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tv   BBC News America  PBS  January 17, 2025 2:30pm-3:00pm PST

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... nicole: at bdo i feel like a true individual,
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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 "world news america." the israeli cabinet means to ratify the agreement with hamas as daily airstrikes continue in gaza. the u.s. supreme court upholds a law banning tiktok. president trump moves his inauguration ceremony indoors because of freezing temperatures forecast for monday.
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♪ sumi: a very warm welcome to world news america. israel appears to be on the brink of ratifying the country's cease-fire agreement with hamas. the country's full cabinet is meeting into the night, unusual on a friday evening when religious jews begin their sabbath. the cabinet signed off on the agreement. the government has published 95 palestinian women and children it plans to release if the deal comes to form. hamas would return 30 three israeli hostages over six weeks. as the footage shows from egypt trucks are lining up to bring aid into gaza. israel will allow 600 trucks in every day, a 12 fold increase on the current flow of supplies. the deal is proving controversial in israel. people voiced their opposition.
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inside there are differences between benjamin netanyahu and his coalition partners but he is under huge pressure in israel to bring remaining hostages home and he is pushing on with the agreement. officials say more than 100 palestinians have been killed by israeli strikes since the draft agreement was first announced on wednesday. let's talk about this with the special envoy for negotiations in the u.s. always good to see you. a senior egyptian official told the bbc a meeting has been held in cairo to talk about the mechanisms for implement and the cease-fire in gaza. can you tell us what that looks like? frank: the biden administration has been right to focus on that very closely over the last few weeks. the challenges that israel and hamas -- any time that is a risk.
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the 2014 deal with hamas and israel for a temporary cease-fire fell apart within hours. it is important there are monitors on the ground and there is a dispute resolution mechanism inside of egypt that can resolve any problems before they cratered the deal. it is still a tenuous cease-fire and a lot of work needs to be done. sumi: as you said there will be a command center of sorts in egypt where you have the different parties watching what is happening. what does that process look like and what happens if there is a violation or something falls apart? frank: what there will be is a process where folks can make complaints if if you like the other side is not complying with the terms of the deal and there will be a process in egypt to determine if the allegations are accurate and what steps are needed to correct it. the challenge will be, israel views hamas as violating, will
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anyone be able to hold israel's fee to the fire. will anyone say they are not sending enough trucks or the bombing raid is a violation? that is yet to be seen especially given the trump administration will largely be responsible for enforcing it. sumi: what was learned from the 2014 experience that can be applied here? frank: you should never take for granted that even what was agreed upon will be implemented. it is a chaotic situation on the ground. in 2014 i'm not sure either side intended to violate, it was a fog of war situation. you could see something like that happening here. sumi: if you look at the terms of the first phase of the agreement it is very much a hostage swap and release of prisoners. how does the end of war look?
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frank: that is the right question. all the israelis have agreed to is a six-week cease-fire for a return of 1/3 the hostages and a partial withdrawal of the idf. there is a question on whether there is an agreement on ending the war? hamas has been holding out in hopes they could be forced to end the war. it is clear he intends to resume the war. 's foreign minister has been clear about that. . the trump administration has said they will support israel if they go back in and two members of the coalition have said they will resign and bring down the government of the war is not resumed. i would be very surprised if he was willing to follow through on phase 2 of the deal. sumi: what about hamas' position? do they have an interest in the continuation of fighting if there is not to be a second phase? frank: they would very much like
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to use this as an opportunity to truly end the war. i think that is what they feel they are signing on for. the challenge will be would we get to the end of phase 1. what kind of arrangements can be made to get the rest of the hostages released and reach an agreement to end the war? there would be a lot of political decisions that need to be made inside israel. there would also need to be an agreement on postwar governance inside gaza. comfort that there would be an international force coming in. i do not think it will go back to chaos. a lot of work to be done. sumi: who would lead the international force? what does that part of the negotiation look like? frank: as of right now, they have said they would -- the egyptians have said they would provide troops. the real question is who will be in charge on the ground? hamas has agreed there could be a technocratic government, that
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both sides would respect an answer to the pa. this release have clear they do not want the pa to have any role. if that is not resolved there is no clear path to postwar governance or this international force that would be essential if the idf will make a full withdrawal. sumi: very significant is to look at the plight of the more than 2 million people in gaza. if this is a six-week cease-fire and you see aid rushed in and then finding resumes, what does that mean for the civilians? frank: it will be essential that during this six-week period if nothing else a sustainable mechanism for supplying humanitarian assistance will be agreed upon. there are big challenges. israel has disbanded cooperation -- the delivery of this kind of assistance. you have to put the onus on the israelis to stay if you will not work with them, what is your plan for getting food and
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medicine to the people who so desperately need it? as of now they refuse to answer the question. sumi: frank, always great to get your analysis. thank you so much. for the first time in 40 years the presidential inauguration in washington will take place indoors. donald trump said the cold weather predicted for monday would be dangerous for the crowd and he did not want to see people injured. the ceremony will be held inside the rotunda in the center of the u.s. capitol. the change means fewer people will be able to attend the inauguration but thousands will be able to watch the ceremony at a nearby arena. we will have full coverage of donald trump's inauguration on bbc news. we have a special program in washington starting at 7:00 u.s. eastern time. let's take a quick look at other news. argentina reported a fiscal surplus for the first time in 16
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years after comprehensive budget cuts were implemented by the president who took office just more than a year ago and promised to tackle hyperinflation by reducing government spending. the economy minister announced a surplus of $10 million in 2024, which amounts to more than 1% of gdp. donald trump spoke on the phone with china's president, xi, just days before his inauguration. mr. trump said they discussed trade and tiktok among other subjects, thing he expected them to solve many problems together. the incoming u.s. president threatened to impose up to 60% tariff raising the prospect of a trade war between the world's two's largest economies. spacex rockets have been grounded after one exploded in a test run thursday. the blast forest dozens of aircraft to divert.
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the company owned by elon musk said initial data suggested a fire developed in a section of the rocket. in the lead up to the u.s. election donald trump said he would end the war in ukraine after a day. his envoy to ukraine has revised the figure to 100 days. russia's invasion began in february 2022, with troops taking territory since. ukrainian forces that pushed back but moscow controls 18% of the country. amid speculation among possible p talks -- possible p stocks, we report. >> waging war on ukraine's eastern front. a drilling unit assembles improvised bombs by hand. some parts 3d printed. we get a close-up view. they work by torchlight to avoid
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detection by the russians just a few miles away. then, the drone is launched toward the enemy. it is called a vampire, bringing death by night. here, the commander from the 68th brigade. he dropped an antitank mine on an underground russian position at the edge of the city. we see it explode, just wide of the target. he is not expecting much from president trump. even less from president putin. do you think there is any way to do a deal with putin? >> maybe. maybe not. but he seems like a completely unstable person, and that is putting it very gently. >> for now he is focused on
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trying to hold back the russian advance. after three years of war, some ukrainian soldiers have put down their weapons. like this person who is now on trial. as many as 100,000 ukrainian soldiers are accused of leaving the battle. what message do you want to send about the war? >> we must continue to fight. . we have no other choice. but soldiers are not slaves. everyone who has spent three years or more on the front line deserves the right to rest. >> it is a real sign of the times now. you do not see men down the road waiting to enlist, as we saw in the early days of the war.
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you see ukrainians accused of desertion. ♪ and you also see funerals of those who died for ukraine. and the agony of those left behind. anastasia is pregnant with her first baby. a girl. her husband was killed in at in the east. he fought so ukraine would survive for their unborn child, she says. she does not believe in peace deals. >> this war will last as long as russia does, she says. i truly fear our children will inherit it from us and will have to fight. the suffering and the sacrifice continue here.
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what is missing is the talk of victory. bbc news, eastern ukraine. sumi: that comes as russia and ukraine each exchanged 25 prisoners of war. the latest swap brokered with the help of uae. volodymyr zelenskyy confirm the swap saying those who were returned were members of the military and civilians. they have serious injuries and illnesses and will receive all the necessary medical care. thousands of captives have returned since russia's full-scale invasion of ukraine in 2022. prisoners of war who alleged war crimes by russia. russia denies the crimes and accuses ukraine of doing the same. the prisoners of war include people who spent more than two years in russian captivity and shared their experience with me. a warning -- this interview contains graphic images. i want to start with you because
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you spoke at a u.n. council meeting about being a prisoner of war in a russian prison. can you share about what you told the un security council? >> my purpose in the security council in the united nations was to share my own experience of being in russian captivity. my performance, my speech was dedicated to the fact that russia violated the geneva convention. about the facts that are prisoners of war suffered every day in russia and captivity. sufferer of hunger, cold, lack of medical care, and so on -- torture, of course. sumi: i know it is a difficult question. can you tell us a bit about what you experienced?
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>> they used electricity toward me. also beatings with batons and regular hits and kicks. also, they were trying to choke me with a plastic bag on my head. many other forms of breaking one's personality. also, hunger. very little amount of food. sumi: we know russia denies any of these allegations. what do we know about how many ukrainian prisoners of war there are and what conditions they are in? >> it is difficult to count properly prisoners of war because not all of them are documented. dozens and dozens of locations, both in russia proper and other
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areas, but we are talking about thousands of people. 7000 or less pows. we should not forget civilians in captivity. there are indications there are many more civilians being detained. both sentenced by the courts of occupying authorities and also those who were put under preventive arrests and are not actually accused of anything. basically the people just disappear and you do not know what happened to them until you find yourself in the same cell with them. sumi: ukrainian officials have said there is a preliminary agreement reached with russia at the start of the year for a regular swap. this week we saw 25 ukrainian prisoners, including civilians, who were swapped for russian
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prisoners. you are urging the community to do more. what would that look like? >> we would love to see the representatives of the united nations, the international committee of the red cross in russian president's. in order for them -- russian president's -- russian prisons. the conditions where prisoners have been kept. i do not know if you watched the speech of the russian representative in the u.n. security council but he said the total lie that the international community of the red cross has full access to the ukrainian pows. i have some pictures of my brother in arms -- in these
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pictures, they were taken just after their exchange. you can judge by yourself if these people were looked after justly. sumi: this is truly horrific. we know now that here in the u.s. amid the situation in ukraine there is a new president entering who said he would end the war on day 1. the messaging has changed. if there are negotiations that happen quickly, but would that mean for these prisoners? >> they should be released. ideally, a swap of everyone. or at least release the vast majority of those captives. pows and civilians in jails because that will show the negotiations might be taken seriously.
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otherwise, if russia refuses to do that, basically we will already know that these negotiations -- gather and mobilize resources. >> myself, facing the russian system from inside for two years, it is one thing to see it and practice. it really undermines and destroys humanitarian law. it is not just about ukraine. it is what remains of the international security system. the geneva convention were mentioned to us, pows, only once.
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the criminal case against me by russian instigators. i was sentenced to 13 years for allegedly breaching geneva convention. this was the only time they used it. they really turn international humanitarian law into a joke. sumi: sumi: we conducted that interview on thursday. a reminder that russia continues to deny any allegations of war crimes and indeed has accused ukraine instead of war crimes. the u.s. supreme court is backing a law banning the popular social media platforms tiktok, impacting 170 million american users. it was passed in response to fears of chinese control of the app. it was given -- bytedance was given an ultimatum. the appeal was rejected. the decision paves the way for a
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ban to take place sunday. the white house said president joe biden will not immediately force the ban, leaving up to the incoming administration. there are signs that trump might try to cancel the ban. in a statement on true social trump wrote the supreme court decision was expected and everyone must respect it. my decision on tiktok will be made in the not-too-distant future but i must have time to review the situation. the tiktok ceo thanked trump for working with bytedance to keep tiktok available in the u.s. he is also expected to attend trump's inauguration on monday. our correspondent is joining us. as of sunday, what does this mean for tiktok in the u.s.? >> this means here in the u.s., tiktok could go dark for its 170
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million users. this after the supreme court issued this order today. the supreme court had been asked to review this case on an expedited basis and that is exactly what they did, hearing oral arguments and then seven days later we get this decision. they decided the case on a unanimous basis. as you noted this was on national security concerns. all along since tiktok -- they have had two different options at its disposal. one must to sell to a u.s. buyer and the have repeatedly said they will not do that. that leaves the second option, this ban, now due to take effect absent some kind of political resolution. sumi: for users who have tiktok on their phone right now, what does it mean? can they still access the app? how does that look? >> they can access it through
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sunday. we were listening to tiktok's lawyer at the supreme court last week and he used the phrase that tiktok will go dark. what that seems to indicate is tiktok will pull the plug on the app. that was the kind of language we were hearing back then. i will say that today we are hearing a much more optimistic tone from the ceo of tiktok, who seems to indicate he is very confident there will be some sort of reprieve brought on by president elect donald trump, who takes office on monday -- the day after this law and therefore this ban is set to take effect, so we shall see. sumi: what are tiktokers saying themselves? they have been working hard to make sure the app does not go dark. >> 100 70 million people and many of them are actively engaged on the app. a lot of people, especially younger americans, get their
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news on tiktok. people entertain themselves on the app and promote small businesses and make money, make a living. there is a lot at stake for many of them. we have seen them taking to the app to express their sadness and expect there at -- express their outrage. some have switched to a different chinese app called rednote. we have seen a flood of people flocking to that as an alternative. i spoke to a tiktok creator today who said she is not telling her followers to move anywhere else to keep up with what she is doing. she is not telling them to go to instagram or other competitors, saying she is confident donald trump will deliver for her and the 170 million other users of tiktok. sumi: thank you so much. great to speak with you. that is our program at this hour. remember you can always find
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more on our website, bbc.com/news. we have coverage of the latest news on tiktok and the ongoing story of the israel-hamas a cease-fire. all the latest on bbc.com/news. i am sumi somaskanda in washington. thank you so much for watching and make sure to stay tuned to bbc news. ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... 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: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere.
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>> good evening, i'm geoff bennett. >> i am on none of oz. the details between israel and hamas after overcoming last-minute complications. >> the supreme court clears the way for tiktok to be banned in the u.s.. >> and how businesses are
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