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An alleged case of gang rape at a Cornell frat house has caused widespread outrage after new details emerged in a civil suit brought by the purported victim. Evidence including a Snapchat screenshot advertising a "free" sexual encounter has seen anger online directed not only towards those men accused of being involved, but others who apparently failed to step in.

As a criminal investigation is reopened, Marianna and Matt explain how this case has taken over social media, from scathing critiques of campus culture and opaque accountability measures, to doxxing, misidentification and censorship.

The university's leadership has denied its response was inadequate.

Also this week, we discuss arguably the most viral story of the year - the fallout at a covid-conscious lesbian bar in western Massachusetts. After the struggling Last Ditch decided to suspend their mask mandate on Saturday nights, they were met with a torrent of abuse calling them ableist and even eugenicist.

Top Comment takes you through the chaotic conversations which followed, and we consider whether AOC spoke too soon when she famously closed the book on Woke 1.0 identity politics.

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Smit Machchhar, the Indian airline captain who was stabbed by his co-pilot onboard a Flydubai plane, has spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his hospital bed. Mr Machchhar has been described as a “true hero” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who hailed him for preventing a “catastrophic mid-air disaster” on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.

Also in the Global News Podcast:

03:32 Student protestors in France clash with police in demonstrations over education conditions

05:35 Kenya’s politicians court Gen Z voters to challenge President William Ruto

09:07 President Trump mulls banning diesel exports, and urges Europe to release its reserves as the US-Iran war puts pressure on fuel supplies

11:48 Starbucks faces backlash over plans to open branches in China’s Xinjiang region, where Beijing is accused of human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims

15:14 South Koreans fall in love with Bukangi, a huge grey shark stranded in a canal

The Global News Podcast brings you the best of the BBC’s news coverage and analysis from around the world. You can watch us on YouTube every weekday – and find the audio version here: https://link.mgln.ai/GNP-YT

If you would like to get in touch, you can email us at [email protected].

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul has said the woman at the centre of the Cornell University rape case was "failed" at "every turn". New York state prosecutors have reopened an investigation.

The woman filed a civil lawsuit alleging she was drugged and raped at a fraternity house at the university and that Cornell failed to protect her or adequately punish the men involved.

Cornell has said it supported presenting the case to a grand jury, while rejecting claims that it failed to punish those involved. It has also agreed to have the case examined by an independent investigator.

So - what happened, and what does it say about fraternity culture in US universities? 

0:27 - New York's Governor says the woman at the centre of the Cornell University rape case was "failed" at "every turn"

2:06 - What are the allegations?

2:55 - What is a frat house?

3:36 - How has Cornell University responded?

4:30 - How have Cornell students responded?

5:55 - What has the wider reaction been?

7:50 - What happens next?

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#US #Cornell #Cornell7 #BBCNews

In the last year, the US has admitted just 13,000 refugees — a fraction of the number it has accepted in previous years. And almost all of those new arrivals have been white South Africans.

The Trump administration says Afrikaners are fleeing persecution in South Africa. But there is little evidence of attacks specifically targeting the country’s white Afrikaner minority. South Africa’s new ambassador to the US has told the BBC that the idea of a mass attack against white Afrikaners simply does not exist.

So why have Afrikaners been given preferential access to the US refugee programme? And what has life in America been like for those who have made the journey?

Today on The Global Story, the BBC’s North America correspondent Ione Wells and Africa producer Ed Habershon share their conversations with the Afrikaners who are using new refugee policies to immigrate to the US — and the South African officials who say the Trump administration is overlooking the full picture.

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In this video:

0:00 Why are white South Africans getting a fast track to the US?

1:00 Why were there white crosses put up in Washington's National Mall?

4:11 Where does this story begin with the Trump administration?

6:14 The significance of Trumps executive order

7:12 The meeting of Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa

9:08 Violence against white farmers

10:13 How many people have come through the refugee scheme?

11:55 Speaking to a white South African who moved to Texas

16:04 What is the criticism of the white genocide claims in SA?

19:11 The current tensions between the US and South Africa

20:26 Roelf Meyer interview clips

22:26 The Trump administration's expansion of the refugee scheme

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Vladimir Putin began the full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. In a wide-ranging speech at the Valdai foreign policy forum, Putin told his audience that he believed that international conflicts were highly likely to continue, but would get better as "Western hegemony" weakened.

He also insisted that Russia's attacks on Ukrainian economic targets were a direct response to Ukraine's strikes on Russia's oil refineries and its ships in the Black Sea.

"Now from every direction we're receiving calls 'let's stop'. But they started it," he said.

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After a strong week at Labour Party conference has the prime minister made his first foul? Downing Street has said Manchester City are not "above the rules" after Andy Burnham was criticised for his comments about the club's breaches of Premier League financial rules.

Adam, Chris and Joe are joined by the FT’s Whitehall editor and host of “Political Fix” Lucy Fisher to unpack the backlash, plus Andy Burnham’s big speech to conference.

00:00 - Andy Burnham’s Manchester City comments

01:13 - Why were the comments controversial?

06:23 - What are wider consequences of the Manchester City ruling?

07:40 - Burnham’s conference speech

10:14 - Could Burnham call an early general election?

15:58 - Do we know how Burnham will pay for his policies?

18:07 - Is Ed Davey under pressure from Lib Dems?

00:20:02 - Could Britain move closer to the EU?

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Hundreds of prisoners across England and Wales were to be released on 1 October under a new scheme by the UK government.

And it's just the start of the scheme, which is set to see thousands of prisoners released over several months.

Offenders serving sentences of up to 19 months are now eligible for release after a third of their term.

While the government says the scheme is designed to free up prison space, victims have questioned how they will be protected.

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A businessman was beaten with hammers by masked men who broke into his home and threatened to kill his heavily pregnant wife unless he transferred hundreds of thousands of pounds of cryptocurrency.

Speaking to the BBC, the couple, who want to remain anonymous, described the attack as "horrific" and said they feared for their unborn baby's life.

The attackers left in a car driven by a getaway driver after the man transferred his crypto savings.

Crimestoppers are offering a £10,000 reward for information in the attack, which was captured on home security footage and is being investigated by the police.

Experts say it is one of a growing type of violent theft known as a "wrench attack" targeting cryptocurrency investors.

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US President Donald Trump has said he may ask European countries to release diesel reserves as he considers banning US exports of the fuel.

The move could bring prices down significantly for American drivers, but experts warn it would put further pressure on diesel prices in other countries.

His comment comes as diesel prices in the UK hit record highs this week, hovering at just under £2 per litre, according to motoring organisation the RAC, as the Iran war puts pressure on the supply.

European ministers are meeting on Friday to discuss the potential ban.

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A mental health trust where a man was killed by a fellow patient, has been warned further deaths may occur unless staff issues are addressed.

The warning has been made in a coroner’s report sent to the East London NHS Foundation trust after an inquest heard that staff on duty had slept on the job and falsified observation records.

The family of Hugo Flint Cahan, who was killed, says there was a "litany of failures” in the care of both men.

The trust says one staff member has been sacked, others are being investigated and it is making improvements.

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