Trump says he thinks Russia is going to make a deal, but others are more sceptical. Also: former Philippines president, Rodrigo Duterte, appears at The Hague, and why investors resort to gold in hard times.
Chapter 1: Is Putin serious about a ceasefire in Ukraine?
You're listening to the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. Hello, I'm Oliver Conway and this edition is published in the early hours of Saturday the 15th of March. Is Vladimir Putin serious about a ceasefire in Ukraine? President Trump says he thinks Russia is going to make a deal, but others are more sceptical.
G7 foreign ministers have threatened Moscow with further sanctions if it doesn't sign up.
Also in this podcast... We will never, ever, in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States. America is not Canada.
We hear from the newly sworn-in Canadian Prime Minister. How close are we to a ceasefire in Ukraine? In the past few hours, President Trump said he felt Russia would make a deal. Pretty good vibes coming out, he said. But the Europeans and Ukrainians fear Vladimir Putin is playing for time. Here's the EU Foreign Affairs Chief, Kaya Kalas.
Chapter 2: What is the international reaction to Russia's actions?
We see now what Russia is doing. So the reactions were really not unconditional, but conditional. And of course, these conditions that have been presented are not acceptable. It also shows clearly that Russia does not really want peace. Their end goals haven't changed, and we have to keep that in mind.
Kayakella speaking at the G7 meeting in Canada. The foreign ministers there agreed a joint statement expressing unwavering support for Ukraine and threatening further sanctions against Russia if it didn't back a ceasefire. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said he was cautiously optimistic of a deal, but he was pressed on the time frame by the BBC State Department correspondent Tom Bateman.
How long does Putin have?
Well, in terms of long for what? Because there are those who say he's playing for time, but this is adding conditions, adding... Well, this war's been going on for three years, so I think the question, and with no end in sight at this point without this intervention by President Trump, the fundamental question really is not how long.
I think the question is, are we actually moving towards a ceasefire, or is this a delay tactic? I think we'll know sooner rather than later, but we're certainly at least talking about peace for the first time in three years. Now we'll have to figure out how close we truly are, and that's going to take some time.
Marco Rubio. I caught up with Tom Bateman as he travelled back from Canada as part of the press contingent and asked him how close are we to an agreement?
You have on the one hand the demand or the call for an immediate ceasefire. That's what the joint Ukrainian and United States statement says. And then of course we had the statements from Vladimir Putin yesterday which appeared to add a
And that has led to some, particularly Europeans, as you were hearing there, suggesting that this is a tactic to sort of string the Americans along or play for time. So I pressed Mr Rubio on that very point.
And as you heard him say there, that basically they believe that, first of all, that this process shouldn't be dictated by what is being said in public, but rather the contact, the private contact between the Kremlin and the Americans, which, of course, we had in the form of President Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveling to Moscow last night and talking to Vladimir Putin.
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Chapter 3: Why is Rodrigo Duterte appearing at The Hague?
Personally, I've been clear, the ministers behind me, I think to an individual, when asked, have been clear that we will never, ever, in any way, shape or form, be part of the United States. America is not Canada. Look at the ceremony we just had. You could not have had that ceremony in America. Look at the cabinet behind me. You do not have that cabinet in America. We are very different.
fundamentally different country. So irrespective of any issues economically, fundamentally to our core, to our identity, one reason why we have a minister of Canadian identity and culture. So before we get to the economics of it, we won't be part of it.
And when we get to the economics, and the president is a successful business person and dealmaker, we're his largest client in so many industries. And clients expect respect and working together in a proper commercial way. So the nature of Canada means we won't. The economics means we shouldn't.
And what you will see from this government is focusing on building here at home, building with different partners abroad, and that will reinforce the point. We're doing it for our own reasons, to be clear, for our own people, for the high-paying jobs. But eventually the truth will out and the Americans will understand as well. Thank you.
The new Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. The former president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has appeared via video link at The Hague, the first ex-Asian head of state to go before the International Criminal Court. He is accused of crimes against humanity over his so-called war on drugs, which saw many thousands of people killed by death squads during his six years in power.
The 79-year-old said he was too ill to give evidence. The presiding judge read out a list of the charges.
Murder of at least 19 persons killed by members of the Davao Death Squad in various locations in or around Davao City. B. Murder of at least 24 persons, allegedly criminals, such as drug pushers or thieves.
Relatives of those who were killed had gathered outside.
I think for us, the victims of the war on drugs, this is the first step to attaining justice under our international criminal justice system.
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Chapter 4: What are the conditions of a potential ceasefire with Hamas?
But Mr Duterte's supporters were also there calling for him to be sent home, while his lawyer claimed he'd been abducted from the Philippines. Our correspondent Anna Holligan spoke to us from the court.
he looked very tired at times during the half-hour hearing. It seemed as though he was nodding off. We heard the judges confirm his identity. They confirmed Rodrigo Duterte understood the charges against him. Also importantly, in this initial appearance, they set a date for the confirmation of charges hearing. So that's 23rd of September this year.
And at that point, the judges will hear from the defense, the prosecution and the victims' representatives. They'll have a chance to present a kind of flavor of their evidence. And then the judges will decide whether there is sufficient evidence to send this case to trial.
Now, he is the first former Asian head of state to face charges at the ICC. What is the significance of his appearance or non-appearance in the court for the court itself?
Hugely significant. And for the people, of course, here today, the people in the Philippines, especially those alleged victims of his hit squad. So according to the prosecution, we've had a look at the application for the arrest warrant.
And in that, he is accused of ordering, orchestrating, funding and promoting these hit squads, the death squads, who targeted people who were suspected of being responsible for crimes, mostly things like drug dealing and drug taking, but also other types of petty crimes, according to this application for the arrest warrant. So
The significance for the ICC of the fact that they have managed to serve an arrest warrant, have it enforced, have a suspect extradited to face justice here, to appear in front of the judges remotely from the detention facilities... all within seven days is remarkable.
And if you put that in the context of others who are wanted by the ICC, for example, Benjamin Netanyahu is really prime minister, Russian President Putin, there's little chance of those arrest warrants being served any time soon. And so this is quite a victory for the ICC, especially at a time where it's under a lot of scrutiny from some quotas.
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Chapter 5: Why do investors resort to gold in times of crisis?
And after the sanctions imposed by Donald Trump as well on the prosecutor, Kareem Khan, who was in court for this hearing today. This is quite a moment and it demonstrates really how quickly international justice can unfold when countries, the countries involved, are prepared to cooperate with this institution.
Anna Holligan in The Hague. Hamas says it will release the last living Israeli-American hostage it's holding in Gaza, along with the bodies of four other dual nationals captured during the massacre of October 7th, but there are reported to be conditions. Hamas made the announcement as indirect ceasefire talks continued with Israel through US negotiators in Qatar.
John Donison reports from Jerusalem.
Idan Alexander was just 19 and serving in the Israeli army when he was captured by Hamas during the October 7th attacks. The dual American-Israeli national is now 21. As a male Israeli soldier, it was expected that he would have been among the last hostages to be freed, but in a statement...
Hamas said it was now prepared to release him, along with the remains of four other Israeli-American hostages. It comes after the United States acknowledged it had been negotiating directly with Hamas for the first time in more than 30 years, to the reported fury of Israeli officials.
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Chapter 6: How is Iran enforcing its dress code laws?
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he will meet with his ministers tomorrow evening to discuss the matter, but accused Hamas of engaging in psychological warfare. The original ceasefire deal, signed in January, stated that by now Israel should be withdrawing its forces from Gaza and that both parties should be negotiating a permanent end to the war.
Israel has said that is no longer acceptable. The ceasefire is fragile. The health ministry in Gaza, which operates under Hamas, says more than 140 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes since the truce came into effect in January. John Donison, reporting from Jerusalem.
And still to come on the Global News Podcast... If you think about the gold bars of classical imagination, right? Italian job, James Bond, those large 400-ounce, 12.5-kilo bars, that's really the market in gold worldwide. That's what's setting the price.
Why do investors resort to gold in times of economic crisis?
On our podcast, Good Bad Billionaire, we explain how the world's billionaires made all their money.
Pop stars and tech titans, founders and filmmakers, inventors and investors, we cover them all. And for the first time, we're talking about a video game designer.
Yep, we're talking about Marcus Persson, the Swedish coding king who programmed the world's most successful game, Minecraft, all by himself.
He made a billion, but is he good, bad, or just another billionaire? Find out on Good Bad Billionaire, listen on the BBC app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Women accused of breaking the strict female dress code in Iran face being arrested, beaten and even killed. According to a new report by the UN, the authorities are going to extreme lengths to monitor women with surveillance cameras, mobile phone apps and even drones, as I heard from Siavash Adelan of the BBC Persian service.
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