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[00:00:01] Think of that while the global consumption consumption is 120 million a month
[00:00:04] month I don't think that this will will have a tangible impact if somebody
[00:00:08] somebody thinks otherwise, let them
[00:00:09] them think so. So I believe that
[00:00:12] that there are different rationales
[00:00:14] rationales behind this decision.
[00:00:17] decision. If so, why? Why doesn't doesn't America then conclude a diesel
[00:00:21] diesel deal with Ukraine? Ukraine.
[00:00:25] Ukraine. Let's propose a diesel deal
[00:00:27] deal with Ukraine. We are influencing
[00:00:30] influencing whether these ships are
[00:00:32] are moving. We are. We define whether
[00:00:35] whether the refineries are working.
[00:00:38] working. Let's do this for us. What's What's important is electricity.
[00:00:42] electricity. If they can guarantee guarantee the protection of our energy
[00:00:45] energy grid, we will not respond respond to their diesel infrastructure.
[00:00:48] infrastructure. For US, electricity electricity means first and foremost
[00:00:50] foremost helping people power supply
[00:00:52] supply for people. But it's also
[00:00:55] also helping Europe because everybody
[00:00:59] everybody knows that we are connected connected to the European grid. And
[00:01:02] And if our energy is not being attacked,
[00:01:04] attacked, then we are capable of of helping other countries who have
[00:01:08] have deficit power shortages with with our cheaper, cheaper energy.
[00:01:12] energy. So let's have such a deal deal with the President of the United
[00:01:15] United States. Let's hope he's listening.
[00:01:18] listening. President Zelensky, we
[00:01:19] we obviously know that you're entering
[00:01:23] entering another extremely difficult difficult winter period. What is
[00:01:25] is your understanding of what Russia
[00:01:27] Russia is preparing for? Since the
[00:01:40] the beginning of this war, Ukraine
[00:01:42] Ukraine has not yet yet overcome
[00:01:46] overcome all the difficulties because
[00:01:47] because war itself is a huge challenge
[00:01:51] challenge for our people. So there there is only one way out and that
[00:01:54] that is an end to the war. And this
[00:01:58] this will definitely happen. And
[00:01:59] And of course we count on. The support
[00:02:04] support from our partners and I concur
[00:02:06] concur with Donald. We do not now
[00:02:09] now see signals from Russia that
[00:02:11] that they want to end this war. We
[00:02:13] We do not see basics De-escalatory
[00:02:17] De-escalatory steps. Everybody's Everybody's talking about diesel,
[00:02:20] diesel, but they all forget about
[00:02:22] about grain. Believe me, in 2 to
[00:02:25] to 3 months everybody will be talking talking about a crisis in agriculture
[00:02:28] agriculture because there will be be food shortages for countries on
[00:02:31] on the African continent. For some
[00:02:33] some countries in Asia, in the Middle
[00:02:36] Middle East, because we are exporting
[00:02:39] exporting millions of food to those those markets. And now the sea is
[00:02:42] is being blocked and the United States
[00:02:45] States is not feeling that. So the
[00:02:47] the issue here is not only with energy.
[00:02:49] energy. Please believe me. And forgive
[00:02:53] forgive me for using such word conjugation,
[00:02:57] conjugation, but this is another
[00:02:58] another or Muse when the food supply
[00:03:02] supply routes are blocked, that is
[00:03:04] is a challenge and that is starvation
[00:03:07] starvation that many countries may
[00:03:08] may face. So we must bear this in
[00:03:12] in mind. We must think about everybody everybody because we all live on
[00:03:16] on this planet and many crisis can
[00:03:20] can be prevented. We can prevent
[00:03:23] prevent these challenges. Energy
[00:03:28] Energy of everybody understands that that the routes of the energy crisis
[00:03:31] crisis are stemming from the Middle Middle East. Some people are afraid
[00:03:35] afraid to spell it out, but I think
[00:03:38] think that almost everybody is capable
[00:03:40] capable of counting. If the Russian
[00:03:46] Russian diesel influence on the global
[00:03:49] global market constitutes 2.2%, then
[00:03:51] then forgive me, but what influence
[00:03:54] influence do they have this. A very
[00:03:57] very small one. And if Putin has
[00:04:02] has such a tiny influence in this
[00:04:05] this regard, then he will have tiny tiny influence in other dimensions
[00:04:08] dimensions as well. He wants this
[00:04:11] this dialogue that is lacking justice
[00:04:14] justice and equality. He wants dialogue
[00:04:16] dialogue with concessions. But Ukraine Ukraine is demonstrating that it
[00:04:20] it is in a decent independent state
[00:04:22] state that wants to reach an agreement.
[00:04:25] agreement. But Ukraine will not.
[00:04:28] not. Away from the. Energy itself.
[00:04:31] itself. Thank you sir, away from from the energy, away from the military
[00:04:34] military aspects, away from the rockets, rockets, the missiles. You talked
[00:04:37] talked about reaching out to the the hearts of Americans, the hearts
[00:04:40] hearts of people. We spoke last year
[00:04:43] year about the situation with Ukrainian
[00:04:46] Ukrainian children forcibly deported deported the situation of to Russia.
[00:04:49] Russia. Ukrainian children who are are living within occupied territories.
[00:04:53] territories. Can you bring us up
[00:04:54] up to date with what is happening
[00:04:57] happening with those Ukrainian children
[00:04:58] children who right now are voiceless?
[00:05:13] We are doing everything to
[00:05:15] bring our children back. And you
[00:05:19] you know that children cannot be
[00:05:24] be a part of an exchange fund. You
[00:05:26] You can only bring children back
[00:05:29] back through the help of various
[00:05:33] various partners services and countries
[00:05:35] countries both in Europe and in the
[00:05:38] the Middle East. And everybody is
[00:05:40] is working on this and we are grateful
[00:05:44] grateful to the Holy See. We support
[00:05:48] support their work and it's also
[00:05:51] also about the Emirates, but it's
[00:05:52] it's also about our Canadian partners
[00:05:56] partners who are a part of our coalition coalition to bring back Ukrainian
[00:06:00] Ukrainian children, but also our our Ukrainian team has brought back
[00:06:03] back many children. This work takes
[00:06:12] takes a lot of time because the Russians
[00:06:13] Russians do not want to give these
[00:06:16] these children back. So we should
[00:06:19] should always find different levers
[00:06:21] levers to ensure results. Thousands
[00:06:24] Thousands of children were illegally illegally adopted by the Russians.
[00:06:28] Russians. They are now in orphanages.
[00:06:30] orphanages. Their names and surnames
[00:06:32] surnames are changed and those who
[00:06:36] who have grown are now being sent
[00:06:39] sent to the war. Of course, this
[00:06:42] this is a genocide. An example of
[00:06:48] of such genocide is Kirin. That is
[00:06:50] is a place in Ukraine that is now
[00:06:53] now razed to the ground. Where the
[00:06:59] the Russians. Did not prevent both
[00:07:05] both children and adults alike from
[00:07:07] from getting food. Now we're not
[00:07:10] not talking about famine there. We're
[00:07:12] We're talking about genocide. We're
[00:07:16] We're talking about this. We're trying trying to help these people. But
[00:07:18] But they are now under occupation.
[00:07:21] occupation. We're grateful to all all the countries that are trying
[00:07:25] trying to help us. Please forgive
[00:07:28] forgive me. It's the city of Alaska.
[00:07:31] Alaska. It's the city of Alaska.
[00:07:34] Alaska. We are grateful to all of
[00:07:37] of the people who are helping us.
[00:07:39] us. President Zelensky, there with
[00:07:43] with very emotive language there. there. Asked by Kasia Madera about
[00:07:46] about the impact on children in Ukraine
[00:07:49] Ukraine talking earlier. Really they're they're focused on the energy ceasefire
[00:07:53] ceasefire that President Trump had had said over the weekend had been
[00:07:56] been agreed to by Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine. But President Zelensky said
[00:07:59] said they didn't know about it until until they heard about it from the
[00:08:02] the media. But earlier saying they they would absolutely sign up to
[00:08:05] to a ceasefire, something they've they've called for an energy ceasefire.
[00:08:08] ceasefire. Of course, if the Russians Russians would agree to it, saying
[00:08:11] saying that they would sign an agreement agreement if the Americans needed
[00:08:14] needed it. Also talking about the
[00:08:18] the impact of diesel on the market,
[00:08:19] market, saying that Russia only has
[00:08:22] has 2.2% of the global market, it
[00:08:24] it is a small impact. Obviously not
[00:08:27] not happy with any sort of US deal deal and really saying it was the
[00:08:30] the Middle East that has the bigger bigger impact, the crisis in the
[00:08:34] the Middle East that is affecting affecting fuel prices in the US ahead
[00:08:37] ahead of the mid-terms and right right across the world for everybody.
[00:08:41] everybody. Well, turning to events events in the Middle East where it's
[00:08:43] it's been another difficult few days. days. And Yemen's Houthi rebels have
[00:08:47] have renewed their warnings against against using airports in Saudi Arabia.
[00:08:50] Arabia. It all comes after two deadly deadly strikes on Riyadh's main international
[00:08:54] international airport in as many many days. Saudi officials say one
[00:08:57] one person was killed and 11 wounded wounded in an attack on the King
[00:09:00] King Khalid International Airport Airport on Sunday. The day before
[00:09:03] before 13 people were killed and and more than 300 injured in a missile
[00:09:07] missile strike. The deadliest attack attack on Saudi soil in more than
[00:09:10] than a decade. Well, we've received
[00:09:12] received a CCTV pictures of the moment moment of Saturday's attack. We're
[00:09:16] We're choosing not to show you some some of them as they are too distressing.
[00:09:19] distressing. But in this footage footage from Saudi state TV, all
[00:09:23] all the passengers seen waiting for for their flights do manage to get
[00:09:26] get up and escape after the bright
[00:09:28] bright orange flash of the missile missile tearing through the building.
[00:09:31] building. Well, the Iran-backed Houthis Houthis say they're targeting Saudi
[00:09:34] Saudi Arabia over its support for for government forces in Yemen's
[00:09:37] Yemen's civil war. In a post on X,
[00:09:39] X, the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia
[00:09:42] Arabia advises British citizens against against all but essential travel
[00:09:45] travel to Jeddah. Dammam and all
[00:09:47] all airports in the kingdom except except for Medina. Here's our world
[00:09:51] world news correspondent Joe Inwood. Inwood. Saturday morning, one of
[00:09:55] of Saudi Arabia's busiest airports. airports. Hundreds of people from
[00:09:59] from all over the world waiting for
[00:10:00] for their flight. Then this a missile
[00:10:04] missile hitting a crowded terminal, terminal, killing more than a dozen
[00:10:07] dozen people, wounding over 300.
[00:10:10] 300. Emergency services were said said to be overwhelmed late last
[00:10:13] last night. A group called the Houthis Houthis claim responsibility not
[00:10:17] not just for Saturday's attack but but for this one. Last Thursday at
[00:10:21] at the same airport. Another one one yesterday, as well as one at
[00:10:25] at a state run gas plant with the the help of Almighty God, the armed
[00:10:29] armed forces carried out for qualitative
[00:10:32] qualitative operations over the past past 24 hours using a number of ballistic
[00:10:35] ballistic and winged missiles as as well as drones. The first operation
[00:10:39] operation targeted King Khalid Airport Airport in Riyadh. The second operation
[00:10:43] operation targeted an Aramco gas
[00:10:45] gas plant. The Houthis are a group group that control large parts of
[00:10:48] of Yemen just to the south of Saudi
[00:10:51] Saudi Arabia. For more than a decade, decade, there's been a brutal civil
[00:10:54] civil war there. The Houthis on one
[00:10:57] one side, the internationally recognised recognised government, which is backed
[00:11:00] backed by Saudi Arabia, on the other. other. For the last couple of years
[00:11:03] years there's been an uneasy truce. truce. But that's been shattered.
[00:11:07] shattered. The Houthis made lightning lightning advances down the coast
[00:11:11] coast last month, allowing them to to threaten Saudi shipping in the
[00:11:14] the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia responded
[00:11:17] responded with air strikes. The Houthis Houthis have been firing back. As
[00:11:20] As we've seen this weekend. President President Trump is an ally of the
[00:11:24] the Saudis. He condemned the attack attack on Riyadh airport but did
[00:11:28] did not say he would get involved. involved. I think it's terrible,
[00:11:31] terrible, terrible. Why the Saudis Saudis able to defend themselves.
[00:11:35] themselves. While they're able to to defend the Saudis are good fighters.
[00:11:39] fighters. But I think the attack attack was a terrible thing. This
[00:11:42] This attack was the most severe on on Saudi soil in over a decade. Some
[00:11:46] Some of those killed are now being
[00:11:48] being identified. One of them, Buthaina
[00:11:50] Buthaina Awada, was a mother of four four from Syria. She was a victim
[00:11:54] victim of a conflict that she had had no part in. But that seems to
[00:11:58] to be escalating dangerously. Joe
[00:12:01] Joe Inwood, BBC News. Well, with with me is Hesham Shawish from BBC
[00:12:05] BBC Monitoring. Thanks very much much for being with US, Hisham. Just Just tell us what we're hearing at
[00:12:08] at the moment from Saudi media on on all these events. So the Saudi
[00:12:12] Saudi media response has been quite quite varied. They've been reporting
[00:12:15] reporting on a global messages of of solidarity with the kingdom, and
[00:12:18] and they've been really focusing focusing on the latest comments by
[00:12:21] by President Trump. The Saudi media
[00:12:23] media is very closely watching what what the US is. Next move will be.
[00:12:27] be. The Saudi army statements have have also been prominently reported
[00:12:31] reported in Saudi media. The army army reported the attacks over the
[00:12:34] the weekend as full-fledged war crimes, crimes, and the army said that they
[00:12:38] they would respond firmly and decisively. decisively. We know that passengers
[00:12:41] passengers and airport workers were were caught up in those attacks over
[00:12:45] over the weekend, and the we're likely
[00:12:47] likely to see a much stronger Saudi
[00:12:50] Saudi response compared to previous previous occasions. So throughout
[00:12:54] throughout the day yesterday and and also this morning, we've seen
[00:12:56] seen reports of Saudi coalition and and Yemeni army strikes targeting
[00:13:01] targeting Houthi held territory in
[00:13:02] in various parts of Yemen, including
[00:13:05] including Sanaa, Taiz in the southwest
[00:13:07] southwest and Saada province in the
[00:13:09] the north along the border. And Saudi Saudi channels have been prominently
[00:13:13] prominently hosting commentators commentators and military experts experts and really poring over those
[00:13:17] those statements by President Trump,
[00:13:18] Trump, who said that the US may join
[00:13:22] join the potential strikes against against the Houthis but that the
[00:13:25] the Saudis were capable of defending defending themselves. So some very,
[00:13:29] very, very carefully worded messaging
[00:13:30] messaging being put out by the US
[00:13:33] US there. And what do you make of of the comments from the Houthis
[00:13:37] Houthis latest warning about avoiding avoiding Saudi airport and airspace?
[00:13:40] airspace? Yeah. So yesterday we saw saw this fresh warning being put
[00:13:43] put out by the Houthis for airlines airlines to avoid Saudi airports
[00:13:46] airports and airspace. Apart from from the areas of Mecca and Medina.
[00:13:49] Medina. So flights in and out of of Jeddah International Airport are
[00:13:53] are safe for the time being. But
[00:13:54] But this type of warning by the Houthis
[00:13:58] Houthis signals that civil aviation aviation infrastructure is now part
[00:14:01] part of the pressure campaign against against the Saudis to try and lift
[00:14:04] lift their blockade on Houthi held held territory in Yemen. And this
[00:14:07] this type of warning is really intended
[00:14:10] intended to amplify the psychological psychological and economic impact
[00:14:14] impact beyond physical damage. And And I could say that the Houthis
[00:14:18] Houthis are really being emboldened
[00:14:19] emboldened right now by the lack lack of a comprehensive defence pact
[00:14:23] pact with the US, which is why they're
[00:14:25] they're making these moves against against the civil aviation infrastructure
[00:14:29] infrastructure in the kingdom. And And the Saudis also recently signed signed the Mecca pact. Just tell
[00:14:32] tell us what that is and how this this whole situation could affect
[00:14:35] affect that. Sure. So this defence defence pact with between Saudi Arabia,
[00:14:38] Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey will
[00:14:40] will be really tested over the latest
[00:14:44] latest escalation will be watching watching closely to see if the Pakistanis
[00:14:48] Pakistanis and the Turks get involved.
[00:14:50] involved. If they send over advanced
[00:14:53] advanced weapons or even troops. troops. And we'll be closely. Watched Watched if one is attacked the other.
[00:14:57] other. Exactly, exactly. But up to to now we've only seen very strong
[00:15:00] strong statements of solidarity and and messages of support, but nothing
[00:15:04] nothing concrete, nothing material. material. Fascinating. Hesham Shawish Shawish from BBC Monitoring. Thank
[00:15:07] Thank you so much for being with with us. Thank you. Thank you. Let's Let's get more on this with the geopolitical
[00:15:11] geopolitical analyst Salman Al Ansari, Ansari, who's in Riyadh. Thank you
[00:15:14] you very much indeed for being with with us. Grateful to you for your
[00:15:18] your time. I just wondered how concerning
[00:15:21] concerning these weekend events are.
[00:15:23] are. Hello. Thank you so much for for having me. Yeah, definitely.
[00:15:26] definitely. This attack was unprecedented. unprecedented. Specifically the one
[00:15:30] one three days ago that actually
[00:15:33] actually killed 13 people in Riyadh
[00:15:35] Riyadh airport and injured 309 people.
[00:15:38] people. Those killed included four
[00:15:40] four Saudi citizens, Pakistani and
[00:15:43] and Bangladeshi nationals and other other Arab nationals, and an American
[00:15:46] American citizen. And there is actually actually something that has been
[00:15:49] been widely overlooked. I believe
[00:15:51] believe these attacks on Saudi airports
[00:15:54] airports fit a wider pattern of Iranian
[00:15:57] Iranian threats against civilian civilian aviation. Let's not forget
[00:16:00] forget two weeks ago, just two weeks
[00:16:02] weeks ago, on September the 23rd.
[00:16:04] 23rd. Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of
[00:16:07] of Iran's Supreme National Security
[00:16:09] Security Council, threatened literally literally to disrupt airports in
[00:16:13] in neighbouring countries and if
[00:16:16] if definitely if they helped halt halt Iranian flights. And his warning
[00:16:19] warning followed. US Treasury Secretary
[00:16:21] Secretary Scott Bisson's announcement announcement that Iranian airlines
[00:16:25] airlines would have to suspend operations operations and that Iranian threat
[00:16:28] threat is one side of the coin. The
[00:16:30] The other side of the coin is the
[00:16:33] the Yemeni government forces, armed armed forces, significant advances
[00:16:36] advances on the ground, especially especially around Bab el Mandeb,
[00:16:40] Mandeb, definitely. Tehran, Iran
[00:16:42] Iran had tasked the Houthis with
[00:16:44] with controlling the strait to strengthen strengthen Iran's hand in negotiations
[00:16:48] negotiations with the United States.
[00:16:49] States. That strategy has been thwarted, thwarted, thwarted massively, and
[00:16:53] and the Houthis are losing ground ground by the hour. So. So can I
[00:16:57] I just ask you just to ask you then
[00:17:00] then what then should the Saudi response
[00:17:03] response be and should the US get get involved? Yeah. Good question.
[00:17:06] question. Yeah. I think we need to
[00:17:09] to look at the approach and see how how we can change the approach, the
[00:17:13] the multifaceted approach has not not worked. The Yemeni government
[00:17:16] government and the Saudi led coalition coalition appear to have concluded
[00:17:20] concluded that a zero sum approach
[00:17:22] approach is now necessary. Appeasement Appeasement and political dialogue
[00:17:25] dialogue are no longer viable with
[00:17:28] with this malign Houthi militia,
[00:17:31] militia, a decisive all out confrontation confrontation is needed, including
[00:17:34] including treating the Iranian backed backed Houthis as a terrorist organisation
[00:17:37] organisation like Isaias and Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda. With regards to the international
[00:17:41] international community. On top of of them is the United States. We
[00:17:43] We have seen how they have voiced voiced solidarity with Saudi Arabia,
[00:17:46] Arabia, including the UN, the EU,
[00:17:49] EU, the United States, the United United Kingdom, Canada and Japan
[00:17:53] Japan and India. And just recently, recently, just two hours ago, China
[00:17:57] China itself has actually condemned condemned the attacks Houthi and
[00:18:00] and definitely among many others. others. So definitely we are right
[00:18:03] right now in a position where we
[00:18:06] we are rallying international support support because. What do you mean
[00:18:10] mean by, you know, a full response response practically? What do you you mean? You're talking about massive
[00:18:14] massive military escalation here. here. Yeah, it means everything.
[00:18:18] everything. It means land sea. And
[00:18:23] And we should actually like an air.
[00:18:25] air. We should just find a way through through which we can get Yemen to
[00:18:28] to be a normal nation without this
[00:18:31] this Iranian backed militia. Let's Let's not forget the Saudis, the
[00:18:34] the Saudi led coalition has secured secured and liberated 80% of the
[00:18:38] the Yemeni lands. But the problem problem we have is that 80% of the
[00:18:41] the Yemeni population are in that
[00:18:44] that 20%. So that's why it is concerning
[00:18:47] concerning that the Saudis and the the Saudi led coalition does not
[00:18:51] not want to launch a war that would
[00:18:53] would actually affect the civilians.
[00:18:55] civilians. And having a major casualties, casualties, etc. But at the end of
[00:18:59] of the day, there is no way at all
[00:19:02] all whatsoever but to thwart the the Houthi militia and let's be very
[00:19:06] very dark. They are actually on the the losing right now. People are
[00:19:09] are seeing them in the media as if if the Houthi militia is resilient,
[00:19:13] resilient, but they are not. They They are just like the Iranian regime,
[00:19:16] regime, which have lost almost all all their traditional capabilities.
[00:19:20] capabilities. And right now we just just need to finish the job. And
[00:19:22] And I think the Saudis, along with
[00:19:24] with its partners, are working. Day
[00:19:28] Day by day, hour by hour to, to find find a way through which they can
[00:19:31] can actually finish the job with
[00:19:34] with the least number of casualties casualties in Yemen. OK. Salman al-Ansari
[00:19:38] al-Ansari in Riyadh, thank you very very much for your time. Thank you
[00:19:41] you so much. Breaking news this hour.
[00:19:47] hour. Actor and comedian Russell Russell Brand has arrived at London's
[00:19:51] London's Southwark Crown Court ahead ahead of the start of his trial on
[00:19:54] on seven charges of rape and sexual
[00:19:56] sexual assault relating to six women.
[00:19:59] women. 51-year-old brand, once one one of Britain's most high profile
[00:20:03] profile broadcasters, has pleaded pleaded not guilty to all seven charges,
[00:20:06] charges, three counts of rape and and four counts of indecent or sexual
[00:20:10] sexual assault allegedly committed
[00:20:13] committed between 1999 and 2009.
[00:20:15] 2009. We will have much more on this
[00:20:18] this news later and in the days and
[00:20:21] and weeks ahead. You can follow that that trial day by day on the BBC
[00:20:24] BBC podcast Fame Under Fire. Russell Russell Brand on Trial, which is
[00:20:28] is available on BBC Sounds, YouTube
[00:20:30] YouTube iPlayer or wherever you get
[00:20:33] get your BBC podcasts. The actor actor Robert Pattinson was in London
[00:20:37] London last night at the premiere premiere of his new film Primetime.
[00:20:40] Primetime. The movie dramatises the the production of the American reality
[00:20:43] reality TV series To Catch a Predator,
[00:20:45] Predator, which aired between 2004 2004 and 2007. Pattinson stars as
[00:20:49] as its host Chris Hansen, an NBC NBC journalist who worked with a
[00:20:53] a vigilante group to expose child child predators in sting operations.
[00:20:56] operations. The movie's getting rave rave reviews, with critics saying
[00:20:58] saying he's going to get an Oscar
[00:21:01] Oscar nomination. Much more, of course,
[00:21:04] course, coming up here on BBC News News I'm Geeta Guru-Murthy. Thanks
[00:21:08] Thanks for being with us. Do stay
[00:21:10] stay with us. MUSIC
[00:21:21] MUSIC
[00:21:24] With its cold climate and lava field
[00:21:30] field landscapes, Iceland is a remote
[00:21:32] remote island sitting just below below the Arctic Circle. Farmland
[00:21:36] Farmland is limited here, but the
[00:21:39] the country has an abundance of heat,
[00:21:42] heat, water and clean electricity.
[00:21:45] electricity. And here in Keflavik Keflavik we're seeing how agritech
[00:21:49] agritech is turning that into an
[00:21:51] an advantage. This is a growing room.
[00:21:55] room. We are growing Japanese strawberry.
[00:21:57] strawberry. Wow. There's so many.
[00:22:00] many. When you think of Iceland's Iceland's northern climes, strawberries
[00:22:04] strawberries probably aren't the the first crop that spring to mind.
[00:22:07] mind. But down here, more than 5000
[00:22:09] 5000 plants are growing. Two years
[00:22:11] years ago, Ken quit his. IT industry industry job and came to Iceland
[00:22:15] Iceland to set up this indoor farm. farm. I think Iceland is the best
[00:22:19] best place to grow Japanese strawberry strawberry and apart from Japan.
[00:22:23] Japan. So I decided to move here.
[00:22:26] here. The premium fruit is sold through
[00:22:28] through an online shop to local buyers buyers and restaurants. This one
[00:22:32] one is the best. Oh, that's a big
[00:22:33] big one. That looks delicious. Out
[00:22:37] Out is a good texture. It's very
[00:22:40] very beautiful. Oh, it's very. Sweet.
[00:22:43] Sweet. Here, a new wave of modern modern day farmers are harnessing
[00:22:47] harnessing the country's plentiful, plentiful, cheap and clean electricity
[00:22:51] electricity to grow fruits and vegetables.
[00:22:56] vegetables. That's important because
[00:22:58] because facilities like this are are also energy intensive. Indoor
[00:23:01] Indoor farm use a lot of electricity.
[00:23:04] electricity. Iceland can provide provide natural energy from geothermal.
[00:23:08] geothermal. And then Icelandic water
[00:23:10] water is very pure. Meanwhile, Iceland's
[00:23:13] Iceland's renewable energy and cool cool climate has attracted another
[00:23:17] another industry. Data centres and
[00:23:20] and this Start-Up has an innovation innovation that's quite literally
[00:23:24] literally out of the box capturing
[00:23:25] capturing waste heat from data and
[00:23:28] and turning it into dinner. So welcome
[00:23:31] welcome to the pod. The recovered recovered heat is channelled to food
[00:23:34] food growing pods converted from from shipping containers. Here we
[00:23:38] we try with microgreens because they're
[00:23:40] they're super efficient. After carrying
[00:23:42] carrying out trials at a data centre, centre, this demonstration unit has
[00:23:46] has now been set up in a business business park to run test simulations.
[00:23:50] simulations. We connect directly directly to the exhaust from the
[00:23:53] the data centre. The heat is coming coming through that wall. Everything
[00:23:55] Everything is happening behind this
[00:23:57] this wall to mix the air and making making sure we have a homogeneous
[00:24:01] homogeneous temperature all around around the pod. The idea is to tackle
[00:24:04] tackle two issues in one go. 80% 80% of our fresh fruits and vegetables
[00:24:08] vegetables are imported. This is is a huge carbon footprint for the the island and also the variety of
[00:24:12] of fruits and vegetables you can
[00:24:14] can get is limited. Less than 20km
[00:24:18] 20km from this geothermal plant, plant, indoor growing systems have
[00:24:21] have been taken to another level.
[00:24:25] level. So here we have the green green face. So everything is green.
[00:24:29] green. This dazzling display is part
[00:24:31] part of an aquaculture facility where
[00:24:33] where Icelandic firm Al-khalaf is
[00:24:36] is cultivating microalgae. We are are growing the algae from just small
[00:24:39] small flasks up to the big reactors
[00:24:41] reactors you can see here. Each reactor
[00:24:44] reactor you see is 10,000l. The light light is helping the algae photosynthesise
[00:24:48] photosynthesise the more light we we can get, the more the algae will
[00:24:51] will grow. The algae is fed CO2 and
[00:24:55] and releases oxygen while lighting
[00:24:57] lighting pH and temperature are all
[00:24:59] all tightly controlled. After removing
[00:25:02] removing the water and drying the the algae, they produce a compound
[00:25:06] compound used in dietary supplements. supplements. We have. To break the
[00:25:09] the cells apart to release the astaxanthin, astaxanthin, and that goes into making
[00:25:12] making an oil like a resin. We then then sell on to other companies that
[00:25:16] that make small capsules. And so so in a country where the climate
[00:25:19] climate limits what can be grown, grown, innovators have found new
[00:25:23] new ways to produce.
[00:29:15] What new industries are created? Because what we've seen
[00:29:17] seen throughout history is new industries industries are created, and it's
[00:29:20] it's that process that actually opens opens new doors. That was the that
[00:29:24] that was the mandate from Prime Minister Minister Starmer. He wants the UK
[00:29:27] UK to be an AI superpower. He recognises
[00:29:31] recognises that the ingredients are
[00:29:32] are all right here. AI is real AI
[00:29:35] AI in total pay off just like cars cars in total paid off TV in total
[00:29:39] total paid off. But most people involved involved and didn't do well. It's
[00:29:43] It's a revolutionary, you know, time time upon us and I think, you know,
[00:29:47] know, all industries will be adopting
[00:29:48] adopting AI in some shape or form.
[00:29:54] form. MUSIC
[00:30:14] Live from London. This is BBC
[00:30:16] News. President Zelensky says Washington
[00:30:19] Washington has to make Russia respect. respect. An energy ceasefire announced
[00:30:22] announced by Donald Trump after Russian
[00:30:25] Russian strikes hit Ukrainian infrastructure
[00:30:26] infrastructure overnight. It was
[00:30:29] was clear that Putin does not read
[00:30:34] read through social. And his cheeky
[00:30:36] cheeky drones follow a different
[00:30:39] different set of instructions. Saudi Saudi officials say one person has
[00:30:42] has been killed and nearly a dozen dozen others injured in the latest
[00:30:46] latest attack on Riyadh's international international airport by the Iran-backed
[00:30:48] Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen.
[00:30:51] Yemen. As America's mid-term elections elections loom, a special report
[00:30:54] report into why data centres powering powering the AI boom are becoming
[00:30:57] becoming a political flashpoint.