Global News Podcast: Russian missile strike kills seven and injures 129, says Ukraine

Hello, this is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service, with reports and analysis

from across the world. The latest news seven days a week. BBC World Service podcasts are

supported by advertising. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Janet Jalil, and in the early hours of Sunday, the 20th of August, these are our main

stories. Ukraine is dealing with the aftermath of a Russian missile attack on the city of

Chernihiv, which killed at least seven people. The leaders of last month's coup in Niger

meet a West African delegation for the first time in a last-ditched diplomatic effort to

find a peaceful solution. Two Israelis have been shot dead in the occupied West Bank.

Also in this podcast? There is no other river in the whole world where at the source there are

turkey vultures and beavers and bears, and then at the end you see the Statue of Liberty.

The man attempting to swim the entire length of America's Hudson River.

At least seven people, including a six-year-old child, were killed by a Russian missile strike,

which hit a central square in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv on Saturday. Dozens

more injured in the huge blast, which caved in the roof of a regional theatre and blew out its

windows. President Zelensky posted footage of the badly damaged building and wrecked cars nearby,

urging the world to stand up to what he called Russian terror. Chernihiv is close to the border

with Belarus. It was occupied by Russia after last year's invasion, but later recaptured by

Ukrainian troops. From there, James Waterhouse sent this report.

You are immediately drawn to what has borne the brunt of this missile attack,

the neoclassical building that is Chernihiv's regional theatre. The roof is heavily damaged

and the windows have been blown out. Neighboring buildings either caught fire or had roof tiles

blown off. The number of casualties reflects the timing of the strike and the fact that

air raid sirens aren't always acted upon because of how often they sound. Anna Zariba manages the

restaurant next to the theatre. I saw two girls here. There was a lot of blood. One had her leg

wounded. There was no skin. We put a tourney carry on and were waiting for an ambulance,

but it took a long time. Another girl was screaming loudly.

A drone exhibition was taking place. It's a possible motive behind this attack.

Outside, Ukrainian and European Union flags hang beside each other,

reflecting the country's continued alignment with the West.

James Waterhouse, will the mayor of Chernihiv, Alexander Lomako, condemn the attack as yet

another war crime against civilians? But he also told the BBC that people in the city believe that

Ukraine will ultimately win. It's difficult, of course, but during the war people try to live

normal life. Of course, people exhausted, people wait for victory for the end of the war, but we

understand it's not possible in nearest months or nearest days. And we will wait because we

should win this war, we will win this war, but not tomorrow, of course.

The mayor of Chernihiv, Alexander Lomako. Well, if the Russians were deliberately targeting a drone

exhibition in the city, there's been a stark reminder why that might be. Saturday saw a series

of drone attacks on Russia, one of them reaching a very long way inside the border. Our European

regional editor is Paul Moss. This information actually comes from Russia because Ukraine rarely

claims responsibility for attacks inside Russian territory. And what they say is there were drone

attacks on Moscow and on Belgorod, the area neighboring Ukraine. Now, the Russian Defence

Ministry say they electronically jammed the drone heading for Moscow, causing it to crash. And they

stopped the one targeting Belgorod, though they didn't say how. More seriously, though, is that

they acknowledge one drone hit a military airfield in Novgorod damaging a plane there. Now, that

is quite an achievement for Ukraine, if, as one presumed, it was the Ukrainians who fired it,

because Novgorod is in the north of Russia hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border. So,

that would represent a big fail for those whose job is supposed to be stopping those drones

getting through. So, given that, have we heard anything from Mr Putin? Yeah, well, he's been out

and about, hasn't spoken, but the Kremlin released footage of him apparently arriving in the city

of Rostov, which has become the military headquarters for the invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin says he

was briefed by the chief of the defence staff, but that word, that name Rostov, might ring a bell.

Why? Because it's where Vargana began their mutiny in June. We saw troops wandering around

Rostov as if they were in charge. Now, well, if Vladimir Putin's gone back there, it may be his

way of saying, look, I'm now the one back in town and I'm back in charge. Paul Moss. A delegation

from the West African regional bloc, Ekowas, has held talks with the military junta in Niger

and what could be a final diplomatic push of finding a peaceful resolution to the political

crisis caused by last month's coup. Ekowas has repeatedly warned of military action if

diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis are unsuccessful, but has not made public any specific

plans. Speaking after the talks of the visiting delegation, Niger's new military ruler, Abdulrahman

Tiani, sounded defiant. He said his country did not want a war, but warned that it would defend

itself against foreign intervention. Neither the National Council for the safeguard of the

homeland nor the people of Niger want war and remain open to dialogue. But let us be clear,

if an attack were to be undertaken against us, it will not be the war in the park some people seem

to think. With more, here's our reporter, Chris Yoko. This is the first meeting between leaders

of the junta and Ekowas. It took place a day after army chiefs from the regional bloc announced that

a date had been agreed for military intervention in Niger. The coup leader, General Abdulrahman Tiani

and his colleagues held talks with the Ekowas delegation in Niame. Details of the meeting have

not been made public, but this contrasts sharply with events earlier this month when the military

rulers rebuffed the same delegation. It comes as hundreds of civilians turn out in Niame to join

a militia group to be known as volunteers for the defense of Niger. There are indications that

the civilian volunteer force is being organized in response to a potential military intervention

by Ekowas. Local reports say the militia would be expected to support soldiers with medical care

and other technical and engineering supports in the events of an Ekowas invasion of the country.

Chris Yoko. Two Israelis have been killed in a suspected Palestinian shooting attack in the

occupied West Bank. It happened near the village of Huwara, which has been a scene of previous

deadly attacks on Israelis and rampages by Jewish settlers in retribution. The two men were shot at

point blank range at a car wash. Media reports say they were father and son. Roadblocks have been

set up as the Israeli military carries out a major manhunt for the killer. Yolanda Nel reports.

The village of Huwara has long been a flashpoint in the West Bank. It's located on a main road

south of Nablus which is used by Palestinians and Israeli settlers. In the past Israelis would

sometimes shop there but that's become uncommon since a recent upsurge in violence. This year

Huwara has seen several shooting attacks targeting Israeli settlers and soldiers including the killing

of two brothers in February. That attack triggered a deadly rampage by a large crowd of settlers

in one of the worst such attacks in years and there have also been other instances of settler

violence. Yolanda Nel. A swim for 315 miles more than 500 kilometers the length of the Hudson River

from its source in the Adirondack mountains to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean in New York City.

That's the latest challenge British endurance swimmer Lewis Pugh has set for himself. He's

already made a name for himself as the first person to undertake a long distance swim in every

ocean of the world. His goal to highlight the dangers to the world's waterways. He's aiming

to end his swim just as world leaders gather at UN headquarters for the annual General Assembly

where the High Seas Treaty aimed at protecting the world's oceans is expected to be signed.

A week into his current mission my colleague Lee's just said asked him how he felt.

I'm sore but everything's been going well and I'm not injured. I think that's the main thing

because especially at the beginning of a swim when you've got lots of rocks around

that's when the dangerous bit is because you get these rocks underneath the surface we call

them sleepers and you hit one of these and it can be the end of your swim very very quickly.

And physically how do you feel? Definitely tired. These are long days I get up very very early in

the morning we're in the river and where we can't swim because they're they're sleepers or they're

big rapids or waterfalls then I've got to get out of the river I've got to run around the rapid

and then carry on. So far I've done 18 miles and I've got 235 miles to go. In 18 miles do you

know how many hours of swimming that took? Most of that in fact has not been swimming but actually

traversing around these rapids. There's been a fair amount of swimming but there have been

long long sections of rapids but also water which is very shallow. It's just a question of getting

out and then making your way through the bushes through the vegetation through the forests around

the rapids and then getting back into the river. And you're not taking very much with you I understand

there's no wetsuit there's no fins it's just you and the water? Yes I like that I mean that's the

way I've always done every swim since I started when I was 17 years old so you know I swim across

the North Pole in just a speedo cap and goggles like the swimming Antarctica I swim across the Red Sea

unassisted so it's a speedo cap and goggles and I love it because you're connected with the water

but also especially when I'm doing swims in the Arctic and the Antarctic I do them in just a speedo

because I'm urging world leaders to be courageous to make the tough hard decisions which we need to

take now to protect our planet and you know swimming in a wetsuit or a dry suit or swimming with

flippers I don't think it would send the right message. You've set up a challenge to world

beaters but why have you chosen to to fight it in the waters of the world? Let me tell you why the

Hudson it's an incredible river I mean really it is when you go to the source in the Adirondacks

she is absolutely beautiful she's unique that there is no other river in the whole world where

at the source there are turkey vultures and beavers and bears and then at the end when you swim

underneath the George Washington bridge and you breathe to your left hand side you see all the

skyscrapers and then in the distance you see the the Statue of Liberty I mean everything which we

hold dear to ourselves around the whole world depends on us drinking clean water and breathing

fresh air and taking care of our planet so that it's habitable and I think the Hudson is the one

river in the whole world where I can tell this story because this is a river which was badly

abused and then cared for and it's turned its fate around a swim like this 50 years ago would have

been absolutely impossible but I think that the Hudson is a river which gives hope to people

around the whole world so what you have seen so far does it reinforce your view that even more

has to be done for the Hudson so we're right at the source of the Hudson at the moment we're still

high up in the Adirondack mountains and the water there is pure and clean and it's it's just magic

to look at it and that's the way all rivers should be I say that rivers should be drinkable

fishable and swimmable but certainly when we get past Albany and we get into the

lowest sections of the river we know perfectly well there that especially after rains there is

going to be raw sewage in the river there's going to be agricultural runoff and there's also going

to be industrial waste in the river and all these things which we pour into the rivers they pollute

our rivers they damage all water supplies they kill life in our rivers and then they go into the

ocean and they do exactly the same there rivers are the arteries of our world endurance swimmer

Lewis Pew still to come go and pay the bill for these idiots the Italian prime minister's response

after four Italian tourists left a restaurant in Albania without paying we treat Albania the same

way we treat UK the same way we treat Rome the same way we treat Paris the same way we treat Athens

you go there and you behave

welcome back to the global news podcast firefighters in western Canada are continuing to battle

hundreds of fires as thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate away from the advancing

flames residents in the cities of Kelowna and west Kelowna have been told they may have to

leave within minutes Jason Broland is a fire chief of west Kelowna our crews were sent to a street

in west Kelowna and they found three houses were burning all next to each other and the fire was

expanding up the hill it was threatening hundreds of homes above those three and we had multiple

fire engines involved and involved in combating three single family house fires which on a normal

day for us is a massive operation hundreds of kilometres north of Kelowna another huge fire

is edging towards the city of Yellowknife a state of emergency has been declared across all of British

Columbia Jacqueline Whittle is a meteorologist and journalist at Canada's the weather network

and spoke to my colleague Harry Bly about the fire at Kelowna well this fire is really bad

because it's impacting the second largest city in the province of British Columbia so we've got

Vancouver and the greater Vancouver area and the coast and then Kelowna which is just south

of where I live is what is known as the interior of the British Columbia area so it's a very dry

kind of climate we are certainly no strangers to fire in this area but what makes this one

so scary is that it isn't you know impacting a great population of about 200,000 people that live

in this particular area in Kelowna and then a widespread area around Kelowna with several

towns being impacted and do we know why this fire is so bad I mean I'm I'm guessing because of the

the foliage because of the land because of the weather as well is there any particular reason

this has become such a severe wildfire well all of the above that you just mentioned are certainly

factors as I mentioned we do have a very dry climate we're not actually deemed a desert climate

there's certain criteria that has to be met for that but we're pretty close we're very dry and in

summers we we always get some fire activity throughout the Okanagan Valley which is where

where I live but what made this fire so bad and so quickly was it started as just a little spot fire

it was about 200 hectares large and that was on I believe it was Thursday and or may have

been Wednesday night and then within about 24 hours the winds picked up we had a cold front

that worked its way through the province and that gave us not only a wind shift but we increased to

wind gusts probably close to 50 60 kilometers an hour out of the south so the fire spread rapidly

and so even though they were hitting the fire with water and emergency officials were watching

and it was really nothing to worry about initially but it grew very fast and it grew into a populated

area and I mean you've probably seen some of the visuals literally people taking you know refuge in

their boats among an inferno around them not much different than Lahaina as we saw you know in Maui

just recently much smaller scale obviously with that and we've had from what we know no fatalities

but just those images and a populated area being impacted is quite terrifying and I know

you've spoken to some Kelowna residents who've evacuated who need to evacuate or perhaps even

lost their homes what kind of stories are you hearing you know people are devastated because

even though we do know that fires happen here people have been evacuated even two times so

they've moved from one area because they were evacuated from their home or their cottage on the

lake and then they've moved across the lake to somewhere else with a friend or a family member

or maybe an evacuation center or something and then that area was asked to leave because the

the fire actually jumped across the lake so I think I've met three or four people that actually had

to evacuate twice in two different locations meteorologist Jacqueline Whittle across the

Atlantic the authorities in Tenerife say raging wildfires there are the most complex to hit the

Spanish Canary Island in more than 40 years around 26 000 people have been moved to safety

as strong winds and high temperatures have helped to spread the flames in a tender dry

landscape hundreds of firefighters backed by planes have been battling the fires for days

in a mountainous forested area with steep ravines where access is difficult Cleo O'Flynn is a

journalist in Tenerife no fire follows rules but this seems to be beyond the normal

extremities of fires that most of the experts have fought in the past so it is very much a fire

that needs to be brought under control before they can even begin to talk about extinguishing it

that being said one of the slightly incredible statistics is that not one single home has been

lost to the fires as yet given up I think the work of the firefighters in protecting villages

and towns that they have evacuated but they're managing to keep the flames away from the homes

given our distance from the Spanish mainland quite often it takes about 24 hours for firefighters

and fire airplanes to scramble from Madrid and from other parts of the mainland so that

they all did arrive by Wednesday we probably have about 500 military personnel now here fighting

those flames a lot of them have come from the Spanish mainland and Pedro Sánchez the Spanish

Prime Minister will be here on Monday on the other hand you do have the Tenerife Tourism Agency

saying to tourists please don't cancel flights I spoke earlier to David Perez who's the manager

of Tenerife Tourism and they issued a statement yesterday he said very little has changed in

that and one of the things that he pointed out was it's only about three percent of the actual

mass territory of the island of Tenerife that is currently under flames now it might sound like

might sound like a little obviously for the people who live near there it's still a fire that needs

to be controlled journalist Cleo O'Flynn the Pakistani opposition party of the jailed former

prime minister Imran Khan has denounced the arrest of another of its leading figures as illegal the

vice chairman of the PTI Sharmak Mood Qureshi was detained just hours after he said his party would

challenge any delay to elections Imran Khan is currently serving a three-year jail term and has

been barred from politics electronic Smith reports the PTI says Sharmak Mood Qureshi was

arrested at his home in the capital he was taken to the headquarters of pakistan's federal

investigation agency the latest move in what the party sees as a PTI clamped down the arrest came

shortly after he'd held a news conference in which he said the party was preparing a legal

challenge to any delay in holding elections beyond the constitutional limit the vote is meant to be

held within 90 days of parliament being dissolved which would be November but the prospect of that

is slim as pakistan grapples with constitutional economic and political crises electronic Smith

the Somali president is a man intent on ending the decades of warfare that have blighted his country

as well as mounting an effective military offensive against al-Shabaab militants Hassan Sheikh Muhammad

is also trying to improve security in the capital but on Friday heavy fighting broke out in Mogadishu

between police officers and a militia headed by a former soldier the clashes continued for more

than 10 hours with one police officer and two militia men killed we got more details from our

africa regional editor will Ross well according to the police in Mogadishu there was an operation

late on Friday that began to try to disarm and arrest a militia led by a former soldier known as

general shago and the police spokesman said this is actually a former captain in the army who had

quite a number of fighters under his control and they are accused as a militia of basically robbing

people and money laundering according to the police but what then happened was a shootout

basically between this militia and the police that went on we understand for more than 10 hours

the police said at the end of all of this that general shago and more than 20 of his fighters

were arrested and the police say that two of the militiamen were also killed in the fighting and one

policeman i mean it's it's somewhat surprising that there weren't more casualties seeing as this was

a you know more than 10 hours of what was described as intense fighting but it comes at a sort of

interesting time as as the president of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohammed has really been trying to

sort out the widespread insecurity in the capital Mogadishu as you say he has been trying to sort

out the widespread insecurity in in the capital and he's also been trying to launch a military

offensive against al-Shabaab what progress is he making in all this so people in Mogadishu will

say that it wasn't that long ago that there was you know every day you'd hear gunfire on the streets

often people not shooting at each other but just the sound of of gunfire because shots were fired

for all kinds of reasons including even trying to get through traffic jams those that can afford it

hire men with guns to try and protect them on the streets of Mogadishu and there has been the case

in the past that civilians have actually been killed because of these trigger happy gunmen who

are firing bullets in the air to try and clear vehicles but also you know there have been clashes

between rival militias on the streets but in recent months things have improved and the president is

trying to ensure that the only people in Mogadishu are with guns are members of the police force or

the army there is of course the problem as you mentioned of al-Shabaab and it has frequently

carried out attacks in Mogadishu including just over the last couple of days some relatively small

attacks but what's going on in the center and south of the country at the moment is a buildup

towards what's expected to be a pretty large offensive against al-Shabaab and the president

has actually moved to the center of the country and we're expecting him to officially launch

this offensive and he's sounding pretty optimistic he even said earlier this week that

he expected al-Shabaab to be defeated within five months.

Will Ross now to a rather unusual act of diplomacy after four Italian tourists caused

outrage in Albania by skipping out of a restaurant without settling their rather modest bill the

Italian government has stepped in to pay it and to restore Italy's pride to add insult to injury

the restaurant's owner claims the Italians even complimented the food before they disappeared

into the night. David Lewis reports it's a case of diplomatic incident averted but only just

the story started after a security camera caught the frugal for some heading out of a restaurant

in the historic city of Barat without paying their $85 bill the footage soon went viral

and the restaurant owner told Albania's report TV it was the first time his patrons had ever

dined and dashed the issue was raised with the Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney

while she herself was visiting the country as a guest of her Albanian counterpart and she wasn't

having any of it go and pay the bill for these idiots the politician reportedly told her ambassador

in Tirana her brother-in-law and Italy's agriculture minister Francesco Lolo Brigida

who joined her on holiday chimed in a few dishonest individuals cannot embarrass a

nation of decent people he told Reuters news agency Albanian journalist Sokko Baler told the BBC

the move to settle the check was an important diplomatic step it seems that Italy and Greece

there are also the first two western countries to accept Albania and Albanians as equals so the

fact that Georgia Maloney knew about the story and you know paid the bill herself it was like a

hugely for us because you see the prime minister of a big country one of the seven

economical powers of the world that says hey listen now we go to Albania and we treat Albania the

same way we treat UK the same way we treat Rome the same way we treat Paris the same way we treat

Athens you go there and you behave Italy's embassy in Albania has now confirmed in a statement that

it had paid the bill we hope that episodes of this kind will not happen again it said Albania

just a short hop across the Adriatic Sea is expected to welcome nearly half a million Italian holiday

makers this year tourists can enjoy rugged mountain scenery sandy beaches party vibes and

all of it cheaper than soaring western european prices that report by David Lewis

and that's all from us for now but there will be a new edition of the global news podcast later

if you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered you can send us an email

the address is globalpodcastatbbc.co.uk this edition was mixed by Darcy O'Bree the producer

was Alison Davies the editor is Karen Martin I'm Janette Jalil until next time goodbye

Machine-generated transcript that may contain inaccuracies.