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tv   BBC World News  PBS  August 29, 2013 2:30pm-3:01pm PDT

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>> this is "bbc world news america." funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their -- work hard to understand the industry that you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and provide capital for key
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strategic decisions. solutionsxpertise and in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> and now, "bbc world news." >> this is bbc world news america, reporting from washington, i am katty kay. says that if his country is attacked he will defend himself. if this happens, what kind of effect may this have? >> the horrific aftermath of an attack carried out allegedly by the syrian government using an incendiary bomb. we have this exclusive report. cuba is back in the ring after banning professional boxing for half a century.
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the punching is flying once again. >> welcome to our viewers on public television in america and across the globe. in washington, new york and london, there have been a series of tense meetings on syria. presidentt jet -- obama has briefed john boehner, and david cameron is talking to parliament. russia has called a meeting of the security council. no decision has been made but with a threat looming, president assad says that syria will defend itself. the syrian people are increasingly nervous as we report from damascus. it feels as if something big is coming to damascus.
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the supporters of president assad paraded on the hotel, outside of the where the u.n. inspectors and foreign correspondents are. they chanted a reference to the infamous militia of the regime. meeting aassad was delegation from yemen, telling them that syria would defend itself against western aggression. parliament, the call was for dialogue. a message from the parliamentary al islam.ihad he said al qaeda was the common enemy of syria and britain, and history shows that the local crisis could be much bigger. >> i want to remind you that the first and second world wars started like this. instead of standing against
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terrorism, the american government is supporting the terrorists. syria won't surrender in the face of an attack. we will use our power to defend ourselves. >> at the bakeries it is much more busy than usual. in could feel the tension what feels like an impending attack. this woman says it she was waiting after four hours. the black marketers were getting the bread and selling it for more money. even though we had official accreditation, armed regime security men stopped the filming. damascus,off part of generators were rushing to help with the power cuts. two sisters disagreed about who carried out the chemical attack. >> of course it is the government. we can say that out loud.
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i don't care anymore. >> who do you think did this? >> i think the army did this. they are hurting everybody. what are they going to do? >> there has been a feeling of movement in the syrian war, not so much of a stalemate. the government army is on the offensive and their allies have intervened. the opposition is better supplied than ever, and the al qaeda affiliate is much more dominant on that side of things. the prospect of an attack by the most powerful military force in the world is something of a different magnitude, and it makes people wonder, even if this is short and sharp if it happens, what kind of an effect will it have on the regime? >> they have cap pressure on arm rebels in the suburbs of
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firing from the heart of the capital, positions that could become targets themselves. jeremy bowen, bbc news. >> very tense days in syria. for arate team is filming program -- panorama. of anave seen the results attack by government forces with an incendiary bomb. this appears to have contained thermite, that blows at high temperatures and inflicts terrible injuries. this report,t which contains extremely distressing images. the blanket to cover the corpse. there is no dignity in death in syria. the end of the school day, a playground full of teenagers and
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the incendiary bomb that killed 10 people and left more writhing in agony. we met the man who took this video, we saw the victims and visited the scene. the headmaster does not want to be identified, but he explains what happened. >> this was the most horrific scene. there are images on tv and i have heard many stories but never seen anything like this before. the worst thing in life is seeing someone die right in front of you. there were dead people, people burning and people running away. but where will they go? it is not safe anywhere. this is the fate of the syrian people. >> i described seeing a fighter jet overhead. he was looking for targets.
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gatherings of people outside who are consistently bombed, as our bakeries in hospitals and schools. the -- is thick with the smell of a chemical that was dropped here. thes hard to imagine horrors of what the pilot did that day. >> they arrived like the walking dead. inside, know what was but the injuries suggest napalm or thermite. there was no shrapnel and little blood. among the medics was a british doctor who was visiting for a charity. >> he says it is absolute chaos.
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burns, ilike serious am not really sure. napalm or something like that? but the chaos of the situation makes it difficult to know exactly what is going on. >> this was not a chemical weapon but a conventional weapon. banned from being used in civilian areas i many countries. they have not signed that treaty. -- you areations calling for this. what kind of thing are you calling for? can't you see this? we are human beings. we have to live. this is our right, to live. >> a basic hospital funded by handouts. patient's cling to the
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floor. gasping for water. by sundown, the chaos has eased british doctorhe is able to collect her thoughts. -- not even alike second class citizen, like they just don't matter. all of these people who are being massacred, we don't matter. failed ourorld has nation. and the innocent civilians are paying the price. >> most of the victims had more burns, meaning their chance of survival is less than half. the arguments about chemical weapons don't matter here. only death itself. >> just awful images coming out
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of syria, from the team in a letter. these are the images watched in new york and washington, but tonight, and ace done in defeat for the government, the british parliament voted against supporting military action in syria. only 13 votes separated the two sides. david cameron said it is clear that the british parliament does not want to see british military action, and i get that. from the latest we go to rob watson, who was watching the debate in parliament. this is a real defeat for david will mean that britain will not be working with america to take military action against syria. >> i was stunned and i think everyone in the house of commons was stunned, and everyone beyond that. this is an extraordinary
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turnaround. called back from summer holiday early by the prime minister hoping to get their approval for imminent military action against syria in one form or another. 72 hours later, he seems to have admitted defeat. and he will meet political or public support for military action in syria. this is quite a turnaround and a defeat for david cameron. >> why was he defeated? iraq. legacy of a rack -- too many politicians on his own side and opposition parties just felt there were too many dangers with this and could not quite believe the guarantee of the government that this will be a limited action, they are worried about the mission creep and worried about being sucked into a larger conflict in the middle east.
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and a lot of people just have a gut feeling that somehow western intervention in the middle east, no matter how well intentioned, will go badly. >> do you think david cameron has failed to produce sufficient evidence? he said it was a judgment call that would have to be made. there was no single piece of the finding evidence to prove the case. is that what swayed members of parliament? this isstinct -- and based on talking to politicians privately is that even if they were presented with some compelling evidence, what really bothers a lot of them and members of the british public is the idea of engagement, involvement, entanglement in syria. i suspect that whatever evidence was produced, now or in -- now or later, i don't think this
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would convince a lot of people. they need something more basic or elemental that they have a problem with. >> there will be one more vote after the u.n. inspectors report. if they vote again, does this mean that america makes the decision to take military action, will they do that effectively alone? >> my reading of what happened in westminster, that is it. the british government is not expecting to be able to get parliamentary support for action. the words, i get it from david cameron suggests he will have to admit defeat and if others want to take military action against syria, although they may have the vocal support of david cameron, they won't have the official british participation. >> thank you very much.
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the latest fascinating stuff coming out of london. just before that i spoke with a former state department official, now the president on the council of foreign relations. seem that there is something of a pause in the rush strike syria. is this the right thing to be doing? >> i actually agree with you that there is something of a pause. i think this is a healthy thing. all of this talking about what we are likely to do seems to dilute the impact, certainly on the receiving side. because the u.s. government has to spend so much time reassuring those who fear that this is going to become some kind of a quagmire. so every time the obama administration works to reassure that we are not doing too much they remove some of the menace of what this would mean for
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syrians. >> if this is a strike -- there better be a strike that is effective. >> it will have to have impact. something that is robust. the idea is to underscore the idea that chemical weapons or any weapons of mass destruction cannot be used with impunity. >> you know more than many people what it is like to deal with intelligence that may turn out to be faulty. and you can understand david cameron and the position they hold -- let's act after we have this evidence and not before. >> absolutely. that is the proper sequence. you don't want to rush and have a replay of what happened in iraq. this is fair enough. it is -- once it is clear that chemical weapons were used, and the communications intercepts that strongly imply the syrian
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government was behind it -- i haven't seen anything so far that would contradict that. but you never know what you don't know. >> you never know what happens when you launch some kind of a strike, what the unintended consequences may be. do you think there will be a reaction inside syria or outside of their borders? in his classical writings that she always warned that few plants survive as soon as hostilities actually begin. is not so much interaction with the enemy. this is something that is circumscribed and focused. i don't think aircraft would be within arms range of the air defenses, so any retaliation or response by the syrians would be increaseus decision to
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the war and the united states would have to decide if they would do something to underscore that chemical weapons are not to be used without cost. >> you are convinced a strike against syria would act as a deterrent to the asad regime to use chemical weapons again? >> i think a strike against syria, if it were used, it would change the calculus of the syrians. would they still calculate that it is worth going ahead and using chemicals? quite possibly. in which case the united states and others would be well advised to strike again. the audience goes beyond the syrians. there is the ran and -- there is north koreaan and and the stakes for this narrow not designed are
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for the syrian civil war -- they will put the united states on record against the use of chemical weapons and this has real consequences. >> thank you for joining me. >> a lot of different pieces unfolding, dramatic events in london. parliament has voted against supporting david cameron and the different --still is still desperate for the syrian people. the pakistani doctor who helped track down osama bin laden has reduced.ail sentence he was sentenced to 33 years in prison on various charges but now a new trial has been ordered. the egyptian police have arrested two senior members of the muslim brotherhood as the authorities continue to crack down on the organization. a former member of parliament
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and a former labor minister. one of the most vocal opponents was wanted by police on allegations of incitement to violence. the national football league has a landmark settlement with whosands of former players suit the nfl over concussions. out $765will pay million for medical benefits and injury compensation for the retired players and their families. this is pending court approval. still to come on tonight's program, cuba will get back in the professional boxing ring after 50 years on the sidelines. across america, workers at fast the companies have staged largest strike to date as part of a campaign for higher wages. they want to earn $15 per hour. we have this report.
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>> she shares this two-bedroom apartment with her boyfriend and one-year-old daughter. she works at mcdonald's. makes anywhere from 70 to $150 per week. childcare, soford the father has to stay home. i get food stamps and it helps me out with that, but i have to pay for that and i have to pay for laundry, and sometimes i have to decide on getting her new clothes or something i need for the house. she and hundreds of other low wage workers are taking to the streets, with a strike. >> we want to be somewhere. we don't want to be at the drive up. >> i am waiting to graduate
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school, and i need more money until i graduate school. >> some experts wonder if an increase to the minimum wage would actually make a difference for people like davis. >> the evidence suggests that this is not terribly effective at reducing poverty and that there are other consequences in terms of employment for the least skilled. a $15 minimum wage would have more impact on employment rather than nine dollars or $10, -- >> the little bit more would no longer mean just barely scraping by. bbc news, new york. >> float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. the famous phrase by mohamed ali
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-- mohamed ali. the clash between communism and the cash making sport means that there are few professional cuba, on the island of the changes are on the way. >> the elite boxers are up early they skip and sprint and then box for hours each day. now, they did all of this for love and not for money. professional sports were banned after the revolution but ends are changing fast. has signed up for the world series of boxing, and the top athletes are planning to fight as paid professionals for the first time, entering the ring without head protection or shirts. but the staff here -- >> there are more rounds
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compared to amateur boxing. now there are five rounds or more. we have been training hard. this is different but nothing is impossible. >> for five decades, cuban boxing has an image of moral. he. go throwse millions to a broad. but as the economy has shrunk, even the boxers -- earning decent money here it may need -- may mean few locations. those in charge of ford questions on details. the talk of money is still sensitive. >> we will improve the conditions for the f yates, and the quality of their training and the quality of life. but the fundamental motivation is to demonstrate what you been boxing is capable of.
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champions,olympic cuba has proven their power in the amateur rankings. >> training here is one reason cuban boxers have counted themselves among the great. this is full of olympic medal holders. but they will be facing competition for the first time and this will be the real test of their abilities. >> trainers say the challenge has reinvigorated their fighters. crucially, world series boxers will qualify for the olympics, allowing cuba to aim for the best of both worlds. and if the boxing team arrives fact, has ao in chance to add to their already impressive medal count. >> a marriage of money and still a novelty in cuba.
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that will bring the program to a close. thecan continue watching on 24-hour network. for all of us here, thank you so much for watching. we will see you tomorrow. >> make sense of international news -- at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu, newman's own foundation, giving all profits to charity and pursuing the common good for over 30 years, and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers work hard to understand the industry you operate in, working to nurture new ventures and help provide
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capital for key strategic decisions. we offer expertise and tailored solutions in a wide range of industries. what can we do for you? >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet, los angeles.
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captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> woodruff: as united nations' inspectors returned to the site of last week's alleged chemical weapons attack in syria, debate heated up today over possible military action. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> brown: and i'm jeffrey brown. on the "newshour" tonight: britain's prime minister signaled his country would wait for the u.n.'s findings before joining any attack. we explore the evidence being gathered that could lead to a strike. >> woodruff: then, the i.r.s. announced it will recognize all legally married same-sex couples, regardless of what state they live in. we examine the impact of this shift in federal tax law. >> brown: the n.f.l. agreed to pay $765 million to former players for concussion-related brain injuries. we get thta

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