-did you meet your grandad? -he passed away when i was five, so i was very young when he passed away, so... -you wouldn't remember, but... -no, i just have sort of a sense memory of being around him and sitting... -and obviously he must have told your mum stories. -well, i think very little, actually, which is why this has been so fascinating,

>> i'm in washington, d.c., and this is "abc world news america." russia -- "bbc world news america." we will speak to the former u.s. ambassador to the ukraine. south africa's power problem. we have a special report on the country's struggle to keep the lights on and why organized crime is partly to blame.

plus, a dramatic makeover for the 21st century. we will take a tour. welcome to "world news america" on pbs and around the globe. let's start with the aftermath of what appears to be the longest incursion into russia's territory since the full-scale invasion of ukraine began. russia says it has used air strikes and artillery to defeat the armed insurgents. the kremlin claims it killed 70 attacker who crossed into the region monday. it says the rest were driven back into ukraine. one civilian died in the violence. russia insist the fighters were ukrainian, but kyiv denies any involvement. our security correspondent has more.

>> launched from ukrainian territory but carried out but russians. on the one hand, it is embarrassing for moscow and shows that it's orders and defenses are not as watertight as they would like and could end up drawing some russian troops away from southern ukraine on the other hand, it reinforces the come in's narrative that suffer in russian territory is coming under threat relying on forces armed and encouraged by the west. his it's hard to imagine -- it is hard to imagine this wave be carried out without help from ukraine. there is another factor -- some of those involved in this radar reportedly linked to far right

extremism. this is a tiny group, and they don't represent the bulk of ukrainians or ukraine, but nevertheless in the battle for pr, if some of them turned out to be linked to neo-nazis and neon -- neo-fascism, it reinforces the russian narrative that it is fighting to cleanse the area of nazism, and that is a bad look for ukraine. >> i spoke to the former ambassador to ukraine and current ambassador. there are a lot of competing narratives. how do you make sense of it? >> it appears to me that these are russian citizens. they have been training and preparing in ukraine, there's no doubt about that.

there's probably been some coordination between these two outfits, these russian citizen outfits in coordination with ukrainians. there's no doubt about that, but it is also the case that the russian citizens don't like the russian government. they don't like president putin, and this is a way, i guess, to listen to what they have been saying -- a way to demonstrate that. this is a demonstration to other russian citizens who have not left the country that there are things that can be done. >> you said it was likely that there was ukrainian coordination. you actually just came back from a trip in kyiv. you met with high-level officials there. what are they telling you about this next phase of the war? >> they are preparing vigorously for the next phase of the war. they are preparing for this long -discussed and planned counteroffensive.

ukrainians i think are at a high point in their preparations in their strength, in their equipment, certainly in their morale. they are ready, and it seems to me the russians are probably at a low point in all of those things. their morale is terrible. their equipment is worn out. their people have been decimated , the soldiers they have thrown into bakhmut have just been wiped out, so i think the russians are at a low point, the ukrainians are at a high point, so the ukrainians are optimistic that they can go now. they can go very soon. >> when it comes to equipment, though, president biden has actually reversed his earlier decision.

time and time again, we have heard pentagon officials and other officials say that it would take months if not years. practically speaking, is that a good use of money? >> i think it is. one thing we heard over and over across the board, government and nongovernment -- the amazing thing is the nongovernment organizations -- the democracy supporting organizations, they also want f-16's, they want weapons or their counteroffensive, that is society. we talked to privates, lieutenants, generals. they are focused on this. yes, the f-16's give them a real edge. they probably are not going to play a role in this counteroffensive over the next

two months, but not too long after that, maybe in the fall, maybe in september october, the first f-16's may be there. it turns out the ukrainians learn very quickly on a lot of these different systems, and they have been preparing for these f-16's as well. >> you said it gives the ukrainians a real edge, but isn't that one of the problems, that these jets could cross the border into russia, and suddenly, this war could become escalated? >> the ukrainians have had weapons from the united states and other native nations that could right now reach into russia. the ukrainians have not used those weapons to attack targets in russia. they have used their own weapons. it is true the ukrainians have used their own weapons that they developed to fire on russian targets, that there are targets in russia, military units in

russia that are firing at ukrainian targets. then the ukrainians argue, and i think persuasively, that they should be able to fire back. they, however, have not used western weapons. >> i want to touch on native expansion. turkey is very reticent for sweden to join. turkey is also asking the u.s. congress for its own f-16 fighter jets. should that request be tied to accepting sweden's membership? >> yes, absolutely. there's no reason for the turks to hold up the swedes. if the turks have recognized that their use of russian weapons -- and they've got some antiaircraft weapons from the russians which makes no sense in a nato nation, so, yes, we do have some leverage over the turks, and the turks want those f-16's.

we want the swedes into nato, and in the end, i think the turks will allow that. >> briefly, looking to the future, having been in kyiv so recently, do you think that ukraine can win this war? do you think peace can be achieved without ukraine giving up some of its territory? >> i do. i don't know how long it's going to take, but i do think that the ukrainians can win. they've got -- they are very well prepared right now, and the foreign minister told us, this is not the last battle. this next counteroffensive is not the last time. they may do great in this next counteroffensive. they may only take partially what they are after. it does not matter. ukrainians will keep fighting. they will keep fighting for their territory, anything in the end, there can be peace with the russians entirely out of ukraine. >> ambassador taylor, thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you. good to be here.

>> let's look at another development concerning russia. it has extended the detention of a u.s. journalist celeste -- arrested for alleged spying. evan gershkovich was an employee for "the wall street journal" when he was taken into custody. russians have been given permission to hold him for a further three months. no media were allowed to attend the hearing where the extension was granted. he and his newspaper have dismissed any suggestion he was involved in spying. in the u.s., there is still a standoff when it comes to the u.s. debt ceiling. neither side wants a default, but neither side is backing down either. speaking to reporters at the capital today, u.s. house speaker kevin mccarthy once again blamed the white house for not coming to the table sooner. the republican leader said that the day's discussions have been good but insisted the government needs to spend less for any deal to be reached.

democrats have long argued that wealthy americans and businesses should pay more taxes to help raise government revenues. the white house press secretary says a deal both sides can be pleased with is possible. >> negotiations are very hard. they are very difficult. both sides have to understand they will not get everything they want and what we are trying to get to is a budget that is reasonable, that is bipartisan, that democrats and republicans in the house and senate will be able to vote on and agree on. this is the process. that's why we are moving in this way to make sure that it is bipartisan but also reasonable. that's what you all can look forward to. >> what is the state of the debt ceiling negotiations now? >> the latest we heard, kevin mccarthy was talking to reporters saying there probably was not going to be a deal today, but the reality is they are running out of time.

we are eight days away from this deadline that the treasury has set for the united states to run out of money. it will take time, even if they come to any agreement to get this past through the house of representatives and by the senate onto the president's desk. kevin mccarthy says he wants 72 hours for his members to review the fine print of any agreement. the senate, it could take an equally long amount of time. one senator if he objected could drag this out for days. the closer you get, the more uncertainty there is, but the feeling is they need to reach some kind of agreement by this weekend or they are playing with fire. >> another pressing issue in the united states, reports now that ron desantis may throw his hat in the ring on twitter. >> on twitter. that was a surprise. we knew ron desantis was going to announce this. he had been setting all his wheels in motion, but the venue,

twitter, is unusual. being on twitter spaces with elon musk, he is aligning himself with elon musk and twitter has become kind of a safe place for conservatives, for the fact he is doing that first and not, say, fox news, tells something about the kind of campaign ron desantis might want to run, that he is thinking a little bit outside of the box and that he might be a little more unpredictable and people thought. >> thank you for your time. let's move on to south africa. the country is facing its worst ever power crisis as it heads into a bitter southern hemisphere winter with daily blackouts and fears it could lead to major civil unrest. a bbc investigation has looked into what is behind the power cuts, the corruption, the criminal cartels, and the government's alleged complicity as well as an international effort to live the country off: onto renewable energy.

>> it is going to be a cold, dark night for many south africans. >> south africa is sinking into darkness. power cuts in johannesburg. for hours every day, the continent's most developed economy can no longer keep the lights on. this bar open for the past 25 years. >> are you going to survive in business? >> i don't think so. >> next door, a cash transfer company is on the ropes, too. >> it is very much frustrating. >> do you see an end in sight? >> why such chaos? the answers lie out here in coal country.

almost all south africa's energy is generated by burning coal, but the industry is being plundered. billions of pounds lost to criminal cartels. mines like this one looted. >> even they are fighting among themselves. >> what's extraordinary is quite how brazen it is, happening every day, out in the open in daylight. with the looting comes sabotage like this and power stations as reckless gangs fight to win lucrative maintenance contracts. >> someone pulls a gun on me. >> held it to your head? >> yeah, held it to my head. they told me they are not even afraid of anybody. they are politically connected. >> so they are above the law? >> basically. >> the governing anc hired

someone to fix the power. >> this was clearly an act of sabotage, and i think we can call it as such. >> but he soon declared the corruption was just too big and that powerful politicians were involved. last december, he was poisoned, his cup of coffee laced with cyanide. he nearly died. >> i started feeling extremely nauseous. at that stage, i was shaking badly. i was literally lying like this and shaking, gasping for air. >> but the response from south africa's anc government has been skeptical. >> his doctors say he was poisoned. the tests show he was poisoned. >> i cannot give evidence. >> you don't recognize this picture of an anc using a scum

as a feeding trough? >> no, i don't. >> the irony is that vast, sun-blessed south africa could quickly solve its power crisis by going green, but for now, south africa remains in the dark . traffic lights down, corruption out of control. >> there's much more on the energy crisis in south africa on our bbc news website. police in britain have confirmed they are investigating former prime minister boris johnson over further potential ruled breaches during the covid pandemic. government officials who had been going through mr. johnson's ministerial diary raise concerns over events and gatherings held at his private residence during the height of the pandemic. a spokesperson for mr. johnson has said no breaches had taken place. let's move on to spain. spanish police have arrested

seven people tuesday over two incidents of racial abuse, targeting real madrid's brazilian star. and included one over the weekend that sparked an international outcry. in brazil, the abuse has sparked outrage over the treatment of one of the country's top liars. the brazilian government switch off the lights, illuminating rio's statue of christ the redeemer, toth sho hwav te heala meeting with officials in madrid. in a tweet, the club president said neither spain nor the leak is racist and it's very unfair to say that. he went on to list all the ways the leak has worked to combat racism. but i former manchester city players as the president's comments are part of the norm. >> it makes my blood boil, and that's part of the problem. that is actually part of the problem.

it is not just a football issue. it is just a life that people go through every single day. what is his actual role? he is the chairman. if he things like that, what chance do we have? >> a short time ago, i spoke with our correspondent in madrid. thank you so much for joining us. first, what's the latest on the arrest? >> the latest we've heard is that three people have been arrested between -- aged between 18 and 21. all of those arrested are friends of valencia football club. we believe these are three individuals confronted in the stadium, individuals that he was pointing at and telling the referee that they had been racially abusing him and aiming monkey chants at him.

that's what we know so far. also for other arrests of people who were suspected of having hung an effigy from a bridge with a rope wrapped around its neck back in january. that is an investigation that has been going on for some months now, and there have and for arrests made related to that incident as well. >> these are serious incidents you are describing. in brazil, spain is known as a country of racists. what has the response been to that comment in spain? >> i think you could say there has been a very mixed response. what we have heard over the last few hours, really, has been public figures for the most part almost unanimously condemning any kind of race at, saying there should not be any kind of racism in football or in sport in general, but in terms of those comments about spain being

a racist country hour spain having a problem with racism in its sport, that has been much more divisive. for example, the coach of real madrid backed up the comments and said there is a serious problem in spanish football. there have been certain politicians who have tended to support those comments, but there have been others who said that although racism should be condemned, spain is not a racist country. we have heard from the leader of the opposition conservative popular party. he said spain is not a racist country. we heard from the head of the spanish league governing body. he said that spain and spanish football do not have a racist problem. this has been a very divisive issue, this issue of if spain has an inherent problem regarding racism.

>> thank you so much. that is something to keep watching out for. before we go, visitors to london's tate britain museum will notice something different these days. more than 800 works in the national collection have been rehung. the goal is to present an entirely different view of kurdish art from the 16th century to the present. -- of cultural art from the 16th century to the present. >> is its attorney a 500 years of british art, but now the story is not presented in a vacuum. it is giving greater prominence to works by women artists and diversity. >> this is the first room in which women art is superior.

>> of course this is a man's world. in a society as a whole and in terms of the art scene. these are artists that have been marginalized and unfairly marginalized, and it is important that the work is seen in the context of their now peers. >> tate now displays the art within the context of its -- within its wider historical context. pamphlets show the turbulence of an age of civil war in a way the paintings don't. and there's new labeling, too, a reminder of what life was really like for workers idealized in this painting and slaves depicted amongst the dancers. >> it is true that this is a deliberately misleading image. it would have been made for planters, people who made huge wealth out of sugar and slavery while also offering an image that acts like propaganda to people back home.

>> what is your response to people back home who say, why are you relabeling these things? >> it is not superimposing of modern history onto history. it is telling history more truthfully and more inclusively. >> tate's collection belongs to us all, telling our history through art, if it's the brutality of war, industrialization and its impact or the story of empire. q -- he grew up in guiana. >> it is a document which people are fighting for. people are literally dying to get this thing. >> doesn't reflect britishness in any sense? >> it reflects ideas of britishness, ideas of nationhood. how do we come to become who we are? >> these modern works were created during the upheavals of brexit, black lives matter, and

me too. in 500 years, how will visitors interpret this art of our nation? >> remember, you can find more on all the day's news on our website. this was "world news america." thank you so much for watching. 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. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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♪ william: good evening. i'm william brangham. amna: and i'm amna nawaz in uvalde, texas. on the "newshour" tonight, a community reflects on the first anniversary of the elementary school shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead. what's changed and what hasn't since that fateful day. william: the economic risks from a potential government default rise as congress and the white house struggle to reach an agreement to raise the debt ceiling. amna: and a philadelphia organization works to mentor black teachers to counteract dropout rates among black students. >> 39% less likely to drop out of high school and up to 29% more likely to go to college if they have a single black teacher. why isn't this the intervention that we're leading with?