♪ >> tonight on pbs news weekend, the u.s. promises further retaliation for last weekend's killing of american troops in jordan. how upcoming elections in pakistan and other south asian countries are testing democracy in the region. a new category at tonight's grammy ards highlights the continent whose music has taken the world by storm. >> everyone's like, "what's

poppin in ghana right now? what's poppin in nigeria?" it's totally so weird to see it. but i mean it's great to finally see it. ♪ announcer: major funding for pbs news weekend provided by -- >> consumer cellular. how mary hope you -- how may i help you? >> you get nationwide coverage with no contract. >> have a nice day. ♪ announcer: and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions -- and friends of the newshour. ♪

this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. john: good evening. i'm john yang. top biden administration officials say they are not done yet with the dual military efforts to both retaliate for the killing of three u.s. troops in jordan a week ago, and to try to stop ongoing threats to commercial shipping in the red sea. for the last three days, u.s. planes have struck sites in iraq and syria used by iran-backed militia groups and in a joint operation with british forces at least three dozen targets across six provinces in yemen that iran-backed houthi rebels use to launch attacks on red sea shipping. national security adviser jake

sullivan was on cbs's "face the nation." >> what happened on friday was the beginning, not the end, of our response, and there will be more steps, some seen, some perhaps unseen, we will respond and we will respond forcefully and we will respond in a sustained way. i would not describe it as some open-ended military campaign." >> in a separate campaign appears sullivan wouldn't rule out strikes inside iran. -- in a separate appearance, suivan wouldn't rule out strikes inside iran. and in israel's war in gaza, prime minister benjamin netanyahu detailed what constitutes his goal of eliminating hamas, destroyg the group's battlions and neutralizing its network of tunnels beneath gaza. all this awaits secretary of state antony blinken, who left today on his fifth trip to the region since the october 7th hamas attacks. he's expected to push for more aid to gaza and to try to spur negotations aimed at freeing the israelis still held by hamas. a monster storm is bearing down on california, threatening flooding and mudslides. it's the second so-called atmospheric river to hit the state in a week. several communities in southern

california, including santa barbara and los angeles, have ordered or warned residents to evacuate. rain is expected to last for the next few days. moscow-appointed officials say ukrainian shelling has killed at least 28 people at a bakery in russian-occupied, far-eastern ukraine. ten people were rescued from the rubble. both ukrainian and russian forces are increasingly relying on longer-range attacks this winter, as there's been little progress for either side on the frontlines. in el salvador, voters cast ballots in a presidential election that's seen as a choice between democracy and security. the incumbent is nayib bukele, the self-proclaimed world's coolest dictator. he's expected to win reelection after salvadors's top court reinterpreted a constitutional ban on presidents serving consecutive terms. bukele gained fame for his two-year-old brutal crackdown on gangs. more than 76,000 people have been arrested. and, the president of namibia died today while receiving

treatment for cancer. 82-year-old hage geingob was an anti-apartheid activist and was largely creditedor making namibia one of africa's most stable democracies. he was the nation's first prime minister when it gained independence in 1990 and had stilto come on pbs newsce 2015. weekend, after the release of the epstein files, we examine the challenges in policing sex trafficking. and, a new category in tonight's grammy awards highlights the global appeal of african music. ♪ announcer: this is pbs news weekend from w eta studios in washington, home of the newshour, weeknights, pbs. john: in south asia this year, more than one billion people are going to the polls to choose leaders in five countries, bangladesh, bhutan, sri lanka, india, and pakistan. it's test of democratic values and human rights in the region.

pakistan will hold its first general election since 2018 later this week. the country's had to deal with disastrous floods, food insecurity, and a crumbling economy and now, it's democratic system is being challenged. pakistan's former prime minister imran khan was thought to have a good chance of returning to power. but he's been convicted in a series of criminal cases his supporters say is politically motivated and one his sentences -- one of his sentences includes a ban on holding public office. michael kugelman is the director of the wilson center's south asia institute. let's start in pakistan. this prosecution of khan, members of his party have been arrested. a candidate affiliated was assassinated. what does this say about democracy in pakistan now? >> the state of democracy is not good in pakistan. the last few months, in a broad context, khan is sentenced to

all these jail terms. leaders of the party have been arrested. the media has been pressured not to cover rallies of his party. this is not good for democracy. it goes further. this isn't unusual. this is not an outlier. in the past, in other elections in pakistan, parties have faced crackdowns. this is not a one time thing. it has happened many times before. that is what is troubling. john: bangladesh had elections in early january. the prime minister won her fourth straight term. u.s. state department said it was not fair. they said they also look forward to working with her. how important is it, this is a key region because of where it is, that the u.s. have a good working relationship with these

countries? >> look at this in the context of power competition. the u.s. looks at south asia through the lens of competition with china and russia. china has been increasingly present through infrastructure projects and naval power production in the indian ocean. this is concerning for the u.s. quietly russia h been a key player in south asia, with a growing relationship with pakistan and india. it has energy cooperation set up with bangladesh. the u.s. feels a need to strengthen engagement with countries of south asia in order to push back against the growing influence of china and russia. john: are they willing to overlook the lack of democracy? they talk about wanting to spread democracy around the world. >> strategic imperatives carry the day. the administration has used this

values-based foreign policy where it sought to push for better, more rights, more democracy in the region but has applied that selectively. it had been applying it robustly in bangladesh. much less so in india, which is a country struggling with democratic backsliding. it's been quiet in pakistan. these are different countries, policies. the u.s. has different interests. in bangladesh today, president biden conveyed a letter to the prime minister in which he said he looks forward to working with her. john: you been touching on, the nature of democracy in the region. >> worst-case is afghanistan where the taliban is back in power. they don't do democracy. pakistan, bangladesh, india, all have elections this year. repression, oppression, crackdowns on the opposition has

innsified. space for dissent has shrunk. people say ok well you are talking about democratic backsliding in south asia. several of these elections, there are big concerns about them not being free and fair, including bangladesh and pakistan. bhutan is a relatively recent democratic transition. it had an election in january that was viewed as free and fair. john: pakistan have a series of military leaders for three decades. what has that done to the institutions? >> this has been one of the biggest challenges to their democratic consolidation. the military, there is a legacy of direct military rule. it's been more than 15 years since the military was in direct control. it has remained influential behind the scenes, especially now. it is more active now in

policy/politics during civilian rule than it has been for some time, to the point you have senior military leaders, including the army chief, directly involved in economic policy. john: the u.s., for other purposes, overlook these shortcomings. what could the world do to strengthen these democracies >> it all comes down to trying to identify key democratic institutions and how to bring more support to them. there are a number of ways of going about that. it's a delite issue. many countries are sensitive to the idea of the u.s. or western countries saying look, you have issues with democracy. we can help you strengthen it. these countries feel the u.s. has its own struggles with democracy. there is a need to be careful and cautious.

there are things that can be done. in many cases they have not been done. u.s. theoretically has leverage with some countries. bangladesh is heavily dependent on the u.s. as a trade partner. the u.s. is the top export destination for angle --. if you want to pressure the government, it could impose sanctions on bangladesh. it's not going to do that for a strategic reason. john: michael, thank you very much. >> thank you. ♪ john: last month, thousands of court documents were released detailing the late financier and convicted sex offender jeffrey epstein's sexual abuse and traficking of teenage girls. it brought new attention to the problem of sex trafficking in the united states and why the crime so often goes undetected.

ali rogin has more on the barriers that surivors of trafficking must overcome in their search for justice. ali: human trafficking can take many forms. it can range from sexual manipulation and coercion to the exploitation and forced labor of an individual. in 2021, the national human trafficking hotline reported more than 10,000 cases of trafficking and over 16,000 victims. experts warn that's likely an undercount. meghan cutter directs the national human trafficking hotline at polaris, an anti-trafficking nonprofit based in washington, dc. megan, thank you so much for being here. we wanted to talk about this in the context of the jeffrey epstein news. we hear so much about the perpetrators of that abuse that was happening in the context of that case but what about the victims? are there characteristics that epstein's victims share with other people who have experienced human trafficking? megan: i actually think that sometimes in talking about the epstein case, we get lost in the, you know, the money and the power and the influence that

epstein and some of the people involved in that situation had. but actually, it's really very typical of a trafficking situation for a trafficker to identify people who maybe are vulnerable in some way. in the case of the people that jeffrey epstein victimized, often they were from a lower income community, people looking for some sort of way to earn some extra money. human trafficking in general is an abuse of power and control, using some form of force, fraud or coercion to get someone to have sex for money, get someone to remain in a work situation that they no longer want to be in. and so it's not that different from what we see day to day but i think some of that gets lost in the conversation. ali: are there misconceptions about trafficking that you spend time talki about? debunking? megan: the first one i would share is this idea that trafficking requires some form of movement or transportation or that it doesn't happen here in the united states but trafficking can happen in someone's own community, in their own family. really any situation where there

is that abuse of power and control to coerce someone to, to provide sex acts or, to work. another misconception is really this idea that people are getting snatched off the street and forced into human trafficking situations so much. more often we see scenarios where people are in some form of longer term, trusting relationship with their trafficker, whether it's they met them online, that person's an intimate partner, a family member, a friend and they build trust through a grooming process and then once the victim is isolated, they take advantage of that and begin to abuse and exploit them. ali: how do conspiracy theories and, and disinformation play into some of these misconceptions that people have? megan: you know, i think often when there's some sort of conspiracy theory or misinformation about human trafficking, it plays up some of those elements that are really sensationalized and what that can often mean is that well intentioned people members of the public, are so focused on that that they're missing how trafficking really happens.

and that can overwhelm resources like the national human trafficking hotline, and it can impede the way that, victims and survivors, people experiencing trafficking, see themselves in those narratives and therefore identify themselves and, and reach out for help. ali: now, a lot of us have been to airports, rest stops that have signs advising you on spotting the signs of human trafficking. i wonder what your organization sees as the efficacy of of those those public service announcements, are there ones that are more effective than others? megan: i think we would really recommend that those types of awareness materials are geared towards people who might be in trafficking situations or who might be close to someone in a trafficking situation. so using plain language that's easy to understand, in the languages of people who live in that community, if it's english or another language, making sure that that's available and just making it really easy for the layperson to read and say, oh, i might know someone in that situation versus sometimes just using the word human trafficking over and over again. people might not see that and say, oh, that's that's me. that's my experience.

ali: what do people who experience trafficking need? how do they move forward once they're out of that situation? megan: polaris operates the national human trafficking hotline and part of the way that we, operate, that is when someone reaches out to us who is a survivor of trafficking, we share with them what their options are and then allow them to to make a choice about what they want to see happen next, because trafficking really removes that autonomy that that many of us have in our lives to decide, do i want to access this type of service, or do i want to live in this place? do i want to be in relationship with these people? and so we're really starting that process by giving folks options and choices and then helping them connect with with those types of resources. so that's really that first step of recovering from a situation where control is removed from you. ali: we often talk about human trafficking in terms of sexual exploitation, but there's also a strong labor component to this. how does that work? megan: absolutely. i think, you know labor trafficking is defined as a situation where someone is forced to work and they're unable to leave their work situation without severe consequences to themselves or someone else. so we see that in agriculture, domestic work, caregiving, restaurants, really any place where there is work happening,

labor trafficking can happen. but particularly in industries where there are less protections for workers or where workers are more isolated in rural areas or in individual homes, we see a higher risk for that type of abuse happening. ali: the trafficking victims protection act of 2000 was a landmark federal response to human trafficking. what does it do? and are there areas inhich it falls short? megan: you know, i think one of the great things about the trafficking victims protection act is it brought the federal government together in to build a response to human trafficking and to make sure that we're united in responding to it, that different agencies are making sure that there is a response in their agency, and we're really supportive of that. the national human trafficking hotline started operating in 2007 and we really feel like that establishment of that has been really helpful for people who need assistance. people who are looking for help and also people who maybe have a friend or family member who they are worried about and they're wanting to contact the hotline

and get that type of assistance. ali: megan cutter, the director of the national human trafficking hotline at the anti-trafficking organization polaris. thank you so much for joining us. megan: thank you for having me. ♪ john: from samba to hip hop to reggae, so much of the music we enjoy has african roots. as stephanie sy reports, tonight, for the first time, the grammy awards recognizes music produced in africa with a category of its own. this report is part of our arts and culture series canvas. >> on a recent friday night in washington d.c., dj duo mathias broohm and chris harris mixed tunes from across the world at "layover," their monthly dance party. >> you never know sometimes

where your layover is going to be at, so that's how we wanted the music to be, you never know where we're going to touch down, you know, sonically. >> how big of a role does african music play in these jams? >> plays a really big role. >> a big role. >> they sample sounds from continent, -- from across the continent, from afrobeats, a fusion sound driven by west african rhythms, to amapiano, a subgenre of house music from south africa. >> i grew up listening to hiplife, which is like the old school afrobeat. reporter: broohm was raised in a ghanaian household in maryland >> african sounds have always been in me. reporter: in recent years, those familiar sounds have hit the global mainstream. one seminal moment? drake's 2016 mega-hit "one dance" featuring vocals from nigerian afrobeats star wiz-kid.

♪ since then, some of the biggest names in pop, rnb and hip-hop have collaborated with african artists and producers. >> now that like beyonce or like chris brown or selena gomez being on the big one of the biggest afrobeats songs from last year -- it makes it so much easier to be able to like, tap into, like that cket of stuff like i was afraid to play because i was afraid it would clear the room out now, like it always goes hand in hand. reporter: african musicians have also become stars outside of the continent. in 2022, burna boy became the first nigerian artist to sell out new york's madison square garden. and last year, tyla became the first south african to enter the billboard 100 in more than half a century with her amapiano-inspired single "water". >> once you hear it, you hear those drums, you hear those the percussions, it just it permeates in your body. you feel it. you can't stop moving.

reporter: tina davis is the president of empire, a u.s.-based record label and distribution company that has a roster of african artists. >> it started out being something that the diaspora really loved, of course, but now it's grown to a worldwide phenomenon. a lot of people all over the world love the music. reporter: music that, until now, fell under the "global music" category at the grammys. >> every music that doesn't have a category goes into world music and i think it's unfair to all genres of music to just be clumped in one category. >> last year, the recording academy announced a new category: "best african music performance" for songs that "utilize unique local expressions from across the african continent." >> i think it just shows how important our music has become and how influential we've been reporter: juls is a british-ghanaian afrobeats producer and musician. he's long-pushed for african music to be recognized at the grammys. >> the grammy is the most

ultimate musical award ceremony in the world, right? so them giving us this category is kind of like a way of us kind of like getting into the mix and being able to be strategic and say, hey, "we want to tell our story". reporter: this year's nominees, all from nigeria or south africa are mainly afrobeats or amapiano artists. >> i think the first class of nominees are just the tip of the iceberg. reporter: anita gonzalez is a professor of performing arts at georgetown university. >> there's such a huge amount of music that comes from the continent, from south african vocal chants to string to music that has been performed by the grios and others, to the ethiopian music and north african musi all of this is part of the vast panoply of african music. reporter: she hopes the new category will spotlight other african genres.

>> i'm hoping that with this grammy recognition of africa that people will also understand the vitality of each of the countries and the unique kind of ethnographic sounds that they're producing. reporter: that's a dream shared by many in the industry, who believe this is only the start. >> hopefully we'll have an african grammy at some point, an actual award show like the latin grammys, i think the sky's the limit. reporter: back in d.c., mathias broohm says it's clear that regardless of where african music goes next, it's already had an impact. >> i grew up in an african family. we'd have our different lunches than the american kids, we look different, we dress different. they're like, "oh, you're not cool. you're from africa, you're not from here, blah, blah blah." fast forward to this day and age. everyone's like, "what's poppin in ghana right now? what's poppin in nigeria?" hi saw nigerians wearinghis. where can i get that? i mean it's great to finally see it. reporter: a cultural footprint that is sure to grow. for pbs news weekend, i'm

stephanie sy. ♪ john: now online, the benefits of thinking twice before pouring yourself a drink and how many are turning "dry january" into a dry life. all that and more is on our web site. that is news weekend for this sunday. i'm john yang. for all of my colleagues, thanks for joining us. have a good week. announcer: major funding for pbs news weekend provided by -- >> proud supporter of public television. the world awaits. a world of flavor, diverse destinations and immersive experiences. a world of leisure. an british style.

all with white star service. ♪ announcer: and with the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions. ♪ this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting and by contributions to your pbs station by viewers like you. thank you. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

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