Israeli military offensive to occupy Gaza City is underway

Summary

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Global News Podcast – August 21, 2025

Host: BBC World Service
Episode Theme:
A breaking news overview centering on Israel's military offensive to occupy Gaza City, controversial West Bank settlements, international diplomacy in Afghanistan, scientific breakthroughs for honeybee health, security developments in Ukraine, a public health crisis in Somalia, US-Venezuela tensions, and the quirky origins of air guitar.

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode delivers up-to-the-minute reporting and analysis on high-impact global stories, with a particular focus on Israel's military actions in Gaza and Israeli policy on West Bank settlements. The episode also offers concise segments on Afghanistan's diplomacy, bee conservation science, the ongoing war in Ukraine, Somalia's diphtheria crisis, threats of US intervention in Venezuela, and a cultural feature on air guitar.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Israeli Military Offensive in Gaza City

[01:08 – 06:36]

• Wider offensive confirmed: The Israeli military has publicly acknowledged the launch of its Gaza City operation, with fighting already affecting the city’s outskirts such as Zaytun and Sabra.
• Reservist Mobilization: Israel is calling up 60,000 reservists for a protracted and likely challenging campaign involving potential ground occupation and mass displacement of Palestinians.
• Global Criticism: The planned evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from Gaza City drew condemnation, including from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which warned of a "catastrophic situation."
• Palestinian Reaction:
  • “The Gaza Strip can't handle this. We are tired of displacement. Every day we move from one place to another...waking up to the news that thousands more soldiers will enter the Gaza Strip, it's very, very catastrophic news.” (Gaza Resident, [02:40])
• Operational Reality: BBC Jerusalem correspondent Emir Nader clarifies that the offensive has already incrementally begun over several days and is less a sudden invasion than a protracted, grinding campaign.
  • “Rather than heralding the beginning of a huge ground offensive in the next few hours, it's more an acknowledgement that, in fact, this Gaza City invasion has already been beginning in some of the outskirts...this will be long...it will require the deployment of tens of thousands of reservists and the forcible displacement of roughly 1 million Palestinians.” ([03:00])
• Israeli Public Sentiment:
  • Fatigue and lack of enthusiasm among Israelis for further mobilization, with large-scale anti-war protests.
  • Opposition leader Yair Lapid criticized the campaign as, “the pursuit of an illusion that Israel can indeed occupy the city.” ([04:22])

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2. Controversial West Bank Settlement Plan

[05:25 – 12:21]

• New Settlement Approved: The Israeli government greenlights a contentious settlement project near Jerusalem, potentially dividing the West Bank and effectively nullifying the viability of a future Palestinian state.
• Political Motivation: Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is the main driver, openly stating that the settlement would “erase the idea of a Palestinian state.” ([06:36])
• International Response: Widespread condemnation, including from the UN, EU, and Britain, with the latter labeling it a "flagrant breach of international law."
• Interviews:
  • Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism Party):
    • Defends the settlement as crucial for Israeli security and national interest, explicitly stating,
      “A Palestinian state...will mean grave danger to the state of Israel. It will be the huge reward for Hamas and the Palestinian state should never be between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.” ([08:12])
    • When pressed about Palestinians’ future, hedges and critiques Western support for a Palestinian state:
      “I don't think we have enough time for this. What I do think is that when people in the UK, for example, express support for a Palestinian state...they should answer…” ([08:43])
    • Dodges direct acknowledgement of violence by extremist Israeli settlers:
      “I don't know what is the occupied West Bank? You keep using this term and I really don't know what you mean.” ([09:31])
  • Mustafa Barghouti (General Secretary, Palestinian National Initiative):
    • Argues Israeli settlements and annexations directly contravene international law and thwart peace.
    • “Every settlement in the occupied territories according to international law is illegal. But this particular one is like the settlement that is going to slaughter the whole idea of two state solutions which means it destroys the possibility of peace.” ([11:36])
    • Suggests only significant outside economic sanctions can restrain Israeli policy:
      “What we need is more than recognition. What we need is implementation of the rule of law.” ([12:17])

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3. Afghanistan Diplomacy

[12:21 – 15:17]

• Historic Visit: The Taliban host the foreign ministers of Pakistan and China in Kabul for the first time since retaking power, as China eyes Afghanistan’s vast mineral wealth.
• Legitimacy & Geopolitics:
  • “They are bolstering their efforts to seek international legitimacy.” ([12:48])
  • Meeting’s significance includes potential access for China to valuable copper, iron, and lithium reserves, and integration into the Belt and Road Initiative.
• Economic Context: Taliban's assets remain frozen by the West, with China strategically positioning itself as a partner in return for mineral rights.

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4. Bee Superfood Breakthrough

[15:17 – 18:16]

• Pollinator Crisis: Global bee populations are plummeting due to disease, habitat loss, and climate change.
• Scientific Innovation: Oxford University scientists develop a ‘superfood’ for honeybees, adding a key nutrient, sterol, missing from standard bee supplements.
• Potential Impact:
  • “Our breakthrough means that we can essentially keep the honey bees going in the absence of floral pollen. And this will mean that people will have hopefully less winter losses.” (Prof. Geraldine Wright, [17:16])
• Bee Keeper Nick (South Wales):
  • “This year I've lost around about 75% of the colonies through the winter. Although the hives have all been full of food, the bees have just dwindled.” ([16:05])

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5. Ukraine Security Guarantees and Ongoing War

[19:33 – 22:51]

• NATO Security Talks: NATO and US allied nations thrash out concrete “security guarantees” for Ukraine but face staunch Russian opposition.
• Russian Position:
  • “We cannot accept proposals to resolve collective security issues without Russia....we will ensure our legitimate interests firmly and harshly.” (Sergei Lavrov, [19:59])
• Analysis: Danny Eberhard points out that Russia will block any agreement unless it is a direct party, making any progress unlikely.
  • “So we're kind of locked in the situation where the two sides are proposing things that the other would just not accept.” ([21:07])
• Ongoing Fighting:
  • “The war absolutely grinds on. Ukraine says all Russia is doing is playing for time.” ([22:51])

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6. Somalia’s Diphtheria Crisis

[23:12 – 25:52]

• Outbreak Details: Over 1,600 cases of diphtheria, 87 deaths (mostly children), surge amid vaccine shortages due to international aid cuts.
• Healthcare Collapse:
  • “Hundreds of health facilities have been closed, not functioning anymore...Our fear is...we are probably heading into a much bigger disaster.” (Dr. B.M. Gebru, Save the Children, [25:34])
• Impact: Somalia faces overlapping crises: health emergency, climate shocks, conflict, and food insecurity, with a health system functioning “at a fraction of its capacity.”

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7. US-Venezuela Standoff Over Cartels

[26:08 – 27:41]

• US Escalation: Three US warships approach Venezuela's coast after Washington designates Venezuelan cartels as terrorist organizations, President Maduro threatens to mobilize militias, referencing sovereignty and prior assassination attempts.
• Uncertainty:
  • “There's little detail on what the operation will involve...the country's president, Nicolas Maduro is portraying the move as a direct threat to national sovereignty.” ([26:38])

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8. Origin of Air Guitar & World Championships

[27:41 – 30:08]

• Discovery: Evidence emerges that air guitar's earliest film recording was in London, 1968—not at Woodstock as previously believed.
• Cultural Event: Air Guitar World Championships in Oulu, Finland; event’s aim is world peace and fun.
• Notable Quotes & Moments:
  • “One of the main things he wants to present the world with the air guitar thing is world peace. And here we are almost 30 years later...” (Juha Torvinen, World’s most senior air guitar judge, [28:34])
  • On the stereotype of “embarrassing dad moves”:
    “The only person who has ever won three times, she's a female. Ah, Nanami 7. She's Nagura.” ([29:26])
  • Best stage moment:
    “Well, one year a competitor tried to put gasoline on air guitar and lit that alight. It didn't work, but that was quite fresh.” ([29:57])

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Notable Quotes

• Gaza Resident ([02:40]):
  “We are tired of displacement. Every day we move from one place to another...it's very, very catastrophic news.”

• Emir Nader, BBC Jerusalem ([03:00]):
  “The Gaza City invasion has already been beginning...this will be long...requiring the forcible displacement of roughly 1 million Palestinians.”

• Yair Lapid, Israeli Opposition Leader (paraphrased by Eberhard, [04:22]):
  “Denouncing this invasion ... saying it is the pursuit of an illusion that Israel can indeed occupy the city.”

• Simcha Rothman ([08:12]):
  “A Palestinian state ... will mean grave danger to the state of Israel. It will be the huge reward for Hamas...”

• Mustafa Barghouti ([11:36]):
  “This particular [settlement] is like the settlement that is going to slaughter the whole idea of two state solutions which means it destroys the possibility of peace.”

• Sergei Lavrov ([19:59]):
  “We cannot accept proposals to resolve collective security issues without Russia. This will not work.”

• Dr. B.M. Gebru, Save the Children ([25:34]):
  “Hundreds of health facilities have been closed... we are probably heading into a much bigger disaster.”

• Juha Torvinen ([28:34]):
  “One of the main things he wants to present the world with the air guitar thing is world peace... and I've been there every year, except one year I missed one year. Otherwise I've been the head judge.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Israeli offensive in Gaza, reservist callup, global criticism: [01:08 – 06:36]
• Israeli West Bank settlement debate (Rothman & Barghouti): [06:36 – 12:21]
• Afghanistan, China, Pakistan diplomatic meeting: [12:21 – 15:17]
• Honeybee superfood scientific breakthrough: [15:17 – 18:16]
• Ukraine NATO security talks, Lavrov & Eberhard: [19:33 – 22:51]
• Somalia diphtheria outbreak and healthcare collapse: [23:12 – 25:52]
• US warships near Venezuela, Maduro’s reaction: [26:08 – 27:41]
• Air guitar origins, Finland championships, judge interview: [27:41 – 30:08]

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This episode offers a sweeping yet detailed look at major global news, with in-depth interviews and on-the-ground insights, capturing a tense, fast-morphing international moment with journalistic clarity and breadth.

Transcript

[Valerie Sanderson]

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[Narrator/Reporter]

This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and in the early hours of Thursday 21st August, these are our main stories. Israel confirms its wider offensive in Gaza City is underway. It comes as the country calls up 60,000 reservists. The Israeli government also approves a highly contentious plan for a new settlement near Jerusalem, which would cut the occupied west bank in two. Also in this podcast, for the first time since seizing power in Afghanistan four years ago, the Taliban have welcomed the foreign ministers from Pakistan and China to the Afghan capital Kabul, and a new superfood for bees to help protect them from climate change. The Israeli military has confirmed that its wider offensive in Gaza City is underway, with the city's outskirts already taken. It comes after Israel announced that it would call up around 60,000 reservists. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the north of the strip are expected to be ordered to evacuate and to head to shelters in the south. It's a plan that's drawn criticism from across the world, including from the International Committee of the Red Cross, which said the displacement and intensification of hostility risks worsening an already catastrophic situation for Gaza's population. This was one Gaza residents reaction.

[Danny Eberhard]

The Gaza Strip can't handle this. We are tired of displacement. Every day we move from one place to another. Everyone was saying that there may be a truce, but waking up to the news that thousands more soldiers will enter the Gaza Strip, it's very, very catastrophic news.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I asked our correspondent In Jerusalem, Emir Nader. What we know about the military offensive.

[Danny Eberhard]

In Gaza, I think the statement that we've had from the Israeli military confirming, saying that it has begun its Gaza City operation is more an acknowledgement of what we've been seeing on the ground over the past days. There have been relentless attacks in some of the outer neighbourhoods, like Zaytun and Sabra in the south and in the east. Reports of tanks entering neighborhoods and troops entering neighbourhoods where they've never previously been before. And the reports of thousands of Palestinians packing up their homes or their tents and being displaced. Some of that we've even seen from satellite imagery of tent encampments being emptied and people obviously fleeing elsewhere. So rather than this, I think, heralding the beginning of a huge ground offensive in the next few hours, it's more an acknowledgement that, in fact, this Gaza City invasion has already been beginning in some of the outskirts outer neighbourhoods in the past few days. Because this OPER will be long. It will require the deployment of those tens of thousands of reservists and indeed the forcible displacement of the roughly 1 million Palestinians that are in Gaza City. So it will take time for this operation to go in the direction that the Israeli military wants it to.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And what's been the reaction in Israel to this mass call up of thousands of reservists?

[Danny Eberhard]

I think it's hard to find enthusiasm for it. Many young people, many of the people who are being drafted up, are angry about it. Obviously, it will affect their daily lives, what their, you know, their jobs, their studies. Many people in general in Israel want the war to end, not just to retrieve the hostages, but there is fatigue about the war, and there is indeed a widening of that movement. We've seen in the past days, over the weekend, the scenes of hundreds of thousands of Israelis joining those protests, led by hostage families, calling for an end to the war, not just to retrieve the hostage, but also because they feel like enough is enough. And you also have seen a growing articulation of the acknowledgement of the suffering of Palestinian people in these protests, too. So it is hard to find enthusiasm. We've heard criticism indeed from opposition leaders here with Yair Lapid, who's one of the main opposition leaders, denouncing this invasion of the Gaza City and saying it is the pursuit of an illusion that Israel can indeed occupy the city.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And yet in the West Bank, Israel has just approved plans to build a controversial new settlement, settlement there. I mean, what's the aim behind that?

[Danny Eberhard]

This is a plan that had been put on ice for many years because it has been so controversial and seems to have been dusted off in recent weeks, partly as a rebuff to the states around the world who've said that they will recognize a Palestinian state in an upcoming United nations meeting. We've had now today an approval from an Israeli government department which says it will go ahead with this plan to build a settlement in the west bank, the occupied Palestine, Palestinian territory of the west bank, which would essentially divide it into two. And one of the main champions of this plan is the Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who has championed it as a way to essentially bury the chance, bury the possibility of a future Palestinian state. And it's essentially a rejection from members of the Israeli government to the idea, to this push to recognize a Palestinian state. And here they're saying, if we put bricks down on the ground, we can make it impossible that you could have a contiguous territory which could form a future Palestinian state in the West Bank.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Amir Nada in Jerusalem. Let's get more detail now on that announcement of a new settlement in the occupied west bank, which, if built, would cut off East Jerusalem and effectively divide the west bank in two. The man behind the plan is Israel's far right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who said publicly last week that it would erase the idea of a Palestinian state. It's a view echoed by critics including the un, the European Union and Britain, which described the plan as a flagrant breach of international law. James Menendez spoke to Simcha Rothman, a member of Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism Party, and asked him why this settlement plan is so important.

[James Menendez]

Day one construction is important because it's very close to Jerusalem. It's an area that had been planned and talked about for almost 20 years, and it's connected Jerusalem to the major city in Judea and Samaria called Maaledumim. And we know for a fact that areas that are not being held by Israel, we know what's happening there. We all saw on October 7th what's happening when an area is left outside Israeli control. We saw what they're planning for us, and we definitely don't want it less than 1km away from our capital, Jerusalem.

[Danny Eberhard]

And it does, as your party leader, Bezalel Smotrich, has said, it effectively ends the prospect of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state. Is that also a name?

[James Menendez]

That's, of course, very important because a Palestinian state, as the Knesset decided, will mean grave danger to the state of Israel. It will be the huge reward for Hamas and the Palestinian state should never be between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea.

[Danny Eberhard]

And so where should all those Palestinians living in the occupy west bank, where should they go?

[James Menendez]

It's a good question. I don't think they should go. We have a lot of Arabs living in Israel. We.

[Danny Eberhard]

So they should become Israeli citizens, should they?

[James Menendez]

No, no, I'm not. I'm not starting to argue with you now about what exactly will be. I don't think that's relevant and I don't think we have enough time for this. What I do think that when people in the UK, for example, express their support for a Palestinian state, I think if they should answer, if they mean a Palestinian state that will in its law books, like the Palestinian Authority does today. A law saying that if you sell land to a Jew, it's punishable by death, or a law that says that more Jews you kill, the more money you get on the expense of the Palestinian Authority money.

[Danny Eberhard]

And what about violence by extremist settlers in the occupied west bank, something that the BBC has been documenting in some detail over the past couple of weeks? I mean, do you condemn that violence against Palestinians?

[James Menendez]

Again, I really don't know. Where is the place that you are talking about? I don't know what is the occupied West Bank? You keep using this term and I really don't know what you mean.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Simcha Rothman Mustafa Barghouti is General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative, a political party which describes itself as a democratic third force in Palestinian politics. His party opposes both Hamas and Fatah, which dominates the Palestinian Authority, which controls the occupied West Bank. Mr. Barghouti, who's based in the west bank capital Ramallah, was asked if the proposed settlement would hamper the creation of a Palestinian state.

[Mustafa Barghouti]

When Israel was recognized by the United nations in 1948, that was conditioned with the implementation of the partition plan, which said that a Palestinian state should be created near Israel on 44% of the land. Palestinians accepted a little mini state on 22% only, and now they want to annex that land, annex the occupied territories. This man and this party and the Israeli government don't recognize United nations, don't recognize International Court of Justice, don't recognize International Criminal Court. So how can you deal with that?

[Danny Eberhard]

Can I just come back with what he said, which is that there is an existential threat from some Palestinians, including Hamas, who are pretty explicit about wanting to get rid of Israel.

[Mustafa Barghouti]

It's another way of claiming that the aggressor, the occupier, the country that is practicing Apartheid is the victim. No, the victims are the Palestinian people who have been oppressed by Israel since 1948. And your question was very correct. There are 7.3 million Palestinians on the land of historic Palestine versus 7.1 million Jewish people. We can either coexist through a two state solution which Palestinians accepted, or in a one democratic state with equal rights, not be oppressed in a system of apartheid. But he doesn't want two state solution and Israel doesn't want one state solution. So what is the solution? The solution is what Netanyahu is now declaring going to do in Gaza, which is ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people. Listen, every settlement in the occupied territories according to international law is illegal. But this particular one is like the settlement that is going to slaughter the whole idea of two state solutions which means it destroys the possibility of peace. The reality is that Israel would not have dared to go that far if it wasn't for the support of the American administration. This Israeli government can be restrained if economic sanctions are imposed on it. What we need is more than recognition. What we need is implementation of the rule of law.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Mustafa Bhagouti for the first time since seizing power four years ago, the Taliban have welcomed the foreign ministers from Pakistan and China to the Afghanistan capital, Kabul. China in particular is keen on exploring the country's mineral wealth, while much of the Taliban's assets are frozen by Western countries. As South Asia regional editor and Balasan Ettarajan explains the importance of this trilateral meeting.

[Anbarasan Etharajan]

This all comes at a time when they are bolstering their efforts to seek international legitimacy. As you know, at the moment they are not widely recognized by the international community due to various reasons. One of the main reasons being the restrictions on women and girls as your secondary schools are closed and women are not allowed in the universities. And there are other restrictions on work as well. Now what is interesting is it's also geopolitics how it is changing. These meetings were held outside Afghanistan last time we in China, but this is the first time Taliban organizing in Kabul. So it also shows the confidence of the international community, especially countries like Pakistan and China, to visit Kabul and hold this meeting. And the second thing is why they're meeting in the Taliban. They are short of cash, they want to run the country and most of their assets are now frozen outside the previous Afghan government's money, about $9 billion. Because the west would say unless you make some progress on women's rights issues, we won't release the money. But Afghanistan is sitting on an estimated 1 trillion dollar mineral reserves for example, copper. They have the world's second biggest deposit of copper, iron and also even crude. And some of the minerals like lithium, which are used in batteries and mobile phones, but they have not been used know mining this. Now China is very keen to use this because they are very much in need of all these minerals because they're producing A to Z of everything, including especially for electric cars, batteries and the magnets and the rare earth minerals. So one of the main things today they discussed in a short while ago, the Afghan Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that China they were keen on exploring and mining minerals in Afghanistan. And also we're talking about Belt and Road Initiative. It's a massive infrastructure project by China to improve all the roadways or ports across Asia so that they can facilitate business mostly from China to outside world. Now they want to include the possibility of including Afghanistan because they're already in Pakistan doing the China part. Pakistan ECONOMIC CORRIDOR so this is all coming at a time when the west is shunning Taliban. China and Pakistan, they are courting Taliban because there are economic needs and there can be benefits on both sides.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Anbarasan Etharajan Honeybees are a vital part of food production and contribute to pollinating 70% of leading global crops. But they've been facing severe declines in numbers worldwide due to factors such as deficiency in nutrients, viral diseases, habitat loss and climate change. But now scientists at Oxford University have developed a honeybee superfood that could protect the animals against the threats. Georgina Ranart has this report.

[Danny Eberhard]

I know the queen is in here somewhere.

[Anbarasan Etharajan]

Whether we find her is another thing.

[BBC Announcer]

Nick has been keeping honeybees for 15 years and selling the honey in South Wales. But he's running to problems. In the last year, his bees have been dying in huge numbers.

[Danny Eberhard]

It's just a bit of an unknown really at the present moment. This year I've lost around about 75% of the colonies through the winter. Although the hives have all been full of food, the bees have just dwindled. Most of the bees survived through January, February and then they were just vanished.

[BBC Announcer]

Bees gather what they need to make honey from flowers, and that honey is their food in winter. But to replace the honey that we eat, lots of beekeepers feed them supplementary food, basically sugar and water. But scientists say that that food is missing a key essential ingredient. After serving different foods to bees for 15 years, scientists have finally discovered how to manufacture a core ingredient. It's called sterol and has always been missing from the supplementary food beekeepers use. At Oxford University, scientists like Jennifer develop foods for bees. Like humans, bees must eat a varied diet to stay healthy. So we're putting lots of different ingredients.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Into like a cookie dough for the.

[BBC Announcer]

Bees, different proteins, different fats to try.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And work out what they like best.

[BBC Announcer]

And what's best for them. Oh, thank you. Yeah. And then there's a zip that goes around to keep them out. It's out here where Professor Geraldine Wright tested the new food on bees to see if it made them healthier. Hello, girls. Hello. The bees that ate the complete diet with the sterile were healthier and had up to 15 times more baby bees that grew into adults. The scientists say this should also protect our food security as bees help pollinate over 70% of global crops. The work that we did here represents a major technological breakthrough for the beekeeping industry and for food security and global pollination. Our breakthrough means that we can essentially keep the honey bees going in the absence of floral pollen. And this will mean that people will have hopefully less winter losses. Bigger trials are now needed. But Nick hopes, hopes that this new food will mean a better future for these animals that we all depend on.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Georgina Rannard.

[Valerie Sanderson]

Still to come, it's what we call in in this country sometimes an embarrassing dad move.

[Juha Torvinen]

It can be that, but the only person who has ever won three times, she's a female.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The air guitar finals in finland.

[BBC Announcer]

Who's abducting 100,000 children in China each year? And how was a cult where paedophilia, murder and torture were commonplace allowed to operate in Chile for nearly four decades? At True Crime Reports, a new video podcast from Al Jazeera, we'll investigate these stories from the global south and beyond. True crimes that often haven't reached the headlines in the West. I'm Halimo Yudin. In each episode we'll take you to a different country. You'll hear from experts and first hand accounts from those right at the heart of these stories. True Crime reports find us Under Al Jazeera's YouTube channel podcast tab and wherever you get your podcasts.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The focus of much of the discussion on a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow following Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been on guarantees over security. Now the military chiefs of NATO, meeting virtually have been attempting to put some meat on the bones of any plan. But the Russian Foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has called any such discussions by Western powers without his country's involvement as a road to nowhere.

[Danny Eberhard]

We cannot accept proposals to resolve collective security issues without Russia. This will not work. We have already explained more than once that Russia does not overstate its interests, but we will ensure our legitimate interests firmly and harshly.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Our Europe editor Danny Eberhard told us more.

[Danny Eberhard]

It's the things that we've talked about in recent days, Val. So basically the NATO meeting and also talks at the Pentagon in play at the moment. They are looking at what type of security guarantees, because it's one thing saying security guarantees, but actually the detail is really what matters, both in terms of what European and other nations might provide to Ukraine, but also, of course, what the US Is prepared to do. We know the US Won't be putting boots on the ground, according to Donald Trump. He's talked about potential air support without going into great detail. So it's those sort of details that are being thrashed out along with perhaps, perhaps things like intelligence support, logistical support, and other such issues. They're very, very complex and they're very, very important to Ukraine.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But all this, of course, is dependent on a peace deal. Do we know any more about Russia's intentions?

[Danny Eberhard]

Yes. The problem with all this talk about security guarantees, as we heard a bit from Sergei Lavrov there, is that Russia has always consistently and implacably opposed the idea of any troops from NATO countries being deployed to Ukraine to try to enforce a peace deal. It would see that as an escalation. So when Russia talks about security guarantees, Sergei Lavrov is talking about, for example, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council guaranteeing peace. And in the past, Russia has said that basically nothing could happen unless all five agreed on what should happen for Ukraine. And who sits on the Security Council? It's Russia itself, the aggressor in this war, and China, one of its key allies. So you can imagine how safe Ukrainians would feel under such a system. It is a non starter as well. So we're kind of locked in the situation where the two sides are proposing things that the other would just not accept. It's a very strange thing. And underpinning all of this is the idea that basically, does Russia show any evidence of wanting to end a war that it started on anything other than the terms it has always wanted? And although President Trump has said that Putin seems to be tired of the war and he expects he wants to end it. And President Trump obviously is privy to a lot of information that other people are not privy to. But observers see no real evidence of Russia wanting to end the war and.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And the fighting goes on.

[Danny Eberhard]

Absolutely. So we've had Russian attacks on Sumy in the northeast of Ukraine, which injured at least 14 people, including three children. There's been an attack on Konstantinivka in Donetsk. There's fighting, fierce fighting for Prokrovsk. So the war absolutely grinds on. Ukraine says all Russia is doing is playing for time.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Dani Eberhard, Aid agencies in Somalia have raised the alarm over a dramatic rise in diphtheria. More than 1600 cases and 87 deaths have been reported so far this year, with children accounting for nearly all of those affected. The Somali Health Service has been damaged by international aid cuts reducing the availability of vaccines. Farisa Hanshi has the details.

[Ferdaza Hanshi]

At the Matino Hospital in Mogadishu, the hallways are crowded with patients coughing, feverish and some struggling to breathe. All symptoms of diphtheria, an infectious bacterial disease once thought to be under control, is back with a vengeance. Nimanor brought her six year old boy to the hospital.

[BBC Announcer]

When I brought my son here, he was very sick, had fever, his throat was swollen all along. I suspected other diseases, but not diphtheria.

[Ferdaza Hanshi]

The disease is preventable with a vaccine, but that has been in short supply. This time it's not just children. Even unvaccinated adults are falling ill from this highly contagious and deadly disease. Dr. Naima Abdoulaye is a health worker at the hospital.

[BBC Announcer]

The number of diphtheria cases in the hospital is becoming overwhelming. These children are not being treated urgently and by the time they get here, their condition is already severe.

[Ferdaza Hanshi]

Nationally, more than 1600 cases have been reported this year, over a thousand of them recorded in the last 56 days. More than 80 people have died since January. Aid agencies warned that recent aid cuts have devastated Somalia's health system, affecting routine immunizations, access to medicines and community outreach. Nearly a third of functioning health facilities have been forced to shut down. Dr. B.M. gebru is a senior official from Save the Children.

[Juha Torvinen]

In Somalia, Around March April, hundreds of health facilities have been closed, not functioning anymore.

[James Menendez]

So that is the biggest challenge.

[Juha Torvinen]

And our fear is we don't see any visibility and it's likely to deteriorate and we are probably heading into a much bigger disaster.

[Ferdaza Hanshi]

Somalia is already battered by climate shocks, conflict and food insecurity, security. Yet now it's being forced to manage a major health emergency with a health care system that's functioning at a fraction of its capacity.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Ferdaza Hanshi, reporting from Mogadishu. The White House has not ruled out using military force to combat drug trafficking gangs. In Venezuela, three US Warships have been deployed to the southern Caribbean after Washington designated several cartels as terrorist organizations. In response, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he would mobilize millions of militia members in the event of US intervention. Our North America correspondent John Sudworth reports.

[Valerie Sanderson]

News reports quoting US officials suggest that the three warships carrying some 4,000 military personnel are being deployed to the edge of Venezuela's territorial waters as part of an anti drug trafficking operation. In February, President Trump designated a number of Latin American cartels, including one based in Venezuela, as foreign terrorist organizations. There's little detail on what the operation will involve, how close the ships will actually get, and whether they'll attempt to intercept traffic leaving Venezuela. But with the White House saying that nothing's being ruled out, the country's president, Nicolas Maduro is portraying the move as a direct threat to national sovereignty. The government has activated thousands of members of its citizens militias and a ban on the use of drones has been put into effect for 30 days. In 2018, a drone equipped with explosives detonated close to Mr. Maduro in an apparent assassination attempt. Earlier this month, the US announced it was doubling the reward for his arrest to US$50 million.

[Narrator/Reporter]

John Sudworth, stand by for outrage from the western side of the Atlantic Ocean. The British have declared that it was their country and not in the United States, that the playing of the air guitar was first observed. A recently discovered film from 1968 shows the band Rupert's People on London's Hampstead Heath doing just that. Previously, it had been thought that air guitar was first recorded in 1969 when Joe Cocker performed with a little help from my friends at Woodstock. The newly discovered film is getting its premiere in Ulu, Finland, at the Air Guitar World Championships, which are taking place over the next few days. BBC's Sean Lay spoke to Juha Torvenen, the world's most senior air guitar judge, and asked him what first attracted him to this competition.

[Juha Torvinen]

This whole thing started already in 1996 and it was one of my friends who decided to arrange the first world championships in air guitar. And he asked me if I would be the first first judge on the first year. And I said, yeah, why not? And he also said that one of the main things he wants to present the world with the air guitar thing is world peace. And here we are almost 30 years later and I've been there every year, except one year I missed one year. Otherwise I've been the head judge.

[Valerie Sanderson]

It's an admirable ambition to try and promote world peace, but it's all a bit daft, isn't it? Air guitar people standing up and miming as if they were once rock stars and would wish they'd been rock stars. It's what we call in, in this country sometimes an embarrassing dad move.

[Juha Torvinen]

It can be that. But you, you must understand that it's also something else because the only person who has ever won three times the title comes from Japan and she's a female. Ah, Nanami 7. She's Nagura. And you can't say that, that she does that movement or. What was the expression you used?

[Valerie Sanderson]

Embarrassing dad. We'll leave that there. You made your point. Just very last brief thing, what's the best thing you've seen in our guitar?

[Juha Torvinen]

Well, one year a competitor tried to put gasoline on air guitar and lit that alight. It didn't work, but that was quite fresh.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The world's most senior air guitar judge, Johan Tovaden, speaking there to Shawn. Language. And that's it 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 in it, send us an email. The address is globalpodcastbc.co.uk. you can also find us on XBCWorldService. Use the hashtag globalnewspot. This edition was mixed by Louis Griffin. The producers were Charles Sanctuary and Marion Straughan. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time. Bye Bye.