♪ ♪ narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by.. the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation. pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. woman: and now, "bbc world news".

america." two of the four americans kidnapped and a mexican border town are found dead. the two survivors of the kidnapping are back here in the u.s. and a suspect is now in custody. the killings refocus attention on american national mexico's drug wars. beijing warns of conflict and confrontation if the u.s. doesn't change course. florida's republican governor ron desantis fuel speculation that he may run for president by saying "you ain't seen nothing yet." illegal migrants crossing the english channel will be swiftly removed. >> oh my gosh. laura: eurovision mania. tickets sold out within 90 minutes.

♪ welcome to "world news america." two of the four americans kidnapped in mexico last week were found dead on tuesday. the two survivors have returned to the u.s. the group was fired on by gunmen driving through matamoros in the northeast, after crossing into mexico from texas for cosmetic surgery. mexican woman also died in the violence. a suspect is in custody. here is our mexico correspondent, will grant. will: this unconfirmed video reportedly shows the moment that the four u.s. citizens were in mexico for a cosmetic procedure when they were kidnapped. fears were later confirmed in most public of ways by the

governor of the speech -- of the state, speaking live in his morning press briefing. >> about an hour ago, we were notified that there were indications of the siding of the four american citizens, and 35 minutes ago, it was confirmed by the prosecutor's office. two of the four are dead. one is injured, and the other is alive. ambulances and security personnel are on the way to get the necessary assistance for the transfer and any emergency support that will be required. >> it was supposed to be short group to mexico by a group of friends but it descended into another violent and tragic episode on the border. matamoros is one of the most dangerous ties in this country in one of its most dangerous states. the four americans who traveled together for one of them, a 30

two year old, to undergo a procedure. this -- the group never made the appointment. the incident further strange the already difficult u.s.-mexico relations. >> the celt -- the cartel is responsible, and were doing everything possible to dismantle and disrupt and ultimately prosecute the leaders of the cartels and the entire networks. reporter: the mexican drug war has continued to worsen. critics say the president security policy simply isn't working. the cartels are in control of swathes of the country. now as these visitors return home and the worst possible circumstances, they become the latest victims of mexico's inlets war with organized crime. laura: will joins us now from

mexico city. what else can you tell us about these drug cartels in matamoros where two of these four kidnapped americans died? will: well, if we take a look at the travel advisory from the state department, they warned citizens against travel there, where they say organized crime activity including gun battles, murder, armed robbery, carjacking, forced disappearance, extortion, and sexual assault is common. that gives you a sense of how dangerous that particular state is. what we've got is two separate factions of the drug cartels at war with each other. we talk about the drug war, innocence now this is beyond just drugs, and it has been for it's about control of the routes of traffic and of migrants, or

of people sending money north and guns south. there were around 35,000 homicides last year in mexico, compared to 20,000 in 2015. critics of mr. lopez over door say his security strategy, if it even exists, is not working. laura: china's new foreign minister has warned that the u.s. and china are hurtling toward an inevitable confrontation and conflict unless washington changes course. these furry comments after xi jinping accused the u.s. of trying to encircle and contain his country. this comes as the chinese leadership is in beijing for the national people's congress. of -- against the backdrop of deepening tensions over the shooting down of a balloon which washington said was being used for spying. china's foreign minister said the balloon posed no threat and

the u.s. overreacted, creating a democratic crisis. >> the united states perception and use of china are seriously distorted. they regard china as the primary rival and most consequential international challenge. laura: the white house national security spokesman had this response. >> i can only speak for president biden, and speaking for him, i can tell you there has been no change in our posture. yes, there are tensions in our relationship. those tensions obviously have to be recognized, but can be worked through. laura: let's get more on this from china scholar at the

center for strategic and international studies. despite what the white house is saying, don't you think there is a lot behind the scenes? >> i think it is certainly noticeable that comments by chine leader xi jinping, which came back to back, both directly criticizing a pretty severe turn in u.s. policy and posture that indicates beijing is willing to escalate its own rhetoric here and if we just put this in context, we just had a string of events which have seriously challenged the bilateral relationship, with the balloon, and now u.s. accusations over china providing weapons or ammunition to russia, and now this. so the bilateral relationship is not in a very good place right now. laura: when beijing says the u.s. has got to change course,

what does it mean specifically, and is washington going to do it? >> beijing's litany of complaints to the united states is long, and if we had another hour of the program, i might be able to get through most of them. beijing's concern is the united states has now moved into a much more aggressive, hostile phase with its china policy, and i think that's true. what is missing from beijing is any self reflection on how its own foreign policy, threats of an attack of taiwan, for example, might be contribute into the downward spiral. laura: his tim on the obvious place where a u.s.-china conflict could happen? >> it is one, but as the overall relationship becomes more tense, the united states and china rub up against each other in a lot of different places. this is why we need to be cognizant of the possibility of this billing over, because the south china sea, east china sea,

there are number of areas where the military is operating in close proximity. laura: what about of china was to send weapons to russia in its war in ukraine, what would that mean? >> one of the points of the warnings is to get beijing to pull back, if a chinese company is considering sending ammunition to russia. this would be a fundamental pivot moment, not only in our relationship with china, but most importantly, europe's relationship with cha. you are hesitant to use the label cold war, this would make it difficult to avoid that, because we would be seeing what now looks like a real bona fide proxy conflict. china, the united states, in ukraine scare -- squaring off against each other. it beijing was considering it,

they are not anymore. overall the rhetoric cong out of beijing puts us in a position where if it is not support for russia, we will see lots of other areas where the united states in chant -- and china or in a much more confrontational stance. laura: what could de-escalate this? will the u.s. secretary of state ever go to china over this? >> know it should expect a major repair in one fell swoop. if we get to a place of stability, it will be through lots of small actions. if we can clear enough debris ou of this to wear a meeting between the secretary of state and his chinese counterpart can take place. we had the meeting between biden and xi jinping coming up hopefully later this fall. laura: thanks so much for being with us.

let's turn to the u.k., where the government has unveiled its plan to tackle legal migration, aimed at stopping people crossing the english channel from france. if it is too dangerous to return people to their own country, they will be deported to rwanda or to another so-called safe nation. it is up from 300 migrants in 2018. prime minister rishi sunak had this to say about his plan. >> about is not being able to help truly the most vulnerable people around the world, because our system is being overwhelmed by those who are jumping the queue and coming here illegally. they are traveling through multiple safe european countries. they are paying people thousands of pounds to get here. want to move to a system where we break that cycle. laura: for more on how britain's new plan for dealing with

migrants actually works, we have this report from the coastal town of over in the southeast of england. reporter: today is cerinly a big day in the british government that intends to bring a halt to the small boat crossings. prime minister rishi sunak has said that ultimately people crossing the channel and small boats are not facing a direct threato their life over in northern france. they are not directly fleeing persecution in northern france, and therefore it is simply not fair. so the big idea the british government is saying to people is that from today, anyone arriving in the future it may be detained, deported, and ultimately denied the right to apply for asylum in the u.k. although legislation is being introduced in parliament today, it will take several months to become law, assuming it all goes through as planned. but we are being told that that law will apply retrospectively.

so people arriving from today could be told in the future they cannot ever return to the u.k. once being removed. laura: simon james in dover. lucy williamson is on the others to the english channel. she has been speaking to people in mrant camps who want to get to the u.k. >> the conversations we've been having, the announcement today has not been much of a deterrent for people in the camps here. they remember the announcement of the rwanda policy last year. they remember the exact anxiety that because for some people and they remember the fact that no one has actually been sent to rwanda. a lot of them concluding that these policies eitr won't happen, or they won't happen to them. i want to tell you about a young sudanese man we spoke to. he said to me, he would rather be in prison in the u.k. then free here in france. that gives you some kind of idea

, many people here have had to rationalize risk in order to end up here, but i do think there's a sense that as long as there is a window of hope, then many people are going to stay committed to getting to the u.k., whatever the potential consequences might be. laura: lucy williamson rorting from france. if you're still recovering from the last u.s. presidential election, the next one is in 2024. the jockeying for position is well underway. the republican governor of florida, ron desantis, is widely seen as someone who is likely to challenge donald trump for the republican nomination. governor desantis used his state of the state address this morning to preview what could be his core message, should he run for the white house. >> we find ourselves in florida on the front lines in the battle for freedom. together, we have made florida the nation's most desired destination, and we have

produced historic results. but now is not the time toest on our laurels. we have the opportunitynd indeed the responsibity to swing for the fences, so that we can ensure florida remains number one. laura: for more on this and other political developments, were joined by our senior north american correspondent. anthony, ron desantis has plenty of conservative appeal, but what does he have to say about abortion? >> it is a key issue and the florida legislature is considering a six week abortion ban in the upcoming session. what ron desantis did not mention abortion at all. instead, he talked about other issues that are near and dear to his heart, lashing out against what he called a biomedical --

he talked about education a bit, he talked about tax cuts. he also talked about hot button cultural issues like gender affirmation surgery, a ban on that which the legislature is considering. he pointed out a guest in the audience h was a teenager who he said regretted having that surgery, and he didn't want to do any more of this mutilation, is what he called it. so not talking about abortion, but definitely talking about other controversial topics. laura: speaking of controversial topics, fox news has got hold of the security tapes from the assault on the u.s. capitol on january 6. they were given to them by the current speaker of the house, kevin mccarthy. what has been the reaction to those tapes? reporter: the reaction has been overwhelmingly negative from the house, senate minority leader on

down, we heard from mitt romney, calling it an abomination that they were able to spread these tapes. john kennedylso harshly criticized it. the reason is, one, it is personal. these people were there on that day and they know they were not peaceful protest, by and large. then there is also a political angle to this. they don't want to talk about january 6. they want to focus on the future. they don't want the politics of the next two years to be dominated by this. they want to be able to focus on joe biden and issues that are ar and dear to their hearts. ron desantis in his speech did not talk at all about january 6, and that is by design. they want to focus forward, and this in their minds is a distraction. laura: for the past year, we've been reporting on the war raging

in ukraine. but rarely do we hear about what happens to those who are injured in the conflict. the bbc has been given access to one hospital in western ukraine, where the wounded were given special rehabilitation treatment. you may find parts of this report upsetting. reporter: this is when his war ended. his tank had just gone over a mine last september. he holds on as his comrades take him to safety. he suffered burns across one third of his body and seriously injured his leg. the journey for wounded soldiers is a long one. in lviv, western ukraine,

thousands end up at this rehabilitation center. injuries from explosions or shells are the most common. while ilya is one of many, it has been an isolating six months. >> i had many surgeries. a skin graft and three operations on my leg. there was a search for docto, hope for specialists who might be able to save my leg. then there was disappointment, and hope. because losing a leg is not the end. >> ilya is learning to look ahead. but his next chapter is unlikely to be from the front line. thousands of injured soldiers find themselves in hospitals like this across ukraine, and that is putting a real strain on the countries health system.

the fighting or the brutality of it that they have come from is unimaginable. but a return to a full life is possible. on a cold kyiv moment, a perfect case in point. we last saw him in may when he was being treated for a broken pelvis and jaw after he returned from captivity. he's also lost vision in one eye, and has been told his military days are over. instead, he helps other veterans. >> my country, my troops, the marines, they are the best of the best. deep inside, i still feel guilty i'm not in the forces, but i can be effective even when i'm not in military uniform. >> every ukrainian bears some of this invasions weight. where there is hurt, there is

some healing, despite everything. james waterhouse, bbc, kyiv. laura: healing iukraine amid the battle. in other news now from around the work, israeli forces have killed six palestinian men in a raid on the -- on a west bank city. one of the dead is suspected of killing two last week. palestinian officials warned it could lead to a further escalation of intentions. the u.s. defense secretary has promised to continue america's presence in iraq. days before the 20th anniversary of the operation that toppled saddam hussein's regime. there are currently about 2500 trips i -- troops interact. police and protesters clashed in

france amid ongoing demonstrations against the government's plans to raise the retirement age by two years. police used tear gas in paris and arrested protesters. president macron hopes the protest will be of dr. -- be of dr. this month -- be adopted this month. if you are after ticket for this year's eurovision song contest in may, you had to be alert this morning. the tickets for all nine shows in liverpool sold out and just 19 minutes, as our correspondent reports. reporter: meet josh. in the big day had arrived. the countdown to eovision tickets go on sale. >> i thought i would pass out.

>> and he was into the queue. we will come back to josh later, because he was just one of thousands trying to get a ticket for liverpool, which is hosting eurovision because it is felt that ukraine is currently too dangerous. and monica, who lives in liverpool, succeeded. and another long-term eurovision fan, sasha. >> they were the lucky ones. all tickets sold out in record time. >> it is very competitive, a lot of crashing on ticketmaster as well. you have to remember there is a lot happening anyway, so whether you have a ticket or not, i would encourage you to come and visit and see what we have to offer. >> meanwhile, back at josh's.

>> oh my god. i think i'm going to cry. oh my god, i'm going to have a heart attack. >> a dream come true, until he tried to put in his security code. >> something went wrong. tickets now sold out, that's what it says. what can y do? something might happen, and you have to know. laura: before we leave you tonight, celebrations are underway for the ancient hindu festal which marks the advent of spring. narrator: funding for presentation of this program is provided by.. the freeman fodation. by judy and peter blum-kovler foundation.

pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you, thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪♪ announcer: usa today calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs video app lets you watch the best of pbs anytime, anywhere. simply download the pbs video app on your mobile or streaming device.

judy: good evening and welcome. i am amna. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. we speak to a current and former governor about the direction of the gop. amna: fox news uses selective clips of capital security footage to spread misinformation about what happened on january 6. geoff: a ruling by a texas judge on birth control threatens a nationwide program that provides contraception to minors without requiring their parents permission. >> we are seeing a movement that may be began with religious exemption and we are moving towards an agenda that says let me structure all of health care

according to my morals.