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narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovr foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc news". anchor: this is a bbc world news america. the moment a survivor is reunited with his brother after the sinking of a migrant boat. questions remain about the handling of the tragedy. a damming report in minneapolis, the u.s. says systemic problems in the cities police made what happened to george floyd possible. in a standup comic from kyiv

bringing comedy to new yk. >> i'm worried the war will come down and everyone will see how i live. [laughter] ♪ anchor: welcome to world news america on pbs and around the globe. in greece, up to 500 people are still missing after one of the worst migrant disasters in the mediterranean in years. suggesting and overloading fishing boat sank when coast guards try to attach a rope to the vessel. 79 people confirmed dead after the boat sank on wednesday. nine suspected people smugglers have been detained. our europe correspondent has more details. reporter: in the middle of such overwhelming loss, a reunion

between brothers. mohammed on the right track down his little brother, who surviv against all odds. just over 100 people were rescued from the shipwreck and have been looked after here at the port of kalamata, but hundreds are feared dead and among them dozens of women and children. >> there are no women here. all of the women died, drowned, with children in their arms. it is a tragedy, unbelievable. reporter: and questions continue about the response to the disaster. >> here, -- reporter: here, one survivor tells the opposition leader that the vessels sank after the greek coast guard tried to tow it. another man rescued give a similar story. what we now know about what really happened? at 11:00 a.m. tuesday, greek authorities first made contact with the fishing vessel and say those on board not want help.

a few hours later, according to this email we obtained, the coast guard were warned by an unofficial hotline for migrants in trouble that 750 people, including women and children, were on board, and they are urgently asking for help. originally the coast guard said tuesday evening did travel toward the migrant boat, remained at a distance and discreetly observed that there was no problem in navigation. fast-forward to today, and a government spokesman confirms coast guard's head in fact tried -- coast guard's had in fact tried to get on the hope to see -- on the boat to see if anybody need help. they said that they did not try to tow the boat or cause it to sink. this isignificant because for the past two days the greek authorities have been fighting accusations did not do enough to save those on board. they've been arguing the migrants did not want their help

and there but was not in peril. this new information suggests they were given a stark warning about the danger faced, and by their own admission, the coast guard went to see what was having but did not -- was happening but did not want to rescue effort. demonstrations in the seat in a number of greek cities, the government's tougher position on migrant crossings the past few year, seems to have been popular at home but this disaster has shaken them deeply pure three days as national mourning come to an end and some searching only beginning about how greece and europe should react to the thousands who will risk everything to try to reach their shores. anchor: a two-year investigation by the u.s. justice department into the murder of george floyd by a police officer in 2020 has found that the minneapolis police department had a pattern

of using excessive force on and it discriminating against black people. merge floyd's -- orge floyd step led to mass protests. reporter: demonstrations sparked by the death of george floyd, and police attacked journalists and activists. the report also finds the police was wantonly violent. the report found that the police department discriminates against black and native american people, and used indiscriminate force against protesters. >> we found the many happily -- the minneapolis police department used force often when no force is necessary, including unjustly. deadly force and unreasonable use of tasers. reporter: the death of george floyd, killed a police officer's

knee on his neck, caused international outrage. today's report makes cle this is not an isolated incident in minneapolis but the inevitable result of a culture of an old -- out-of-control police force. the police officer convicted of george floyd's murder had used excessive force before and no other officers had tried to stop him. >> we acknowledge the pain, anger, frustration, fear, and sense of vulnerability that many people in our community have endured. i'm here today on behalf of the mpd to confirm our commitment to moving forward together. reporter: protecting demonstrators freedom of speech is one recommendation along with policies that require officers to de-escalate situations, use force less often and report misconduct the description of the racist and violent behavior of the police in minneapolis is shocking that sadly unsurprising. it's not a problem confined to

that city. across america, far too many people, often african-americans, are killed by police brutality. all the reports and inquiries that follow have not stopped the violence. sarah smith, bbc news. anchor: a jury in the u.s. has found a truck driver guilty of killing 11 worshipers at a synagogue in pittsburgh. robert bowers was convicted of all 63 criminal charges he faced, including hate crimes resulting in death and destruction of thee fre ethe maf life synagogue in 2018 was the deadliest attack on jewish people in u.s. history. let's bring in our correspondent. what more can you tell us about the verdict? >> the jury reached a verdict after just five hours of deliberation and it was no surprise because right from the outset, robert bowers's lawyers

admitted he did kill and target these worshipers. but they did not present any evidence or call any witnesses because their focus was on trying to convince the jury that his motive was not about religious hatred. they tried to say instead he had this irrational belief he had to attack jewish people because of their support for immigrants and refugees. but the jury instead saw the prosecution's view of this. they presented over 60 witnesses, including police who responded to the scene and survivors. they had shown that robert bowers had a history through social media of white supremacist and antisemitic leg which. the jury -- anti-semitic language. the jury found it was a crime. anchor: how are the victims families and jewish congregations reacting? >> we heard from another -- a

number of groups who came out and said this is justice, this verdict. we heard from the anti-defamation league, the american jewish council. we've also been hearing a little bit about how for them this still shows how there is still so much concern about the rise of conspiratorial theories out there in regards to jewish people. the rise in aacks against jewish people. for them, they see this as justice in this case, but also kind of a larger warning about these types of threats. anchor: thank you so much for your reporting. the u.s. secretary of state will visit aging on sunday, making this the highest profile visit -- beijing on sunday making this the highest profile visit since president biden took office. u.s. officials say expectations for the meeting are low.

tensions have been steadily growing between the countries and mr. blinken ys he hopes points of cooperation can be found. >> intense competition requires sustained diplomacy to ensure that the competition does not veer into confrontation or conflict. again, that is what the world expects of both united states and china. anchor: just a little earlier i spoke with a democratic congressman, the ranking member of the house select committee for u.s. competition with china. thank you for taking the time. blinken's visit to china is the first by a u.s. secretary of state since 2018, the first major re-engagement since the chinese spy balloon saga in february. what are you expecting to see ouof this trip? >> i'm really glad it's happening and i am glad this is occurring.

it will not be an end, but a means to an end and i am hopeful it leads to more dialogue, more engagement, and stabilizing the relationship. anchor: taiwan is likely to be on the agenda. we seen several close calls in the taiwan straits, recently a chinese warship crossed in front of a u.s. destroyer. what should blinken be doing to try to reduce tensions between the u.s. and china? >> i think for some reason the ccp believes that maybe not having military to military dialogue, and having these dangerous maneuvers in international airspace or international waters will somehow lead to us not exercising our freedom of navigation, or for that matter, all the different nations in that neighborhood. but i think what they do is they basically create an image of bullying. as you know, nobody responds well to bullying. instead of being de-escalation

of the situation, perhaps pressure to escalate. i think secretary blinken, i hope will inveigh to them that this type of aggressive maneuvering, this type of aggression, really is counterproductive for everyone in the neighborhood. i would hope he explains in a trustee will -- he explains, and i trust he will, that we will continue with our transits, that the taiwan strait and south china sea and other international waters will continue to be areas where different nations exercise their freedom of navigation. finally, we could have military to military dialogue. that is crucial. anchor: blinken said friday he would raise the issue of illicit drugs and china. i know you've been outspoken big -- outspoken about fentanyl. a group of republicans have

proposed sanctions system the flow of fentanyl from the country. is that something you support? >> i'm not sure, i would have to look at them more closely. we know the people's republic of china is the source of the vast majority of the precursor chemicals that go into the fentanyl that is made into pills in mexico. i think a lot of people on capitol hill are scratching their head, wondering how the ccp would not be aware of the production and supply chain that leads to fentanyl in america. anchor: we've heard reports that china denies that the country is setting up a spying operation in cuba. it took days for the u.s. to shoot down the suspected chinese spy balloon that floated over the u.s.. do you think the white house is being tough enough on chin's surveillance program? >> i think as the white house said the other day and is public information, there has long been such operations from cuba.

not something we want to celebrate, but we have to take countermeasures with regard to and protect ourselves. here is the bottom line, we know the ccp operates satellites, operates other means of reconnaissance, and other nations do the same. that does not necessarily mean our relationship needs to become worse than it is right now. anchor: just to emphasize, suspected spying operation in cuba would be about 100 miles from the shores of the united states. >> sure, but i think what the white house of the other day is this has long been present in cuba. not that we should be celebrating it, but we need to take countermeasures with regard to it. i think we need to stabilize the relationship and set a floor for the relationship and have dialogue. anchor: expectations seem to have been set fairly low for

this trip i blinken. in your mind, what would be a success? >> i think it would be successful if there is not a spy balloon -- [laughter] anchor: that seems to be a fairly low bar. >> i think in addition to that hopefully we will have more dialogue, honestly. we need to have more engagement and we need to have the opportunity to disabuse, for instance, notions and china, that we are out to repress them, prevent them from attaining their potential. that is not what folks like myself or my committee members or anyone else wants. we want a relationship where we can engage, but with guardrails, where we can preserve our values and interests an those of our partners and friends as well. anchor: i want to ask, blinken has called china's systemic

detention of uighurs genocide and crimes agait humanity. what can people in the u.s. do about this? >> upwards of 2 million uighurs are in concentration cancer right now -- concentration camps right now in china. i think we need to enforce an act that removes goods produced by slave labor from our supply chains. an urge the u.k. and our friends and allies around the world to enact similar measures. because we have to end this genocide. anchor: you are the ranking member on the house select committee for u.s. competition with china. it's one of the rare committees and d.c. where you see bipartisan cooperation. what can we expect from your committee going forward? >> i think two things.

the legislation said we have to assess the economic, technological and military challenges posed by the ccp. and we have to propose ways to deal with it. we are kind of simultaneously doing both. we've had multiple public hearings. we need to be humble and yet serious and actn a bipartisan way to do with the challenging situation to say the list. anchor: thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us. >> thank you. anchor: president putin has acsed west of seeking russia's strategic defeat in ukraine and he also claimed that kyiv could not continue the fight for long because of it's really than western weapons. he also threatened to tech u.s. fighter jets if they fly over ukraine. reporter: he cannot put a foot

wrong, he would like as to think. in st. petersburg, vladimir putin delivered two messages, to his people and the world. that russia's economy has survived sanctions, and russia's army will be victorious. >> we see the west is doing all it can so that russia suffers a strategic defeat on the battlefield. soon ukraine will stop using its own military hardware altogether. there is nothing left. everything with which they fight and use is brought in from abroad. you can't fight like that for long. reporter: the kremlin leader claimed that ashes military is inflicting heavy casualties on ukraine and warned the west against giving kyiv u.s.-made f-16 fighter jets. >> their tanks are burning. several have been destroyed,

including leopards. the f-16s will also burn. i have no doubt. if the jets are stationed at airbases outside ukraine and used in combat operations, we will have a look at how and where we can hit the hardware being used against us. reporter: how times have changed. western leaders and investors used to flock to st. petersburg for what was russia's flexible -- flagship economic form. they are staying away now because of the war and they are not the only absentees. as you can see, this is not st. petersburg. this year, journalists from what russia has officially labeled unfriendly countries, including britain, have been barred from economic forum. a sign of the times as relations between russia and the west have

gone from bad to worse to even worse than that over russia's war in ukraine. a war vladimir putin seems determined to continue. behind his public confidence the pressure is growing. >> he doesn't have a visible exit for himself. because of that he has to continue this war until the end. what does that mean? what does that mean, victory? nobody knows. reporter: after more than two decades in power, vladimir putin has grown used to winning. the possibility of defeat he will find hard to contemplate. steve rosenberg, bbc news. anchor: a look now at some other stories making headlines the man once dubbed the most dangerous man in america for leaking the top-secret pentagon papers has died from pancreatic cancer.

he was 92 years old. the former military analyst was known for exposing distant of the u.s. involvement in the vietnam war and remained a critic of military intervention for decades. a town in the u.s. state of texas left in ruins with at least three killed and dozens more injured after being struck several tornadoes. at least 30 trailer homes were destroyed. there are retorts -- reports that the town have been struck by as many as three tornadoes. strange as it may seem, new yorkers have had the opportunity to laugh about wartime life in ukraine this week. a standup comic from kyiv has been performing at two new york city comedy clubs and believes humor is a great way to talk about the conflict. reporter: the greenwich village comedy club give a warm welcome to the standup comedian, who had come all the way from kyiv. new yorkers liked her humor. >> i'm afraid the rocket will

hit my building, the well will come down and everyone will see how i live. [laughter] yeah, and my mom will be like, i told you to clean up. reporter: she said she believes that laughter is vital in times of war. >> i think it's most appropriate. first llit's against everythinga wants us to become, depressed, hopeless and tired. secondly, i think it is normal in times of darkness to find something light and joke about it. evenf it is a dark joke, if you can laugh, it is not so scary. a lot of ukrainian humor is very dark. >> are there any russians here? [laughter] reporter: she's been doing her stand up at two different venues in new york city.

her humor is connecting with american audiences. it is getting them to relate the war in ukraine in a way thais quite different from daily news journalism. >> it was like a first personal -- first person experience. at first it was like i don't know if i should be laughing, but she opened up about her experience and it made you feel comfortable >>. it humanized it a little bit and made it a little moreeal, in a lighthearted way. reporter: she can also be seen in the documentary being shown at the tribeca festival in new york, showing her and three other comics in wartime ukraine. the proder says all the standup comics have varying degrees been inspired by ukraine's president zelenskyy, who has a background as an actor and comedian. >> absolutely. they all have reference for zelensky i think they were all inspired in some way by him. perhaps not necessarily to do standup, but they appreciate --

i feel they have a certain connection with him because of that. >> in new york there are zero chances to die of russian rockets. reporter: to her this is no funny business. she's trying to show new yorkers that ukrainians are resilient, and she hopes that by seeing that, maybe americans will support ukrainians more. tom brooks, bbc news. anchor: sometimes laughter can be the best weapon. finally, a mountain face came crashing down thursday night, stopping just short of a small village in central switzerland. look at this. truly a tale of a narrow escape for residents in a small swiss town. you can see how close the rockside came to homes. all 70 people living there were told to evacuate mid-may after they were warned that collapse could come at any time. no one was hurt and miraculously no buildings were damaged but residents won't be able to return home anytime soon as

there are threats omore rock slides to come. thank you so much for watching world news america. narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... narrator: financial services firm, raymond james. man: bdo. accountants and advisors. narrator: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. by judy and peter blum kovler foundation; pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. and by contributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. ♪ ♪

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that's one small step for man. one giant leap for mankind. ♪ amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. gef bennett is away. on "the newshour" tonight... a department of justice investigation prompted by the killing of george floyd finds patterns of abuse within the minneapolis police department. severe storms rip through the southern u.s., killing multiple people and leaving behind a trail of destruction. plus... we speak with miami mayor francis suarez about why he's joining the already crowded field of republican presidential candidates. ♪ >> major funding for "the pbs newshour" has been provided by the ongoing support of these individuals and institutions,