Transcripts For KQED BBC World News America 20240712

The freeman foundation. By judy anfopeter blum kovledation; pursuing solutions for americas neglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. Bbc world news am. Reemerging from the shadows. Islamic state fight use the covid crisis to launch new attacks the white house under pressure to explain what president knew about rorts that pressure offered bounties attack coalition forces. Online, but what about those who want to perform in person . Is it safe to sing again . Welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. Covid has shut down schools, devastated health systems, and flattened economies. If that were not enough, we have not learned it has given a boose toslamic state, so much so that the remnants of the militant groupinave begun cathe virus gods little soldier. I. S. Set its sights on the thousands of women and children ing held in kurdish controlle detention centers, some of whom have already become radicalized. Our correspondent reports reports. Our correspondent reports. The women of the Islamic State group of mostly been forgotten by the world. In these camps, women from britain, france, and across the world have bee left to fester, a prlem ignored. Since their cture, the counts have gone sick with extremism. I. S. Is still in command. Some critters led forre trying to regain control here, to take back their camp. Women have been murdered. Schools of children have died from disease. Some here claim a change of heart a now if for their children. For those who speak out against extremism in the camps, their identities need to be protected. This is torturous. I cant wait for my children to leav with them. H i dream of living i have no problem staying behind. If not, ideologically speaking, it would be too late. Save them. And the camps arehoot ing. Here, a raid on a house. They are looking for escapees. Inside, two russian womennd one from uzbekistan with their children. They were bound for turkey. Urgency to their predicament. The Islamic State group is again on the rise. In the dead of night, a convoy of kurdish led special forces are on theove earlier this month. Inside this house, i. S. Sus bcts thought armed. 150 were arrested in this operation one. Many more are at large. The coronavirus and troop withdrawals mean forces are left to do most of the fighting. I. S. Is back. The ciphate remains, says this graffiti. Terrorizing and extorting the people here. This mans son was murdered by the jihadists. Eyewitness said a car started following them. It caught up with them and then they were kidnapped. The next morning, their frids organize a search party. They found their decapitated heads resting on the asphalt. Where once it commanded cities and armies, i. S is diminished. But it is again emerging from the shadows. The world is distractend but the menomen of the Islamic State group are determined not to be forgotten. We have seen stern leaders celebrate all but the end of the Islamic State group. There they are taking advantage of the covid crisis. Islamic state is not the only Political Group trying to profit from covid. 500 former World Leaders and nobel laureatengre now fea that democracy itself is under threat around the well because of it. There is an open letter that warns authoritarian regimes are using the crisis to silence critics and tightened their political grip. The postponement o cancellationo of 66 elections around the globe. Ienearly 50 counhave imposed some form of press restrictions. More than 80 nations have introduced curfews and fines for those who breach cov rules. Certain countries are worse than others. Theyingle out the philippines, hungary, el salvador, and turkea as being partiy prone to authoritarian measures. The secretarygenal of the institute for democracy led this project. Our guestoins me now from stucco. Think you for joining the program. Why did you and 499 other people write this letter, this open letter . E did so to raise awareness of the urgency of prng democracy even as we deal with the crisis and precisely becausa of in order to deal in a good way with the consequences of this pandemic and to prevent the nt one, we need good democratic governance more than ever before. I suppose i thi a lot of people around the world might not be surprised thatar authorn countries are cracking down becausof covid you are also saying in this letter that democracy is, to democracies, too. Exactly. Part of the risk here is about the expansion of Emergency Powers claimed by ndvernments arhe world. In ways that are unreasonable, that go beyond what is reasonable inrder to deal with the pandemic. The risk here ishat the exercise of Emergency Powers become in a way the new norm for democratic governance. We have to be very vigilant in the face of death. Oure not confident these powers once the pandemic is over . Well,. It depends i certainly hope well, it depends. I certainly hope so. We are already seeing very problematic signs in places. Particularly, a single i single out the use of powers to crackdown independent adia and civiion. When that is done, you can almost be sure there is an auoritarian intention behind that. We already know tt. This is the kind of m that many governments are making of. Emergency powe you right in the letter that democracy ot just a cherished ideal. You say it is the system of government that is best suited to addressing the crisis of this magnitude. I suppose it is at this time that we needed more than ever. Is that what you are suggesting . I think democracy is fundamental in order to deal with the consequences of this pandem. But perhaps even more important it is essential that we protect democracy in order to prevent the ne pandemic or the ne majorastrophe from bringing our societies to their kne. Democracies allow for the free ciulation and kind of collective action that is able to correct Public Policy and alert societies to what is happening. It is not random that what is happening w is in a place where precisely the free circulation of information and civicction that is prevented from happening. We have to leave it there. It is worth reading that h lettr if ye not had a chance to see it. Thank you for joining the program. On the theme of healthy democracy in a time of covid, boating worries have become a flashpoint in america as well election. Residential concerns about the pandemic and series of messy primary votes have led to a push for more mailin ballot. But the president and many of his republican allies do not like that idea. Anthony has more. Americans a look at what elections might avbe like during the coronus pandemic. And it is not always a pretty picture. With long lines and confusion. In some states, absenisballots wesing. These issues are not all that new to u. S. Voters. The problems preexist for a number of reasons. There is not enough money to run theselections. States do it independently. That is how it is set up in the constitution. How easy it is to exercise your right to vote depends on your zip code in this country. It is not a uniform system. The u. S. Congress has tried at times to set standards for how federal elections. E carried o in 1965, president lyndon b. Johnson signed the landmark Voting Rights act, which minority voters. Ns for 55 years later, some are saying there needs t be a similar effort to prepare the nation for middle of blic health in the crisis. One of the reforms being proposed is a greater reliance on mailin instead of in person voting. President donald trump however has said such a process is prone to widespread fraud. He has made question will claims the threat of socalled ballot harvesting and issued warnings of foreign governments flooding the u. S. With phony ballots. Democrats say that is not true. Republicans areou laying the work of challenging legitimacy of the election if it goes against them. They also are intensifying efforts to make it more difficult to vote by mail. Ont think trump and republicans are opposed to voting by mail. They d are alarmed a locrats are now voting by mail. Introducing ballot harvest. An recent republ party advertisementsofdjust millions ake ballots can be produced a day in a Democratic Party the fix is in. He election. Why areto democrats tryin push this through . What is their endgame . It iobviously to open this up for fraud so the ballot is not preserved in this entity of the election. I think that is really the only partis issue here. If past primaries are any indication, Many Americans may not feel safe goi to local lling places in november. Republicans and democrats argue over how to address their concerns. The real threat may be that nothing is done and a system that has been strain under past elections could fally reach a breaking point. There is a lot to keep your eye on during this pandemic. t t forget to keep a watch on elections and electoral processes as well. The whe house has doubled down on its position that President Trump was not briefed on intelligence reports that russia had put a bounty on u. S. Troops in afghanistan. Multiple Media Outlets in america have cited intelligence sources saying russia paid taliban fighters specifically to target british and american soldiers. The press secretar sai the information had not been verified. There was not a consensus community. Telligence in fact, there were disnting opinions within the Intelligence Community and it woulot be elevated to the president until verified. For me on this, i am joined by jon sopel. They wanted consensus and that iss why ttelligence was not given to the president. What are you hearing about this . Well, i did not think gave ite the same answer that donald trump did when he wrote on twitter last nig. Intel just reported to be, they did not find this info credible. Maybe not the same thing. Sensus. That is something that will be picked on. What seemsxtraordinary is if you have got everything that is intel, it is intelligence, what people have heard. As sometng as profound as that, that russians allegedly the grure sservice were paying a bounty to the telegram to take out american or british fighters inyo afghanistan would think that would be something that would go to the president and would go to the vice president. The denial is pretty absolute that he had not been briefed on this. E interesting wrinkle in all of this is that there are thsuggestion the british have been briefed on it. I have spoken to a very senior government source this evening who suggest they did not deny and did not confirm. If it was untrue, it would be the easiest thing in the world to deny it hadaken place. I did not get a denial at all. Ok. Since march, presiden trump has called Vladimir Putin a friend. He sent humanitarian aid to russia a pressed for pressure to be included in the group of seven meetings. Unit does not like the president has tried to exact so kind of retribution against russia since he heard about inor about these intelligence reports first surfaced. Isnt that the greatest mystery of the Trump Presidency . If you ask donald trump, thuld say no one has been tougher on russi me. We talked about what after the chemical attack in salisbury in england and the expulsion of russian diplomat in the United States at a result of he will point to other actions where the United States has behaved in a way that is consistent with american history. But when it comes to Vladimir Putin, if there is criticism to be made, either made by mike pompeo or the whe house press secretary, i am yet to see anything where the president is actually has actually criticized Vladimir Putin. John boltons i explanati donald trump cannot resis a strong, autocratic, tough guy. That is what he likes about Vladimir Putin. Other people sgested other reasons why this might be the case, but it is one of the internal mysteries of this administration were donald trume has beenred to rip into Angela Merkel or theresa may or whoever it happens to be, western allies. He wil not say a word against Vladimir Putin. Thanks very much for joining us. A quick look at other news nowom round the world. The city of leicester in the u. K. Will not be allowed to ease lockdown restrictions on july 4 when the rest of england does so. The decisi follows a surge in cases of theor cavirus in the area with over 800 reported in two weeks. S hools and essential shopll close. Buall t essential travel is to be avoided. Frances former Prime Minister and his wife penelope have been sentenced to jaifor fraud over a fig jobs scandal. The scandal ruined his bid for the french presidency in 2017. They have appealed the verdict. You are watching bbc world news america. Still to come on tonights program, protecting access to abortion. The u. S. Supreme court sides with abortion rights cdvocates withhief Justice John Roberts delivering the pivotal vote. The united nions World Food Program has told the bbc that unless more aidey ms made available immediately, one Million People inacyriathe risk of masturbation. The country has been of mass start one Million People in syria face the risk of mass starvation. The country has bn devastated. Syria, it ion in hard to imagine it can get any worse but it gets worse by the day. Life is so tough forhe millions of syrians who are still living in syria. The millions who are still displaced. Have been tired of war, the to war goes on. President assas forcesco now rol most of syria, but there has been tension attention over northwest syria where more than one Million People are living right on the ed the fear is if they cannot cross the border into turkey, they will take over. T for trd time in a fortnight, the u. S. Supreme court has dealt a blow to the trump administration. Abortion. Sensitive issuef the courtverturned the statute that makes iharder for a woman to obtain a termination in the louisiana. The rbeing ig seen as a victory for the prochoice movement. Ourorspondent explained why it is so significant. This was a crucialecision for the future of n ortion rightse country. The first time the Supreme Court tackled the issue in the trump era. The case has been closely watched by both sides of the debate. Antiabortion activists are unhappy with the result. I am very dispointed. I believe this is a huge loss for the women of louisiana and forhe women of this country. Wety stand in solidariith those women today. We seek justice. At stake was a louisiana law that imposed new regulations on abortion doctors to protect womens health, the state argued. Opponents said it wanot necessary and would force all but one of louisianas abortion clinics to those. Today, they celebrated a battle won. We are on quite the high. The Supreme Court has spoken and finally said something that i think our lawmakers did se er lawmakers need to hear. All three clinics can remain open, but it has done nothing to advance reproductive right that battle continues to go on. The Supreme Court granted the right to abortion in 1973 in the landmark roe v. Wade case. But President Trump shifted the court to the right. The appointment of two conservative judges. K intog the issue b play. In the end, the conservatie chief justice cast the deciding vote to strike down the louisiana law, citing a previous legal resident rather than engaging the issue. This was a blow to President Trump. President trump unborn children ve never had a stronger defender in the white house. An important part of his base in an election year. The decision upholds tfo status quo now. Ththere are o test cases to come given the makeup of the court, this marks more of a pause then an e to the battle over abortion rights. Not the end of this legal issue, but there are evangelical vors expressing dissatisfaction with the makeup of this particular sup court. In parts of the u. K. , pubs and museums and galleries are preparing to reopen but one activity has not been given the goahead, and that is singing. When as number of choight in the fight as coronavirus hotspots, there was a cold fleet a complete ban. They are trying to see if the Science Behind the ban is justified. Ourorrespondent has the story. The cathedral, and activity these days considered dangerous, singing. It is not the voice that is the problem. Cit is what might ried on the breath and how far it travels. Communal h singi in recent months become a dangerous activity. What would a safe disnce be like . Once adjustment is to have three meter gaps. And to limit the number of sinkers to six. So we tried it out in the safety of open air. Standing well back, it sounded beautiful to me. The singers . I am going to say ito is goig e very difficult. You are spending too much time tryingo listen to everyone. It really would not work. I dont thinko. What is a safe distance . Thanswer is, no one really knows which is why the government is being encouraged to pvide some science. I ske to a consultant who specializes in the singing voice. H the been no documented studies looking at this in an objective way. What you need to do is just measure the droplets coming out of the mouth and how far theyit go, isn thats right. Measuring the amount of aeroso o that comes othe mouth and therefore, how does that compare with speaking or shouting,in casomebody over a canteen . The hope is the goahead will be given soon for work to begce to allow us again a chance to sing and listen together. Sounded lovely. I hope we get back to it soon. Whoever thought singing would be so compliced . If like me you cannot sing, how about some salsa . This coupleins clearly m the most of social distancing, performing a touchless salsa on the streets of madrid. Spain has been one of the worst hit nations in the world. Bu the country has been opening up recently. Pewell, nole are literally dancing in the streets. You know what . If i can move like those guys, i thk i would be, too. You can read more of the news on our website. I will see you back here tomorrow. Thank you for watching bbc world news america. F this programing for this is provided by. Language specialists teaching spanish, french and more. Raymond james. The freeman foundation. By judy and Peter Blum Kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for americaneglected needs. And by contributions to this pbs station from viewers likeou. Thank you. Nas. Ator youre watching pb vo ready to watch the best of anytime, anywhere, on nearly any device . V its easy with the pbsideo app. Simply download the pbs video app on your mobile or streaming device. Now you can watch the latest pbs episodes, or catch up on the shows you mied. Wh an you support your local station, you can get pbs passport, giving you accesto more episodes more specials, more of what you love get the pbs video app now and stream the best of pbs anytime you want, anywhere you are. A platform where. People can go re in order to sha their experiences. When i was 18 and joined the marine corps. And its been an amazing journey ever since. This project can hhep bring us togetr. To understand what it really means to be an american. To join in. Go to pbs. Org americanportrait join us, and be a part of histo. Judy good evenin i am judy woodruff. On the newshour tonight, the virus on the rise. Cases of covid19 spike across the globe, forcing an end to reopening efforts and further taxing health care efforts. And, an undue burden, the Supreme Court strikes down a louisiana law restricting providers. The Supreme Court supporting abortion rights. Plus, a bounty on u. S. Troops