First victims in New Orleans attack named

The BBC World Service Global News Podcast brings listeners the latest international headlines. It opens with a report on a New Year's Day attack in New Orleans, focusing on the victims and ongoing investigations into possible accomplices. Next, the podcast highlights significant changes to Syria’s curriculum, which have raised alarms among minority groups due to the exclusion of evolution, the Big Bang theory, and pre-Islamic history. Listeners are then informed about an Israeli airstrike in a designated safe zone in Gaza, the discovery of extraordinary dinosaur footprints in England, and El Salvador's remarkable drop in homicide rates, with questions surrounding the methods behind this achievement. The episode also delves into the release of Dutch archives concerning WWII collaborators and hints at the emergence of a rival football club in Paris to PSG. A poignant moment arises with the mention of Martin Beck, a college football player who lost his life in the New Orleans attack, underscoring the tragic youth of many victims.