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and the u.s. secretary of state is in israel with strong words on the state of gaza and tensions and the region. ♪ welcome to world news america. we begin with breaking news from ecuador the president has declared a state of emergency after a number of violent incidents including one that was broadcast live. police say they have captured gunmen who stormed the public television station and took several journalists and staff members hostage. this happened in guayaquil. pictures from the broadcast showed master gunmen forcing staff to lay on the floor as security forces in ecuador trying to reestablish order after riots in at least six jails on monday after a notorious gang boss escaped

prison. inmates have taken prison guards hostage, threatening to kill them if soldiers are deployed to regain control of the jails. there are also reports at least seven police officers have been kidnapped. ecuador is in the middle of a power struggle with the drug cartels. we go live to our south america correspondent. what can you tell us? what is the latest situation as we know it in ecuador? >> this has been a really shocking evening in ecuador. those scenes that we saw earlier showed broadcasters broadcasting live on air when armed men with their faces covered stormed into the television studio, pointing guns at some of the staff members. some laid down the ground while others begged for their lives. the men seemed to be carrying some type of explosive grenades or devices as well. now, this comes after president

daniel daboa announced the state of emergency yesterday after the apparent escape of a powerful gang leader from prison before he was due to be moved to a higher security prison. since that state of emergency was declared, there have been more violent incidents breaking out across ecuador. these have included explosion is in the streets but also further violence like the scenes we have seen this evening. there have also been reportedly kidnappings of several police officers as well across ecuador. for people living in a wood door, there is terror on the streets this evening -- in ecuador, there is terror on the streets this evening. the fear for all of the citizens remains. caitriona: talk a little bit about the background. we saw during the recent

presidential election campaign, one of the candidates being assassinated. that is right. ecuador has been rocked with increasing violence over the last couple of years, really stretching back to 2020 during covid. there has been rising violence in prisons in particular with some of the gangs operating out of prisons, taking advantage of the state being weaker at the time. there have been also incidents related to the rising influence of drug cartels in ecuador. also, -- high unemployment. the election of the new president daniel noboa was overshadowed somewhat by the fact another presidential candidate was killed during the election campaign. daniel noboa was elected and promised to try to tackle both hi unemployment, but also the

violence that people have seen on their streets in recent months and years with huge homicide rates, particularly in that poor city of guayaquil. caitriona: thank you for bringing us up-to-date on that situation. u.s. secretary of state antony blinken says the daily toll on civilians in gaza, particularly children, is far too high. the top u.s. diplomat is in israel with talks with israeli leaders as part of original tour to stop the spread of conflict. since the start of the conflict back in october, more than 23,200 civilians have been killed in gaza. the health ministry reports at least 126 people have been killed in the last 24 hours in gaza. 57 of those deaths were reported in one central gaza hospital alone. secretary blinken condemned the death toll and called for

palestinians to return to their territory. >> we know that facing an enemy that embeds itself among civilians, who hides in and fighters from schools and hospitals makes this incredibly challenging. but the daily toll on civilians in gaza, particularly children, is far too high. in today's meetings, i was also crystal clear. palestinian civilians must be able to return home as soon as conditions allow. they must not be pressed to leave gaza. as i told the prime minister, the u.s. unequivocally rejects any proposals advocating for the resettlement of palestinians outside of gaza. the prime minister reaffirmed this is not the policy of israel's government. caitriona: while secretary blinken is calling for the return of civilians in gaza to their homes, israel's bombardment of the territory leaves buildings in ruin. new analysis by city university

of new york shows it has been the epicenter of damage since the end of 2023 and now into 2024. between december 28 and january 5, at least 38% of buildings in the city are likely to have been destroyed. since the start of the war, at least 70% of buildings in gaza city and north gaza are likely to have been damaged. these are the areas where israe's airstrikes and ground operations have been focused. secretary blinken also warned of rising tensions on israel's northern border with lebanon. israel said it killed the southern lebanon commander of hezbollah's aerial unit hours after israel alleged he led an attack on an army base. hezbollah denied that israel killed the commander. this comes as crowds gathered in lebanon for the funeral of another commander who was killed in a suspected isrli strike on monday. israel has not commented on that

killing. there was significant of element in the current crisis between hezbollah and israel as they continue to exchange attacks on the border. for more on the regional situation at large, here is our own mira davis. >> mr. blinken met the war cabinet and several members of the government, including the prime minister. he told them he completely and fully defended israel's right to ensure there was no repetition of what happened on october 7 en hundreds, thousands of heavily armed gunmen crossed the border into israel, killing 1200 people. but, said mr. blinken, he expressed american concern about the high number of civilian casualties now in gaza. more than 100 people were killed in israeli strikes in the last we four hours, bringing the total number of dead to 23 ,000, according to the

hamas-run health ministry. it is clear for the americans and several other governments, that is becoming an unacceptable number of civilian casualties. mr. blinken also said he wanted to improve the humanitarian situation and the access of humanitarian aid into gaza. also, mr. blinken is very concerned about the possible expansion of this gaza conflict into a much bigger regional war, particularly that border conflict on israel's northern border between israel and hezbollah. after the apparent assassination the last week of two senior figures, presumably by israel in lebanon, there's a real concern in american circles and among arab and other countries that this could be a wider escalation of the conflict. so, those of the main points that mr. blinken brought to the israelis. probably what was a tense and

forthright meeting between mr. netanyahu and mr. blinken. on the question of allowing palestinian civilians to return to their homes i northern gazan, that is something the americans and others would like to see happen as soon as is possible. there is no question, said mr. blinken, that palestinian citizens in gaza should be encouraged or persuaded to leave. they must remain and gaza must be ruled eventually when this war ends by some form of palestinian entity. caitriona: former president donald trump was in court again, this time in d.c. the issue was whether the federal government can proceed with its case against him for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. he's disputing the charges against him. former president donald trump is claiming presidential immunity, a widely accepted concept that

says the u.s. president is immune from prosecution for most actions taken while in office. but it is debated how far that immunity extends. his lawyers said the court granted him presidential immunity in this case because prosecuting him would cast a shadow over future presidents, caing them to think about their own legal position rather than focusing on the national interest. prosecutors argued presidential immunity does not extend to all actions and for all time, and they asked the court to show americans that no one, not even the president is above the law. in a press conference after the hearing, mr. trump warned of consequences if he was not granted immunity. >> this is the way they will try to win and that is not the way it goes. there will be bedlam in the country. it is a very bad thing. it is the opening of a pandora's box, and that is a very sad thing that has happened with this whole situation. when they talk about threat to

democracy, that is the real threat to democracy. and i feel as a president, you have to have immunity, very simple. if you don't, there's an example of this case where i did nothing wrong. caitriona: let's get some more from our north america correspondent. >> for 75 minutes, lawyers for donald trump and the department of justice argued their case before the three judges of the d.c. appeals court. the case for donald trump is that presidents, he says, should have immunity from prosecution, otherwise it would open a pandora's box. that the country might not never recover from. the department of justice lawyers argued if there's going to be immunity that creates all sorts of strange anomalies, such as the potential for presidents to order the assassination of opponents. the judges asked lots of

questions, perhaps with a slightly more skeptical tone towards donald trump. but we will have to see what they decide in the coming weeks and months. afterwards, donald trump took to a local location and attacked joe biden who he blames for these prosecutions. talked about joe biden's record, and that is a clear indication that for donald trump, this is all part of his political strategy. these legal wars are also political wars, and they are lucrative because he raises a lot of money off them. we will get a judgment in due course but both sides won't have the opportunity to appeal this to the supreme court of the united states. it is not have to take up the case, but it is something as momentous as this, it just might. caitriona: let's have a look at the issues at stake in this case. we can speak to emily, who was a lecturer at yale law school. thank you for joining us.

this concept of presidential immunity that former president donald trump is saying is long-established, just where does it come from originally? emily: it comes from principles in american law that have been applied before to presidential conduct, mostly law that courts have created. the idea is if you are a president or another important federal official and you are doing things in the course of your official duties, then y should not be prosecuted for them. the question in this case is whether the kind of relationship, prosecutors interference with the election that former president trump was doing, whether that was in the course of his official duties. caitriona: is there any precedent for presidential immunity actually being used? can you give us examples? emily: former president nixon claimed immunity when prosecutors were trying to uncover whether he was involved

in any way in burglaries of democratic headquarters in washington. this precise posture of the case was not resolved by the courts, but in effect, the courts said immunity did not extend so far to cover the criminal behavior of a president. caitriona: now, the state argued today that should donald trump be granted what he's looking for, that this would create what they describe as an extraordinarily frightening future. what is your view of that? emily: i think it depends what future you think is frightening. from the point of view of the justice department, the idea that a president can do anything and claim immunity, even a crime like assassinating someone, and not be vulnerable or liable unless he was first impeached, he or she was first impeached by the senate, that is the kind of lawless order that presidents are above e law. former president trump is claiming it would somehow be a

frightful nightmare if he is held liable in this case, that he could be prosecuted because that will squelch future presidents in their actions and what they can say and do. caitriona: the judges did seem quite struck by that argument, the concept of opening a pandora's box that sometimes presidents have to take decisions in the course of their duties that might otherwise leave them open to prosecution, particularly in conflict or war situations. is that a general concern? emily: the issue again comes back to whether the president is acting in the course of his or her official duties. so, a president in wartime is making decisions that have to do with the presidency. the decisions that president trump is accused of making in this prosecution have to do with whether or not he won an election, whether he was trying to interfere with the election results. those the justice department argues are the actions of a candidate, they are private matters.

they are not the course of a president's official duties. that is the line the justice department they hope the court draws. caitriona: emily, thank you for joining us. emily: thanks for having me. caitriona: doctors at walter reed medical center say the u.s. secretary of defense lloyd austin is being trot -- treated for prostate cancer and his prognosis is excellent, but the white house says it did not know about his diagnosis until today. it also says it did not know he was under general anesthesia during his surgery in december. it is the latest controversy surrounding lloyd austin's recent health issues. he was admitted to the hospital on january 1 over a week after his surgery for an infection and he was in the icu. doctors expect him to make a full recovery. questions have been swirling since it emerged the pentagon did not notify the white house that he was in the hospital until january 4,hree days after he had been hospitalized. >> we will try to provide you

with the most information we have as quickly as we have it. recognizing that as i say that, we could have done a better job last week. again, we have this information now from these medical professionals. and i think it will go a long way in terms of helping understand the situation and what needs to be done going forward. caitriona: the white house says president biden pns to stick with lloyd austin as his secretary of defense. the administration has ordered cabinet secretary to notify them they cannot do their jobs. the european union's earth observation program says 2023 was the hottest year recorded ever. as the world's population continues to release copious amount of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the temperature in the air and on the earth surface is reaching unprecedented levels. in 2023, the planet was 2.66 degrees fahrenheit or 1.48

degrees celsius warmer than the mid-1800s. a time before humans began burning fossil fuels. that is over .3 degrees fahrenheit than the previous hottest year on record in 2016. 196 countries are edging closer to breaching the paris agreement signed in 2015 to try to prevent global warming surpassing 2.7 degrees fahrenheit or 1.5 degrees celsius. the cop28 summit in december was the first time countries agreed on the need to tackle the main cause of rising temperatures, fossil fuels. last summer, we saw the severe consequences of global warming as drought and natural disasters were taken to new extremes from intense heat waves and wildfires to devastating flooding. 2023 brought several catastrophes that affected millions around the world. the average global temperature in 2023 was nearly 60 degrees fahrenheit or 14.98 degrees celsius.

last autumn was considerably warmer than usual as well. a contribute are being the el niño weather phenomenon in which warmer surface waters can release additional heat into the atmosphere. one scientistescribes climate records during the second half of 2023 as tumbling like dominoes. more than 200 days so i knew daily global temperature record for the time of year. the darkest shade shows daily temperatures records set in 2023, between the 15th of august and december 8 last year, daily records were broken for 116 days straight. france's president macron has named a new prime minister, promoting the current education minister to france's number two position. she becomes the youngest prime minister in modern french history. also the first person in the post in that country to be openly gay. caused controversy last year when he announced a ban on the

covering worn by muslim girls in schools. he will now leave the party. our correspondent has more. >> the most noticeable thing about the new prime minister is his supreme youth. he is just 34 years old which makes him the youngest ever prime minister in french history. if you combine his age with the age of the president, you get to a number, 80, less than the age of the president of the united states. it goes to show how youth and dynamism of the current by youthful president macron. in fact, there are people who say gabriel is a kind of mini-me for the president. similarly, young, handsome, powerful in debate an extremely

ambitious too. that is what president macron, a popular figure at the moment whose education minister acted with quite firm determination the last six months in confronting various crisis which made him quite popular. now, he does confront the same difficulties his predecessor confronted, above all, a lack of a majority in parliament. in the last election, president macron lost his majority in parliament and that means every piece of legislation has been fought over bitterly against a strong opposition represented above all now by the hard-right, the nationalist right. marine le pen, and the also very young and upcoming george badella. they are the ones to watch in french politics. caitriona: let's have a look at

some other important stories making news around the world. south korea's parliament voted to ban the killing and selling of dogs for their meat starting in 2027. the new l aims to end the centuries old practice of humans eating dog meat. people who farm, butcher or sell dogs to eat will face up to three years in prison, though it will not be illegal to consume the meat. a prominent iranian pop singer was sentenced to almost three years in iranian prison and 74 lashes after the release of a protest music video. it criticizes the outlaw. the song was published last year after an activist's death after being arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab. a coroner confirms that sinead o'connor died of natural causes last year. she was unresponsive in july last year. she was 56.

she was best known for her 1990 number one hit. a statement released by the coroner says it has ceased all involvement in her death. finally, nasa has announced it is delaying the planned return of astronauts to the lunar surface until 2026. the artemis iii mission will aim to land on the south pole and it will be the first time a human has gone to the moon since 1972. nasa is delaying that mission to allow teams time to work through some challenges and ensure a safe mission. meanwhile, an unrelated private moon mission will not make it to the lunar surface. the unmanned spacecraft faced problems a few hours after launching from florida yesterday. the team had to pivot after an issue with the propellant system and said the mission will now focus on gathering data and running tests so that it can be prepared for the next lunar mission.

you can keep up-to-date with all of the day news at our website, bbc.com/news. you can also see what we are working on at any time by checking us out on your favorite social media platform. th is it for now. thank you so much for watching world news america. do take care. bye-bye. ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

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♪ >> good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the "newshour" tonight, former president donald trump appears in court to argue that he's immune from criminal charges stemming from his time in office. geoff: the pentagon reveals defense secretary austin is being treated for prostate cancer. the fallout from his undisclosed surgery and subsequent hospitalization. amna: and 2023 blows past the last record for the hottest year, and nears a critical global warming threshold that countries have been trying to avoid. >> there's in