captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, july 24: ( fireworks ) after a year-long delay, the 2020 summer olympics in tokyo are underway. new demands for protected status of haitians in the u.s. and, in our signature segment: refugees fleeing conflict in ethiopia's tigray region face challenging conditions in neighboring sudan. next, on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue anedgar wachenheimii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the estate of worthington mayo- smith.

the leonard and normorfine undation. the rosalind p. walter foundation. koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. barbara hope zuckerberg. we try tlive in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of toy. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people.

and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. the one-year delayed tokyo olympic games are underway-- but in a most unusual way. covid restrictions mean few spectators, if any. but the host country celebrated its first medals today. if you haven't watched, spoiler alert. japan won gold in men's judo, and silver in women's judo. the sport began in japan 140 years ago. first lady jill biden led a small u.s. delegation in tokyo, hosting a u.s./mexico softball watch party at the u.s. embassy, and attending opening ceremonies yesterday. biden attended a three-on-three women's basketball game between the u.s. and france, alongside french president emmanuel macron. the first lady left tokyo today, and will stop in in hawaii, where she will visit a covid vaccination event. we will have more from tokyo about the games, and the conditions athletes are facing,

after the news summary. new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections continue to climb in the united states. according to the "new york times" database, cases rose 173% in the last 14 days, with deaths rising by 20%. the surge is being driven in large part by the delta variant, almost entirely among the unvaccinated. some of the largest outbreaks, according to johns hopkins university's covid-tracker, are in states like alabama, where just over 34% of the population is fully vaccinated. the state has a test positivity rate of just over 20%. by contrast, in massachusetts, where nearly 64% of people are fully vaccinated, the state has a test positivity rate of just unde3%. meanwhile, several news organizations are reporting that senior white house officials now say they expect a booster shot may be needed for those over 65 or with compromised immune systems, who received two-dose vaccines. globally, some countries are continuing covid-19 restrictions. in sydney, australia, today,

thousands took to the streets in protest of a return to lockdown restrictions, amid another surge in cases. in defiance of stay-at-home orders, more than 3,000 mostly- maskless protesters clashed with police officers. 57 peoe were reportedly arrested. at least 125 people are dead following torrential rains and landslides in india. the annual monsoon season is bringing the heaviest rainfall in four decades. after a downpour lasting several days, parts of india's west coast received as much as 23 inches of rain, pushing dams and rivers to near capacity. heavy monsoon rains are also forcing evacuations in the philippines this weekend. this month, from floods in germany, china and japan to drought and fire in the western u.s., severe weather is affecting nearly every corner of the world. climate scientists say much of the extreme weather is connected to continued global warming.

in hungary today, thousands of marchers at the annual pride parade protested a new law that bans the teaching of homosexuality and transgender issues to children. >> we are here, we are queer! >> sreenivasan: hungary's parliament passed a law last month that bans the depiction of gay and transgender people to minors, in schools and in the media. the law went into effect thursday. several european union leaders have condemned the bill as discriminatory, and the european commission has begun legal action against hungary, which is an e.u. member. on wednesday, hungary's right- wing leader, prime minister viktor oan, rejected criticism from other leaders, saying the new law protects children, and announced a national referendum will be held on the issue. >> sreenivasan: for the latest national and international news, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: the tokyo olympics are like no other

games-- postponed for a year, and now facing the challenge of spectator-less stadiums, protests, and threatening weather conditions. for more, i spoke with "new york times" tokyo bureau chief, motoko rich. motoko, this has been an opening ceremony unlike any other. there weren't any people in the stands. that was the first thing that most americans noticed when they turned on their tvs last night. and, there aren't going to be any in most of the events, unless they' outdoors. >> correct. the athletes' procession, which is kind of the centerpiece of every olympic opening ceremonies, you've got all these athletes coming into the-- into the stadium, and they're basically doing it for television, because they're waving at empty stands. and so, that was kind of weird to see that. and a little bit sad as well, just to know that these athletes had worked so hard to get there, and that they didn't have the people that they would normally have, kind of going wild for them as they came in. the athletes are not even allowed in the olympic village until five days before their competitions start.

they weren't marching in the parade. >> sreenivasan: how concerned are they? not necessarily maybe to get very sick, but even if they test positive, that could mean, that's it-- they're not competing. >> what we've been td is that between 80% and 85% of the athletes that have been coming to japan are all vaccinated. so, if they're testing positive, it's most likely that they're either asymptomatic or maybe having very mild symptoms. we've only had less than two dozen athletes who've tested positive. but of course, if you do, you could be sidelined. so, we've seen some announcements, heartbreaking announcements from a few athletes. we have seen some situations, say, for example, like the south african football team-- or soccer, as we say in america-- that two players on the team tested positive, and then that meant the whole team was designated as a close contact. but they were isolated. they were served meals in their rooms, and they were allowed to play.

so, there s a game that they played against japan. >> sreenivasan: wh about the fact that all these events that japan had spent billions of dollars on are sitting empty through these games? >> that's right, i mean, they spent about $1.4 billion to build this beautiful stadium, and lots of other venues. and i think for the athletes-- i mean, we talked to athletes, because the last time tokyo hosted the games was in 1964 and it was sort of tokyo's and japan's re-entrance onto the world stage, showing the world that they had recovered from the war, and it was like this huge event for the country. now that theames have finally started, despite concerns and anxiety and even anger about the olympics being held in the middle of a pandemic, there's still a lot of people, like, once they start and they know the events are happening, they want to see them. >> sreenivan: during the opening ceremonies, what were the otests about, and are they likelyo continue? >> well, during the opening ceremonies, because there were no spectators in, and certain

people were sitting, you know, in the media tribune, if they were sitting up high enough, during moments of silence, they could hear the protesters outside, effectively saying, stop the olympics, you know, pull the games. i anticipate that they will go on, because there is a segment of the population that's really angry about this. they feel that the priorities of the government and the organizing committee are misplaced, that they shouldn't have gone ahead with the games in the middle of a pandemic. so, i think it's sort of a little bit split, that there are people who are sort of excited and have decided, well, the games are going on, we might as well get into the games and the medal count. and then there's another segment that is still very angry and thinks this is very inappropriate, and there are protesters. >> sreenivasan: this has been a rocky start to the olympics. besides just covid, you've also got a typhoon bearing down-- as if things couldn't get worse. >> right. and then, on top of that-- i mean, even before the pandemic, one of the biggest worries for the tokyo olympics was the heat. i mean, july and august are the hottest months of the year. they, in fact, moved the marathon to sapporo, which is on

the northern island, even before the pandemic. they made that decision because they just realized, we can't have people running in those kinds of conditions. and then now, we've got, as you say, this typhoon warning. and so, some of the rowing races were already moved forward. races that were scheduled for monday were moved to sunday, just to get them out of the way in case the typhoon actually does hit tokyo. >> sreenivasan: motoko rich of the "new york times," joining us from tokyo, thanks so much. >> thanks for having me. >> sreenivasan: in november of last year, the nobel peace prize-winning prime minister of ethiopia, abiy ahmed, launched a government offensive against rebel forces in the northern region of tigray. at the time, he promised that the war would be over in a matter of weeks. but the conflict continues, with thousands dead and 1.7 million people displaced.

last month, the united nations declared that parts of tigray are now in the midst of famine. secrety of state antony blinken called on all parties to commit to an immediate, indefinite, and negotiated ceasefire. since the beginning of figing, tens of thousands of ethiopians have sought safety in neighboring sudan, but the conditions in sudan's refugee camps are presenting new challenges. newshour weekend special correspondent benedict moran and videographer jorgen samso report. >> reporter: back home in northern ethiopia, tewodros tefara is a doctor in one of his country's largest hospitals. here in humdayat, on the tense border between sudan and ethiopia, he's still a doctor, but also a refugee, caring for other refugees. his entire clinic fits into a small room without electricity or runni water. he has a laboratory, pharmacy... >> and here is where i do some procedures, some wound dressing and wound ca. >> reporter: tefara is one of the estimated 50,000 people who fled violence in ethiopia's northern tigray region, dodging

ethiopian government soldiers and swimming across fast-flowing waters to seek safety in this remote pt of eastern sudan. refugees arrive with everything from common infections to gunshot wounds. >> last week we saw 920 patients in seven days. >> reporter: not everyone can make it to safety in sudan. compared to the flood of refugees that arrived last november, today, only a trickle of arrivals cross into the country every week. just behind me here is ethiopia, and it's an active conflic zone. many of the refugees who recently arrived here say they were hunted by militias, who are trying to prevent them from seeking safety in neighboring sudan. dr. tefara sees it regularly, he says-- young men killed on their way to safety. >> it was only last week that young men drowned when they tried to cross in. they were running from the soldiers, who were following them to shoot. and then these young men were running and then they drowned in

the river and they died. >> reporter: 42-year-old shiwaye hemayo arrived just days before we met him. the ethiopian army attacked his village in western ethiopia last november, he said. he fled, but was eventually caught. suspected of being a rebel fighter, he told us soldiers arrested him. >> ( translated ): without any reason, we had to stay for three months in umura prison. because we are another tribe, we didn't have rights in the prison. friend had a chronic illness; he didn't get medicati, so he died in the prison. >> reporter: hemayo eventually made it to sudan. another friend, who he was traveling with, did not. >> ( translated ): we traveled during the night with smugglers, and they almost found us when we were crossing, one of our friends was shot and two others fled back. >> reporter: hemayo no longer has to run for his life. but his well-being is not yet guaranteed. sudan's refugee camps do not yet provide safe haven.

100 miles further inland, on a remote plain, more than 20,000 refugees were relocated here, to tunaydbah refugee camp. when refugees arrive, they are given essential household items, like blankets, sheets, and containers for cooking. there is regular distribution of food, including cooking oil, and grains like sorghum. but the camp's living conditions are dire. 32-year-old solomon gebrehenes arrived here six months ago. ten days before we visited him, a storm blew over his tent. videos taken by aid workers show wind and rain pounding the camp, causing many shelters to collapse. aid workers say nearly 70% of the camp was destroyed. nearly two weeks later, much of the camp is still in disrepair. since the storm, gebrehenes, his wife and four children have slept in the muddy remains of his shelter, or out in the open.

>> ( translated ): when the wind comes, it's really strong. we fix it in the morning, but by night, it is totally collapsed. there is nothing here. there's no jobs, there is nothing. from the morningo the night. >> reporter: aid workers we've spoken to say the conditions in these camps are so bad that thousands of refugees have left, choosing to return he to the conflict zone in ethiopia. others, north to libya, hoping to reach the shores of europe. the rainy season will soon bring even more extreme weather. aid workers like sergio sc are bracing for the worst. what do you think is going to happen in the rainy season? you've seen kind of the early rains in may, but the rains are going to get really bad probably in the near future. what are you expecting? >> i expect-- i expect an exodus, to be honest, ofeople. so more people, i think, are going to leave the camp. >> reporter: many of sudan's major donors are also worried.

in a letter to the u.n.h.c.r., the united nations agency that set up t camps, ambassadors from the u.s., e.u., and six countries expressed "serious concern about the u.n.h.c.r.'s leadership," and requested urgent action to improve the camps, writing, "the safety, security, and dignity of refugees is at severe risk, and lives may be lost." the deputy representative of u.n.h.c.r. sudan, fatima mohammed cole, told pbs newshour that the agency is working to improve the camps, but she did not provide specifics. were mistakes made by the u.n.h.c.r.? >> all i can say for now is that we're working against nature. we're working against time. what they've highlighted in the letter is worryi fs, particularly as a protection and a humanitarian agency. and these are issues that we take seriously. >> reporter: with ongoing fighting in ethiopia, and even a potential famine there, aid agencies in sudan don't expect

an ebb in new arrivals. back at the humdayat border crossing, tewodros tefara continues to work from dawn to dusk. his wife and children remain in ethiopia. unsure when he'll see them again, he finds meaning in his daily work as a doctor. how do you feel of being a refugee and also helping other refugees? >> it's very difficult to describe, really, because we are in a very new environment. we practically escaped for our lives, and we run out of our places with nothing in our hand. so, we have to deal. we have to sleep on the ground. we have to eat whatever we were supplied with,nd we have to drink whatever we get. i'm trying to handle it in a way that i tell myself every time that it's okay, i'm trying to help.

>> sreenivasan: gunfire disrupted the funeral of slain haitian president jovenel moise yesterday, again highlighting political tensions and violence in the country. for haitians in the u.s. and those waiting to enter at the southern borde the violence in haiti is prompting calls to stop deportations of those who do not have temporary protected status. that status was granted and extended as a result of the catastrophic 2010 earthquake. newshour weekend's ivette feliciano spoke with guerline jozef, co-founder and executive director the non-profit haitian bridge alliance. >> reporter: earlier this month, on the heels of the assassination of haiti's president, you led more than 130 organizations in sending a joint letter to the biden administratioasking for protecon for haitians, and demanding a halt to detentions and deportations of haitians seeking asylum. why is that necessary, in your

view? >> since president biden took office, 35 deportation and expulsion flights have been sent to haiti, in the middle of all the chaos. so, what we saw happening specifically for black migrants is that they will be detained immediately and then be-- and then deported. and that creates this-- this extreme pain, when you are sending people who are fleeing from political turmoil, fleeing from violence, and then you deport them without due process. pregnant women; babies as young as just a couple of weeks old. and the majority of those people also, ivette, have been at the u.s./mexico border for a very long time, since 2016 under esident obama. that is why we are urging the biden administration to immediately end all deportations to haiti and release-- immediately release all asylum seekers who have been detained in immigration prison, and

allow them to proceed with their cases. >> reporter: we know that the biden administration extended temporary protected status for haitians in may. wh does that mean in real terms for haitians seeking asylum today? >> people will be eligible to apply for t.p.s. once the register notice is published. and we are looking at about 150,000 people. but the problem is, that only applies for people who are already in the country, as of may 2021. so they will be able to get a job, provide for their families, provide for their loved ones, they continue the process, their immigration process, here in the united states. so that is why, in view of the current political turmoils in haiti, it is imperative that we make sure that people who are currently at the u.s./mexico border get protection as well, because right now ty are not

eligible for t.p.s. >> reporter: as you mentioned, there are thousands of haitians at the u.s./mexico border seeking asylum. why don't we hear about those migrants more when we talk about the so-called migrant crisis at the southern border? >> ivette, migrants from haiti, and other black migrants from jamaica, sierra leone, mauritania, cameroon, have been at the u.s./mexico border since 2015. but the reality is the stories, the narratives, are unheard of. and that is why the haitian bridge alliance continues to push for highlighting the narrative of black migrants at the u.s./mexico border. so people can understand that immigration is a black issue, immigration is a racial justice issue, and making sure that those people who have been stuck at the u.s./mexico border, who are not from central america, who might be from the caribbean

from africa, and other countries, their stories are not lost in the narrative, in the big picture. we started the first black immigrants bail fund, because one thing people might not know, when people get into immigration detention centers, most of the time ty have to pay in order for them to get released. they would be charged anywhere between $20,000 to $50,000 in order for them to be released. now, keep in mind, somebody who just escaped extreme violence, made a journey that they almost died on the way, and the first thing that we do as a country is imprison them and charge them $50,000. we are focusing on black immigrants because their stories are unheard, their narratives are forgotten, and their-- their realities erased. >> reporter: guerline jozef, founr and executive director of the haitian bridge alliance, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you so much for having us, ivette.

>> this is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. >> sreenivasan: finally tonight, we have an update to a story we brought you last month, about an artificial habitat being built off the maryland coast for several species of nesting shorebirds by a coalition of environmental groups and the state. >> sreenivasan: when dave brinker and kevismith took us out onto the chincoteague bay in maryland earlier this summer, the only common terns we saw were decoys. they were on a new floating platform that had been installed in the hopes of attracting shorebirds like common terns looking for a place to nest. well, it turns out that if you build it, they will come. in the last week or so, at least four common tern chicks have hatched on the platform. according to brinker, who is an ecologist with the maryland department of natural resources, about 20 pairs of common terns have bred on the platform. and he estimates that there are

still more than a dozen active nests with eggs. brinker says the success of the platform as a breeding site shows how badly needed this habitat is, and that it's a satisfying development for this $100,000 project, which is a collaboration between the state of maryland, an environmental group called maryland coastal bays program, and the local audubon society. while the common terns that found the platform this year do not make up for the 90% decrease in their population that maryland has seen since 2003, brinker told us back in june that it was important to try something. >> because we're down to such low numbers, we have had to take dramatic steps to provide some habitat to try and maintain common terns in maryland. and it's almost like in football terms, the hail mary pass. this is the last ditch effort that we can do until we can provide sand and create more natural islands. >> sreenivasan: to see more,

go to our website, www.pbs.org/newshour. that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. for the latest news updates, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy, and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the tate of worthington mayo- smith. the leonard and norma klorfine foundation. the rosalind p. walter foundation. koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural

differences in our communities. barbara hope zuckerberg. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group, retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs. show is brought to you

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