Sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. Corporate funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support has been provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. From the tisch wnet studios at Lincoln Center in new york, hari sreenivasan. Sreenivasan good evening and thanks for joining us. Thousands of people gathered in the turkish capital of ankara today to condemn the worst terrorist attack in that nations recent history. Families and friends of some victims gathered today to mourn. At least 95 people died when two bombs exploded at a rally by ethnic kurds protesting the escalating violence between Turkish Security forces and kurdish separatists. Today families also waited for news about the 160 people still being treated in hospitals. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack near ankaras main rail station, but turkish officials are pointing to the Islamic State, or isis. Some demonstrators blamed lax security by the government of turkish president recep tayyip erdogan, which is waging a military campaign against kurdish fighters in the southeast part of the country. Yesterdays bombings came as turkey is also partnering with the u. S. Campaign against isis militants in neighboring syria and iraq. Turkish president erdogan said today National Parliamentary elections in three weeks will not be postponed. Joining me now via skype from istanbul, turkey, to discuss the impact of the bombings is wall street journal reporter emre peker. Z you lived there for several years, youve been working for the journal for a few years there, how bad are these tensions now. Hari, thanks for having me on the show. Its pretty bad. This is kind of unprecedented and unchartered territory that were in. Were in the lead up to snap elections. We had elections in june that could about turkeys first Hung Parliament since 2002 and violence has been escalating ever since then. Both domestic threats with kurdish insurgents and foreign strets stemming from Islamic State and the instability in iraq and syria, have been sort of bedeviling turkey. And that just in the midst of all of this, when some 14,000 people were gathering for a peace march, that, you know, been hit by the deadliest terrorist attack in the nations modern history, is quite devastating. Sreenivasan what is thesentt when you go to get groceries yesterday, or what are people feeling like in the wake of this attack especially since some of that explosion was televised. It kind of depends on where you are going and who you are talking with. The country has been going through a very polarizing period recently. And thats been sort of playing out in the aftermath of yesterdays bombing attack as well. Some people you talk with adamantly blame the government and the president s political ambitions for the blast, accusing the government of warmongering for political gains. Whereas supporters of the government and the president blame kurdish militants, prokurdish political party, that they say is supporting terrorism and say that Foreign Forces and leftist militants and so forth are trying to destage lyze the country to undermine a decade of progress that turkey has lived through under mostly the president s rule. Sreenivasan has thisstrengts resolve to try and justify the bombing campaigns against the pkk or softened it any. We havent heard much on that. The pkk yesterday declared a unilateral ceasefire saying that they wanted to safeguard free and fair elections. There has been increased security measures taken in the majority kurdish southeast which i guess both the pkk and the prokurdish hdd were afraid would hamper militarys access to the ballots. So in order to some of the security measures the pkk declared a unilateral ceasefire but on the same day pkk rose balm being killed, the Police Officer and military has responded to these operations by launching wide spread raids and also air strikes against pkk camps in Northern Iraq on sunday claiming to have killed dozens of pkk militants. Sreenivasan emre peker joino much. Thank you. The United States is calling sreenivasan the United States is calling for restraint as violence between Israeli Soldiers and Palestinian Protesters continues to escalate. Today, israeli troops fired tear gas at rockthrowing palestinians in cities in the west bank. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed the Palestinian Authority for inciting the unrest, following a series of palestinian stabbings of israeli citizens. Israel struck what it called weapons sites belonging to hamas inside gaza today, retaliating for a rockets fired from gaza into israel yesterday. A gaza official said the airstrike killed a pregnant woman and her twoyearold daughter. In washington, a former staff member for the republicanled house of Representatives Committee investigating the 2012 attack on the u. S. Consulate in benghazi, libya, is claiming the investigation improperly targeted democratic secretary of state hillary clinton. Air force reserve major bradley podliska, a selfdescribed conservative republican, told cnn today he was fired in june for trying to conduct a non partisan investigation. Hillary clinton has a lot of explaining to do. We, however, do not need to shift resources to hyperfocus on hillary clinton. We didnt need to deemphasize and in some cases drop the investigation on different agencies, different organizations, and different individuals. Sreenivasan in response, Benghazi Committee chairman trey gowdy says he never instructed podliska to focus on mrs. Clinton, and the committee is not doing so. Podliskas accusation follows House Majority leader Kevin Mccarthys statement that the benghazi probe has hurt secretary clintons approval ratings. Sreenivasan after decades of military dictatorship, the Southeast Asian nation of myanmar, also known as burma, is gradually shifting toward democracy. The nation of 56 Million People held free elections three years ago for a limited number of seats in its 664seat parliament. On november 8, there will be a nationwide election for all the seats in parliament not reserved for the military, which retains a strong grip on power. Now, the countrys most well known politician is leading the charge for change. In tonights signature segment, correspondent kira kay and producer jason maloney, from the bureau for international reporting, tell us what is at stake. Reporter in a small town in central myanmar, also known as burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, the world famous democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, is running for reelection. Shes trying to hold the seat in parliament she first won in 2012, after the countrys military regime finally ended her 15 years of house arrest. Now 70 years old and known as mother suu to her supporters, she leads myanmars main opposition party, the National League for democracy. translated we will try to build a government that reflects the will of the people and respects the people reporter but Aung San Suu Kyi is banned from ever serving as myanmars president. In the 2008 constitution, the military regime excluded anyone with foreign family members from holding the highest office. Her late husband was british; so are her two sons. Right now, the National League for democracy holds less than 7 of the seats in parliament. But if her party does well enough in november, she may have leverage to negotiate an end to the ban. translated only if we win this election can we follow the true Democratic Path of mother suu. Only then will our country develop. That is why this election is important translated the people will have equal rights. That is not the case right now reporter and that was not the case 25 years ago, when myanamars military refused to recognize the results the first time the n. L. D. Won a national election. translated in 1990, you voted for our National League for democracy. But the government didnt give power to the n. L. D. Instead, they tried to break us apart and oppressed us. This is a Second Chance for people to pick a government that they want. Reporter after the military rejected the 1990 election, the country plunged into repression and isolation. American companies stopped doing business there. Western allies also cut off trade and investment. Myanmar became uncomfortably dependent on china. Then the devastation of a massive cyclone in 2008 convinced reformers in the government they needed to open to the rest of the world. By 2012, the generals who ruled the country surprised many by releasing Aung San Suu Kyi and hundreds of other political prisoners, allowing limited demonstrations, and easing censorship. If you look at the trajectory, it is remarkable, because no one expected this country to change in the ways it has that quickly. Reporter Derek Mitchell has had a front row seat to this transition. In 2012, he became the first u. S. Ambassador since the 1990 clampdown. You have Civil Society talking to parliament about legislation, conversations occurring. You have Political Parties like the n. L. D. Legal and campaigning. You have labor unions forming. And altogether theres much more free media than there was, three to four years ago. Reporter mitchell say u. S. Policy has shifted from condemnation to collaboration, with the dropping of most sanctions. President obama has visited myanmar twice in the past three years. I do not believe weve moved too quickly at all, and i think weve made the right decision, and i think a lot of what has occurred has been with the encouragement and the leverage of United States diplomacy. Reporter u. S. Investment remains limited. But myanmars asian neighbors are investing much more, making overall Foreign Investment 25 times what it was five years ago. A. T. M. S are a new and welcome sight. The Telecom Sector is booming, as this once hermit nation goes from an absence of cell phones and the internet to an almost overnight infatuation with smart phones. Young people are returning home to join the information revolution. These entrepreneurs at the i. T. Hub phandeeyar attended college in the u. S. And singapore. Instead of returning back to the u. S. I just continued to stay here and actually applied for a job. Theres so much more here, and i wanted to be a part of it. This country needs a lot more innovation, and there are a lot of gaps you have to fill. A lot of things missing that we dont have here. I kind of feel responsible to do it. Reporter the easing of Government Press censorship brought editor aung zaw and his reporters back to their homeland. He founded his news magazine while in exile. Weve been seen as an enemy of the state. We were blacklisted here in this country. But things started changing in this country. Last three years, weve been back here, set up an office, here im sitting here with my colleagues. Reporter still, aung zaw keeps his headquarters in neighboring thailand, skeptical the changes of recent years are permanent. I think there are some leadership who took a risk to open up without knowing the consequences. Once you open up, its difficult to close it down because of it is peoples desire. At the same time the former regime leaders, particularly the military, it is very naiive to assume they will give in very easily. Reporter in myanmars parliament, Aung San Suu Kyi walks the halls as a celebrity, with her own paparazzi in tow. But the real power here is on display when buses disgorge dozens of military officers in uniform. 25 of the seats in parliament are reserved for them, and, since the constitution says all changes need a 75 majority, these men in green hold an effective veto over anything they dont like, including amending the constitution to allow Aung San Suu Kyi to run for president. Since being elected to parliament, she has courted the military in the hope of changing the constitution, but failed. I think Aung San Suu Kyi was the key who helped to open the door for them. Who asked the west to lift the sanctions, to lift the pressure. And what she got in return . Nothing reporter one of Aung San Suu Kyis proteges in parliament is fellow party member zayar thaw. We try our best, but it doesnt reach our goal yet. Yes, we admit it. Reporter the newshour met him before he was first elected in 2012. A longshot candidate, he was part of the National League for democracy sweep of the 43 seats contested that year. He hopes in november his party will build on that momentum to force greater change. Our country is not in the democratic system, not yet. Its more like a transition period. So this year election, people can show we want to stop military ruling the country. They can show it with the voting. Reporter besides the limits imposed by the constitution, there are other setbacks to democracy here. The countrys main university, onermhuttered after students rose up against military rule, reopened. But when students recently protested for more of a say over their own education, the governments response was reminiscent of past brutality. translated only with a better Education System can our country develop. As a student, i felt responsibility. Thats why i joined the protest. Reporter 22yearold ei pone and 21yearold kyaw zin thant were with a group of protestors confronted by police this spring. translated they dragged us to the trucks to go to the prison. They started beating us while we were walking. They kicked us when we fell down. Reporter around 50 students remain jailed, charged with public unrest and bringing shame to their country. translated we are now supposed to be free to participate in political activities, but students got beaten violently, losing our human rights. The International Community should keep a close eye on this government. Were not satisfied that there have continued to be arrests based on protests that should be legal whether they got permission or not. Theres no place in a democracy for that kind of activity. Reporter another worrying trend here is the rise of religious nationalism for the past few years, a divisive and sometimes violent strain on society and now a Political Force as well. A handful of prominent monks are taking advantage of freer speech to spread antimuslim propaganda. They are finding a receptive audience in this 90 buddhist nation. Their fiery sermons inspired boycotts of muslimowned businesses and fueled sectarian violence, like the 2013 attacks in the central city of meiktila, were 43 muslims and one Buddhist Monk were killed and entire neighborhoods razed. Now, the monks have created ma ba tha the association for the protection of race and religion. Ma ba tha spokesman parmaukkha says the 9 Muslim Minority puts the country at risk. translated indonesia, malaysia, afghanistan all were once buddhist countries. Now they are all islamic countries. I dont want that to happen here. Reporter ma ba tha triumphed this summer when myanmars parliament passed laws drafted by the monks limiting interfaith marriage and religious conversions. Now, some ma ba tha are criticizing Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, because the n. L. D. Opposed the race and religion laws. translated we have to encourage people to vote for candidates who will ensure our race, our religion, our country will not disappear. Its dangerous and particularly as elections come, the kinds of division and the fear that is stirred up. Reporter to ensure novembers voting is as fair and transparent as possible, election monitors are being trained around the country sessions sometimes paid for by the u. S. 93 parties are running, fielding 6,000 candidates. The current majority party, made up of former military members, is campaigning hard, taking nothing for granted. Aung san suu kyis party needs to win twothirds of the contested Parliament Seats to achieve a governing majority. How the military accepts the election results, or does not, will be a major test of whether myanmars transition to democracy is for real. Sreenivasan see more of our reporting from myanmar, including a look at the growth of the internet and smartphone use. Visit us online pbs. Org newshour. Sreenivasan in the past few months, houston has transformed its public bus system to make it more userfriendly and attract more riders. Every route changed, in an attempt to improve service. In this installment of urban ideas, special correspondent karla murthy tried out the new system, and brings us this report. Reporter janis scott starts almost every morning on this corner at the bus stop near her home on the east side of houston. Even though she knows how to drive, she prefers the bus. She rides the bus so often, shes known as the bus lady. I tell people if you cant remember my name, say hey, miss bus lady i said ill turn around, ill answer reporter two months ago, the bus routes janis had taken for the last 30 years changed overnight. Houstons transit authority, known as metro, revamped the entire bus system to make the routes simpler and faster with better connections, at almost no extra cost. Good morning hi, how you doing . Reporter our first bus arrives, the number 30. In the past, buses ran infrequently, and many didnt run after 5 00 p. M. Or on weekends. So, essentially weve had a longterm decline in bus ridership. Reporter Christof Spieler is one of the architects behind the new system. Hes an urban planner and sits on metros board. So we just asked a question, what would this bus system look like if we started over from scratch. Reporter the old bus routes ran on a radial system, a hub and spokes, with the High Frequency routes going through downtown. But as houston grew into the fourth largest city in america, with over two Million People spread out all over the city, spieler says, that old system no longer worked. The radial system was based on a time when everybody worked in the same place and not a system that really made it easy to move around the city. Reporter now those bus routes run on a grid, creating more logical transfers, and run more frequently, all over the city. Janis is retired. She spends her days going to museums and lectures. Im a volunteer. Reporter today, shes is on her way to a Public Meeting on transportation on the citys west side. Shes chosen a route that will take us on three different buses. She says its not the most direct way, but will show us how the new routes connect. Reporter heres one of those transfer points. We cross the street to catch our second bus. Before, this bus would come every half hour. Now, its every 15 minutes. Reporter oh, look. There it is. There it is. Reporter that was fast. Designing the new system took about two years, and janis served on one of the planning committees. If youre not at the table, you may end up on the menu. And i didnt want that to happen to me, because at one time, metro was considering cutting service. Reporter she says for a lot of people the bus isnt a choice. Its the only option. They need to get to grocery stores; theres a lot of food deserts in this town. A lot of people dont have access to health care in their immediate area. Oh here it is right here. Reporter we pull up to the Eastwood Transit Center for the last leg of our trip. To catch the 25 bus before this bus didnt come here which is a major hub for people on the east side. We had those connections, but we were never waiting more than a couple minutes. It was like bam, bam, bam. That was great. Reporter janis and i arrive at our final destination. Looks like someones not happy with the metro. On the bus sign, we found a note someone left for metro. It says, this is crazy. With a change this big, youre never going to make everybody happy, thats the unfortunate reality of it. But were definitely hearing that my bus comes more often, i dont have to look at the schedule anymore. Reporter can you call it a success yet . No, i mean i think we really need a year, two years to really see how it changes. Reporter houston metro is aiming to boost its ridership by 20 over the next two years. This is pbs newshour weekend, sunday. Sreenivasan iran has test fired a longrange ballistic missile. On state run television today, iran broadcast the apparently successful launch of the missile named emad, the farsi word fo pillar. The emads range is more than 1,000 miles, according to the center for strategic and international studies, in washington. Irans defense minister said of the missile test, there is no intention of aggression or threats in this action. An Iranian Court has reached a verdict in the espionage case against u. S. Journalist jason rezaian. But its not clear when the decision will be announced. Iran arrested rezaian, Tehran Bureau chief for the washington post, 15 months ago for allegedly collecting and disseminating confidential information, rezaian holds dual u. S. And iranian citizenship. His last closeddoor Court Hearing was two months ago. Washington post executive editor martin baron said today, the only thing that has ever been clear about this case is jasons innocence. Two independent reviews find a White Cleveland Police Officer was legally justified in using lethal force when he shot and killed a 12yearold black boy the reviews released last night say officer Timothy Loehmann did not use Excessive Force confronting tamir rice outside a Recreation Center last november. A retired f. B. I. Agent and a colorado prosecutor say loehmann couldnt have known rice was not holding a real handgun, because a 911 call had described a man waving a gun. Prosecutors weighing criminal charges against loehmann commissioned the reviews. Tomorrow on the newshour, contributing editor Soledad Obrien begins a threepart series called congos hope, about an african nation emerging from years of war. What was your childhood like . One meal a day because you can not afford. But im actually glad all those things happened to me. Really . Why. Because it teached me. That is what helped me to come back here and help. Sreenivasan and finally thee nation will soon automatically register anyone who gets a drivers license to voalt, california governor siend the new motor voter law last night, 6. 5 million eligible californiaans are not registered including half of the states 18 to 24 year olds. California will become the second state after oregon to adopt automatic Voter Registration when the law takes affect in january. Thats all for they dition of pbs newshour weekend. Im har aye sreenivasan, thanks for watching. Captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by Media Access Group at wgbh access. Wgbh. Org pbs newshour weekend is made possible by lewis b. And Louise Hirschfeld cullman. Bernard and irene schwartz. Judy and josh weston. The cheryl and Philip Milstein family. Sue and edgar wachenheim, iii. Corporate funding is provided by mutual of america designing customized individual and Group Retirement products. Thats why we are your retirement company. Additional support has been provided by and by the corporation for public broadcasting, and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. Thank you. If i had a secret as to how you could stop yourself from aging badly and actually turn the clock around and feel younger, wouldnt you like to know it . Im miranda esmondewhite, and im going to share that secret with you today. Miranda esmondewhite is host of the longrunning Public Television fitness show classical stretch and author of the book aging backwards. Miranda has been training professional athletes since creating her own fitness technique 15 years ago. As ive aged, and im now 78, my body feels like im, i dont know, 60. People are always commenting on how fit i look, and i say,
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