hours.

And she was admitted only when the family kicked up a fuss, only when local politicians from the opposition got involved.

And what does the hospital say? What do the hospital authorities say? And what does this tell us about the state of health care in Bihar? The hospital in Patna, the authorities, they have denied the allegations. They have said that claims that there was a delay in admitting the girl are baseless. Now, the state of health care in Bihar, as elsewhere in India, there is a two tier system. If you have the money, if you are well off.

If you can afford private health care, private health care in India is state of the art. Western tourists go to have their knees replaced, to have cosmetic surgery. In much of the real India, the hospitals are understaffed.

There is a lack of medicine. Very often there is a lack of equipment. Some of the equipment doesn't work. There is, in many cases, a lack of doctors and nurses. And while even by those standards, what has happened to this girl is gruesome. That was Sanjay Dasgupta.

Now to the Philippines, where the health ministry has suggested that a national emergency should be declared over an alarming surge of HIV cases. An average of 57 new HIV cases are now being documented daily, most of them young men. Our Asia-Pacific editor is Mickey Bristow.

The Philippines government suggests that since 2010, rates have gone up by a whopping 500%. And that's people getting infections and dying from HIV, AIDS related illnesses.

The government hasn't been specific or directly explicit about what the reasons are. There are, however, doctors who have suggested reasons behind this. The first one is the stigma associated with disease and that prevents people coming forward to be vaccinated.

and then diagnosed and then received treatment. The Philippines is also predominantly a Catholic country and the use of contraceptives, particularly condoms, is frowned upon and condoms help stop the spread of the virus. Another reason is that

They're using online dating apps where people can meet up and have sex more casually, more frequently than before. They're not using condoms. And so that's part of the reason as well. And what sort of demographics are seeing the highest infection rates? Mostly we're talking about young men under 34 contracting the HIV virus by having sex with other men. That's the main group of people infected.

So why is it that the health ministry is pushing for a national emergency declaration now? I think a national emergency will firstly focus attention on this growing problem. It would also unlock national funds, would also increase education campaigns, programmes to kind of teach people about safe sex, about the dangers of

What sort of help is available for people who have been diagnosed? The health minister did touch on this point. He said essentially that there's lots of treatments which can keep people alive for many, many decades. They're available through the health providers in the Philippines, people who have ordinary insurance. So it's not beyond health.

people's ability to go and get this help. What the health minister wanted to do by focusing on this issue is to kind of make people aware that it exists. And it's a really big problem in the Philippines. There's lots of people who officials believe aren't even diagnosed, perhaps as many as half of the people living with the virus. That was Mickey Bristow.

Next to Panama, where the world's largest banana-producing company Chiquita has made large layoffs amid an ongoing strike. Workers have been on strike for more than a month as part of nationwide industrial action protesting at new social security laws lowering pensions. The government has branded the strikes illegal and said the sackings are the result of workers' intransigence. The company says it has already lost millions of dollars.

Alastair Smith is the founder of Banana Link, an organisation working for fair trade in the banana industry. Rebecca Kesby asked him for more details on the industrial action in Panama.

So there's a nationwide strike that was initially called by teachers and construction workers unions. And the banana workers joined it because they're protesting against a bunch of reforms that, according to them, reduce the benefits under the Social Security and pension system.

And there's a number of issues around the sovereignty of the Panama Canal also in the package. So the banana workers joined this national strike because one of their key benefits that they negotiated over the last few years was around their pensions. And the government reformed that. So they came out on striking sympathy with that whole package. OK, but it's a huge employer, isn't it, Chiquita? It's a very big employer. Yeah. So how significant is all of this then? Yeah.

it's the only major employer. There are really no other alternative jobs. If people are suspended and finally laid off for good, then there really are no alternatives for those people and for their family members who depended on that income from banana work over many, many decades, well over 100 years the company's been there, in fact. Yeah, and in

In terms of the whole of the Panama economy, how much of a hit would that be? Last year's about one-seventh of all exports were banana exports, and Chiquito being a very large percentage of that export.

So it's very, very significant. The announcement that Chiquita intends to lay off the rest of the workforce is out of desperation because they haven't been able to find a solution to the strike that satisfies the trade union. Alastair Smith, the founder of Banana Link, an organisation working for fair trade in the banana industry.

Now to matters maritime. Let's go back in history as a British fleet faced the combined navies of France and Spain on the 21st of October 1805. Its commander, Admiral Lord Nelson, ordered that a message, now famous, be sent up in flags. England expects that every man will do his duty.

Bolstered by that message and by Nelson's tactics, Britain went on to rout the enemy and secured the seas for Britain for generations to come. Now, a Union flag from that battle, if not that particular message, has been valued at nearly US$1.1 million, or £800,000, and it's going up for auction next month. Johnny Diamond asked Maggie Sumner, a vexillologist – that's a flag expert, but I expect you knew that –

Why is this one so special? It's a very, very rare survivor. It's one of the earliest Union flags. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't have been flying from a ship in action. It was purely on the behest of Admiral Nelson that the flag was flying that day as further identification for his column of ships.

It's a flag that's bearing the scars of battle. So it's an almost unique survivor. There are only three such flags surviving in the world. I guess a fair number of people would have, I don't know, wandered through an empty church and seen some of the old regimental flags, maybe Union flags hanging from there.

This one is really quite different, though, because of its age and because of where it was. Yes, it is clearly of national importance, as are many of the flags that fly now in our churches. Flags inherently are a very fragile object.

So to survive for over 200 years is unusual. They're shredded by fire, they're cut up as souvenirs, they're attacked by moths, they fade in the light. You can imagine the problems that they face. The vexillologist, a word we just don't use often enough, Maggie Sumner.

And that's it from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later. If you would like to comment on this edition or the topics covered in it, do please send us an email. The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Just use the hashtag globalnewspod.

This edition was mixed by Caroline Driscoll. The producers were Liam McSheffrey and Peter Hyatt. Our editor is Karen Martin. I'm Jackie Leonard and until next time, goodbye.