BBC News Briefing

10 May, 2024

Jules Darmanin

Hello. Today we follow my colleague Sue Mitchell's hunt for "Scorpion", a people-smuggler who evaded arrest and now lives in Iraq's Kurdistan region. We also have the latest developments in Gaza. A couple of stories are coming from Asia - about China's boom in domestic tourism, and British efforts to win over Asian buyers for their food and drink.

TOP OF THE AGENDA

Tracking down Scorpion

Barzan Majeed in a montage with turbulent sea in the background.

The investigation spent months tracking down Scorpion, via Belgium and Turkey. Credit: BBC

The journey across the English Channel can be deadly for migrants attempting to reach the UK. But for the gangs who control the grim logistics of people-smuggling, it can be highly lucrative - they can charge £6,000 ($7,520) per person. So when police pick up illegal migrants on English shores, they inspect their mobile phones to investigate smugglers. From 2016 onwards, the same number kept cropping up - usually stored under the name "Scorpion". The man's real name is Barzan Majeed, and he is wanted by police in several countries. He was convicted in Belgium of 121 counts of people-smuggling, but has evaded arrest. My colleague Sue Mitchell searched for him for months - eventually tracking him down in a mall in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. "Scorpion" denied he was still involved in people-smuggling, but admitted handling millions of dollars between 2016 and 2019. How many migrants did he transport across the English Channel? “Maybe a thousand, maybe 10,000,” he says. “I don’t know. I didn’t count.”

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Listen: Sue teamed up with former soldier and aid worker Rob Lawrie to find "Scorpion" and speak to him. Dive into our podcast following their hunt from Calais to Iraq.

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The context: Hundreds of people cross the Channel every month in small boats. Here's how that number evolved across the years.

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UK politics: The opposition Labour party has announced plans to use counter-terrorism powers against gangs smuggling people across the Channel. Governing Conservatives called the plan a "re-brand" of existing schemes.

WORLD HEADLINES

Israel-Gaza: Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed Israel can "stand alone" after Joe Biden warned the US might stop arms shipments in the event of a a full-scale operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza. The city's medical facilities have already been overwhelmed by shelling in recent days.

Premier League: A boss in UK football's top flight has been granted an anonymity order in a civil case against him for allegedly sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl.

Eurovision: Israel's singer Eden Golan has qualified for the song contest's Saturday final thanks to a public vote, hours after thousands of pro-Palestinian protestors marched against the country's involvement in the event.

Buenos Aires at a standstill: A general strike against public spending cuts has affected most of Argentina, where schools, banks and many shops remained closed. Take a look.

War in Ukraine: Volodymyr Zelensky has sacked the head of his personal protection unit after two of its top officials were detained over an alleged assassination plot against the Ukrainian president.

AT THE SCENE

Wuzhen, China

China's domestic tourism boom

A woman in traditional dress holds a parasol, while being photographed against the backdrop of a bridge.

Wuzhen is considered one of China's top visitor sites. Credit: BBC

China’s economy is facing massive challenges but one sector - domestic tourism – is booming. Last week's five-day public holiday to mark labour day saw 295 million trips made within China, according to official figures – that’s 28% higher than pre-pandemic figures recorded in 2019.

Stephen McDonell, China correspondent

The beautiful historical river town of Wuzhen, a short drive from Shanghai, is considered one of China's top visitor sites. When we arrive, the little pathways and old bridges which cross narrow waterways are filled with visitors. Two women in their 20s, friends since high school, are visiting from Jilin Province in the north east. We ask if, following the post-Covid opening up, many of their family and other friends have been travelling much? "Of course, after the pandemic, we're all visiting other places." A local man who is selling ice-creams also says tourist numbers are "not that bad lately". As good as before Covid? "Almost the same.”

Read in full

BEYOND THE HEADLINES

The hard sell for British food in Asia

Producers say they must win over customers, one sample of cheese at a time. Credit: PS8/UK FDEA

Think of British food and what do you picture? "Um... Is that, like, sausage?" wonders a Thai woman at a food trade event in Singapore. As Nick Marsh reports, this lack of recognition is something UK producers are trying to overcome as they explore new markets in the post-Brexit world.

Take a bite

SOMETHING DIFFERENT

Impact of warming oceans

Record sea water temperatures are causing damage to people and ecosystems.

What's affected

And finally...

It's not just humans who have been affected by the flooding in southern Brazil. Footage from the city of Canoas showed a horse stranded on a rooftop. The city's mayor told local media there were plans in place to save the horse via helicopter.

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– Jules

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