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tv   BBC News America  PBS  October 24, 2024 5:30pm-6:01pm PDT

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by...
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woman: a law partner rediscovers her grandmother's artistry and creates a trust to keep the craft alive. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your passions and the way you enrich your community. life well pland. nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual, people value me for me, they care about what i want, my needs, my career path, i matter here. announcer: 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" ♪ sumi: i am sumi somaskanda in washington and this is bbc "world news america."
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humanitarian aid for palestinians and new cease-fire talks. russian president vladimir putin tells bbc news nato expansion violates russian security as a summit of emerging economies concludes in russia. >> i am in the battleground state of georgia were for the first time former u.s. president barack obama will join kamala harris on stage to campaign right here. ♪ sumi: welcome to "world news america." on the third leg of his middle eastern tour antony blinken announced israeli and american negotiators will travel to doha half for another attempt at cease-fire talks. the spy agency chief will head there this weekend to meet with bill burns and the qatari prime minister.
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hamas has yet to confirm if it will send a representative to participate but e of the group's delegates met on thursday. antony blinken said he hopes to find a resolution by leveraging israel's assassination of yahya sinwar. >> the reason i believe there is opportunity now is because the biggest obstacle to concluding that agreement was sinwar. the fact he is no longer with us perhaps creates an opening for actually moving forward and concluding an agreement. sumi: secretary blinken announced the u.s. will send $135 million to palestinians for humanitarian assistance including water sanitation and health care. aid agencies say more needs to be done and they call for an immediate positive finding. israeli forces continued their
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bombardment of northern gaza where they claim hamas has regrouped. a hospital in central gaza said at least 17 palestinians were killed in an israeli strike on a school. the hospital said the school had been operating as a shelter. the israeli military said it hit a hamas control center embedded there. it is more from our correspondent. >> the images coming in from central gaza are very distressing, showing a lot of dead people, many of them children. clearly either badly wounded or killed, being dragged out of a refugee camp. it is a densely populated area out of the north middle of the gaza strip. what is significant about the attack is it is not in the area were israel has been undertaking a massive military offensive. this is much more to the south where people were expected to be
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relatively safe -- i use the word relatively because all of gaza is dangerous. the israelis put out a statement saying the attacked the refugee camp because hamas was using it as a command and control center. they were targeting what they called terrorists. clearly from the pictures we saw, a lot of civilians were killed, as well. sumi: the bbc has analyzed the damage from israeli strikes in lebanon. most of israel's targets have been aimed at southern lebanon near the shared border. the conflict began after the october 7 attacks. israel began a ground incursion in southern lebanon at the end of september. israel has concentrated in the southern neighboood in beirut were a claims hezbollah's headquarters are. it says a neighborhood where it israeli strikes killed a leader four weeks ago.
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in recent months 60,000 israelis have fled their homes in northern israel after hezbollah rockets damaged homes the let's talk about the latestre. development spirit -- the latest developments. i want to start with the developments on the diplomatic front. we have heard negotiations will resume in the coming days. we have seen the stop and start several times. >> it is important to assess what the goal is before assessing the chances for progress. my observation has been the u.s. administration is focused on a cease-fire and has not been able to define effectively for israel or anyone else involved in the middle east what comes after a cease-fire. i suspect the parties will continue to prefer to keep their
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own ability to maintain the upper hand rather than rely upon an administration that has not defined diplomatic rolethat come after a cease-fire. sumi: is it the goal first and foremost to have a stop in hostilities? david: obviously none of us want to see continued humanitarian distress. it would be wonderful to have the chance for more hostages to be released or the remains of those who have died returned to loved ones. if you want to end the cycle of violence there has to be a change in the bance of power and a cease-fire does not do that. american presidents and u.n. officials can demand a cease-fire but until the two sides -- looking for a political and diplomatic solution, these initiatives are unlikely to really gain traction. sumi: that is the question. the u.s. really saw this moment after the death of yahya sinwar
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as an opportunity to reach that kind of agreement. but as you are saying if both sides do not see it as an opportunity it is unlikely to do so. why does israel not see this moment as one to move toward a cease-fire? david: gaza has become a sideshow. i do not believe a cease-fire in gaza will change the equation in terms of the power balance between israel, iran, the arab states and the united states. there are things that can be done to stabilize gaza but it does not change the big equation. the israelis are unlikely to agree to any cease-fire in gaza that does not allow them to continue to go in and out and deal with what they think our ongoing security problems. the big issue is iran. it is unlikely the administration in its twilight weeks and months will be able to establish a new policy that can
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seize on the advantages that israel has gained on iranian proxies to get the iranians to change their calculations of the middle east. sumi: to come back to your point about what a cease-fire in gaza would do, it would change the equation for the tens of thousands of civilians there. israel has been under massive pressure to get more aid to them. david: if there is an actual cease-fire. why would either hamas or israel agree to a cease-fire at this point? hamas is now fragmented. who would make a decision? who will speak for hamas? who will make sure that the insurgents in gaza actually honor a cease-fire? the israelis are not likely to accept an agreement in doha that wi interfere with their ability to deal with that problem. i do not really see how the word cease-fire changes the equation in gaza.
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what will change the equation is if the iranians no longer see it in theirnterest to propagate this level of violence we have seen in years. sumi: given what you just laid out, what do you think the u.s. should be proposing during talks in doha? something that would be a more concrete goal for after a cease-fire? david: it would be very valuable for the u.s. to not tell us that the public level but behind the scenes describing some of the necessary concessions and equations to change the balance of power. what the united states might do to influence iranian thinking through both pressure tactics and what open-door might there be down the road if the iranians are prepared to step back from this level of antagonism and violence and hostility. that is an important conversation.
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it is being had at this stage on an administration that is on its way out. i see all of this as a sideshow. lebanon is where israel and the iranian game plan have shifted. i do not believe these though hot talks are actually addressing the problem. sumi: that is an interesting point. ambassador, thank you for your analysis. david: thank you. sumi: russian president vladimir putin has not denied north korean troops could be undergoing training in russia to fight alongside its military in ukraine. he was asked the question directly at a summit of emerging nations in the russian city. he said whatever happened would be determined under the terms of a strategic partnership treaty between russia and north korea. our russia editor steve rosenberg was at the senate and for the first time since the war in ukraine he was allowed to ask president putin a question. >> isolation. what isolation?
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at the summit of emerging nations, at the table, there were a lot of world leaders and a lot of attention on the host. vladimir putin was loving the limelight. [applause] but the press conference later, for the first time in three years, the kremlin leader took one of my questions. a chance to ask him about his invasion of ukraine. this summit has called for global security, stability and a world, i say. isn't there a gap between these things and your actions in the last 2.5 years? your invasion of uaine? where is the justice and security of that? this goes for russia's security, too? that never happened before your special operation in ukraine. >> you mentioned drones. no.
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this did not happen before. but the situation was far worse. we had constant attempts to develop contents with countries in the west but they kept trying to put us in our place. eventually russia would have slid into being a second-class state, supplying others with our raw materials. >> russia invaded ukraine but putin claims nato -- blames nato. >> we told them this nato expansion, don't do it. it violates our security. but they still did it. is that just? there is no justice here and we want to change that -- and we will change it. >> then i asked, what about claims by mi5 that russian intelligence is bent on causing chaos in britain and europe through arson and acts of sabotage? >> this is total rubbish.
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what is happening on the streets of some european cities is the result of the domestic policies of those countries. >> on report, north korea sent troops to russia for possible deployment in ukine, mr. putin neither confirmed nor denied it. as for this summit, he declared it a success. vladimir putin is sounding confident, defiant. he seems to see himself as the architect of a new international order. this summit has not change the world but it has put putin exactly where he wants to be -- in the geopolitical spotlight. for russia's president, this summit has been about optics. putin, center stage. there is widespread support for russia but not for its war in ukraine. one thing mr. putin heard a lot this week were calls for peace.
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steve rosenberg, bbc news. sumi: meanwhile vladimir putin said asia, africa and latin america should play a bigger role on the u.n. security council. despite facing criticism for participating. he is expected to meet with putin for the first time in more than two years. earlier today that you and chief praised member -- earlier today the u.n. chief praised countries >> you represent nearly half of the world's population and i support your support for multilateralism and international problem-solving that is reflected in your team this year. no single group and no single country can act alone in isolation. it takes a community of nations working as one global family to address global challenges. sumi: in the u.s., presidential hopefuls kamala harris and
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donald trump are continuing their blitz of battleground states from what is shaping up to be a tight race. according to national polling averages, neither candidate has a decisive lead in any swing states. kamala harris is in georgia on thursday. estate president biden won by roughly 12,000 votes in 2020. the vice president is hoping to win over voters with star-studded appearances from barack obama and bruce springsteen in a campaign in a few hours. donald trump is visiting arizona and nevada today. nevada has not swung republican seen a steady rise in registered independent voters. trump is hoping to win arizona. he was able to win against hillary clinton in 2016 but in 2020 he lost to joe biden. he said if he wins the election
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he will immediately fire jack smith who brought two federal indictments against the former president. trump was asked whether he would pardon himself or dismiss mr. smith on his first day back and the ex president said i would fire him within two seconds. he would be one of the first things addressed. mr. smith was appointed by joe biden's attorney general in 2022. we will speak to our correspondent who was in georgia. she will be standing by at kamala harris' rally as we mentioned. we will speak to her as we continue to cover the election. the economy is one of the top issues on voters' minds. trade policy have been at the forefront of the campaign. our correspondent has traveled to michigan to figure out how voters view the economic arguments. we will bring that to you in a moment.
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the report from gary from the michigan battleground state. first we will look at a new report that suggests countries are further than ever from reaching global climate targets. a global warming limit of 1.5 degrees celsius was set in 2015 to ward off the worst effects of climate change. experts say is countries continue greenhouse gas emissions at the current rate the world could warm by a catastrophic 3.1 degrees this century. world leaders will be gathering for cop 29. >> this is the omissions gap. the gap as they are now in the cuts that need to be made. to keep climate change under control. what it is saying is emissions are not falling, in fact they are rising. they rose by over 1% last year. they say the current trajectory,
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it would take us to an increase in temperatures by the end of the century between 2.6 degrees and 3.1. that would be an enormous impact on the world climate system. back in 2015 at the paris conference the world agreed to try to keep the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees celsius. scientists say there is no safe amount of climate change but the 1.5 degree limit should avoid the worst effects of the droughts, heat waves, floods, collapse of ecosystems we can expect from climate change. this morning comes ahead of the next big u.n. conference and what the u.n. it is saying is it is not too late yet but we are getting pretty close to that point.
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it is saying there needs to be a massive effort by all countries of the world to ramp up efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. it said it needs to be led by the rich countries. the rich countries need to lead the way as soon as possible. sumi: that was our climate editor. now to some other headlines from around the world. leaders of the nations of the commonwealth are gathering in samoa for a meeting to get underway on friday. the bbc has learned leaders are prepared to defy the u.k. with plans to examine justice for the transatlantic slave trade. the u.k. government insists the issue is not on the agenda but diplomatic sources are looking out in the agreement that could open meaningful conversation. leaders of boeing have turned down a labor contract by a wide margin. the international association of machinists and --
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aerospace workers rejected a 35% pay increase over four years. the deal was turned down shortly after boeing reported $1 billion in losses. we are going to go back to our election coverage. under two weeks left until the election, all of the correspondents we have around the country covering what is happening as candidates are crisscrossing battleground states. our correspondent is in georgia, were kamala harris will hold a rally this evening. you have been speaking to voters. tell us what they have told you. >> it is not just the vice president who will be campaigning here. for the first time former u.s. president barack obama will be joining her on stage. he has already been campaigning on her behalf but to have the two of them side-by-side is
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lending quite a lot of firepower to this event. speaking to some voters, it was mentioned they were excited to see the former president. it is also the issues that have brought so many people to hear kamala harris. >> fore, the driving issue is women's rights. i am a sister. i have a niece. i have a lot of young women who look up to me in my family and i do not want them to live in a world where they cannot control what they do with their bodies. >> is that really the biggest issue for you or the only issue? >> there are other issues. for me, that is the biggest issue. the bigger issue is the other candidate. i think donald trump is disrespectful to o country. he does not respect our democracy. sumi: interesting to hear that perspective. we heard the vote are talking about the other candidate, donald trump. he is doing his splits of
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battleground states, as well, holding rallies in nevada and arizona. tell us more about his strategy. >> we are a little more than a week away from voting day and it is clear that battleground states are key for both candidates, which is why we are here in georgia and why former president trump is in arizona and nevada. presenting donald trump as a viable candidate. when it comes to arizona, much tougher on immigration. sumi: it does look at this point in the race that both candidates will try to appeal to some of those key voting blocs. in georgia, you have been reporting black voters will be important for the harris campaign going forward. >> absolutely.
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if you look at the lineup, you have bruce springsteen but you also have spike lee and samuel l. jackson alongside barack obama. pulling out some big names to try to encourage more african-american voters to vote for kamala harris. this is a state that has had early voting. we have seen more than 2 million voters have cast a ballot, which is what the campaigns wanted to see, people voting early. gain an advantage going into voting day. across the country, these battleground states will be the deciding factors in who will end up occupying the white house. sumi: certainly the case. looking at donald trump and his campaign, it has been said they are feeling increasingly confident even though the polls
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have not budged. tell us about what we will see from them over the next week and a half and until the election. >> i think both candidates will be making their particular pushes not only to their base but to those undecided voters, or those voters who have not decided which way they will vote. those voters will be key, which is why you will see so many candidates and surrogates and vice presidential candidates crisscrossing battleground states. for both candidates, they are trying to get as much star power to campaign with them to generate that excitement. you can hold these big campaign events, you can get thousands of people to come out and cheer but the real challenges, harness the energy and getting them to cast their ballot and that is really
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the message you will see from both candidates. just getting out to vote. sumi: are there a lot of young people there? we know the youth vote is extremely important. >> absolutely. i have spoken to two people who this will be their first time voting. for them it is about the issues. most importantly is paying for higher education. sumi: thank you so much for your reporting tonight. that is our program at this hour. thank you so much for watching "world news america." we have the latest on the election on her website, bbc news.com. announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. announcer: funding was also provided by,
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the freeman foundation. 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.
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♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the newshour tonight. kamala harris and donald trump continue their push in critical swing states as election day draws closer. geoff: boeing workers overwhelmingly reject the company's offer to end the strike, compliti

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