Russia continues bombing as peace talks with Ukraine begin

0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on bbc.com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

0:48I'm Emily Thomas and at 16 Hours GMT on Wednesday the 4th of February, these are our main stories. There's little hope of a breakthrough between warring Russia and Ukraine at peace talks in Abu Dhabi. Dozens of people are feared dead and the death toll is still rising after armed gangs attacked a remote village in central Nigeria. And women are for the first time officially allowed to ride motorbikes in Iran.

1:17Also in this podcast. Now we've made it so far. It was a commitment. You are doing something because of the pain that you have. So we made it here. The former child refugees walking the length of Britain to highlight the war in South Sudan.

1:39It's not been the best start to peace talks to try to end the war in Ukraine, nearly four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion. Ukrainian and Russian negotiators are in Abu Dhabi for the US-brokered negotiations, but the Kremlin said that the war will continue until Kiev agrees to Moscow's terms. President Putin wants the land his forces have captured and more. President Zelenskyy has rejected any withdrawal of Ukrainian forces. In the meantime, Russia is continuing to attack Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Irina Vovk is a resident in Kiev. Now we have very big problem with electricity.

2:18We don't have heating in our homes. Room temperature is about 6 or 10 degrees. And I use warm bottles of water to sleep. I live with my daughter. She cannot study normal. She cannot use online lessons. And now I'm thinking that maybe in some days later, I must go to the village to my parents. Because here in Kiev, living is very awful. So what hope is there for the latest talks? General Keith Kellogg was President Trump's envoy to Ukraine until his term ended last month. He said Ukraine might have to give up some land, at least in the short term. Go back to the Baltics from World War II, when Lithuania and when Estonia and when Latvia were all under Soviet control.

3:10We never said they were Soviet territory. We never recognised that they were. And when land has given up, Hopefully it'll come back. I think you have to look to the future out there. And what they're really talking about, at least with Russia, you're talking about Luhansk, which is about 98 % controlled. Donetsk, which is about 70 % controlled. And Kursan and Zaporizhia, those are the four oblats. If you count Crimea, that's your five. And maybe that'd be a loss of territory in the near term. I said near term. In the long term, as long as you end this conflict, allow everybody to reset, allow Ukraine to build up where they want to build up, which is 800 ,000 troops, That'll be the largest army in Europe.

3:47But as long as there's strong security guarantees from the United States and others, I think you can get away with that. It's hard to take, it's hard to say, but over the long term, is this what you want to do to end the war? And they're going to have to think hard about that, where they want to be. On Wednesday afternoon, the regional governor in Donetsk said that at least seven people were killed in Russian attacks in the town of Drovkivka. Vitaly Shevchenko is Russia editor at BBC monitoring. Alex Ridsen asked him what's been happening at the peace talks. All we've been hearing are rather vague statements, Alex.

4:22The Ukrainians are saying that the negotiators are going to divide into two working groups. One, presumably, as far as we know, focusing on military issues, i.e. who controls Donbass, and the other group focusing on political issues, such as whether an election of some sort will be held in Ukraine at some point in the future. But that's guesswork. In terms of what's expected, very little. I've seen leaks in the media They're suggesting that a prisoner exchange is possible tomorrow. But as we've just heard, it's not a very good beginning to the talks with continued Russian attacks on Ukraine. Donetsk is in the eastern region of Donbass, which Russia wants.

5:16What are you hearing about this latest attack there? Well, I'm looking at the latest Telegram post by Vadim Falashkin, the head of Donetsk region, which is at the heart of these talks in Abu Dhabi today. And he's saying the latest is seven people dead, 15 injured. And the demographic of the dead and injured reflects who's still there. The oldest casualty, the person who was killed, is 81 years old. So when negotiators are talking about Donbass and Donetsk, it's not exactly barren wasteland. there's still people living there who are too old or too frail to leave. And in fact, I was speaking to a volunteer based in London who's been delivering aid to Drushkivka.

6:02And he told me that the security situation was gradually deteriorating there because that town is right on the edge of Ukrainian controlled territory in Donbass. So it looks like an attack like this was just a matter of time. With neither side prepared to budge, is there any room for manoeuvre in these talks over the next two days? I think, Alex, it's a question of how long Ukraine can withstand Russia's military pressure and diplomatic pressure from both Russia and the United States, because we've seen an increasing convergence of their positions. And if that pressure mounts, and if Ukraine doesn't get enough assistance to keep pushing back, well, it doesn't really have much choice but to, well, give up territory and hope for the best.

6:49Vitaly Shevchenko. To Nigeria next, where dozens of people are feared to have been killed by armed gangs in a remote village in the country's central Kwara state. The government has pledged to do more to crack down on the recent surge in violence in the region. My colleague Lucy Hockings spoke to the BBC's Makwachi Okafor in Lagos to learn more about this latest attack. I spoke with a lawmaker from the community, that's the Woro community, and he did say that gunmen attacked the village, killed some people and raided some shops and set it ablaze. So it seems like they are now seeing more and more numbers of deaths.

7:30I have seen that the AFP news agency said that the Red Cross has seen over 100 deaths. So the numbers are increasing. We don't know specifically what group has carried out this attack as no group has come out to say it's them that did it. But it kind of shows the trend of violence we're beginning to see across many parts of Nigeria. Kwara State is in North Central, which isn't historically one of the parts of the country where you will see violence like this. But in recent weeks and months, we're beginning to see such attacks across central Nigeria. And what has been the reason for some of these attacks in other parts of central Nigeria?

8:11It's been difficult to say, but most of the attacks in the area have been a mix of many issues. You see banditry, what we locally call banditry, where armed men attack villages, abduct people for ransom, loot villages and loot shops, loot marketplaces, and carry out people's belongings. Sometimes it can be economical, but we've also seen some cases where they are ideological, where jihadists also carry out attacks like this in central Nigeria. not just in choir states, but in neighbouring Niger states, which has also seen abductions in schools. And even choir states at the end of last year saw an abduction in a church where worshippers were having an evening worship and people were abducted and even some people died in that attack.

8:57And what is the government saying and what is the government doing to try and prevent these attacks? The government has said it is ramping up efforts to climb down on insurgency. We have seen even stronger collaborations with countries like the U.S. Yesterday, the Nigerian government did confirm that a team of U.S. soldiers are now in the country to help assist the country both with intelligence sharing and training. Even the recent data from the Nigerian military did show that lots of attacks impacted on the insurgents in different parts of the country. But this doesn't mean that there has been a complete halt of violence across many parts of the country.

9:40Makhwachi Okafor. Iran has made a concession to female motorcyclists by formally allowing them to obtain a license. Women have been riding motorbikes for years, but traffic laws were vague about whether this was legal. It's not clear if this move was made in connection with the widespread anti-government protests last month that were brutally put down by the authorities. Thousands of people are thought to have been killed. Conchay Habibi Azhar is from the BBC Persian service. Yesterday, Iran's first vice president ordered police to begin training and testing female applicants for them to get licences.

10:18I've been talking to some women in the capital of Tehran who ride motorcycles and they see this move as long overdue because it followed a bill submitted to parliament last year in summer to amend traffic laws that previously limited licenses to men. And in that law, in that article, it included the word men and in practice excluded women from eligibility and left like a legal loophole. And we have seen a rise in female riders in recent years and we could spot them in videos and photos coming out of Tehran and other cities in Iran. But I have to say this, that the Instagram account of a female motorcyclist was blocked back in October last year after she posted a video criticizing the authorities for failing to issue the licenses to women.

11:09So why now? So the decision is following widespread public discontent and a deadly crackdown on protesters that rights groups say left thousands there. And the protest started in late December over Iran's worsening economic conditions. And the conditions have not improved yet. And in BBC Persian, we've seen people in Tehran sent text messages informing them of this new law allowing women to get licenses for motorcycles. So it comes at a time when following the protests, it's just the time that it seems that the public are not happy with the authorities. It's still hugely tough being a woman in Iran, isn't it?

11:53I was born and raised in the capital of Tehran and living there as a young woman for me was not easy. I faced many restrictions and like the first one, when stepping out of the house, I had to observe mandatory hijab. Although we are now seeing more women coming out and going out without the mandatory hijab, but they're still breaking the rule. And in 2022, a woman was killed in morality police's custody over not observing mandatory hijab that led to a widespread protest called Woman Life Freedom. And whenever in Iran I went to mixed gender parties or drank alcohol in these parties, which is also illegal, but there is a moonshine market for alcohol.

12:34I always had this fear that what if the police decides to raid the party and arrest us all? Gonche Habibi Azad. Now, an inspiring story about two former child refugees who settled in the UK. They've just completed a marathon walk along the length of the British mainland to draw attention to the war in South Sudan. Giel Malual and John Quay originally fled the violence there after a civil war broke out in 2013. During their epic journey, they raised money to build new schools in refugee camps for children displaced by the war. Patricia Whitehorn caught up with them as they finished.

13:17Hey! I can't believe you guys have done it! Okay, John, man. The wind is so strong, but you guys are stronger. In the howling wind greeted by supporters, Giel Maloual and John Quig arrive at their final destination, the Duncansby Head Lighthouse in the Scottish Highlands. It really feels great to finish this in the end. It's a wonderful achievement. They have just completed their grueling walk, which began mid-December, when they set off from Dungeness Beach on the southeast coast, heading to the northernmost tip of Britain. To every child in Sudan, whether you are from the north, the south, the west or the east, the long walk of freedom belongs to you.

14:10They covered more than 900 miles, around 1 ,500 kilometres, walking up to 15 hours a day through rain, snow and ice.

14:25Speaking over a very welcome cup of hot chocolate in the nearby Jonagroats Café, Giel and John tell me how they've lived through conflict themselves. They're from the Nour tribe in South Sudan, the country's second largest ethnic group, and were caught up in fighting before coming to the UK as child refugees. Giel says his childhood experiences have influenced his fundraising. I am a genocide survivor. In 2013, when the conflict unfolded in South Sudan, I was a young boy. I really lost a lot of relatives in that war based on ethnic targeting by the government. And I was displaced from my home in Juba into the UN camp.

15:08And I stayed there for five years. And I love to, you know, become a lawyer when I grow up. That was the dreams that I had when I was a child. But staying in those camps feel like that dream is never achievable because the education that we received is not that proper, it's not that enough, you know. It does not get the best out of us. As Giel and John began their journey, many people told them they were crazy for walking during the cold and icy winter months. But Giel says that was a deliberate decision to show solidarity with the suffering of the Sudanese people. John Kwe says he was daunted by the task, but agreed to join Gil on his mission because of the cause.

15:50We always used to motivate each other. When you feel like you are tired and you are exhausted. Now we've made it so far. It was a commitment. You are doing something because of the pain that you have of the other children. So we made it here. I don't think if could be another thing, I would not do it to be honest with you. Giel and John's original fundraising target was just under$50 ,000. But the two men have raised three times that amount. Giel says this will enable them to open up more than one school. We are going to build them around all the neighbouring countries that the Sudanese children have fled into, like Chad, like Uganda, like Egypt, and support them as these children go along to, you know, discover the best version of themselves.

16:38Former child refugee Giel Malouel ending that report by Patricia Whitehorn. Still to come in this podcast. My favourite moment was doing a Royal Variety performance. Prince Charles walking along the line up and him saying, are there any women in the Muppets? And I leapt at him. Prince, Prince, Prince. Muppets. To mark the TV programme's 50th anniversary, an insider looks back.

17:12If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed? In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed. But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it. It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories. I'm Helena Merriman, and in a new BBC series, I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story. What did they miss the first time? The History Bureau. Putin and the apartment bombs. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

17:50This is the Global News Podcast. The International Energy Agency has warned that increasing demand for rare earth minerals, essential in many modern technologies, is putting energy security at risk. Global demand for these minerals is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, creating pressure on supply chains. Now, more than 50 countries are gathering at a conference in Washington to discuss the matter. Alex Ritson asked our business correspondent, Jonathan Josephs, what role China, which controls many of these resources, had to play in all this. China controls so many of these critical minerals, things like rare earths, but also has a lot of influence when it comes to things like copper and lithium.

18:35So I asked Ta-Yoon Kim, who is the head of the critical minerals division at the International Energy Agency. I asked him what the risks were. There are some growing questions about whether the future supplies can keep up with rising demand. We see some progress has been made in recent years. Investment increasing and also many governments are introducing new policy support to make projects happen. But the same cannot be said for diversification. We need to develop more more mines and more smelters and more refineries to serve the rising demand. So what the fear here is that China, because it's dominating the production and refining of these elements, these minerals, it potentially can hold the rest of the world over a barrel.

19:20Well, that's not just a potential fear, Alex. That's something that actually happened last year when China renounced export controls on rare earths. And that was at the heart of the US-China trade war. China has a really strong bargaining chip when it comes to its trade negotiations with America, with Europe, with all parts of the global economy. If they do things that China doesn't like, it can hold back some of these supplies. Because if we look at rare earths as an example, China has about 70 % of mining capacity in the world. But even more importantly, it has about 90 % of refining capacity because it's quite a dirty process to extract these minerals and turn them into usable substances, which you might find in a smartphone, you might find them in a jet engine, you might find them in a wind turbine.

20:08And to do all of that, China is prepared to accept those risks. And that's given it a lot of leverage in the global economy. So now other countries are trying to lessen their dependence. And Mr. Kim says that they need to invest more in doing so that they need to expand their own mining and refining capacities to do that. And there's a huge meeting in Washington to look at this. That's right. There's this gathering happening in Washington. Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, is hosting. They're all coming together to try and work out how they can diversify their own supply chains for critical minerals and move away from this dependence on China.

20:46Now, it's going to be a long term game to achieve any of that and how far they will get in this one meeting remains to be seen. But America has already been talking about this in recent days. President Trump announced on Monday, a$12 billion strategic mineral reserve. The EU is also trying to put money into it. And China has responded by saying that it thinks more communication is necessary, and that it believes that free market economies and international trade rules should be adhered to in terms of these critical minerals and that they should just be allowed to flow under those terms. Jonathan Josephs.

21:24For more on this story, you can go on YouTube, search for BBC News, click on the logo, then choose podcasts and Global News Podcast. Next, Walmart surpassed a market valuation of$1 trillion on Tuesday, becoming the first so-called traditional firm to hit the milestone. In doing so, the US retail giant joins a small club mostly made up of tech giants like Apple and Microsoft. It marks a significant moment for America's largest retailer known for its large stores and low prices. Pete Ross has more. The share price has been rising for the last year or so going up by around about 26%. So analysts have expected that it would pass this milestone.

22:09This has been achieved by a traditional retailer. When you think of some of the world's biggest companies and indeed the world's biggest companies are, you know, populated by the big tech giants, Google, Meta, those sorts of companies. Not a traditional bricks and mortar retailer known for its vast stores, huge numbers of products, low prices that traditionally attract low and middle income families. So it's broadened its customer base significantly. As we all feel the pinch of rising grocery prices, higher income Some customers have begun shopping there. Like most of us, they're looking for value, for convenience, at a time when all households are feeling the pinch.

22:53They're facing a number of financial strains, factors such as inflation, particularly in the US as well, a cooling job market. The company's been able to take advantage of that challenging consumer environment and it's broadened its appeal, reaching out to, as I said, those customers that traditionally look elsewhere while retaining its lower income shoppers. They're still going there. Digital sales have driven it as well. It's been a major driver of growth. It's grown the number of items online. Apparently, according to one report that I read, there's over a half a billion items available to shop online now.

23:30It's making basically a direct challenge at one of its main competitors, Amazon Prime. Also critically, Walmart went big early on AI technology. And that's helped it across the business by pouring billions of dollars into supply chain automation. It allows it to restock more quickly. And that means it can offer more products and it can increase its profit margins. Another thing that it's done, it's also tried to appeal to tech workers. So it's built a new headquarters or a new campus, a 350 acre campus in Bentonville, Arkansas. It's sort of something that resembles more of those kind of headquarters.

24:09as you would expect to see something like Google or Meta. So it's got childcare facilities, there's a vast food hall, amphitheatre, basically trying to bring in new tech workers to help it with this push, with its AI push. Pete Ross. Water shortages are worsening in parts of South Africa. The latest casualty is the coastal town of Gneissner, whose residents are fearing the prospect of municipal taps running dry, so-called Day Zero. Dams are critically low and water restrictions have been imposed to slow down the decline. Authorities have even declared a local state of disaster amid concern over dwindling supplies.

24:47The BBC's Pumza Filani has been to Naisna.

24:54Naisna, home to turquoise beaches, smooth sand and pleasant weather, is popular with international visitors and is a retirement haven for its more affluent locals. But beneath the pretty veneer, the town's water system is on the brink. We are at Akurkluf, one of the town's main storage dams. It was the super low water levels here that sparked panic and warnings of a day zero. At this level, you're looking at less than 20 days of water reserves. It's a crisis that's sponsored both by nature through a localised drought, plus years of poor maintenance of the town's ageing infrastructure. Meisner loses up to 56 % of its drinkable water through pipes that have not been upgraded for over 30 years.

25:48Amble Ridge Care, a sprawling retirement village, in recent months had a taste of what a town without water would look like. when a fault at a local municipal plant left the elderly residents without any for 10 days. This prompted owner Franco de Grandes to invest in a backup water supply. We need water in the apartments. We need water when people are bedridden in nappies and without water we cannot function. He spent around$16 ,000 on three large water tanks and specialized pumps to feed that water into some of the facility's main buildings. This latest crisis has led to a scramble for funds from the national government and promises of solutions by its latest mayor, Tando Matika.

26:36He's been in the role for 11 months. I ask him what his council is doing now to save Nisner's water. We are looking at water use and also we are looking at building an extra term. Some water experts are warning that without proper planning, more towns could face similar trouble in the coming years. Dr. Feriel Adam from Autacan, a Johannesburg-based research and advocacy group, explains. Almost half of our population do not have running water within their homes. So there's definitely an issue with the infrastructure, the access, and then there's an environmental one. And if you put those two together, it's what we have right now.