This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Alex Ritson and in the early hours of Saturday the 11th of February, these are our main stories.

The US Air Force has destroyed an unidentified object over Alaska days after shooting down a Chinese

balloon. More than 23,000 people are now known to have died in the Turkish Syrian earthquake disaster.

And more Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy grid with claims missiles may have flown over

NATO territory. Also in this podcast, pressure mounts on Olympic decision makers not to allow

Russian and Bella Russian athletes to attend under any circumstances. And it was so empowering to

be able to tackle head on where it's not only the men who always gets the opportunity to save

the universe or save the world or save your family. Michelle Yeou tells us about her Oscar-nominated

performance in the film Everything Everywhere All At Once.

US fighter jets have shot down an unidentified object above Alaska. The order was given by President

Biden after advice from the Pentagon. This comes only a week after a Chinese balloon was destroyed

off the South Carolina coast after occupying US airspace. Beijing said it was a civilian device

that was monitoring the weather. Brigadier General Patrick S. Reiter is the Pentagon Press Secretary.

This was traveling at about 40,000 feet, which posed a potential, a reasonable threat to civilian

air traffic. And the decision was made to take it down. At that altitude, something that small,

no indication that it was manned. Our Washington correspondent Nomiya Ikbal told me more.

What Mr Kirby has emphasized so far is that they don't know if it is a spy balloon, but he's not

really saying either way. So just letting Alex, we attended the briefing, and it's the regular

briefing that happens at the White House every day. And usually at the top of the agenda, well,

today we expect it to be about the Ukraine invasion, about the US's assistance to Turkey,

following that devastating earthquake. And also the visit by President Lula of Brazil,

...