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relationships. partnerships should withstand the test of time. what matters is that you are strong enough to support it. we build relationships that build the world. >> now, bbc world news america. >> this is bbc world news america reporting from washington. i am jane over brian. rian.b limited screenings of a film at the center of a dustup with north korea. obama applauds the move. part of the healing process. searching for the perfect if? -- gift? a diamond would be the hit this holiday.

♪ >> welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. sony pictures has announced that the interview will be given a limited release in the united states on christmas day. the decision was made one week after the company canceled showings after suffering a devastating cyber attack of the government blames on north korea. obama applauded the decision. jong-un?im >> totally. >> one of the most-watched film trailers. people will get a chance to see the movie following the change of heart. north korea took offense and the u.s. blames them for a massive cyber attack. there has been a reaction against studio self-censorship. did noter companies

feel safe showing it after they had threats online of attack. studios have been under pressure since then and have decided to have a limited the atricure release on christmas day. the chief executive continued, we are continuing to secure more theaters so that the movie reaches the largest possible audience. the alamo draft house is a small cinema chain that will show the film. >> it is an outpouring of people all over the u.s. and the world who want to support freedom of creativity and expression. and, support cinema. >> i think they made a mistake. i wish they had spoken to me first. >> obama joint the critics at last week. hehite house says that

applauds the decision and says that he believes in free speech and the rights of artistic expression all stop in hollywood, they said they would if requested.ity, most welcome of the about turn. >> because of everything that happened, i am going to go see at. >> anyway. i don't have any interest in seeing it. >> i-8 scared of no hackers. hackers.t scared of no , freedom has said prevailed. victory, they president and the people have spoken. a seasonalme thriller. cyber attacks, terror threats, and an international incident. bbc news, los angeles. >> for more on the release, i

spoke with the chief cyber security officer for trans micro. thank you for coming in. is there a fear that the release of the film could prompt further attacks? what's it is a double-edged sword. we have to understand that cyber attacks will be leveraged in a punitive fashion. of cyber attacks? what are we talking about? >> the theaters that release it and the media outlets that brace willtoryline of the movie be attacked with cyber attacks that will render men work -- networks useless. quest the president has said that it is not an act of war and it is clearly cipher -- cyber warfare. twice the risks are dramatic. i do not think the united states or the united kingdom has suffered such things since the

piracy movements of the 1600s and 1700s. so individual can leverage many cyber attacks and rival that of a country. >> is this a wake-up call? we are used to data breaches and credit card information getting out there. is is a wake-up call of the serious potential of the attacks? >> we have experienced burglaries, defacement's, and vandalism. we are dealing with home invasion and seeing rogue nationstates and non-state actors leveraging capabilities that can take down networks and destroyed critical infrastructure. -- destroyed critical infrastructure. >> you mentioned islam and state. who else should we be worried about? >> there are campaigns against

the energy sector in the u k and u.s. -- the u.k. and the u.s. there has been attacked capability sold in the eastern european underground for years and it has trickled down to the nonstate actor community and the rogue state community. you have people who can leverage technical phenomenon in cyberspace. >> the cyber security officer. brutal, andre harder to confront than he was the, that assessment of a german author who spent six days with the militants. him at aboute to the extraordinary risks he took and what he found. >> the great -- the gateway to mosul in the caliphate. is militants are

react -- relaxed and his young. xed and young. christians and shiite muslims fled in terror. women are virtually invisible. men are instructed on how to pray. it was extraordinarily risky to come here as of the only other westerners in the territory are hostages or dead. had negotiated for months with the german jihadi to get the paperwork. >> i had the impression that they wanted to show that the islamic state is working. lead to theat would

brutal -- i thought i would meet a brutal terrorist group and i met a brutal country. >> it is an active propaganda machine. populationains the how to treat slaves, women, how to pray, and so on. >> no one would dare criticize islamic state. they said what it was like living under the rule. >> it is more difficult. there are shortages of water and power. they banned students from sports and painting. they banned the use of colored pens. >> he encountered militants from around the world.

they travel in convoys to avoid airstrikes. caroline, bbc world news. levitt,ke with matthew the director of the program on counterterrorism and intelligence. thank you for joining me. the u.s. has had some success with forces on the ground. that report seems to imply that the islamic state's ambition and ideology is unchecked. what you make of that? >> it prevents i asked from expanding. -- i.s. from expanding. it has not tempered the radical ideology or the state they are trying to create. they are trying to put tray that they are a state and how they govern.

they are not concerned that we may not like the fact that they have roles for governing slaves or women. they see flyers and brochures organized. in other words, it it is a caliphate. information set of showing them beheading. the followers worsen pathetic to them are looking at in entirely different universe that shows them actually functioning as a state. >> you look at the horrific accounts of institutionalized slavery, sexual assault, child abuse, and what remains the attraction from people in western countries coming into that environment? you see how much people are living under fear. are notiving in mosul

fanboys. for the people abroad, they are not attracted to the barbarity. they are attracted to the islamic state where you can go and live out sharia law. a great number of the people who are going to fight our unstable. there are plenty who know what they are doing. more than any other conflict that we have seen before, the number of people who have issues that make them amenable to this is larger. the number is larger than all of the foreign fighter phenomenon that we have seen is larger. >> what about funding? has enough been done to cut off the revenue? >> as a treasury official who

worked on these issues, we have never done a enough. we have done a lot. the biggest source of funding, so far, has been oil stop the fall in the price of oil has hurt them. airstrikes on refineries push them back and has cut back the ability to raise funds from oil by two thirds, which is fantastic. it means they are no longer dayng 3.1 million dollars a and is less because of the -- a day. it is less because of the price of oil. even when they were the islamic state in a rack or al qaeda in iraq -- islamic state in or al qaeda interact, it was something we could not deal with

beyond airstrikes to push them back from territories they control. >> one of the many problems we still face. >> you are watching bbc world news america, pink diamonds are coveted further color. we join the quest to solve the scientific puzzle. france is stepping up security and public areas after three vinyl at tax. -- violent attacks. bbc. reports >> -- the bbc reports. >> the christmas holidays will be under surveillance with extra troops to patrol a long shoppers. talk -- tighter security on top of buildings. it was the third attack that tipped the balance. at the christmas market, there no evidence of a link.

the danger is a copycat effect. chaired aminister special cabinet meeting with security chiefs, trying to hit the right note. not fear mongering. not playing it down, either. >> it does not seem to have made that much of a difference here. the crowds have a heightened sense of fear. it is not preventing them from coming out and enjoying the christmas spirit. the man said he had no faith in the government to counter the terrorist threat. here is no protection against danger and, in the market, we are in danger. if something is going to happen, it is going to happen, said this man. it can just be isolated acts by

people who aren't arranged. we should not think too far into fear. the terrorism threat appears to have been closer these last few days. christmas will not be knocked off of course. bbc news. a a fifth year draws to close. most of the troops will have returned home. a difficult struggle is ahead. could returning to the front lines help the healing process? a company helps a group of veterans to find out. >> the longest war is almost over. for the combat veterans, it is time for a final mission. physical and mental

scars, they are in uniform and heading to the front lines once again. -- one last time. byy are welcomed as heroes those who share the bond of service and sacrifice. they have come to afghanistan to help the recovery and to share their stories with others. behind the smiles and applause, a darker story of life on the home front. 22 veterans are committing suicide every day. iraq withhn served in the marines and received oral and stew his arms and body. his biggest problem started after he left the military. >> flashback started happening. bodiesed seeing images, -- just horrible pictures and my mind. -- in my mind.

other peoplet on -- i would see faces of marines on other people walking by. i was angry about losing the marines and at some of my former commanders. for 13 years, american troops have been going into battle. veterans of the wars suffer from and drug and out call abuse. many families have been pushed to the breaking point. the staff sergeant lost his leg in iraq. it is not the physical pain that hurts the most. >> it caused a divorce. that i do not get to see hardly ever now. -- looking back, had i

gotten the help that i had needed faster, things might have turned out differently. >> what does it mean for you to be back here. -- here? >> i did not just lose my leg in 2007. self-esteem, worth.e, self- i'm hoping to come back and get some of these things back. and, walk out of here, instead of being carried out. maybe i can heal a little more and feel like a man again. >> you can never have too many pictures. >> he was wounded in falluja. insurgents are back in control there. obama tried to end the war and a rack. -- in ir raq.

for many, the mission is not accomplished. suddenly, the troops are told to take cover. the taliban are attacking. >> all traffic, moved out of the routes. the route.t of >> reluctantly, they move. >> we have received word that casualties are coming in. as u.s. combat troops are pulling out of afghanistan, the dangers are very real. >> taliban rockets had hit the base. injured, some seriously.

for the veterans, it is a reminder of what it is like to be back of the front line. >> it was handed over to isis. know, and makes me wonder what we are doing? makes me wonder what we are doing? what are the people were making these decisions thinking? earn the highest respect in the american public and often have to deal with injuries on their own. casey was wounded in afghanistan. >> would you do the same? >> i would. absolutely. everything happens for a reason and everything -- nothing comes easy. i am better because of this.

>> back on the front lines, the veterans head home. ,t is a struggle that eases rather than ends. obama promised to finish the wars. it has proved harder than anyone on madge and. -- imagined. scarsgacy has left deep that may heal over, but will always be there. >> the long road to recovery for u.s. veterans. if you have not finished your holiday shopping and are still struggling for the ideas are that special someone, how about a pink diamond. there were the rarest jewels fetching prices at auctions. they were a bit of mystery is no one knows why they are paying. .- pink

they are hoping to get a clue. i went to meet them. >> one of the most to chair rooms in the nation contains gems and minerals. among the treasures, pink diamonds. the diamonds come from an argyle mine in western australia and the scientists hope they will solve the mystery is why pink diamonds are pink. you whyentist can tell a yellow diamond is yellow and white a blue diamond is blue. why a pinkll you -- isd this thing that pink. slacker strength the color may be caused by molecular changes,

-- scientists think the color may be caused by molecular changes. >> these are argyle diamonds. they are using it to look for trace impurities. agitates thee diamonds and captures adams released. it happens to make sure there are no contamination from particles in the air. >> whether it is a metal or nonmetal that it is contributing -- that is contributing. >> the trouble is that scientists have not found any impurities and that adds to the mystery of pink diamonds. >> this is on loan. >> scientist would rather know where it comes from.

>> in scientific terms, these are more important o. >> ironically, that is true. we know where these came from. stone, we have no idea where the origins are. i need to know where they came from. scientifically, they are valuable. very much less so. >> i want to hold it. >> scientists are pretty certain that the pink is a molecular defect. for many, diamonds will never be anything less than perfect. >> that diamond is still in the vault, believe me. that brings the show to a close. you can find much more on the website and you will continue to

get the best summaries of the news from our colleagues in london. ryan.jane o'b thank you for watching and happy holidays. >> make sense of international ews. at bbc.com/n >> funding of the presentation was made possible by the freeman foundation. the newman's own foundation. the kovler foundation. and, mufg. >> the oldest trees they are the sweetest fruit.

believe in nurturing banking relationships for centuries. strong financial partnerships are best cultivated for the years to calm. --- come. we build relationships that build the world. >>

oh, my god. brian feiler: it's the most contentious land on earth, drawing believers from around the world. jews, christians and muslims visiting sites of faith and conflict. despite all the rivalries and entanglements, in the end, everybody is worshipping the same god. but for the pilgrims i meet in this holy land, the questions are more personal. how do you thank god? man: we're looking for a faith experience, a spiritual experience. feiler: can a journey to the roots of their faith save them in a time of crisis? man: i lost hope. the only thing that i had left was knowing that god was with me. (gong rings) feiler: today, organized religion is more threatened than ever, yet pilgrimage is more popular than ever. i'm bruce feiler.