♪ ♪ narrator: funding for this presentation of this program is provided by... woman: architect. bee keeper. mentor. a raymond james financial advisor tailors advice to help you live your life. life well planned. george: actually, you don't need vision to do most things in life. it's exciting to be part of a team driving

the technology forward. i think that's the most rewarding thing. people who know, know bdo. 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. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> this is bbc "worls america." the international community calls for peace in sudan, rival armed factions remain in conflict, nearly 100 people are confirmed dead in the violence. according russia sentences a prominent critic of vladimir putin 225 years in jail. he is just the latest to run

afoul of the russian president. our team at bbc africa investigates a shocking level of child sexual abuse and incest in uganda made worse by the pandemic. plus, bringing the curtain down on one of broadway's most popular musicals. the phantom of the opera takes one last bow. ♪ welcome to "world news america." on pbs and around the globe. we started in sudan where fighting between rival armed factions shows no sign of letting up. violence between the army and a paramilitary group called rapid support forces has left more than 180 people dead now, according to the united nations. both sides claim to control key sides in the capital khartoum, residents have been sheltering

from explosions. the fighting was triggered this weekend by the struggle between these two men to control sudan's military. the head of the armed forces and his deputy, who's in charge of the rs f. the two disagree on sudan's future and its journey toward civilian rule. one of the main obstacles is the role of paramilitaries incidents army and who should be in charge. european union has set its ambassador incident has been attacked at his home in khartoum. our senior africa correspondent sends us this report. reporter: after three days of fighting, airports are still a flashpoint. these satellite images show the damage it has been done in the capitol. they claim to have taken control of yet another airport. civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting. there is nowhere safe to go.

sudan is majority muslim nation. ramadan is a time to travel to meet friends and family, but not now. >> we've seen bloodshed from both sides. we are just caught in the middle. this is our new normal now. reporter: millions who depend on humanitarian aid are not receiving any. the you in says a four hour pause announced last evening to allow for humanitarian access was breached. aid workers have been caught up in the clashes. the world food program has pulled out after three bits workers were killed yesterday. >> unless there is an immediate humanitarian truce for people to get aid, think the people will be compelled to do some looting. reporter: the number of casualties is rising.

staffers struggle just to get into the workplace this morning. those who support the defective leader were keen to be seen with the injured. the fight -- fighting is spreading, and there are reports of unrest elsewhere. despite international calls for a cease-fire, neither side is ready to back down. >> our correspondent joins me now from nairobi. you been tracking the story since the fighting broke out. what is the latest you're learning, and is it even possible to tell which side has the upper hand? reporter: right off the bat i can tell you that the united nations are saying it is very difficult right now to tell who host the upper hand.

have been fighting intensely, you mentioned about the e.u. representative being assaulted in his house. late in violation of the vienna conventions, and they are -- the you and has complained --un has complained that medical supplies have been shot out and looted. people are in darkness right now. there was a truce, but like yesterday, there is a lot of despair that it is not respected , there was another truce call yesterday which was not respected and today the hopes were slim that humanitarian aid would be able to get anything in within those few hours. >> this has been several days of

fighting. we saw some scenes from hospitals. you mentioned that the electricity has been out. tell us how the many people who are caught in the middle of this incident, how are they coping? reporter: save the children says nothing is moving, u.n. secretary general described the situation as a catastrophe. ramadan, fasting all day, they're supposed to go out and get their supplies, that has been postponed as a thousand people have been injured. many cannot access emergency medical help. guns are still being fired, heavy artillery and even the air forces targeting some areas. many people have been holed up in their homes for days, unable to move.

they are sending images from there. let's not forget that outside of this conflict, at least 50 million sudanese are facing acute food shortages. >> thank you so much for tracking that story in nairobi. now to russia and one of president putin's most prominent critics has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by court in moscow after he publicly criticized russia's invasion of ukraine. he also has british citizenship and is accused of treason and spreading false information. his conviction is widely seen as politically motivated. our russia editor steve rosenberg reports from moscow. steve: hand proved and in a bulletproof cage, one of president putin's most prominent critics.

he faced multiple charges, including treason. the verdicts -- guilty. the punishment -- a quarter of a century in prison. access to the courtroom was heavily restricted with other journalists and foreign diplomats crowded into another room to watch on tv screens. for more than a decade, he has been a high profile opponent of the kremlin. he lobbied western governments to sanction russian officials for corruption and human rights abuses and he publicly condemned the war in ukraine. he is also a british citizen. the u.k. has joined international condemnation of his conviction. >> we will continue to call for his release. >> he has a british passport.

what will britain do to try to secure his release? >> we are continuing to ask for access and will continue to do that. >> a prison sentence of 25 years is unprecedented in its severity. it is a sign that in today's russia, the authorities are determined not only to silence all criticism, but to neutralize anyone or anything they believe could be a threat to the political system here. >> latimer is a very strong man. >> when his wife spoke to me from america before the verdict, she was already preparing for the worst. >> a 25 year prison sentence, to me, this is the recognition of the effectiveness of vladimir's work. they are so much afraid of him

out there, running free, that they need to lock him up for a quarter of a century to stop him from continuing his work. reporter: another sign of the times in moscow. this famous museum reminds russians a political repression of the past. it is named after a soviet human rights campaigner, but the authorities have declared it a foreign agent and are evicting it from the building. that final event feels like a small step for foreign democracy. >> the crackdown on dissenting and russia has been going on for some time, but has certainly accelerated since russia's full-scale invasion of ukraine. what we saw today, the jailing of our kremlin critic for 25 years, that is a sign just how

dangerous it has become for a politician or activist or opposition figure who speaks out and challenges the kremlin. >> here in the u.s., prosecutors have arrested two men for allegedly operating a secret police station in new york city's chinatown neighborhood. they face charges of conspiring to act as agents for china and obstruction of justice. let's bring in our reporter in new york city. this is just a fascinating story. what exactly to u.s. authorities say these suspected chinese agents were up to? reporter: u.s. prosecutors say these two older men, who are both new york residents, both u.s. citizens, that they opened an illegal chinese police station in 2022, and they did that on behalf of china's ministry of public security to routinely monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical of the chinese government order to silence them. they allegedly conducted these

operations from a floor in an office building in manhattan's chinatown, as you mentioned there. the key here is that they never notified the attorney general that they were acting as agents of a foreign government as they are required to do. so what they did is allegedly close the police station when they realized they were being investigated. the fbi eventually got an authorized search of the building and were able to question the men. prosecutors say they admitted that they had deleted their communications with their chinese government official they were in touch with in order to obstruct the fbi's probe. so the complaint goes into that specific police station, but also, even earlier, there were attempts to locate people of interest in the united states, including pro-democracy advocates living in california and trying to intimidate them. >> this is not the only report of china having some sort of shadow operation in other

countries. what do we know from those countries, and what has china been saying about all of these latest discoveries? reporter: that's exactly right. it is believed that china has more than 100 secret outposts around the world, whether it be in the netherlands, there were reported cases there, around europe, canada, here in the united states. but this is the first time we are seeing criminal charges related to one of these. what china has said is that these are service centers, that especially after the covid-19 pandemic, their citizens needed access to things like getting a drivers license and other types of services. so they have completely denied that this is about monitoring dissidents at all. the key issue here is for the u.s., they see this as a violation of their territorial integrity, of their judicial sovereignty. the u.s. attorney at a press conference saying the prosecution reveals the chinese government's flagrant violation

of america's sovereignty, and similar outrage from u.s. officials. >> interesting self, playing out in the backdrop of heightened tensions between the two countries. thank you so much. uganda is reporting a significant increase in child sexual abuse and underage pregnancies in the wake of the pandemic. the situation is particularly acute in the north of the country where a brutal insurgency led by tory us warlord joseph kony has left its mark. our reporter discovered that justice often comes at a price. all morning, this report contains material that some may find disturbing -- a warning. >> this is the neonatal ward at a hospital in uganda. many of the babies delivered here have mothers under the age of 18, the age of consent in

uganda. >> you will find that young mothers, the highest proportion of those die in labor. >> a recent report found a 300% increase in girls age between 10-14 giving birth. it is a shocking statistic, and the situation is at its worst. we are heading out of the city to meet a girl who is eight months pregnant and living alone. she is believed to be 11 or 12 years old. >> she looks set other girls who are not pregnant and she cries. -- looks at other girls who are not pregnant and she cries. >> her parents have left her

here, extensively to get an education, but here she is alone and frightened. gives me a sense of helplessness. what does it mean for the next generation? this is one of the poorest parts of the country, and the community is still dealing with the aftermath of a brutal insurgency that went on for 20 years. the conflict ended in 2008, but the effects have been long-lasting. >> living within a toxic minefield environment has long-term effects on the community. i describe it as the war was fought in the body of the woman and the woman became the battlefield. >> i've been to put in touch with a lawyer from the ngo.

>> in uganda, befell meant means unlawful sexual intercourse that the girl below the age of 18. -- defilement. >> she was defiled and she was about three years when she was defiled. >> the alleged perpetrator was arrested, but justice here seems to come at a price. >> the suspect was held for six months, but he was never prosecuted. the child's mother doesn't have the means to -- none of the suspects in any cases we

investigated were prosecuted. the minister admits corruption is widespread. >> we have loss of defilement. we have laws of incest. but somehow people just go behind the law and the police say ok, settle it at home. >> police deny corruption is rife. >> let's turn to the state of alabama, where authorities have said three teenagers and a 23 year old or among those killed after deadly shooting at a teenagers birthday party on saturday. 20 more people were injured in the attack in dadeville, several critically. police have not released details of who carried out to shooting a while. done crime in the u.s. is on the rise. in 2019, there were 417 mass

shootings where four or more people were killed or injured. since 2020, this has increased to more than 600 each year, an average of about two per day. so for this year there have been at least 161 mass shootings in the u.s.. president biden has condemned saturday's incident as outrageous and unacceptable. the sister of an 18-year-old boy killed and that mass shooting in dadeville says her big brother's actions saved her life. alexis dowd l was holding a sweet 16 birthday party on saturday when gunfire erupted. her sibling was among four young people to die in that attack. >> are proud mom stands beside her son, the star athlete seen heading for university on a football scholarship. but 18-year-old phil dowdell lost his life on saturday. we have spoken to his mother and sister, who's sweet sixteen it was. she says her big brother pushed

her to the floor as the shooting began, saving her life. she then found him, fatally injured. >> he had already lost a lot of blood. they said that was his body laying on the ground. that's when my mama started crying and that's when i ran and there and i had grabbed him and i was holding him in my arms. >> police investigating the attack at the dance studio have given no details about suspects or a possible motive. they say they don't know what happened, either. >> you don't know if it was more than one person, but you think it was? tell us about that. >> it's hard. it's like a piece of my heart is

ripped out. i know he loved us. he knew i loved him, but he was supposed to graduate next month. instead of me going to graduation, i will be going to the cemetery to see my son. >> she says more must be done to tackle gun violence, to stop tragedies like this, a young man dying at his sister's birth day. >> not to some other news making headlines, the british prime minister rishi sunak is being investigated over a possible breach of transparency rules. the probe is understood to be related to a childcare firm that his wife as shares in that may have benefited from a policy announced in march. a spokesperson says he is happy to work with the watchdog to clarify his interest. the launch of the biggest ever space rocket has been called off a the last minute because of a technical fault. the starship which is owned by

spacex is more than 120 meters high and is designed to have almost double the thrust of any other rocket. it will not be another attempted lift off for at least 48 hours. there has been growing anger in kansas city, missouri, after homeowner shot a black teenager for ringing their doorbell by mistake. ralph yarl was picked up by his brother from a friend's house but went to wrong address. he was shot twice at the door and was refused help until someone finally called 911 to the hospital. after a record-breaking run, the curtain has finally come down on the broadway production of the phantom of the opera. our newsroom reporter naomi has more. naomi: final bow for the longest running musical in broadway history, as the curtain came down on the iconic phantom at

new york's majestic theater for the last time on sunday night. and what a run it has had. let's take a look at the numbers. the show opened in january 1988, which means it is had a 35 year run. it has won seven tony awards and has grossed $1.3 billion u.s., that's about one billion pounds. all kinds of stars have graced the floorboards there at the majestic theater. michael crawford, sarah brightman, who played the first leading lady back in 1988. you could see them on opening night act in with andrew lloyd webber, who wrote the iconic musical. after the curtain came down on sunday night, andrew lloyd webber join his cast on stage, dedicating the final performance to his son, who died just a few weeks ago. take a listen. >> it could not have gone out

with a better performance. >> a special encore was reserved for the chandelier which comes crashing to the stage in a very dramatic moment during the performance. here it is, getting a special sendoff. phantom has been through many challenges in his 35 year run, including a recession, 9/11, and even the pandemic. but in the end, it did cost a colossal amount of money to run, about $1 million u.s. per week. andrew lloyd webber decided it was time to end on a high note. >> before we go, let's talk about royal menus. we've had the coronation chicken and the platinum pudding. to mark the next royal event, the coronation quiche. king charles the third and queen consort camilla have declared the dish the official party food. if you like a copy of the

recipe, and calls for english cheddar, spinach, broad beans and a bit of tarragon. it can be made with lard or more veggie framing options. queen elizabeth the second's or nation dish in 1953 was cornish chicken, as it later became known. remember, you can find more on all those stories on our website, including that recipe maybe, and you can check out what is going on on twitter around the clock. thank 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.

♪ ♪ narrator: you're watching pbs.

♪ geoff: good evening. i'm geoff bennett. amna: and i'm amna nawaz. on the newshour tonight, communities search for answers in the wake of multiple shootings, killing and wounding teenagers in recent days. geoff: civilians are caught in the crossfire as sudan's army and rival forces battle for control. amna: and, after being released a florida man faces a toughemic- reality -- being forced to return to life behind bars. >> i'm praying that the good lord will just bless me again, give me freedom again, which i think i'm truly going to get. ♪