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announcer: and now, "bbc news" >> in washington, this is "bbc world news america." a new u.n. report shows growing international support for climate policies. kenya, controversial tax height. and the bbc general calls for warning labels on the social media. >> is your experience safe online for kids? for too many, the answer is no. >> welcome to "bbc world news america." the planet is experiencing dangerously hot temperatures.

parts india have been gripped by an intense heat wave. five people in the capital have died as temperatures soar to 50 degrees celsius or 152 fahrenheit. officials blamed this on unseasonable thunderstorms and warm rick -- warm wind from aaron regions. our southeast asia correspondent has more. >> a few hours ago it was over 40 degrees and according to the temperature in the air, it seems it has gone down to 37 celsius. but it feels warmer. it' testament to h hot t road in the concrete are, anating heat, giving you an implication of how hard it is for the temperature to down, the last few evenings we have had record-breaking temperatures in terms of how warm it was in the. there's no respite from it. >> in the middle east, the death of the heatwave of theajj

pilgrimage continues to rise. most are egyptian filled rooms. many were not officially registered, which is why it is difficult to reach an accurate number. our bbc arabic correspondent visited a village in the delta where several of the deceased pilgrims hail from. >> i'm here in a province in northern cairo, where over 20 pilgrims are believed to have lost their lives. we have been talking to the family of a 70-year-old lady who died in saudi arabia. they told me that she put her lifetime savings into making this ritual image to mecca, but did not know it would have such a tragic ending. the problem this year is that many of those who died were unregistered pilgrims. those who went to saudi arabia on a tourist visa rather than an official hajj visa. we have been talking to the families of the victims and all of them are still in a state of

morning. they couldn't believe what happened. but they told me that they feel happy for their loved ones, because they died in a holy place. >> in north america, and intense heat wave continuing to batter millions of americans. parts of the northeast and midwest have seen multiple newtek -- temperatures -- temperature records set or tied this week. wildfires in the midwest, two people killed and 500 homes burned down. the white house says president ayden will be expediting natural disaster assistance to communities. thursday, the first name to stormed -- named storm of the 2024 season made landfall in mexico and flooded parts of the u.s., unleashing strong winds and heavy rainfall in both countries. or bang people were killed in northeast mexico. tropical storm warnings have been lifted but experts say heavy rain and flooding will continue until friday. against this backdrop of extreme weather, calls are continuing

for climate action around the world. a new report shows that 80% of people want governments to take stronger action to tackle the climate crisis and one countries to set aside geopolitical differences and collaborate on climate solutions. the report shows strong support for tougher climate action in 20 of the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters including the u.s., u.k., and china. we can discuss that now with the administrator of the united nations development program area good to have you here today. your climate report is clear, people want more action. yet at the same time the world briefly smashed through its warming limit last year. scientists continue to warn us that we are getting closer and closer to a point where the climate crisis can only be mitigated, not reversed. why do you think there is a disconnect with what people want and what we see happening? >> good to be with you. thank you for bringing up what

might seem like a contradiction, but i think it is precisely because of what people have been seeing happening to the world, to other people across the globe or to themselves, we have seen these astonishing numbers emerging. 75,000 people across the world. these are results that truly reflect a seachange where people today look to governments to act and want governments to act, despite the differences. those numbers that you cited at the beginning. what was so interesting is that in so many parts of the world, people now have climate change as a reality happening around them. decisions, the everyday decisions of where they live and where their kids might go to school and what the risks are to them as farmers, these things preoccupy hundreds of millions of people already, including those who may have to leave the place they call home because of sea level rise or continuous flooding. >> yes, it's having a real impact.

another interesting thing in your report, women were more in favor of strengthening commitments to climate action. what do you think that tells us? >> perhaps two things. sometimes in our work on research over climate change and the political polarization that we have, women are perhaps looking more to the facts around them, to the science and to wear really, decisions around elections, grandchildren, where these things are truly consequential. secondly, it is a recognition that in order to change things, we have to begin with taking steps in our own backyard, countries, and communities. i think that this is part of what we have seen. women often become leaders. remember the young generation that went to the streets and essentially turned a weekday into a protest day. it was many young women who led the movement. we could speculate on the many

reasons, but the matter is that women are at the forefront of recognizing the seriousness of the problem. >> we are seeing this report as we see extreme weather across the globe. man-made climate change has made extreme weather more frequent. do you think that people are now making the link between the weather, the temperatures affecting their daily lives, and climate change should mark >> i think the survey reaffirms the fact that people are more aware of the connections between carbon emissions, global warming , but they are also beginning to see the extraordinary implications of this. within one generation, we may have nations on this planet that may not exist anymore. we may have to move millions of people out of river basins because of perennial floods. we will have stretches of the world where there is something not enough rainfall any longer for people to live there.

these things are happening around us and that is why i think there is this much greater groundswell and a willingness to look to governments and others to act more rapidly. >> 45 seconds left, but could you tell us what you think the messages are that your study sends to world leaders? >> two. one, the problem is here, we have to act now. obviously people look to government to be at the forefront. but perhaps also very important, we live in dangerous, conflict ridden times. don't let that stop us from working with every country across the globe. we all understand we can only solve this problem if we work together. the 86% who say let's work together despite the differences , that's the most important figure in the survey. >> thank you for joining us today on bbc news. >> thank you. >> >> the kenyan parliament passed a controversial bill on

thursday with major tax hikes. it has to clear a couple of more stages before it becomes law, but it has triggered widespread protests already. riot police were in the capital firing tear gas and water cannons. the majority of protesters are young people who fear that the tax cuts will worsen the cost-of-living crisis. 300 people were arrested earlier this week following similar demonstration. our senior africa correspondent has more from nairobi. >> these are the levels that people are witnessing, it's like nothing i've ever seen. the protesters are still here, they still want to make their voice heard about their displeasure. you can hear the police still engaging them with teargas, trying to push them, to scatter them. but they have scattered and reassembled again, pushing on with their protests. the young people mobilized on social media, tiktok, whatsapp, x, they have come together to

say that they denounce the finance bill going through debate in parliament. in kenya. there are tax proposals that the government has put on the table that they are opposed to. items like sanitary towels and diapers. the government did give some concession tuesday as a result of the protests, scrapping proposals they had made to impose taxes on bread and motor vehicles. the young people, the young protesters here say that is not enough. they want the entire bill rejected. however, there was a setback this evening when they heard from parliament that they had passed through the second reading and it is going to the next stage in the house. here, confrontations continue on the streets of nairobi. >> russian president vladimir

putin says south korea would be making a mistake if it decides to supply arms to ukraine after they said they would review their policy about not sending weapons to kyiv. mr. putin is on a state visit to vietnam, announcing that the two nations would have closer ties. moscow is hoping that the trip will strengthen the russian diplomatic influence in the region. hours after the visit, the u.s. announced they are dispatching a high-level east asia diplomat to vietnam this weekend. the u.s. has sought stronger ties to counter russian and chinese influence in the region. the u.s. ambassador to china tells bbc he's doing all he can to avoid potential conflict with china, admitting that the washington relationship with beijing is competitive and contentious, but after years of very little communication with officials the two sides are talking more frequently to try to avoid misunderstanding, especially in the south china

sea and taiwan strait. he had said that the chinese support for the russian invasion of ukraine would not be tolerated by the west. he sat down with for that interview with laura, who joins us now for more on this. good to see you. tell us more about your conversation with the ambassador. >> the ambassador took office two years ago, months before tensions between the united states and china hit a new high. in fact there was very little communication between the two at all and we are seeing potential flashpoints reoccurring. this week, for example, beijing's claims to the south china sea have seen the coast guard class with filipinos, key allies of the united states. and the other potential flashpoint could be the upcoming u.s. presidential election, where the u.s. is concerned, the ambassador says, very concerned about the possibility that china

may interfere in those elections. the claim online is one that beijing strenuously denies. as you mentioned, one of the key potential flashpoints is the war in ukraine, where america accuses china of helping supply components to russia. here is what the ambassador had to say. >> they can test facts. we have the right facts, we know what's happening and we know what is being shipped by chinese companies. we know the impact it is having on the ability of russia to conduct this war. so, we are absolutely sure of our fact and the chinese should own up to this. we have sanctioned a great number of chinese companies and we are prepared to do more, by the way, we have reminded chinese officials. they have considerable authority and the authoritarian government over what happens and they can crackdown on these companies and they ought to do it because it

is a major problem and it is a major, this -- obviously major assistance to russia in this war. >> how much assistance is there between both sides and how difficult is it for year -- for you? >> there have been times when communication has been very sparse. after nancy pelosi's visit to taiwan in 2022, the chinese shutdown communications, mostly with our cabinet in washington. after that strange balloon floated across the territory of the united states for five days in february of 2023, china shut down communication. i think that in recent months it has been relatively better. it's important, our militaries are operating in close proximity to each other in the south and east china seas, the taiwan strait. we want to have communication. the last thing that we want is an accident or misunderstanding that leads to conflict.

we are very focused on reducing the probability of conflict. >>king aut communication, that must have been a real concern given the operations currently taking place in the south china sea. >> that's exact the right. that and the taiwan strait and other parts of the world as well. so, i would say it's relatively better. >> relatively better, but not much better? >> you know, it is a contentious, competitive lationship. issue where we are divided withr a lack of communication at the highest level being a real problem. you don't want to send the wrong signal, you want to talk about problems when they occur. especially if there has been an accident, and that happens, you wa and defuse the csis, make sure that it don't expand into something you don't understand.

>> really interesting conversation. what has the chinese response been? >> well, china always insists that it is america's presence in the indo pacific raising tensions between the two sides. look, even despite the difficulties, there are bright spots in the relationship. the day that i met the ambassador, he had just come back from meetings with the chinese climate envoy, who had reported cooperation between the biggest global emitters and what it could be when it comes to the outcome of what happens to our planet. he said the second most important thing is people to people contact coming together. but even that is proving difficult. there are many obstacles in the way. both sides accuse one another of putting the obstacles in place. the fact of what should be such an easy goal shows the distrust agreed -- between them. the ambassador admitted that

this would be a difficult relationship for some time to come. thank you so much. reporting the u.s. surgeon general says social media has emerged as a key contributing factor in a mental health crisis among young people. in an op-ed he called for warning labels on social media platforms, citing several studies, including one from the met -- american medical association of 2019 show that teenagers who spent over three hours a day on social media double the chance for depression. critics are pointing out flaws in warning labels, saying that they are not always effective. here's my conversation with the u.s. attorney general. -- surgeon general. there have been extensive warnings issued by groups in the past about the impact of social media, including members of congress, the president as well. the reality is that social media seems to have been in debt --

embedded in our daily lives. why do you think this warning label could change the behavior. >> it is a part of the broader strategy that we need to undertake to ultimately protect kids from the harms of social media. the warning label conveys information and in this case specific information we have seen in the data that tells us that social media use among youth is associated with mental health harms, conveying to parents and kids that there has not been enough data for us to demonstrate the safety of social media. now, warning label is something we have experience with in my office, the office of surgeon general, regarding tobacco and alcohol. from that experience we have data that tells us the labels can be effective in increasing awareness and changing behavior. fundamentally, what we have to do is make social media safer. that is why last year i called on congress to pass legislation to put in place guardrails to protect e privacy of young

people, protecting them from harmful content, from bullying and harassment, protecting them from harmful features that would seek to draw their developing brains into excessive use. >> let me pick up on that. congress has been debating a number of pieces of legislation to take on the harmful aspects of social media that you have mentioned, but until now they have stalled. why do you think that is the case? lexi would have to ask congress but from my position but i have seen is growing momentum within congress, more support, more bipartisan support in particular to take action to actually protect young people. now what we have to do is translate those actions and that support into something real for kids, meaning getting the legislation -- there are many proposals in congress right now, pulling it together to get something across the finish line. bottom line, for a child or a parent struggling to marriage --

manage the challenge of social media in their life, what matters at the end of the day as is the experience for your kids safer online? for too many parents right now, the answer is no. >> you said you would not allow your children to have social media accounts until they are in high school. is that an approach that you would suggest to other parents as well? >> yes. what we know from the science around brain development, adolescents are not just small adults. they are fundamentally in a different phase where they are more so -- sensitive to social suggestion and comparison and not fully developed in their impulse control. it makes them particularly susceptible to the harms of social media. in the case of my wife and i, we are planning to delay the use of social media until at least after middle school. we will reassess in high school based on whether or not there are safety standards in place based on the safety data and

maturity of our children. i will say this, one important thing for parents, it's easy to say but hard to do. when your child comes to you and says that all of my friends are on media, do you want me to be th only one left out? that's a hard position for a parent to be in. that is why what i widely recommend to parents is to build communities of support in partnership with other parents. we need to talk about this. if we have a pact that we will collectively follow a certain set of rules for kids, that makes it easier for us and them. >> some researchers are saying the warning could be too broad and backfire, it could shut down adolescents who use these spaces to find community and support. what do you think of that? >> the warning is there to provide information to people. the information is important so that people can make decisions for themselves and so that parents can help their children

navigate social media more safely. there are benefits that some kids get from social media. i detailed them in an advisory i issued last year on social media. but we can be blind to the fact that there are significant harms associated with social media and the benefits do not justify the harms. we have put kids in a difficult situation today where we say that in order to access these benefits, you have to subject yourself to violent and sexual content, bulinand harassment from strangers, to a exposure from these features that seek to lure you into excessive use at the costs of sleep and excessive interaction. it's not a fair position to put kids in. in addition to warning kids in their parents, we have to simultaneously work on making social media safer so that they endure that kind of harm. what about the aach we have seen in some schools, like

governor newsom in california calling for smartphones to be severely restricted. do you think that's an effective report -- approach? >> it's complementary and in a piece that i wrote out earlier in the times, it is actually important for us to limit the use of social media during class time. we can do that in part by restricting the use of phones during classime. what i hear from educators everywhere when i travel, and from parents themselves, that in thclassroom you have got a situation where kids are not only trying to learn, but they are simultaneously on their phones, texting their friends, replying to messages on social media, scrolling through their feeds, making it difficult not only to learn, but hard to build relationships and friendships. the schools that i visited that have put these kinds of policies in place where they have restricted the use of phones in class, they noticed that number one the kids talk to each other

more, play with each other more, building stronger relationships in addition to learning more effectively. that is vital for kids and that is why i think those kinds of policies are interesting and make sense. >> before we go, a sad piece of news for you. legendary actor donald sutherland has died at the age of 88. the canadian star of "mash" and "hunger games" appeared in 200 films in a career that spanned over 60 years. he cemented his movie icon status with films late the dirty dozen. in that storied career he played it all. villains, romantic leads, romantic figures. his son, actor kiefer sutherland, described him as one of the most important actors in the history of film who loved what he did. he died in miami after a long illness. that is our program here. remember, you can always find more of the days news on our website, or follow us on social

media. thank you so much for announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman fodation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna nawaz is away. on the “news hour” tonight, louisiana becomes the first state to require the 10 commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.