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we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you? >> and now, bbc world news america. >> this is bbc world news america reporting from washington. united nations envoy to serious strikes a rare note of hope telling the bbc there may be a new opportunity to freeze the fighting after four years of civil war. a doctor in new york released from the hospital after declared free from ebola. he has a message to keep the focus on west africa. tomorrow, a tiny craft will try to land on a comet hurtling through space at 34,000 miles an hour.

welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. it sounds almost implausible but after 200,000 deaths and four years of brutal civil war, the human mediator for syria is expressing hope that the violence can now be stopped. in an exclusive interview, he tells the bbc the syrian government may now be opened a freezing fighting with some rebel groups because of the common threat of islamic state. >> four years into a punishing war, the cost is clear. devastation, millions forced to flee. the old city shot on his first visit here. >> having a peace plan would be

ambitious and revolutionary but we do have an action plan. an action plan from the ground. stop the fighting, reduce the violence. that is why we are talking about a freeze, not a cease-fire. cease-fire can be broken by one fire and a freeze is de-escalating the violence and by doing so, giving some type of hope to the people. >> what incentive is there for either side to freeze? the government feels it's winning and it's advancing. the opposition wants to take back more territory. >> there is one major new factor. isis. terrorism. this new fact is uniting everybody. >> the u.n. wants to start with the local truce in the northern

city of aleppo. we saw how the army is gaining ground, besieging the last rebel held areas. sources tell me rebel groups are divided. whether to accept the u.n. freeze or keep fighting. the extremists won't do any deals. >> they came to serious to try to get president assad's backing who has ported previous u.n. plans. this time he said a freeze was worth studying. now the u.n. with its local partners is attempting this success across from lines to help syrians of all sides of a conflict where no side is ready to compromise. >> the task has long been called mission impossible. four years into this crisis, some are considering a new idea

but only if it doesn't worsen their current position. the government must consolidate and not weaken its grip on power. >> we spoke a short time ago to a senior fellow at the washington institute for middle east policy. >> i think the freeze proposal that has been about the last few weeks is a good first step in terms of aleppo. the problem that the freeze itself is based on the cease-fire proposals -- >> which haven't broken in the past. >> and we will have to see how this freeze is really any different. >> they were making it a point of calling it a freeze and not a cease-fire because he thought it could read -- lead to an actual de-escalation. >> is not clear how this is any different. in several areas, there is a

siege. what they're going to do and what they are preparing to do is how that freeze will be any different than the cease-fires in the past. >> isn't this a function of the fact that while the pension is being turned to the islamic state and the fighting by the turkish border, the government waged war against levels -- rebels. >> the government is losing ground rapidly to the rebels which is an interesting dynamic. the government is pushing to its largest city in the north and it

is an interesting development while this is going on. >> will they accept a freeze to the south where it has lost end up to the north? >> we are not sure if it applies to the rest of the country and you have to get the groups to sign on. we are not sure which groups would abide by it and where it would lead but it is an interesting development. i don't see how this freeze is any different than the cease-fire. >> the rebels of blocked everything already. >> there is an interesting development here. many of them are in neighboring countries. it is true a lot of rebel forces inside syria, they fled to neighboring countries where they would reenter.

and would it be any different? >> and also trying to get out. >> in the region, when they had to withdraw, it is what the regime always has to do. they have their scores to settle. >> speaking to me earlier where there have been stark warnings today. nato's european commander has expressed serious concern about the buildup of troops by russian backed separatist. >> the sightings are almost daily. the footage shows tanks on a road in eastern ukraine headed

towards the city. for cooperation in europe and journalists have seen convoys with fighters and heavy weaponry. the vehicles are without markings. key of says they're coming over the border from russia. a charge moscow denies. the influx is raising alarm bells. >> is important for all of us to call him those parties involved to return to norms and return to the norms that we expect. the nations will expect international -- respect international borders and the sovereignty of their neighbors. >> the war in eastern ukraine continues to rage.

a true sign in minsk belarus never completely too cold. in some places, the fighting died down. the main airport where government forces are holding out against militants, it's is bad as ever. now with extra fighters in the region, the fear is that the situation will grow even worse. >> they remain high and are rising. the firing has not ceased. >> schelling in and around the city is also increasing. the war shows no signs of ending. many fear it may soon enter an even more dangerous stage.

>> worrying signs that the fighting may be the worst again. killing more than 300 people they have been sentenced to 36 years in prison. he was cleared of culpable homicide. our correspondent has the latest for us. >> ever since he was arrested, he has deep regret. he simply said he wasn't a murderer. in court, judges accepted that. but not with deliberate intention to kill. he was filmed abandoning ship while passengers stayed the ground. it emerged that the wall was overloaded. cargo slid to one side and

toppled the ship over. the company owner later fled and was found dead. the search for the sunken ship has been organized six months on , families of the lost have been living in waiting. his burning anger remains. >> he said when i saw the captain scuttling off the ship, i wanted to kill him and he deserves to die. finding the truth of what happened in recovering the bodies is more important. >> the grimmest of tasks, 300 times bodies have been brought here and identified. he will spend the rest of his days in prison and it may lead to vengeance and punishment.

it brings none of those people back. >> their vigil will soon and. the government has decided the search for the remaining nine missing vehicles will cease. the pain and buried will continue. >> now misery for south korea at least 11 women have died in india. botched stabilization surgery. a health cap, they started from -- complaining of pain. a new record for selling goods online in bulk. alibaba says it has made $9.3

billion worth of retail sales from its single day annual event. the firm has shipped 300 million orders compared to 150 million just last year. dr. craig spencer was released after being declared free of ebola. he was treating patients with the virus. they look to keep the focus on those in the worst affected areas. >> our case has garnered international attention and important to know that my infection represents a fraction of 13,000 reported cases to date . the center of the outbreak where families are torn apart and communities are destroyed. >> i want to talk about west africa in just a second that dr. spencer's case suggests that

when you're able to be in the right medical circumstances with the right access to equipment there is a better chance of recovering from ebola. >> that is a great point and i think this really illustrates the key in terms of treating patients is the supportive care excellent nursing, care of the doctors who oversaw him and the kind of care we have seen in nebraska and that emery. a level of supportive care that we do that is not available in west africa. and even in the absence of treatments and vaccines, there's a lot for that we can do for somebody with ebola in the right setting. >> some of the news that has come out the last couple of days it has been a little bit better. liberian health officials saying that the number of people

infected has dropped from a daily peak of 500 to about 50. >> we may be finally seeing the impact of the measures educating the public about burial practices and the rapid scale the last several weeks of treatment facilities. it's a little too early to say that we have conquered this. in guinea where we thought we had seen a big decrease earlier this year, we saw the cases go right back up. it's a bit early to say but it is certainly encouraging. >> what is light. doing that has not yet caught? >> it may be the degree to which the population has been educated about burial practices, the scaling up of treatment units and improved access to care. the blood less likely to come forward if they don't think we can do anything for them.

>> is there a risk that countries could start thinking they've got this under control and all it really takes is a few cases to make this spread like wildfire again? >> that is precisely my concern and many others are worried that it might give a sense of complacency. and i think that is far from the case. we have a lot to do still to make sure that we get control and i think we're looking at several months to four we get to that point. >> every single last case of this virus is tackle? >> and you have to wait to make sure there are no further cases that pop up so in nigeria we waited the incubation time, 42 days before declaring nigeria was officially free of ebola.

make sure that we have no further cases. >> thank you for coming on. still to come on tonight's program, stopping to honor those that have served. one of the many places where military veterans are making a difference. israeli troops have shot dead a palestinian during clashes in the west bank as a wave of unrest grips the region. the death occurred trying to disburse 150 palestinians. >> clashes on the west bank. street battles with israeli soldiers. the violence resulted in at least one death. a refugee from a nearby camp. the palestinian leader laid a wreath at the grave of his head

assessor yasser arafat that died exactly 10 years ago. he said israel was dragging the region into a religious war and said he is still looking to the u.n. to end israel occupation of palestinian lands. >> we have decided to go to the united nations security council this month. if that resolution does not pass, we will find all the international organizations and conventions to the international criminal court. we will join all of them and fight to protect our people. >> the funeral of the latest israeli to die, a 25-year-old woman from the jewish settlement . the government now under intense pressure to stop the violence. >> the government will have to protect israelis and

[indiscernible] >> israel is sending reinforcements to the west bank for what it calls new security assessments. the government has been meeting to discuss the situation. and wondering if the area is teetering on the edge of widespread violence. >> today armistice day to honor the victims of war and those who fought in battle. in the united states, veterans day included the vice president laying a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier. it was quite common to return from active service and run for political office but that practice may be returning. >> once upon a time, the majority of congress was made up of military veterans.

this graph shows the percentage of congressman and senators who have been veterans. the peak was in the 1970's with the convergence of acts of congress from three wars. but today, the number is 20%. it's not that surprising if you compare it with the overall population. still, a subset of veterans whose numbers are growing. the results mean the next congress will have the most iraq and afghanistan veterans ever. 22 up from 17 currently serving. that number may rise when a few outstanding races are finally called. the first to the senate. every single incumbent veteran won reelection.

even as younger veterans may gains, congress will mark the end of an era. it will be the first session without world war ii veterans. a former army lieutenant once poised to invade japan is giving up his seat and representative paul a former u.s. navy pilot lost his primary bid earlier this year. they said there was once more cooperation largely because of the camaraderie among world war ii vets. will the growing number of younger veterans be more apt to work together across the aisle? we will find out next year. >> military service to public service. a final preparations underway for one of the most daring feats in space exploration. the european space agency will attempt to land a tiny

spacecraft on a comet. about 300 million miles from earth, cop locating matters is the small fact that the comet is racing through space about 34,000 miles an hour. >> a tiny craft isn't to make pioneering dissent towards an alien world. until now it has beyond the reach -- been beyond the reach of humanity. these images were taken by the rosetta spacecraft orbiting 10 miles above the comet. it is time to get down there. we take a look at what the surface of the comment might be like. it is just as barren and justice treacherous. all over the place boulders.

it is exactly what you would want if you're thinking about trying to land. up in the skies above, there is a spacecraft rosetta. it is in orbit around the comet an extra ordinary achievement and what is about to follow is even more daring. it is almost free of obstacles. there is a risk they can bounce off. each of the three legs is fitted with a screw to drive into the ground. and it has two harpoons that will be fired down.

no one really knows if any of this will help. there is another hazard as well. the comic gets closer to the sun and heats up. this image taken just a week ago . >> all the way down the surfaced. >> from the outer reaches of the solar system, it may bring us water and carbon.

>> a tiny bit skeptical. let's bring that to a close. i'm katty kay. thanks 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 to charity and pursuing the common good. kovler foundation and union bank. >> for 150 years, we believe commercial banks owes its clients strength stability security.

so we believe in keeping lending standards high. capital ratios high, credit ratings high. companies expected it then. at least expect it now. -- companies expect it now. doing right is just good business. union bank.

funding for arthur is provided by: ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] fun together is the best fun of all. ♪ ♪ chuck e cheese's proudly supports pbs kids. and by contributions to your pbs station from: ♪ every day when you're walking down the street ♪ ♪ everybody that you meet has an original point of view. ♪ ( laughs ) ♪ and i say hey! ♪ hey! ♪ what a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ if we could learn to work and play ♪ ♪ and get along with each other ♪ ♪ you got to listen to your heart ♪ ♪ listen to the beat ♪

♪ listen to the rhythm, the rhythm of the street ♪ ♪ open up your eyes open up your ears ♪ ♪ get together and make things better by working together ♪ ♪ it's a simple message and it comes from the heart ♪ ♪ believe in yourself ♪ ♪ for that's the place to start ♪ ♪ and i say hey! ♪ hey! ♪ what a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ if we could learn to work and play ♪ ♪ and get along with each other. ♪ hey! ♪ what a wonderful kind of day ♪ ♪ hey! what a wonderful kind of day. ♪ hey! arthur: hey, d.w. hey! whoa! ( crashing ) hey, you guys, i'm doing a poll. that's her new thing poll doing. she saw it on tv. children should seek out the opinions of elders they respect. come on, d.w. you're bothering them. if she respects us the least we can do is help, arthur. ( groans )

name something you always wanted to do. i want to play a real piano concert, okay? d.w.: that's it? that's not so exciting. arthur: it is if you skydive at the same time. francine: i'd like to orbit saturn so i could practice my drive to the net without friction or gravity. what about you, big-head kid? i'm taking a poll. is there anything you've always wanted to do? um... yeah. hey, look out there! ( slurping ) ahh. i always wanted to do that. aah! oops. d.w.! ( thunder ) arthur: duck!