| | | | | | | Hello. As we're approaching two years of war in Ukraine, we're taking a moment today with Steve Rosenberg to reflect on the state of Russia, and the path taken by its leader Vladimir Putin. In western Kenya, Celestine Karoney has written a very moving piece on the village grieving marathon champion Kelvin Kiptum. We're also reporting on the chaos in the UK House of Commons, the US-Taiwan relationship, and why you shouldn't put your phone in rice. |
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| | | | Top of the agenda | | How Russia got to this point, two years on | | | | Murals offer a reminder of the human cost of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Credit: BBC |
| | Two years ago, Russian president Vladimir Putin was about to order the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a decision that changed Europe and the world. But it also changed Russia itself. In the town of Solnechnogorsk, 40 miles from Moscow, our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg sees the shadow of the country's last two years cast everywhere: on the names freshly engraved on memorials, on graffiti supporting the Wagner mercenary group, and the flowers laid in memory of Alexei Navalny. But Steve's decades as a correspondent in Moscow also provide a dizzying perspective. "According to a recent poll, 59% of Russians support the idea of Russia joining the European Union," he wrote for the BBC in May 2001. At the time, during the early years of Mr Putin's presidency, Nato and Russia appeared to seek closer cooperation. So, what happened? Speaking to former Nato chief Lord Robertson, and drawing on his many years in Moscow, Steve attempts to retrace the path of the Russian leader, and what it means for ordinary Russians today. | | | | |
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| | | | | | World headlines | | • | Parliament drama: Dozens of British MPs are calling for Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle to quit after a row over parliamentary process overshadowed a debate on a call for a ceasefire in Gaza. Watch the chaotic scenes from Wednesday night, and follow our live page on the fallout. | | • | Dani Alves: A court in Spain has found the former Brazil footballer guilty of raping a woman in a Barcelona nightclub. He has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison. | | • | Frozen embryos: Alabama's largest hospital has paused its in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) services following a ruling from the US state's Supreme Court that frozen embryos are considered children, and that a person could be held liable for accidentally destroying them. | | • | In the occupied West Bank: One person has been killed and eight have been wounded in an attack by three Palestinian gunmen on a highway near an Israeli settlement, Israeli police say. | | • | Cultural heritage: Dozens of archaeological sites in Afghanistan have been bulldozed to allow systematic looting, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. Here's the satellite footage behind their findings. |
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| | AT THE SCENE | Chepsamo, Kenya | | A village mourns its running hero | | Kelvin Kiptum, the marathon world record holder who died in a road accident aged 24, will be buried on Friday. In his rural community in Western Kenya, family and friends recall a joker and a young man with an incredible drive. | | | | Celestine Karoney, BBC News |
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| | Kelvin Kiptum's discipline and drive can be gleaned from his father, Samson Cheruiyot, who spoke to the BBC outside a house where he lives with his wife, daughter-in-law and grandchildren. "I worked burning charcoal to make sure that he had everything he needed, and his mother would shop for second-hand shoes for him," he said. "There are days we slept on floors while travelling for local races just so we could survive. "He promised that once he succeeded, we would be comfortable. But now he is gone," he said about his only child. |
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| | | | Beyond the headlines | | Why are US lawmakers going to Taiwan? | | | | When Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in 2022, Beijing responded by firing ballistic missiles over the top of the island for the first time. Credit: EPA |
| | An increasing number of US representatives have visited Taiwan in recent years. But are these trips a genuine show of support that helps deter China - or publicity stunts that serve to provoke Beijing, and solidify the view that Washington is intent on the permanent separation of Taiwan? Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Taipei. | | | | |
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| | | | Something different | | Saving Sarkese | | A Czech linguist is trying to rescue an archaic Norman language from oblivion. | | |
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| | | | And finally... | | Apple has advised its customers to refrain from plunging their wet iPhone in a bag of rice, debunking a urban myth that has ruined phones and precious grain for years. The advice has long been circulating among the clumsy community, no matter their mobile device of choice. Here’s what else you shouldn’t do. |
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| | | | | | US Election Unspun newsletter | | Cut through the noise in the race for the White House, every Wednesday to your inbox. | | |
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– Jules |
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