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and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like y. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc world news". ♪ anchor: i am lord's rebellion in new york cy and this is bbc world news america. after the u.s. and britain and austria announced a new security guilt try to responds with fury saying the move shows a cold war mentality. the reaction from our correspondents across the globe. celebrations in lebanon as a run sense field to a country in crisis where it is hard to keep the lights on. the ship and its violate u.s. sanctions on iran selling oil. in germany the race to replace angela merkel is comg to a close. we are hearing out the summer's intense letting is affecting the way people may vote. as butterflies are under threat

from climate change hud scientist have an ingenious plan to save the species. ♪ welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. a new defense alliance tween america, australia, and britain as part tension with china and france. the deal as australia submarines, which could alter the balance in the power of the pacific. beijing called the pact extremely irresponsible. france said it was a stab in the back of the americans. the french have lost their contract to build submarines for australia. tonight we will hear from our reporters in the key capal, arting with our defense correspondent who reports from london. correspondent: britain is making its market the pacific. the royal navy's role aircraft character has been flagged there

, proof of the increasing importance of the region and the focus for this new defense agreement. what is the threat? china is the rising power in the region, not just an economic giant but a mitary one too. it's armed forces are modernizing. it now has the world's largest navy. it has staked its claim to oceans, fortifying islands outside its own territorial waters. this new pact announced in an appeance by the leaders of the austria, ok, and u.s. is all about china coming even though it did not mention it by name. pres. biden: you all recognize the imperative of ensuring peace and stability in the indo pacific over the long-term. we need to address both the current strategic environment in the region and how it may evolve. correspondent: as to what is the pact it starts with sharing the

most sentive of stealth technologies. britain and america will help australihold a fleet of new nuclear powered submarines. >> the house will understand how australia's future possession of this capability will help to safeguard the peace and security of the indo pacific. correspondent: this week london has been hosting one of the world's largest arms fairs where there is fierce competition for defense contracts. the plan is to build this new fleet of submarines in australia, but the government here hopes it will create jobs. the u.s. might have led the exit from afghanistan, but this agreement shows it is not turning its back on china's growing influence in the pacific. anchor: friendship between china and the u.s. has been growing as beijing becomes a bigger economic power, and now chinese

officials say this new western alliance undermines regional stability. our correspondent is in beijing with more. correspondent: the chinese government has slanted this new pact. a foreign ministry spokesperson says all three countries have severely undermined regional peace and stability and all three of them had fueled the arms race. that spokesman today had especially strong words for australia, he said the international community had good region to question that country's sincerity. a straight ministers have not had meetings with their chinese counterparts were well over a year. you do not have visits here from australia leaders. the speed and -- in collapse of relatis has been quite spectacular. around when year ago there was xi jinping going to football and australia. now you have australia developing nuclear powered submarines to counter its number

one trading partner, quite remarkable. anchor: stephen mcdonald reporting from beijing. on the other side of the break france is also outraged, as the french have been pushed out of their deal to provide australia with submarines. >> i have never seen it speak it with such clarity this morning when he said it was like a stab in the back. there are all sorts of reasons why they are cross. part of it is the loss of the contract with billions of euros, which they signed into 1016 -- 2016. it was the manner in which they found out. by all accounts they did not know this was going to happen until they had the press conference yesterday. above all, it is a strategic, diplomatic body blow to th french, who have been trying to build up their own alliances, lie the european flag in this

important theater, the get the pacific, and all of that is undone and cooked up not in nato but in the anglosphere, and that is a nightmare for the french. at the end of the day i think the french will accepthe view that this is -- the americans, it is the unpredictability of america that is causing the headlines in france today. this is not biden, this is trump acting. there seems to be a feeling in france you have an administration of whatever stripe that is going to act purely in american interest outside of executive forms, and more than one commentator i heard on the radio and television this morning says what is the point of nato? why are we in it? it is a grunt breaking event

which holds a future in which all things like the future of nato participation suddenly come up once again into question. anchor: for the latest on this trend atlantic row we are joined by gary o'donoghue. the french are clearly absolutely furious. i is that being felt in washington tonight? guest: one particular way it is being felt is they canceled a major gala and a visit to mark the battle of the capes, which meet preceded george washington's victory at georgetown when the french took on the british chesapeake bay. that is gone because they believe this is an example of american perfidy and they are talking about america as an unreliable ally. anchor: i know that there have

been high-level meetings in washington today between the u.s. and australian officials, but this is atrategic gamble for the australians going all in with the americans against china. guest: it is definitely a generational decision. it will last for decades the consequences of this decision and it is clearly one they have taken on the deteriorating relationships -- relations with beijing. america has seen an opportunity, and wants to share the burden of threats and the indo pacific, this is an important way it can do that with the british and the help of e australians. it will not just be submarines. we learn today with a meeting with the secretary desk in a meing with the secretary of state at that other forest of claimants are going to increase as well to australia, american aircraft, force cooperation, logistics cooperation.

you will see a lot more american troops and airplanes in australia in the coming decades. anchor: president obama talked about the pivot to asia. is president biden finally performing that pivot? guest: there have been a few tentative pirouettes over the last 10 years or so. i think this is a really ncrete way in which joe biden is trying to demonstrate that he is serious about what he perceives as the threat from china moving away from this afghanistan episode, nationbuilding, exporting democracy and confronting this issue of great power rivalry, which he believes and certainl his national security apparatus it leaves is the bigger challenge of the coming 50 years. anchor: president biden was supposed to be building alliances, and he is really upsetting the europeans, is he not? guest: in this particular case

he has, and with the french it is mixed with commercial disappointment with the deal they are not going to get and a long-standing suspicion about deals being done between the anglo countries. that suspicion goes back to general gold, this horror of what english sing countries are getting up to. tony blinken is trying to calm things down and said france is a vital partner in the into pacific and said he welcome to european cooperation in that sphere as well. i do not think he is going to get too much of that in the immediate term. we will see what happens well tempered school, because that they have got their own problems with trying to develop a strategic and coherent foreign policy between those member states of the eu. anchor: thank you. to lebanon now where hezbollah organized a shipment of oil from the patron iran.

lebanon is on the brink of economic collapse and has enough power to keep the lights on, but getting fuel from iran is complicated and a violation of u.s. sanctions against tehran selling oil. our correspondent reports from lebanon. correspondent: scenes of joy in a country that has little to celebrate. lebanon is gripped by one of the worst economic depressions in modern times. but away from the jubilation, this is the reality. this bakery runs for 15 hours a day on just two generators. every afternoon means a scramble for diesel, polling and flavors -- favors or scaring market -- scouring the market. once the bread is baked it needs to be delivered, but there is no

fuel for the fans. if you can find a petrol station the weight is logged. >> yesterday i sleep in my car. i am 25 years old, i do not have any money. correspondent: now they are known as the -- of humiliation. >> [speaking foreign language] [crying] >> everything here is disorganized. has is the only person who came and saved, i will bring you the gas from around -- iran. correspondent: this is a small country -- portion of fue given the country's shortages. has filaments to make a

atement but the group is part of the administration so many lebanese blame for their dire situation. this medical company it needs the fuel. it appears the consequences. accepting iranian supplies comes with the threat of international repercussions. >> a hospital cannot work without iv solutions. people are sick they need surgery, and we should not enter a political game between sanctions and having people dying because you do not supply. i think i chose not to make them die, to save them. correspondent: hospitals are being offered a priority share of the diesel. this one only ever has enough in stock for the next 48 hours. if it runsut, vital machinery. . not everyone will survive. the u.s. designated as pullout a

foreign terrorist organization 25 years ago. the bidendministration as stated largely silent on the implications of this delivery. lebanon's desperation [indiscernible] anchor: in other news now from around the world, thousands of people have protested in el salvador against the introduction of bitcoin as legal tender. demonstrators fear the cryptocurrency will bring instability and inflation, but the president says it will help el salvadorans. el salvador became the first country to use bitcoin as currency outside the dollar. -- worn -- enter any of the terraces keeping global warming to 1.5° celsius will be impossible without immediate cuts in

emissions on a huge scale. germany's federal elections will take place in less than two weeks. it is the end of the angela merkel era. ahead of the vote are katya adler as been traveling across germany. she has been asking people out flooding may influence who they vote for. correspondent: of course you remember scenes of devastation in west germany, water rushing through streets, people in the ribs of their home screaming for help. more than 180 people died this summer. devastated communities have been trying to rebuild their lives ever since. thank you for speaking with us today. you have been busy trying to rebuild, this was where living room. >> this was my living room, and the water it was like that. we had the plaster and the floor

done. correspondent: ed winter is coming -- and winter is coming. >> the problem is the gas line is broken and they said they will fix it in march. maybe they will start to do it quickeuntil we have warm, nice weather in november. correspondent: should we head toward your kitchen? you're saying politicians have made lots of promises about rebuilding your community. you want heating before march, the election is coming. different parties of community communities like yours and said give us your vote, we will make lives better and change the environment. we will stop environmental catastrophes as much as we can. >> they always talk a lot. the thing is what do they do? now we have to wait on what they

are doing. they visit us and looked around, but i am skeptical. it is my opinion only. correspondent: thank you so much for talking to us today. of course the green party had huge hopes earlier on in the air, they were predicted to be the biggest party because the environmt is of such concern. those dreams look like they have gone away for now but we will find out on september 26 on election day. we will continue with our tour across germany. anchor: we will have more coverage from katya and the rest of our team in germany as the angela merkel chapter end s -- ends. still to come on our program, amateur astronauts, for the first time ever and all civilian space crew has circled the air from space. we will have more on the

historic launch. ♪ anchor: north korea as given or details on that ballistic missiles test carried out on wednesday, saying the lunch was part of aew railway board missile system. ou correspondent has more personnel in the story -- correspondent: the images are extremely, you see two ballistic missiles being oil from a carriage on the tracks in the middle of the mountains. it is a bit of a headache for military commanders here in south korea and the united states as they tried to plan when it comes to north korea. what is next? what else does pyongyang have in its arsenal that it has been waiting to test? we do know it has made a nuclear reactor with what appears to be functioning once again, perhaps

as early as march this year, so they could be producing some material that could be -- nuclear weapons, but how far is pyongyang going to push it at this stage? anchor: space history was made last night as four amateur astronauts took off from florida. in the first ever mission crude entirely -- crewed entirely by civilians. the group will spend three days up in space. our science correspondent reports. correspondent: a light on lunch by the private company spacex, just like nasa with more audience participation. >> ignition and left off -- lift off. correspondent: on board what a billionaire and three ordinary american citizens. >> looks like a smooth ride for

the crew. correspondent: the powerful engines accelerate them into earth orbit. and now one of the riskiest parts of the launch. separation of the first stage of the rocket. the inspiration for crew had six months of intensive training, but on board computer systems will be in control after zero gravity kicks in. >> it looks like it is a little golden retriever. correspondent: t flight was funded by a billionaire and he gave the three remaining seeds to people who had inspirational stories. they include haley, who had cancer as a child. >> i am excited to represent those who are not physically perfect. want to bring this experience back and share with everyone i encounter and what this

represents for the new age of space travel and you can be an astronaut. correspondent: the capsule has been fitted with a larger than normal winter -- window so the crew can enjoy spectacular views from space before coming back down to earth in three days time. anchor: back re on earth, some potentially good news for butterflies in the u.k., the impact of climate change is being felt by butterflies as their habitat changes, and now scientists are trying to undo the effects. corresponden they look a bit random, but these huge, muddy banks are a scientific experiment, the first of its kind in the world. as they get covered implants they will attract butterflies. >> we have a shady aspect on the north, so butterflies can warm

up in the sun in the morning and if it gets too hot taken shelter in the shade. correspondent: as climate change is gotten warmer is really affecting butterflies. >> many species cannot move northward so we need to be looking at how we can create habitats and create this changing topography on earth and the wider landscape. correspondent: some butterflies are very sensitive to changes in temperature, by catching -- i said by catching -- by catching and then taking the body temperature of different species with a small probe, researchers can monitor out there coping with climate change. >> we look at this and found that species that are keeping their body temperature stable [indiscernible] in species are declining

rapidly. we are interested if these banks can help butterflies cope with these changes. by providing the north facing slopes it might be cooler, and south facing slopes it might be warmer. it helps them to adjust their body temperature and respond to changes. correspondent: the real science starts next bring, but there were stragglers left in this year. >> you see that lovely, yellow underling. the interesting thing about butterflies ishey start out with the best of it we need to control their body temperature, and we think that has to do with their color. they are not difficult to catch an open air. this is an interesting one. it is one of our most widespread butterflies, but also one of our fastest declining. we do not know what.

it just got caught in a spider' web. correspondent:2/3 of a butterfly species are in decline. they are pollinators and pla key role in r environment. >> it is not just about butterflies, but they are an important part of the food chain . if we know butterflies are doing well, they are supporting the system. correspondent: as weather gets colder, scitists hope the new experiment will help more survive. anchor: hopeful news for the butterflies of bedfordshire. a vincent van gogh drawing went on display at the amsterdam museum for t very first time today. it is called the study from worn out and has been hidden away for more than a century. the beautiful drawing can be seen until january, then it goes

back to the family, a rare chance to see an exquisite piece. i am laura narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narror: financial services firm, raymond james. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs. ♪ da-da-da-duh-da-da-da♪ ♪ da-da-da-da-da-da ♪♪

anchor: good evening. atlantic divide. the new u.s. u.k. australia alliance to counter china's ambitions in asia angers france. we speak to the french ambassador about this moment. the ongoing surge. hospital administrators in sparsely vaccinated areas prepare to ration services as covid-19 continues to overwhelm intensive care units. fentanyl frontier. the threat of cartels leads ordinary people o both ses of the u.s. mexico border to take the law into their own hands. >>