Broadcast timeline
BBC News
Monday 21 September 2026 · 05:00 BST · 30m · 6 stories · 15 annotated moments · 22 of 30 min on news stories (75%)
Broadcast overview
An AI-generated overview based on this broadcast's transcript.
President Zelensky is due to meet President Trump in New York this week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, with Zelensky saying there is diplomatic momentum towards ending the war and ideas for de-escalation and fundamental security issues. The meeting follows what Moscow's mayor called the biggest ever drone attack on the city, in which Russian officials said at least two people were killed and about 20 wounded, and the Moscow oil refinery was hit. Russia said it would intensify strikes on Kyiv, while early results from Russia's parliamentary election showed President Putin's party on course to win.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz vowed to stay on despite state election results he called a disaster, as preliminary results indicated his Christian Democrats were voted out of the regional assembly in the northeast and the far-right AfD was set to win the most votes. In Berlin, the CDU was trailing a far-left party, and Merz faced poor approval ratings and rumours he could be replaced. The US also proposed a mechanism to China for notifying each other about artificial intelligence incidents that pose a threat to national security, announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after a meeting with Chinese officials in New York.
A BBC investigation found that an Indonesian teacher convicted of sexually assaulting a student at an Islamic boarding school was secretly released early from prison after serving less than half his sentence, and uncovered further allegations and evidence the school tried to suppress them. Earl Spencer told the BBC that his nephews, William and Harry, would not be surprised by claims in his book, including a claim that the king, then Prince of Wales, said after Diana's death that she would be forgotten soon enough; Buckingham Palace said the pain of fraternal grief can affect judgment and colour memory.
- 1:12
- 2:13
Charged quote Zelensky to meet Trump as Russia threatens Kyiv strikes
The Moscow oil refinery, one of the biggest in Russia, was also hit. Russia now says it will intensify its strikes on Kyiv. The assault came on the final day of Russia's tightly controlled parliamentary election. Early results show that President Putin's party is on course to win. Our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg sent this report from Moscow.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 2:13-2:19
- 2:28
Charged quote Zelensky to meet Trump as Russia threatens Kyiv strikes
Early results show that President Putin's party is on course to win. Our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg sent this report from Moscow. Russia's political system is tightly controlled by the Kremlin. So in this election, no surprises were expected. And when the results started coming in, there was no surprise.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 2:28-2:31
- 3:06
Charged quote Zelensky to meet Trump as Russia threatens Kyiv strikes
We spoke to voters at a polling station near the oil refinery. I can't say that they were shocked by the attack. I think more than four and a half years into Russia's war on Ukraine, Muscovites have got used to the fact that, periodically, their city has become a front line. One of the voters said that he'd heard the explosions,
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 3:06-3:09
- 3:25
Charged quote Zelensky to meet Trump as Russia threatens Kyiv strikes
One of the voters said that he'd heard the explosions, and that this had a negative effect on his state of mind. Another voter said that he wanted peace, but by that he meant Ukraine's defeat. And that is a name he shares with his president. I think that Vladimir Putin will now use these results to claim that most Russians are behind him,
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 3:25-3:30
- 3:40
Charged quote Zelensky to meet Trump as Russia threatens Kyiv strikes
And that is a name he shares with his president. I think that Vladimir Putin will now use these results to claim that most Russians are behind him, and behind the so-called special military operation, which the Kremlin leader shows no sign of ending. Well, let's discuss the diplomatic efforts to end the war with former US ambassador to Ukraine,
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 3:40-3:43
- 7:31
- 7:31
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
Andy Burnham will meet Donald Trump on the Tuesday of next week's UN General Assembly summit.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 7:31-7:43
- 7:55
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
Andy Burnham and Donald Trump have spoken twice by phone since Burnham became Prime Minister in June.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 7:55-8:00
- 7:55
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
Andy Burnham and Donald Trump have spoken twice by phone since Burnham became Prime Minister in June.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 7:55-8:00
- 8:13
Claim Andy Burnham makes first UN address as Prime Minister
Andy Burnham will meet Donald Trump on the Tuesday of next week's UN General Assembly summit.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 8:13-8:23
- 9:29
- 11:12
Charged quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
Basically, he did not solve one thing properly. Not one, he said, will solve it, but he didn't. He promised it, but nothing. Germany feels gloomy. Many are anxious about immigration, the economy and the cost of living. Friedrich Merz's backers may argue that the chancellor's had a tough time with global events and that a lot of the problems
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 11:12-11:15
- 11:33
Charged quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
a tough time with global events and that a lot of the problems this country's facing are ones that he's inherited. But whatever faith people had in the chancellor's ability to fix them is fading fast, and there's another brutal truth. It's pretty hard to find anyone who likes the guy. Down the road to a rally in Neubrandenburg,
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 11:33-11:37
- 11:37
Charged quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
this country's facing are ones that he's inherited. But whatever faith people had in the chancellor's ability to fix them is fading fast, and there's another brutal truth. It's pretty hard to find anyone who likes the guy. Down the road to a rally in Neubrandenburg, a party that Friedrich Merz wanted to curb and fiercely polarise
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 11:37-11:41
- 11:52
Charged quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
Down the road to a rally in Neubrandenburg, a party that Friedrich Merz wanted to curb and fiercely polarise his opinion keeps getting more popular, the anti-immigration, Russia-friendly AfD. But on either side of this divide, we find little love for Mr Merz. He's arrogant, out of touch, not on the same level as the general public.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 11:52-11:56
- 12:03
Charged quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
his opinion keeps getting more popular, the anti-immigration, Russia-friendly AfD. But on either side of this divide, we find little love for Mr Merz. He's arrogant, out of touch, not on the same level as the general public. Yeah, he's not getting through, he's not reaching them, so that's why, yeah, it's down the drain for him.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 12:03-12:07
- 12:10
Charged quote Merz calls German state election results a disaster as CDU crashes and AfD surges
But on either side of this divide, we find little love for Mr Merz. He's arrogant, out of touch, not on the same level as the general public. Yeah, he's not getting through, he's not reaching them, so that's why, yeah, it's down the drain for him. The chancellor's supporters say Germany must stay steady in an increasingly insecure world.
BBC News, 21 September 2026, 12:10-12:14
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- 25:10 ~5 min without annotations
Source: BBC NEWS, "BBC News", Monday 21 September 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.