>> 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, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the island with warm sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the

crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> and now, bbc "world news." tim: this is "bbc world news america." reporting from washington, i am tim willcox. rex tillerson arrives in the bear's den amid increasingly delicate language between moscow and washington over syria. the white house press secretary sparks uproar by appearing to forget the holocaust, suggesting that adolf hitler did not use chemical weapons on his own people. and it may hurt now, but science tells us vaccines help in the long run. why do some parents in seattle doubt that when it comes to their children?

tim: hello, and welcome to our viewers on public television and around the globe. as a businessman he may once have been awarded russia's medal of friendship -- , of friendship but as , washington's most senior diplomatic met the next few days are expected to be frosty or for secretary of state rex tillerson. armed with what he called a unified message from u.s. allies can he is the manning moscow crackdown on syria's use of banned chemical weapons and push for a solution to the country's civil war. the language on both sides is getting increasingly heated. james robbins has this report. james: america's top diplomat arriving in moscow, doesn't accept this is mission impossible. rex tillerson hopes he can persuade the russians to ditch

syria's president assad, and he is not mincing his words. moscow, he said earlier, bears heavy responsibility after last week's chemical attack. secretary tillerson: it is unclear whether russia failed to take his obligation seriously or if russia is incompetent, but this distinction doesn't much matter to the dead. james: president vladimir putin is sending mixed signals. meeting the italian president today, the russian leader is hoping for constructive cooperation with washington, but is still talking up the risk of confrontation, accusing america and opposition forces of planning further attacks. president putin: we have information from sources that provocations are being prepared in other parts of syria, including the southern suburbs of damascus, where they are planning to release some sort of substance again.

james: mr. tillerson must tread very carefully to make a deal with the russian leader. >> we know putin well. putin is a person who can make unexpected moves towards partners, and even concessions, but never bends under pressure. just the opposite. james: on last week's gas attack moscow and washington seem to , agree on one thing there , should be a full investigation. but there is plenty of room to dispute who should carry it out, and when, and how. the g-7 meeting of america's allies ended today without giving rex tillerson much political ammunition. ministers failed to agree on any future threat of targeted sanctions. boris johnson pressed hard for it, but insisted no consensus was not defeat. secretary johnson: i don't pretend you this is going to be easy.

there are very few better routes forward that i can see for the russians. this is a way forward for russia and syria, and in making this offer, i think rex tillerson has overwhelming support. james: so, looking at boris johnson's performance, what does a former conservative foreign of the gamble? >> putin will be pleased they weren't able to reach an agreement, but putin is an opportunist, and over the obama years he was able to say i can do what i like militarily in syria because the americans are not going to intervene. the americans have now intervened. they have done so once, they could do so again. james: rex tillerson did get from g-7 allies universal endorsement of president trump's missile strikes on syria, but he left here for moscow without the

sort of threat to russia that boris johnson would've liked. tim: i spoke with our correspondent in russia, if they would have their own position for rex tillerson. steve: ahead of these talks, making it clear that moscow wanted constructive cooperation, with america.ion they were looking forward to negotiations. they made clear that russia was not willing to give up what it legitimatets interests. up until now they have seen president assad in power as part of russia's legitimate interest. it will be difficult for rex tillerson to persuade the kremlin to reduce support for president assad.

tim: the argument is that russia thethe guarantor for elimination of chemical weapons in 2014. if they have been used russia has either accepted that or turned a blind eye. steve: that may be the argument that rex tillerson makes in his talks tomorrow, but you have to remember that president assad is the key military ally of russia in the middle east. the russians have invested so andily in him in military political terms, in financial terms, to make sure he remains in power. in the eyes of moscow, president a guarantor of an islamist takeover of syria and of russian interests in syria. tim: thank you, very much.

spoke withthis, i the u.s. ambassador to russia in the early 2000's. also deputy secretary-general to nato. when the kremlin says u.s.-russia relations are the worst since the cold war, would you characterize it like that as well? >> i'm afraid it's not a big exaggeration. you have to go back to the 1960's to think of a period so unstable and unpredictable, when they were building the berlin wall and the cuban missile crisis. it is not just syria could it is what the russians are doing with the invasion of ukraine that is turned upside down the rules-based international order. tim: on the issue of syria, rex tillerson is arriving out. he got the medal of friendship years ago. what leverage does he have if he meets president putin? >> yeah. the russians know that president trump, unlike president obama,

is willing to use force if major norms are violated. at the same time, u.s. leverages may not be sufficient to convince putin to abandon assad. assad has been his ticket to influence in the middle east. the russians don't even believe the evidence, or they claim not to believe the evidence, that they used chemical weapons. they may be prepared to see the war grind on. the choice rex tillerson wants putin to make is one he may feel he can kick down the road. tim: rex tillerson says if you don't do this, or else, that raises the stakes even higher. and president putin is psychologically not that sort of man who wants to be put in that situation. >> he doesn't like to be cornered. but the question is more basic, what is the "or else" in the message? the main priority for the administration -- i think it is the right one -- is to fight isis and the campaign to destroy the stronghold in raqqa is not finished.

you don't want to antagonize the regime and putin to that extent. over time, the administration may need to find more ways to put pressure on the regime, through arming the resistance, moderate opposition, and perhaps after raqqa has been taken, they may have to reassess whether to go after the regime. tim: when you look at the coalition's building up, tillerson did not even come with a unified g-7 in terms of extra sanctions against the kremlin and perhaps other military leaders that have been targeted before. what about the issue of russia, iran, and north korea now being grouped, and even an arms deal? we read that russia is considering selling $10 billion worth of arms to tehran. >> the russian-iranian relationship is not without its problems, but in syria they are joined at the hip and if

anything, iran is more committed to keeping assad in power than the russians are. the table is not well stacked in favor of early win for the top -- for the trump administration. at the same time, showing he is willing to use force and keeping them guessing as to what he does next. tells tehran and pyongyang that this administration is different, and maybe tells the chinese, who have the leverage to deal with the north korean problem, that it is time to get more serious. tim: thank you for joining us on the program. dominated thekes white house press conference. white house, and press secretary sean spicer caught many offguard when he said that even adolf hitler never used chemical weapons. in comparison, he said, to syrian president bashar

al-assad, who u.s. officials said had used such methods in the past and again last week. north america editor jon sopel has this. jon: the president's spokesman sean spicer came to debriefing to talk about the seriousness of last week's sarin attack in a series in which the administration holds bashar al-assad responsible corporate but then he turned to history to make this point. mr. spicer: we didn't have chemical weapons in world war ii. you have someone as despicable as hitler who do not even think to use chemical weapons. jon: but that statement drew an incredulous response from journalists attending the briefing. >> i will give you an opportunity to clarify something that seems to be gaining some traction -- "hitler did not sink to the level of using chemical weapons." what did you mean by that? mr. spicer: when it comes to sarin gas, he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that assad is doing. jon: millions of jews were gassed during the second world war in the network of concentration camps built in what was called the final solution. the director of the anne frank center condemned the remarks.

"sean spicer has engaged in holocaust denial, the most offensive form of fake news imaginable." "spicer's slur is the most evil against a group of people we have heard from a white house press secretary." criticism from senators and parmesan, men and women, republican and democrat. last night president trump put out a tweet wishing jews in america and around the world a happy passover. today, his press spokesperson has offended many of those people with his comments. mr. spicer has put out a clarification, saying "in no way was i try to lessen the horrendous nature of the holocaust." perhaps the lesson is don't make comparisons with hitler. jon sopel, bbc news, washington. tim: you are watching "bbc world news america." in other stories, united

airlines has apologized for the horrific removal of a passenger from a flight on sunday. says he was disturbed by the incident, an online video showing the asian man being dragged off the airplane, screaming. explosion nearan the football club, injuring one of the players. the bus was on its way to the champion league match with monaco. the game has been postponed for 24 hours. german police say three explosions smashed the bus windows. a failed asylum speaker accused of the truck attack in sweden appeared in court in handcuffs. his defense lawyer says he admitted to hijacking the lorry and crashing it into the

department store, which killed four people. judges will now decide the next stage of his detention. you are watching bbc "world news america." still to come, three years on krom the abduction of the chibo schoolgirls, kidnapping still exists in nigeria. we investigate why. the japanese multinational toshiba has warned that its survival is in doubt after massive losses. it lost nearly $5 billion. the company has faced several largely because of the purchase of westinghouse and nuclear power house. toshiba, panasonic,

how did we and it appeared. the chinese and koreans can make these just as well, but cheaper. these japanese companies lost their mojo. they forgot how to innovate. the country that invented the walkman did not invent the smartphone. vast exhibition hall, more than 3000 recruits are being inducted into one of japan's corporations. a lot of these young people can expect to spend their whole career in this one company. it will become their second home here they are expected to work long, hard hours and wait their turn for promotion. it has worked well for japan in the past, but has real problems. in this corporate hierarchy, promotion is based on age, not

talent. it is a culture resistant to change, and bad at producing new ideas. not alone. other famous japanese names have been through deep crises. sharp was sold to a taiwanese company. it'sba will be broken up, best bits sold off to the highest bidder. tim: it was three years ago this week that the nigerian town of chibok took on significance when boko haram round kidnapped 276 schoolgirls, sparking a debate of women's rights on the continent and beyond. some of the country's northeast, the islamic extremist group has

continued the campaign of abductions. reporter: for several months the city was under the heel of radical islam. now the nigerian army claims to hold sway. we are the first journalists to enter since the liberation. a place of repression and death in the name of sharia law. it knows kidnapping. this building, plastered with the flag of boko haram was a , safe house used to hide some of the chibok girls. they're of the direction three years ago this week horrified ir abduction three years ago this week horrified the world and gave boko haram global notoriety. several women claim they saw some of the girls here but there has never been any concrete proof. boko haram kidnapped thousands of others, but those left behind, the youngsters not taken, they are suffering, too. a makeshift sign says we are

entering the village, and the military escort guides us in. here, 18 girls were seized by boko haram in a dawn raid just two weeks ago. 4 more have been snatched in recent days. but the lives of those not taken to breed a new generation of religious fanatics is blighted nonetheless. this camp houses thousands of women who have lost everything, like this 30-year-old, traumatized and all alone. >> my father and my two brothers were captured by boko haram. i don't know if i will ever see them again. while the people here in the camp are good to me, i'm on my own. reporter: and that means that she, like so many others, is a vulnerable. in some camps, women have been refused food unless they offer sex. others have had to turn to prostitution to get by.

a few desperate families, for a handful of pennies have sold , their daughters into wedlock. i found the elder of this camp, who told me there have been several marriages so far here, and the bride price, the fee paid to parents by the greens, -- by the rooms -- by the grooms has fallen dramatically to as little as eight pounds. so what is the future for these kids, boys and girls? education could be the key to a better life, and that is why all the displacement camps insist on children going to school five days a week. much of the anger of boko haram, which detests western education. school is fun? >> yes. reporter: you like math? spelling? no, you don't like math? you do like math? ok.

if only things were that simple. their teacher says most parents hate boko haram, but many do believe western education threatens islamic culture. >> most of the parents, they don't want it to intervene in the school. reporter: what is that? is that because they believe what boko haram says? >> that is ignorance. reporter: a fitting tribute to the memory of the missing chibok girls is that these youngsters at least have the chance to go go to school. tim: you are watching bbc "world news america." knows, vaccines can be lifesavers. with their introduction, measles and other illnesses have plummeted. but doctors in the united states is concerned the trump administration has emboldened vaccine skeptics, who link it to autism, or just don't like it

-- don't like the idea of their children being vaccinated. some of the lowest rates in the country are near vashon island in seattle and our health , correspondent went there for this report. >> your attention please. all a sure. reporter: a few miles up the seattle coast, it is a small, affluent community that embraces natural, clean living. today, she has decided to be a lion. these children's parents want the absolute best for them, like any medication, vaccines can cause mild, and in rare cases serious side effects. , but the scientific consensus on them is clear. they are safe, effective, and save lives. these moms are still unconvinced.

>> it is a difficult decision for parents, because we live in a society that values profit over public health. you have to do your own research to find how safe they are. >> there was a huge amount of evidence that it was harmful. if there weren't ways we could scientifically prove it it was , just talking from one mother to another. reporter: here on vashon island like many other parts of the , u.s., parents can all out of vaccinating their children for personal reasons. but the issue has caused deep divides in this tightknit community. >> who is going to go first? reporter: these four-year-old twins are getting right up to date with their vaccinations today. >> there has never been any doubt that that is the right thing to do for everybody's kids, not just our own. reporter: it may be painful, but these shots protect against deadly diseases, including measles in which, before vaccines, used to kill hundreds of children every year in the

u.s. >> the biggest concern is whooping cough. if we do not immunize enough of the children in the school, on a -- on a fairly regular basis, the epidemic can grow through the school. then, the dangerous part is they , have to be taken home and little babies can be infected, and that can be fatal. reporter: this is the man who wants to chair a committee for the trump administration looking into vaccine safety. trump afterdonald the election. the environmentalist completely dismisses the scientific consensus on vaccines. i am saying let's look at real science, then i will believe it. i don't believe government officials -- i have to be

skeptical, but we all ought to be skeptical. reporter: the president's own scientifically unfounded comments in the past have also caused alarm. president trump: a beautiful child went to have the vaccine and came back and a week later got a tremendous fever, got very, very sick. now is autistic. >> he appealed to emotion and fear. we know that vaccines do not cause autism. we are afraid statements like parents frometer getting vaccinations that their kids need and deserve. >> ice cream! reporter: back at the clinic, they are getting over their injections. but for their parents, the greater good for the health of the island, is worth their tears. tim: that is it for this edition of "bbc world news america." plenty more, as always, on the website at bbc.com/news. also on facebook and on twitter.

from me, tim willcox, and the whole team in washington, see you at the same time tomorrow. >> 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, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and aruba tourism authority. >> planning a vacation escape that is relaxing, inviting, and exciting is a lot easier than you think. you can find it here in aruba. families, couples, and friends can all find their escape on the

island with warm sunny days, cooling trade winds, and the crystal blue caribbean sea. nonstop flights are available from most major airports. more information for your vacation planning is available at aruba.com. >> bbc world news was presented by kcet los angeles.

captioning sponsored by newshour productions, llc >> woodruff: good evening. i'm judy woodruff. on the newshour tonight: >> they have aligned themselves with an unreliable partner in bashar al-assad. >> woodruff: secretary of state rex tillerson talks tough in moscow, warning russia about backing the assad regime in the wake of chemical weapons attacks. then: >> for those that continue to seek improper and illegal entry into this country, be forewarned: this is a new era. >> woodruff: as attorney general jeff sessions tours the u.s- mexico border, we head to mexico city, where the recently deported struggle to survive in unfamiliar surroundings. >> it's difficult. very difficult.