nick schifrin has this look back at his life and career. >> schifrin: as statesman-- >> we will defendrests from a position of strength. >> schifrin: and soldier-- >> our strategy to go after this army is very, very simple. first we'll cut it off. then we'll kill it. >> schifrin: colin powell, first generation american, became one of the country's most popular public figures, and an american success story. >> we have moved from denying a black man service at a lunch counter to elevating one to the highest military office in the nation and to being a serious contender for the presidency. this is a gnificent country, and i am proud to be one of its sons. >> schifrin: he was the son of jamaican immigrants and grew up in hunt's point, a diverse neighborhood in the bronx. his 35-year army career began in the reserve officers training corps program, or r.o.t.c., at the city college university of in new york. he became a platoon leader in cold war germany, then served twice in vietnam. he rose quickly, to become the country's only fourth black four star general. and by the end of the reagan a

this work doesn't provide very much, but it helped me survive. >> schifrin: one week after he >> schifrinrs have no choice but to get their hands dirty-- and car mechanics in idlib's industrial zone, like abu mahmoud hamwi, can't afford masks. >> ( translated ): the health offices keep bothering us about masks, but i work here and have grease and oil on my hands all day. i would need ten masks a day. ten masks, 5 liras per masks. that's 50 liras. that feeds a whole family. >> schifrin: families continue to struggle. but, after years of distance, regional governments are gradually re-engaging with syrian president bashar al assad, despite a human rights watch report released today saying syrian refugees returning to the country face “grave human rights abuses and persecution in a country decimated by conflict and widespread destruction.” but now, the volunteers, known as white helmets, who used to spend their days trying to save victims of bombings, are more often handling the victims of covid. and their ambulances, that once went to hospitals, now go straight to cemeteries. for years, idl

nick schifrin has one of their stories. >> schifrin: on the morning of august 15, when the afghan governmenttill led the country, muqaddesa yourish was where she always was on sunday, a work day-- in her office, as the commissioner of afghanistan's civil service. >> i was in office when my mom called me and she wanted me to be home. i told her, listen, i have to be in office because i have to wrap up a couple of things, so i might be home around 6:00. and then she told me, it's over. >> schifrin: for 20 years, yourish had worked to create a modern, inclusive afghanistan. she'd been a public servant, a former deputy minister of commerce, an n.g.o. leader, a voice of her generation. but that day, it all unraveled. the taliban seized the presidential palace, the city, and the country. muqaddesa and her family moved from house to house to avoid taliban fighters now on patrol. did you feel like your life was in danger if certain members of the taliban found you? >> once they took over, reports started coming in, from, trying to identify former government officials. we left our entire house becaus

nick schifrin has our report. >> schifrin: he was once one of the world's most dangerous men, shunnedown government. but this weekend, he was hailed a hero. on sunday, pakistan hosted a state funeral for dr. abdul qadeer khan, known as a.q. khan, who helped create pakistan's nuclear weapons program and the muslim world's first nuclear bomb. >> today a great man died. he was a great scientist. he served this country, he served this country with emotion, dignity, respect and with hard work. >> schifrin: in the 1970s, a.q khan was a metallurgist working for european companies that designed centrifuges, equipment that c create nuclear fuel. by then, pakistan had lost a portion of its territory when bangladesh became independent. by 1974, india tested its first nuclear device. khan started stealing centrifuge designs for the pakistani military. by 1998, they were ready. he and pakistan's leaders tested their first nuclear weapon. for pakistan, he had helped assure the country's survival. just days before, india had tested its own nuclear devices. >> a.q. khan was acting as a patriot as he

and, as nick schifrin reports, as fighting continues, the very real specter of famine looms. >> schifriny, children are dying. >> when you see malnourished ildren, you will see a very distended abdomen and you will see some swelling also in the extremity. >> schifrin: until a few months ago, dr. hayelom kebede was the acting director of ayder university hospital in mekelle, the capital of tigray. he shared photos that were taken last month. >> the one in the ventilator is unable to breathe properly, because he is getting weak and weak. you see a very pronounced head. the other kid is, if he cannot get a continuing supplement, of then the kids who will die. >> reporter: kids are dying already. in the last three weeks, tigray tv-- which is run by the tigrayan government-- broadcast these videos from outside mekele. the children are in rural tigray, where conditions are even worse. the u.n. says 400,000 are facing famine. the crisis began late last year, when tigrayan forces who used to run the country attacked a federal outpost. federal forces and their allies from neighboring eritrea, and

nick schifrin has more. >> schifrin: we're in the midst of an energy crunch perhaps unlike we've ever seen. in the u.s., the price of natural gas has more than doubled. in europe, it's increased more than four-fold. the price of crude oil has gone from an all time low of, minus $37.63 in april last year to over $80 a barrel today, the highest it's been since 2014. and the pain is universal, from the consumer in france to the factory owner in china, which for its own reasons, launched unprecedented power cuts. >> ( translated ): if you go to the poorer areas where there is suffering, no one puts on the heating because everyone knows they won't be able to pay for it. >> ( translated ): the power curbs lasted for four days. to be honest, we can afford it, but if it goes on longer the costs are too much and we won't survive. >> schifrin: today in moscow, the energy ministers responsible for more than one third of the world's energy spoke on one panel at russia's annual "energy week" conference. it was moderated by special correspondent ryan chilcote, who joins me now. ryan, good to see yo

this has to-- to restart again in afghanistan if we are to save lives. >> schifrin: the internationalnity is concerned about supporting the taliban, about giving the taliban any kind of recognition. do you believe aid can be delivered without the taliban benefiting from it? >> yes, it can. we are in situations all over the world where the rulers, those in control, are not to the liking of our donors. we as humanitarians are impartial, neutral, independent. but we can, as international actors, do the direct relief. we can help millions through the u.n. system, the international n.g.o.'s there, and the red cross red crescent system. but on top of that, we need to get the public services up and running again. there are 300,000 publicly funded and paid-for teachers. they were on the payroll of the world bank, up until now. the health sector as well. unless there are trust funds held by the u.n. directly funding these teachers and nurses and doctors and water engineers, with the world-- world bank money, which is sitting in washington, we will fail because we as humanitarians cannot do it

so we were anxious to withdraw. >> schifrin: i will give you a chance to answer some of your critics,iateed directly with the taliban, not with the taliban and the afghan government. and into the 2020 agreement when the deal it to release 5,000 prisoners by the afghan government, taliban prisoners. you did so over the government's objection. was it a fattal mistake in retrospect not to be negotiating both with the taliban and the afghan government? >> we were negotiating with both but not together. because i was shuttling between doha and kabul. i was showing graphs to the afghan government. we would have preferred, obviously, to do it together with them. but the taliban regarded the government as a puppet. a government that had been imposed by the u.s. forces. forces that they regard as occupation forces. >> but by inserting 5,000 prisoners, by forcing the afghan government to accept something that the u.s. was demanding, does that not play into the taliban's claim that as a puppet government. doesn't that delegitimie the afghan government? >> well, the afghan government had problems

nick schifrin has our report. >> schifrin: today in the eternal city, the u.s.t to make sure its oldest alliance would endure. president biden and french president emmanuel macron tried to mend a relationship that's been strained since the u.s. excluded france from a deal to provide australia nuclear submarines. today, president biden delivered a mea culpa. >> what happened was-- to use an english phrase-- what we did was clumsy. it was not done with a lot of grace. i want to make it clear that france is an extremely, extremely valued partner. >> schifrin: president macron seemed ready to move on. >> for me, what's important is that we built during the past weeks some very concrete actions in order to strengthen the partnership. >> schifrin: those actions include additional u.s. drones and other military support for french troops fighting militants in western africa, and endorsing increased european military capacity and industry. >> you are the most significant warrior for peace i've ever met. >> schifrin: earlier in the day, two of the world's most prominent c

nick schifrin has that. >> schifrin: for a journalist whose government convicted her of crimes to tryrce her silence, today was validation. >> this asymmetrical power-- when the state's power is focused on journalists, that the way you fight back is by doing your job. >> schifrin: for an editor whose newspaper lost six journalists to murder, today was aymbol of journalistic sacrifice. >> ( translated ): this award is for our fallen professionals, who gave their lives for our profession. >> schifrin: maria ressa was a cnn correspondent, and "time" person of the year, who started the independent news outlet, rappler, in the phillipines. >> shoot, and shoot dead. >> schifrin: rappler exposed filipino president rodrigo duterte's drug war, and its brutality. the u.n. calls it an extrajudicial, murderous crackdown, that's killed 12,000. duterte also waged war on the media, and last year, shut down the country's largest broadcaster. ressa has faced ten arrest warrants and still has seven legal cases pending. >> we are fighting for facts. >> schifrin: today, in a conversation with a rappler r

nick schifrin explains. >> schifrin: the stars were out on pyongyang's red carpet.continental ballistic missiles. a new surface-to-air missile. a new hypersonic glide vehicle. and, behind kim jong-un himself, what north korea calls “new type gigantic rocket.” a flashy flaunting of years of north korean military and nuclear advancement. and outside, human weapons. demonstrations of taekwondo, and north korean soldiers' toughness. fighters flying by, to the delight of kim and a sea of military leaders. the audience for the weapons exhibition-- both global and local, says ankit panda of the carnegie endowment for international peace. >> kim has been quite open about the fact that these are not good times for north korea. >> schifrin: but despite all of this, their national defense program continues. their defense scientists continue to be innovative. that's really the message here for the internal audience, that kim jong-un continues to ensure that north korea will sustain its autonomy. >> schifrin: these weapons are the highlights of north korea's missile and nuclear

nick schifrin has the latest. >> schifrin: in central khartoum, weeping, and wrath.er the shroud, mohamed abdelsalam, killed this week by a military sniper during anti- military protests. his mother's heart, burned and broken. >> ( translated ): may you suffer as much as you've made us suffer. >> schifrin: activists's anger, pointed at the top. >> ( translated ): i accuse general burhan personally. he killed our brotheand continues to destabilize the security of the sudanese people. >> schifrin: on monday, general abdel fatah al-burhan, the nation's top general, deposed the transitional government that he led with prime minister abdulla hamdok, just weeks before burhan was supposed to step down. at first general burhan detained hamdok, himself. >> ( translated ): the prime minister was in his house. however, we were afraid that he'd be in danger, so he has been placed with me at my home. >> schifrin: the transitional government and a new constitutional declaration was the negotiated settlement of the 2019 overthrow of longtime autocratic leader, and accused war crimi

nick schifrin is back with that story. >> schifrin: the inrnational consortium of investigative journalists12 million financial records with 150 news organizations to provide an unprecedented window into how billions are hidden from auorities, investigators, jordan's king abdullah's advisers created dozens of shell companies to buy homes wor 106 million dollars, despite high poverty levels in jordan and a corruption crackdown that targets citizens who use shell companies. today jordan's palace said the king's properties were "not unusual nor improper-- these properties are not publicized out of secity and privacy concerns." in russia, president vladimir putin's alleged girlfriend became the owner of a monaco apartment through an offshore compy.ha passed secrecy laws that allow tens of millions to be sheltered from view. joining me to discuss this is drew sullivan, co-founder and editor of the organized crime and corruption reporting project, or o.c.c.r.p. welcome to the newshour, your organization teamed up with the international consortium investigator journalists to publish these stories,

for the "pbs newshour," i am nick schifrin.y: for more on the legacy of poll, we talked to two men who knew him well. richard haas has known him since the carter administration. he is now president of the council on foreign leader -- relations. michael is a longtime reporter on the dense department. he is now a reporter for the "wall street journal." welcome to both of you. as we said, you knew collin powell going back to the 1970's. what made him so successful? >> he began with a tremendous advantage, which was extraordinary intelligence. he would spend time every day absorbing information, integrating it with the information he already had. on top of that, he had people skills that most of us could only dream of. when he worked at the pentagon, he would reach out to dozens of people regularly because he had something to say, but because he didn't. it was his way of making sure these relationships were good. he worked the sysm better than anybody else. judy: worked the system, and michael gordon, he was the first black man to

nick schifrin has that story. >> schifrin: just in the past six months, ransomware hackers debilitatedf the u.s.' largest meat producers, and a crucial pipeline. they disrupted ireland's national health system. and, they are currently wreaking havoc in an israeli hospital system, which had to cancel all non-emergency procedures. at this week's virtual conference, the countries pledged to improve cooperation in law enforcement; inhibit, trace, and interdict ransomware payments; and harden infrastructure. anne neuberger is the deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology. she organized the conference. and she joins me now. anne neuberger, welcome to the "newshour". so talk about this conference. this was the largest multi-national gathering to discuss ransomware. what specific commitments did you get from these displunts. >> ransomware is a transnational threat. i'll unpack that with the example you used, the israeli hospital. in that case, you could have the human attackers in one country, the exchanges that they use to facilitate the movement of elicit currency in

and now nick schifrin speaks with a former top american diplomat who spent much of those 20 years helpingnage america's role and ultimately its withdrawal from afghanistan. nick: from the beginning to the end of america's war in afghanistan, no american played a larger role than zalmay khalilzad. back in 2001, he helped write the afghanistan constitution. he was president george w. bush's special representative and then ambassador to afghanistan until 2005. for the last three years, he negotiated the agreement with the taliban that led to the u.s. withdrawal and, just in the last few months, has been intimately involved with the scramble to evacuate americans and allies from afghanistan, the country where he was born. zalmay khalilzad, welcome back to the "newshour." >> well, it's great to be with you, nick. nick: you resigned just a few days ago. why? zalmay: well, i thought that we were in a new phase in afghanistan with the taliban takeover. and my job was reconciliation between the republic and the taliban and to bring american troops home and make sure we get assurances on terrorism,