Barbara hope zuckerberg. Corporate funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why were your retirement company. Additional support has been provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. From the tisch wnet studios at Lincoln Center in new york, alison stewart. Stewart good evening, and thanks for joining us. On his first trip abroad as president of the United States, donald trump received a royal welcome in saudi arabia today. The president and First Lady Melania Trump were greeted by saudi king salman, after they arrived on air force one in the saudi capital of riyadh. Topping the official agenda, saudi agreements to purchase 110 billion of americanmade military equipment and weapons, and to spend a total of 350 billion on arms and other goods over ten years. Mr. Trump described the deal as Tremendous Investments in the United States. Hundreds of billions of dollars of investments into the United States, and jobs, jobs, jobs. Stewart u. S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson said the arms deal will bolster joint efforts to deter regional threats from iran, and to combat islamic extremists groups in syria and yemen. This huge arms sales package reduces the burden on the United States to provide the same equipment to our own military forces, and will strengthen saudi forces for the future, so that saudi arabia is more capable of carrying a greater share of the burden of their own security. Which, as i indicated, is important to the u. S. National security as well. Today was a truly historic day in the relationship between the kingdom of saudi arabia and the United States, and we believe the beginning of a turning point in the relationship between the United States and the arabic and islamic world. Stewart tomorrow, the president will deliver a speech before a meeting of more than 50 arab and muslim leaders. After two days in saudi arabia, mr. Trump will visit israel, meet nato allies in belgium and leaders of industrial democracies in italy, where hell also have an audience with pope francis. The foreign trip comes as domestic investigations of russian interference in the u. S. President ial election last year, as well as the white houses handling of the probe, are expanding. In addition to this weeks appointment of an independent counsel, last night, former f. B. I. Director james comey, who was fired by mr. Trump, agreed to testify in public before the Senate Intelligence committee after memorial day. New york times correspondent ben hubbard is in riyadh, covering the visit and joins me now via skype. Ben, this trip has been billed as an opportunity to reset the americansaudi relationship. What needs resetting . Well, i think from the sowldy perspective theres a lot of things that need resetting. The saudis, which have been American Allies in the middle east for many, many decades, felt we can say they felt very deceived under president obama. There was anger over the way obama seemed to give up on hosting mubarak and other allies. They were angry at his tezitancy to get more involved in the war on syria. And the iran deal was a huge blow to them. They very much felt this president , who was supposed to be one of our great allies went behind our back and made this deal with one of our enemies. After trump was elected, there is very much a sense here that this is a guy who understands us. This is a guy we can do business with. This is somebody who has, you know, said all the right things when it comes to things we care about, which is fighting terrorist organizations and specifically with confronting iran. Stewart ben, lets talk a little bit more about business. You can tell us about the 110 billion weapons deal struck today. And it could end up being 350 billion over the next 10 years. Theyre going to build hightech helicopters here in the kingdom, and deals that are expected to come through tomorrow dealing with oil and technologies and various other industries. Stewart has there been any reaction of mr. Trumps statements that offended many muslims. I spent time outside the area of where the officials other than. Yesterday i went to a Harley Davidson rally, actually, and met all these saudis who love harl davidsons. And it was amazing how many saudis tell you how much they like trump, this is a guy we can understand. You try to push them what about all the things he said about islam and your country . They seem a lot more willing, i think than Many Americans to dismiss it as campaign rhetoric. There has been a concerted Media Campaign inside the kingdom and i think it trickled down and people felt okay this is going to be a guy we can do business with. Stewart ben, mr. Trump is slated to give a speech tomorrow. Is there any indication with the tone, the tenor, the content . No, and its interesting. This is the one thing that a number of saudi contacts i have, have expressed some discomfort over. Theyve kind of said, hmmm, trump is going to give a speech about islam. Hmmm, we need to see how this is going to go. I wouldnt say people are too scared of it but its one thing people have kind of its raised oi browse we can say. What really interests him in this relationship is fighting extremism. The saudis have been under threat from the Islamic State and the Islamic State has carried out a number of attacks inside the kingdom, deadly attacks. And i think this is another area where they think they can do business with trump. Stewart ben hubbard of the New York Times from riyadh, thanks very much. Thank you. Stewart sharing the Arabian Peninsula is the small nation of yemen, where thousands of demonstrators today took to the streets of the capital, sanaa, to protest President Trumps visit to the saudi kingdom. This came a day after rebel houthi fighters, opposed to the saudibacked yemeni government, fired a Ballistic Missile toward riyadh. The saudis intercepted it 125 miles west of the city. For more on the situation, martin smith, from the pbs series frontline, joins me via skype, from sanna. Martin, you were at the protests today. What did you see . Yeah, well, i saw that people had come out to protest trumps arrival, presiden president trus arrival in riyadh, the saudi capital. I dont know how to estimate crowd size, but it was certainly large. And they were there with posters, houthi slogans, you know down with america. Down with israel. God curse the jews. Victory to islam. There were a series of speakers that led chants of antiamerican chants, antisaudi chants. And theyre particularly upset that President Trump arrived in riyadh to sign a 110 billion arms deal. These arms gl to the saudis, and they will use these arms in their war in yemen. And the countrys been through two years of war, and the people feel broken. Stewart and as a result of those two years of war, theres a humanitarian crise there. What you can tell us about that. There is. There are several. Theres a food shortage. Well, the w. H. O. , the world health organization, estimates that the cholera epidemic itself will probably infect some 200,000 to 300,000 yemenis. Right now the count is about 13 frow and about 200 to 300 people have died. Unicef estimates 70 of all yemenis are in need of some kind of humanitarian assistance. 19 million, i think, the number is of people in need of food. Youve got an extremely serious situation in which the country is close to tipping into famine. Stewart i want to ask one followup question about the protests. Were they peaceful . Were the protesters agitated . What was the mood there . We didnt sense hostility personally. I mean, they always make the distinction here that they dislike the government of the United States and that applies to both President Trump and president obama before him. But that the people of the United States are not their enemy. Stewart martin smith reporting from san athank you so much. Thank you, alison. Stewart iranian president Hassan Rouhani has been easily reelected to a second four yearterm, capturing 57 of the vote in a multicandidate field. Voting hours were extended yesterday to accommodate long lines. 70 of eligible voters turned out. The 68yearold rouhani is considered a moderate, who sought the Nuclear Disarmament and sanctionlifting deal with the u. S. And other world powers. In a speech on staterun tv today, he called his win a victory for peace and friendship and against violence. His reelection also has implications for the wars in syria and yemen. Joining me by skype from tehran to discuss this is journalist reza sayah. Reza, president rouhani won decisively, and this is especially interesting because his biggest challenger was a very conservative candidate. Why did he win this way . Yeah, i think for the voters who came to the polls yesterday, this election presented two very different candidates. On one hand you had Hassan Rouhani, the moderate reformist. He, of course, is the president who in 2015 signed the historic nuclear deal. His approach, his sales was just lets continue down this path. Were on the right path, and even though the economy hasnt improved, were on the right course. And then you had his leading challenger, ibrahim raisi, the hardline conservative. He essentially accused mr. Rouhani as failing to dliver on the promise of benefits of the nuclear agreement, of being part of the financial elite, the welwealthy elite, ignoring the poor. And his message was iran needs to look back within its own resources, its natural resources, its human resources, its Islamic Revolutionary values to get the country back going again. Stewart was it the young people who made the difference . Yeah, i think the young people were a factor. Of course, irans population is very young. Roughly 70 under the age of 35. The young to mr. Rouhani in the next four years to deliver some of those benefits. Stewart stewart from what you can tell did the election of donald trump as president of the United States have an impact on the iranian election . I think it did. Listen, the economy was the number one issue. When it comes to the economy, relations with the international community, with the west, with the u. S. Is going to be a factor. And i think whats made things very difficult for mr. Rouhani is mr. Trumps very tough stance against iran, essentially he came in threatening to tear up the nuclear deal. Now hes made moves that suggest hes going to maintain want nuclear deal. Stewart iran is involved in two proxy wars, one in yemen, one in syria, supporting bashar alassad. Will rouhani stay the course there . I think so. I think these are very important allies within the region. Allies that are in the it comes neighborhood, in the region, its their duty to protect their interests, and, of course, their interests include syria, iraq, and yemen. Stewart reporting from tehran, reza sayah, thank you so much. Youre welcome. Stewart it may surprise you that 1. 2 billion people 16 of the earths population do not have access to electricity, according to the International Energy agency. That includes 300 Million People in india, 70 of the populations of cambodia, myanmar, north korea, and haiti, and much of subsaharan africa. One country that has made Great Strides toward universal access to electricity is the east african nation of kenya. In tonights signature segment, newshour weekend special correspondent Christopher Livesay reports on kenyas plan to bring electricity to its people. Reporter seline akinyi mumbe is 49 years old, and lived without electricity for her first 48 years, until she finally got power ten months ago. So three buildings here, all connected to electricity . Yeah. Reporter mumbe lives in unami, a village 170 miles northwest of nairobi. translated i felt like i was in a different world, because my house was well lit. I knew i was no longer going to spend money on oil. I was also not going to spend a lot of time walking to the market to charge my cell phone. Reporter her home was recently hooked up as part of the last Mile Connectivity project, a Government Program to connect 70 of kenyans to the grid by this year. Its part of a larger goal to achieve universal access to electricity by 2020. Its an ambitious undertaking. Kenya would become one of the first subsaharan african nations to reach this milestone. And kenya has made progress rapidly, going from 27 of the population connected in 2013, to 56 in 2016, adding more than 1. 2 million households to the grid last year alone. The quest began a decade ago, by building transformers that distribute electricity. First priority was connecting hospitals, market centers, and schools to the grid. Now, the last mile project is focusing on connecting rural households. Mumbe uses the new electricity to light up her house, iron her familys clothes and warm water with a heater that plugs into the wall. translated initially, i used to iron with a charcoal iron box, and boil water with firewood. Having electricity makes work easier. Even if i want to wash my clothes at night, all i have to do is switch on the light. Reporter shes also started a small business. Neighbors without electricity pay 10 cents to charge their cell phones. Susanna berkouwer is a Research Economist at the university of california, berkeley. Shes part of a team that surveyed 4,000 households in kenya to measure the impact of electricity on peoples lives everything from health to education to employment. We ask a general question about life satisfaction. Just how satisfied are you with your life . And actually, we saw an improvement there. It frees up peoples time, it allows them to engage in other activities in the home, or just to take that time to relax and feel happier and be less stressed. Reporter Kenyan Energy minister Charles Keter says the success of the last mile project can be applied throughout africa, where more than 600 Million People half of the continents population still live without electricity. I think the african continent can learn a lot from the last Mile Connectivity. That its possible for governments to spearhead the programs so that the narrative of africa being a dark continent should not be there. Reporter twothirds of the cost of kenyas Electrification Campaign is being funded by loans from the world bank and the African Development bank. But even with such widespread support, the cost of connecting to the grid and wiring a house falls on individual kenyans, like roy atieno. He and his wife, belinda, are subsistence farmers in unami. Theres a new electricity pole right outside their house, but they cant afford the cost of connecting to it. Is it frustrating to be too close to the source of electricity but not have access . I always wish, whenever i walk out from my house, i check at the pole, and then i wish it is already in my house. It is frustrating reporter in a 2015 u. C. Berkeley study, half of rural kenyan households surveyed lived within 200 meters of a power line, yet didnt have electricity. Theres this whole other category of undergrid, which are people that are offgrid, so theyre not directly connected to electricity, but theyre not living 100 miles away from the electricity grid. Theyre actually living, in many cases, ten feet away from their nearest pole. Reporter the cost of connecting to the grid has dropped from about 350 before the last mile program started, to 150 today, thanks to subsidies from the kenyan government. And a Power Company loan Program Gives residents three years to pay off the installation bill. Still, 150 is about four times what kenyans in this region earn in a month. For those who do manage to get connected, its only worth the investment if the power actually works. Many kenyans complain of frequent outages, lasting from minutes to days. When we met hair salon owner Susan Adhiambo kopot right outside unami, the salon had lost power for more than an hour. Kopot and her employees were limited to braiding customers hair, because they couldnt use a hair straightener or blow dryer. translated it feels bad, because you decide to spend your money to get an electricity connection, so you can use it to run your business, but you end up experiencing blackouts. Its very disappointing. With this type of rapid expansion, we have had a lot of planned interruptions. Reporter Stanley Mutwiri is the head of infrastructure for the governmentcontrolled kenya power and lighting company, known as k. P. L. C. Mutwiri concedes that some unplanned outages occur due to acts of nature, like wind or rain, but he says most are planned and necessary. Every time you are connecting some new customers on the line, you must interrupt others. Reporter k. P. L. C. Is building new substations to increase the capacity of the electrical grid. When this station goes online next month, the transformer will be able to supply three times as many households as before. Kenya Energy Minister Charles Keter says the government is also planning ahead and producing excess power right now, to ensure it can accommodate the rise in future demand. We cannot wait until when we have maybe Big Industries or the demand is high. Its like building a road. You cannot say, why are you building a road when there are no vehicles . You build the road to create that environment which people can now purchase vehicles. Reporter Renewable Energy will be crucial to kenya meeting the surge in demand for electricity. Right now, the country gets over 60 of its energy from renewable sources, such as geothermal, hydro, and more recently, wind. The turkana wind farm, in northern kenya, is designed to supply onefifth of the nations energy. When it is completed later this year, it will be the largest wind farm in africa. In kenya, Renewable Energy is cheaper than fossil fuels. Fossil fuels have got one unknown, that is, what is going to be the cost of fuel tomorrow . We dont know whats going to happen. We dont know how long this fossil fuel is going to be there. But the Renewable Energy, like, for example, the sun we always say, im sure tomorrow the sun will be up. Reporter nighttime is when the personal impact of electricity is most visible, as well as its uneven distribution. At roy atienos house, with no electricity, the family eats dinner by the light of only two kerosene lamps. But down the road, seline mumbes electrified house has become a beacon for school children. They come from all over the village to study and do homework. Beryl jane otieno is 17. translated by around 9 00 p. M. The lights used to get dim, and i could not even see what i was reading clearly. I used to study for two to three hours, but nowadays i always study for five hours. Reporter but surprisingly, berkouwer says, the Research Shows that peoples lives havent significantly changed with the flip of a switch. After one year students did not perform better in english or math tests; using electricity, which likely reduces the burning of kerosene or wood, didnt improve health; and, while women worked more, Household Incomes didnt improve. So wed like to go back in a few years and see if the long term effects are different than the shortterm effects. But maybe not. Maybe these things just arent going to improve by as much as people were expecting. Reporter one reason may be that newly connected households dont have that many ways to use the electricity yet. If you provide somebody with an electricity connection, but theyre not able to afford the appliances that would really allow them to use that electricity connection, how much could it really even benefit them . And if we can answer those types of questions, and we can compare that with Similar Research that looks at the effects of improving your education or the effects of improving your health care, then a household, or indeed a government, can make a decision about which of those is better to invest in. Reporter but Energy Minister Charles Keter says providing electricity is a human right and should be a priority, even for poor, rural households. Some of them have homes with roofs made out of thatch. Some of them dont have reliable access to water or even food. Is electricity really the priority for these people . Power is very essential in any developing country. And thats why as a country, whether you live in a grass thatch home or any other related structures, we will provide you with power. Stewart as the cult hit twin peaks returns to television, explore the towns that serve as a backdrop for the show. Read more at www. Pbs. Org newshour. This is pbs newshour weekend, saturday. Stewart today in nigeria, 82 schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by the Insurgent Group boko haram were finally reunited with their families. They were freed two weeks ago by islamic militants, after more than three years of captivity. They were among the nearly 300 girls who were kidnapped from their boarding school in chibok, nigeria. The militants forced many of the teenage girls to marry them and have children. The 82 girls were freed in exchange for nigerias government releasing five boko haram commanders from prison. Nigerian Officials Say theyll make further exchanges to win the release of 113 girls still in captivity. Coping with a spike in measles, italy has ordered one of europes most widespread Childhood Vaccination campaigns. The italian cabinet yesterday approved a new law making vaccination against measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis, chicken pox, and seven other Infectious Diseases mandatory for children attending Nursery School up to age 16. Parents face fines if their children arent inoculated. Italy has seen 2,400 cases of measles this year, ten times the number in all of 2015. Following a Lengthy Court battle, new orleans has removed the last of four divisive civil warera statues in the city. A crane lifted the 20foot bronze statue of Confederate Army general robert e. Lee from its 60foot tall pedestal last night. The city council had voted back in 2015 to remove the statues, because they were symbols of slavery and white supremacy. And, the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the recall by hyundai and its affiliate kia motors of 1. 7 million vehicles for engine defects. Regulatory filings published today show n. H. T. S. A. Is investigating whether the 2015 recall was too slow and covered too few vehicles. Hyundai said it would cooperate with investigators. Stewart finally, officials in norway are repairing damage brought about by Climate Change to the socalled doomsday seed vault buried inside an arctic mountain. The vault, built ten years ago some 600 miles from the north pole, stores millions of seeds for thousands of crops, as a safeguard against natural disasters or even nuclear war. But unusually high temperatures last year melted the mountains permafrost, and water leaked into the vault. The seeds themselves were not damaged. Tomorrow on the broadcast, improving sex ed to lower teen pregnancy rates. Thats all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. Thanks for watching. Im alison stewart. Good night. Captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org pbs newshour weekend is made possible by bernard and irene schwartz. Judy and josh weston. The cheryl and Philip Milstein family. The john and Helen Glessner family trust supporting trustworthy journalism that informs and inspires. Sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. Barbara hope zuckerberg. Corporate funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why were your retirement company. Additional support has been provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs thank you. Rom viewers like you. Man after prohibition, the first tiki drinks were served by a guy named don the beachcomber, and that was the big bang. Man tiki offers you this dream of escaping to an island paradise. Woman tiki is a celebration of a bygone era. Woman are you kidding me . these people, they go way back. Man its punk rock for grownup people. Theres nothing quite like it. Narrator the natives are restless tonight. Theyve come from far and wide for a good time and arent likely to quit until theyve had one. These are the new adherents of whats come to be called polynesian pop tiki for short a thriving subculture of aloha shirts, grass skirts, rum cocktails, and exotic sounds. Once considered a relic of
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