Main content

The president and the hostage-taker

A president, a hostage-taker, and likes for animal rights: one shift with 大象传媒 Ukrainian.

There's hot debate in Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelensky helped secure the release of a busload of hostages by complying with the hostage-taker's bizarre demand. Irena Taranyuk of 大象传媒 Ukrainian has been following the arguments over whether he took the right decision.

Birdwatching in lockdown Kathmandu
For Shreejana Shrestha of 大象传媒 Nepali, lockdown in the capital Kathmandu brought an unexpected new interest. She's become an avid birdwatcher. She tells us about the many beautiful and unusual birds she's been able to see and hear in the quieter and cleaner city.

Cathedral, museum, mosque: Hagia Sophia
The first Friday prayers have been said at Istanbul's Hagia Sophia, after a court ruling ended its museum status. It was built as a cathedral 1500 years ago, then became a mosque after the Ottoman conquest. In the 1930s it was made into a museum, and now it's a mosque again. Esra Yalcinalp has been covering the story for 大象传媒 Turkish.

Image: Hostage bus Lutsk, Ukraine
Credit: EPA/MARKIIAN LYSEIKO

Release date:

Available now

24 minutes

Podcast