Russian strikes hit dozens of locations in the Ukrainian capital

The BBC Global News Podcast for July 31st covers several major global events, starting with the Russian strikes on Kyiv, which resulted in multiple casualties, including children, and discusses the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine. The podcast then shifts to the Middle East, focusing on US envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Israel to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and stalled ceasefire talks, along with the international community's increasing recognition of Palestinian statehood. The program also highlights the UN's impending aid cuts in Nigeria, which will affect over a million displaced people at risk from jihadist groups. Additionally, the podcast explores the debate around children's screen time and its potential impact on developing brains, an AI-driven disinformation campaign using cloned voices of British public sector workers, and the Myanmar military junta's decision to lift the state of emergency ahead of planned elections. Finally, it touches on a study about the performance of female pilots under stress and the high-resolution scans of tattoos on a 2,500-year-old ice mummy found in Siberia.