The Documentary Podcast The Fifth Floor: Russia's 'grey zone' war
Grigor Atanesian from BBC Russian joins us to discuss the theories around 'grey zone' warfare techniques and if, why, and how Russia is deploying them against the UK. Plus, BBC Korean's Yuna Ku explains how companies and celebrities are striving to appear politically neutral before the upcoming South Korean elections; how the Grand Mosque in Mecca has been expanded over the years to accommodate large numbers of pilgrims, with Reem Alsheikh from BBC Arabic; and the story behind a 'lost' masterpiece that recently sold for $1.3m, with Merve Kara-Kaşka from BBC Turkish.
Presented by Faranak Amidi
Produced by Caroline Ferguson and Alice Gioia
(Photo: Faranak Amidi. Credit: Tricia Yourkevich.)
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The Guardian
27 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ukraine war briefing: senior Ukrainian commander resigns after deadly Russian strike
The commander of Ukraine's land forces, one of the most senior positions in the country's military, announced on Sunday that he was tendering his resignation, saying he felt 'responsibility' for the deaths of at least 12 soldiers killed in a Russian strike on a training ground earlier that day. Maj Gen Mykhailo Drapatyi has been in charge of Ukraine's vast wartime land army since November last year. 'This is a conscious step dictated by my personal sense of responsibility for the tragedy at the 239th training ground, which resulted in the deaths of our soldiers,' Drapatyi wrote on Facebook. An earlier statement from the land forces' Telegram page said 12 soldiers had been killed and 60 wounded by a Russian missile strike on a military training site, the latest in a string of similar attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, said he would summon senior commanders, including top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, to consider the circumstances of the strike. 'This is not the first strike of its kind when Ukraine has lost personnel. I have called a meeting … to deal with this,' he said. 'We need all our fighting men at the front to defend Ukraine.' Russia's military issued a statement saying its forces had launched a missile on a Ukrainian military 'tent camp' in central Dniepropetrovsk region. Ukraine said on Sunday it had destroyed Russian bombers worth billions of dollars as far away as Siberia, in its longest-range assault of the war. In a spectacular claim, Ukraine said it had damaged $7bn worth of Russian aircraft parked at four airbases thousands of kilometres (miles) away, with unverified video footage showing aircraft engulfed in flames and black smoke. A source in the Ukrainian security services (SBU) said the strikes hit 41 planes that were used to 'bomb Ukrainian villages'. Several Russian and Ukrainian media outlets reported that Ukraine had carried out the operation by launching drones from lorries parked near military airfields deep inside Russia. Ukrainian officials told the media that the operation – codename 'Spiderweb' – had been in preparation for more than 18 months. The drones were first smuggled into Russia and later concealed under the roofs of small wooden sheds which were loaded on to trucks and driven to the perimeter of the airbases. The roof panels of the sheds were lifted off by a remotely activated mechanism, allowing the drones to fly out and begin their attack, the official said. Zelenskyy praised the attacks as a 'brilliant operation' that was 'aimed exclusively at military targets' and caused 'truly significant losses' for Russia. Those who assisted in the operation had been withdrawn from Russia on the eve of the attacks and were safe, he said. Russia has said several 'participants' have been arrested. Russian investigators on Sunday said they believed 'explosions' had caused two bridges in the border regions of Kursk and Bryansk to collapse overnight, derailing trains, killing at least seven people and injuring dozens. The incidents were being treated as terrorism. In Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, a road bridge collapsed onto a railway line late on Saturday, derailing a passenger train heading to Moscow and killing at least seven people. A rail bridge in neighbouring Kursk also collapsed overnight, derailing a freight train and injuring the driver, officials said. Kursk also borders Ukraine. Separately, railway track on the Unecha-Zhecha section in Russia's Bryansk region was damaged without casualties, the national operator, Russian Railways, said. The attacks came just ahead of the second round of direct peace talks between the two sides in Istanbul. After days of uncertainty over whether Ukraine would even attend, Zelenskyy said defence minister Rustem Umerov would meet Russian officials. The first round of the talks more than a week ago yielded the biggest prisoner exchange of the war – but no sense of any consensus on how to halt the fighting. The two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, according to US envoy Keith Kellogg, though it is clear that after three years of intense war, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Russia's lead negotiator, presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, was quoted by Tass news agency as saying the Russian side had received a memorandum from Ukraine on a settlement. Zelenskyy had complained for days that Russia had failed to provide a memorandum with its proposals.
Daily Mail
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Newlywed Dani Dyer reflects on THAT postcard meltdown which broke the then-record for highest number of complaints in Love Island history
Love Island series 12 is just around the corner, but on Sunday night, ITV2 pulled out all the stops with an anniversary special, celebrating 10 years of the show. Love Island: A Decade of Love featured chats and iconic moments from past winners and contestants, including newlywed, Dani Dyer. The reality star, 28, famously appeared on the show back in 2018 and went on to win with then-partner Jack Fincham, 32. But despite taking home the huge prize money, one of the moments Dani is most remembered for, is her reaction during season four's Casa Amor twist. The girls were given a video postcard showing what their partners were getting up to in the other villa, with Dani left inconsolable after she was shown a clip of Jack coming face to face with his ex-girlfriend Ellie Jones, implying there was something unsavoury afoot. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. As she watched the footage back, she was joined on the sofa by former contestant Samira Mighty, and reflected on her outburst saying: 'I went from zero to a thousand really quickly didn't I? 'I really really thought... I think it's cos his reaction was so like [gasps]'. Samira agreed saying the whole situation was 'crazy' before giving her friend a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder. Despite the drama and upset, Jack had actually barely spoken to Ellie, remaining loyal to Dani throughout. However the way the clips were shown 2,525 viewers complained, with the then Love Island host, the late Caroline Flack justifying the producers' actions by saying the point of the show is to 'test relationships.' Although Ofcom didn't investigate they confirmed that it broke records at the time for the highest number of complaints about a single issue in Love Island history. Earlier this year, appearing on Jessie Ware's podcast, Table Manners, Dani's dad, actor Danny Dyer admitted he was enraged by the scenes. He said: 'They did a really mean thing on it as well, where they sort of made it look like he was cheating on her. I was fuming. I was like I want numbers, I want f**** numbers. The clip broke records at the time for the highest number of complaints about a single issue in Love Island history and despite the drama, Dani and Jack went on to win the show, but ended up going their separate ways nine months later 'They pretended he was sleeping outside on a bed, and she was crying her eyes out, and I knew this was gonna happen to me. How could you do it to this poor child?' 'So, yeah, really hard to watch, but she came out. She really just went with it. She got a clothing range. She's such a beautiful kid. I'm so proud. I'm proud of all my babies.' Elsewhere in Love Island: A Decade of Love, Dani revealed that her new husband Jarrod Bowen's mother, voted for her and her ex Jack to win Love Island back when they were on it in 2018. After tying the knot with footballer Jarrod on Saturday, Dani confessed that her in-laws were among the thousands of fans who voted for her to take the crown. The mum-of-three was among a slew of past Islanders watching back clips of their time on the show. Sitting with pal Samira, Dani revealed that her now mother-in-law had watched her series and been a fan even back then. She told a shocked Samira: 'You know Jarrod's mum voted for us to win? So my mother-in-law voted for me and Jack to win Love Island.' It comes after Dani shared the heartwarming moment she danced with her dad at her recent lavish wedding. The emotional father-of-the-bride moment saw proud Danny slow dance with his eldest daughter, after walking her down the aisle. In a behind-the-scenes wedding reel shared to Instagram, Danny looked like he could burst with pride as he embraced daughter Dani on the dance floor. The 50 guests watched on as the father and daughter duo slow-danced under a dazzling chandelier. Calling it 'the best day of my entire life,' Dani told fans it was a memory she'd cherish always, adding: 'A day that I will want to re-live forever.'
Reuters
40 minutes ago
- Reuters
S.Korea factory activity shrinks again, new orders suffer steepest slump in 5 yrs, PMI shows
SEOUL, June 2 (Reuters) - South Korea's factory activity shrank for a fourth month in May as frail domestic demand and the impact of U.S. tariffs took a heavy toll on factory output while overall orders plunged at their steepest pace in five years, a business survey showed on Monday. The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for manufacturers in Asia's fourth-largest economy, released by S&P Global, edged up to 47.7 in May, from 47.5 in April. The index has stayed below 50-mark, which separates expansion from contraction, since February. "South Korea's manufacturing sector came into May on an unstable footing," said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "Firms often mentioned that the contraction was attributed to a continuing stagnation in the domestic economy, as well the continued impact of higher U.S. tariffs on the home market as well as on key export markets." New orders suffered their steepest contraction since June 2020 while output fell at the quickest rate in just over two-and-a-half years. U.S. President Donald Trump's global trade war has added to already weak demand conditions in South Korea, which recently suffered its worst wildfires on record and has faced political turmoil. The trade-reliant economy unexpectedly contracted in the first quarter, raising pressure on policymakers to shore up demand. The Bank of Korea on Thursday cut rates for the fourth time in its current easing cycle and almost halved this year's economic outlook to 0.8%, just days ahead of a presidential election slated for June 3, citing downside risks from U.S. tariff policy as well as a sluggish construction sector. The PMI survey also showed a fall in backlogs of work for the second month, with the most pronounced depletion in nearly five years in the face of subdued new orders. On a brighter note, manufacturers turned optimistic, reversing the brief spell of negative sentiment in April, partly led by hopes of an easing in global trade tensions. However, the degree of confidence was modest and reflected persistent concerns over the impact of tariffs.
