Global News Podcast - Ukraine's incursion into Russia deepens

Episode Date: August 9, 2024

An unprecented assault by Ukraine into Russia's Kursk region enters its fourth day, and an airbase in Lipetsk has also been targetted. We have Russian reaction. Also: In Thailand the main opposition party reinvents itself - two days after being disbanded by the country's top court because of laws against insulting the monarchy, and how a sad meme has been turned into a musical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland.

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. If you're hearing this, you're probably already listening to BBC's award-winning news podcasts. But did you know that you can listen to them without ads? Get current affairs podcasts like Thank you. Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Valerie Sanderson and at 13 hours GMT on Friday the 9th of August, these are our main stories.

Ukraine expands its incursion into Russia. It's hit an airbase in the Lipetsk region. In Thailand, the main opposition party reinvents itself two days after being disbanded by the country's top court. Also, this podcast, supporters of Carlos Puigdemont, who campaigns for independence for Catalonia, says he's on the way to Belgium after the Spanish authorities failed to arrest him. And... Myself and the entire universe saw an image on social media of a really sad-looking Oompa Loompa. It became a symbol of what the hell happened to my life. We have the tale of how a failed visitor attraction

starring Willy Wonka's Oompa Loompas got turned into a musical. We start with Ukraine and an update of their incursion into Russian territory, which began on Tuesday. A big drone attack has backed up their ground offensive in the Kursk region. And there are reports too that they've launched an explosive attack much deeper in Russian territory in Lipetsk. The sound, we're told by Ukrainian MPs, of drones attacking Lipetsk airbase. The Ukrainians say there were several explosions and a huge fire where dozens of Russian aircraft and warehouses storing glide bombs are based. Our correspondent in Kiev, James Waterhouse, gave the details. We know that this significant Ukrainian offensive is going into a fourth day. And if Russia was hoping it would have been slowed,

it doesn't seem to be materialising in that way. We're told on the Russian side that 75 drones intercepted overnight. We've heard from the Ukrainian Security Service this side of the border that they successfully targeted a major Russian air base in Lipetsk, which is in a neighbouring border region, where they say hundreds of glide bombs were stored. They say there were fighter jets. They say there were bombers there. And there is footage online appearing to show a large fire and explosions.

And it's also what Russian military bloggers are reporting to. So clearly, Ukraine is looking to extend this quite significant, this audacious counterpunch from across the border, when for weeks and months there were concerns that Russia would launch an attack the other way. It seems like they've gone around 10 kilometres, when you look at all the reports added together, into Russia. They've seized control of a gas hub, a town called Suja. There are conflicting reports there, as well as several settlements. And in the short term, they seem to be drawing Russian troops for elsewhere, which appears to be Ukraine's goal for now. You're calling it audacious. Do you think Ukraine is now bracing itself for a pretty swift Russian response to this?

You would imagine that would have fallen into Ukrainian calculations here, because there is a common sentiment that Ukrainians will tell you, well, what are they going to do? Are they going to invade again? But Vladimir Putin sort of struggled to hide his irritation yesterday when he was being briefed by security chiefs. And this cuts to the heart of his almost sort of social contract with Russians, you know, who live their lives in places like the Kursk region and they trust in

the Kremlin to keep them safe and handle foreign policy. So a major attack like this is not a good look for the Kremlin. There are also lots of, I mentioned those military bloggers, they are criticising the military command there for claiming that the situation was under control and not acting on intelligence, which suggested that Ukraine was going to carry out something like this. So for those reasons, you know, you would imagine that there would be some kind of bracing for a response. But I think the hope is that it might slow Russia's gains in the east of Ukraine. But looking ahead, you know, it is a fine line between this being a stroke of genius and this being a major miscalculation when you consider Ukraine is already well outmanned by Russian forces. Well, as James said there, the attack on the airfield is part of Ukraine's broader campaign into Russia.

So let's look now at how the incursion is being viewed by Moscow. Here's our Russia editor, Steve Rosenberg. Well, I was reading the Russian papers today, and they were really interesting. I mean, keep in mind that, you know, most of the Russian papers that are still printed and published in this country are controlled by the state. But what comes through when you read these dailies today is this sort of begrudging recognition by Moscow that Ukraine's cross-border attack has been pretty successful so far. So, for example, this is a Moskovsky Komsomol, it's a popular tabloid, and it quotes, first of all, from the

relatively new Russian defence minister, who said that it's OK making mistakes, but you mustn't lie. And the paper says we have to recognise that this cross-border assault was a strong move by the Zelensky regime, which has caused unpleasant consequences for Russia. This is another very pro-Kremlin Russian paper, Izvestia, and it says that the enemy, in other words the Ukrainian army, is acting skilfully and daringly according to all the rules of the art of war. It said it's been using drones as air cover for its tactical groups, and then it brought in reserves and battalion tactical groups, which have attacked in various

parts of Kursk region. And that's quite interesting. I think that reflects the realisation here in Moscow that it's very difficult to put a positive spin on what's been happening in southern Russia over the last four days. Steve Rosenberg. Members of Thailand's main opposition party, which was dissolved by a court ruling on Wednesday, are regrouping under a new name. Eleven leaders of the reformist Move Forward Party were also banned from politics for 10 years over their calls to amend the harsh royal defamation laws. The party has announced a new leader, a young tech entrepreneur, and its new name will be the People's Party. Peter Limjaro-Enrat is the former leader of the Move Forward Party

and was their prime ministerial candidate in the 2023 election. He spoke to Andrew Peach about his party's dissolution. It's quite disappointing, not just to me personally, but also to the country as a whole. We're also a constitutional monarchy to the Thai definition, and that definition has changed. Obviously, we'll still have to regroup and continue our ideology, our political project.

But the attempt to dissolve the party is futile. And so it begs the question to the international community what kind of democracy Thailand is, whether it's really still a democracy or it's gravitating towards competitive autocracy. It sends the signal space to discuss constructively about the relationship between the monarchy and the people is shrinking. Our attempted amendment to amend the criminal code inside the parliament where it should be a safe space was not allowed. And that equates to insurrection or treason. We wanted to reform the country while preserving the monarchy and to make sure that,

you know, the new generation that does not share the same sentiment of the era understands the importance of the monarchy in constitutional monarchy in a Thai context. So what is this new People's Party like? Is it any different to what went before? I spoke to our Southeast Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head. This is a peculiarity in Thailand, that you have this system whereby the courts routinely intervene and dissolve parties, a very drastic action, one that is widely criticised, but they do leave this window open. Thai politics is very fluid,

and parties are always breaking up and reforming anyway, even if the courts don't intervene. And what Move Forward had to have, and they knew this was likely, was a prepared registered party, a little entity. So long as it was registered with the election commission, they can all move to that party or any other party if they choose. Interestingly, this time, it seems all 143 MPs have chosen to move. The party did unexpectedly well in last year's election. Not all the people who are MPs are really hardcore move forward. And there was a fear that some of them could have been bribed, as has happened in the past, to go and defect to other parties. But that has not happened.

I think there's a realisation that part of the reason they did so well in last year's election was that they do represent a clean break. They're young, they're energetic, they're reformist, and anybody who leaves probably wouldn't do very well in the next election. So they will carry on and still be the main opposition in Parliament. And I think they're quite optimistic. You have to remember this has happened before. Move Forward itself was a reincarnation of another party, Future Forward, which was banned in the year 2000 for different reasons, but essentially by the courts as well with the same kind of climate. And yet the party did much better in the subsequent election, even having lost its leaders. entrepreneur, a man called Natapong Rompanyawat, who's been an MP since 2019, that they will be able to repeat what they did last year in the next election in three years time, cash in on that very strong yet hunger for change in Thailand, and the fact that they've remained clean and above the

normal politics, and perhaps do even better. But in the past, as you alluded, we've seen parties regroup, rebrand, do well, and then be blocked from forming a government. So can they actually get anywhere? That's a big question because, I mean, there's no question that they understand now that you can't have any issue even related to the monarchy as part of your platform. No matter that people in Thailand appear to want discussion of the monarchy, this will not be allowed. The courts are very powerful and can stop this. But they have a lot else in their platform. And their

previous platform was very popular, too. They want to reform the military. They want to end military service. They want to reform the structure of business. They want to reform local administration. And I think it'll be interesting to see if they do very well again in three years' time on a quite radical platform that does not touch the monarchy, whether the establishment is willing to let them take power or not. That is the big question. Not just the courts, but of course the military are always there as a potential intervention in Thai politics to undermine the outcomes of democratic elections. Jonathan Head. Ten months on from the 7th October attacks on Israel and its subsequent assault on Gaza, the pressure is on again for negotiations on a ceasefire to end the war in the Palestinian territory. It's the three-phase deal outlined by President Biden in late May and endorsed by the

Security Council. Israel has agreed to send delegates to talks in Qatar or Egypt. Hamas has yet to respond. It comes following the recent assassination of a Hamas leader in Iran and further attacks on schools in Gaza. Hani Al-Mudun is the director of philanthropy for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees, UNRWA. He told us he's sceptical an agreement can be reached. My heart tells me, you know, I should always be optimistic. I just find this a challenge. I believe it when I see it. There's been a lot of talk since April about the serious push for a ceasefire. It's not very complicated, but it seems that there is a lack of political will. Unfortunately, every day passes, every hour

passes, more Palestinians are either dead by the bomb or dead by starvation. And that's the reality we see in Gaza every day. So is there any chance of reaching a deal? Our correspondent in Jerusalem, Yolan Nel, told me what's happening. Certainly the Israelis came out very quickly, the prime minister's office saying that they would attend. We're yet to hear from Hamas. We had expected that the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh would really at least temporarily halt the talks.

He had been overseeing the Hamas side of things, but it's not been expected that they would stop altogether because of his absence. In fact, Hamas officials have been sort of stressing previously that Khalil al-Hayya, who was the kind of leading the five-member negotiating team, that he remains ready to do his job. We've had them saying that the replacement of Ismail Haniyeh with a more extreme leader, Yahya Sinwar, that still doesn't fundamentally change the way they see any deal and that up to now all previous declarations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal that Hamas had signed up to had been approved by Yahya Sinwa. There's a lot going on, of course, here in the background. I mean,

they do seem to have been saying at the end of July that they felt that they were close to a deal. And I mean, the US is going very close now to the time of the presidential election campaign. It would really like to focus on that. And all that's happened in the last week or so has really underlined the danger in the Middle East of the Gaza war. We're at this dangerous juncture of a bigger regional war. And we've had international diplomats saying repeatedly in the past week that if only there could be a ceasefire in Gaza, that would really calm down the entire region. Yolande Nel. The accelerating spread of mpox, previously known as monkeypox,

is causing concern. The viral infection that can cause a painful rash, enlarged lymph nodes and fever is expected to be made a public health emergency by the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention next week. It'll be the first time the Continental Public Health Agency declares this level of alert. Our Africa health correspondent Dorcas Wangira told the BBC's Andrew Peach about the disease. MPOCs has been in the African continent for decades, the DRC more specifically. There are over 15,000 cases that have been reported this year. 96% of them are in the DRC alone. But what we are seeing is that MPOCs are spreading to countries it has never spread before.

Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi have reported cases for the very first time. And declaring it a public health emergency of continental security, what does that mean and what does it change? In essence, it's just raising the alert, sounding the alarm that this is an emergency. And I must say that usually the World Health Organization, WHO, declares a public health emergency of international concern. It's known as FEC. That's the highest level of alert. So in short, this means

that Africa CDC doesn't have to wait for WHO to declare MPOCs an emergency first. So it raises a flag. But what does that lead to? So what we will expect to see in the coming week is first the heads of state of Africa will meet for an extraordinary summit to hear from Africa CDC what needs to be done. There are four causes of action that are very important. One is that international notification, resources, resources, resources. Africa needs money to buy vaccines. We also need money for contact tracing and the treatment. And then also we are talking about bringing support between countries because if it is spreading across borders, it's not just one country's problem.

Obviously, the fear is that it spreads more and more and more, makes more people unwell. Is it deadly? So that's an important question. MPOCs has two clades or more variants, so to say there's the first clade one and clade two. But clade one was associated with people eating bushmeat, mostly in West Africa and Central Africa. But what was seen with clade two was spreading more through sexual contact. However, the virus, just like many other viruses, is changing, so to say. So the clade 1B is what is concerning because you're seeing more people getting it. And also you're seeing people having

even after they heal, it's a virus, it heals on its own, they're still having some complications. Dorcas Wangira. Still to come, it used to be called the Gold Coast. Ghana has been mining gold for centuries but it has only now opened its first commercial refinery for the metal. you can listen to them without ads. Get current affairs podcasts like Global News, AmeriCast and The Global Story, plus other great BBC podcasts from history to comedy to true crime, all ad-free. Simply subscribe to BBC Podcast Premium on Apple Podcasts or listen to Amazon Music with a Prime membership. Spend less time on ads and more time with BBC Podcasts. Where is the Catalan separatist leader, Carlos Puigdemont?

Police in Spain have been looking for him since he made a surprise return to the country on Thursday, then disappeared. And in a news conference, regional police chiefs vowed to keep looking for him until they have evidence he is elsewhere. Sources close to Mr Puigdemont have suggested he's now returning to Belgium, where he's been living in exile. Danny Eberhard, Tommy Moore.

One of the judges at the Spain Supreme Court, he is the person who has been leading attempts to bring Carlos Puigdemont to court over many years. And he's also the one who says that Carlos Puigdemont still faces a charge of having embezzled public money in organising a failed independence bid in 2017. So he wants to know from the Spanish Interior Ministry why they failed to stop him at the border. And he wants to know from the Catalan police why they failed to arrest him yesterday. What you have in Catalonia, there's a lot of fallout, a lot of embarrassment, obviously, that there was this man who's got an arrest warrant out for him, who appeared in public

in a big crowd in Barcelona, and then managed to disappear. So the Catalan police and the Catalan regional government have been giving a press conference. They've explained that basically, they had a complex policing operation yesterday. This visit happened at the same time as an investiture in Parliament, a vote of investiture for a new head of the Catalan regional government. And they're saying that the priority was to preserve that and public order, as well as arrest Carlos Puigdemont. They've acknowledged that they failed in that. And one of the policemen have said that it's affected the credibility of the local police. But one of the politicians there said it was disproportionate and unfair, the amount of blame they've been getting.

We understand he's now going to Belgium. Well, this is according to people, his lawyer and the general secretary of the party that he heads. Now, Belgium is the place where he spent most of the nearly seven years he spent in exile. So it would be a logical thing. Obviously, not everything that this party has been telling us over recent days has always proved to be true. There's been a certain amount of deliberate disinformation about the visit. So it may well be that until we see him in Belgium, and he will no doubt appear to address this thing, because in many ways, it's been a real coup for Puigdemont and has really put the issue of independence back on the agenda.

Danny Eberhard to Bangladesh now, and it's the first full day for its new interim leader, Professor Mohamed Younis, a man known for his groundbreaking work on small loans to people in poverty. Student protests were key to forcing the former leader, Sheikh Hasina, to resign and to flee to India. Her son, Sanjeev Joy, says she'll return to Bangladesh the moment the interim government decides to hold an election. But when might that be? Well, our South Asia correspondent Samira Hussain brought some students together in Dhaka to find out what their demands are now. I'm standing underneath a statue that commemorates a people's uprising against a military government

back in the 90s. And I'm standing here with some university students that participated in this particular uprising that led to the overthrow of the Yassina government. I'm going to start with you, Akhtar. Can you tell me why you participated in those protests? The students of Bangladesh started to raise their voice against quota discrimination in public services and we successfully attained our demand. One of the other demands was to have Nobel laureate

Muhammad Yunus lead this interim government. Why was that important to you Anik? His achievements can take Bangladesh to a new level. Do you think he'll be able to bring democracy to Bangladesh? We want a functional democracy that was missing in the last 15 years. We want to cast our votes and we think that Dr. Yunus is the only guy right now who is capable of bringing this to us. So Dr. Yunus has the capacity, experience, knowledge and the full team basically. Now Mr. Yunus is the capacity, experience, knowledge, and the full team, basically. Now, Mr. Yunus is leading a team of people. That team is made up of lawyers, academics, people from the business and economic world.

What happens now? Basically, there are three things that we want. Number one priority is that he must bring law and order into place. As there is no government, no police is walking, basically the government is in a volatile situation. We are seeing a volatile situation in Bangladesh. Second is basically Dr. Yunus needs to bring democracy in the institutions. This is what the

primary demand is. And by bringing democracy within six to eight months, we demand a general election. As the interim government is not directly elected, we welcome him, but he can't stay two or three years, basically. He is unelected and he must ensure that the institutions are democratically

functioning. He must ensure a fair election within six and eight months. These three things are basically our demands, public's demands and most people's demands. The military is a powerful force in the country. They are also power-hungry. How will Mr. Yunus and his colleagues be able to manage the demands

or the desires of the military? The military government cannot be in power because that would be huge chaos. Because whenever military comes to the power, the nation goes very much problems. So we students will help Dr. Yunus to keep his authority in his hand and keep democracy in his hand. One final question for all three of you.

How hopeful are you for Bangladesh's future? We are very much hopeful. We are waiting for a better Bangladesh. We are waiting for a better Bangladesh. We are waiting for a democratic Bangladesh. I'm highly hopeful and I'm counting on Dr. Younes. We are of course hopeful, hopeful, but there are some things that we need to understand. If this government stays two or three years, this will be a problem. But if this government stays six to eight months, and if it ensures what the three demands we have made,

then it will be a democratic, inclusive Bangladesh. Abdullah, Anik, Akhtar, thank you so much for your time. You're most welcome. BBC South Asia correspondent Samira Hussain. In Ghana, gold is big business. It's the West African country's largest export. But not a single ounce is exported in processed form. That all changed on Thursday after Ghana's first commercial gold refinery was opened in the capital Accra. The newsroom's Ella Bicknell reports. Ghana has been

going for gold for centuries. Before its independence from Britain in 1957, Ghana was called the Gold Coast. And archaeologists have found evidence of gold mining as early as 4th century BC. However, despite that long history, the country's had no way to refine the precious metal until now. The refinery which we are commissioning today will offer premium to gold exported from Ghana and enabling us to refine to 24 carats. That is 99.99% purity. That's Vice President Muhammudu Bawumia. On Thursday, he opened Ghana's first commercial gold refinery in Accra. Now, only through the gold refining process can the metal be measured,

value and remoulded into things like coins, bullion bars and jewellery. Mr Bawumia says it's meant years of missed economic potential. Currently, our country's gold is exported in Dori form to be refined outside Ghana, resulting in lost revenue and missed opportunities for job creation. The Royal Ghana Gold Refinery plans to process up to 400 kilograms a day. For Osagyefoyo Amortia Afuri Panin, who's ruled Eastern Ghana's Akyem tribe, this is a breakthrough. If we don't own our resources, we will never be able to achieve what we want to achieve. We're poor because we were exploited. So when I got here and listened to all the speakers,

I just took a big sigh of relief and said, finally, finally, we're here. However, campaigners, including Human Rights Watch, have raised concerns about Ghana's gold industry, particularly its reliance on child labour and the environmental damage it causes. A 2021 BBC investigation found 60% of Ghana's water bodies are now polluted, largely due to illegal mining activities. But the government says the refinery will help contain illegal practices, including gold smuggling, as well as create jobs and ensure Ghana's economic growth. Ella Bicknell. And finally, a Willy Wonka-themed family event based on the Roald Dahl book Charlie and the

Chocolate Factory, which became a social media sensation for all the wrong reasons, has inspired several shows at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. The disastrous event in Glasgow left visitors pretty disappointed and led to a meme going viral. Our media and arts correspondent David Silito has been to the Scottish capital to find out more. Edinburgh and welcome to the Fringe. My show is called Little Beast. Savoy! And this is Willy Wonka and the Doctor Factory.

There's also a Wonka magic show and two Wonka musicals. There's a lot of Willy Wonka here. I think it's a Glasgow situation. Have you heard about that? Glasgow. You may remember it. The gloriously disappointing Wonka chocolate experience. The images went round the world, especially one of a very sad Oompa Loompa, which inspired an American producer, Richard Croft. So what is this show you're doing?

OK, so what it is, is myself and the entire universe saw an image on social media of a really sad-looking Oompa Loompa. The sad Oompa Loompa, in a way, became a symbol around the world of what the hell happened to my life. And so, since I kept asking the question, what's going on in that girl's head? I thought, there's only one way to answer what's going on in someone's head. It's a musical. A musical, of course. What else would it be? A musical. Are you mad? Are you mad? I'm worried

for you. I'm worried for you. Willie's grand opening. But he's done it. And the star of the show? Yes, it's the sad Oompa Loompa herself, Kirsty Patterson. It was a disaster.

It's as bad as what they say it was, how it ended. But I was the last one standing, giving out the jelly beans, and at the exact time when they took the picture, to be fair, was when I was seriously contemplating my life, being like, maybe I should just go and do something else. The number one tourist attraction in Glasgow! It feels like a dream come true. I mean, I don't think a lot of people can say

they have a musical role about them. She can't have one. Who says I can't? The man with the funny hat. I want one! And to add to it all, there's even a star appearance from the Willy Wonka movie from 1971, the original Veruca Salt.

Veruca, you were terrible. I was, thank you so much. Veruca has haunted me in a good way. You know, I wasn't quite the sad oompa-loompa meme, but I have been a meme for many, many women. I want it now! So how many days' rehearsal have you had? So far, one.

One. One. David Sillitoe reporting there from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. That's it from us for now, but there'll 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 globalpodcasts at bbc.co.uk.

You can also find us on X at Global News Pod. This edition was mixed by Chris Lovelock. The producer was Marion Straughan. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Valerie Sanderson. Until next time, bye-bye. The Global Story.