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If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed?
In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed.
Hundreds killed, but even now we still don't know for sure who did it.
It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories.
I'm Helena Merriman and in a new BBC series I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story.
What did they miss the first time?
The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs.
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
Ukraine's energy under attack.
A few more shellings and electricity will not be enough for anyone in the city.
When you don't have electricity for many hours in our big story buildings, it's very difficult to live.
It's World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
This is Andrew Peach on the way.
We'll hear from one of the people trying to get the power back on after those Russian attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine.
Also today, white former farmers in Zimbabwe seek help from the US government to secure compensation for farms seized 25 years ago.
And why the Beatles no longer have more UK number one albums than anybody else.
First talks between Russia, the US and Ukraine have been taking place in Abu Dhabi and will continue on Saturday.
Ahead of those discussions, the Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, had these words for his European allies who, he said, preferred talk over action.
Everyone remembers the great American film Groundhog Day with Bill Murray and Andy McDowell.
Yes, but no one would want to live like that.
Repeating the same thing for weeks, months, and of course for years.
We're going to focus today on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, repeatedly damaged by Russian drone and missile attacks in recent months.
Here's Vladimir, who's in Kiev and gave BBC News a flavour of what it's like living with scarce access to electricity.
Electricity is also enough to charge my laptop and gadgets and sometimes wash laundry.
As I understand correctly, a few more shellings and electricity will not be enough for anyone in the city.
So this is not the first time and will not be the last.
Emergency repairs are underway to the country's energy network.
The EU is sending generators to Ukraine to restore powers to hospitals shelters, other critical services.
Oleksii Polovitsky is the head of the Energy Infrastructure Recovery Department of DTEK, the biggest energy supplier in Ukraine.
I've been talking to Oleksii.
I began by asking him how people are coping with the freezing winter temperatures.
This winter is probably the coldest one in 10, 15 years.
We are experiencing, during the last couple of weeks, temperatures like minus 15, minus 20 degrees Celsius.
It is very cold outside.
And, of course, when you don't have heating, when you don't have electricity for many hours in our big story buildings in big cities, it is very difficult to live.
What sort of numbers of people are we talking about who are affected by this right now?
All people who live in Ukraine are affected.
But at the same time, we have regions when we have lesser outages of electricity supply and regions like Kiev Poltava Kharkiv, which are suffering more.
Sometimes we have two or three hours electricity in our apartments and then 10 12 hours without electricity.
Yeah.
So I'm really interested in your role.
When a power station is attacked and damaged, what do you have to do to try to get it back online as quickly as possible?
This is quite a lengthy process and very difficult.
You can imagine how to work on the open air when the temperature is minus 15 degrees.
First of all, we remove the debris.
Then we analyze the level of damage and we try to figure out which equipment is still alive or can be repaired quickly.
And we try to do our best to recover our power generation, our power stations as soon as possible.
Another aspect of this is the fact that you're having to do it again, and again and again in locations all across the country.
Absolutely.
And we are working in the mode like when the tap is open, the water is running down and you're mopping water on the floor.
So this is the mode in which we have been working for during many years during this war.
I'm seeing reports that the European Union is sending generators, hundreds of generators, to Ukraine to try and get the power back on in critical places like hospitals.
Yes, indeed.
This is the most critical position right now, because when you don't have generation, when the centralized energy system cannot supply enough electricity, of course diesel generators can help
And thanks very much to all the countries, to all our partners, who are sending this equipment to Ukraine right now.
I'm guessing you're going to need more help.
So tell me a bit more about what help you need from European partners.
If you may know, we have Ukraine Energy Support Fund.
This is a special vehicle of the European Commission.
And this fund is helping purchases of critically needed equipment for the recovery operations of thermal power generation, gas production and power stations.
And the gap in this fund is huge.
And, of course, we need more investments into this fund because We need high voltage equipment like different types of transformers, switchgear equipment bushings, different pumps.
And without this equipment, we wouldn't be able to recover.
Give me a sense, beyond the sort of immediate effect it has on people not being able to go about their normal lives and being freezing cold in the winter.
What about the impact it then has on the Ukrainian economy to have the energy infrastructure attacked in this way?
All our businesses are suffering from outages of electricity supply because the government can supply electricity without interruption only to critical objects like hospitals schools, government buildings and the businesses they are suffering.
And of course, this has direct influence on the results and on our economy.
And this is the critical task for us to recover our power generation and distribution as soon as possible.
So everybody, people and businesses have the electricity.
I mean, I guess that the Russian calculation here is is that Ukraine might not make it through this tough winter, or at least it makes it very much harder to make it through the tough winter.
Is that how it's going to be?
Or will Ukraine be fine despite the difficulties that you've outlined for us?
Unfortunately, every single attack has multiplying effect on us.
Our energy system is destroyed in many fields and many regions.
And this is quite critical.
Nobody knows how winter will be until, let's say, middle of March.
It may be very cold again.
And every new attack could have a very, very significant effect on us.
And here we technically we are at the edge of humanitarian catastrophe.
And yes indeed we, as energy workers, energy companies, we try to do our best to recover generation and distribution because we understand our role in the society and our critical capacities to recover as soon as possible.
That's Alexey Pavlovsky.
Fascinating.
He's the head of energy infrastructure recovery for DTEK, the biggest energy supplier in Ukraine.
A group of white former farmers in Zimbabwe is now seeking support from the United States government to secure compensation for farms that were seized in the early 2000s.
The properties were taken over under the policies of the former president, Robert Mugabe.
I've been talking to our correspondent in Harare, Shingai Nyoka.
This compensation stems from a very controversial period in Zimbabwe's post-independent history where, in roundabout the year 2000, the then leader, Robert Mugabe, decided that he was going to take over white-owned farms, and do so forcibly, as a way to redress the colonial era land seizures.
And so what happened over a period of about 10, 15 years was an often violent takeover.
Many of the white farmers that were taken off the land were never really compensated, or there was a compensation to a few of them.
And so what has happened over the last 25 years, or 24 years, is that there was subsequently an agreement that was signed in 2020 between local white farmers and the government to pay compensation for 35 billion.
But there was a stipulation, and that was contained in the constitution, that this compensation is not for land, because they say that the land was also taken from the locals during the colonial era.
And so this compensation is for what they call improvements buildings, infrastructure that the farmers invested on the land.
OK, so the principle that this group of farmers was wronged and should be compensated was agreed some time ago with President Mungagwa.
Why has the money never been paid?
The government says that it does not have enough money.
It's a well-known fact that Zimbabwe's economy has struggled since those land takeovers 25 years ago.
And so the government has paid compensation to a few farmers, mainly to the farms that were owned by international farmers.
And that was in relation to the property protection agreements that they signed, because there was a lot of international pressure.
And so this particular compensation for three and a half billion is for the local Zimbabweans who had never really received compensation until the government started making payments last year.
Where does the Trump administration fit into all this?
Last year, the government made an offer of compensation via government bonds to the local farmers.
About a quarter of them have signed on to this.
The majority have rejected this.
And so the group that has signed on to this we understand now, through a filing that came out in Washington, is that they have now engaged farmers a company via South Africa, a company in the US with ties to President Trump in what they say is an effort to try to lobby Washington, as well as the Trump administration, to support Zimbabwe's economy, to encourage new financing to come in so that Zimbabwe's economy can grow and that that compensation can be paid.
But I think, given the fact that President Trump and his response in South Africa has really created political tensions, I think there was a lot of surprise that the farmers have decided to go this route.
And Shingai, you've been talking to one of the farmers at the centre of this.
What did he have to say?
What he has said is that they would like to distance themselves from what's happening in South Africa.
So, despite the fact that they've gone through a South African organization to lobby Mercury, they say that this is not about race.
They are just asking the US for assistance, not just for investments, but they also are holding on to these bonds of that they accepted from the government last year, these 10-year bonds.
The Zimbabwe government has been paying interest, but many of the farmers are elderly and they would want to cash in these bonds to international investors.
And so they're saying that this is also part of a broader effort to try to get a quicker settlement for the monies that they are owed.
Shingai Nyoka with me from Harare.
Now let's talk to Peter Jankowski, Chief Investment Officer of Arbor Financial Services.
Live with us from Chicago.
On our website, Peter bbccom, slash news listeners will be able to see a whole article about a row between President Trump and JP Morgan.
Explain to us if you would.
Well, this stems back to shortly after the end of the first Trump presidency, when President Trump's various organizations were supposedly debanked and kicked out of their accounts at JP.
Morgan and other banks.
And he did launch investigations earlier this year, and now that has become a lawsuit where President Trump is personally suing JP.
Morgan for $5 billion in J.P.
Morgan was down about 2 on the day and some of the other large banks also fared poorly, since they've also been caught up in similar allegations related to other organizations.
Also in the last hour or so we've got reports about what the US regulator might do about this proposed merger between Warner and Netflix.
Yes, the FCC, or rather, I should say the Department of Justice, has reached out to Netflix requesting information on the details of their bid for Warner Brothers Discovery.
It appears that they're focused primarily on additional concentration in the streaming world, as well as some overlap in their production studios for producing television and motion pictures.
Because there are two ways this might go, aren't there in terms of how Warner progresses one with Netflix, and then there's a rival bid as well.
Yes, that's correct.
There is the bid from Paramount and that group.
And that group, of course, does have close ties to President Trump.
And he has said that he's going to weigh in on this.
Either way that the deal goes, there are antitrust issues that will have to be explored, certainly with paramount.
There are also overlaps in the production of television shows and in movies as well.
Okay, and in terms of the markets, what would you?
How do you assess the end of the week, as we just pause for a second or two, with markets not trading over the weekend?
Well, US markets were largely flat today.
Not much change, though we did see some discrepancies in individual sectors.
Finance, as we already talked about with J.P.
Morgan, was down 1.4% as a group.
And on the other side of the ledger, materials benefiting from some of the geopolitical upsets that we've had were up nearly 1 in total.
So it's been a pretty wild week when it comes down to it.
One of many.
Peter, stay with us, please.
Peter Jankowskis is with us on the show from Chicago.
You're listening to World Business Report from the BBC World Service.
I'm Andrew Peake.
In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed.
But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it.
It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories.
I'm Helena Merriman and in a new BBC series I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story.
What did they miss the first time?
The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs.
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
We're going to stay in the United States.
As Americans live longer, there is growing demand all over the US for retirement communities.
The Trump administration though, is taking steps which will reduce the number of people who are able to work in the sector.
Unless a federal court intervenes.
Temporary protected status is about to end for around 350000 people from Haiti currently living and working legally in the US under a scheme that's been in place since the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
And Haitians are crucial to retirement communities, especially in South Florida.
Elizabeth Troval from our US Partners Marketplace takes up the story from there.
You can really choose your own adventure at Sinai Residences Retirement Community in Boca Raton, Florida.
There are fancy movie theaters, game rooms, in-house restaurants.
Christian Keys, VP of Culinary Services, is showing me around.
We have a full gym, fitness classes throughout the day.
Just like being on a cruise, the calendar is never ending.
The vibes are great.
Residents and staff wave and say hi as they pass each other in the halls.
Good morning.
Good morning.
Everyone that works here, they've got a smile on their face.
They're like family.
That's Murray Rubin, a 92-year-old resident who counts these years as the best of his life, except for when his wife of 69 years died almost two years ago.
And the warmth and the empathy that the staff showed, come and ask if there's anything they could do for me.
You know, you can't put dollars on that.
Around 70% of the 450 workers here at Sinai Residences are foreign-born.
Many are Haitian.
26 of them are expected to lose their temporary protected status.
That's their right to work and live legally in the U.S.
I asked Ruben what he thinks.
I'm worried what's going to happen to them, because they're wonderful people and they don't deserve that.
Mary is one of the workers on TPS.
She's a certified nursing assistant here.
We're not using her real name because of her immigration situation.
I like to care of the people, especially from the elderly people.
Sometimes, when you finish like even they have VMs and you finish cleaning them they say oh, thank you.
But I'm happy.
She makes around 40000 a year at this high-touch job where she helps people stay clean and comfortable.
Her salary helps her take care of her dad, who has cancer, back in Haiti, and her four US citizen children.
She's sick with nerves thinking about how she's going to pay the bills come February if she loses her work permit.
And it's not just nurses who will be forced to leave their jobs.
In a gray uniform, Richard makes the rounds, taking out the trash through carpeted halls.
Richard is 30 and fled Haiti a few years ago.
He came under a Biden-era program.
I survived many bad treatments.
With the 35000 or so he earns annually on the maintenance team he's been paying for school to become a licensed practical nurse.
Because I love, I love care people.
If he loses TPS, he'll try to stay in South Florida.
He likes the weather, the people.
He'll find gig work, but money will be tight.
You have to pay insurance, car, pay rent, food.
So he'll have to stop studying.
CEO Rachel Blumberg has tried to figure out how to keep her workers, but there's not much she can do.
She is hiring replacements, but she knows it's not the same.
You can never replace those bonds that have been built over a decade with those individuals.
They held the hand of our residents when they passed away.
They celebrated milestones, birthdays, anniversaries.
But someone has to do these jobs and Blumberg has been forced to hike wages multiple times for the positions affected by TPS.
Licensed nurses, CNAs, maintenance, housekeeping, culinary, dishwashers.
She's been hiring replacements proactively, but as the competition for labor intensifies and the population ages, not all facilities have the resources to do the same.
It could lead to more nursing homes closing wings, downsizing, or maybe even closing their doors.
In rural areas, aging care facilities have already downsized because of staffing issues.
And now, the labor supply is getting even smaller.
Elizabeth Trovo from Marketplace reporting from South Florida.
Peter Jankowski is still with us from Chicago.
Is this a problem across the country Peter, where there's more and more need for staffing of retirement villages and homes and fewer and fewer people who are able to do it?
Yes, it is indeed a problem across the country.
It will be interesting to see if people the judges will step in to stop this effort.
If not, I think we will face many of those potential threats that were outlined in that article.
And how do people square it?
Because obviously there is support for the Trump administration wanting to make it harder to be able to work legally in the US if you're from elsewhere.
And yet I guess in some cases it'd be the same people who support that who are going to suffer the consequences.
Well, I think there is kind of a mission creep, if you will, with some of that mandate.
I think people genuinely were concerned with the large number of undocumented immigrants that were coming into the United States.
But They didn't expect things to go quite this far, where workers that were here on existing programs et cetera were going to be excluded.
So I think there is a spectrum of what people thought about immigration and that this may be taking things a step too far.
Peter, thank you very much indeed.
Now Robbie Williams has overtaken the Beatles to hold the record of having had the most number one albums in UK chart history.
His new album Britpop is number one today.
That's his 16th.
His first was in 1997.
The Beatles have 15.
Taylor Swift, The Rolling Stones and Elvis aren't far behind.
But Robbie Williams has beaten them all.
This is...
Unbelievable.
I've always said that my success has been the equivalent of stretching an elastic band from Stoke-on-Trent to the moon.
Well, I reckon the elastic band just got longer and it's orbiting Venus.
Yeah, it's just sensational.
I feel like the Forrest Gump of pop.
Guy Chambers is one of the UK's most successful songwriters, who's worked with Robbie Williams on five of those albums.
Well, he's obviously bigger than Jesus now.
That's my first reaction.
John Edmund very famously said the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
No, I think it's a wonderful achievement for Rob.
It was an ambition of his for years, and I'm really thrilled for him.
Our music correspondent, Mark Savage, told me why he's so successful.
Well, one of the things that's quite interesting about this is everybody's expecting this album that he's just released Britpop, to come out in a couple of weeks time.
And then out of the blue, it arrived on streaming services last Friday.
And everybody who'd pre-ordered a copy got it in the post a couple of weeks early.
And I think his record label spotted an opportunity here that maybe with Harry Styles and other people like that releasing albums in March, that this was the best time to get this record into people's hands so that they could get this record on the books.
But his success has been over such a long period of time.
That's also part of this story.
How has he done that?
It is very, very hard to write music that connects with people you know for one album, never mind for 16.
And Robbie has been making music since 1990.
So he is well versed in what makes a good pop song and people still turn out to see him in concerts in their tens of thousands.
And this week, you know in at a time when album sales are at basically an historic low in the UK, he sold 35000 records.
That's way more than some of the lowest weeks on the charts where you can get to number one, you know, with 15000, 14000.
So there are a lot of people who want to hear what he has to do.
And that's partly because over the years he's written those classic songs Rock, DJ Angels.
She's the One, all of these records that are part of people's lives.
And they want to know what he's got to say next.
And he's obviously a big star in the UK.
He's not really cracked the US, but he is pretty big in many European countries.
And I've just learned today, big in Latin America.
That's right, yes.
And you know what?
In a way, I think it used to really upset him that he couldn't crack America.
And his music has got a very...
UK flavour to it.
He's so self-deprecating and there's always a cheeky glint behind the eye and a bit of seaside humour.
That doesn't translate in the States but that works very well in Europe and in Latin America.
And now that he's a bit older and a bit wiser and he's got an American wife, the actress Ada Field, it's actually quite useful to have a place he can go in the world where he won't be stopped in the In a way although I'm sure on a career level he'd have loved to crack America because when you sell records there you sell in huge volumes and the stadium tours that you can put on there make so much more money than they do in the UK and Europe.
In the end, it's probably better for his mental health.
And you've had the chance to speak to him about this achievement.
What's he saying?
Well, first thing he told me was that his daughter was totally unimpressed.
He'd been at his in-law's house in America a couple of weeks ago and he'd said to his mother-in-law Gwen, do you know, if I go to number one, I'm going to beat the Beatles.
And his daughter just went in the UK, took him down a peg and he said that's the kind of thing that keeps him grounded.
And he said you know, as much as success breeds success, he has been trying to work out why he has managed to have this longevity and he says i still don't really get it.
I'm just really blessed that people still want to listen to the music and are interested in what i have to say.
And And there's a humility to that that perhaps he wouldn't have had in the 90s when he was this you know cocksure guy who dumped the boy band Take That and went out on his own and eclipsed all of his former band mates.
It went to his head a little bit.
But these days, he's a bit more on the level.
That's our music correspondent, Mark Savage, on the success confirmed today of Robbie Williams number one in the UK album charts.
And that's it from the World Business Report team.
From me, Andrew Peach, thanks for listening.
The programme returns next week on the BBC World Service.
If journalism is the first draft of history, what happens if that draft is flawed?
In 1999, four Russian apartment buildings were bombed, hundreds killed.
But even now, we still don't know for sure who did it.
It's a mystery that sparked chilling theories.
I'm Helena Merriman and in a new BBC series I'm talking to the reporters who first covered this story.
What did they miss the first time?
The History Bureau, Putin and the apartment bombs.
Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
