US in desperate search for missing aviator in Iran

Summary

Global News Podcast — "US in Desperate Search for Missing Aviator in Iran"

BBC World Service | Host: Celia Hatton | April 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode-deeply covers the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran, focusing on the urgent search for a US aviator shot down in Iranian territory—a development with major implications for the war and international diplomacy. The podcast also highlights regional repercussions in the Middle East, shipping challenges in the Strait of Hormuz, significant events from Cuba to Ukraine, an Oscar-winning documentary on school shootings, and updates from the Artemis 2 lunar mission. The analysis blends on-the-ground reporting, expert insights, and impactful personal stories.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Crisis in Iran: Missing US Aviator

[01:02-06:36]

• Incident Summary:

  • A US F-15 fighter jet was shot down over southern Iran. While one crew member was rescued, another remains missing. US rescue operations have encountered significant danger, with one helicopter reportedly coming under fire and another rescue aircraft shot at, forcing its pilot to eject.

• US & Iranian Reactions:

  • Iranian state TV broadcast supposed jet debris and offered rewards for capturing US pilots, highlighting the incident's political weight.
  • President Trump, who earlier boasted about US impunity in Iranian airspace, faces criticism after the shootdown. He insisted the incident "would not affect negotiations over a ceasefire with Iran." [04:03]

• Analysis of Impact:

  • Simi Jalawasho, Washington Correspondent:

    "This would mark the first time that a US aircraft is taken out over Iran. ...After President Trump said Iran, quote, can't do a thing about US planes flying over its country. Turns out it can. So if anything, this is pretty embarrassing. And it begs the question, what way is this war really going?" [04:32]

  • Public opinion on the war remains divided, with concerns mounting over US casualties and any prospect of a protracted or deepened conflict.

• US Defense Budget Debates:

  • Trump administration proposes a $1.5 trillion defense budget, compelling cuts to "wasteful or woke programs," especially housing, in favor of military investments.

    “...reallocation of money away from less essential or ideological programs.” — Simi Jalawasho [05:58]

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2. How a Downed Aviator Survives—and the Perils of Rescue

[06:36-10:04]

• Survival Tactics:

  • Jonathan Hackett, USMC Retired & Analyst:
    • Downed pilots seek cover, secure water, and carefully weigh how to communicate without revealing their position to Iranian forces.

    "The better communication quality, the easier it will be to be discovered... If he uses a very good signal, then the Iranian government can also see that signal." [07:37]

• Complex Rescue Operations:

  • The US may use aircraft or more discreet channels, involving local contacts in "non-standard assisted recovery missions":

    “It’s riskier, but there’s a higher chance that the US person on the ground would be able to be rescued with less US footprint in Iran.” [09:03]

  • Speed and stealth are crucial; terrain, weather, and the risk of capture all play a role:

    "The person on the ground is going to be going through four things in their mind. That's the weather, the enemy, terrain, and time." [09:45]

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3. The Strait of Hormuz: A Lifeline Begins to Open

[10:04-12:51]

• Latest Developments:

  • After near-total closure since war began, a French-owned cargo ship becomes the first Europe-linked vessel to transit the Strait through an Iranian-approved corridor, followed by a Japanese LNG carrier.

    “We are starting to see that early initial trickle of ships, which is a positive sign.” — Captain John Conrad, G.Captain [10:55]

• Complex International Problem:

  • The maritime sector's involvement is global, comprising diverse flag, ownership, insurance, and cargo interests.
    • “A ship may be insured with one nation, flagged under another, owned by another nation…” [11:38]
  • Iran appears to be selectively allowing passage, dubbing the route the "Tehran Tollbooth."

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4. Oscar-Winning Documentary: "All the Empty Rooms"

[12:51-17:16]

• About the Film:

  • "All the Empty Rooms" documents the preserved bedrooms of children killed in US school shootings, capturing families’ ongoing grief.

    • "She loved the lights. And they've actually been on since she left them on. We haven't turned them off." — Gloria Cazarez [13:58]

• Purpose and Impact:

  • Director Joshua Seftel:

    “There are over 100 school shootings a year in this country, which is an astounding, disturbing number. ...We worry that we become numb in this country, ...but it's not a normal thing, and it can't be seen as a normal thing.” [14:10] “We don’t even mention the word ‘gun’ in our film. It’s never said.” [15:36]

  • Oscar recognition and Netflix acquisition have greatly expanded the film’s reach, aiming to reignite public empathy and discussion.

    "I was numb. I used to feel something when I heard about a school shooting. ...Now I’ve heard about so many ...that I stopped feeling anything. And we want this film to break that cycle." — Seftel [16:02]

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5. Ukraine: New Escalation & Shifting World Attention

[17:45-20:47]

• Russian Assaults Intensify:

  • Massive, multi-pronged drone and missile attacks hit cities, killing at least six and injuring 40+.
  • Shift to daylight attacks marks change in Russian tactics.

    "So this was a combination of hundreds of drones and three dozen missiles... which I think is a shift in tactics by Russia because daytime attacks, big attacks haven’t been common..." — Sarah Rainsford [18:00]

• Wider Repercussions of Middle East Crisis:

  • Ukraine faces a stall in US-mediated peace talks and growing concern as US focus—and missiles—divert to the Middle East, risking defense shortages for Ukraine.

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6. Cuba: Mass Prisoner Release Amid US Pressure

[20:47-24:25]

• Humanitarian Gesture or Diplomacy Lever?:

  • Cuba begins its second release of prisoners in a month—2,000 inmates as a stated “humanitarian gesture” for Easter.

    "It's been very difficult, but today God granted me happiness. This is how all mothers who are seeing their sons being free today should feel.” [21:26]

• US-Cuba Relations:

  • A US fuel blockade has worsened conditions in Cuba, causing rolling blackouts and acute shortages.

  • A Russian tanker was permitted to dock, perhaps signaling eased tensions.

    "Earlier this week, we did see potentially an easing in those tensions when a Russian tanker was actually allowed to dock..." — Joanna Keane [22:48]

  • The US still demands release of political prisoners but without clear evidence of these in the releases. Future direction remains uncertain.

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7. Other Global News

"Cleanest" Winter Olympics

[24:25-25:55]

• No doping positives in Milan-Cortina Games for the first time in nearly three decades.

  "More than 3,000 samples from almost 2,000 athletes and as yet, not a single positive doping test..." — Joe Lynske [24:48]

Artemis 2: Life on the Moon-Bound Orion

[25:55-28:03]

• NASA's Artemis 2 mission transmits the first high-res images of Earth from the Orion spacecraft, including shots of auroras and zodiacal light.

  "It's great to think that with the exception of our four friends, all of us are represented in this image." — Lakeisha Hawkins, NASA [26:45]

• Glimpses into daily life in space: astronauts handle waste stowage and a faulty toilet, showcasing mundane but crucial logistics in deep space flight.

  "As you might imagine, there's kind of an inrush of trash when we first get up here..." — Christina Cook, astronaut [27:17]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jonathan Hackett (on escape and evasion):

  “The better communication quality, the easier it will be to be discovered... He’s going to have to decide how much do I want to expose myself right now to let the United States know where I am.” [07:37]

• Simi Jalawasho (on political fallout):

  “This is pretty embarrassing. ...It begs the question, what way is this war really going?” [04:32]

• Captain John Conrad (on shipping through Hormuz):

  "Now we're seeing a few container ships and even an LNG vessel, which is positive because those carry explosive gas..." [10:55]

• Joshua Seftel, director ("All the Empty Rooms"):

  "We wanted to try to find a way ...to talk about it in a way that would get people's attention and get them to feel something again. Because we worry that we become numb in this country..." [14:10]

• Sarah Rainsford (on Russian attacks in Ukraine):

  "You’ve got ...dramatic pictures... a Russian drone slamming into the side of a block of flats and of course bursting into flames." [18:00]

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Summary Table of Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment/Story | Start | End | |----------------------------------------------------|------------|------------| | Headlines & Iran Airman Crisis | 01:02 | 06:36 | | Survival & Rescue Tactics for Downed Airmen | 06:36 | 10:04 | | Strait of Hormuz Shipping Developments | 10:04 | 12:51 | | School Shooting Documentary | 12:51 | 17:16 | | Ukraine: Russian Assaults, World Attention Shifts | 17:45 | 20:47 | | Cuba Prisons & Diplomacy | 20:47 | 24:25 | | Winter Olympics Doping News | 24:25 | 25:55 | | Artemis 2/Life Aboard Orion | 25:55 | 28:03 |

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a dense, urgent snapshot of a rapidly evolving global landscape, from the perilous search for a missing US pilot in Iran and escalating warfare across the Middle East, to shifting priorities in Ukraine and Cuba, the cultural impact of US gun violence, and new technological milestones in human spaceflight.
The reporting remains clear-eyed but empathetic, capturing both the scale of geopolitical upheaval and the intimate realities shaped by these events.

Transcript

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[Celia Hatton]

This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Celia Hatton and in the early hours of Saturday 4th April, these are our main stories. A US rescue team is desperately searching for an American aviator still missing after the Iranians shot down an F15 fighter jet will hear what the crew member is trained to do to avoid capture. A French owned cargo ship sails through the Strait of Hormuz, thought to be the first vessel linked to a European nation to go through the waterway since the Iranians virtually closed it. And Cuba begins a mass release of prisoners following US Diplomatic pressure. Also in this podcast, she loved the lights and they've actually been on since

[Simi Jalawasho]

she left them on. We haven't turned them off.

[Celia Hatton]

An Oscar winning documentary about the empty bedrooms of children killed in mass shootings. We'll start with the hunt for a missing American aviator inside Iran and how that person's fate could change how the US And Iran handle this war. Just over a week ago, President Donald Trump claimed there was nothing Tehran could do about US Aircraft in its skies. He's facing a far different situation now that an American fighter jet's been shot down in southern Iran. One crew member has been rescued, but as we record this podcast, another remains missing and so a major search and rescue operation is underway. Iranian state television has been showing pictures of what it says is debris from the jet and the regime in Tehran has made clear the significance of this development.

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

If you capture and hand over a pilot or pilots of the enemy alive to the law enforcement and military forces,

[Joanna Keane]

you will receive a valuable reward and prize.

[Celia Hatton]

It's been a Very dangerous rescue operation for the Americans. So far, one of the helicopters involved in the US Rescue mission is reported to have come under fire, injuring some of those on board. And there are reports that a second jet crashed after being shot at while assisting in the rescue. The pilot on that jet ejected to safety, making the only official comment on the incident so far. US President Donald Trump told the American network NBC that the downing of the fighter jet would not affect negotiations over a ceasefire with Iran. Not long ago, I spoke with our Washington correspondent, Simi jalawasha.

[Simi Jalawasho]

The American F15 fighter jet that was shot down over southwestern Iran, we know that the two members in that both are jet. The pilot was found, but the second crew member is still missing. Now, the pilot was only found because of a search and rescue mission, as you mentioned, that comprised of a jet and two helicopters. The jet was shot, but the pilot of the jet was able to eject and has been rescued. Of the two helicopters, one of the helicopters took fire, but it landed safely, although the crew members on board was wounded.

[Captain John Conrad]

Hmm.

[Celia Hatton]

So Simi, how damaging is this scenario for the Trump administration and the US Public perception of the war? It wasn't really great to begin with.

[Simi Jalawasho]

Yeah. Well, this would mark the first time that a US Aircraft is taken out over Iran. And this comes, as you mentioned, Celia, after President Trump said Iran, quote, can't do a thing about US Planes flying over its country. Turns out it can. So if anything, this is pretty embarrassing. And it begs the question, what way is this war really going? You've got the Defense Secretary here who says that the US has air superiority over Iran and that they've degraded Iran's air defense. Yet this has happened and we've seen attacks by Iran continue. So this shows that Iran still retains, even though it might be reduced or limited, a capacity to defend its skies. Now, in terms of public perception, you're right, the public have been very mixed from the start about this war. But this particular incident may increase nerves about more U.S. service members being impacted by the war. Especially with recent talks of a ground invasion which would increase the risk to US Personnel significantly. But it's clear that there's no support here for a so called endless war in the Middle east and no support for the loss of more American lives.

[Celia Hatton]

And Sami, just briefly, I mean, Donald Trump has been talking about the U.S. budget today. He's seeking to boost the defense budget to 1.5 trillion. Doll. How's he justifying that alongside cuts to domestic spending?

[Simi Jalawasho]

Well, his administration says this money is for bolstering munitions building out the US Naval fleet and for the increase in salaries for military personnel. The White House is calling it a reinvestment in America's national security infrastructure. And they say that security threats justify this spending amount. But regarding the cuts, especially to what they call wasteful or woke programs, including a cut to the Department of Housing, they're reframing the cuts as a reallocation of money away from less essential or ideological programs.

[Celia Hatton]

Our Washington correspondent, Simi Jalawasho. Well, staying with the war and that news that U.S. forces are searching for an American aviator after a U.S. fighter jet was shot down inside southern Iran. So what's involved in this type of rescue mission? Jonathan Hackett is a retired U.S. marine Corps Special Operations capabilities specialist. He now provides commentary for the British Israel Communications and Research Center. My colleague James Menendez asked him what the crew would do first, assuming they had managed to eject safely.

[Jonathan Hackett]

So the first thing they're going to try to do is seek cover and also get water because you have to think about the weather in this area. It's very warm during the day, about 37 degrees Celsius, and then it gets a little chilly at. So they're going to look for a place to find shelter, not to sleep overnight, but to get an idea of where they're at. They're going to break out a map and start trying to figure out where do they move to next?

[Andrew Peach]

How do they make contact with base? Can they.

[Jonathan Hackett]

Yes, they have multiple ways to communicate with the outside world. Typically they have at least four methods. And the problem here is that the better communication quality, the easier it will be to be discovered. He's going to have to decide how much do I want to expose myself right now to let the United States know where I am. If he uses a very good signal, then the Iranian government can also see that signal. If he uses something a little bit more primitive, it'll be harder for the US to see it, but it's a little bit safer for him to use.

[Andrew Peach]

Would the Air Force the US Military more widely too? Would they have a pretty good idea where they are?

[Jonathan Hackett]

Yeah. So before the pilots launch, they always have a flight plan that they brief to their team. The unit specifically that he launched from or she launched from will actually have access to that plan. And basically they'll follow that plan throughout the flight path. We don't know exactly how they went down or why they went down, but it would be in the general vicinity of the area that they had pre planned in advance. The challenge here is this is a very mountainous, rugged area, very low population. So even if they're on one section of that path, it may be divided by a very deep valley from the other part that they had briefed their commander on where they were supposed to be flying.

[Andrew Peach]

Yeah, and we've seen this footage of a couple of helicopters and perhaps a surveillance plane flying over some of that mountainous region. I mean, getting them out once their location has been found. I mean, how risky is that?

[Jonathan Hackett]

So it's exceptionally risky. And there are several options. There's a kind of a conventional way to get them out, which is those aircraft that you see where the US Military will come in and actually take them in various ways. The other option is much riskier, but a little bit safer for the other US forces that would be in the area. And that's using locals who already have agreed in advance to work with the United States in something called a non standard assisted recovery mission that has been built very long in the past for years, and has existed in this area for exactly this type of rescue mission. It's riskier, but there's a higher chance that the US person on the ground would be able to be rescued with less US footprint in Iran.

[Andrew Peach]

I mean, presumably speed is of the essence because the Iranian military will also be trying to find them. Right, right.

[Jonathan Hackett]

And actually the person on the ground is going to be going through four things in their mind. That's the weather, the enemy terrain and time. And they're going to be balancing those four considerations at all times as they're moving throughout the mountains and then eventually the desert areas where they try to be evacuated. They're going to have to make decisions about do I move now or do I wait. And that decision could be life or death.

[Celia Hatton]

Jonathan Hackett, over the last few weeks we've been speaking a lot about the almost total closure of the crucial waterway that flows alongside Iran, the Strait of Hormuz. Only a handful of ships have passed through that bottleneck since the start of the war, causing havoc to the global economy. But now, a possible breakthrough. The first vessel linked to a European nation, a French owned cargo ship, has moved through the strait. It's believed to have used an Iranian approved route that's been dubbed the Tehran Tollbooth. And it was followed by a Japanese ship carrying liquefied natural gas, highly flammable cargo to be carrying through perilous waters. There are still thought to be around 2,000 ships trapped inside the Gulf. Captain John Conrad is the CEO of the Maritime news site G. Captain, we

[Captain John Conrad]

are starting to see that early initial trickle of ships which is a positive sign. And what is also really positive is a little bit of the diversity of ships. We were seeing previous days, some bulk carriers with low cost cargo. Now we're seeing a few container ships and even an LNG vessel, which is positive because those carry explosive gas, liquefied natural, natural gas. So the fact that the company thought that it was safe enough to get through with such a flammable cargo is positive news.

[Andrew Peach]

So is this individual carriers making their own decisions to say the risk is worth taking?

[Captain John Conrad]

Well, you know, ships are very complicated international beings. A ship may be insured with one nation, flagged under another, owned by another nation. The cargo owner can be from somewhere else and all of those interests have to align. And then you need insurance for these vessels. So the ship that we saw go through most recently is the CMA CGM Kiribi, which is a French owned ship, but it's Maltese flag and you know, insurance and crew, we don't know where the crew is from, but likely all from different nations.

[Andrew Peach]

Is that some kind of signal from Iran that it is safe at least

[Celia Hatton]

for these ships to use the strait?

[Captain John Conrad]

We've seen President Trump say you can come in and use the strait. You've seen Iran saying that you can negotiate with us. Who comes and who goes. You've seen ships like few Chinese ships. Last week there were two of them that went into the strait, backed out again, renegotiated how they're going to get through, and then the next day made it safely out of the Persian Gulf.

[Celia Hatton]

Captain John Conrad speaking to my colleague Andrew Peach. And there's more coverage from the conflict in the Middle east on our website. Have a look there for updates. Moving on now. Jackie Cazarez was nine years old when she was killed in a mass shooting at her school in Texas. Last month, her mother Gloria spoke on stage at the Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles when a documentary about school shootings won an Oscar. Standing with the filmmakers, she said her daughter's bedroom had been frozen in time. Since then, the documentary all the Empty Rooms has reached an even bigger audience. Tom Brooke sent us this report from New York. This is her room.

[Tom Brooke]

All the Empty Rooms won the best documentary short film Oscar this year. Based on a quite simple concept, it follows veteran CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they visit the empty bedrooms of children killed in US School shootings.

[Celia Hatton]

Love the lights. She loved the lights.

[Jonathan Hackett]

Yeah.

[Simi Jalawasho]

And they've actually been on since she left them on.

[Celia Hatton]

We haven't turned them off.

[Tom Brooke]

Images in the film really lingered in my mind. So I tracked down filmmaker Joshua Seftel to find out more.

[Joshua Seftel]

There are over 100 schools, school shootings a year in this country, which is an astounding, disturbing number. And we wanted to try to find a way to get at the issue and talk about it in a way that would get people's attention and get them to feel something again. Because we worry that we become numb in this country, that there are so many school shootings that it starts to. You know, you start to just feel like, oh, this is normal. But it's not a normal thing, and it can't be seen as a normal thing.

[Celia Hatton]

This is how it was almost five years ago. His dirty clothes. I don't think he wanted to lose his smell in his room because it's distinctly him.

[Tom Brooke]

In a way, this film is an effort to try to bring home the tragedy of gun violence by putting the emphasis on the way in which those who've lost children in school shootings just can't let go of their loved ones.

[Joshua Seftel]

We get to meet and learn about these children who are no longer here. We get to see the things that are left behind in these bedrooms. These bedrooms which are frozen in time. And they're rooms that the parents hold on to. They're rooms that the parents keep to remember their children when that time comes,

[Jonathan Hackett]

that that room is not there. Does she go away?

[Joshua Seftel]

For me, all the empty rooms was an attempt to talk about an issue that a lot of us know about, but to talk about it in a new way. We don't even mention the word gun in our film. It's never said.

[Tom Brooke]

This is a film in which winning an Oscar trophy makes a big, big difference. It has added momentum to a short that's already spawned photo exhibits and special screenings around the US I'm very interested

[Joshua Seftel]

in telling stories that build bridges. I'm very interested in telling stories that don't preach to the choir, stories that are just human, that share someone's life. And then we can decide when we watch it what we should think or what we should do. And our hope is when people watch this film, they feel something that they say, oh, wow, I was numb. I used to feel something when I heard about a school shooting. It used to upset me. It used to disturb me. Now I've heard about so many of them that I stopped feeling anything. And we want this film to break that cycle. Ideally, people will watch it and say, this is not normal, and we need to do something to change what's happening.

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

Okay, I.

[Simi Jalawasho]

So here is the out outfit looking real cute.

[Tom Brooke]

All the Empty Rooms also shows how much difference a small independent film can make. The distribution rights to this 35 minute short were acquired by Netflix. It's been made available in more than 100 countries in 37 different languages. And now thanks to its Oscars night victory, its audience just continues to grow.

[Celia Hatton]

Tom Brook reporting on the Oscar winning documentary all the Empty Rooms still to come in this podcast.

[Lakeisha Hawkins]

Do you have a recommendation for where we should start prioritizing putting the Orion trash bag as we generate them?

[Celia Hatton]

Daily life on the spacecraft heading towards the moon.

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

Foreign.

[Celia Hatton]

This is the global news podcast. Let's head to Ukraine now where there's been no let up in the intensity of Russian attacks over the last few days. And Friday was no exception. James Menendez heard from our correspondent in Kyiv, Sarah Rainsford.

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

It was another large scale attack. So this was a combination of hundreds of drones and three dozen missiles that were launched by Russia across Ukraine starting overnight, but then coming in waves and continuing into the middle of this morning, which I think is a bit of a, of a shift in tactics by, by Russia because daytime attacks, big attacks haven't been common, but there have been two now in just over a week. Seven days ago, there was a really large attack using hundreds and hundreds of of drones and missiles. So this has followed on. There are six people that we know so far have been killed, around about 40 people injured across the country in various and we've seen very dramatic pictures, one of them in particular of a Russian drone slamming into the side of a block of flats and of course bursting into flames. And another series of pictures from rescue workers showing them digging through the rubble of people's homes, multiple residential buildings which were just reduced to ruins and people trapped under that and injured in that particular incident. So really a large scale attack. And it came even as President Zelensky here had been calling on Russia to agree to a truce for the Easter period. And he said that this was proof that they were not interested in that. He said that they wanted an Easter escalation, an intensification of their attacks rather than a pause in the hostilities.

[Andrew Peach]

And Sarah, what about the fact that, you know, lots of the world's attention is now on what's going on in Iran? I mean, what impact is that having? I guess both militarily and diplomatically as far as the Ukraine war is concerned?

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

I mean, I think the first big impact it's having is that the efforts to come to some kind of peace deal that were mediated by the United States, those efforts have pretty Much stalled. There have been two postponements of planned meetings and they're just not happening at the moment. Russia says they're on hold. President Zelensky says he's happy for the US Mediators to come here to meet him and then to shuttle to Moscow to talk to them. But at the moment that's just not happening. And then in the meantime, there's lots of concerns here in Ukraine linked to, linked to the war in the Middle east because it means it's pushing up energy prices. And diesel in particular is what Ukraine needs in large amounts to keep its tanks rolling and to keep its vehicles on the road. So that's a big worry for the troops. But it also is a worry that the US Is sending so many of its anti of its defense missiles to the Middle east because Ukraine needs to buy those to protect itself, its cities and its civilian infrastructure here in the country and its military sites, too. So it's a big worry that going forward, there is going to be an even greater shortage of those vital Patriot air defense missile systems for here in Ukraine.

[Celia Hatton]

Sarah Rainsford in Kyiv. Let's focus on Cuba, where the authorities have begun to release prisoners. It's the second mass release in a month as Havana faces heightened pressure from the U.S. it's not clear whether any political prisoners are among those let out. So far, a key demand of the American government. Cuba is believed to be holding more than 700 people on political charges. Outside one prison in Havana. This mother was reunited with her son, who was being released early after receiving a pardon for his crime of robbery.

[Joanna Keane]

It's been very difficult, but today God granted me happiness. This is how all mothers who are seeing their sons being free today should feel.

[Celia Hatton]

This is freedom, a pardon owing nothing to anyone. I'm heading out into the world. Our global affairs reporter Joanna Keane told me more about what's been happening.

[Joanna Keane]

Cooper said it was going to release 2,000 inmates. They called it a humanitarian gesture to Mark Easter. And we've seen the first of those prisoners being released. We've seen some really emotional scenes actually in a prison in the east of Havana. People holding their release papers, crying, hugging relatives. One man just said he couldn't sleep when he heard this was going to happen. So we know that they're being released. What we don't know is exactly who is being released. Now, Cuba says it's being decided on a case by case basis. They're looking at the offense, how much that sentence has been served, and also the health of the prisoner. But rights groups say actually hundreds of political prisoners are being held in Cuba. And one of the key demands from the United States is that these are the people that should be being released. The United States has said it doesn't know that that's happening, but it is monitoring the situation.

[Celia Hatton]

You just mentioned the United States. It seems key to all of this. What is the current state of relations between Washington and Havana?

[Joanna Keane]

Yeah, you're right. It's absolutely key. Now, the US has made no secret of the fact that it wants to see a change of leadership on the Communist island. And since the beginning of this year, it's imposed a fuel blockade on Cuba. Now, the island has suffered some really terr. Conditions have been rolling blackouts. Millions of people have been in darkness. There's been a shortage of food, medicines. Hospitals have been struggling to maintain emergency and intensive care services. We've seen some airlines as well grounding flights or suspending flights to the island. Earlier this week, we did see potentially an easing in those tensions when a Russian tanker was actually allowed to dock at one of Cuba's ports. Now, the White House says the blockade's officially still in place. But President Trump did say he had no problem with that tank anchor docking. He said Cubans had to survive. That was his comment. So we've got to see where it goes from here.

[Celia Hatton]

So what does the United States want when it comes to Cuba?

[Joanna Keane]

We're not entirely clear. We saw what happened in Venezuela earlier this year. It might be that a complete change of government would suit the United States. But in the meantime, it's been making these demands, one about the release of political prisoners. And there have been, we think, been private talks going on about the future of the island. But there've been sticking points. Now is what we've seen in this past few hours is what we've seen Cuba sort of saying, you know, we're willing to do this. Is the United States allowing this tanker to dock, saying, okay, we're meeting halfway? We just don't know. It's too early to say at the moment, but there are signs of some movement and negotiations there.

[Celia Hatton]

Joanna Keen, Some Olympics news. This year's Winter Games in northern Italy have been described as the cleanest in nearly three decades by sporting officials. No competing athletes in Milan Cortina were found to have tested positive for doping, the first time this has happened since the 1998 Winter Olympics in Japan. Our sports news correspondent Joe Lynske has

[Joe Lynske]

more more than 3,000 samples from almost 2,000 athletes and as yet, not a single positive doping test. February's Winter Olympics were, as things stand, the cleanest since the 90s. It's significant because for the last two decades, both the Winter and Summer Games have had to change results retrospectively due to positive tests. At London 2012, for example, 31 medals were withdrawn after the event. Milan Cortina's record is being put down to a ramping up of testing before the game started. Benjamin Cohen is from the International Testing Agency. I think it has been our most extensive program ever implemented. We monitor the athletes throughout a much longer period. I think athletes know about this and I think this is also the reason why we see less and less positive doping control during the Olympics. Things could change, though. Samples are kept for 10 years so authorities can check them again as technology improves. For now, though, anti doping agencies around the world are cautiously optimistic.

[Celia Hatton]

Jo Linsky While we're ending the podcast with the latest on the Artemis 2 mission, as the four astronauts continue their journey to loop around the moon, NASA shared the first high resolution images of Earth taken by the crew on board the Orion spacecraft. One of those images, called hello World, captures the vast blue expanse of the Atlantic Ocean framed by a thin glow of Earth's atmosphere. You can see it on our website. Here's Lakeisha Hawkins from NASA.

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

It shows a backlit Earth revealing auroras as the crew heads towards the Moon.

[Lakeisha Hawkins]

It was taken by Reid Wiseman out of an Orion window and it features

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

two auroras, top right and left and

[Lakeisha Hawkins]

bottom left, and zodiacal light, which is at the bottom right.

[Various Interviewees / Reporters]

It's visible as the Earth eclipses to sun. You know, it's great to think that with the exception of our four friends, all of us are represented in this image.

[Celia Hatton]

We also wanted to bring you a snapshot of what life is like on board Orion. For the astronauts, NASA's providing a live online feed so we're able to hear their conversations with mission control. In Houston. On Thursday, astronaut Christina Cook was dealing with a faulty toilet. Now she says they're tackling another issue.

[Lakeisha Hawkins]

Houston integrity. Yeah, Christina, we will take what you've got first. All right, thanks. Well, first of all, as you might imagine, there's kind of an inrush of trash when we first get up here as we're deploying everything. So we did generate quite a bit of trash in the first 30 hours of the flight. We've been managing that by kind of finding hidey holes for it and putting some of it back into empty locations. So our ask is, do you have a recommendation for where we should start prioritizing putting the Orion trash bags as we generate them and potentially a request to consolidate some stowage so that we can designate a CTB that's all for trash.

[Celia Hatton]

Well, let's hope things are resolved soon. Astronaut Christina Cook onboard the Orion spacecraft. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email [e-mail] you can also find us on X@BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, the Global Story, which goes in depth and beyond the headlines on one big story. This edition of the Global News Podcast was mixed by Derek Clark. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Celia Hatton. Until next time. Goodbye. When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter each even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.