BBC News Briefing

21 March, 2024

Sofia Lotto Persio

Hello. New research indicates that working in extreme heat carries risks for pregnant women. Tulip Mazumdar hears some of their stories. A hostage negotiator in Nigeria shares his perspective on how to deal with kidnappers, and Will Grant in Haiti looks into the challenges of delivering aid to those who need it. Finally, we marvel at car collection like few others.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Health risks of working in extreme heat

A woman wearing a bandana to cover her head is pictured in a cucumber field.

Cucumber picker Sumathy lost a baby 12 weeks into her pregnancy. Credit: BBC

There is no universal threshold for the level of heat considered too hot for the human body. A study of 800 pregnant women in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, started in 2017, aimed to better understand the risks facing mothers-to-be. It found that women who worked in extreme heat conditions were twice as likely to suffer a stillbirth or miscarriage than those in cooler environments. As greenhouse gas emissions from human activities increase global temperatures, researchers say hotter summers can affect not only women in tropical climates, but also in countries such as the UK.

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Dealing with heat: Last June, Inside Health presenter James Gallagher took part in a heatwave experiment.

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Explainer: How climate change is linked to extreme weather, including longer heatwaves.

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Workplace changes: What employers can do to offer temperature-controlled environments.

WORLD HEADLINES

Vietnam: President Vo Van Thuong has resigned after only one year in office following a corruption scandal. As his predecessor also quit over corruption, his departure cast a shadow over the ruling Communist Party.

EV drive: The US has announced new targets to push the shift to electric vehicles, including progressive limits to exhaust emissions.

'Shocking, brutal and cruel': A former Mississippi police officer has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for torturing two black men in a house. He is one of six former officers convicted over the 24 January 2023 assault.

Angela Chao's death: A police report found that the shipping tycoon, the sister-in-law of US politician Mitch McConnell, was drunk when she accidentally reversed her Tesla into a pond last month.

Neuroferritinopathy: A drug trial at Cambridge University is giving hope to patients of the rare brain condition that seems to largely affect descendants of one family.

AT THE SCENE

Cap-Haitien, Haiti

The challenge of aid delivery in Haiti

A worn-out looking young woman sits on the floor while holding a baby boy.

Sarah and her family have been living in a disused cinema since they were forced from their homes. Credit: BBC

Haiti counts an estimated 360,000 people who have had to flee their homes because of gang violence. Aid is sorely needed. Helicopter flights carrying supplies from the Dominican Republic have begun to arrive. But with the airport in Port-au-Prince and the port both still closed, far more is needed.

Will Grant, Mexico, Central America and Caribbean correspondent

Juggling her baby godson on her knee, 20-year-old Sarah gives the appearance of a much older woman. "I go to school with no food, spend the day hungry and then go to bed still with nothing in my stomach," she explains. Many in the camp are suffering from illnesses. Drugs and medicines are often prohibitively expensive given their food budget rarely stretches to the basics. On the days they can't raise funds, they're dependent on scarce donations and aid. "Sometimes the staff act like they're doing us a favour when they give out the aid, and we feel humiliated," she says, "as though we were taking their food instead of donations."

Keep reading

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

What it's like to negotiate a ransom

A woman hugs a young girls tightly as a crowd of people looks on and celebrates

Growing up in rural Nigeria has given the ransom negotiator an understanding of the issues fuelling the kidnapping. Credit: AFP

Sulaiman first became involved in negotiations with kidnappers in 2021, when two of his relatives were abducted. Despite Nigeria banning ransom payment, relatives of those abducted still come to him, desperate for help.

Find out more

An ancient temple carved into the side of a mountain

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Midas touch

The king of legends has left his mark in central Turkey.

Read the story

And finally...

Some people collect luxury, or vintage cars. Toronto resident Doug Woods collects Hot Wheels, the Mattel-owned toy racing cars. He started his efforts at just four years old, but fast-forward four decades and Mr Woods now owns at least 25,000 Hot Wheels cars and accessories. Take a look.

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– Sofia

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