# Deadly school disaster in Pakistan - Show: Global News Podcast - Published: 2026-10-16 - Canonical: https://podc.club/en/episode/135067274_1eae64ae589e.html - Audio: http://open.live.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/6/redir/version/2.0/mediaset/audio-nondrm-download-rss-low/proto/http/vpid/p0pgwl6v.mp3 - Source: Edited from a machine transcript of the first 30 minutes of the episode. Not an official summary. A roof collapse at a private school in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan, killed at least 32 children under the age of 13 and one teacher during lessons. The same episode reported that BBC Verify identified 254 incidents in which the Israel Defence Forces promised investigations but never published results. Also covered: Harry and Meghan's first official joint engagement since returning to the UK, and a London stage production based on the Pelicot trial. ## What this episode answers ### Why did the Pakistan school collapse happen, and how serious was the toll? An ageing two-storey building — its upper floor made of mud and timber — collapsed under the weight of around 110 pupils, killing 32 children and one teacher and injuring at least 19. The school's owner and principal has been arrested, and investigators are examining how a no-objection certificate was issued and why oversight authorities failed to intervene. ### Is the IDF genuinely investigating killings in Gaza and elsewhere, and are there transparency problems? The IDF indicated it was investigating 254 incidents using varied language such as 'examining,' 'reviewing,' and 'looking into,' but has not published the result of a single one; only in August 2024 did it exceptionally release details on five cases. International law experts warn that continuing to shelve cases undermines Israel's claim to be a rule-of-law state. ### How did BBC Verify identify the 254 IDF cases? BBC Verify used AI to screen roughly 60,000 articles, then manually reviewed and deduplicated thousands more to arrive at 254 cases; the IDF's use of varied terminology made a simple keyword search insufficient. ### Why did Harry and Meghan choose Nottingham for their return to public duties? Nottingham was the site of Harry and Meghan's first official joint engagement in 2017, and three charities focused on music, sport and food poverty — causes the couple prioritises — are based there; it was also Meghan's first appearance at an official public event since the couple returned to the UK. ### What is the London stage production about the Pelicot trial, and what questions does it raise? Thirty actors take turns reading aloud, over four and a half hours, from 600 hours of court records — including police reports, testimony and psychiatric assessments — from the trial in which Gisèle's husband drugged her and arranged for at least 50 men to assault her; director Milo Rau frames the production as a 'political act' that speaks to endemic misogyny and authoritarian politics. ## Article ## Pakistan school collapse in Peshawar A private school roof collapsed during lessons in Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan, killing 32 children under the age of 13 and one teacher. At least 19 people were injured, several of them critically. Lady Reading Hospital received 33 bodies, and authorities have not ruled out a further rise in the death toll. Sohail, the uncle of a pupil who survived, described the moment. "My niece had gone out to buy a pencil. The moment she stepped back into the school and put her foot on the stairs, the roof caved in. She ran outside and came to tell me the school had collapsed. When I got there, ten to fifteen children were buried up to their necks in rubble. I pulled them out straight away." On-the-ground reporter Azizullah Khan said the building was two storeys high: the ground floor was constructed of T-section steel and girders, while the upper floor was made of mud and timber — a dilapidated structure that apparently could not bear the weight of the roughly 110 pupils inside at the time. The school's owner and principal has been arrested and charged. The education ministry has set up an investigation committee, and the information minister pledged to determine why a no-objection certificate was issued and where the regulatory authorities were. Many families in the neighbourhood are from lower-income backgrounds and had no idea the building could have come down at any moment. ## IDF promised investigations in 254 cases — none made public BBC's verification unit, BBC Verify, identified 254 incidents in Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank and Israel in which the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) were accused of killing or injuring people and gave assurances they would investigate. In not one of those cases has any result been made public. Reporter Merlin Thomas said the IDF had signalled it was conducting investigations using a range of language — "examining," "reviewing," "looking into" — but that there is no external visibility into what, if anything, is actually happening. In August 2024 the IDF unusually published details on five cases, including the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab, the killing of 15 Palestinian paramedics, and the killing of World Central Kitchen staff. It also noted that 150 cases were under review, but did not specify which ones. BBC Verify used AI to carry out an initial screen of roughly 60,000 articles, then manually reviewed and deduplicated thousands more to arrive at 254 cases. The IDF's use of varied terminology made a simple keyword search impossible as a sole method. An international law expert noted that Israel has deflected international scrutiny by presenting itself as a rule-of-law state, but that leaving cases unresolved risks collapsing that narrative. ICRC guidelines related to the Geneva Conventions require that investigations be "thorough, prompt, impartial and as transparent as possible." ## Harry and Meghan return to public duties in Nottingham The Prince and Princess of Sussex carried out their first official joint engagement since returning to the United Kingdom in August, visiting three charities in Nottingham focused on music, sport and food poverty, and meeting with supporters. Nottingham holds particular significance for the couple: it was where they conducted their very first official joint engagement in 2017, and their team's choice of the city for this comeback was seen as carefully considered. BBC reporter Nown Anji said that since returning to the UK, Meghan had been active on social media but had avoided official public appearances — making this her first. Sources noted that public reactions whenever she had ventured out since coming back had always been positive. Large numbers of fans gathered in Nottingham, and the couple responded with selfies and embraces. ## The Pelicot trial comes to the London stage — actress Juliet Stevenson speaks A stage production based on the Dominique Pelicot trial — which sent shockwaves through French society — opens in London next month. Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drugging his wife Gisèle and arranging for at least 50 men to rape and sexually assault her. Gisèle waived her right to anonymity, declaring that the shame should be borne by the perpetrators. The production is by the Young Vic Theatre and will be staged in a former London city hall building in the Edwardian style. Thirty performers will take turns reading aloud, over four and a half hours, from 600 hours of court records drawn from police reports, witness testimony and psychiatric assessments. Actress Juliet Stevenson, who appears in the production, said: "It's not a dry legal story — it's a human story about how one woman's life moved from the private to the intensely public." Director Milo Rau has framed the work as a "political act," sounding the alarm about endemic misogyny and its relationship to authoritarian politics. ## Takeaways - At least 32 children and one teacher died when the roof of an ageing Peshawar private school collapsed on around 110 pupils, prompting the arrest of the owner-principal and a government inquiry into building permits and regulatory oversight. - BBC Verify identified 254 incidents in which the IDF promised investigations but published no findings, raising sharp questions about compliance with international humanitarian law's requirement for transparent accountability. - Harry and Meghan resumed joint public duties in Nottingham, while the London staging of the Pelicot trial reflects growing social focus on violence against women and endemic misogyny.