Janet Jalil

Carla Conti. The news from Gaza in recent times has been relentlessly bleak. Large swathes of the territory remain in ruins, with people living in tents and struggling to get basic supplies following Israel's devastating war against Hamas in the wake of the October 7 attacks three years ago.

But this next story is one of hope, because two teenage girls and sisters have won an environmental prize awarded by a Geneva non-profit organisation, the Earth Foundation. Tala and Farah Musa have been crowned the regional Middle Eastern winners for the Foundation's annual Earth Prize for a project that turns rubble into reusable bricks. And they're in the running for an overall global award. Dani Eberhard has the story.

Danny Eberhard.

Suomessa, Irlannissa, Neuvolassa, Iisalassa ja Sloveniassa on poikottanut kontestin protestissa Israelin kaupungin Gazaan. Journalistin ja Eurovision-expertin Daniel Rosny oli arenaissa Austriankapitalissa Vienossa ensimmäisen semifinalin jälkeen. Hän antoi meille yöpäätöksen yöpäätöksen alussa.

10 out of the 15 who performed this evening have qualified to Saturday's grand final. Five that haven't are Georgia, Portugal, Montenegro, Estonia and San Marino. But those that did qualify are Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania and Poland. And I've been covering this event, getting on for 10 years now. And not since Tel Aviv hosted Eurovision in 2019,

olen nähnyt niin monia israelilaisia tyyliä esityksessä. Täällä on paljon israelilaisia tuottajia. Israel on valmistautunut. Israelin yksityisyydestä on paljon protesteja. Kuten sanoit, viisi puheenjohtajaa on pysähtynyt. Katsomisesta katsojille katsojille on kuullut israelilaisen ääntä. Israelin sopimuksen ennen, kun Eurovision organisaatiot sanoivat,

Se kertoo, että Eurovision oli kuvaamassa luonnollisen ääntä yksilöiden mikrofonien aikana ennen ja aiemmin. Yksi yksilö, joka oli lähellä mikrofonia, ääntä ääntä ääntä ääntä ääntä ääntä ääntä

Ja kolme muuta ihmistä oli myös poistettu arenaan turvallisuuden takia. Ja koska nämä viisi puheenjohtajia on pysähtynyt, se on saanut kloota tämän vuoden eventtiin. Se on 70. Eurovision Song Contestin edistys. Se on vuoden 2003 suurin osa maailman Eurovisionin osallistujia. Eli brändi on todennäköisesti pysähtynyt.

Mutta katsojat, 50% tämän iltapäivän valinnan, ja valinnan jäsenet ovat päättäneet, että Israel tarvitsee paikallisen keskustelun. Mutta Suomessa on yksi suurimmista katsojista, jotka eivät ole osallistuneet tänä vuonna. Ja se on Israelin vallan takia. Ja se on ollut vaikeus katsojille, koska kuinka paljon se sijoittaa taloudellisesti. Ja niin on paljon puhuta siitä, mitä on suurimmat viisi. Ja ne ovat ne katsojat, jotka yleensä tekevät katsojia.

...automatically qualify for the final. And the minute you start to talk about money, that is when the organizers get a bit nervous. Because the more countries that withdraw, that makes it more expensive for the participating broadcasters. And all of these broadcasters around Europe, including the BBC, they're all looking at their bank balances. And they're all thinking, one, is it worth the hassle because of the discourse that now surrounds this competition? But two, can they afford to host it?

Daniel Rosny in Vienna and the second Eurovision semifinal will take place on Thursday, with the final to be held on Saturday.

And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Chris Ablakwa. The producers were Siobhan Leahy and Stephanie Zachrisson. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Janet Jalil. Until next time, goodbye.

I'm Janet Jalil and at 15 hours GMT on Wednesday the 6th of May, these are our main stories. The US and Iran are reported to be closing in on a deal to end the war after President Trump paused an operation to help stranded vessels get through the Strait of Hormuz. Spain insists that a cruise ship at the center of a deadly virus outbreak will dock in the Canary Islands despite the local authorities' objections.

Four women linked to the IS militant group are returning to Australia from Syria along with their children and could face the prospect of arrest. Also in this podcast... There's more than a thousand kinds of Pokemon. That has not stopped kids learning them. Why should we not have a thousand planets? We'll hear why Pluto could be designated a planet once again.

Just a couple of days ago, it looked as if the fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran was on the verge of collapsing after the American military began trying to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iran began firing at US military and commercial vessels and at the United Arab Emirates.

Then, in an abrupt about-turn, President Trump announced he was pausing what he called Operation Freedom. Now, as we record this podcast, there are US media reports echoed by Pakistan, which has been mediating peace discussions, that the two sides are close to agreeing a deal to end the war.

Mr. Trump has posted that if Iran doesn't agree, then the bombing will start again at a much higher level and intensity than before. But given that hopes have been raised before only to be dashed, how likely is it that a deal will be reached this time? I put that question to Jia Gol from the BBC's Persian service.

Right now what we are hearing, Iranian hasn't responded yet. We are hearing that still they are working on the draft one-page memorandum, which means removing the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and also Iranian suspend the nuclear program. But we know Iranian since 12 days war in June last year, the nuclear facility was damaged severely and even it was damaged more in recent wars than

There hasn't been report about any nuclear activities in Iran in the past few months. So what we are hearing, I think President Trump and also Iranian leadership, they are sharing the same trait. They don't want to go back to war. This is very clear. But both sides are trying to keep pace. Both sides are trying to weigh out of this conflict.

Iranian have been asking for a guarantee and permanent cease of fire. And also the American has been asking to remove the blockade of Strait of Hormuz and talk about halting Iranian nuclear program. That was the sticking point in the past negotiation they had.