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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 byontributions to this pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. announcer: and now, "bbc news". >> this is bbc "worls america." as a cease-fire struggles to hold in sudan, the rush to leave the country only intensifies. >> let's finish this job. i know you can. >> u.s. president joe biden launches his reelection campaign amid concerns over his age. he says there is still work to be done. pres. biden: it's time to finish

the job. finish the job. ♪ >> plus, he had a voice and he knew how to use it. singer, actor, and noted activists harry belafonte has died at the age of 96. ♪ welcome to "world news america." on pbs and around the globe. we begin the program in sudan, and two very different realities, for those who have been caught up in the conflict. on the one hand are the people who are stuck in the country. when he have used a fragile cease-fire to venture out on the streets for the first time in days. what they found is a once vibrant capital, largely still there, but visibly battered. some gunfire can still be heard.

we haven't been able to verify them but videos posted online show people walking through streets were almost every building has been damaged. then there are those scrambling to leave sudan. they have a few options, none of them good. those who can't reach the airport face a long journey north to egypt. if they can find transport, they can travel by land, or they can travel by sea through port sudan. andrew harding starts he coverage. andrew: take an offer sudan, the first rif flights left on the dangerous rescue mission. british forces gathered earlier at their airbase and cyprus to begin the plan, for a task which could last hours or even days. while a precarious cease-fire holes. that sees car -- cease-fire overnight, look how dark it is, after 10 days of war.

there is no power and precious little food or water left. by dawn, many sudanese were already on the move, hoping to use the pause in fighting to catch buses heading out of the city. but the fighting here hasn't stopped all together. this allen west recorded by a 19-year-old dual british sudanese national. she i still in hiding with 23 relatives. across this vast country, many foreigners and locals have been making their own risky journeys to safety, some driving to the red sea coast. a british navy frigate is already headed to a port here. others have had it the opposite direction, here to neighboring chad, one of the many conflict riddled nations bordering sudan. he has already joined the crowds

heading northward toward egypt. he told the bbc he felt he had no choice but to make his own way. >> even if they got in touch, i don't know how they're going to go about it. i hope bob made the right decision. >> written has faced some criticism -- i hope i have made the right decision. britain has made -- face some criticism. but this afternoon, the prime minister gave an update. >> we now have over 100 people on the ground in sudan. we will have many more flights into tomorrow and that's down to the hard work of a lot of people. we have already contacted over 1000 people in sudan and spoken to hundreds. that's what the people behind me have done, they are making their way to the airfield and we will

safely evacuate our citizens. >> a hospital across the river nile bombed we understand earlier today. elsewhere, endless destruction, the work of two rival armies that still threaten to tear this former british colony apart, cease-fire or not. >> our correspondent tom bateman is in egypt near the border with sudan were many people are crossing. he had this update earlier. >> tonight we have just witnessed hundreds of this region's newest refugees passing from northern sudan here into southern egypt. this is where the egyptians have allowed thousands of people to pass. they are mostly sudanese, but we've also seen foreign nationals including british citizens who were crossing there. we did speak to one family, a man who is a cardiac surgeon in

khartoum. he spoke about days of terror, in his words, before the family made t arduous two day journey to this border crossing. he said that they were trapped in the city for nine days without power and he said with no clean water. but the worst he said was the sound of bombing which was leaving his family in fear of their lives. they made the decision to leave before the military evacuation by the u.k. was announced and put into place today. so they arrived crossing over that border, but behind them are many, many thousands more, mostly sudanese, desperately trying to escape. while the egyptians are allowing the elderly and women and children to pass, we are hearing stories of some men who were turned back for their visas to be processed in the nearest sudanese city. the queues are growing longer ending conditions are baking, cold, there was a sandstorm here

at night. the crisis is only deepening as the refugees tried to cross into egypt. >> that was tom bateman there at the border with egypt. here in the u.s., surprise, surprise, joe biden has confirmed he will be running for second term as president. the election will be held in november 2024, just eks before he is set to turn 82. he's the oldest american president to seek reelection. running on the slogan, together we can finish the job for the american people, this is what he had to say in his first appearance since making the announcement. pres. biden: our economic plan is working. we now have to finish the job i was born to do, and you're leading the way, shovels and the ground, cranes in the air, factories opening. under my predecessor, infrastructure became a punchline. on my watch infrastructure has become a decade headline. >> prior to that speech and before much of official

washington had even started it stayed this morning, mr. biden released a campaign video announcing his run. our north american correspondent has been taking a closer look at that video. >> that's why i'm running for reelection. >> joe biden set the tone with a slickly produced video. it starts out now with a fond look back on his first term in office but with a dire warning of conflict and division that features january 6 writers, abortion-rights protesters, and maga conservatives. something that republicans in the past have claimed he threatens, freedom. pres. biden: maga extremis are lining up to take on was bedrock freedoms. >> the biden team here is trying to make it about his opposition. pres. biden: we are in the battle for a soul -- about a

battle for the soul of america. >> the video makes a nod to his folksy charm. it concludes with a monge of ordinary americans, the kind of diverse coalition joe biden is going to need to rally in order to win the election. >> anthony is in the studio with us, thank you so much for joining. i want to push first to the pole that has been released today, it says that among democrats that do not want biden to one -- to run, 84% said one of the reasons was his age. that is among other reasons such as it being time for something new, but why does he think he is the right choice? >> well, because he is the president now. he has been working at this for his entire life and it's not an easy thing to let go. i think he does think he is the guy who can beat donald trump if he is the republican nominee. >> donald trump does not agree. we can listen to his response now.

>> you can take the five worst presidents in american history and put them together and they would not have done the damage that joe biden has done to our nation in just a few short years. not even close. thanks to joe biden's socialist spending calamity, american families are being decimated by the worst inflation in half a century. thanks to failing our currencies, crashing. >> listening to that response, what do you think donald trump strategy is? >> donald trump strategy is to go on the attack. i was talking to some strategies and they were hoping donald trump wins the nomination that takes a job the table. he is only four years younger than joe biden. there is always a saying, be careful what you wish for. >> vice president harris,

thinking about the age issues and all that, do you think that has anything to do with why she is featured a bit more? prominently in this campaign? >> she was featurd very prominently in that video. i think part of the point was to show that she is there, she appeals to the base, she is young and more energetic. that is part of the goal. so they want to have her next to joe biden as much as possible, just for that very reason, because she would take over as president if something happens to joe biden. >> we will be watching this closely and anthony will have much more on that. we were talking about former president trump there and of course mr. trump faces legal challenges on top of his political obstacles. but try got underway today involving allegations that the former president sexually assaulted a writer in a new york department store in the 1990's. she has accused mr. trump of

defamation. last year he called the claim she made about the encounter a hoax and a complete scam. the trunk campaign has called this case a witchhunt. our correspondent joins me now from new york. what did we hear today? reporter: basically we heard opening statements today and her lawyer told the jury that it was not a he said-she said case. he said they would be producing numerous witnesses to friends who e.g. carol called directly after the alleged assault, as well as two other women who claim as well that donald trump assaulted them in similar fashion. the lawyer said this was his in my and they would show that now infamous access hollywood tape where donald trump in his own words talks about grabbing women by their private parts. she says that this is a lawsuit

that carol is bringing to try to rehabilitate her image after the president led vicious attacks against her. what we heard from donald trump's lawyers was really a sense that they were hitting back strongly, holding back no punches against her claims. they said what she was doing was an affront to justice. they accused her of doing this for money, for political reasons and for status. and they said that her story was unbelievable and that she had produced no credible evidence. so this trial is now underway, we will have witnesses beginning tomorrow, but certainly this led off the trial giving two accounts from both parties and really trying to convince the jury that their story represented the true facts here. >> thank you so much, i appreciate your time on that.

moving on, here in britain, prince harry -- back in britain, prince harry has claimed that his brother, prince william, was paid a very large sum by the owners of the sun newspaper to set up boat hacking claims in 2020. a hearing in london got underway . our media editor has been following the case. >> more than 1000 people have settled phone hacking cases that the publishers of the sun and what was the news of the world in recent years. today we learned a new high profile name. according to prince harry's witness statement, his brother william made a secret settlement years ago for a very large sum. of course runs william is not part of this case and has made no comment. prince harry has chosen the public route. with the actor hugh grant he is going to court in said -- instead.

arguing allegations of unlawful information gathering are legally out of time. these are just some of the headlines from the news of the world and the sun that prince harry says were based on illegal activity. including allegations of listing into voicemails, and the use of private investigators. harry says unlawful information gathering began when he was a child. in his witness statement, he says it created a huge amount of paranoi in my relationships. our circle of friends became smaller and smaller as we naturally began to suspect people. also revealed, what he claims was a secret agreement between the royals and news media executives that they would not take any action over illegal phone hacking, avoiding edence in court. it's admitted phone hacking at the news of the world which it

shut down and has paid out many millions, but has always denied wrongdoing at the sun. harry also says his family appeared to block his legal action in order to keep the papers on their side, he claims to smooth the way for camilla and charles b -- being accepted as queen consort. prince harry has made reforming the press his life's work, but he's also suing associated newspapers, the ricin cost of going to court are huge. lawyers often encourage -- risks and costs of going to court are huge. it's up to the judge to decide whether this case will proceed. >> let's turn to iran where police and the capital tehran have charged two prominent actresses with violating the country's strict female dress code. this comes as leaked documents seen by the bbc show iran formed a secret committee last year to punish celebrities who backed

the current antigovernment protests. a letter disclosed a list of 141 well-known figures and told the ministry to investigate their tax returns and take unspecified actions against them. the list included a top actress, seen here without a headscarf and holding a protest sign. she was detained for doing so. i spoke with another actress who lives in the united states. previously her role in the film house of sand and fog made her an oscar nominee. she was wearing a dress inscribed with the slogan of the protests. she spoke to me from new york. thank u so much for joining the program. you left iran at the height of the islamic revolution in the te 1970's. so i really want to get your reaction, seeing that women as

well as your fellow actors are being targeted this way. >> thanks for having me. i have to say that what is happening in iran is devastating , inhuman, and barbaric. the so-called government of the islamic republic capturing, torturing, killing young protesters, bear handedly marching for their fundamental rights, chasing artists now for supporting these protesters, and condemning them to 80 lashes, months of prison, is just unheard of. it is so inhuman. it is unbelievable what they can do. and what's more devastating is the fact that the countries around the world who can help us to end this ordeal are turning a blind eye on it, or keeping

quiet, which makes people like myself feelorrible about this international conspiracy. >> so you are ying that you feel horrible about this. you are a beastly doing this interview from the united states. what is it you want to see from the government that you feel you are not seeing right now? >> the governments, the heads of state around the globe are benefiting from this chaos in iran. i'm asking them to please stop negotiating with iran, stop dealing with iran, stop pouring money into the pockets of the people at the top of this government. right now, there are countries who are dealing with iran, buying iran resources such as oil or copper for half its price. >> can i just say though, countries like the u.k.,

european countries, they are placing sanctions on the islamic government, so in your view, how is that helping iran? they are trying to do something. >> sanctions have helped a lot. i do remember an interview with nelson mandela and the ask him if the sanctions did good for him, and he said absolutely, sanctions helped a lot. they are helping a lot. but the problem is that governments who are dealing with iran, countries who are dealing with iran, buying resources from iran, or not helping iran. their money, whatever the earnings are, it is not going to the people of iran. it's just going to the private accounts of these top people, key people in the government. >> and to put into perspective the stakes of all of this, i want to bring up picture of the actress who was arrested after she posted this instagram post

of her not wearing the hijab. too many, this seems like not that big of a risk to take, but from your perspective and what you know, what were the risks involved when she did that? >> it's a lot of risk to take. those who are familiar with what is going on in iran know that when the islamic republic took over iran through the war with iraq, which took eight years, they managed to sort of take over iran thoroughly and put the fundamental pillars of the islamic republic into the soul of iran. it was all based on three slogans, if you recall. death to america, death to

israel, hijab is what we should go after, and hijab is for the islamic women. it is taking hijab, it means removing one of these pillars. it would have to go further and further and finally leave the power to the people of iran, who truly care about iranians, care about iran, and are willing to give the right service. >> thank you so much for your time, i really appreciate you coming on the program. >> thank you so much for having me. >> the american singer, actor, and human rights activist harry belafonte has died.

he was 96. his success with his calypso inspired pop sound wrote racial barriers at a time when segregation was widespread in the united states. our correspondent looks back on his life. ♪ >> harry belafonte, the king of calypso. >> and now, it says here tonight that we are going to have the fabulous harry belafonte. >> he was born in new york, but his sound was caribbean. the calypso of trinidad, to the folks homes -- folksongs of his childhood jamaica. it was a career that took him from the clubs of new york to

recording the first ever album to sell a million copies. >> the first performer to sell over a million copies of a single album. >> halso landed major roles in movies, but there should've been more. >> this was the era of civil rights. he was there in the heart of it, shoulder to shoulder with martin luther king. and he paid a price. >> i was called a communist. for a long time i couldn't work or couldn't get employed. >> looking back, he described himself as essentially an activist who just happened to become a singer. but what a singer he was. ♪

>> the american singer and activist harry belafonte who has died, aged 96. you can find more on all the days news at our website, plus to see what we're working on at any time, make sure to check us out on twitter. thank you so much for watching "world news am 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.

amna: good evening. i'm amna nawaz. geoff: and i'm geoff bennett. on the newshour tonight. president biden makes his re-election campaign official -- betting his accomplishments and vision for the country will negate concerns about his age. amna: the humanitarian situation in sudan deteriorates further amid an uneasy cease-fire. geoff: and singer, actor and activist billy porter on his return to music and on becoming unapologet.lficalse him >> you know, art creates critical thinkers. and critical thinkers are leaders, not followers. ♪ >>