In short
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun meets Donald Trump at the White House to advance a US-brokered framework deal aimed at ending the Israel–Hezbollah conflict. The episode also covers related developments in southern Lebanon, including a “pilot zone” handover plan, disputes over Israeli fire, and journalists being blocked from entering.
Guest backgrounds
Nada Homsi, journalist with Lebanon’s National Newspaper; she reports from southern Lebanon with UNIFIL and a French charity aid convoy. Nora Bayrak-Darian, Lebanese Minister for Youth and Sport and professor of international relations at Lebanese University; she discusses Aoun’s goals in Washington.
Key claims
The framework includes gradual replacement of Israeli forces by Lebanese National Army troops, then disarming Hezbollah. Israel says any Lebanese troop fire was only warning shots and that journalists were denied entry due to convoy size, limiting information flow from occupied areas. Homsi argues Israel restricts information and that aid is sometimes facilitated via Israel-controlled routes. Bayrak-Darian says the “technical misunderstanding” caused the pilot-zone firing and emphasizes institution-building and US mediation for durable peace.
Notable examples
UNIFIL-coordinated journalists turned back at a checkpoint after waiting five hours; reports of Lebanese soldiers fired upon in pilot zones; Netanyahu’s comments about annexing Christian villages are rejected by local residents.
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOTrump and Lebanese President Meeting
1:20 to 2:36
Discussion of the meeting between President Trump and Lebanese President Aoun regarding the Israel-Lebanon framework deal.
“The US has been brokering discussions between representatives of the governments of Lebanon and Israel.”
Challenges in Southern Lebanon
2:38 to 5:32
Nadia Homsi shares accounts of challenges faced in southern Lebanon and the U.N. aid convoy experience.
“As part of the framework plan, Israeli forces currently in southern Lebanon are to be gradually replaced by Lebanese troops from the National Army.”
Israeli-Lebanese Tensions
5:34 to 7:30
Exploration of the tensions between Israeli forces and Lebanese troops during the deployment in the pilot zone.
“on and to speak with residents, because it's very difficult for journalists to physically get there.”
Lebanon's Diplomatic Goals
7:32 to 13:06
Interview with Nora Bayrak-Darian discussing Lebanon's objectives for the meeting with the U.S. and the broader peace process.
“grief between different residents of Lebanon, different political parties, and so on.”
News Headlines Overview
14:00 to 14:51
Get a quick update on today's major news stories.
“And then on Monday we have the flight but they told us that there isn't enough space on the plane to take all our wheelchair.”
Youth Protests in Delhi
14:51 to 19:57
Learn about the ongoing protests in Delhi led by young activists.
“despite around 180 people being injured.”
Indonesia's Baby Trafficking Case
19:57 to 23:48
Discover the details of a significant baby trafficking trial in Indonesia.
“Indian student protester Shainya there in Delhi.”
French Social Media Ban
24:23 to 28:00
Explore the implications of France's new legislation banning social media for minors.
“In the past few hours, the French Parliament has voted to ban social media for under-15s, making France the first European country to do so.”
Zelensky's Leadership Shake-Up
28:00 to 34:42
Explore the recent changes in Ukraine's military leadership and public sentiment.
“President Zelensky has sacked the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Olexander Sersky.”
Ebola Outbreak in DRC
34:42 to 40:52
An in-depth look at the rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“The World Health Organization is warning that it's already the third largest Ebola outbreak on record, but it's the speed of this spread which is worrying health officials most.”
Show all 14 chapters
The Rise of Major League Soccer
40:52 to 42:01
Discussion on the growth of Major League Soccer in the U.S. post-World Cup.
“Now, in the United States, football typically means a very different thing to the rest of the world.”
The Evolution of Major League Soccer
42:01 to 44:27
Learn about the growth and transformation of Major League Soccer since its inception.
“Major League Soccer is the legacy of the 1994 World Cup when FIFA mandated the U.S.”
Challenges Faced by the Italian Powerchair Football Team
44:28 to 47:23
Discover the hurdles faced by the Italian Powerchair football team during travel for a tournament.
“Now, an investigation has been launched after the Italian Powerchair football team were prevented from boarding a flight to Glasgow.”
Anticipation for the Upcoming Powerchair Football World Cup
47:24 to 48:35
Hear the excitement and aspirations of the Italian team coach ahead of the World Cup.
“So on a different subject, you are preparing for the World Cup, which is later this year.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. But what policy changes should investors be watching? Washington Wise is an original podcast from Charles Schwab that unpacks the stories making news in Washington right now and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Listen at schwab.com slash Washington Wise. That's schwab.com slash Washington Wise. How many streaming subscriptions do you have? Is it the same for your business? Avoid it by having all your business on one platform. Try Odoo for free at odoo.com. That's O-D-O-O dot com.
0:50Hello and welcome to NewsHour live from the BBC World Service in London. I'm Rebecca Kesby. In the past few minutes, President Zelensky has announced that he's sacked the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Sersky. He's been under pressure to do so since he sacked his popular defence minister last week, Mikhail Fedorov. That led to street protests and, it seems, a U-turn by Mr Zelensky. We're going to try and get the details on that story this hour. It's just broken. First, though, the Lebanese president, Joseph Aoun, is in Washington today, hoping that his meeting with President Donald Trump can boost the prospects of the framework deal to finally end the conflict between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
1:34The US has been brokering discussions between representatives of the governments of Lebanon and Israel. The pair took questions from reporters in the Oval Office earlier, and the tone seemed optimistic. It's been a very badly treated place and country, and we're going to have it properly treated and treated with respect that it deserves. And Mr. President, it's an honor having you. Thank you very much. No, thank you. Thank you. I've been looking forward to this visit for a long time. Thank you. Meeting such a great president like yourself. That's a very nice thing. See, he knows how to get to me.
2:09He can have anything. Now he can have anything. No, really, I would like to thank President Trump and his team for the historic visit and for the historic achievement that we did together by signing the framework with the ultimate objective of ending the state of austerity between Lebanon and Israel forever. I think, Mr President, this will be your legacy. Together, we'll be able to achieve this objective. As part of the framework plan, Israeli forces currently in southern Lebanon are to be gradually replaced by Lebanese troops from the National Army. They will then be tasked with the disarming of Hezbollah fighters who control much of the area.
2:52Earlier today, there were reports that some of those Lebanese soldiers had come under Israeli fire. The Israeli defence forces, though, have issued a statement saying that only warning shots were fired. They say it because the Lebanese soldiers had strayed into areas not designated as part of the so-called pilot zone. There were no casualties. It has been very difficult to get an accurate picture of what's been going on in southern Lebanon. We know around a million civilians have left the area, but there are still some villages occupied. Nada Homsi is a journalist with the National Newspaper in Lebanon.
3:25She was with a group of journalists on Monday who had joined a UN-organised aid convoy that tried to enter southern Lebanon, but they were turned back by Israeli soldiers. She told us what happened. We embedded with a French charity. We were a group of around a dozen different media organisations. And we had also coordinated with UNIFIL. UNIFIL was escorting us and the French charity to three Christian border villages in occupied South Lebanon. But we weren't able to get to these villages. And the reason that we weren't able to get to these villages is because once we tried to cross into Israel occupied South Lebanon, we were told to go back because we didn't have permission.
4:06Now, we did have permission. Like I said, the French charity had coordinated our permission. UNIFIL had also coordinated our permission. We had received it from the Israeli army. But once we got there, there was, I guess, a change. Who told you that you couldn't cross in? This is what, Israeli forces? What did they say? We got to the first checkpoint and an Israeli soldier on a megaphone that was standing on a balcony of a Lebanese house, quite a distance away, yelled at us, go back, you don't have permission to be here. And we were not permitted to cross into the occupied territory, Israel's so-called security zone in South Lebanon.
4:46Why do you think you were refused entry? So we asked about this and UNIFIL told us that it was because we were a large convoy of international media. I think the amount of media that it was, was the reason that we were restricted from entry. And that's in itself problematic because it means that Israel is trying to restrict the flow of information out of South Lebanon to the rest of the world. We had to wait five hours in the sun as UNIFIL attempted to negotiate our entry, but to no avail, we weren't able to cross. And the reason that we were willing to stand five hours in the sweltering heat in the height of July summer is because Israel occupied South Lebanon right now is a black hole for information.
5:31It's very difficult to know what is actually going on and to speak with residents, because it's very difficult for journalists to physically get there. So we're reliant on speaking to residents by phone. Often they're too scared to give us details because Israeli forces are surrounding them. These villages are isolated. They're dependent on aid through these NGOs. And obviously Israel regulates what goes in and what comes out. And at any point it can refuse to allow convoys in, as it did yesterday. On the other hand, Lebanese residents are also telling us that Israel facilitates the entry of aid through Israel into South Lebanon, where they're dropped off near the villages, and then residents can go and pick it up.
6:15It's worrisome because Netanyahu, the prime minister a while back, said that these villages were happier, that they wanted Israel to annex them. It's a very worrisome prospect, and immediately these villages, the leaders of these villages rejected it. This is something that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said fairly recently, just in the past few weeks, that most of these villages are Christian. He said that they wanted to be annexed by Israel because Israel protects them from Hezbollah, who he said wants to kill them. What's your interpretation of that and whether that is the case from the people you've spoken to?
6:51No, not at all. I don't think anyone thinks that Hezbollah wants to kill Christian villagers. These are villages that live side by side along with Shia villages. The thing that's happened now is that these Shia Muslim villages have essentially been cleansed as a result of Israel's invasion of South Lebanon. So all of the Muslim communities are no longer there. And in the southwestern sector, all that remains are these three isolated and surrounded Christian villages. Now, obviously, sometimes there are sectarian tensions, there is animosity between these villagers and members of Hezbollah, because they claim that Hezbollah, for example, wants to impose its political project against their will.
7:30But that is just personal and domestic grief between different residents of Lebanon, different political parties, and so on. It has nothing whatsoever to do with Israel. And certainly no one is asking Israel for help. And Nada, as you and I are speaking, Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, is actually in the Oval Office, currently speaking with President Trump, because, of course, this plan by which the Lebanese army is supposed to be taking over in southern Lebanon was brokered by the United States. But then we hear that as that deployment started in the so-called pilot zone, the Lebanese army say they came under fire from Israeli troops.
8:09Can you explain what happened there? Yeah, so I spoke with security sources. And what happened is while the Lebanese army was deploying to these so-called pilot zones, these pilot zones are experimental areas that are basically testing the future of whether the Lebanese army can retake control of this territory and whether Israel can actually withdraw. So during the process of implementing just the experimental phase, Israeli forces fired onto Lebanese troops. I asked security sources why that was, and I was told that apparently they had reached the limit of this pilot zone, but they were never told this.
8:46Instead, they were fired upon. So this is problematic in so much as it doesn't seem as if there is some sort of mechanism for communication between the two yet. We were told the U.S. is very upset. But obviously, this is from the Lebanese side, not the American side. We'll see in the coming days what the US response is. That's Nadia Homsi, journalist with the National Newspaper in Lebanon. And as I mentioned, the IDF did issue a statement on that alleged firing today saying it was only warning shots. We asked them separately about why that journalist and aid convoy was stopped from entering the occupied zone.
9:19We haven't yet had a response to that. But shortly before we came on air, I spoke to Nora Bayrak-Darian. She's the Lebanese Minister for Youth and Sport. She's also a professor of international relations at the Lebanese University. And I asked her what President Aoun is hoping to get out of this visit to Washington. We aim to strengthen the longstanding partnership between Lebanon and the United States. Also open the door to greater political, economic and security cooperation. We trust that President Aoun will present Lebanon's priorities clearly and firmly. and we believe the discussions will translate into tangible support for our country's stability, sovereignty, economic recovery and institutional development.
10:05But there is a lot of work ahead, many challenges ahead to get this framework working. One of the key things that Israel and the US are insisting upon is the disarmament of Hezbollah and the Lebanese government has also supported that idea in the negotiations, but there are many challenges. How much progress is being made with that? Our objective is to strengthen the Lebanese state and ensure that its institutions are fully capable of exercising their responsibilities throughout the country. We cannot measure progress by headlines or any statements, but by gradual strengthening of our institutions, particularly the Lebanese armed forces, and also by creating the conditions for lasting security under the authority of the states.
10:57So this is an ongoing process. And I think these are not matters that can be resolved overnight. So part of the agreement, though, is that the Lebanese National Army is supposed to be taking over southern Lebanon, and the Israelis are supposed to be withdrawing. They're trying it in pilot zones already. But we're only a few days into this and already there's been shots fired. We heard earlier from the IDF saying that they were warning shots only, but Lebanese troops were there in the area. And that must make your government feel rather uncomfortable about sending your troops into that area. I think this was a technical misunderstanding in the process of the implementation of the framework agreement.
11:43And we aim that we can reach broader and sustainable outcomes. I mean, the truth is, though, that there are many people in Lebanon that don't actually think that President Aoun should even be in the United States at the moment. They don't think he should be engaging with the United States as broker. He's been under pressure about it from home. Why is he doing it, do you think? Currently, Lebanon has entered a new phase in which we seek to rebuild confidence. First of all, to our own citizens, to our youth, and also with the international community. And the presidential diplomacy is playing a key role in that effect.
12:26And you say you're trying to build confidence. Does Lebanon have confidence in President Trump's ability to, you know, get tough potentially with the Israeli government? The mediation of the United States is very crucial for Lebanon at this stage and so important. And we rely on President Trump's interference in every pillar related to the peace process that should be achieved in Lebanon. Our main objective is not simply to manage just a security situation, but to build a durable peace. And we rely so much on the mediation of the United States. And that was Nora Bayrak-Darian there. She's the Lebanese Minister for Youth and Sport, but also, as I mentioned, a professor of international relations at the Lebanese University.
13:16She was speaking to us about the trip to Washington, D.C. by President Joseph Aoun. It's the first time a Lebanese president has been invited to the Oval Office in the States in about 20 years. So it did look as if things were going well earlier, as we reported. We'll bring you any updates on that story as we get them.
13:46coming up later on the program we'll be hearing from the coach of italy's power chair football team on how they were turned away from their planned flight to a match in glasgow we organized this trip four months ago and we sent them all the specifics of the wheelchair and they told us that everything is okay. And then on Monday we have the flight but they told us that there isn't enough space on the plane to take all our wheelchair. We'll get the full story later. Our headlines this hour. President Zelenskyy has replaced the head of Ukraine's armed forces, is General Alexander Sersky. We're going to come back to the details on that programme later this hour.
14:34And France has just become the first EU state to ban social media for children.
14:46You're with NewsHour Live from the BBC. I'm Rebecca Kesby. Young people in the Indian capital Delhi have taken to the streets again, despite around 180 people being injured. at a march on Monday. Today, India's main opposition leader, Rahul Gandhi, has called for the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, to resign after police were accused of unnecessarily heavy-handed treatment of protesters yesterday. The demonstrations, though, are being organised by the youth-led and memorably entitled cockroach movement, the CJP. While the CJP say they won't try to march on Parliament again because of the police response, they say they will continue their demonstrations until the education minister resigns.
15:29Well, Shai Anya is a 16-year-old student in Delhi who was demonstrating. She told NewsHour's Tim Franks why she wanted to join the protest. I basically have been always supporting this protest, particularly the activist Sonam Vangchuk. I wouldn't say I'm a very avid supporter of the corporate Janta Party either, but I really do appreciate the initiative that they're taking. This is a call for reform in the education system of India. That affects me, the brothers and sisters of my country. And it is high time we call for change because our futures depend on this. The future of our country depends on this.
16:10From what I understand, this all began when there was this episode of the leaking of an examination paper. and that has prompted these calls for the education minister to resign. Why are you making the leap from saying this examination paper should never have been leaked to saying, you know, look, the whole future of the country is at stake? That's the paper that you give to get into medical school in India. This paper wasn't just leaked this year, it was also leaked in the year 2024. Now, just to give you a little bit of an idea about the stakes of these exams, Just imagine students just out of high school.
16:51So they're probably 17 giving these exams and the pressure they have on their shoulders is very, very immense. And so the National Testing Agency is the one that holds all these exams. So they're responsible for conducting these exams. and these government colleges are really coveted obviously that's why everybody is competing for them and getting a seat so success or failure in this case could literally determine your not only your career trajectory in fact even your socio-economic situations or mobility for especially the underprivileged people who come from those backgrounds there are many of them in India.
17:31And they view these exams as like a gateway to finally breaking out of poverty. So practically, you could imagine their whole family relying on them to track these examinations so that they finally get into a good college with prospects of getting a good job and finally earning income for their family. And to put that much pressure on 17 to 18 year olds is already very crazy. It's even hard to imagine. And about the future of this country, we're the use of this country. So our futures would compound to also the future of this country in a way. We're going to be handling the country next. And we need a better pathway to do that.
18:19The road right now is really, really rough for us. So as a consequence of this paper leak, many students have also had to suicide. The situation is that bad. So yes. Have you actually gone along to some of the demonstrations? I have gone once, yes. It was the day the police actually took away the activist Solam Wangchuk, who was on a hunger strike for this protest by force. It was the same day. There has been criticism of some of the police action that it's been a bit heavy handed. What was your experience? The amount of police guards and riot control officers were huge in number. They were a lot more than the actual protesters.
19:05And a lot of the roads were blocked. So it took me a while to even reach there. Actually, yesterday on Monday, there was a march. The parliament also organized by the CGP. In that march, a lot of people showed up. And there have been many instances of the police beating up protesters in the most violent way ever. That shouldn't be done when you're just protesting. Have your parents talked to you about you going on the protests? I mean, are they concerned at all for your safety? I've had a lot of my peers and my juniors also reach out to me when I told them I went to the protests. They were like, how did you go?
19:42How did your parents allow you to? I didn't go alone. I went with my dad, who's very nice because he actually took us. He actually knows how much this means to me. And my parents fully support me doing this as long as I'm safe, of course. Indian student protester Shainya there in Delhi. Now, a court in Indonesia has sentenced 19 people to jail for baby trafficking, with the ringleader given seven years in prison. The case involved dozens of Indonesian children, with at least 12 sent to Singapore. The BBC's Lisa Tambunan was in the court for the ruling. The atmosphere in the Indonesian courtroom was tense as the judge delivered verdicts for the 19 people involved in the trafficking ring.
20:28All were found guilty of trafficking at least 34 babies between 2023 and 2024, with sentences varying according to each defendant's role. Li Su Yuan, the 70-year-old woman known as the ringleader kept a straight face as the judge sentenced her to seven years in jail It was different for Astri Fitrinika one of the brokers who sourced and procured babies in Indonesia She broke down in tears as the judge handed her six years and seven months
21:05Throughout the trial, the defendants had denied any wrongdoing Some argued they thought they were only helping with paperwork or said they hadn't realised they were part of an illegal adoption network. The sentences were lighter than prosecutors had sought. They demanded 10 years for the ringleader alone. Her lawyer said the judge's decision reflected truer justice, though he called it still a heavy sentence given her age.
21:35Indeed, it may still seem somewhat harsh. Given her advanced age, she is elderly, over 70 years old. But we must respect the judge's consideration. My client accepts it.
21:51Prosecutors now have seven days to decide whether to accept the ruling or appeal.
21:59After all, the judge had their own consideration. We are still considering whether to accept the ruling or file an appeal.
22:12The case first came to light last year when a man in West Java filed a police report saying his child had been kidnapped. Investigation revealed an underground adoption process which had not gone as planned. The man who reported the kidnapping did not receive his full promised payment before he lost contact with his child. Further investigation exposed the scale of the ring. dozens of babies recruited under the guise of helping parents who couldn't afford to keep them. The case has drawn attention to the economic hardship driving some Indonesian families to give up their children with little choice and a market ready to exploit that desperation.
22:51Court documents show at least 12 babies were sent to Singapore, adopted by families who, based on false information from the traffickers, had no idea of the true origins. The court heard the ringleader's contacts in Singapore paid up to$14 ,000 per child, with most of that money staying with the middlemen. But while today's verdicts marked the end of the trial, for adoptive families in Singapore, the ordeal isn't over. The fate of the children they've raised remains unclear. One father told the BBC, I do not wish to focus on the verdict itself. my main concern has always been and continues to be what will happen to my son.
23:33His question and that of other Singaporean parents remains unanswered. The BBC's Lisa Tambunan there reporting from Indonesia.
23:47How did a boycott Jimmy become a billionaire from posting videos? On Good Bad Billionaire, we're going to find out how the world's most popular YouTuber, Mr Beast, made his fortune. He's buried himself in a coffin for days. Counted to 100 ,000 on camera. And even recreated Squid Games, all in an attempt to go viral on the internet. But it all started when he gave a homeless man$10 ,000. So is he a philanthropist reshaping capitalism? Or is he just the king of the attention economy? Find out on Good Bad Billionaire. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
24:22Welcome back to NewsHour. In the past few hours, the French Parliament has voted to ban social media for under-15s, making France the first European country to do so. Hugh Schofield is our Paris correspondent. The move was championed by President Emmanuel Macron, but what seems remarkable is that it's had such wide cross-party backing. Is that right? Not complete cross-party backing, but it went through the solid majority in the Parliament. and remember Macron does not command a majority in the parliament. Getting legislation of any type passed is difficult. This went through with a majority, I think it's 225 to about 80 or something like that.
Read the full transcript
25:02The left, many on the hard left, Melenchon's party, that's the LFI party that's called here, voted against because they say it's unworkable, they say it gives too much power to third-party age-verifying websites, apps about which we know very little, and they say it's unfair to children and so on. But in general, yes, there was a sort of consensus among the other parties that this is something that was timely and necessary. And of course, it was also a pledge from President Macron to get this through before he leaves office next year. Do they know whether it's got public support? Oh, yes, I think it does in general.
25:43I mean, like all these things, there are doubts and worries about its viability and whether it'll actually operate in the way that it's being trumpeted. But no, I think here, as in other countries in Europe, you know, there's a growing feeling among parents that a stand has to be taken. Among children, of course, it might and adolescents, it might be a different reaction. But I don't think this is controversial in the way that other legislation has been. I think it'll find that it settles down quite happily, as long as the mechanisms function to carry out this age verification process, which, of course, is at the heart of it all.
26:25Yes, I mean, there's several practical issues involved, isn't there? I don't know whether much detail has been given out about that, how the ban is going to be imposed and, as you say, the age verification. Well, it all rests on age verification. And the key thing that is unspoken in all this, which we're all going to have to get around, and it still happened in Britain and other countries if they follow, is that it doesn't just affect adolescents. Of course, it affects all of us. Anyone who uses social media, whether it's TikTok or YouTube, or at least the sort of bits that are social media in YouTube, will have to prove their age.
26:59So we're all going to have to – anyone who uses them is going to have to get used to using these procedures to show that they are over 15 or 18 or whatever the thing is. I mean, they do exist, these mechanisms. The government hasn't said you must do it this way or that way. It's leaving it up to the platforms themselves to decide how they go about establishing the age of their users. And that can be through third parties to whom you give passport details or it can be face recognition. All of it, of course, heavily circumscribed by rules on privacy and so on. But I mean, you know, these apps are coming into operation and the government says it's happy.
27:37That's our Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield there with the latest from the French Parliament, the news that it's voted to ban social media for under 15s, first EU country to do so.
27:52You're listening to NewsHour live from the BBC. I'm Rebecca Kesby. Let's get more on that breaking news now from Ukraine in the past half an hour or so. President Zelensky has sacked the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Olexander Sersky. It follows days of street protests across Ukraine and criticism even from Mr Zelensky's own supporters after he sacked the popular and youthful defence minister, Mikhail Fedorov, last week. The backstory to all of this really is that the two men didn't get on and Mr Zelensky previously said he didn't want to choose between them, but it seems he has now bowed to popular demand and sacked the general as well as the defence minister.
28:35Some had accused the general of employing old-fashioned methods in the fight against Russia. Let's get the very latest with Katie Livingstone. She's a journalist with the Defence News and Military Times in Kiev. Joining us live, Katie, what a turnaround by Mr Zelensky. Yeah, this has been a whirlwind. Everything, I mean, the protests against former Defense Minister Fedorov only started less than a week ago on Thursday. And that quickly, you know, the secondary call, which really was first to reinstate Fedorov. And then once the story came out and Zelensky said himself that Fedorov had problems with Commander-in-Chief Sirsky, that was why Fedorov left.
29:14The next call was, well, Sirsky needs to be out. And that's what's happened. Right. So do we know then if Mr. Fedorov is coming back as Defense Minister? Everybody is asking that question. No, officially we do not. There's been a lot of discussion. A couple days ago there was a serious discussion about him being offered a position on the national security, defense counsel, along with other, I guess, responsibilities or allowances to run defense tech cooperation, all these sorts of things. But it seems that people want him back exactly where he was with the same amount of power, if not more. So I don't know if that's what they're pushing for, but there's been no official statements yet on where he's going.
29:53So, Katie, it seems that the commander in chief, the senior general, Sersky, has already been replaced. We've got a new name for that position. Yes, that is Major General Nigailo Dropiati, who is a general who's been around for decades. And he's been in the headlines for years as well. And like former Minister Fedorov, he really is seen as a reformer and someone with a vision that's different for the future than what we've had in the past. So I think it says a lot that Zelensky chose him over other commanders. Obviously, there are a lot to choose from, a lot of really highly respected people with long records.
30:30And choosing Drapyati, who actually submitted his own resignation, the new commander-in-chief. He submitted his resignation when he was the ground forces commander in 2025 because of a major explosion, a major strike that killed over a dozen Ukrainians. So he's somebody who takes responsibility. He admits when he's wrong. He takes responsibility for it. And at that point, Zelensky accepted his resignation for that position, but gave him another very, very high position in the government. And here he is now with the highest level position in military. Right. Well, for obvious reasons, Ukrainian people do follow this stuff really carefully, don't they?
31:11They know a lot about warfare. Everybody now, everyone's got relatives on the front line. What was the main concern with General Sersky, though? I mean, I mentioned people said he was old fashioned in the fight. What's the fight been about between these two men? Yeah, I think put simply, he was a face of the old establishment, the old machine and the way things were run. He was connected also with former chief of staff, presidential chief of staff, Andrew Yermak, who similarly was very unpopular. And there were a lot of rumors going around about corruption or various associations. So a lot of people saw him in that camp.
31:49And like with Yermak, they wanted they want a clean house. and having these general like Drapyati, who is really, you know, quote unquote, from a different vision, I think goes in that direction. And just briefly, Katie, I mean, there's been so much criticism for President Zelensky personally over the past few days. And these protests, they're not just in Kyiv either, are they? They're right across the country. People really directing a lot of their criticism at President Zelensky. How will he fare now having made this decision? Will people be happy about it? Or will he be undermined, actually, by having to make this U-turn?
32:27Right. It's the political conundrum every leader is in, I think. Zelensky has shown time and again when he's pushed up against the wall like this by people really putting their foot down, citizens and saying they want something different, and he changes. And people seem to respect him for that. You know, he stays in power without protests against him and remaining in power. So I think a lot of people so far have told me they're relieved. And, you know, no one around here has short memory spans. So it's not something they'll, you know, particularly forget tomorrow or forgive that quickly. I think it's something that, you know, people have on the radar as, OK, we need to be careful about that.
33:01But his response is extremely important. Right. I think for a lot of people, that's what matters most. He's made this announcement in the middle of the night over there in Ukraine. Do you think that's significant why he's chosen to do it at this stage? It is curious, I have to admit. The same many journalists were asking the same question. And of course, we've been pestering the poor president's office endlessly for updates on the situation. So, of course, I can't say officially, but maybe it did have something to do with these protests. And in Kiev, at least, the curfew begins at midnight. So putting it out this late, you know, maybe had something to do with not bringing people out to the streets.
33:37I mentioned, yeah, let's see what happens tomorrow. But I mentioned that Mr Fedorov, the former defence minister who was previously sacked last week, was very popular. Why was he considered to be such a good thing, briefly? Yeah, I think everyone had their own answer for that question, really. But he was symbolic of a new era of leadership in a lot of ways. He's a younger guy, came from a non-military background and really just brought a different perspective on how to do governance and accountability to everything. And so he was able to succeed first in the Ministry of Digitalisation and now in the Ministry of Defence.
34:13So people like that he's different. They like that he pushes forward in different ways. And they really, I think, you know, they're fighting for their sovereignty, autonomy and independence from Russia. And, you know, people told me they'd be damned if they're going to have the same problem with their own government. OK, Katie, great to speak to you. Thanks so much for joining us live. That's Katie Livingston there from Defense News and Military Times in Kiev. Now, why is the current Ebola outbreak in the DRC spreading faster than any of the previous There's 16 outbreaks in the country. The World Health Organization is warning that it's already the third largest Ebola outbreak on record, but it's the speed of this spread which is worrying health officials most.
34:56The head of the WHO told reporters that while this 2018 outbreak took 2 ,000 cases within 10 months, this time that number was reached in just two months. Ebola is a severe viral hemorrhagic fever. It damages the blood vessels and limits the body's ability to clot. That can lead to internal and external bleeding. Well, to find out more about this outbreak in Eastern DRC, I've been speaking to Dr. Tierno Baldi, who's from the WHO, and he's in Eastern DRC. I'm currently here in Bunia, really the epicentre of this very challenging and really unusual outbreak. At the moment, we have almost five provinces which have been affected.
35:44Overall, I think the situation is extremely challenging. The virus is really ahead of us. A lot of people have been done trying to contain that. And in some areas, we are seeing a certain level of stabilisation. But in most of the other localities, we still have to run behind the outbreak. So, Doctor, the concern is the speed with which it's spreading. Do you know why that is? I think it's a slightly different strain. It's in an urban area. I don't know if that makes a difference. And are the early symptoms maybe milder, which means people don't necessarily know they've got it? Any of those things, potential factors?
36:20It's a combination of all of these different factors. You are absolutely right. This is a new strain which displays some different symptoms which might be minor. But I think the most important element is here is probably this outbreak has started some time ago. So it's not necessarily only an issue of expansion, but it's an issue of discovery now since we have all of the different diagnostic means. So probably the outbreak was already here some months ago and now we are just catching up. It's also happening in a context where you have very mobile populations, a lot of also insecurity. So that's also another challenge.
36:56Yes. So the sort of general security situation in the region won't be helping your health workers then? No, it's not helpful. It's not helping at all. And of course, Ebola is a very dangerous disease. I think it's around one third of people who contract it will probably die. And those who are the closest to the sick people, health workers, are most at risk. Definitely, this is what is happening. However, we have some means which can protect all of the health workers. I'm talking about personal protective equipment, gloves, you know, which can really stop the transmission from someone who is sick.
37:33And most importantly, also the people who have died, because it's during the funerals that we have most of the transmission. So there are these means, they exist sometimes, they are not really accessible. It's a little bit difficult to organize the care in the hospitals, differentiating the suspected cases and also the confirmed cases. So there are a lot of issues around operational capacities, meaning there is a need of more investment, more support for really getting these supplies and to try to protect both the people but also the community members. Yeah, you say there's a problem with capacity.
38:04I mean, are you overwhelmed so far with this disease? I think we can say like there is a major tension here because of the way we try to improve the response measures. You know, communities, they are accepting the disease. I mean, a lot of work has been done on that one. But when you get more people who want it to be tested and the testing capacities are sometimes limited and before you test them, you want it not to mix them with the people who can get the virus in case they are positive. So those capacities are not there. Building a hospital, building a health structure, you know, this is not something that you can do in one or two days.
38:38Getting doctors, getting nurses, you cannot also have a doctor or a nurse in one or two days. These people have to be trained. And at the moment, if you take too much of these doctors also, this can jeopardise the care that the population really needs. So, I mean, we have heard that international funding has been cut for some of these health centres. And you were talking there about the struggle to try to organise people who turn up at the health clinics. I mean, we've heard that in some areas, people have been so angry, they've actually started being quite aggressive, violent towards health workers.
39:09Is that something you've heard of? It's definitely happening to attack on health professional or healthcare services. When people are looking for support for burying their loved one, it's extremely difficult. So when people are looking for ambulances if they exist, but if they don't exist, that's also another challenge. So, yes, we are facing those challenges. But again, there are some real solutions. It's just how can we all come together, all of the different stakeholders, funders and others, you know, to help for really putting this response at the scale it has to be. I'm sorry to interrupt, but I mean, are you getting the funding you need?
39:43Or I mean, it sounds as if you could do with more, actually. More is needed. More is needed given the magnitude of this outbreak. We are over 2 ,000 cases just two months after the outbreak. The rhythm is just too fast. And doctor, what's your greatest fear if it continues at this pace? How bad could things get? I think the risk of expansion, I mean transmission of the disease in other countries is already here. So for me, I wanted to sit on the other side. What is really needed today is really to have the necessary investment, the necessary support to be able to control this situation. But most importantly, I think it's also a wake-up call.
40:20Anytime we are facing this type of health emergency, we remember COVID, what are the investments that we are doing behind for really reinforcing the health system? Because if we are capable of detecting this disease earlier, that will help us not to be in this situation. That's Dr. Tieno Baldi there, who's currently working in Eastern DRC with that Ebola outbreak there.
40:51You're with NewsHour live from the BBC. I'm Rebecca Kesby. Now, in the United States, football typically means a very different thing to the rest of the world. But the land of soccer now has thousands, if not millions, of new fans. And Major League Soccer is determined to keep them interested once their World Cup fever wears off. The BBC's Regan Morris reports from Los Angeles about the future of Major League Soccer.
41:20Hey Leo, can we kick it? The biggest star in Major League Soccer also happens to be the biggest star in all of football, Lionel Messi. He's the first face you see in a star-studded ad campaign to invite new football fans to check out the U.S. League. MLS Executive Vice President Dan Kordamanch says the World Cup has been an amazing opportunity. Dan Kordamanch, World Cup World Cup The World Cup has now exposed millions and millions of people to Major League Soccer. We are going all out with the marketing campaign. You can imagine Lionel Messi, the American players who played in the World Cup. The theme is kind of, thanks world, we'll take it from here.
42:03Major League Soccer is the legacy of the 1994 World Cup when FIFA mandated the U.S. establish a professional league as part of its bid to host the tournament. This is 1996, a dramatically different, totally different era in American soccer. The league started with just 10 teams and no purpose-built stadiums. Now, the league has 30 clubs and world-class stadiums and training facilities across the U.S. and Canada. There were so many public World Cup watch parties, even if you weren't a football fan, it was hard to miss the tournament. Big screens were set up seemingly everywhere, even on the beach.
42:42On L.A.'s Hermosa Beach, fans watched in bikinis as Spain defeated France. L.A. Galaxy were there giving away free tickets, part of the league's first match on us promised to new fans. Corinna Irvin signed up. I followed the Premier League for a long time. And after watching the U.S. play the World Cup, I just became a fan of the MLS now. So I'm excited to go and watch. My dad played soccer growing up. He's a huge soccer fan of German, Italian football, and then just stuck to the Premier League. And I'm a Manchester City fan. Who's going to be your MLS team? Probably the LA Galaxy. After I go to the game, I'll probably become a big fan.
43:19That's just what the MLS is hoping for. The league is changing its calendar next year to align with Europe's. But critics say the MLS is years away from being considered among the top five elite leagues in the world. The MLS says they're already partly there. Here's Kortemansch again. The key things that we looked at was the relevance and the size of our fan base, second in the world. The valuation of our clubs, 18 of the top 50, number one in the world, best player in the world. We had 45 players in the World Cup. That's more than any other league in the Western Hemisphere. and among the top leagues in the world, but take Messi out of the equation.
43:54And we are in that mix when it comes to minutes played, goals scored, and some of the key metrics.
44:04Major League Soccer had a reputation for being a retirement home for superstars, a lucrative place for legends like Beckham and now Messi to play after peak careers in Europe. But that reputation is outdated. The average age of new international players in the league is now 23. With younger stars and new fans, the MLS hopes their future reputation will be one of excellence and glory. Yes, you can. Regan Morris reporting there. Now, an investigation has been launched after the Italian Powerchair football team were prevented from boarding a flight to Glasgow. If you don't know, Powerchair football or soccer is as it sounds.
44:46Players use special powered wheelchairs and a much larger ball than in association football. It's one of the only team sports open to athletes who use electric wheelchairs. When the team turned up though at the airport they were told that the plane didn't have space for all their wheelchairs. Marco Ferrazza is the Italian team's coach and he told me what happened. We organized this trip four months ago and we sent them all the specifics of the wheelchair the batteries the the weight and these details and they told us that everything is okay a few days before our flight we ride them again to remind our trip and they didn't do nothing and then on monday we have the flight but they told us that there isn't enough space on the plane to take all our wheelchair.
45:45Well, did they say they could take some of you, but not all of you, which for a football team is no good at all, is it? Yes, they want to divide the group in two parts. One part in Glasgow with our flight and the other part to go to Edinburgh. And then we have to arrange to go from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Right, to Edinburgh. And so, I mean, given how short the trip was, that wasn't going to work, I guess, because, I mean, you're supposed to be playing right now, I think. Yeah, and in the same day, they told us this. So we have enough time to organise it. And we have a lot of wheelchair. So we have to try to find like a bus.
46:33And in one day, in a few hours, it was impossible. goodness me so you've obviously uh complained to the airline which in this instance is easy jet we've had a statement from them saying we're very sorry for the group's experience we've launched an internal investigation to understand what happened in the meantime we're in contact with the passengers and doing all possible to find a suitable solution making travel accessible to everyone is a priority for us and we take this matter very seriously that's what they've told us how do you take that and they told us the same thing but the problem is that we can't play our tournament and so we we lost this tournament that was very important because in few months will be the world cup and we are convinced that a game a match against these teams was very helpful for us.
47:34So on a different subject, you are preparing for the World Cup, which is later this year. Good luck in that. Everybody's still very excited about the men's FIFA World Cup, which has just completed this week. Can you tell us why power soccer is so good and why we should all be watching that World Cup later this year? We are Italians and we don't play. in this World Cup. So for us, it's a pleasure and it's an honour to represent our country. We are a young team. In Italy, PowerShell football arrived only five years ago. So a World Cup is a dream. It's a dream for all the players. It's a dream for me as a coach.
48:25And it will be very, very exciting. Well, good luck to the team. That's Marco Ferrazza, their Italian power chair football team coach, speaking to us earlier from Rome. That's it for this edition of NewsHour. From us all here in London to wherever you are in the world, thanks for joining us.
From the publisher
During a landmark visit by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to the US, President Donald Trump vowed to help Lebanon "a lot" as the country sought Washington's backing for a fragile effort to disarm Hezbollah and forge a path to peace with Israel.
Also on the programme: Ebola in the DRC spreading faster than any other outbreak according to health officials; and what is really to blame for Italy's obese children?
(Photo: President Trump welcomes Lebanese President Joseph Aoun upon his arrival at the West Wing Portico of the White House in Washington, DC on July 21, 2026. Credit: EPA/Shutterstock)