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tv   DW News  PBS  September 20, 2016 6:00pm-6:31pm PDT

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♪ brent: a global swansong. barack obama makes his last speech to the u.n. general of assembly as u.s. president. he urges global cooperation and the recognition of common humanity in the face of populism and aggressive nationalism. also coming up, outrage over a deadly airstrike on trucks bringing aid to those in need it most in syria. the u.n. responds by stopping all convoys carrying
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humanitarian supplies. and hollywood's favorite super couple is calling it quits. angelina jolie has filed for divorce from brad pitt. ♪ brent: it is good to have you with us. he will never speak this way to the world again. his final speech to the un's general assembly. u.s. president barack obama today urged world leaders to have compassion, calling on them to open their hearts to refugees desperate for homes. he also warned against the vices of forces like populism and nationalism. the gathering in new york was also a chance for obama to reflect on his eight years in office and to look forward. reporter: it was his swansong on the international stage.
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barack obama took the opportunity to define his legacy after eight years as president. >> from the depths of the greatest financial crisis of our time, we coordinated our response to avoid further catastrophe and return the global economy to growth. we have taken away terrorist safe havens, strengthened nonproliferation regimes, resolved the iranian nuclear deal -- issue through diplomacy. we opened relations with cuba, helped colombia and health and latin america's longest work. -- war. reporter: but they're overshadowed by a number of seemingly intractable crises. ban ki-moon use his speech to condemn the syrian government
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and the international players involved in the conflict. >> present in this hall today are representatives of governments that have ignored, facility to funded, participated in or even carried out atrocities inflicted by all sides of syrian conflict against syrian civilians. reporter: and it was the suffering of the syrian people that obama focus on in his last appeal to the citizens of his country and of the world. >> together, now come we have to open our hearts and do more to help refugees were desperate for a home. we have to imagine what it would be like for our family, our children if the unspeakable happened to us. reporter: the crisis will not be over until a political solution is found. obama insisted that diplomacy, not fighting, is the only way forward.
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brent: obama's speech comes as the world grapples with the biggest refugee crisis since the second world war. the u.n. refugee agency puts the number of displaced people at more than 65 million. obama is hosting a special summit on the issue. the president welcomed a raft of world leaders at the opening of the summit. he was to secure agreement on food aid and resettling more refugees with the aim of doubling the number being given new homes each year. countries participating in the senate are expected to in -- announced individual pledges in line with the u.s. goal of increasing humanitarian aid by $3 million. our correspondent richard walker is covering the u.n. assembly for us in new york. good evening to you, richard. president barack obama has called this conference to discuss the refugee crisis. what are you hearing from the meeting?
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richard: the meeting got underway within the last half hour. barack obama has been speaking, talking about how the refugee crisis is one of the most pressing issues facing the international community at the moment. 65 million people in total on the move around the world. about one third of those are actually refugees, people fleeing violence in fear for their lives. what the americans say they want to achieve with this summit is pledges and promises from countries taking part in three areas -- money to go towards the u.n. refugee agency, secondly, and promises to take in more people, and thirdly, assistance to health -- help refugees in the countries where they are being looked after. better access to education and things like that. we should not necessarily expect an enormous amount of new stuff
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at this meeting. any pledges that have been made in any of these areas in this entire year since the beginning of 2016 will be accepted as a pledge at this meeting. a lot of these promises we're going to hear, maybe promises already made. brent: the german prime minister is attending this conference. we know that germany took in more than one million refugees in the last year. why, then, do we have united states calling in hosting this conference? -- and host conferenceing this -- and hosting this coference? richard: jordan has taken a huge number of syrian refugees, also ethiopia which is looking after the largest number of refugees.+ the americans are saying they want to use their convening power -- they are still he greatest power in the world, the
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ability to bring people together. the fact that the americans themselves are taking in a small number of refugees, 110,000 total is relatively small. brent: richard walker in new york, thank you. u.s. secretary of state john kerry says that hopes for a cease-fire in syria remain alive despite monday's attack on an aid convoy. he was speaking in new york after a meeting with the russian foreign minister and the meeting was held on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. the u.n. suspended all eight convoys in syria after people were killed in an attack in aleppo. they were delivering humanitarian supplies. the russian and syrian government have denied
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involvement. i'm joined now in the studio by daniel. he is an historian who has written extensively about the middle east. this was an aid convoy that had been given travel permits by the governments and whose coordinates were known to the governments and to all the combatants. how's is it possible for them to be attacked? daniel: i think nothing went wrong, someone intentionally expected. what i'm struck by is the lack of evidence we have. as you said, it happened under the eyes of the world. it was dark, it did not happen in daylight, which is another problem, but we have to really collect the facts of why it happened at that time. brent: you mean why did it happen at night? daniel: all the settling technology come all the air forces of the areas nations around -- as you said, everybody
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had a coordinates. how is it possible there is such poor evidence? he said let's collect the facts and i think what is important here is we really need to come up with substantial evidence. there is so much contradict -- contradicting evidence about it. in cyberspace, there is a war going on about truth and conspiracy theories and news being used by respective groups -- brent: who are you going to believe? there is probablyon the planet that is observed and monitored like syria is right now. you know the evidence has to be there, but were we going to believe? conspiracy theories are flying all over the place. daniel: the syrian regime is totally capable of doing something like that. they have done similar acts of cruelty before.
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jihadist combatants and other armed groups have done in they have substantial interest in manipulating or destroying this between the u.s. and russia. as tragic as it is and as repelling as it is, we have seen worse crimes before in syria. what is happening now is the united nations are being totally embarrassed. brent: what about them stopping all of the convoys? isn't that basically cowering and giving and? -- in? daniel: no. this is a logical consequence because they were about the safety of the convoys. brent: what about the people of aleppo need food to survive? daniel: of course they need food to survive. i suggested years ago that humanitarian eight convoys should have a military escort. food, medical equipment,
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pharmaceuticals are needed for the civilian population to survive in a need to be taken in with military escort. that is clear because they haven't stopped at various checkpoints. the civilian population is being used as a disposition mass, bargaining chips. the problem is if this is not professionally handled and we do not collect information about what happened, then you continue accusing each other. but it is not possible that we do not have this information today. brent: you were talking about the plan was for u.s. and russia to fight in unison against islamic state, against the jihadists. where do we stand now with that point? no one is even talking about that now. daniel: there's a big misconception about the roles of the united states and russia. russia is the major conflict party. the u.s. never wanted to accept
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the role of being the patron of everybody else fighting the regime. president obama did it clear today he was never really to do this and certainly he does not believe that throwing in the american military might against the regime is going to get him anywhere. what is happening here is they have to go to a very low level and letting humanitarian transports go in was the lowest on things they could agree on. if that does not work that i am doubtful this lead us anywhere. notwithstanding that a cease-fire can continue, or not. but that is not going to solve the conflict and not say the civilian population. brent: it will not save the people who may be starting tonight. thank you for your viable insight, we appreciate it. actress angelina jolie has filed for divorce from her fellow movie star husband brad pitt. the couple had been married for two years but had been together
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since 2004. all things showbiz, scott is here at the big table for me. did you see this one coming? scott: no i didn't. i try not to get too deep into the affairs of celebrities, but i did not expect this. brent: what is the reason for this split? scott: obviously with this, rumors are swirling. what we do know is the divorce papers that were filed yesterday by jolie, we have seen those, they said that they officially split five days ago. the official reason is for the health of the family, which throws up a whole bunch of other questions. i can always ike -- i can also tell you a bunch of rumors, unconfirmed, of course. there are a bunch of separate narratives that are coming out.
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one is the -- brad was smoking, drining too much. -- drinking too much. the other is a jealousy rumor, that he has started an affair. then there's the third, it is nobody's fault narrative. they just disagree about how to raise their six kids. he was stricter, she was more easy-going, and that is what led to the split. brent: you have great sources. [laughter] these are incredible-sounding possibilities. i think about their most recent film, by the sea. she directed it. this is going to sound like a cliche, but it is like life imitating art. scott: she directed it ended both starred in it and they play a wealthy, attractive, famous couple whose marriage is falling
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apart. maybe a cry for help. watching the film, which i saw last year, i was ready to cry for help, to be honest. it looks like the divorce is going to be more entertaining than that film. brent: thank you very much. we're going to take a short break. when we come back, more news. stay with us. ♪
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brent: welcome back. our top story, barack obama has addressed u.n. general assembly for the last time as u.s. president. he urged global cooperation and warn against letting tensions between nations divided world. he also recounted his successes in office, including boosting the global economy, removing terrorist safe havens in striking a nuclear deal with iran. the yuan has suspended all convoys in syria after a deadly
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attack on its aid trucks. the red cross is reporting 20 deaths of civilians. the airstrike -- human rights watch says 37 people in the democratic republic of congo have died at the hands of the country's security forces in the last 48 hours. protesters against the president have allegedly killed six police officers. overnight the headquarters of three opposition parties were burned down in the capital. opposition groups accused the government of the laying elections in order -- in order to stay in power. elections are scheduled for november but no date has been set. responsible for centralchr and west africa the national democratic institute in washington the sea -- washington
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d.c. we know who's to blame for this violence? >> at this point in time it is difficult to say who should be blamed. it is also obvious that very early on in the year, through the summer, that one could predict that there would come a moment of crisis when it would be difficult to get consensus between the ruling and opposition parties on the way forward if elections cannot be held by november, as is required in the constitution. brent: the protesters, they say that elections must be held in november, and that the president must stand down. in the constitution, is it clear on that point? >> yes, it is very clear.
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a president can only serve two, five-year terms. his term of office should expire by december 19, at which point a newly elected head of state should be sworn into office. yesterday was the deadline for the election commission to announce the date for new elections. because the election commission fears of voter registration was not yet completed, it did not make that announcement. i think that is what promote -- promoted the demonstrations. they are fearful that this will mean that passed december 19, the president will remain and stay in office for the foreseeable future. brent: if elections are held, what do you think the chances of those elections being fair and free?
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chris: i think now that the election calendar is already slipping past the due date, consensus would have to develop among political and civic actors. the new process by which elections have to be conducted. those elections would be conducted with the understanding that the current president has served his term a new candidates would have to emerge and compete. we would need assistance from the community and national observers, and there is a fair chance the elections could be worth conducting. but you first need to put in place the mechanisms to allow us to have confidence. it would be a level playing field and that everyone would have a fair shot. brent: thank you very much, we
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appreciate your time. now it is time for business headlines. christoph is here. christoph: we are looking at the ripple effects of this huge deal bayer announced last week, the biggest takeover in history for a german company. bayer is acquiring monsanto. now bayer is increasing its revenue and profits forecasts. they say it is increasing its profits margin to more than 30% after the year 2020. the 59 billion euro deal is set to be finalized next year. but it still needs approval from shareholders and regulators. for more on that deal let's go to straighten your norton -- straight to new york. jens, how likely is the approval of regulators?
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jens: if it happens, it will take time. the big question still remains if it will. there was a hearing in washington, not just about bayer and monsanto, but also the possible takeover by chem china. we are talking about one big merger or acquisition in the field but actually the entire industry is about to be shaken up. there really is the big question when it comes to intellectual property, when it comes to possible price increases for u.s. farmers that regulators are still quite hesitant to him -- approve those deals. christoph: the federal reserve has just started his latest policy meeting. what is the word on wall street? jens: well, i would say wall street is sleeping beauty. we are still at elevated levels
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but there's not much moving before we get the results of the two-day meeting on wednesday afternoon. most people expect nothing will happen. overall, there would be reasons to slowly start increasing interest rates. there are a lot of market participants quite nervous with the near 0% interest rate environment. but the economic data we have so far is so mixed that the fed will probably do nothing on the wednesday meeting. christoph: jens in new york, thank you. to thailand, where british activist has been found guilty in given a four-year jail sentence. he has been hit with a series of the goal actions for contribution to test your writing to --
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reporter: he has the support of many people in thailand because he speaks up against labor abuses there, lending a voice to many who are otherwise ignored. the bangkok criminal court found him guilty of defaming the natural fruit company. he has been hit with a $4300 fine and given a three-year suspended jail term. that means he will not go to prison if he is not break the law over the next two years. >> i think this is a sad day for freedom of expression in thailand. it really is chilling and the effect it will have on other people. when i heard the verdict, i was shocked. it was incredibly strong. reporter: in 2013, hall interviewed some natural fruit workers for a report. the report alleged poor working conditions, unlawfully low wages, and excessive overtime. natural fruit has fought back with four cases against all so
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far. its chairman happy with the latest buried at -- verdict. >> he really violated my rights. citizens of other countries have no rights to thailand's sovereignty. i am under thailand's law. reporter: rights groups say thailand -- christoph: free mobile calls. that is what india's richest man is offering. the chairman of industry recently announced a service sparking a price war in india's $50 billion telecommunications industry. competitors are appalled but customers are lining up. reporter: these people in century delhi have been waiting in line since the early hours of the morning. there desperately waiting to get a sim card.
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>> we can use internet and free calling. reporter: it is in attracting offer. they have been available for the past two weeks. i would in line for five hours to get the -- >> i waited in line for five hours to get the sim card. >> india is ranked 155th in the world for mobile broadband internst accees out of 230 countries. reporter: india's goal is to get to the top 10 countries worldwide for broadband access. they're hoping to attract 100 pnext few months.mers within the is emerging as a serious competitor. they are offering several offers
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on faster internet. back at the store, many are determined to wait it out. >> if there is even a 1% chance i will get one, i am more than willing to stand here. reporter: the extent of the success will not be clear until next year. that is when customers will have to start paying for the service. christoph: that is all for me. brent: thank you very much. after a short break i will be back to take you through the day. we will go inside the mind of the angry voter. stick around. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit]
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announcer: "euromaxx highlights," and here's your host, carlos mcconnie. carlos: hello there, friends! thanks for tuning in. we've had an interesting week of euromaxx, and i'm here to bring you the highlights. here is a taste of what we will enjoy during the next half-hour. ♪ carlos: catching the wind -- dutch inventor theo jansen and his moving sculptures. taming of nature -- british designer gavin munro grows furniture from the ground up. cooking up a storm -- peter maria schnurr is the german chef of the year. let's get started with a day at the beach in the netherlands. artist teo yansen's imagination


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