>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation -- giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, and mufg. >> it is a global truth. we can do more when we work together. at mufg, our banking relationships span cultures and support almost every institute across the globe, because

success takes partnership, and only through discipline and trust can we create something greater than ourselves. mufg, we build relationships that build the world. >> and now, "bbc world news america." >> this is a special edition of "bbc world news america"," reporting from los angeles california, i am katty kay. asian migrants are rescued by fishermen as two countries offer shelter. holding the big banks to account. record fines against major financial groups are manipulating foreign exchange markets. we sit down with maggie gyllenhaal to speak about her award-winning bbc show and finding authentic roles for women in hollywood. >> it is unusual to find

something where you say i can explore a lot about myself that feels like reality. unusual. ♪ katty: welcome to our viewers on public television and america and around the globe. we are coming to you from los angeles, and will have more news from california later in the program. the migrant crisis in asia. indonesia and malaysia are temporarily providing shelter 2000 stuck at sea. some found by the bbc last week drifting off the coast of thailand, have already been rescued by indonesian fisherman. our international correspondent has been meeting some of them, and his report contains distressing images. >> thousands of migrants from myanmar are abandoned by the

countries of the region and stranded at sea for weeks. we knew that they come down in this direction. here's the coast land in thailand. some of them have come across to indonesia. there is such a vast body of water it is almost impossible to find out where they are. one boat with hundreds of people on board was last seen by the bbc off the coast of thailand. in the end it was the kindness of strangers that saved them. they were rescued by local fishermen who brought them ashore. exhausted, malnourished, and dehydrated. this was the last time they had men seen. almost a week ago. they pleaded for help. without food, water, or the compassion of their fellow man. in the end they were given supplies the boat was fixed,

and they were boarded back to see. this man was amongst them. an eight-year-old boy desperately crying out to be fed . this was him today, safe, clean, and said. -- and fed. he looks at the photo of him last week and describes how he felt. >> i am sad, i want to cry. >> this is where fudu lived for two weeks. packed in with hundreds of others. malaysia and indonesia have set up temporary shelter for the migrants. only on the condition that the international community agrees to re-patch rate or resettle them within one year. with thousands of people still stranded at sea living in cramped, filthy, and dangerous

boats like this one, there is no active plan to either find them or rescue them. forecasters predict the start of the monsoon season and the chance of a cyclone. unless someone helps the other migrants ashore, hundreds of people may die. the u.n. calls the muslims one of the most persecuted groups in the world. it is desperation that leaves children like rashida laying on the floor. her mother says her husband was killed by buddhists, and without money she took the risk to come here. tonight her children are without a father, a country, or a home. ian pannell, bbc news. katty: desperate scenes from the water in asia. islamic state forces have taken

control of the city of palmeiro. syrian state television has reported pro-government fighters have withdrawn after securing the safe exit of most civilians. there are fears that the nearby ancient city could be destroyed by is forces. banks are being fined millions of dollars for manipulating foreign currency. barclays is facing the biggest fine. traders used electronic chat rooms to manipulate rates making large profits at the expense of pension runs and companies. here's our business manager. >> from london's global banks another day and another set of multi-billion pounds fines for rigging the foreign exchange market. barclays is the biggest offender facing a penalty of 1.5 billion

pounds or its role in the scandal. the u.s. attorney general, loretta lynch, said the it -- said the behavior was brazen. loretta lynch: they dubbed it the cartel. it is fitting they chose the name as it describes the illegal behavior they were engaged in on a near five-year basis. >> why does the foreign exchange market matter? it is used by global companies tuesday -- global companies to trade around the world and governs the price of goods we i and sell. if it is rigged the price of those goods could be affected . bankers will make more money for themselves and their banks. one group of traders was known as the three musketeers, another -- the cartel.

another trader was told that if he messed up the manipulation he should sleep with one eye open. despite the huge fines, banks in london and down the river at canary wharf, no they are not out of the woods. it is worth remembering that so far things have aid out more than or 2 billion pounds in misconduct charges since 2011. those fines are likely to get higher and higher. katty: on tuesday the city council in los angeles voted to increase the minimum wage from nine dollars in our to $15 by 2020. it is a big change were more than 40% of the workforce earns less than the new standard. if follows a growing trend that has already been seen in chicago and san francisco that approves similar increases. i spoke with jennifer medina.

she wrote on this topic for "the new york times to go how important is this shift from nine dollars to $15? jennifer: it is huge for the individual and the political landscape, in california and nationally. it is a 66% increase for an individual over five years. it could really shift the debate. the mayor of new york is considering pushing for a minimum wage increase, and this may put pressure on katty: the governor there. in los angeles you have a sense of what the cost of living is like. if you are currently on nine dollars and hour, can you make a living for families? jennifer: certainly not. if you make a nine dollars and have children you are living at the definition of poverty. even at $15 it is it open question of what your quality of

life will be. the rent in los angeles is incredibly high. as it is in many of the most populous cities. this will improve lives, but if it will truly allow people to have a high quality of life is very much an open question. katty: the argument against raising the minimum wage is that if you are a small business owner you cannot afford that and your business might close. is that a realistic concern? how worried our people on the minimum wage? jennifer: i have not talked to anyone on the minimum wage that is disappointed that they will make more money. business owners are concerned about how they will pave the wage. it will be phased in over five years. it is a big increase. i don't think anyone can predict what will happen.

there are democracies that said unemployment does not go up and businesses don't close their doors in slower increases, but never has there been anything this dramatic in this big of a scale? . katty: how much of an impact will increasing the minimum wage in l.a. and other cities, how much of an impact will that make on any quality? jennifer: i think people are not sure about the impact. one city council member who voted in favor of it made the point that it is only taken from the top earners in the economy but it will take from the people who are a little bit above it. i don't think we can know exactly what the impact is yet. it will take a while to see. katty: thank you for coming. a former commander of the al-shabab is urging its members

to stop attacking civilians. speaking to the bbc key condemned the recent attack at a university in kenya which killed 150 students. he is at the center of a new somalia initiative to win over defectors. the africa correspondent went to mogadishu to meet him. >> a crowded beach in mogadishu. a sign that somalia is possibly on the mend. a suicide in the attack by al-shabab. the militants remain a big threat. the government insists that it is turning the tide. we're escorted to a secret location to meet one of

al-shabab's most senior commanders. zachary was one of the leaders . he is now a defector. second by the groups shift toward attacking civilian targets. >> now's the time to act against the terrorists. >> somalia's government is treating them well, hoping he can entice others to follow his pass -- his path. hersi: it is not the right thing. >> what was you say to the parents of the students who died in carissa? hersi: my condolences to them.

to their families and parents. >> al-shabab is a powerful force in somalia. it is losing territory fast under huge military pressure. this amalia government believes that now is the time to use the carrot to l -- to lure in tip-level defectors. >> putting pressure in the air. >> it is not just al-shabab's leaders being targeted. inland, the militants once controlled all of this. now, the balance is shifting. a government camper fighters who surrendered. this includes one woman who was kidnapped by al-shabab as a schoolgirl.

they be to you, star do, and raped you because he refused to join? >> yes. i spent three years with al-shabab and bore them three children. i was taken into battle with them. i escaped when i was wounded in an ambush. >> she is safe here, but not outside. al-shabab may not control much territory, but it still has the power to push this fragile nation off course. andrew harding, bbc news somalia. katty: the horror of life as a prisoner of al-shabab. still to come, closing the gender gap in california's high-tech capital. meet women in silicon valley training to be tech leaders. millions of commuters in germany faced disruption as train drivers staged their ninth

strike in 10 months. our correspondent has the report. >> they walked out in the early hours of this morning. ellen knows when the train drivers will be back. -- no one knows when the train drivers will be back. it is a mega strike. that means that simone and her family did not know when they will get home tonight. >> if you planned something important, and you hear there's a strike, and you cannot travel, it is a problem. >> no wonder this one was crowded. ordinarily it serves 5.5 million people by rail traveling every day. the german industry relies on the network. freight trains of goods and materials. the strike is bad news for steel and chemical manufacturers. the walkout could cost the national economy 1.9 million euros a day.

>> 3300 drivers on strike every day proves our members understand what is at stake. they're fighting for themselves, and are prepared to keep going. >> for now, an emergency timetable with no long-term solution. this is the ninth rail strike in 10 months. in recent months there have been walkouts by postal workers pilots even kindergarten teachers. it is what of the reasons the government is considering to change the law limiting the effect of unions and limiting their abilities to stage this kind of industrial action. what began as a row against pay would have far-reaching consequences for german workers and those who represent them. bbc news, berlin. katty: in california, silicon

valley is known as the heart of high-tech. it has a problem with women. there aren't enough of them in the boardroom and on the coding floor. it is men who dominate. things are slowly starting to change with the help of social media and programs training women to become tech leaders. >> these are the founders of google, ebay, apple. they killed it. none of these are women. >> she is one of silicon valley's few female venture capitalists. a billion-dollar business writing on startup companies. she is introducing an all-female collection of company founders to the hill they have to climb. >> the perception is that you are going to give me a mommy blog, a lipstick company something put typically female. >> the perception is different

from the reality. >> we provide parkinson's treatments allowing people to walk normally. >> the middle east's largest market with markets that connect fishermen. >> some people think because your woman you are not serious. you do not know what you are doing. >> if you want more women in tech you want men to be more supportive at workplaces and at home. you want a man who will take responsibility for the family and allow the woman to dedicate more time to work. >> one of the cool things about working at a google is that we are a culture of doers and goofy people. >> a google tour is part of an intensive two-week course. and mentoring with one-on-one successful women. >> for us, it is a matter of

supporting holding a robust pipeline of talent from childhood. from the school years, high school, and university. >> there some reason for optimism, though there is much to do. >> it is a next bag. some companies give it with service, and others are making a concerted effort. the percentage of companies making a concerted effort is growing. not because they feel ashamed, but because they are realizing they need to go after that untapped pool of talent. >> silicon valley is a leader in developing technology, but women have been in the minority. in the past year or two, they have woken up to the fact that it has to change, or at least, it does not take good financial

sense. changing an entire culture can take a long time. bbc news, silicon valley. katty: speaking of women in positions of power, maggie gyllenhaal carries a lot of clout in los angeles. her latest role has been filling her award shelf. she plays a businesswoman who inherits her father's company and strives to bring peace to the middle east. there are plenty of twists and turns. the bbc series is a hit. i caught up with maggie gyllenhaal to talk about playing such a complicated character and the role of women in show business. congratulations on all of the awards. who would've thought that a posh british israeli character played by an american actress would have caught the critical acclaim it has. maggie gyllenhaal: she is an

unusual character. she is not like anything i've ever read before. when i read this crypt, i felt it was a breath of fresh air. katty: you talk about her not being a sexy single mom. maggie gyllenhaal: after "crazy heart" there were a lot of roles that i was asked to do that was a hot, single mom. katty: she is more complicated as a character. she is interesting to me when i watched the show because she is both honorable and strong. maggie gyllenhaal: as all of us are. in the beginning of a long story, as is the case here, the first episode you watch someone doing an incredibly refined and excellent performance of what they think they are supposed to be. at the end of the first episode you see her not being able to

keep it up. she starts to crack open. after that, you see a tiny sprout of who she actually is grow. who we actually are as women, as people, and i can speak better to being a woman, it is sometimes very strong, and sometimes confused and weak sometimes sexy, sometimes not sexy. >> hello. i cannot tell you how heavy that robe is. katty: a lot of people have commented on the accent. you do it in packable he. how much of a challenge was it? maggie gyllenhaal: i'm doing other projects with an english accent. i think i did all right. i like the accident. -- i like the accident. -- i like the accent.

part of me wishes i could talk like that all the time. in the morning, as soon as i woke up, i would start talking in english accent. not with my family, though, my husband would never be able to handle that. >> i think you made a mistake. >> if i do, at least it will be mine. katty: how tough is it: and in hollywood to find complex, real, nuanced roles. -- how tough is it for women in hollywood to find complex, real nuanced roles. maggie gyllenhaal: it is unusual. at the same time i saw "mad max" this weekend and charlize theron slayed it. i feel like she has thrown the gates open. it is always changing.

there is a progression in every way. i also see, more than when i was younger, it is limited and there are problems. i'm not despairing, but you do have to be -- there is as much available as there is for men. especially i'm 37, maybe when you're 20 five there's more. i'm not sure how i feel about that. i'm just paying attention to it. katty: changes needed in silicon valley and in hollywood with it comes to the roles for women. maggie gyllenhaal 18 gracie award in hollywood -- maggie gyllenhaal won a gracie award in hollywood. and our colleague won a gracie award for her brave reporting on the ebola crisis.

you couldn't find up more of today's news on our website at any time you would like. from all of us at world news america in los angeles and our team in washington. thank you for watching. >> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding of this presentation is made possible by -- the freeman foundation, newman's own foundation -- giving all profits from newman's own to charity and pursuing the common good, kovler foundation, and mufg. >> build a solid foundation and you can connect communities and commerce for centuries, which is the strength behind good banking relationships, too.

that is why at mufg, we believe financial partnerships should endure the test of time, because with time comes change -- what matters in the end is that you are strong enough to support it. mufg, we build relationships that build the world. >> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: wall street's growing rap sheet. big banks plead guilty to rigging currency rates, paying billions in fines. good evening, i'm judy woodruff. >> ifill: and i'm gwen ifill. also ahead this wednesday: osama bin laden's bookshelf declassified. a glimpse into the al-qaeda network, through its leader's documents, books and letters. >> woodruff: plus, advances in artificial intelligence that could make your job obsolete. robots that can think faster and smarter than humans. >> going forward we may see automation unfold in a top heavy pattern where a lot of the best jobs are the ones to be impacted.