here's nick schifrin. ( praying ) >> schrin: every war must end.the afghan war ends soon, the beginning of the end will be this conference room. on one side, afghanistan'smo atically-elected government; on the other, leaders of the violent insurgency the taliban. both expressed hope. >> ( translated ): negotiations ve problems, but we hope that the discussions should mov forwth patience. >> ( translated ): my delegation and i have come to doha to figure out a process to close the gates of war and pain forever. >> schifrin: last weekend's relatively warm words were a good sign for two sides who've been fighting to determine afghanistan's cature for two s. >> the fundamental question on the table for negotiis, what is the afghan state going to look like? s schifrin: laurel miller the international crisis group's senior director for asia. she says beforthat core question can be swered, the two sides have to negotiate how they'll negotiate. >> what the rules of procedure, so to speak, will be for the process. the next step will be to agree on what the

here's nick schifrin. >> schifrin: valdya baraputri's career at voice of america ended with a one-way ticket. ( crying ) she didn't want to leave the u.s., but she and fellow v.o.a. indonesia service journalist rafki hidayat had to take a plane home after v.o.a. wouldn't extend their visas. >> being thrown out of a country in the middle of a pandemic feels very cruel. >> if you heard what's coming out of the voice of america, it's disgusting. >> schifrin: president trump has made it clear he's unhappy with what he calls voice of ameca bias, as has the new c.e.o. of v.o.a.'s parent company, the united states agency for global media, or u.s.a.g.m., michael pack. >> ronald reagan apparently said that, you know, if you let go of the wheel of the car, it veers left. and there's something to that. the media, undirected, goes left. it has a leftwing, leftward bias. >> schifrin: in audio interviews, pack also cites national security. he says the foreign journalists on u.s. visas weren't properly vetted, leaving the organization vulnerable to espionage. >> journalism-- to be a journalist is a

and, as nick schifrin tells us, in this 75th year ti the united s, unity is in short supply. >> schifrinday, the largest diplomatic stage in the rld was largely empty. and, calls for multi-lateralism were mutedy bilateral tensions. >> we must hold accountable the nation which unleashed this plague onto the world: china. >> schifrin: presidemp called covid-19, which first emerged in wuhan, the "china vis," and he accused the u.n.'s world healthga zation, which the u.s. is leaving, of aiding and abettingi >> these government, and the world heth organization--al lyich is vir controlled by china-- false declared that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. the united nations must hold china accountable for their action >> schifrin: each country was allowed one representative, and china's u.n. ambassador zhang jun respondeat >> ( tran ): china resolutely rejects the baseless accusation against c >> schifrin: in a prerecorded speech, chinese prident xi jinping obliquely criticized from literature-- thea refence daydreaming knight don quixote who attacks imaginary enemies. >> ( tr

nick schifrin reports. >> schifrin: in life, reham yaqob led a clarion cry of iraqi protest.he opened a women-only gym and advocated female empowerment. and she campaigned against iranian-backed militias. (chanting) in death, she was a symbol of those militias' rength, and of government weakness. >> ( translated ): we are still in shock.pe we didn't this. it is really a state of horror. >> schifrin: her murder last month helped spark protests in r hometown, basra. demonstrators torched the local parliament, furious the government couldn't keep tm safe. (gunfire) iraqi security forces responded with le gunfire. in the last ten months, they've killed more than 500 protestorss those protesondemn not only insecurity, but also an economic calamity-- a lack of jobs, basic services, and smotring government corruption. >> ( translated ): each government comes, gives us he, and says it will honor our rights. but until now, even, our demands are still not being met. we don't have anything. >> schifrin: in basra, prime minister mustafa al-kadhimi fired the police and intelligence cefs,

here's nick schifrin withs americp diplomat in china, as he prepares to leave his post. >> schifrin: one of the trump administration's signatu calls "confronting china" over trade technology in the south china sea and in hong kong. and from the beginning, thest admition's man in beijing has been terry branstad. he's the former six-term republican governor of iowa. he campaigned for candidate trump in 2016 d was one of the esident's first ambassador choices. he's now stepping down to return an the u.s. and, ambassador ad now joins me from beijing. ambassador, welcome to the newshour. t when presidemp chose you to become ambassador, beijing flled you an "old friend" the chinese people. as the nationalist tabloid "global times" says, as you leave, you are, "having had an barrassing tenure." what do you think changed? >> well, first of all, obviously, that's communist propaganda. i've represented the united states of america, and some of the leaders here have not been happy with our policies. but i'm proud of therogress we've made. we've achieved the phase one trade agreement get us more

. >> schifrin: israel, bahrain, and the united arab emirates have never fought a war. but they all hoped today sparks peace. >> after decades of division and conflict, we mark the dawn of a new middle east. >> this peace will eventually expand to include other states,i and tely it can end the arab-israeli conflict for all. >> ( translated ): we are already witnessing a change in the heart of the middle east, a change that will send hope around the world. >> schifrin: what's in the deal: ambassadors.s, exchange direct flights. economic investment, tourism. trade, health care interests in deals that extend from tel aviv, to u.a.e.'s business capital dubai. >> the great economibenefits of our partnership will be felt throughout our region, and will >> schifrin: shia iran threatens the countries also share fears: of political islam, and iran. >> schifrin: shia iran threatens israel and sunni countries with the region's largest missile inhantory, and proxies that expanded their influence. analysts also say today is about shared doubts, abo the u.s. commitment. israel is now

here is nick schifrin. ♪ >> every war must end.ghan war and soon, the beginning of the end will be in this conference room. on one side, the democratically elected government. on the other, leaders of the violent insurgency of the taliban. both expressed hope. >> negotiation's may have problems, but we hope the discussions should move forward with patience. >> last weekend's relatively warm words were a good sign for two sites that were fighting to determine the future for two decades. >> the question of the table for negotiation is what is the afghan state owing to look like? >> laurel miller is the international crisis group's negotiator for asia. she says the two sides have to negotiate. >> the next step will be to agree on what the agenda will be. >> the afghan government once the agenda to begin with a cease fire. the government says that 1200 people have been killed and 15,000 wounded in just the last six months. >> an immediate cease-fire silencing the guns is what people want. >> nader is a senior advisor to the afghan pres

nick schifrin speaks to the u.s.l who's leading the effort. >> schifrin: judy, as the government and taliban have negotiated in doha, the violence between them in afghanistan is getting worse. in just the last few days, government forces killed dozensb of tal militants in the east, while the taliban killed dozens of police officers in the south. and last weekend, afghan forces conducted air strikes in a province in the north that is partially taliban-controlled, killing taliban militants, but vialso causing reports of an deaths. it was seven months ago that special envoy for afghan reconciliation zalmay khalilzad signed an agreement with the taliban. after a bit of a delay, that led to the negotiations in doha ttoday, designed to end as violence. and ambassador khalilzad joins me now. it's good to hthe you back on "newshour". you've said that you expect violence in afghanistan to decrease, but just to be clear, the february 29th agreement that you signed was not commitment the taliban to stop attacking the afghan t.o

nick schifrin explores the role.t we know about russia's >> schifrin: judy, the internet research agency a troll farm-- a sock puppet army of fake online accounts and automated bots, spreadingnc syonized talking points. today, facebook and theen indepecyber-security firm graphika say members of that ilency created a new site, peacedata, which itself as a "global news organization." its stories are designed tde criticize bifrom the left to steer possible voters away from his campaign. was also hospitle to trump. intelligence officialsay the russian goal rains the same: spread disinformation, sow division. but the difference this time? they're trying to hire americans, an attempt to launder the russian origins of the disinformation. and we are joined by the primary author of that graphika report, ben nimmo, the firm's direor of investigations. welcome back to the newshour, laundering the source of disinformatiav is a forite tool of russia, how did it work in this case. >> this thisase what you have is an operation that was built around a website called peacedata which published in english

is spreading fast in government-controlled damascus, and in the rebel-hd northwest, where as nick schifrinreports, it's targeting the most vulnerable. >> reporter: just miles from tho turkiser, there is no refuge from the wind and the heat, and no refuge from cov. rasha em hussain gathers cloth from her neighbors to sew masks. she started with her own kids, and then realized the need was much greater. >> ( translated ): i'm worried about the children in the camp. i'm gointo hopefully me masks for everyone. this ia humanitarian service i can provide. >> reporter: she fits masks on children whose country has been at war longer than they've been alive. northwest syria has over 130 coronavirus cases, including at an internal displaced persons camp where social distancing is systems prevents phanditation washing. children are especially vulnerable because many already suffer from a parasiead by sand flies. and after russia and china restricted humanitard to a single border crossing, some syrians haven't received any lp in four months. mohannad ismail has three children who have learning disabil

for the pbs "newshour," i'm nick schifrin. judy: as we have beenme ntioning, the u.s. passed yet another tragic marker in the pandemic. more than 200,000 people in this co9try have died from covid and related complications. that and a period of less than eight months is nearly twice as many americans who've been killed in ery major conflict since the korean war combined. our understanding of how the coronavirus spreading continues to evolve. we want to take this moment to clarify much of the latest scientific thinking. first a report from stephanie tisy, followed by a conver with william brangham. stephanie: the coravirus can remain infectious on plastic and steel services for . to three da >> it has many people rried about shopping and other everyday tasks. >> you have to be putting disinfectant on groceries. stephanie: this was the sound of fear early in the pandemic after studies showed the novel surfaces for hours, even days and led to a furious wave of scrubbing, disincting, and sold-out cleaning supplies across the country. >> the problem with the experiences the

for more on that, i'm joined by our own lisa desjardins and nick schifrin. >> woodruff: so hello to loth of you. lisa, first of atell us a little mo about what is happening and why th s matters? eaking to many sources today, both parties are very concerned about threats to election security ts ar com fr foreign adversaries. s have learned tere wa scheduled a briefing for thhouse intelligence committee in mid-september, but friday, john radcliffe, the director of national, intelligennt a letter to both chambers of congress, saying that l briefings in person would be canceled. this led to a confusing backnd forth for the next 24hours about what exacy he meant, and now sources are telling me the understanding, coming largy from republicans, now republican senators will be briefed but not house deatmo so just to review, here is what we're talking about: as a co-eal branch of government, these are the two committees that usually are fully befed, house intelligence, led by democrat adam schiff, andte sentelligence, led by marco rubio. the change, judy, as we understand it right n, only the sen

-backed prime minister is struggling to solve.ni schifrin reports.fe, reham yaqob led a clarion cry ofraqi protest.om she opened a w-only gym and advocated fele empowerment. and she campaigned a iranian-backed militias. in the death, she was a symbol of those militias' strength, and of government weakness. >> we are still in shock' we 't expect this. it is really a state of horror. nick:st her murder laonth helped spark protests in her hometown basra. demonstrators torcd the local parliamentfurious the government couldn't keep them safe. iraqi security forces responded with live gunfire. in 10 months, they've killed more than 500 protestors. those protests condemn not only insecurity, but also an economic calamity, a lackf jobs, basic services, and smothering c governmeruption. >> each government comes, gives us hope, and says it will ho our rights. but until now even, our demands are still not being met. we don't have anything. nick: in basra, prime minister mustafa al-kadhimi fired t nd intelligence chiefs, and ordered an investigation. >> this is

for the pbs newshour, i'm nick schifrin. ♪ judy: with exactly 50 days until election day, the presidentaigns are offering -- presidential campaigns are offering two very different messag about covid-19 and the wildfires. our monday politics team is here to unpack it all. so, hello to both of you. these wildfires so tragic to watch. they have exposed e differences in views between president trump and joe biden, on climate change the president 'tying today science doesn know.joe biden calling the prest a climate arsonist. what is driving these very different messages? >> well, these messages really reflect the country, as well.r fact, when you look at where americans are on the issue of climate chang a the impact climate change is having, both for personal reasons and also its impact on the economy, and what we saw this this was recent pupil that about half of democrats say changes to take care of climate change are going to help the economy. half of republicans said it would hurt the economy. at is kind of where you see the president and where you see joe biden. joe biden saying if wse f

amna nawaz, nick schifrin, thank you. ♪ judy: the political fallout from the president's comments tob woodward about the coronavis remains to be seen. but there are also questions about what more could or shauld been done when president trump realized the coronavirus was much more serious than he publicly acknowledged. the president says he was trying to avoid creating a panic. william brangham explores some of those questions now. t willia washington post yesterday revealed that, for his new book, bob woodward interviewed president trump numerous times per it on this is said to woodward about the novel coronavirus -- pres. trump: you just breathe the air, that is how it is past. that is a tricky one, a delicate one. it is also more deadly than even your strenuous flus, more deadly. this is 5% versus 1% and less than 1%. this is deadly stuff. william: but at that time in public the president wri deng the gravity of the situation differently. three days later the president said thi-- pres. trum lks by april, in theory, when it gets warmer, am miraculously goes away, i hope it is true.

thank you.az, nick schifrin. >> woodruff: the political fallout from the president'swo comments to boward about the coronarus remains to be seen. but there are also qns about what more could or should tve been done when presid trump realized the coronavirus was much more serious an he publicly acknowledged. the president ys he was trying to avoid creating a panic at the time. william brangham explores some of those questions now. >> reporter: "the washington post" yesterday revealed that, for his new bo, bob woodward interviewed president trump multiple times. on february 7, this is what president trump said to woodward about the novel coronavirus: >> you just breathe the air and that's how it's passed. and so that's a very tricky ones th very delicate one. it's also more deadly than even your strenuous flus. this is more deadly, this is 5%, versus 1%, this is deadly stuff. >> reporter: but at that time-- in public-- the president was describing the gravity of the situation differently.ys three ater, the president said this: >> looks like by april, you know, in theory,hen it gets a little

for the "pbs newshour," i'm nick schifrin.udy: and now to jared kushner, senior adviser to president trump. he played a key role in negotiating this deal. and he joins us from the white house. thank you for joining us. let me ask you about the deal it's always good to ask -- sign a peace agreement, but this is between countries that already had trade relations and diplomatic relations with another. what exactly will be your friend? first of all, it's great to be with you, but they did not have trade relations or diplomatic relions. two weeks ago, the arab emirates waived a boycott provision that was ongoing for 48 years of israel and saudi arabia opened airspace to allow the first commercial flight from israel to the emirates. i was on that flight. people who understand the history know the significance of the arab-israeli conflict and the boundary that was just broken with these peace deals. israel in its 72 years has had two peace deals and then in the last 29 days, it has had two more thanks to president tmp's untraditional