Donald Trump launches a fresh attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a "dictator". Also, global glaciers are melting faster than ever recorded - and a ridiculed New Zealand tourism campaign.
Chapter 1: Why did Trump call Zelensky a 'dictator'?
This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Janet Jalil, and in the early hours of Thursday, the 20th of February, these are our main stories. As the bitter war of words between Ukraine and the United States intensifies, Donald Trump describes Vladimir Zelensky as a dictator. European leaders express support for Ukraine's embattled president.
Microsoft unveils a chip powered by a new state of matter, which it says shows a quantum computing revolution is only years away.
Also in this podcast... They have said that it sounds a bit like a clearance sale, you know, like bargain bin kind of territory, which is perhaps not the sort of thing that you'd be wanting to give us the message when it comes to tourism.
Why a campaign to get people to visit New Zealand is being ridiculed by Kiwis. In just a week, the US under Donald Trump has gone from being Ukraine's biggest ally to becoming embroiled in a bitter war of words, even as Trump officials have held peace talks with Russia that excluded Ukraine and Europe.
In his latest jaw-dropping attack on Ukraine's president, Mr Trump lashed out at Volodymyr Zelensky, calling him a dictator without elections, who had done a terrible job as leader. Here's what he posted on social media. His words have been voiced by one of our colleagues.
Think of it. A modestly successful comedian, Vladimir Zelensky, talked the United States of America into spending $350 billion to go into a war that couldn't be won, that never had to start, but a war that he, without the US and Trump, will never be able to settle.
The United States has spent $200 billion more than Europe, and Europe's money is guaranteed, while the United States will get nothing back. Why didn't sleepy Joe Biden demand equalisation, in that this war is far more important to Europe than it is to us? We have a big, beautiful ocean at separation. On top of this, Zelensky admits that half of the money we sent him is missing.
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Chapter 2: What are the implications of Trump's comments on Ukraine?
He refuses to have elections, is very low in Ukrainian polls, and the only thing he was good at was playing Biden like a fiddle. A dictator without elections, Zelensky better move fast or he is not going to have a country left. In the meantime, we are successfully negotiating an end to the war with Russia, something all admit only Trump and the Trump administration can do.
Biden never tried, Europe has failed to bring peace, and Zelensky probably wants to keep the gravy train going. I love Ukraine, but Zelensky has done a terrible job, his country is shattered, and millions have unnecessarily died. And so it continues.
This social media post came after Mr Zelensky responded to earlier claims made by Mr Trump, not least that Ukraine started the war and that he only has the support of 4% of Ukraine's population. Mr Zelensky said the US president was simply repeating false claims by Russia.
The Ukrainian leader said they belied the reality that he is supported by a majority of his country's population who want a just peace.
Since we are talking about 4%, we have seen this disinformation. We understand that it is coming from Russia. It is unfortunate that President Trump, and with great respect for him as the leader of the American people who constantly support us, unfortunately lives in this disinformation space.
European political leaders weighed in to support Mr Zelensky. The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, called him to say that it was perfectly reasonable to suspend elections during wartime, just as the UK had done during the Second World War. The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said that it was wrong and dangerous to deny President Zelensky his democratic legitimacy.
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Chapter 3: How did European leaders respond to Trump's remarks?
A French government spokesperson said France didn't understand the logic of Mr Trump's comments. I asked our Russia editor at BBC Monitoring, Vitaly Shevchenko, what he made of this increasingly alarming war of words between the US and Ukrainian presidents.
I don't normally use words such as extraordinary in my interviews, but frankly, I cannot recall a time when America's rhetoric on Ukraine was so extraordinarily similar to Russia's rhetoric. and also so different from Europe's and NATO's, let alone Ukraine's. And what this suggests, well, we've got to ask the question whether the United States is still Ukraine's ally.
Is it still part of the Western alliance that's been helping Ukraine fight Russian aggression? And frankly, the Western alliance that's emerged since the Second World War.
And the tone of these exchanges seems to be getting increasingly personal on Donald Trump's side. Mr. Zelensky is trying to refute him with facts, but it's getting increasingly difficult for the Ukrainian leader.
It is. And the claims that Donald Trump's been making, to be honest, I've been hearing them from Russian state TV because, you know, that's my job. That's what I do. I watch Russian state TV. And I've been hearing about how Ukraine should not join NATO. I've been hearing that for years.
They've been saying for years that Ukraine should forget about the territories captured or liberated, as Russian state TV calls it. Now, President Trump says that Vladimir Zelensky is a dictator, unpopular, 4% approval rating, and that it's Ukraine that started this war. Again, I would expect to hear this from a commentator on Russian State TV. And okay, there are opinions and there are facts.
And Donald Trump, in his post on Truth Social, he said that Zelensky is a modestly successful comedian. Well, that's a matter of opinion. But in terms of facts, credible opinion polls, they suggest that Volodymyr Zelensky's approval ratings are more than 50%, even higher than Donald Trump's. in America.
And when it comes to elections, which is, again, something that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have been demanding, that Ukraine holds elections, this is what Ukrainian law specifically forbids. And none of the credible potential rivals of Vladimir Zelensky in Ukraine are pushing for the idea. They're saying, look, this is not a good idea to hold elections now.
And in fact, they are no less hawkish on Russia than Vladimir Zelensky.
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Chapter 4: What is the controversy around Ukraine's mineral reserves?
Vitaly Shevchenko, President Zelensky also rejected suggestions that Ukraine should repay U.S. military aid by granting access to his country's largely untapped reserves of rare earth minerals and other natural resources. Our diplomatic correspondent James Landell assesses where this growing row could lead.
Not many people say no to Donald Trump. President Zelensky has, and now he's paying the price. At the heart of Mr Trump's fury is a row over Ukraine's critical minerals. Mr Zelensky floated the idea last year as part of his so-called peace plan that Ukraine might offer American firms access to its rare earth deposits in return for continued US military support.
Last weekend at a conference in Munich, Mr Trump's team laid down an ultimatum. Ukraine should, it was reported, sign over 50% not only of its mineral wealth but also its oil and gas reserves and infrastructure. Mr Trump claims inaccurately that America is owed $500 billion for its previous assistance to Ukraine. Critics accuse Mr Trump of seeking war reparations from the wrong side.
Well, Mr. Zelensky rejected this US demand out of hand, saying any deal had to be linked to post-war security guarantees. This is not a serious conversation, he said today. I am defending Ukraine. I cannot sell my country. There is much at stake. Ukraine has vast reserves of mineral deposits. How much is not clear, but some estimates value them at more than $11 trillion.
They include things like lithium, graphite, cobalt and titanium, which are used in everything from mobile phones and renewable energy to missiles and superconductors. But these minerals are rare and China dominates the market. Donald Trump may say he wants peace in Ukraine, but he also wants a peace of Ukraine. And right now, President Zelensky is not playing ball.
James Landell. Well, another president who has stunned the world recently is South Korea's leader, who out of the blue nearly three months ago declared martial law in a country long viewed as a vibrant and prosperous democracy.
Yoon Sung-yeol justified his power grab by claiming, without any proof, that pro-North Korea communist forces had infiltrated South Korea and were trying to take control of it. The coup attempt failed, but since then, support for the embattled president appears to be growing, as conspiracy theories take hold, with thousands of people taking to the streets each week to demand his release.
Yoon Sung-yeol
I'm near South Korea's constitutional court where at the moment the impeached and imprisoned president is testifying and his supporters have rallied outside. They want him released, they want him returned to office and they are shouting some pretty extreme things. They're saying that the left-leaning opposition party are communists and that the leader of the opposition should be executed.
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Chapter 5: What is happening in South Korea with Yoon Sung-yeol?
Something people keep telling me is that they don't trust mainstream media. Even the conservative press here has been very critical of Mr Yoon. And so these people have turned to YouTube, where there are these very popular right-wing channels that are amplifying these sort of messages.
One idea the president has dangled that has really taken hold is that China interfered in South Korea's election last year and rigged the result. I noticed that you're holding a sign which says CCP out. So Chinese Communist Party out. Why is that?
I believe China is interfering in all our political affairs. It is pulling the strings behind the scenes. I didn't fully understand the extent of it until recently.
The protests turned violent last month when a group of young men smashed up a courthouse looking to take revenge against a judge who'd helped detain the president. These were shocking scenes for a country which prides itself on its tradition of peaceful protest. These views could create problems for the country's opposition Democratic Party.
I've come to the parliament to meet one of their most seasoned politicians.
I am Wee Sung-lak. I'm a lawmaker from the Democratic Party.
What do you say to these claims that it is the Democratic Party that is secretly colluding with North Korea, secretly colluding with China?
They are simply not true, cooked up concept to demonize the opposition and to justify martial law.
The court is expected to rule in the next month on whether to bar Mr Yoon from office. Then there will be elections and South Korea will have the chance to move on. Politicians now are going to have to work really hard to put this country back together.
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Chapter 6: What is Microsoft's breakthrough in quantum computing?
So Microsoft have been trying to do this for almost 20 years, and they've really embarked on a very different approach to the other companies in the field that are doing this, you know, Google, Amazon, etc, IBM. And this was really like a kind of Hail Mary play.
Like when they started doing this, it was really like, no one was really sure if it would actually work or not, if it was even a real thing. So some experts are sceptical as to whether the claims that Microsoft have made are actually going to come to fruition. But certainly they've made a big splash.
Technology journalist Amit Katwala. still to come on the Global News Podcast.
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