This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Nick Miles and at 14 hours GMT on Monday the 5th of May, these are our main stories.

As the US government cracks down on research facilities, the EU announces a multi-million dollar plan to attract scientific talent.

Israel says it plans to expand its military offensive in Gaza with what

it calls a conquest. Five months after the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, we look at the search

for political prisoners who went missing. Also in this podcast.

Alcatraz, the rock. No one has ever escaped from this podcast. Alcatraz, the Rock.

No one has ever escaped from this prison.

Why a prison known more recently as a film set or a day trip destination for tourists may once again be housing America's most dangerous criminals.

European leaders appear to have given their reaction

to President Trump's new policies targeting American higher education.

At the European Commission Chief, Ursula von der Leyen,

unveiled a half a billion dollar plan to attract foreign scientists.

We see today that the role of science in today's world is questioned.

The investment in fundamental, free and open research is questioned.

What a gigantic miscalculation.

Speaking alongside the French president, Emmanuel Macron, at Paris's Sorbonne University,

Ms. von der Leyen said free research was vital for tackling global challenges like climate change.

Several speakers at the event criticized Donald Trump's efforts to cut funding to universities

and research facilities,

with two speakers calling the cuts across the Atlantic a reverse enlightenment.

Our correspondent in Paris, Hugh Schofield, told me more about how the plan could lure

...