wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. it's to die for. now you won't miss a thing. this is the way. the xfinity 10g network. made for streaming. ♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: pediatric surgeon. volunteer. topiary artist. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned.

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". i am katrina perry w york. this is bbc world news america. the united nations general assembly continues today with ukraine's president criticizing the powerful security council for not doing enough to help his country fend off russia. a fiery partisan hearing for the u.s. attorney general on capitol hill. what both sides are accusing each other of. and, iran's tough new statute enforcing how women and girls their dress.

you are welcome to world news america coming to you from outside day two of the united nations general assembly in new york are high-profile and high-stakes meetings are ongoing with many of the world's leaders all in one building. much of the diplomacy is happening on the sidelines including the closely watched meeting between u.s. president joe biden and israel's president benjamin netanyahu, the first time the two leaders have met one-on-one since mr. netanyahu returned to office last december. president biden has formerly -- formerly invited netanyahu to visit washington by the end of the year. president biden plans to address issues relating to democracy referencing washington's concerns over israel's controversial judiciary reform efforts. president: -- present biden: we will discuss hard issues. democratic values lie at the heart of our partnership including the checks and balances in our system. preserving a path to negotiating

a two state solution. ensuring around never acquires a nuclear weapon. even where we have differences my commitment is ironclad. >> president biden met with the brazilian president wednesday focusing on labor. the pair announced an initiative to advance the rights of working people, highlighting the importance of decent jobs and good wages. lula warns democracies are under threat and it says it's crucial to shore up workers rights. elsewhere, ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy addressed a highly watched special meeting of the security council calling for the removal of russia's veto power in the group. >> in cases of mass atrocities, against human rights, veto power should be voluntarily suspended. we also observed russia will not give up this stolen privilege voluntarily.

therefore, the u.n. general assembly should be given real power to overcome the veto. this will be the first necessary step. it's impossible to stop the war because all efforts are vetoed by the aggressor. >> russia's foreign minister sergei lavrov defended the veto power calling it a legitimate tool. president zelenskyy is not the only one calling for change. turkish president erdogan and the you s secretary-general antonio guterres have criticized the security council. it is made up of five permanent members chosen in the wake of world war ii, the u.s., china, france, u.k., and russia. being a permanent member comes with some perks, namely that veto power. any of the five can veto a resolution. there are also 10 nonpermanent members, five of which are elected each year by the general assembly for a two year term.

the council's goal is to address threats to international security. it imposes sanctions come authorizes use of force, and can deploy peacekeeping missions. critics say it fails to represent many regions of the world and the veto power makes it increasingly hard to function. president zelenskyy made it a point to mention russia's attacks on nuclear plants during his speeches at the u.n. earlier this week. earlier i spoke with the director general of the national atomic energy agency about the security of the plants. >> from the very beginning we took the bull by the horns and went there. the iea is present there. the international organization is providing assistance and informing the international community of what is going on. we have been seeing president zelenskyy frequently.

and we are considering human -- continuing the support. here at the council a certain number of basic principles should be observed to avoid an accident with serious consequences. do not attack a nuclear power plant or militarize a nuclear power plant. so far we have been able to contain the situation. i am not saying it is stable. i am not saying we have reached any point of satisfaction in terms of the security of the plant. but we go day by day. we have to continue. >> rafael grossi of the iaea speaking to me earlier. president zelenskyy will head to washington d c for a meeting thursday with president biden. and it leaders of both chambers of congress. president zelenskyy will continue his appeal for ongoing support from the u.s. to ukraine

even as republicans look to slash spending. we will have more on washington in a moment. it's one of the big topics of the general summary this week has been climate change as british prime minister rishi sunak announced efforts to soften the net zero u.k. climate change commitments. he said the u.k. will deny -- delay a ban on new petrol and diesel car sales until 2035 from the planned 2030. the government will slow the transition to heat boilers and will not require homes to improve insulation. previous governments moved too quickly according to him on setting unrealistic net zero targets without public support. he said he is still committed to the net zero target. >> i am interested in the right long-term thing for the country actually bringing people along with me minimizing costs on families. that is why what we are thinking what we are announcing today is

a break from the past, change. >> earlier i spoke with the former democratic vice president al gore about what is next in global efforts to fight, change despite renewed challenges. we see her today the climate ambition summit. we have also seen in recent times the raw talked of climate change, wildfires, flooding, drought, heat waves. why is it proving so difficult for countries to stick to their targets, stick to -- to stick to their pledges? >> you are quite right. i think almost everyone agrees that this summer has seen the climate crisis go to an entirely new level of seriousness. the warnings of the scientists were correct. we should pay more attention to what they are warning will happen now if we do not start cutting pollution. why has it been so difficult? for some countries to do it? first, there has been a lot of progress.

but, the fossil fuel industry has turned out to be way better at capturing politicians then at capturing emissions. they have fought tooth and nail against any and every measure to try to -- cut back on the burning of fossil fuels. this is a fossil fuel crisis. many politicians are just in the -- are so in tune with the fossil fuel polluters that they do whatever they want. whatever the polluters ask them to do. >> on that note we saw today the british prime minister announcing a delay to many policies including a delay to the ban on new petrol and diesel cars. it was supposed to be 20 30. it was pushed to 2035. what is your response to rishi sunak? >> first of all, i am not a citizen of the united kingdom and i will leave that up to the people that are citizens of the u.k.. but, speaking from a global perspective, if i may, it is certainly shocking. and, disappointing, particularly at a time when the rest of the world is struggling to move in the right direction and have a

leader of the u.k. that has been in recent years trying to provide a leadership role to turn back the wrong direction. again, this is for the people of the u.k.. i have heard from many friends in the u.k. including memory -- many members of the conservative party by the way that have used the phrase utter disgust and contempt. and, young people, they feel really strongly about this. some have said they feel like they were stabbed in the back. but, this is for the u.k. to sort out and i will stay out of the political situation there. >> what does it say about global unity and the push for climate change? when the u.k., a global leader, has a permanent seat on the security council here and the prime minister said discussing with other nations how to fix this problem stays at home and announces a decision delaying action? like i think many here would say -- >> i think many people here

would say they are quite disappointed. >> does it send a message to other nations who perhaps looked to the u.k. to leadership? >> at times in the past the u.k. has been one of the aggressive leaders on climate. so, for those that have come to expect that from the u.k., it is a particular disappointment, of course. and, the timing is as well. >> the opposite of that i suppose is the address we saw from the u.s. president here, joe biden yesterday gave quite an impassioned plea around climate change and sustainable developing goals as well. but it is action, not just promises, that are needed. >> yes. president biden has the credibility to say what he did because, even though i have not agreed with everything he has done, he passed the largest and best climate legislation that any country has ever passed in history. and, it is beginning to bring about their he positive change in the u.s.. we have seen other countries

stimulated to do positive things too. brazil, australia, both have changed their governments. they have adopted pro climate policies. the european union has accelerated the clean energy transition partly because their ambitions merged with their disgust at vladimir putin's effort to blackmail them into supporting his sadistic invasion of ukraine. >> it is very difficult for nations in the global south to keep up with some of the policies, isn't it? perhaps they are struggling to maintain their debt responsibilities and they cannot put that focus into policy. should they be helped more by the united nations? >> yes and one of the big topics of conversation here at this session of the united nations has been how to make private finance more available to developing countries. you know, the world bank and the international monetary fund for example play a big role in trying to even up the access to

borrowing. we are seeing, you know, last year 88% of all the new electricity generation worldwide was from renewables. 28% of all new car sales now are electric vehicles. in the developing countries of the world, the poorer countries, they do not have the same access to borrowed capital to build solar farms, windfarms, and ev factories. we have to change that. >> today the summit is about celebrating movers and doers. is there hope or is it too late? >> we don't have time for despair. we have work to do. in all of the morley-based movements in our history including the abolition movement that really began in the u.k., the civil rights movement in my country, women's suffrage, in all those movements there were times when the advocates were tempted to despair. but, when the central question was revealed, as a choice between what is right and what is wrong, the outcome became

more ordained. we are very close to that political tipping point where climate is concerned. >> the states are increasing as congress barrels towards a possible partial government shutdown. the biden administration says failing to fund the government could jeopardize u.s. weapons and sent to ukraine and taiwan. a publican house speaker kevin mccarthy failed to reach a deal that could pass the gop controlled chamber by the end of the month. hard-liners in mr. mccarthy don't party are threatening to withhold government funding unless mr. mccarthy and mr. biden agree to spending cuts. kevin mccarthy says he is still optimistic. >> we made some progress last night. september 30, the game is not over. we continue to work. we -- i have been at this place many times before. we will solve this problem. >> earlier my colleagues spoke

with massachusetts democratic congressman seth moulton on how budget talks could threaten the flow of aid to ukraine. >> it is not clear whether speaker of the house kevin mccarthy will be willing or able to get this package passed. do you think that president zelenskyy will find support among congressional leaders? >> well, it's an open question. not because most republicans do not support ukraine. behind closed doors, they do. but, what is going on with the republican party today is it has become completely subservient to this dangerous extremist wing of the party. right now, in the house of representatives, we have a five republicans who have prevented the passage of even a bill that would adjust to fund our own troops, fund ukraine. so, the issue was not most of my republicans colleagues on the house armed services committee do not support ukraine. in classify hearings or behind closed doors they almost all do.

the issue is whether kevin mccarthy as speaker of the house, someone that only got his job by catering to this extremist wing of the party, the issue is whether he will be able to rally support in a way to actually get the votes for ukraine funding. >> contentious moments on capitol hill in washington today. an oversight hearing on the department of justice. the gop claims the department of justice has become a tool of u.s. president joe biden to attack political opponents. that is something both mr. biden and merrick garland are denying. democrats are accusing republicans of pushing conspiracy theories for political gain. >> they want to divide the country and make our a government appear broken. that is when a broken political party thrives. >> americans believed today in our country there is unequal application of the law. >> i am not the president's lawyer. i will add, i am not congress's

prosecutor. >> attorney general garland says claims of a politicized or weaponized doj have led to security threats against the fbi and doj personnel. iran's parliament passed a controversial bill that would increase prison terms and fines for women and girls breaking strict dress code. those dressed as it describes inappropriately would face up to 10 years in jail. the bill still needs to be approved by the guardian council to become law. the move comes a few days after the anniversary of mahsa amini, a woman that died in custody after being held by the marana deep police for an allegedly improper he job. --hijab. hundreds were killed in the following cracked by security forces. a prisoner swap with the u.s.. abram paley the u.s. deputy

special envoy for iran was on the plane home with the americans released. i spoke with him earlier about the experience and other developments coming out of around. -- iran. can i ask about a developing story today. we have seen widespread protests in iran from women refusing to cover their hair for about one year or so now. the iranian parliament passed a bill that would increase the present time up to 10 years for women that do not, that flout the dress code. what do you say about that? >> this is a very concerning development and we are still getting more details. my initial reaction is that this is a step backwards. women's rights are human rights. we will continue to support the people of iran, particularly, women and girls, as they pursue basic human dignity and democracy. >> is this something the united nations should do something about? >> from day one this

administration has been very clear we want to see more human rights around the world including in iran. we work closely with partners and allies around the world to respond to calls from the iranian people to hold the regime accountable and pursue basic human dignity. we will continue to do that. >> you have just done a deal with iran for the release of five american hostages. you flew back with the individuals. what was that plane journey like? >>y we did. that was an incredibly emotional journey for everyone. including myself. there are people around our government and around the world that have worked for years to get these american homes -- these americans home. seeing them reunited with families on the tarmac in washington yesterday was an incredibly joyous and moving experience. >> they did that deal and just after president biden announced fresh sanctions. how would you categorize u.s./iranian relations now? >> i think president biden and the secretary have been incredibly clear that the deal

was about getting americans home, not a change to our policy on iran. that's a really important point. ron is still an adversary. iran is still a state sponsor of terrorism and we will treat them like that. >> critics say a deal like that around hostages might inspire others to capture americans to get your own prisoners freed at a payout meantime. what you say to those criticisms? >> we say that standing on the tarmac seeing americans reunited with their families it was clear to me that was the right deal. of course, the scorch of hostagetaking in iran and around the world with serial hostagetaking is a horrible problem we are working with partners and allies to address, working with them to hold the regime's accountable including the iranian regime. we are working to continue to pursue a variety of different avenues. to make it clear to iran and other countries that they will pay if they continue to pursue such policies. we are also trying to be very

clear with americans that they should not travel to iran. >> how do you make them pay if you are doing the deals and the reddish drip is the way it is? >> it's not an easy problem to solve but we will continue to work on it. the safety of security -- and security of americans abroad is top priority. we will continue at it. it is important to stand with one voice with the international community on this problem. so, there are a variety of events here in new york and we will continue to work to address the issue. >> when we look at nuclear power, iran has barred several recently scheduled visits from the international inspectors from coming into iran and checking on tehran's atomic activity. what have you that's what you say to that? >> we stand with our

international partners that this is a very concerning counterproductive step by iran. we have called on iran to immediately reverse this decision and called on iran to cooperate fully with ieai general grossi . >> you see a return to nuclear talks short-term? >> no. we have always said the deal is about this deal alone. it's about getting the americans home. when it comes to the nuclear file, we are concerned about the steps iran is taking. we have always said that the president, secretary, everyone, this administration will make sure iran does not get a nuclear weapon. we have always said at the same time we think diplomacy is it the best path to a sustainable effective solution to the problem but we are just not there now. >> thank you for joining us. >> thank you for having me. >> armenia's government claimed

that azerbaijan's forces have fired against its border positions near a village. the bbc is unable to confirm the reports. if true they would represent a swift breakdown of a cease-fire brokered between other by sean and ethnic armenian separatists early wednesday. hours ago other by john's president ilhan aliyev said he had stored feel dutch. at the over the region of nagorno-karabakh, which has been an unrecognized breakaway republic since 1991. after excepting a cease-fire from separatists forces ilhan aliyev insisted he had nothing against the ethnic armenian population, only what he called their criminal leadership. mr. ilhan aliyev launched a military offensive two days ago claiming troops from armenia were on the ground. armenian officials denied the times and said azerbaijan carried out a clear violation of international law despite mr. ilhan aliyev's reassurances, the

white house has, in the past hour, expressed concern about a worsening humanitarian situation in the region. many armenians plead -- appear to be fleeing the region. russian peacekeepers have evacuated at least 2000 people. hundreds if not thousands have headed to the region's main airport. some ethnic armenian officials have been displaced. meanwhile, thousands of people have gathered in the armenian capital and are about to protest about the government's perceived failure to support the breakaway republic. reyhan dimitri has more. >> the cease-fire agreement marks the over 35 year struggle of the karabakh armenians for self-determination. uncertainty now looms over there 120,000 ethnic armenians living in the region. almost everybody there has a family memory that fought in wars with other by sean. -- au-- azerbaijan.

there is very little or no trust between the two communities. azerbaijan's anti-terror operation was the final push to regain territories it lost in the 1990's with the aim to return hundreds of thousands of azerbaijanis displaced by the conflict. the republic of armenia that supported karabakh armenians suffered a bitter feet and its relations with russia, a once powerful ally, reached a new low. >> finally, let's show you something that could have had a very different outcome. this is the moment two seal pups were tangled in a fishing net on a south african beat. members of the public and west coast national park saw them in distress and were able to cut through the nets to help them. the pair were eventually freed and able to make their way back

into the sea. i'm katrina perry. thank you for watching world news america coming to you today from new york. take care. goodbye. 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 federal reserve holds off on raising interest rates further, but consumers still feel the pain of past hikes, with mortgage rates at their highest level in over twenty years. amna: tensions rise between india and canada after the killing of an outspoken sikh leader in british columbia. geoff: and, despite employment being a key factor in keeping people out of prison, jobs that require state licenses remain