Broadcast timeline
BBC News
Sunday 23 August 2026 · 00:00 BST · 30m · 5 stories · 15 annotated moments · 24 of 30 min on news stories (80%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on the day of the national flag that holding elections during the war with Russia would be too dangerous and could split and destroy the country. The warning follows calls from his former defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, who was sacked last month after a falling out, to hold a nationwide vote. In an interview, Fedorov said democracy is at stake and that he wanted the war to end, while also describing a crisis of governance, inefficiency, and a loss of trust through corruption. He said he would not have made the statement if he were thinking of his political future, and he is heading to the US to ask for extended access to the Starlink network. Ukraine's consul general in San Francisco, Dmytro Khrushchev, said the constitution prohibits elections during the war, and that the majority of Ukrainians prioritize surviving the coming winter over holding a vote.
In Guinea, the government said 30 people were killed after rubbish at a waste site collapsed onto homes in the capital, Conakry, following heavy rain, with at least 15 others injured. Emergency teams searched for possible trapped people, and one woman told local media her five children died in the disaster. The same landfill had a similar fatal incident in 2019. In the United States, about 90,000 people were urged to evacuate the path of the Hawkeye Fire near Reno, Nevada, which ignited as a small bush fire and covered more than 10,000 acres by Sunday morning. Nevada's governor declared a state of emergency, six people were injured, and a Red Cross shelter opened with over 450 evacuees.
BBC World Service gained rare access inside Afghanistan under Taliban rule, five years after the group returned to power. The report featured a Taliban governor, a former Guantanamo Bay inmate, handling a case of an 18-year-old woman seeking a divorce from an abusive husband; the governor sent her away, said she should not seek divorce, and warned her husband against further abuse. The report also met a woman who had protested the Taliban's return and now meets in secret, saying the Taliban are scared of educated women because they will not raise ignorant beings. The broadcast concluded that despite the Taliban's promise to respect human rights, Afghanistan is now a country run by men, for men.
- 0:10 Story begins Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
- 2:02
Charged quote Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
Urging political change and elections, despite the war. We are the only ones who will decide what we do going forward. That's what democracy is all about. If I cannot share my ideas and be open about them, then what are we fighting for? You really believe an election would be in the interests of Ukraine and not in your personal interests?
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 2:02-2:07
- 2:49
Charged quote Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
said holding elections was difficult and would divide and potentially destroy the country. His focus, winning the war. He said his former minister was being drawn by the wrong influences. Supporters chanted for Fedorov's reinstatement after he transformed the battlefield and took the fight to Russia with long-range drones.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 2:49-2:55
- 4:30
Charged quote Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
I believe in delivering faster what was already announced, simplifying the bureaucracy, and procuring more stuff produced in Ukraine. Governments are lagging behind on the reality on the ground. And this is the question, not just for the UK. And so, though no longer in office, he still aims to influence this war and the future of Ukraine.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 4:30-4:34
- 5:35
Claim Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
Ukrainian law prevents elections during wartime unless the constitution is changed, which requires a three-fourths parliamentary vote.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 5:35-5:46
- 5:58
Claim Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
Part of Ukraine is occupied by Russia, so elections cannot be conducted across the whole territory.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 5:58-6:06
- 7:36
Claim Zelensky warns wartime elections could split Ukraine
The majority of Ukrainians are not calling for elections.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 7:36-7:42
- 10:44
- 10:44
Claim Guinea landfill collapse in Conakry kills 30 after heavy rain
According to the government, 30 people died in the Conakry landfill collapse.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 10:44-10:53
- 10:53
Claim Guinea landfill collapse in Conakry kills 30 after heavy rain
At least 15 people were injured in the collapse.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 10:53-10:55
- 11:17 Story begins Hawkeye Fire near Reno forces 90,000 to evacuate
- 11:42
Claim Hawkeye Fire near Reno forces 90,000 to evacuate
Six people were injured, including three first responders.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 11:42-11:47
- 16:20 Story begins BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
- 16:55
Claim BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
The Taliban governor in northern Afghanistan is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 16:55-17:01
- 16:55
Claim BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
The Taliban governor in northern Afghanistan is a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 16:55-17:01
- 18:22
Claim BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
The governor advised an 18-year-old woman not to proceed with a divorce.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 18:22-18:25
- 18:22
Claim BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
The governor advised an 18-year-old woman not to proceed with a divorce.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 18:22-18:25
- 18:30
Claim BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
Taliban policies today are similar to the hardline interpretation of Sharia they imposed in the 1990s.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 18:30-18:38
- 19:08
Claim BBC gains rare access inside Taliban-run Afghanistan
A woman who protested the Taliban takeover now lives in secret and believes they fear educated women.
BBC News, 23 August 2026, 19:08-19:13
- 20:54
- 24:58 ~5 min without annotations
Source: BBC NEWS, "BBC News", Sunday 23 August 2026. Transcript excerpts and stills are shown only to support the analysis annotated alongside them. Search-result excerpts are distinct from the editorial annotations — see our copyright basis. The full broadcast is not reproduced.