Israel hits Houthi targets in Yemen's capital

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This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Nick Miles, and in the early hours of Monday, the 25th of August, these are our main stories.

Israel has launched deadly airstrikes on the Yemeni capital Sana'a in response to an attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis.

The US Vice President says Russia has made significant concessions to end the war in Ukraine and is not delaying efforts to achieve peace.

Venezuela has released 13 opposition politicians arrested in the aftermath of last year's disputed presidential election.

Also in this podcast.

The first day of the Notting Hill Carnival is traditionally known as Children's Day, where many compete for the title of best costume.

We get to celebrate our different cultures from Africa, the Caribbean, all over.

Thousands line the streets of West London for the first day of the annual Notting Hill Carnival, one of the largest street festivals in Europe.

We begin in Yemen.

Israel says it has launched deadly airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana'a, in response to an attack by the Iranian-backed Houthis.

Online videos show a large fireball lighting up the skies over the Houthi-controlled city.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the attacks.

The Air Force struck strategic targets in Yemen again today.

It attacked the presidential palace in the heart of the capital, Sana'a, the city's power station.

The Houthi terror regime is learning the hard way that it's paying and will continue to pay a very heavy price for its aggression against the state of Israel.

As we record this podcast, the Houthis have said the Israeli strikes killed four people and injured 67 more.

The BBC tried to to contact people in Sana'a to tell us what happened, but communications are tricky and people are also fearful of speaking to Western media.

But the BBC did manage to talk to the journalist Nazi Mohammed, who's based in the city of Aden on Yemen's southern coast, an area not under Houthi control.

He sent the BBC a voice note, which we translated and voiced up.

There were heavy Israeli air raids that targeted the capital Sana'a this evening.

These raids hit the zone of the Republican Palace in a Sabreen district.

They were three raids.

They also hit a petrol station in a compound for the oil company

and the Heziz electric power station.

The raids were terrifying, and explosions could be heard all over the capital.

These raids spread terror among the residents close to the targeted areas.

Many districts are now living in darkness after these raids hit the main electricity station.

It had been previously targeted in Israeli air raids.

People say these raids were extremely terrifying.

They were heard across the city.

They were very powerful, intimidating and terrorized families, especially women and children.

People are afraid that these raids target infrastructure that provides services for ordinary civilians, like electricity, gas, or petrol.

There would be shortages in these sectors.

That would lead to a crisis.

While the raids targeted the presidential compound zone, the Houthis are not transparent and generally their statements are ambiguous and don't mention the military targets that were struck.

The British journalist Iona Craig has covered Yemen extensively.

James Menendez began by asking her what she thought was going on at the moment.

The tit-for-tap between the Houthis and Israel has been ongoing now for almost two years, but this seems to spike as and when there is escalation in the war in Gaza.

And of course, with with Israel's new offensive into Gaza City, this appears to be why the Houthis would then escalate strikes against Israel again, as they have done over the course of the last sort of 18 months or more.

And this has then created a response from Israel.

So we saw back in May when the Houthis successfully targeted Ben-Guran Airport and hit a field within the airport compound that Israel's response to that was to destroy all of the passenger aircraft in Houthi controlled territory in the capital Sana'a

in airstrikes those were all destroyed so this has been each you know one of them the Houthis responding to Israel and Israel then responding to the Houthis and there doesn't seem to be any change in that despite you know 60 days of strikes by the Trump administration targeting Houthis sort of infrastructure of and their ballistic missile capabilities they still seem to be able to carry out these attacks against Israel, although only having a sort of handful of incidents that have been able to break through the Israeli defence systems.

Yeah, so it hasn't completely degraded their ability to attack.

And as you say, those Houthi attacks are fairly limited in what they can achieve.

Why do they keep going with it?

Well, as I say, for the Houthis, this is very much linked to Israel's war in Gaza.

They see this as a support for Palestine and their way of attacking Israel,

although with no impact really in that respect.

But as I say, when things have escalated in Gaza, the Houthis have mounted more strikes.

And equally, when there was a ceasefire in Gaza back in January, there were then no strikes by the Houthis against Israel, and there were no airstrikes by Israel against the Houthis either.

So it is in direct mirroring, if you like, it is an extension of the conflict in Gaza now.

Iona Craig.

Now, can Syria's new government keep the peace in a nation full of sectarian splits?

The UN is worried about the safety of people, particularly in Swedia province in the south, where the majority of people are from the Druze religious minority.

A thousand people or so were reportedly killed, and more than 190,000 displaced there last month during clashes with Bedouin tribes.

Pro-government forces sent in to curb the violence were accused themselves of siding with the Sunni Muslim Bedouins.

Our Middle Middle East regional editor Mike Thompson has this report.

With hundreds dying last month in clashes between Druze, militias and Bedouin tribes, Syria's interim Islamist government had a job to do.

Hundreds of Bedouin gunmen

firing wildly by the roadside.

Holding them back, Syrian government troops sent south to enforce a ceasefire.

But instead of enforcing it, pro-government forces were accused of siding with the Bedouins, executing nearly 200 people and burning over 30 villages.

And despite a latest ceasefire, killings and abductions by both sides are continuing.

Rezad Rashidi heads the rights group, the Syria Campaign.

Acts of violence and specifically kidnapping and kidnapping of women continues to be an issue on the rise.

Female students, university students, for example, are unable to go to their universities because they are worried about the issue of kidnapping.

Since Thursday at 10 a.m.,

for more than a month, he has been missing, and his phone has remained switched off.

The people who kidnapped him have never contacted us again.

This woman's husband, a member of the local white helmets rescue group, is one of many recent abductions.

Hamza has children who want him back.

Every morning and evening they say they want their father.

Imagine when you, before bedtime, they ask, where is daddy?

And you are completely unable to answer them.

Druze protesters in Suwada, angry at the killings by government forces in July, took to the streets this month to demand independence for the province.

I'm actually very worried that Syria is on the brink of a new civil war.

Rossad's pessimism follows last month's sectarian killings in Zuwada, as well as another thousand in former President Assad's western heartlands last March.

This, on top of growing friction with Kurdish forces in the north, and the Syrian government's failure so far to prosecute members of its own forces who were involved in the recent bloodshed.

We continue to hear about specific names that they will be brought to justice, but so far, what we have seen is kind of a ticking boxes exercise for transitional justice or accountability.

Hathan Kiwan, a musician from Zoueda, is pinning his faith in the power of local children, singing this song of hope to help bring his country together.

At first, the children's performance was shy and filled with fear, but by the end, their singing had transformed into a cry from their hearts.

We are alive, we remain, and our dreams continue.

That report was by Mike Thompson.

The US Vice President has denied that Russia is delaying efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine.

Jeddy Vance told NBC's Meet the Press that Moscow had made significant concessions for the first time since launching its full-scale invasion three and a half years ago.

He said they included an acknowledgement of the need for security guarantees for Ukraine.

Well, in Kyiv, President Vladimir Zelensky on Sunday issued a defiant message to mark his country's Independence Day.

He said Ukraine wanted a just and lasting peace, but would continue to fight for its freedom if the call was not heard.

Moscow says an agenda for a meeting between President Putin and Mr.

Zelensky has yet to be drawn up.

The Independence Day ceremony in Kyiv came as Russia and Ukraine each handed over 146 prisoners of war, many of the detainees having been held since the early days of the invasion.

The exchanges remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries.

This report from our correspondent in Ukraine, Katie Watson.

In Central Kiev, Sofia Square, President Zelensky celebrated Ukraine's independence, flanked by allies, including the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

The US Special Envoy Keith Kellogg was presented with the Order of Merit, a recognition of his support for Ukraine.

Mr.

Zelensky praised them for their friendship.

We are strong and not alone.

Every day we are pushing this war back to where it came from, to the Russian sky and Russian soil.

With each passing year of this war, the pressure on Russia and their real losses are increasing.

We know that peace is coming.

Peace for Ukraine is getting closer.

But today wasn't just about pomp.

It was also about pragmatism, meetings, and deals.

Canada announced a £1 billion military package, including drone production.

Mark Carney didn't dismiss the idea of boots on the ground either.

Meanwhile, fighting continued on both sides overnight.

Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on a nuclear facility in the western Kursk region.

A fire was extinguished, nobody was hurt.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was aware of media reports, but had no independent confirmation of what happened.

Away from the front line, families in Kyiv enjoyed the national holiday.

But politics is never far from people's minds.

We're a freedom-loving country, Yeho told me.

We want to live peacefully with our own flag and our own language.

And the Russians just want to destroy it all.

We simply will not let them do this.

Independence Day used to be an excuse for a big celebration.

Much, though, has changed.

With soldiers busy fighting on the front line, there's no military parade.

Events here are far more muted.

There's still huge pride, though, now more than ever.

Katie Watson in Kyiv.

Hungary has been mentioned as a possible venue for peace talks between the presidents of Ukraine and Russia, but it would be a controversial choice.

Relations between Budapest and Kyiv are frosty, to say the least.

Nevertheless, there are ties between the neighbours.

In the past few weeks, about 8,000 Ukrainian children visited Hungary to take part in summer camps.

Nick Thorpe sent this report from a children's camp in Santod on the southern shore of Lake Belatom.

Three small girls roll a dice on a tabletop in the shade.

Others sunbathe, some boys kick a ball around, the smaller children are drawing with crayons.

Aged from 4 to 16, it's their last day here.

From their faces, you'd never guess that these are the children of Ukrainian police officers.

More than half the 53 children here have have lost one or both parents in the war.

We're in the canteen now and the children are all having their lunch, some kind of gulash, very Hungarian dish.

You speak a little English.

Hi, what's your name?

Antonina.

Antonina.

Where are you from, Antonina?

In Ukraine.

I'm from Ukraine.

And was it a nice camp here?

Did you have a good time?

Yes, it's a very nice camp.

Yes, I have many new friends.

Many new friends, of course.

Great.

My name is Natalia and I'm from Ukraine.

I'm a teacher of English in Jutomir Polytechnic University.

It's been a few days, so I kind of got used to the quiet and peaceful and it's easy to forget the bad things.

But still, when some noises are loud and sudden, it triggers.

But all in all, they had some peace these days, so good feeling.

I think it's important to show that despite what our government does, the people who live in Hungary are rather with Ukraine and not against Ukraine.

Gerge Kovac is leader of the Twin-Tailed Dog Party, a name which might appeal to the children here, and the mayor of the 12th district in Budapest.

His district raised $30,000 in three days from more than 500 donations through crowdfunding to pay for this camp.

We all know that Russia began this fight and I think we should have Ukraine and that's why we made this camp for Ukrainian children.

The Ukrainian ambassador to Hungary, Shandor Fedir, visits the camp and organizes an impromptu game of Simon Says for the children.

Originally a university lecturer from the city of Uzhorod, he is no stranger to war.

He fought for more than two years on the front lines in the east.

I asked him if he has a message for the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.

Message what?

Messages here.

Ukrainian children on the Hungarian land.

Thank you, district in Budapest.

Thank you, Hungarian people, cooking, super Hungarian people.

Thank you.

Only, thank you.

The issues which disrupt Hungary-Ukraine relations, Ukrainian attacks on a Russian oil pipeline on which Hungary depends, the death of an ethnic Hungarian conscript in the Ukrainian army, a recent spy scandal are all put aside for this lazy summer afternoon.

Natalia, the English teacher we heard earlier, told me what she and the children will miss most from Hungary when they return to Ukraine.

It's so lovely to look at the sky and to see passenger planes flying.

I haven't seen this for quite a long while.

Last Thursday, the city of Mukachevo in the far west of the country, almost on the Hungarian border, was hit by Russian drones for the first time.

An electronics factory was set on fire and 19 people injured.

But the children tell me they're homesick nonetheless, and soon they will all be unsafely home.

That report by Nick

That is the sound of protesters setting off fireworks on the streets.

So President Wucic has now responded with radical measures aimed at helping the economy.

But will they calm things down?

I asked our Europe regional editor, Paul Moss, why the protests became so widespread and heated.

Well, it all began last November when the canopy at a train station in the city of Novi Sad collapsed.

That killed 16 people.

And immediately there were allegations that the station roof hadn't been built properly and that this was connected to corruption in the tendering process and the construction.

There were protests, people took to the streets.

And as you said, though, this quickly widened into a general protest about corruption in Serbia.

President Vucic has clearly been trying to put a lid on this.

I mean, people have been arrested in connection with the roof collapse, including six only this month.

And he replaced the country's prime minister, but clearly not enough.

The protests continuing.

And judging by what we saw in Belgrade this weekend, if anything, they're becoming bigger and more tense.

Now, I mentioned that the President has put in place some radical measures, quite unexpected things as well.

Yeah, I mean, he's put price caps on food by essentially limiting the profits that retailers can make and he said that interest rates will be cut.

Then a few odd little things like he's guaranteed that the cost of firewood will go down.

I don't think it's clear whether this is really going to work.

I mean inflation is a problem in Serbia but first of all plenty of economists will tell you putting price caps in is a sticking plaster.

It doesn't deal with the underlying issues.

But more than that, you know it is not the economy.

That is not the main grievance that these protesters have.

They are fed up with what they see as a essentially corrupt government, and as you said, they want the president to resign, and they want new elections.

Now, clearly, this is of concern for people in Serbia, but these protests are causing concern in other European capitals.

Indeed, yes.

I mean, Serbia, for a start, has been treading a very fine line between the West and Russia.

It's condemned the invasion of Ukraine, but at the same time, President Vucic went to Moscow for the Russian Victory Day parades this year.

The West is trying to keep the president at least partly on side, not totally in the Kremlin's embrace.

So they're they're watching very closely to see what he'll do will he survive in power and who might replace him also if he feels threatened there is the fear that alexander wucich will start playing the serb nationalist card that in turn could cause him to cause all sorts of problems in next door bosnia and kosovo where you have an ethnic minority serb population that's in conflict with the majority population again the potential for trouble there and if i can give you a a history lesson which you probably don't need bosnia serbia this is is where World War I began.

I'm not suggesting that World War III is going to begin there, but what my point is that small acts of instability in this part of the world do have a habit of growing and sometimes spreading.

Polmos.

A memorial ceremony has been held in Spain for a 17-year-old cyclist who died during an international race for top junior riders.

Officials and competitors observed a minute's silence for Ivan Melendez.

Current Ferret reports.

The Spanish teenager was one of about 20 competitors hurt in a huge crash on Saturday near Aranda de Duero.

Two of them are thought to remain in a serious condition in hospital.

The rest of the competition has been called off.

One report said Ivan Melendez gained a place in the Vuelta Ribera, which attracts about 150 competitors from various countries, as a late replacement for an injured teammate.

The accident again highlights the risk associated with competitive cycling.

In July, a 19-year-old, Samuele Privitera, died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash during a race in Italy.

Grant Ferret.

Still to come, a story of resilience emerging from a Palestinian displacement camp.

My friend brings a guitar and I sing with all the kids gathering around me.

In this moment, I forget the war.

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Next to Gaza.

As part of its offensive to take over Gaza City in the north of the territory, the Israeli military is calling up around about 60,000 reservists.

They're expected to report for duty next month.

But how are these reservists feeling about fighting in the war?

Davidi Benzion is a reservist and a deputy commander.

He's also involved in campaigns to get Jewish people across the globe to join as reservists.

He gave Julian Warwick his reaction to the news that he and others are being re-enlisted.

Me and my 600 soldiers got a new order to another reserve duty.

I can tell you that 95 or 96 percent of the soldiers will come.

Usually, people have a career, family.

I think it's normal that three or four percent will not come.

The main reason people come again and again to the reserve duty, it's not the ideologic, the reason is friends, because people know that it will be harder without them.

The second reason, of course, it's the hostages.

You mentioned the hostages.

They are still being held.

W we know that.

Some sadly have been killed.

We know some are still alive.

If you've done it once and that didn't get them out, why will it work this time?

First of all, you know, I'm major in the Paratroopers 55 Brigade.

We have an operative mission.

I'm not part of the government, of the cabinet, etc.

I just can tell you, I hope that this time we'll do something different.

Clearly, as you say, you're not the one making the decisions, so I'm not pushing you in that area.

But I will say two things to you.

One is that you'll be aware of significant voices within Israel, people who've been protesting, for example, in Tel Aviv and other cities because they don't believe this is the right thing to do.

And you'll be aware, too, of the thousands of Palestinian families in Gaza City who will now be terrified about what lies ahead.

What are your thoughts on both of those viewpoints, which run counter to what is about to happen here?

We didn't choose this war.

On October 7th, I was in Kfaraza.

Kibbutz Kfaraza was one of the terrible places that Hamas made, the evil massacre.

And after two months, when I was commander in Khanes, we came, it was Saturday morning, to the house of the commander of Hamas in Bani Suhila.

Bani Suhila, it's the eastern village of Khan Yunes.

And we found nearly to his bed mine camp.

written by Adolf Hitler, translated into Arabic.

And then I understood, Julian, that unfortunately, Hamas have really a gendered like the Nazis.

They want to kill us all.

I can understand my friends in Tel Aviv that say stop the war now because we can't see another children's died in Gaza.

I can understand it, but I have no option.

It's the war of our life.

But you'll be aware of the argument that says you can't destroy Hamas in the way Benjamin Netanyahu outlined because it's a belief as well as as a group of people.

And the more you fight and the more Palestinians suffer and are killed, the more you'll recruit more people to back an organization like Hamas in the future.

Of course, you can destroy the a terror agenda.

Even ISIS still alive.

Of course, i Britain and and the United States and the Western world I made a great war against ISIS and still we can find some terrorists that have the same agenda like ISIS.

So we know that we can destroy them, but we must came to the break-even to the specific point that Hamas will understand that if he want to survive, he must give the 50 ostracist death.

That was Davidi Benzayan, an IDF reservist.

Well, staying in the region and a story of resilience emerging from a Palestinian displacement camp.

Some musicians from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, based in the West Bank, are now displaced and living living in tents at a site in Gaza City.

But against a backdrop of airstrikes, they've been sharing their knowledge of the musical world with the children around them, some of whom had never previously picked up an instrument or sang in a group setting.

Within a few months of the teachers beginning these sessions, a band called the Gaza Birds Singing was formed, with some adults getting involved too.

They now post their songs about grief, hope, and war to thousands of followers on social media, giving them a global platform.

Julian Waraka also spoke to Ahmed Abu Amsha, one of those teachers who specializes in guitar and violin.

So what led him to create this band?

Right now in this war, I do activities for the kids in the middle Gaza.

Before, I was living in Bithanun before this war and we evacuate Bithanoun at three o'clock in the morning.

We have a message that we leave immediately.

Then we go to Jabalia after Jabalia.

I'm displacing maybe until now, 12 times.

The music begins in Rafah.

My friend brings a guitar and I sing with all the kids gathering around me.

In these moments, I forget the war.

So, when you play music, when you teach music, you're able to forget everything that's going on around you.

Yeah, and I feel it inside the kids' eyes, you know.

And they have three hours of singing and playing and, you know, I take them to another place like we are, not in Gaza, not in Huar.

So this is the beginning of the idea.

Why we not make it for all the kids around us?

When you first talk to parents of children that you want to teach music in these circumstances, what do they say?

Really, it's like a joke, you know.

They told me, hey, Mohammed, are you crazy?

They told me, we need food, we need water, not music, nobody have time for that.

I told them, no.

It's better than the food, than the water.

We can change the kids.

We can make them happy.

And after one month, all the parents come to my tent and they thank me.

They told me, You change our kids.

There's something they can do, they can play music, they can communicate with us.

You know, a lot of kids have trauma, and after months, two months, they are communicating and they are good.

And this is a mix of children, isn't it?

Some who will have played music before the war began, some who've never done it before.

Yeah, to find the talent children, I was looking around the tents and asked the families who wants his kid to learn music and to have fun.

I find a lot of talented kids that they have a good voice, a good tone.

I take some kids, they have a problem with their voices.

But, you know, after a couple of months, they begin better.

There is a dark side to this, though, isn't there?

Because I'm reading, for example, that there are some young people that you've been able to teach who sadly have been killed in this war.

Oh, my God.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I was have a student, his name is Yusuf, and in the morning he comes to me and drinks with me coffee.

We was in Khan Yunis.

And he told me, Mr.

Ahmad, I love you so much.

I told him, I love you too.

And told him, Yusuf, what do you have today?

He told me, I want to go to the coffee to make a connection with the internet, to have a call with my father.

His father was in the north north of Gaza.

After he goes there, they strike the coffee, and he was in the coffee, and Yusuf dead.

It was a horrible night.

After he died, all of us cried.

And I want to make something for him, for his family.

So I composed a song that called No Nights.

That means we not sleeping, thinking of you, Yusuf.

This song, I sing it, and a girl called Bayan,

we record this song in my mobile and post it on Instagram.

All

the people heard this song, they love it, and they're crying, it's from the heart.

That was Ahmed Abu Amsha.

To Venezuela now, where 13 opposition politicians have been released.

They've been arrested in the aftermath of last year's contested presidential election.

Eight of them have had their sentences cancelled, while the others have been placed under house arrest.

Our America's regional editor, Leonardo Rocha, has the details.

The opposition says they're political prisoners falsely accused of corruption by the government.

President Nicolas Maduro says right-wing extremists in Venezuela have sided with the United States to try to undermine his government.

Hundreds of opposition activists and politicians who challenged the official results of last year's election were arrested.

Most of them have since been released as the Maduro government came under increasing international pressure.

The Trump administration has recently announced it was deploying three warships near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking.

Leonardo Rocha.

Here in Britain, the streets of West London have been filled with thousands of people for the first day of the annual Nottinghill Carnival, one of the largest street festivals in Europe.

The event taking place across the weekend and on Monday is a celebration of Caribbean culture, featuring brightly coloured outfits, brass instruments, steel drums and dancing.

But there have been concerns about policing and public safety.

Our correspondent Greg Mackenzie sent this report from Nottinghill on Sunday's events.

The first day of the Nottinghill Carnival is traditionally known as Children's Day, where many compete for the title of best costume.

We get to celebrate our different cultures from Africa the Caribbean all over and we get to have fun and celebrate what's important.

What's been your favourite part of Carnival?

Watching the fancy dress.

The carnival which began in the late 50s as a celebration of Caribbean culture and resilience continues to serve as both a cultural showcase and a unifying community event.

Food stalls line the streets offering everything from jerk chicken to doubles.

By the end of tomorrow more than two million people will have taken to the Nottinghill Carnival.

This year it's 59 years old.

The Metropolitan Police are using live facial recognition cameras at key points for the first time.

The technology scans crowds in real time, matching faces against a watch list of individuals wanted for serious offences.

The aim is simply to keep people safe, it's to make sure that we're looking at preventing serious violence, particularly around nine prime and violence against women and girls.

For many Londoners, the carnival is more than a party.

It's a symbol of multicultural Britain, celebrating identity, history and belonging.

Greg Mackenzie in Notting Hill in West London.

And that's all from us for now, but there will be a new edition of the Global News Podcast later on.

If you want to comment on this podcast or the topics covered in it, you can send us an email.

The address is globalpodcast at bbc.co.uk.

You can also find us on X at BBC World Service.

Use the hashtag GlobalNewsPod.

This edition was mixed by Simon Nunn.

The producers were Liam McSheffery and Peter Goffin.

The editor is Karen Martin.

I'm Nick Mars, and until next time, goodbye.

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