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anchor: i'm sumi somaskanda in washington. this is bbc world news america. and painting for the u.k. general election is in full spring -- campaigning for the u.k. general election is in full swing after rishi sunak announced a snap election. taiwan condemns chinese military drills around the island. and we will speak to the billionaire mounting a bid to buy tiktok as the social media app faces a possible ban in the u.s. welcome to world news america. it is day one of the u.k. general election campaign after british prime minister rishi sunak all day snap vote for july 4. -- called a snap vote for july 4.

mr. sunak attending events in england, wales, and scotland today. the conservative leader said only his party offers security and economic stability. the leader of the opposition labor party says voters have a choice between what he called continuing decline and chaos under the governing conservatives or rebuilding the country under his party. mr. sunak's party has been in power more than 20 years, and opinion polls put it 20 points behind labour. correspondent: calling and election now, quite a few of his own mp's are not convinced by the timing, and he has a huge pull deficit to overcome. >> i want to build a country where you all can have restored confidence and pride in our communities, in our society, and our nation. correspondent: earlier he promised to deportation flights to rwanda. now he says it will happen if he is elected. >> we have already started

detaining people. we have booked the flights. all that work is already ongoing, and the choice of this election is clear. if i am reelected on the fifth of july, these flights will go. [applause] correspondent: the labour leader, meanwhile, was in kent. less traditional, this location to launch, far from usual labor hard lands. >> this election is about two different countries, two different futures. decline and chaos continuing under the tories or rebuilding our country under labour. correspondent: for the next few weeks, he will be pressed for more detail about that change and the plan he has already outlined. next we will make the economy stable, how we will bring down the rating times with 40,000 appointments every week and extra appointments under a

labour government. how we will have the border security command to take control of our borders. correspondent: the leader of reform u.k. launched without his party's best member, nigel farage. he has chosen not to enter the fray, saying he wants to help in the u.s. election this autumn, and here when he can. >> i am absolutely delighted during this election campaign that my good friend nigel faraj will be helping out significantly in campaigning to drive home the message of reform u.k. and how we can save britain. correspondent: also hoping to siphon votes away from the conservatives are the liberal democrats. they launched yesterday. today, their leaders have concentrated their efforts on several different target seats. >> we all know the country is

crying out for change. we all know that. we all feel it in our bones. but there are places around the country where it is the liberal democrats who can deliver that change, where we are the key challengers to the conservatives, and it is in those areas that we are really going after conservative mps because we are best in place to beat them during this election. correspondent: richie sunak might have been hoping to catch parties on the back foot. >> we are hitting the road today to start the election campaign, so we are ready to go. i intend to take my message to every part of the country. i am the first minister of all of scotland, and i intended to be present at every part of scotland. correspondent: meanwhile, mps are scribbling to see what legislation can be rushed through.

sunak's signature measure to ban smoking looks to be ditched. it was meant to be part of his legacy. sumi: china launched two days of military exercises around taiwan, saying the drills were a strong punishment for the self ruled island's "separatist act." the island sees itself as distinct. dina's military released these images of the drills. they come three days after the inauguration of president william life, who won taiwan's election. taiwan's defense ministry condemned the chinese drills as irrational provocations and released these images of the new president expecting troops for the first time. mr. lai called on china to accept the existence of its democracy. more on this, we can speak to

the democratic congressman from illinois. we have seen this type of encircling exercise from china before. do you make of the level of this response? >> it seems like another tempered transom from the chinese -- temper tantrum from the chinese communist party. it is dangerous because it could easily escalate into an unintended confrontation, which could be catastrophic. sumi: that would be my next question. what are the risks of this escalating into something both sides do not want to see at the moment? >> when you have close proximity of military assets from the chinese communist party with time on air assets in what is called -- with taiwan air assets in what is called the a.d.i.z., you could have a potential accident, deaths, injuries. that does not make any sense.

it would be something that is unnecessary. i would urge everyone to do what william lai said in his inaugural address, which is let us keep the status quo and resolve all differences peacefully. sumi: this has also been a display of china's military might. what do you think this tells us about what a possible chinese attack would look like? >> xi jinping has come in to be prepared to successfully invade and conquer taiwan by the year 2027, and we need to take him at his word. in light of that, we need to do everything we can to do everything we can -- to equip taiwan with what it requires to deter aggression on the part of the prc. sumi: you mentioned china's new

leader. china sees him as a separatist, and applicator. he is determined to be more of a firebrand than his predecessor. what do you think -- what impact do you think you will have on peace? rep. crist: -- >> he wants to maintain the status quo and not adopt any provocative measures on the part of taiwan, but at the same time, we do not want provocative measures on the part of the ccp. i think that is the best course forward not only for the region, but for china. china's economy is tanking right now, and it would be best for the ccp to repair its own economy, lower tensions, lower aggression, because doing the opposite would be counterproductive. sumi: we want to ask you one question about tiktok.

it has a nested new rules to limit the reach of saint media accounts so they cannot advertise outside their country. it seems like an effort to reign in propaganda. it is one of the reasons you led the effort to have tiktok sold or banned. rep. krishnamoorthi: the primary justification for this legislation is that tiktok, which is owned by bytedance, which is controlled by the chinese communist party, has access to our personal information at a scale and within tensions that pose a national security threat. that is the primary justification. all of the other stuff you are talking about is not really relevant to the core reason for why the legislation is necessary. but at this point, i would say to bytedance it is time to sell. the clock is ticking, so to speak. sumi: just a quick follow-up, bytedance says it has no plans to sell, so where do you think

this is headed? rep. krishnamoorthi: i don't believe a word bytedance says. they have zero credibility on capitol hill. their executives have testified and made various misrepresentations about tiktok, bytedance, and the relationship to the chinese communist party, and that is why 360 members of congress, on a bipartisan basis, overwhelmingly supported the legislation. sumi: congressman, always great to have you on. thank you so much. more news from tiktok out today. a report published by tiktok could exacerbate some of those concerns over influence operations on the app. tiktok announced between january and april of this year, it removed 3000 accounts that is says were behind 15 separate influence operations. tiktok says one of the networks operated from china to " artificially amplify positive narratives to china to a targeted american audience." it says this narrative utilized accounts impersonating

high-profile u.s. creators and celebrities in an attempt to build a following. other operations have targeted audiences in indonesia, venezuela, iraq, iran, and ukraine. last week, tiktok's parent company filed a lawsuit to stop the u.s. government to force it to sell the app. it comes after congress passed that bill that would require bytedance to sell tiktok by january of 2025 or risk having the app banned. tiktok's ceo denies suggestions the company has shared user data with the chinese government, but a few parties in the usa are putting together bids to buy the app, including former trump treasury secretary steve mnuchin as well as billionaire frank mccourt, founder of project liberty, aiming to reshape internet ownership. i spoke to him about his bid to buy tiktok. frank, we know tiktok is incredibly popular, more than 170 million users in the u.s.

it is obvious why someone would want to buy it, but what would you plan to do if you were to buy tiktok? >> the user base is fantastic. we want to see tiktok continue, however, we think it is the architecture that tiktok currently uses, which is one that scrapes our data and aggregates it and then applies algorithms to feed us things and manipulate us. in the case of tiktok, there are these 170 million americans, our data is being shipped over to china, which is also a national security threat. our idea is to keep it alive but move the user base over to a new version of the internet where each user has control of their identity, control of their data. they get all the benefits of the current tiktok without the

damaging architecture. sumi: let's talk about that architecture, because it is the recommendation algorithm you are referencing as well. isn't that algorithm partly what has made tiktok so popular among so many people? frank: in part, but we are not interested in the algorithm, and we do not need the algorithm. bytedance is not going to sell the algorithm under any circumstances. as i mentioned, we have a new version of how the internet would work based on a new protocol which our tech team developed years ago and is now actually live and being used by nearly a million people. it is an architecture where users, and i prefer to call them individuals, or people, are able to control their identity and own it, and control their data,

and parse out what pieces of information they are willing to share. the algorithm tiktok uses is in a black box. the algorithm we would use would be fully transparent and individuals would be able to customize and curate their own algorithm. sumi: just a few questions on that. some of the people who use tiktok who the bbc spoke to, surrounding the legislation in the u.s. banning tiktok if it were not sold, they tell us they are fine with their data being sold and used in china, they just want to keep using this app because it is important to them socially and to their businesses. what is your response to that? frank: i hear this over and over again not just about tiktok but other social media platforms, which are built with exactly the same architecture, this exploitive surveillance based architecture which we are strongly against. people say sure, i am willing to give up my privacy or have my data scraped just as long as i get to use these platforms, but

that is so long as this is the only version available to them. there really is no choice for users right now. the internet has become integral to our way of life. this is a necessity now. it is not something optional or incidental. we need an alternative version of the internet where the individuals on the internet are in control. not the version of the internet where they are surveilled. once the option is available, i think people will feel quite differently about their privacy and the advantages of controlling their own data. sumi: can i ask you as well, because facebook and youtube, these are u.s. companies that are accused of scraping users' data and using addictive algorithms. are these companies you also think you need to fundamentally be changed? frank: absolutely. i do not think they are accused of doing this, they are doing

this. this is how the current internet has been co-opted by these large platforms. it is our data that is fueling the value and usage. i don't mind that the data is being aggregated and used in productive ways. i just want to see the users benefit from that data they are providing. sumi: we just have about 20 seconds left, but i know bytedance is not going to be able to sell tiktok. frank: there is litigation right now that bytedance is attempting to litigate the u.s. government's decision and legislation, which the president signed, that they must sell or shut it down. our belief is the u.s.

government will win that litigation and that ultimately bytedance will sell. we want to be in position to be a buyers, but not just the buyers that replace chinese capital with saudi capital or some other sovereign capital and use the same architecture. we need buyers to move this user base to a new and better internet. sumi: frank, thank you so much for the discussion. the u.s. department of justice is filing a lawsuit to break up the entertainment giant live nation, accusing it of being a harmful monopoly that inflates prices. the company, popularly known for selling tickets through ticketmaster, says the lawsuit will not solve the issues fans care about. speaking during a cnbc interview, the chief financial officer said he fundamentally disagrees with the lawsuit, saying live nation does not see enough profitability to sustain a monopoly. the company has released an update on its website to break down the lawsuit, saying that the doj "ignores everything responsible for higher ticket

prices, from rising production costs to artist popularity to 24/7 online ticket scalping that illustrates the public's willingness to pay far more for ticket prices." here is what attorney general merrick garland had to say. >> in recent years, live nation's exorbitant fees and technological failures have been criticized by fans and others alike. but we are not here today because live nation''s conduct is inconvenient or frustrating. we are here because that conduct is anticompetitive and illegal. sumi: our business correspondent has more from new york. >> this is something the government signaled they would take part in an even something we have seen acted upon on capitol hill, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticizing ticketmaster's parent company. it has been 14 years since the government approved a merger of these two entities, and the

government says that ticketmaster's parent company has amassed a dominant, monopolistic share of the multibillion-dollar music industry. in a press conference just this hour, attorney general merrick garland talked about the exorbitant fees and technological failures that he said have been criticized by both artists and fans alike. they say the company is insulating itself from competition rather than investing in better products and services, and he said clearly it is time to break it up. live nation controls more than 80% of ticket costs and represents more than 400 artists and controls more than 60% of large amphitheaters across the country. taken together, he said the company can leverage its power in order to lock out competition and stifle rivals. sumi: here in washington, president joe biden is hosting kenya's president to deepen ties between the two nations. william ruto is the first african leader in more than 15 years to make an official state

visit to the u.s. mr. ruto is seeking trade and investment partnerships to his country. his visit comes as kenya prepares to deploy forces to haiti to counter gang violence there. it is a move that has garnered favor from mr. biden, who sees the african nation as a close ally. pres. biden: i truly believe that this has brought out the best in both of us, not only in kenya and america, but around the world. through our partnership, we are continuing to meet our responsibilities. we are working with congress to designate kenya a major non-nato ally. sumi: at that press conference, president ruto emphasized the significance of his state visit amid the growing security facing african nations. >> it is important for us to officiate that many countries in africa, including kenya, are

struggling with an overwhelming convergence of multiple shocks, including extreme climate events, debt distress, and disruptive of people in europe and the middle east. sumi: mexico's president says he will launch an investigation into the deadly collapse of a stage at a presidential election campaign rally. at least nine people were killed and more than 120 injured in the northern state of nuevo leon when high winds brought the stage crashing down. the presidential candidate holding the rally managed to escape uninsured. our correspondent in mexico city has the latest. correspondent: what we know is there is a suggestion that the national meteorological service warned about the extent of these winds in nuevo leon and the inherent dangers of an event like that. i think that is partly why president lopez obrador has suggested there will be an

investigation into what happened . but certainly the candidate himself is fine. he has been to hospital, has come out, and he has basically suspended his campaign in the final few days before the election on the second of june. i think the political consideration is simple, that it would be seen as very crass and unfeeling to be simply chasing more votes when this has happened to his borders. cash to his supporters. sumi: let's take a look at some other news around the world. iran's late president ebrahim raisi has been buried in his home city of my shod four days after he was killed in a helicopter crash. the 63-year-old was laid to rest at the sight of a revered figure in shiite islamic. western officials were notably absent from the ceremony, reflecting strained relations with iran read ukraine, and list seven -- with iran. in ukraine, at least seven people were killed in a missile attack. president zelenskyy says russia

is taking advantage of ukraine's lack of air defenses. it comes as "the new york times" reports the u.s. state department is considering relaxing a van on firing american weapons into russian territory. the u.s. state of louisiana could soon punish women with up to five years in prison if they are found in possession of two major abortion drugs without a prescription. state lawmakers approved a bill on thursday that would classify the abortion pill's is a controlled substance. -- the abortion pills as a controlled substance. louisiana's republican governor is expected to sign the bill. president biden called the just elation cruel and tied it to former president trump. the supreme court is expected to rule on access in the coming weeks. president emmanuel macron has called for more dialogue and voting reforms in new caledonia that led to deadly unrest. mr. macron said he recognizes suffering of many families.

he said additional security forces would remain in the territory for as long as necessary. new caledonia has been under a state of emergency after the worst civil disturbances in 40 years. before we go, check this out. a man renovating his wine cellar in austria made an extraordinary discovery. it was not a vintage red or white, but the remains of prehistoric mammoths. the one mammoth came across several huge bones buried deep in his cellar. researchers have labeled the find sensational. and that is our program. remember that you can find more on all of the day's news on our website, bbc.com/news. to see what we are working on any time, check us out on your favorite social media site. and you can always download our app for the latest news and analysis from our correspondence. i'm sumi somaskanda

announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the “newshour” tonight, the white house considers allowing ukraine to use american-supplied weapons to strike inside russia. the justice department sues