>> this is "bbc world news america." >> funding of this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> how do we shape our tomorrow? it starts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to erisel. we strip away evything that stands in the way to reveal new possibilities. at purepoint financial, we have

design our modern approach to banking around you -- your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint fincial. >> and now, "bbc world news." jane: this is "bbc world news america." 'porting from washington'm jane o'brien. secretary of state mike pompeo ts grilled about north korea and russia as the white house announces vladimir putin's trip to washington is delayed. in g0 ece.evastation at leastople have been killed by fast-moving wildfires, and still dozens are missing. and liquid water discovered on mars. what could this mean for finding life on the red planet

jane: welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe. vladimir putin's visit to the united states has been put on hold. the white house made the announcement, saying it would be better if he came in the new year "after the ruia witchhunt is over." this just happened toom minutes before the secretary of state went before lawmakers to answer questions about helsinki and what exactly was promised.cr ary pompeo began his comments with a statement on crimea. i want to assure this committee that the united states does not and will not recognize the kremlin's crpurported annexation oea. we stand together with allies , partners, and the international community in our commitment to ukraine and its territorial integrity. there will be no relief of sanctions until russia returns control of to ukraine.peninsula jane: joining us from capitol

hill is state department correspondt-t barbara plher. he was clearlyrying to clarify s. policies towards russia. were they convinced? barbara: that's a good question. his approach was to try the argument that mr. trump is not soft on russia. you heard that the u.s. continues to reject the annexation of crimea, that there was no change in sanctions on russia, that theca ame gave $200 million to ukraine. he also said that mr. trump got it when it came to election meddling. he said, mr. pompeo, that he himself told the russians that if there was further election meddling, there nculd be conseq. in terms of senators being convinced, they don't sound convinced. senator bob corker said to mr. pompeo, look, we have faith in you and it is the president we are concerned about. another senatorai i know you

are making the distinction between the u.s. policy in the president's atements, but the president's statemlits are u.s. . jane: are we any clearer about what happened behind closed doors at the two-hour meeting between president trump and president putin? barbara: not really, jane. he has not given detail about what took place in the composition. he defended the president's right to have a conversation with the adversary, and is a protest to argue again and again that it remains what it is -- his approach is to argue again and again that it remains what it is. the secretary of state h been careful not to contradict or upstage the president. ne: what about north korea? he said he would not allow the negotiations to drag on. tdoes t mean we are getting closer to a timeline for ondenucleariza barbara: no, it doesn't, and he

said that he doesn't know what the timeline is, he did acknowledge that it would be a while, and every step of the way would be contested. but when senators pressed for details, asking if there was evidence that denuclearization was happening, he said, oh yes, inbut that talked about siat the same table and having discussions and dis.not give deta he focused more on how the administration was tried to keep the sanctions regime as tig as possible, and each said -- and he said are not being taken for a ride. jane: thank you for joining us from capitol hill. with theajorss white house has been tariffs, and the president has been waging trade wars on many fronts. moments ago mr. trump was in the rose garden with the european union chief boasting about economic ties. o pres. trump: we wantrther strengthen the trade relationship to the benefit ofan all americaneuropean citizens. this is why we agreed today,

first of all, to work together towards zero tariffs, zero nontariff barriers, and zero subsidies on non-auto industrial goods. thk you. jane: for more, i spoke brief time ago with diane swonk, chief economist at grant thornton. thanks for joining me. does this mean that the trade war with europe is over? diane: i wish. i would like to say today that i felt like i could exhale and get cautious optimism. it could provide a roadmap with the european union and china. is, the elephant in the room, vehiclest tariffs, has l not been dealt with. this by any retaliatory escalation at this point in time, it gives them time to negotiate, which is important. that said, this is not we need to go, but i'm encouraged.

it is the most encouraging i've seen in a long time. jane: how big a concession was it forhe europeans? diane: in terms of buying more natural gas, i don't think it was a big concession. more soybeans -- buying more soybeans, taking subsidies off industrial products. not huge concessions on either side here. these are things that are not as instantaneous as we would like them to happen. it takes a long time to build ntrminals. this is very impor i look at it as more of a step in the right direction. i hope we continue on thosehe steps inight direction. ov we've seen already, i have learned not to bly optimistic but cautiously optimistic. jane: what needs to happen next? diane: we need to see some movement on the steel tariffs, alinum tariffs, and real movement iterms of not escalating on the auto front. this sort of delays that, but it

hasn't taken it off the tabll. there is she threat of tariffs on autos. what is most important about the auto situation is if you look at almost any vehicle in thworld, tell whath to continent were country they have it in anymore because it is sogr ined. this can hurt on both sides of the atlantic business and industries very hard.th this is sog you want to inoid at all costs. it is something thstry in the united states has stood up sud said please don't go there. there is a lot oort in the corporate community to avoid these kinds of tariffs. that is still on the table and until we get it off the table, we don't know if we caps off the situation that could be volate -- we have solved to the situation that could be volatile jane: we have seen already a lot of problems with farmers in particular. at what point does this start impacting the broader u.s. economy? diane: that is a great question. we are seeing many factories, 40% of earnings calls t e

talking abriffs and are concerned about trade. manufacturers -- are complaining about the squeeze on the margins from steel and aluminum tariffs. construction has been hit by lumber tarenfs. we have t show up in ppi numbers, producer price index numbers. those havedroved up quite atically. many people have seen movement in steel and aluminum prices. they have even outpaced the movement on tariffs. you can to see that haen with additional trade wars. hopefully market movement on that will back up a little bit. but we really need to see, in order -- first of all, we have a lot of cushion right now. 5% growth one gdp s that -- jane: diane, thank you for joining me.an thank you. jane: for more on today's developments, i spoke with our political analyst ron christie, who served as an advisor to george w. bush

how big a success was this for president trump, do you think? ron: i think in the short term m.it is a big success for he is going to say i went to the european union and stood them down. what i am concerned about is china. i'm ncerned about the dairy market in the united states, what about pork producers, what about peopleho are not impacted by the eu decision with the $12 billion subsidy he must -- wants to help farmers with? tsh shot in the arm for the president, but i don't think it addresses the underlying question jane: do you think this emboldens him to be tougher with china? is this over, basically? ron: i do' what wve seen by the president's behavior with theresa may and other leaders,is he thinks s working for him. he thinks being a tough guy is getting his way.sa i think what wtoday with the eu commissioner, donald trump will take a vilap. jane: the visit by president putin is apparently on hold at the moment. ngat do you make of the ti of that? ron: the president heard from members of congress, speaker of

the house paul ryan, the senate majority leader, that putin is not welcome onapitol hill. i think a lot of republicans are nervous heading into the midterms that the esident is cozying up to much with russia. they wisely puntedl this un after the election. what they are looking for -- we saw this at the pompeo hearing -- they want to know what america's foreign policy is ascu arted by president trump. jane: all this is happening jusr as anothording between michael cohen, his formerr, personal lawnd the president emerges discussing aiese payments to silence a playboy model who she had trump.ir with president take a listen. >> when it comes to the mr. trump: pay with cash. no.on

jane: it is a little hard to hear, but how politically damaging is this for the president?s ron: i think t going to be a distraction for him. when you have your own personal lawyer making a recording and this has been circulated on allc networks in amand aroundth world, it is an embarrassment for the president. jane: do his supporters actually care? ron: no. the thing that you can say about one donald trump and his base, ite 30 to 40% of folks who voted for him will stickhim. ip for them.nor bl jane: thank you for joining me. ron: always a pleare. jane: survivors have been describing their battles to escape the wildfires tning parts of coastal greece this week. many were trapped in hnd vehicles and others were forced to seek refuge in the sea. at least 80 people are known to have died. from the coastal town of mati, mark lowen reports. rkit ravaged everything in its path.

greek hillside erased from and with it, lives. hope, too, is dying here. the family of an 88-year-old have just heard the worst, she was the 80th person killed byre the wild her charred remains were discovered iher home. for her son, a mix of shock and rage. >> fortunatelyi did not find her by myself, because i couldn't face the view. the body is totally burned. when the pain will come down, i will go through all levels from everybody who is responsible for this catastrophe. i will not stop until i will die. mark: it is still not known how the spark was lit, but the gale force winds meant the flames got down the mountain. dozens are missing and almost 200 were injured. like sus from version. itain.t

minutes after seeing the flames in theistance, they were at her home. she rathrough them burning her arms. it is hard to find words for such a tragedy. >> i thought i am not going to make it. this is the end. mark: brian o'llaghan from ireland didn't make it. he was on honeymoon with his wife after marrying last thursday. happiness crushed. the streetof mati are like a burnt out ghost town. the scorched shells are all that remain of family homes. mer ofhe in for the engineers, the task of assessing what c still stand and what must be torn down. it is as if an earthquake struck.

>> it is very, very difficult. ople have psychological problems right now. er>> go on the wat gumark: volunteer liards are scouring the coast for any signs of life or death. hundreds of people were rescued as then into the sea to escape the flames. they passed a group still searching for any signeir relatives, an encouragement from the water to keep going. the hope of finding any more survivors has virtually gone. the aim now is to look for belongings and bodies. for some, the sea mark salvation from the flames. mark lowen, bbc news, mati. -- for others it was the end.rk ma lowen, bbc news, mati.

jane: terrific stories coming from the survivors -- four with stories coming from the storiess in -- horrifi coming from the survivors in greece. coordinated tacks took place in syria including at a busy vegetable market. thattacks of the deadliest in government controlles for months. andican airlines, delta, cathay pacific have become the latest carriers to change how they s tvicewan, reflecting direct pressure from beijing. they removes referen to taiwan as anything but chinese territory on their website. taiwan hasg been self rulin since 1949. beatles legend paul mccartney has reenacted the famousabbey ro" album cover ahead of the 49th anniversary.

sir paul posted a video to his instagram account showing fans cheering as he walked across the iconicrossing. early projections in pakistan's rmneral election suggest international cricketer imran khan is likely to become the country's new leader a campaignght against corruption after former prime minister nawaz sharif was jailed for fraud. opponents have rejected the projections, saying the process is rigged. from islamabad, here is our correspondent. reporter: celebration by imran khan supporters as the results roll in.oo it l increasingly likely that the former cricketing star will be pakistan's next prime minister ptier,ink the hard work of

the meof pti, definitely the biggest political force in the country, has paid off. people are not only supporting pti, but the people of pakistan can look forward to a golden era. reporter: votes are being counted, witfinal results likely tomorrow. earlier today, imran khan has cast his vote. he is promising to crackdown on corruption. his main rival, former prime minister nawazharif, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail following anes igation khan pushed for. his brother has been leading the party in his absence. tonight he rejected the results, claiming fraud. this election campaign has revolved around two competing narratives on the case against nawaz sharif. supporters say the pakistani military worked behind the scenes to ensure his conviction and move him from power. imran khan says those claims are to distract from the corruption allegations.

residence in all in the watching watching rawalpindi the results come in were divided. >> nawaz sharif has been in power and stealing from us. becausert the plm they fulfill the promises. rareporter: n khan's supporters are in a buoyant mood tonight. but it seems likely they will t haveo form a coalition to take onpower, and his oents arein adamant rejecting his victory. jane: you are watching "bbc onrld news america." still to come onht's program, the court case over the candy bar. nestlé cou not catch a break when it comes to the kit kat bar. laos has minister of

said more than 130 people are missing aer a partially built damps col, flooding villages. killedt 20 people were in the disaster d dozens made homeless as the forces ripped apart structures. reporter: survivors of the collapse of the dam inaos wade towards safety. they are a few of the almost 12,000 people affected. according to local media, thousands are still in .ed of rescue water rolled through remote areas of laos yesterday, at times submerging at least seven villages. the south korean f tm that bill dam said that heavy rains caused the collapse. it, and beganfix ordering and evacuation.

the same company is cooperating with the laos and south korean governments. south korean president and offered assistance in the efforts. >> president moon issued to the ordere as our companies participating in the construction of the damto and looking he cause of the dam accident. asia'sr: laos, one of arorest countries, had embd on an officious dam--- ambitious dam-building scheme. environmentalists one repeatedly that they could have environmental cost. and they did. singapore and thailand have also offered to help, but theames to roads and bridges will make the operation difficult for all who attempt it.

jane: the possibility of life on mars may have taken a step closer to reality. for the first time, scientists believe they have liquid water on the planet. they think a massive lake sits on a polar ice cap is oe largest bowater discovered so far. for more, i was joined by the science correspondent for national public radio. just how significant is this discovery? >> well, it is a big deal. there have been many reports of signs of water and may seeing water rolling down a ridge, maybe we don't, or we think water was here once because of it shaping the topography on mars. this is the first time that ndpeople have come outaid yes, there is something under the surface of mars that isot liquid, and isce and it is not something else, it is water. jane: is it water as we would

recognize it? joe: yes. it is water. i mean, it is salty water. itonas things that are commo mars from the other studies they have done ofhe surface of mars. they are very toxic. you would not want to drink the water sitting in the lake. i asked them, and said, no, don't do that. but it is water. and it is one of the reaso that the water is detectable, because the salts lower the freezing point. normally, pure water would be frozen solid can even where this water is. thtfact that there is salt, lowers the melting temperature. it liquid.keeps jane: the big question, does that mean there could be life on mars?

joe: well, if you are thinking li like here in washington no. [laughter] jane: sanka goodness -- thank goodness forpehat, a lot of le might say. joe: the short answer is yes, it is possible. this is the diffyience between we have evidence of life and evidence of the conditions that would allow life to exist are present. those are very different sentences, and we can say, o conditions are fine. the salts suggest that if there is life there, it is life that can tolerate things that most life on earth cannot tolerate. it is possible that this water was trapped billions of yearsfo ero and maybe it was trapped, the salts't so common. maybe there are things that were alivbillions of years ago in the water, or some signature of them, because they are all gone,

-- long gone, that would be interesting to find. jane: very briefly, does the water mean that perhaps humans could one day live on mars? just briefly. joe: well, it would require purifying the water. but it is a possibility. i'm not going to go. jane: i'm not going, either. thank you very much indeed for joining me. joe: you are very welcome. jane:efore we go, have a break, hava kit kat -- that was the slogan that is sold millions of chocolate snacks around the world. i have mine here that managed to survive the program. the european court has thrown out an appeal by nestlé. nestlé has been battli to trade market for 10 years, but the move was challenged by one of nestlé's main rivals. it could end kit kat's protected european status. i have a king-sized kit kat here

and there will be three fingers left by tiffany to of the program. i am jane o'brien -- left by the end of the program. i'm jane o'brien. thanks for watching "bbc world news america." >> with the bbc news app, our vertical videos are designed to work around your lifestyle, so o you can swipe your way tthe news of the day and stay up-to-date with the latest headlines you can trust. wnload now from selected stores. >> funding of this presentation is madpossible by the freeman undation, kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs, and purepoint financial. >> how do we shape our tomorrowa it srts with a vision. we see its ideal form in our mind, and then we begin to chisel. we strip away everything thatwa stands in thy to reveal new possibilities.

at purepoint financial, we have designed our modern approach tou banking around- your plans, your goals, your dreams. your tomorrow is now. purepoint financial. >> "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, in the hot seat-- secretary of state pompeo faces senators amid growing questions over the trump administration's relations with russia and the u.s.' role in the world. then, a secret recording between the president and his personal lawyer surfaces: what it shows about the plan to pay off a former playboy model, the larger questions raised about truth and falsehoods in the time of mr. trump.d, he leading edge of science: a look inside the dikeovery of a subterranean on mars. all that a more on tonight'sho pbs newsur.