Al-Sharaa meets with Trump at White House as Syria seeks closer ties with the West

Since last fall, more than 12,000 North Koreans have reportedly been deployed to fight with the Russian army in Ukraine. Recently, Ukraine accused the Kremlin of recruiting foreign fighters from African nations as it struggles to recruit troops among its own population. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky investigates the reliance on mercenaries in the world's deadliest conflicts. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Wednesday, President Trump is urging Israel's president to pardon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his corruption case, a former aide to California's Gov. Newsom has been indicted on charges related to an alleged scheme to steal campaign money, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta is retiring and the U.S. Mint in Philadelphia pressed its last penny. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world, a reminder of the war’s horrific toll on the youngest victims. Before the State Department paused new medical visas for Palestinians in August, a group of children and teens was able to leave Gaza for life-saving care in the U.S. Amna Nawaz and producer Zeba Warsi captured their stories. A warning: some images are disturbing. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

A U.S. aircraft carrier reached the Caribbean as part of the Trump administration’s escalating pressure campaign on Venezuela and its broader effort to combat drug trafficking. In recent months, the U.S. has killed dozens of people, prompting an outcry across the region from governments and human rights groups. Nick Schifrin discussed more with Juanita Goebertus Estrada of Human Rights Watch. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Tuesday, Marion County, Kansas, will pay $3 million and formally apologize for a police raid on a newspaper in 2023, the Justice Department says it will investigate security at UC Berkeley after protests outside a Turning Point USA event led to several arrests and a judge adopted a new electoral map for Utah that will create a Democratic-leaning district. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

President Trump is threatening to sue the BBC for $1 billion, claiming a documentary misrepresented his role in the Jan. 6 attack. Trump’s legal team says the BBC edited video to look like he urged supporters to “fight like hell” immediately after directing them to march on the Capitol. The two lines came more than 50 minutes apart. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Brian Stelter of CNN. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa met with President Trump on Monday. It's the first White House visit by a Syrian leader since the country became independent nearly 80 years ago. Damascus joined the global alliance countering ISIS, and the Trump administration extended temporary sanctions relief. Nick Schifrin reports. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

Aid groups say tens of thousands of people have fled violence in el-Fasher, a city in the Darfur region of Sudan, which is in the midst of a yearslong civil war. This follows an official declaration that famine is spreading through the northeastern African nation. John Yang speaks with Sheldon Yett, UNICEF’s representative in Sudan, for more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

The ripple effects of the Trump administration’s elimination of USAID are being felt in dozens of countries where the agency supported initiatives ranging from public health programs to infrastructure and climate resilience projects. Angeles Ponpa from Northwestern University’s school of journalism traveled to Indonesia to see the effect on one of the world’s fastest-sinking cities. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

In our news wrap Friday, Cornell University announced a $60 million deal with the Trump administration to restore federal funding and end investigations into the school, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says his country has received an exemption from U.S. sanctions on Russian energy and Denmark 's government announced a plan that would ban social media access for anyone under the age of 15. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy