Last week, Tennessee attempted to carry out the execution of Christa Pike, a convicted murderer who had spent three decades on death row. But the execution did not go as planned: After she was injected with two lethal doses of pentobarbital, Pike remained alive. She was then taken to hospital by ambulance.

This isn’t the first time an American execution hasn’t gone as planned. One reason is that the drugs needed for lethal injection have become increasingly difficult for US prison officials to obtain. Pharmaceutical companies don’t want their medicines used in executions — particularly manufacturers in Europe, where governments have opposed the death penalty for decades.

So, without access to regulated drugs, American prisons have had to improvise — sometimes with horrifying results.

The Global Story’s Tristan Redman speaks with investigative reporter Livvy Haydock about the consequences when the pharmaceutical supply chain refuses to feed the machinery of American executions.

Listen to Livvy’s podcast, Killing Death Row: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m001rjdp

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

00:00 Introduction
00:38 How a lethal injection is supposed to work
05:05 What went wrong in Christa Pike’s execution
07:16 Why America is struggling to get execution drugs
09:00 The drugs used in lethal injections
10:15 Why European drugmakers stopped supplying the US
12:38 America’s secret hunt for execution drugs
14:47 What happens when execution drugs expire
15:07 The London chemist supplying America
16:58 How the drug shortage can cause botched executions
17:30 Are lethal injections causing suffering?
19:05 Why the US can’t simply make its own execution drugs
21:21 Could prisons start making their own drugs?
21:46 Why Europe rejects the death penalty
22:32 Why Americans still support executions
23:17 When executions fail victims’ families

#ChristaPike #Deathrow #Tennessee #BBCNews

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Brazilians have begun voting in a general election, where the most prominent candidates are current president, left-wing leader Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva, and right-wing Flávio Bolsonaro.

The election has raised questions about US influence, trade tariffs, organised crime and Brazil’s sovereignty.

Here’s what you need to know about Brazil’s general election, and the two candidates leading the polls.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#Brazil #BBCNews

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Boris Johnson’s top adviser Dominic Cummings is facing new allegations that he committed further breaches of the government’s lockdown rules.

Mr Cummings was already facing calls for his resignation after admitting travelling more than 250 miles with his wife, who had suspected coronavirus infection, to County Durham.

Now there are new claims that he left the home where he was staying in Durham and was seen by witnesses visiting a town 30 miles away.

Mr Cummings has said he went to Durham with his wife and child to be close to relatives while in lockdown. Downing Street had earlier insisted that he acted within the lockdown rules.

Mr Cummings has been unapologetic, saying he had done the right thing, and had behaved reasonably and legally. Cabinet ministers have backed him and said he has Boris Johnson’s full support.

Reeta Chakrabarti presents BBC News reporting from Political Correspondent Iain Watson.

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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 …

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China’s President Xi Jinping returns to the White House on Thursday for the first time in over a decade.

A priority for both leaders will be to discuss AI. The two countries are currently locked in a fierce competition for AI dominance, amid dire warnings from US tech executives in recent weeks that the speed of AI development needs to be slowed, as the risks to humanity are too great.

President Trump has rejected those calls for a slowdown or suggestions of regulation, in part because of his concerns that China will overtake the US in AI development.

In this episode we speak to the BBC’s China correspondent Laura Bicker who tells us what China’s AI revolution looks from inside the country. And we ask how this issue is changing the power dynamics between the US and China.

New episodes of The Global Story are released daily. If you’re in the UK, listen on BBC Sounds. If you live outside the UK, listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews

For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news

#China #AI #BBCNews

00:00 Introduction
00:53 Inside China’s AI boom
06:00 What do Chinese people think of AI?
10:06 How China is preparing for an AI future
14:13 Why China doesn’t want to slow down AI
16:38 What does China want from the US?
19:50 The battle over AI chips
23:20 AI, trade and Taiwan
25:13 How AI is shifting US-China power
26:45 Outro

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