--:-- Nick Miles: This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Go on, get a little out there into the big heart of Nevada, where you can go off-road and off the map on two lakes or on horseback. Dip into hot springs and dive into deserts. Climb a mountain or make your best effort. See thousands of stars in some of the darkest skies. Stake out haunted hotels. Can you make it to sunrise? There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be. Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Benjamin Netanyahu: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: As we record this podcast, the Houthis have said the Israeli strikes killed four people and injured 67 more. The BBC tried 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: But the BBC did manage to talk to the journalist Nazim Mohamed, 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.
--:-- Nazim Mohamed: 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 Sab'in district. There were three raids. They also hit a petrol station in a compound for the oil company and the Haziz electric power station.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: That 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: The British journalist Iona Craig has covered Yemen extensively. James Menendez began by asking her what she thought was going on at the moment.
--:-- Iona Craig: The tit-for-tat 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: And of course, 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.
--:-- Iona Craig: And this has then created a response from Israel. So we saw back in May when the Houthis successfully targeted Ben Gurun 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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 and their ballistic missile capabilities.
--:-- Iona Craig: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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?
--:-- Iona Craig: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Iona Craig: So it is in direct mirroring, if you like, it is an extension of the conflict in Gaza now.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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 Suedia province in the south, where the majority of people are from the Druze religious minority.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our 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.
--:-- Mike Thompson: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: And despite a later ceasefire, killings and abductions by both sides are continuing. Roussad Rashidi heads the rights group, the Syria Campaign.
--:-- Roussad Rashidi: Acts of violence and specifically kidnapping and kidnapping of women continues to be an issue on the rights. Female students, university students for example, are unable to go to the universities because they are worried about the issue of kidnapping.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Imagine when you're before bedtime. They ask, where is daddy? And you are completely unable to answer them.
--:-- Nick Miles: Jews protesters in Suweda, angry at the killings by government forces in July, took to the streets this month to demand independence for the province.
--:-- Nick Miles: I actually very worried that Syria is on the brink of a new civil war. Rezaad pessimism follows last month sectarian killings in Zueda as well as another thousand in former President Assad's Western heartlands last March.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Haytham Kiwan, a musician from Zuwayda, is pinning his faith in the power of local children, singing this song of hope to help bring his country together.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: That report was by Mike Thompson. The US Vice President has denied that Russia is delaying efforts to achieve peace in Ukraine.
--:-- Nick Miles: Jedi 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: He said they included an acknowledgement of the need for security guarantees for Ukraine. Well, in Kiev, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday issued a defiant message to mark his country's Independence Day.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: The Independence Day ceremony in Kiev 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: The exchanges remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries. This report from our correspondent in Ukraine, Katie Watson.
--:-- Katie Watson: In central Kiev, Sofia Square, President Zelensky celebrated Ukraine's independence, flanked by allies, including the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
--:-- Nick Miles: The US Special Envoy, Keith Kellogg, was presented with the Order of Merit, a recognition of his support for Ukraine.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Mark Carney didn't dismiss the idea of boots on the ground either. Meanwhile, fighting continued on both sides overnight.
--:-- Nick Miles: Russia blamed Ukraine for a drone attack on a nuclear facility in the western Kursk region. A fire was extinguished. Nobody was hurt.
--:-- Nick Miles: The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was aware of media reports but had no independent confirmation of what happened.
--:-- Nick Miles: Away from the front line, families in Kyiv enjoyed the national holiday. But politics is never far from people's minds.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: We simply will not let them do this. Independence Day used to be an excuse for a big celebration. Much, though, has changed.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Katie Watson in Kiev. 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Relations between Budapest and Kiev are frosty, to say the least. Nevertheless, there are ties between the neighbours.
--:-- Nick Miles: In the past few weeks, about 8,000 Ukrainian children visited Hungary to take part in summer camps.
--:-- Nick Miles: Nick Thorpe sent this report from a children's camp in Sandpod on the southern shore of Lake Bellaton.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Aged from four to 16, it's their last day here. From their faces, you'd never guess that these are the children of Ukrainian police officers.
--:-- Nick Miles: More than half the 53 children here have lost one or both parents in the war.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: I'm in the canteen now and the children are all having their lunch and kind of goulash, very Hungarian dish.
--:-- Nick Miles: You speak a little English. Hi, what's your name? Antonina.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: Antonina. Where are you from, Antonina? In Ukraine.
--:-- Nick Miles: I'm from in Ukraine. And was it a nice camp here? Did you have a good time?
--:-- Nick Thorpe: Yes, it's very nice camp. Yes, I have many new friends. Many new friends. Yes.
--:-- Nick Miles: Great. My name is Natalia and I'm from Ukraine. I'm a teacher of English in Zhutomir Polytechnic University.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: But still, when some noises are loud and sudden, it triggers. But all in all, they've had some peace these days, so good feeling.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Gergely Kovacs 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.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: His district raised $30,000 in three days from more than 500 donations through crowdfunding to pay for this camp.
--:-- Nick Miles: We all know that Russia began this fight, and I think we should help Ukraine, and that's why we made this camp for Ukrainian children.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: The Ukrainian ambassador to Hungary, Shandor Fedyev, visits the camp and organises an impromptu game of Simon Says for the children.
--:-- Nick Miles: Originally a university lecturer from the city of Ushorod, he's no stranger to war. He fought for more than two years on the front lines in the east.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: I asked him if he has a message for the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.
--:-- Nick Miles: Message what?
--:-- Nick Thorpe: Message is here. Ukrainian children on the Hungarian land. Thank you, district in Budapest. Thank you, Hungarian people.
--:-- Nick Miles: Only thank you. The issues which disrupt Hungary-Ukraine relations. Ukrainian attacks on a Russian oil pipeline on which Hungary depends.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: The death of an ethnic Hungarian conscript in the Ukrainian army, a recent spy scandal, are all put aside for this lazy summer afternoon.
--:-- Nick Miles: Natalia, the English teacher we heard earlier, told me what she and the children will miss most from Hungary when they return to Ukraine.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: I'm thinking about this. It's so lovely to look at the sky and to see passenger planes flying.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Thorpe: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: That report by Nick Thorpe in Hungary. Now we turn to Serbia, where this weekend saw violent clashes between police and anti-government protesters.
--:-- Nick Miles: The demonstrations were called initially over allegations of corruption, but have since broadened into demands for the country's president, Alexander Vucic, to resign.
--:-- Nick Miles: That is the sound of protesters setting off fireworks on the streets. So President Vucic has now responded with radical measures aimed at helping the economy.
--:-- Nick Miles: But will they calm things down? I asked our Europe regional editor, Paul Moss, why the protests became so widespread and heated.
--:-- Paul Moss: Well, it all began last November when the canopy at a train station in the city of Novi Sad collapsed.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Paul Moss: There were protests people took to the streets. And as you said, though, this quickly widened into a general protest about corruption in Serbia.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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 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.
--:-- Paul Moss: Now, I mentioned that the president has put in place some radical measures, quite unexpected things as well.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Paul Moss: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Paul Moss: 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 an essentially corrupt government.
--:-- Nick Miles: And as you said, they want the president to resign and they want new elections.
--:-- Paul Moss: Now, clearly, this is of concern for people in Serbia, but these protests are causing concern in other European capitals.
--:-- Nick Miles: Indeed, yes. I mean, Serbia, for a start, has been treading a very fine line between the West and Russia.
--:-- Paul Moss: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: The West is trying to keep the president at least partly on side, not totally in the Kremlin's embrace. So they're watching very closely to see what he'll do, will he survive in power, and who might replace him.
--:-- Paul Moss: Also, if he feels threatened, there is the fear that Alexander Vucic will start playing the Serb nationalist card.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Paul Moss: Again, the potential for trouble there. And if I can give you a history lesson, which you probably don't need, Bosnia, Serbia, this is where World War I began.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Paul Moss. A memorial ceremony has been held in Spain for a 17-year-old cyclist who died during an international race for top junior riders.
--:-- Nick Miles: Officials and competitors observed a minute's silence for Ivan Melendez. Grant Ferrett reports.
--:-- Grant Ferrett: The Spanish teenager was one of about 20 competitors hurt in a huge crash on Saturday near Aranda de Duero.
--:-- Nick Miles: Two of them are thought to remain in a serious condition in hospital. The rest of the competition has been called off.
--:-- Grant Ferrett: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: The accident again highlights the risk associated with competitive cycling. In July, a 19-year-old, Samuele Privetera, died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash during a race in Italy.
--:-- Grant Ferrett: Grant Ferrett.
--:-- Nick Miles: Still to come, a story of resilience emerging from a Palestinian displacement camp.
--:-- Nick Miles: My friend bring a guitar and I sing with all the kids gathering around me. In these moments, I forget the world.
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--:-- Nick Miles: Guardian Bikes, built for your kid and for the memories you'll never forget. Go on, get a little out there into the big heart of Nevada, where you can go off-road and off the map on two lakes or on horseback.
--:-- Nick Miles: Dip into hot springs and dive into deserts. Climb a mountain or make your best effort. See thousands of stars in some of the darkest skies. Stake out haunted hotels. Can you make it to sunrise?
--:-- Nick Miles: There's always something new to see because we've got plenty of space to just be. Plan your trip at TravelNevada.com.
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--:-- Nick Miles: According to a nationwide survey conducted by GeneSight, nearly 9 in 10 Americans who've been diagnosed with depression or anxiety believe that mental health medications are somewhat or very effective.
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--:-- Nick Miles: If you or someone you love is facing challenges with depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor about how genetic testing may help.
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--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: They're expected to report for duty next month. But how are these reservists feeling about fighting in the war?
--:-- Nick Miles: Davidi Ben-Zion is a reservist and a deputy commander. He's also involved in campaigns to get Jewish people across the globe to join as reservists.
--:-- Nick Miles: He gave Julian Warwicker his reaction to the news that he and others are being re-enlisted.
--:-- Davidi Ben-Zion: 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, they will come.
--:-- Nick Miles: Usually people have a career, family. I think it's normal that three or four percent will not come.
--:-- Davidi Ben-Zion: The main reason people come again and again to the reserve duty, it's not the ideologic, the reason is France. Because people know that it will be harder without them.
--:-- Nick Miles: The second reason, of course, it's the hostages. You mentioned the hostages. They are still being held, we know that. Some sadly have been killed, we know some are still alive.
--:-- Nick Miles: If you've done it once and that didn't get them out, why will it work this time?
--:-- Davidi Ben-Zion: First of all, you know, I'm major in the Power Troopers 55 Brigade. We have an operative mission. I'm not part of the government, of the cabinet, etc.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: And you'll be aware, too, of the thousands of Palestinian families in Gaza City who will now be terrified about what lies ahead.
--:-- Nick Miles: What are your thoughts on both of those viewpoints which run counter to what is about to happen here?
--:-- Davidi Ben-Zion: We didn't choose this war. On October 7th, I was in Kfar Aza. Kibbutz Kfar Aza was one of the terrible places that Hamas made the evil massacre.
--:-- Nick Miles: And after two months, when I was commander in Han Yunus, we came, it was Saturday morning, to the house of the commander of Hamas in Bani Suhila.
--:-- Nick Miles: Ban Iswila, it's the eastern village of Hanunis. And we found nearly to his bed a mine camp brought in by Adolf Hitler, translation to Arabic.
--:-- Nick Miles: And then I understood, Julian, that unfortunately Hamas have really agendas like the Nazis. They want to kill us all.
--:-- Nick Miles: I can understand my friends in Tel Aviv that say stop the war now because we can't see another children died in Gaza.
--:-- Nick Miles: I can understand it, but I have no any option. It's the war of our life.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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 a group of people.
--:-- Nick Miles: And the more you fight and the more Palestinians suffer and are killed the more you recruit more people to back an organisation like Hamas in the future.
--:-- Davidi Ben-Zion: Of course, you can destroy a terror agenda. Even ISIS is still alive.
--:-- Nick Miles: Of course, Britain and the United States and the Western world have made a great war against ISIS.
--:-- Nick Miles: And still, we can find some terrorists that have the same agenda like ISIS. So we know that we can destroy them.
--:-- Nick Miles: But we must claim to the break even, to the specific point that Hamas will understand. If you want to survive, you must give the 50 hostages death.
--:-- Nick Miles: That was Davidi Benzean, an IDF reservist. Well, staying in the region and a story of resilience emerging from a Palestinian displacement camp.
--:-- Nick Miles: Some musicians from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, based in the West Bank are now displaced and living in tents at a site in Gaza City.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: They now post their songs about grief, hope and war to thousands of followers on social media, giving them a global platform.
--:-- Nick Miles: Julian Warica also spoke to Ahmed Abu Amsha, one of those teachers who specialises in guitar and violin.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: Right now in this war, I do activities for the kids. in the middle of Gaza. Before, I was living in Beit Hanoun, before this war.
--:-- Nick Miles: And we evacuate Beit Hanoun at 3 o'clock in the morning. We have a message that leaves immediately. Then we go to Jabalia after Jabalia. I'm displacing maybe until now 12 times.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: So when you play music, when you teach music, you're able to forget everything that's going on around you.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: 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 war.
--:-- Nick Miles: So this is the beginning of the idea. Why we not make it for all the kids around us?
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: When you first talk to parents of children that you want to teach music in these circumstances, what do they say?
--:-- Nick Miles: Really? It's like a joke, you know. They told me, hey, Rahmat, are you crazy?
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: They told me, we need food, we need water, not music. Nobody have time for that.
--:-- Nick Miles: I told them, no, it's better than the food, than the water. We can change the kids. We can make them happy.
--:-- Nick Miles: And after one month, all the parents come to my tent and they thank me. They told me, you change our kids.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: There's something they can do. They can play music. They can communicate with us. You know, a lot of kids have a trauma.
--:-- Nick Miles: And after months, two months, they are communicating and they are good.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: I find a lot of talented kids that they have a good voice, a good tone. I teach some kids, they have a problem with their voices, but, you know, after a couple of months, they're getting better.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was have a student. His name is Yusuf.
--:-- Nick Miles: In the morning, he comes to me and drink with me coffee. We was in Khan Yunis. And he told me, Mr. Ahmed, I love you so much.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: I told him, I love you too. and told him, Yusuf, what do you have today?
--:-- Nick Miles: He told me I want to go to the kafi to make a connection with the internet, to have a call with my father.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: His father was in the north of Gaza. After he goes there, they strike the kafi, and he was in the kafi, and Yusuf dead.
--:-- Nick Miles: It was a horrible night. After he died, all of us cried, and I want to make something for him, for his family.
--:-- Ahmed Abu Amsha: So I compose a song that's called No Nights. That means we're not sleeping, thinking of you, Youssef.
--:-- Nick Miles: This song, I sing it, and a girl called Bayan, we record this song on 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: That was Ahmed Abu Amsha. To Venezuela now, where 13 opposition politicians have been released.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our America's regional editor, Leonardo Rocha, has the details. The opposition says they're political prisoners falsely accused of corruption by the government.
--:-- Nick Miles: President Nicolás Maduro says right-wing extremists in Venezuela have sided with the United States to try to undermine his government.
--:-- Nick Miles: Hundreds of opposition activists and politicians who challenged the official results of last year's election were arrested.
--:-- Nick Miles: Most of them have since been released as the Maduro government came under increasing international pressure.
--:-- Nick Miles: The Trump administration has recently announced it was deploying three warships near Venezuela to combat drug trafficking.
--:-- Nick Miles: Leonardo Rocha. Here in Britain, the streets of West London have been filled with thousands of people for the first day of the annual Notting Hill Carnival, one of the largest street festivals in Europe.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: But there have been concerns about policing and public safety.
--:-- Nick Miles: Our correspondent Greg McKenzie sent this report from Notting Hill on Sunday's events.
--:-- Greg McKenzie: The first day of the Notting Hill Carnival is traditionally known as Children's Day, where many compete for the title of best costume.
--:-- Nick Miles: We get to celebrate our different cultures from Africa, the Caribbean, all over, and we get to have fun and celebrate what's important.
--:-- Greg McKenzie: What's been your favourite part of Carnival? Watching the fancy dress.
--:-- Nick Miles: Not in here, Carnival! 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: Food stalls line the streets, offering everything from jerk chicken to doubles.
--:-- Nick Miles: By the end of tomorrow, more than two million people will have taken to the Notting Hill Carnival. This year, it's 59 years old.
--:-- Nick Miles: The Metropolitan Police are using live facial recognition cameras at key points for the first time.
--:-- Nick Miles: The technology scans crowds in real time, matching faces against a watch list of individuals wanted for serious offences.
--:-- Nick Miles: The aim is to keep people safe, to make sure that we're looking at venting serious violence, particularly around knife crime and violence against women and girls.
--:-- Nick Miles: For many Londoners, the carnival is more than a party. It's a symbol of multicultural Britain, celebrating identity, history and belonging.
--:-- Nick Miles: Greg McKenzie 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: 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.
--:-- Nick Miles: You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag Global News Pod.
--:-- Nick Miles: This edition was mixed by Simon Nunn. The producers were Lear McSheffrey and Peter Goffin. The editor is Karen Martin.
--:-- Nick Miles: I'm Nick Mars, and until next time, goodbye.
