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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 "world news america." over before it started, fox news reaches a last-minute settlement with dominion voting systems which had accused it of defamation. detained wall street journal reporter has made his appeal -- had his appeal on spying charges denied. the 85-year-old who shot a black teenager for bringing the wrong

doorbell has been released from police custody. dr. said that are amazed that ralph yarl survived the shooting. and 95 years old and going strong, we meet a band member who just set a world record. ♪ welcome to "world news america." we start here in the u.s., where one of the most highly anticipated defamation trials began and ended just as quickly. the judge in the defamation case against fox news said the media giant has reached an agreement with dominion voting. the announcement came with the jury already selected and the trial about to get underway. our business correspondent was out at the courthouse in wilmington, delaware, when the surprise announcement was made. >> you could really say this was a settlement on the courthouse

steps, right at the very last second when we were waiting for the two parties to get up and give opening statements. now the trial has been averted. what we understand so far is that the judge came back into the courtroom and said that this case was settled, thanks to the delaware jurors. he said it was extremely important, without you, the parties wouldn't have been able to resolve their situation. >> shortly after the settlement was announced, dominion's legal team spoke to the press about the results. >> the truth matters. lies have consequences. over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept dominion and election officials across america. into this alternative universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to dominion and the country. today's settlement of

$787,500,000 represents vindication and accountability. lies have consequences. >> fox news has issued a statement of its own, saying we are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with dominion voting systems. it goes on to say we acknowledge while finding certain claims of dominion to be false, the settlement reflects fox news commitment to the highest journalistic standards. closely watching the case is our reporter who joins me in the studio. talk to us a little bit more about what we are learning about this case. >> he truly was a settlement at the 11th hour. the 12 person jury had already

been selected. some of our colleagues were there in the courtroom and said they could literally hear audible gasps when that decision was announced. but it did not come as a complete surprise. the opening statements were meant to happen yesterday. we heard there were some settlement negotiations in the works, so it wasn't completely out of the blue. the figure that we have is $787 million, blow the $1.6 billion that had been requested by dominion. of course there are other details that are going to come out, the statement from fox news is usually part of the settlement. they were quite careful in their wording. they did say that there were false statements, but did they say they misled the public as dominion alleged that they did? not yet. it was still quite a let down for so many of the media and her colleagues who were right there outside of the court thinking

this was going to go on for weeks. >> just talk to us a little bit about why this has been seen as so important. >> on the face of it, it was between dominion and fox, but many people felt there was much more riding on this what -- then whether just fox news was reliable for defamation. it's difficult to navigate but people thought dominion's case was so strong that they really did have -- a thought that perhaps it would set a new precedent that ethical journalism matters, that journalist and media organizations, no matter how big, cannot knowingly mislead the public, and with the 2024 election around the corner, that could have had potentially very big implications. >> important points to make

there. thank you so much. the american journalist has appeared in court in moscow where his appeal against being detained was rejected. is the first time he has been seen in public since being arrested nearly three weeks ago. he is the first american journalist to face espionage charges in russia since the soviet era which ended over 30 years ago. he strongly denies any wrongdoing. present buying has demand that his immediate release. our russia editor steve rosenberg has the story. steve: it was the first time evan had been seen in public since being arrested. the wall street journal reporter was appealing his detention. the appeal was rejected. he is the first western journalist here to be charged with spying since the cold war. a charge that he, his newspaper, and his government categorically reject. >> the charges against evan are baseless and we call on the

russian federation to immediately release him. >> a rare glimpse inside the prison where the american journalist is being held. a russian tv documentary when inside the jail 20 years ago. it is notorious for the sense of isolation. his lawyer told me what is helping him get through this. >> he receives a lot of letters and he tries to respond to these letters. he has huge support from everybody. >> the u.s. has classified him as wrongfully detained. it means a back in america his case has been taken up by the u.s. special envoy for hostage affairs in trying to secure his release. >> experience shows it won't be easy. ex u.s. marine paul whelan has spent more than four years behind bars in rush.

last year, basketball star brittney griner was released. moscow agreed to a swap with a convicted russian arms dealer. now a u.s. journalist is in a moscow jail, what do russian officials make of that? >> this once again will affect russia's international reputation. this journalist as -- is seen as a hostage now. >> he is not a hostage. i'm sure that russia's reputation will not suffer greatly from this. >> all evan could do was wait and hope for freedom. steve rosenberg, bbc news, moscow. >> let's turn to the u.s. state of missouri where an 85-year-old man has posted bail in the shooting of a black teenager.

andrew lester, who is white, is charged shooting of ralphyarl who had mistakenly rung his doorbell in kansas city. bring us up-to-date with the latest, as well as the charges in this case. >> andrew lester has been charged with first-degree assault and also criminal action. these are charges, if he is convicted of them, he could face the rest of his life in jail. now he wasn't charged with the hate crime, and racial bias doesn't appear anywhere in the charging sheet, even though a prosecutor had earlier said there was a race component to it. mr. lester is an old man, he had said to police that when the doorbell rang late on thursday night, he got scared. he was worried it was a break-in, he went downstairs and was intimidated by ralph yarl's

height. his family believes that race did play a factor in all of that. just to let you know in the last hour or so, andrew lester has been released from custody after surrendering to police earlier today. he paid about 10% of his $200,000 bond, as part of the agreement his mobile phone will be monitored, he cannot have any access to weapons, nor can he make any direct or indirect contact with ralph yarl's family. >> talk to us about the reaction in the community and across the country as well. >> earlier, i did go to the neighborhood where it happened. it was so quiet and sunny, it just looked like any ordinary american neighborhood. andrew lester's home has been feed, there are big stains on his door e --gg stains on his

door. it gives you a sense of how angry people were. they were really angry because i said it took too long for andrew to be charged. i spoke to woman who has made her way to kansas city to take part in a rally, in order to, she said, demand justice. i put to her the charges that andrew faces and she said given his age, he is 84 years old, if he is convicted, that he will face the rest of his life in jail. she said she felt if that does happen it would be justice in her eyes. >> thanks a lot for that report. now to sudan, a country riven by fighting and suffering a major command to turn crisis. a 24 hours cease-fire is reported to have started, but it is not clear whether rival factions in the armed forces are

observing it. there has been an intense battle since the weekend and hundreds have been killed or injured. sudan is one of the biggest countries in africa and has experienced years of problems. the united nations says the humanitarian situation in sudan is now catastrophic, with mass displacement of people. our senior africa correspondent has been watching developments from the capital, nairobi. >> every chance they get, they are trying to flee the capital, khartoum. a 24 hours cease-fire to allow families to reunite an aide to flow in should be enforced now,

but there are reports of gunfire and explosions. pressure is mounting on the warring generals to negotiate. >> if successful, the cease-fire for 24 hours can create a foundation to build upon for more sustained halt to fighting and a return to negotiations and an hostilities. >> some have been caught in the crossfire, like the students and university who were forced to bury their faculty in the schoolyard. >> we were unable to move his body. we are scared, but we are scared about the water and electricity being cut off. >> hospitals are overwhelmed. families have been forced to move patients out. there is no food, water, or electricity. >> it is almost impossible to provide any services in and

around khartoum. for the past four days, people have been without water or food. electricity has been rationed and in some cases totally disconnected. >> tonight the streets of khartoum are deserted. people remain indoors, fearful, angry, and uncertain about the coming days. civilians can only watch helplessly and try to stay alive. >> a senior reporter at bbc africa joins us now. thank you for taking the time to be with us. there was meant to be a cease-fire. there are some reports that that hasn't been holding and there have been some breaches. what are you hearing? >> that cease-fire has not really held, as you mentioned.

many people have spoke of the cease-fire being brokered by nations like the u.s. and the u.k., many were unable to get out of their own houses and try to get food and supplies or to get to the hospital. the fighting has been really intense. the concern for many people in sudan and across the region is that this fighting has escalated into main parts of the country. we've been hearing fighting going on in western regions for quite a long time. and just across the river nile, so there is a lot of concern now that there seems to be no into the fighting that has been ongoing since thursday with the

population -- taking control of this. >> and just spreading so quickly, as you described there. talk to us about the humanitarian needs on the ground. we understand that some humanitarian organizations have had to suspend their operations because of these battles. >> yes, some of the casualties of this conflict have been humanitarian workers. three staffers were killed during the fighting. this is a country like many other parts that are suffering and many people do depend on these humanitarian agencies for survival for their basic needs. and with the suspension of -- in this humanitarian crisis right

now in sudan there is going to be much worse. with the fighting seemingly not going to end, the population will be suffering much. >> u.s. secretary of state and 10 blinken call both leaders last night and called for a cease-fire. is that the sense that the international community or any neighboring countries could actually do anything? >> there is supposed to be a delegation from the region, the presidents of kenya and south sudan are supposed to be heading to khartoum because of the fighting, the borders have been closed. there's international pressure from u.s., the u.k., and the foreign secretaries from the countries have met and try to impress on the two leaders to try and come together. the differences we are seeing between them, it doesn't seem likely that the fighting will stop anytime soon.

>> a senior reporter joining us, great to have your insights. in an -- in other news, sergey lavrov is touring south america to boost diplomatic ties. his first stop was in brazil on monday where he met his brazilian counterpart. he thanked the country on his contribution to try and resolve conflict in ukraine. his tour has raised concerns in the u.s., coming after brazil's president returned from a state visit in china. india's supreme court has been hearing final arguments on petitions to legalize same-sex marriage. the couples bringing the the cases say they cannot enter financial arrangements or join properties because they are not married. the government is a guest -- against same-sex marriages and urge the government to reject the request. the court will hear final arguments today. the u.n.'s warning that the economy of afghanistan world's

-- afghanistan will shrink if there is a drop in international aid. it's been working to bring humanitarian assistance to one of the poorest countries in the world. so for this year, only 5% of the countries a plan has been funded . now over 201 million pounds have been committed at of just over 3.5 billion pounds that have been requested. now donors can turn away from afghanistan because the taliban has ordered women to stop working for relief organizations. our southeast asia correspondent reports. >> no time for a childhood. this 11-year-old must work every day so that his family can eat. one of more than a million children in afghanistan. he was in sixth grade until last year. >> i really like school.

i miss it. this is very hard work, but i've gotten used to it now. next door, his older brother does the same work. nine hours of hammering and welding, earning less than two dollars. their father lost his job when afghanistan's economy collapsed and has now gone to iran to find work. their mother begs on the streets. >> i feel awful that my young children are working. this is their time to study, but life is hard for us. i'm struggling to find work. they have to provide for the family. >> the foreign money that was being given to the country was

frozen. eight organizations have played a crucial role. in recent months, the taliban has increased restrictions on those working for them, which threatens to put their operations and their country at risk. i met a senior official in the finance ministry. he says they're working to improve the economic situation. >> basically in the previous government there was a lot of corruption and misuse of power. we have transparency in all our departments, and there is a very good percent of increase in our revenues. >> two thirds of your population do not know where their next meal is coming from. that is not a self-reliant economy. how crucial is organization of these organizations at this moment? >> thank you for the

international community helping our people in afghanistan. we need not only aid, we need develop mental aids. we need the international community's to come and work with us. >> but it is the policies of your government, including the restrictions on women and girls, which are making it tougher for eight organizations to operate in this country. is your government willing to take responsibility for your share of what you should be doing to expand the eight coming into your country? >> i think the internal policy -- all the humanitarian aid and donations, though should not be limited to this issue only. >> the gap between afghanistan's

rulers and the world is rising at an unexpectedly rapid pace. it -- they are being left at risk of fighting a crisis on their own. >> let's change the tune a bit now, if you pardon the wordplay. a 95-year-old trombone player from the u.k. has been honored with the guinness record he's been named the longest-serving men to play in a brass band. 82 years and 322 days. ♪ >> this is the moment 95-year-old tom street found out he was an official guinness world record holder, for the longest-serving male member of a brass band. >> looking around and seeing all the friends who were here.

i love to see how they have all come along because of played with them through the years. >> tom joined the band when he was 14 years old. he has been a member for over 82 years. >> i think without him, the band wouldn't exist or wouldn't be here today. it is an amazing effort. >> the whole surprised was arranged by tom's grandson who spent nine months gathering all the evidence guinness needed to award tom the record. >> i told him we were going to the pub, which is a very easy thing for him to get out of the house and go do. >> having him be recognized for all his hard work with the world record is only one way to celebrate. >> before we go, here is a new discovery, new coral reef has been found in ecuador's galapagos island and it is said

to be more than -- said to be totally pristine. more than a mile long, and abundance of marine life can be found here, and the reef has more than 50% living coral. it is a significant discovery and can now be studied and preserved. thanks 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. ♪ ♪

narrator: you're watching pbs.

>> good evening. >> i am geoff bennett. on the newshour, moments before trial, fox news settles a legal case with dominion systems over the network' lies about thes 2020 election. >> questions abound in a shooting where a homeowner opened fire on a young person who mistakenly approached their house. >> cases of long covid keeping many americans from going back to work. >> my body is broken.on some days, i feel like a cracker somebody put in their hands and crumbled. that is how my body feels. ♪