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narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. announcer: and now, "bbc news". anchor: this is bbc s america. [chanting] auto workers strike at america's biggest carmakers after parties failed to reach an agreement over labor policies. aid workers in libya say they are facing a nightmare scenario after extreme flooding left at least 11,000 people dead. and we look at muscle and many --masa amini's continued impact.

♪ welcome to world news america. firs thousands of united auto workers on strike against detroit's three auto markers -- makers. the parties failed to reach an agreement over labor policies and until they make a deal, targeted strikes taking place at a general motors facility. in total, an estimated 12,700 workers begin getting friday in three out of seven auto plants. president biden says he stands with workers and understands their frustration. >> no one wants a strike.

but i respect the workers right to use options under a collective bargaining situation and i understand their frustration over generations, workers sacrifice a much to keep the industry strong. especially during the pandemic. they deserve a fair share of the benefits. the companies have made significant offers but i believe they should go further when there are record corporate profits. they should be shared by record contracts for the uaw. we need labor agreements for the future. it's my hope with the parties can return to the negotiation table to forge a win-win agreement. anchor: the general motors ceo said she's disappointed about the strikes but her company is still open to negotiating with union leaders for >> the offer is on the table and it is strong

not only from a gross wage perspective, the 20%, that compounds to 21% over the life of agreement maintaining world-class health care in job security because of the allocations made to these plans. they can continue to build. disappointing where we are at but the deal is on the table and we are at the table ready and willing to negotiate to get people back to work. anchor: our business correspondent brings us the latest from detroit. reporter: the latest contract between america's big three carmakers and their union expired a little before midnight, triggering a first round of walkouts in three factories, one each at general motors in misery, still in to send ohio and ford in michigan. workers are asking for better benefits and they also want to see a 40% pay increase over the lifetime of the 4.5 year contract. the companies are offering about half that. the uaw president says it is a

shame negotiations have broken down but he sees this as a fight for fair economic and social justice. and so to his members, many of whom sacrificed a lot to help the car companies return to health after the 2008 financial crisis. >> we gave up concessions with the understanding that when things got better with ford we would get that back. we are now having to fight for it. >> there are people who work here that are paycheck-to-paycheck. this was once a job it was so hard to get in, you could put your kids to collegand retire but now we are struggling. reporter: as of late august, the car companies had enough vehicles for up to 70 days. after that they will run short and it could lead to higher prices. according to estimates, even a two-week strike could push up the cost of a new car by as much as 2%.

beyond the economic implications there are political ones as well. joe biden considers himself one of the most prounion presidents in modern history. he is sending representatives from the white house to help with negotiations, adding that record profits should lead to record contracts for workers. anchor: earlier my colleague spoke to the vice president at a detroit union chapter and asked about the mood among striking workers. >> it is historically to strike at a three of the big three at the same time. what is the mood like among your members? >> a little anxiety, a little excitement and uncertainty, ike anything, but we were prepared if this would happen. i want to make it clear we did not want this to happen, we just want to go to work everyday, put in an honest days work and fee paid an honest day's wage and the company has not met that requirement. we've been working every day, as

is evident in their record profits. they are getting compensated but we already -- we are not. >> striking is not something any worker takes lightly. why did you vote for strike action? >> we voted for strike action because the company needs to understand if they don't compensate a fair agreement, that helps all workers, we will withhold labor. anchor: the french president says the french ambassador to niger and other french diplomats are literally being held hostage at the french embassy. speaking to journalists on friday, he also said food was prevented from being delivered and the french ambassador was eating military rations. after seizing control of niger, the military junta ordered the

french investors leave the country, which he dismissed. teams face extreme challenges while helping residents of libya after flooding. two dams burst, washing away entire neighborhoods in the process could there has been -- in the process. there's been some controversy about the warning signals or lack thereof. there has been reports that some were ordered to shelter-in-place. the libyan red crescent estimates at least 11,000 people have died and that number could go up. it could go as high as 20,000 people. with hundreds of thousands impacted, the united nations has launched an appeal for more than $71 million in aid.

look at this area footage, it captures the scale of the destruction. the united nations said this is a massive reminder of climate change and the challenge it poses. >> one which is appalling, shocking, i think unimaginable in its consequences. i've heard speculation about up to 20,000 may be dead, i believe it's 4000 dead registered at the moment. in libya, while access to derna is so difficult and there is a compounded problem with the dams breaking as well as the storm breaking from the sea, this is a tragedy in which climate and capacity has collided to cause this terrible tragedy. anchor: one man who lost both his home and family in the flood told of his heartbreak. >> the flood came and completely

washed away the valley, destroying everything around it. my life before was stable, everything was 100% good, i had my house and family. now there is nothing. there is no life anymore. anchor: recovery efforts have been called a logistical nightmare and or correspondent is following the efforts and sent this report. reporter: the roads became rivers and the rivers became a deluge, carrying everything with it and bringing a wave of death and destruction. this grainy security camera footage is from the moment when the floods hit and derna was changed forever. dams upstream meant to protect the city failed, sealing the fate of thousands. in derna, people began to pray for god's mercy. when the torrent past, some were able to escape. as the rain continued to fall, they sought the safety of rooftops. few could imagine the scale of

the catastrophe. down below, the force of the torrent swept much in its wake. those who could made their escape to higher ground. and now the aftermath. a turkish rescue team wades through pools of destruction in search of what remains. the mud and filth makes the work slow and dangerous and the risk of disease is growing. >> our feelings toward the city is difficult to describe, to be honest with you. we lost friends, ella tibbs and a big portion of derna -- friends, relatives and a big portion of derna society. but people stood with us and hopefully will have a better future. reporter: they are working around the clock, and perhaps improbably, survival are being found. "speak to us we can find where you are," rescue workers call out. people are returning to derna

not to resume their lives but to identify the dead. the bodies keep coming, laid out on city pavements in the hope they will be cleaned. across this port city, the search continues but it is far from easy. >> this is the first time we've seen a true disaster happening. we are facing difficulties, there is no visibility. reporter: for now, trained dogs hunt for signs of life. this one belongs to a spanish rescue team, but soon it will be animals trained in finding corpses who will rule the ruins. after the removal of muammar gaddafi in 2011, libya fell into chaos. post-revolution, western support vanished. a cost -- across eastern libya,

needs have never been greater. this man says life as he knew it has ended. >> it came to hear and washed away the valley. it hit the wall and destroyed everything around it. reporter: he is one of more than 30,000 people requiring shelter. libya's eastern government failed to protect them from this disaster, now in their greatest hour of need. they are struggling to cope with the aftermath. anchor: britain's ministry of defense says ukraine's attack on a crimean shipyard this week was more severe than russia has admitted. the ministry says satellite pictures show one russian ship was functionally destroyed and a submarine severely damaged in the drone attack wednesday. russia's defense ministry says the vessels will be fully repaired and returned to service. our diplomatic correspondent is in kyiv with an update. reporter: we are seeing

ukrainians becoming more and more sophisticated and confide in their ability to hit russian targets in the crimean peninsula. a year ago they were using drones successfully in one place and destroying nine aircraft at one of the russian airbases on the peninsula. now we are seeing a complex series of operations using drones in the air and at sea, and crucially, cruise missiles supplied recently by britain and france. with each advent of new weaponry, the ukrainians feel they have a greater ability to me damage it we saw the attack on a harbor the other day in which two vessels, a landing craft and submarine, were both damaged severely. the british ministry of defense says some of the damage frankly is not repairable, and the damage to the drydock facility where there's vessels were undergoing repairs is significant and that facility is

crucial to the maintenance of russia's black sea fleet and could be out of action for some time could gradually over -- for some time. gradually over time the ukrainians feel confident in their ability to cause damage on the crimean peninsula to be able to control the waters of the northwestern black scene, and crucially, to cut off the russian ability to support its troops in southern ukraine, the troops meeting the challenge of ukraine's counteroffensive in the south. the ukrainians feel they have the ability now, the tactics and equipment to do just that. anchor: saturday marks a year since mahsa amini, a young woman in iran, died in state custody after being arrested for allegedly wrecking hijab -- breaking hijab rules. after several months, the regime succeeded in crushing the

following protests but not the widespread desire for change. or correspondent has been looking at whether things 12 months on have changed in iran. a warning, the report contains some distressing images. reporter: they had never taken part in protests before. now in exile in italy, she says she felt compelled to take a stand after mahsa amini's death. that's the sound of the bullet that changed her life. she had rushed to help young protesters who had been shot while pulling down posters of the supreme leader. she came here for medical treatment, the bullet removed from her head but surgeons could not save her eye. >> an eye is part of someone's beauty. i am just one of many wounded protesters. my heart is still beating, my

heart beats for life, for iran, for the people of iran. reporter: it eats too with the agony of separation for her twins, now being looked after by their grandparents. >> the last moment i was with my children for i was shot, i had bought them school supplies. all of their clothes and hands were covered with blood and they kept shouting, "my mom was killed." it was a tough moment and i can never forgive it. reporter: so many iranians settled -- suffered in the woman led uprising. hundreds were killed. thousands upon thousands were arrested and seven executed. the protests eventually died down but not the widespread fury that had ignited to them.

one western diplomat estimates that around the country about 1% of iranian women go out unveiled now. they know they are watched and risk being fined, denied public services or jails. we got in touch with a 20-year-old music student from tehran on a messaging asked pete we agreed to not use -- on a messagingapp. we agreed to not use her name. >> we just needed a tiny spark to light the fire. even though i feel scared to my bones, even though i pass morality police, i keep my head high and pretend nothing is happening. reporter: a prominent film maker began posting pictures of herself unveiled last year. she was failed seval months after also criticizing the iranian supreme. she says a profound social revolution is taki place across classes and acrossthe country.

she spoke to me from tehran without wearg a veil. >> what has chained -- changed after mahsa amini's death is men praising women's courage and even at family gatherings, which i believe is the most significant fruit of her movement. reporter: back in the suburbs, in italy, this woman does not know when she can go home. she still needs another surgery but she tells me she has no regrets. >> i don't regret it because i cannot remain silent in the face of oppression. it was for the freedom of my homeland, for my people my for the next generation. when i speak to the kids, we always say we hope we will be reunited in better days. anchor: bencic -- a judge has banned spain's x football chief

from going within 20 meters of a player. he denied he sexually assaulted her by forcibly kissing her on the lips after the spanish men's team wpn the world cup in august. he resigned on sunday after a weeklong standoff. our reporter has more from outside the courthouse. reporter: the former president of spain's football federation, luis rubiales, has a. at the national court for hearing that was part of the investigation into whether or not he committed sexual assault when he kissed the player at the end of the world cup final in sydney on august 20 in this hearing, mr. rubiales repeated the line he's taken the last few weeks, that the ks was

consensual and there was no wrongdoing on his part. however, the player continues to insist that was not the case, this was not a consensual kiss. the judge handling the case has issued a restraining order against mr. rubiales preventing him from approaching the player, coming within 200 meters of her. this investigation could potentially lead to the trial of mr. rubiales for sexual assault and if found guilty he could face a jail sentence up to four years. meantime, spain's women's football team essentially remain on strike, essentially all the players have decided they will continue to rese to represent their country until, they say, they see bigger changes at the top of spanish football. anchor: the g77 plus time a summit kicked off on friday,

promising to come up with solutions to current development challenges. the summit is bringing together over 30 heads of state and government from africa, asia and latin america. china, not an official member of the group, also attended, along with the u.n. secretary general. the secretary said "the voice of the g77 plus china will always be essential to the united nations and i count on your group, who have long been champions of multilateralism, to step up, use your power and fight d champion a system rooted inequality, ready to reserve the injustice of neglect of centuries." we have the latest from havana. reporter: leaders from countries such as brazil, argentina, venezuela arrive in havana at a time when the country is going

through what analysts have called the deepest economic crisis since the communist revolution in 1959. the cuban president is trying to use the event to show the island is not so isolated globally and to strengthen his administration, which has already suffered from major demonstrations. the g77 ends tomorrow, and countries will ask for a greater voice in the global south in multilateral mechanisms. the group impact on geopolitics however, is typically limited. from bbc news in havana, cuba. anchor: in other news, new england in the u.s. and canada on high alert as hurricane lead turns up a -- turns closer. it is expected to make landfall over the weekend and the hurricane center has called the storm large and dangerous,

saying it will likely bring coastal flooding. people are being warned that friday is the last eight to prepare ahead of landfall. the european union has fined tiktok almost $370 million over its handling of the personal data of children. an investigation by a data protection commission found that children's counts were set to public default, making them visible to all users. britain's prime minister has announced the american -- could be banned by the end of the year. he called the dogs a danger to our communities after a man died after a suspected attack by the breed on tuesday. three men have been acquitted in a trial connected to a plan to kidnap the michigan governor. they were found not guilty of providing support for a

terrorist act and weapon charge. nine men were convicted in the case, portrayed as an example of homegrown terrorism in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election. u.s. authorities have seized artworks by an austrian artist from museums following a claim they were looted during the holocaust. an art collector -- the family of an art collector rc -- areseeking to reclaim the pieces fit scientists in -- the pieces. scientists think they have figured out how brain cells die n.l. timers disease. they say a special molecule leads them to being purged. during experience, researchers found a block the molecule and brain cells survived. it is an important piece of research that could lead to new treatments were an estimated 55

million people been with alzheimer's and dementias around the world. i am helena humphrey. thank you for your company and joining us on world news america. goodbye for now. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪

♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on "the newshour" tonight... the united auto workers hit the picket lines after the deadline for an agreement between the union and the nation's big three car makers expires. amna: the small ohio town where a train derailed seeks answers while cleanup continues seven months later. we speak with the head of the rail company. alan: i am really proud of the progress we've made. i also understand there is a lot more work to be done. geoff: and...