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this is "the world today." . president ruto of kenya abandons plans after deadly protests saying the people have spoken. >> therefore i will not sign the 2024 finance bill. >> the wikileaks founder has arrived in australia after walking free from u.s. court. >> julian should never have spent a day in prison but today we celebrate because julian is free. >> the u.s. journalist evan gershkovich goes on trial, accused of spying. also coming up on "the world today." thousands of ticketholders have started filing in. ♪

welcome to the program. we will start in kenya where the president said he will not bring in a new law that would have increased taxes. president ruto said i concede, the people have spoken. let's look at the protests on tuesday. police opened fire on demonstrators in nairobi. 22 people died, another 30 were treated for bullet wounds. some people set fire to buildings, prompting the president to deploy the military. today, the prime minister gave a speech. >> the continuing conversation. listening to many, the people of

kenya. who have said loudly that they want nothing to do with this finance bill, 2024. i concede, and therefore i will not sign the 2024 finance bill. we shall subsequently -- i have agreed with the members that that becomes our collective position. [applause] >> our africa correspondent is following the story from nairobi. >> mr. ruto has been stressing the bill is needed in order to payoff kenya's national debt and for development programs, farmers, students, teachers and so on. he stood firm despite the

protests we have seen in the last week. he did concede, as you heard. he made a very clear rationale for why it was needed, the reasons i described. he said i do not have the people behind me. i lead a government but i also lead a people and the people have spoken. a fairly significant climbdown. you could perps say dramatic evidence of people power forcing a change in policy. >> what happens now? >> well, mr. ruto said would organize national dialogues with the young people but also with social institutions and with different levels of government to talk about how they wanted to proceed. it is clear kenyans wanted nothing to do with the tax bill but this means they would not be money for some things that were necessary so there would be some

austerity required. he did not say what sort of framework or framework format would be. he said as far as the government was concerned there would be restrictions on expenditure, starting with the presidency. also a clear and firm stand against corruption. both of those things, the protesters have been coming out on the streets. not just that they do not want xes but they want more accountability. >> what is the latest on the protesters? we were watching as you were talking some of the aftermath, the damage done 24 hours ago. >> yes, some of that damage done and the violence really was the trigger for mr. ruto to backtrack like he did. the protesters stormed parliament, to which he had a firmesponse. the police action in which they opened fire on the protesters

and more than 20 people have been killed and more injured drew criticism from religious and social organizations in the country and from international partners, who condemned the violence and called for restraint. i think that was a big factor in mr. ruto's change of heart or change of decision. the protesters -- it is not clear if they will go out on the street. they had plans to go on the street because that was the day mr. ruto was supposed to sign the bill and he will clearly not do that. initial reaction from social media suggests. they still will. they dismissed this step by mr. ruto and said it was a pr exercise. they did not trust him that he had some other agenda. we probably will see some protesters on the street. how big it will be and how security forces will respond is an issue we will follow closely. >> thank you to barbara for that.

the founder of wikileaks, julian assange, is back in nashville yet after a 14-year legal fight -- back home in australia after a 14-year legal fight. you can see him hugging his wife and father. he reached a plea bargain. he admitted one charge of breaching the espionage act for leaking thousands of classified documents. the judge sentenced him to the time already served in prison in london. he spent seven years in the ecuadorian embassy in london where he had been granted asylum. [applause] >> a political win for australia. a personal victory for julian assange and his family. [applause] this is a homecoming they have long been waiting for.

so, too, his supporters. >> there are no words to direct justice. i have the shakes. i could not eat for the last two days. >> he gave one guilty plea, how does that make you feel? >> that is a fig leaf for america. they did not have the decency to just accept they had been told the appeal would likely be successful. >> shortly after landing, he was whisked away. his first night of freedom. coming to the hotel were julian assange is staying in the hopes of getting a glimpse of him. these people have been campaigning for years. politicians and diplomats in australia, speaking to the u.s. [applause] those anxious to hear assange's story will have to wait a little longer. >> julian wanted me to sincerely

thank everyone. he wanted to be here but you have to understand what he has been through. he needs time. in needs -- this is a process. >> in a packed press conference, much praise was heaped on australia's prime minister for doing this. > the first person to get on the phone and speak to julian. julian thanked him and the team and told the prime minister he had saved his life. >> the two men spoke on the phone after assange landed but have not met. >> i believe istanding for australian citizens and i made that clear from thbeginning. i had the same position as the opposition leader. as prime minister of australia,

you have an opportunity to make a difference. [applause] >> this marks the end of an epic journey for julie next on's, back on home -- journey for julian assange and back on home turf. >> i spoke to the executive director of action on armed violence charity, a british journalist who worked with julian assange. >> as far as i can see the criminalization of a whistleblower has been made official. this can have unintended consequences. journalism is under threat around the world. this year i was refused access to report from guatemala. two years ago i was refused a journalist visa to go to rwanda. journalists are under attack. human rights abuses are under attack. gaza journalists are being

killed and journalists in ukraine are being killed. >> what about the specifics here ? there are national security implications and laws that were broken. >> yes. but as a journalist i received classified documents and leaks from whistleblowers on a regular basis. this sends out a chilling message to future whistleblowers that they may be incarcerated for their actions. i wrote to the u.s. ambassador in the u.k. looking for assurances that i will not be prosecuted for handling what is now deemed to be stolen classified material. i was an editor of a group that analyze contents. no reassurance was given by the ambassador. julian assange is now a convicted criminal and the act of whistleblowing is seen as a criminal act and i was party to that. i do not see myself as the criminal or someone who would aid criminal activities.

the dealing today means i have been fused of such inadvertently. all of those who worked on this report, a report we produced and won an amnesty media award, that now, this has now been tainted with a criminal slur, which i think is unfair. the only benefit is that julian, thankfully, is free at last. >> the u.s. supreme court has confirmed the accidental posting of a ruling on a major abortion rights case. set to dismiss a case brought by the state of idaho and back president biden's administration in allowing emergency room abortions. let's try to clear up what has happened here. our correspondent is standing by. talk us through what just happened. >> i will do my best to clear it up because it is astonishing this has happened and the supreme court posted this ruling

before it was due to be published. they have confirmed to the bbc it did inadvertently post the document online. we have not been able to see it or verify the document but it was obtained by bloomberg law before being removed from the website. this case in a nutshell, what it doess essentially asked question, can pregnant women in the state of idaho get an emergency abortion, get stabilizing treatment? idaho now has a nearly total abortion ban. it was said idaho was ignoring a federal law which does a lot of abortions as a form of health care that need them. this federal law stands for emergency medical treatment and labor act. this is the case the supreme court is looking at.

biden's administration is saying the federal law outdoes the state law, that is how it should work. in this document, we have not been able to verify it and we have not seen it, it appears the supreme court is set to agree with president biden's administration that women should be able to receive an emergency abortion and medal care. . i want to stress the ruling has not come into one of the major decisions we are still waiting on before the supreme court finishes its term this month. it would be a major ruling. it would come two years since the -- the state supreme court. >> evan gershkovich has going on trial accused of spying. his employer, the wall street journal newspaper and the u.s. government has denied the charges. he has been held in moscow in prison for nearly 15 months

while protesting his innocence. >> this is evan gershkovich. after 15 months in a russian jail awaiting trial. russian prosecutors call him a spy. america says he is being held hostage. as his trial opened, some smiles. if convicted, the u.s. journalist faces up to 20 years in a russian prison. we managed to see evan gershkovich briefly but from this moment on this trial will be behind closed doors. no family members, diplomats, mediallowed in. the next time we might be able to see the american journalist will be the end of his trial. >> he was arrested on a reporting assignment. accused of collecting information for the cia. evan gershkovich's employer, the

wall street journal, and the u.s. government fiercely deny it and call the trial a sham. >> it is a bogus process. it is outlandish. he will not enjoy any due procesone would expect in any western court. it will be closed door, secret. we do not expect any chance of him being acquitted. >> could there be a prisoner swap? it has happened before. in 20, russia free u.s. basketball star griner. in return, america released a russian arms dealer. there is no guarantee. a former marine was convicted of spying four years ago in russia. the u.s. insisted he was wrongfully detained but has not secured his release. despite u.s.-russian contacts over evan gershkovich, there is no sign yet of a deal that would

bring him home. steve rosenberg, bbc news. >> we can speak now to paul, assistant editor at the wall street journal. thank you for coming on the program. >> thank you. >> talk us through your reaction about today and what we know has happened today. >> it is disappointing it reached this moment. it is not even really a trial. we think of it more as a hearing at which a judge in secret will endorse the false accusations of the security service. i guess it was inevitable but it is still troubling to see evan. he had his head shaved under russian prison protocols. his ordeal has moved to the next phase but it appears far from over. >> what do you know about his condition and how he is doing mentally and physically? >> he has done remarkably well over the last 15 months to

maintain his composure and fortitude. we were encouraged by what we saw today, under the most trying of circumstances. he works very, very hard to stay ok. >> are you allowed contact with him? is he in contact with family and lawyers? >> we have been able to get letters in and letters out the last 15 months and that has been a lifeline for his parents and sister and lawyers for the wall street journal have seen him once a week. it is harder now. he has moved 900 miles east of moscow so we do not know what the communications will be like ing forward. really, the only result -- the next hearing will not be until august 13. there is a fair bit of time between now and then. > i was going to ask you about the timetable. that is quite a fair way away. what else do you know about how the process will unfold? >> it is hard for us to see.

u.s. embassy officials and some reporters were there, but we will not see anything that happens behind closed doors and that is where all the action will determine his fate. we believe he will be convicted. the conviction rate in those cases is 99%. it is a preordained outcome and a process that lacks any due process that would give him an adequate defense. we await the conction and we help the by demonstration can find a way to take evan off of this path and bring him home. >> more broadly, what does this do for journalism in russia? >> you have seen putin got what he wanted, a hostage he can negotiate with the u.s. about and a chilling effect on the

press. a huge number of journalists -- not everyone but a large number of u.s. reporters in russia and independent media in russia -- have left and they are covering russia from warsaw, dubai, london. they are doing the best they can but it still means there is far, far less good, independent reporting on russia and russia is free to populate the news with its own propaganda. >> thank you very much for coming on the program. thank you. >> appreciate your support. >> the international criminal court in the hague h convicted a former islamist rebel for crimes against humanity. he was part of a group that seized control of a city. members destroyed ancient shrines and forced hundreds of women into sexual slavery. our correspondent is following developments. >> i have a summary of the

judge's decision. he was convicted of torture, mutition, outrages upon personal dignity and the holding of mock trials. the real centerpiece of the case was the focus of gender persecution. the targeting of women and girls in conflict. while the judges found the crimes were committed during this period, there was insufficient evidence to find the man responsible so he was cleared of sexual slavery, forced marriage and rape. he was also acquitted of charges related to the destruction of mausoleums and tombs in the city of timbuktu. this will be a disappointment for the prosecion. it was the first case at the icc to focus on gender-related crimes. the previous prosecutor had pointed out so often the hidden

victims in conflict. she had sought to change that and it was hoped in bringing those charges even though he has been acquitted that it will help raise the profile of the suffering of women and girls during conflict. >> thank you for the report. u.s. politics. two main contenders for the presidency prepared to host often a debate hosted by cnn thursday evening. donald trump and joe biden. the two oldest candidates to run for the white house. mental, physical health of both mentors in the spotlight. our u.s. special correspondent. >> the challenge for president biden in this debate, 90 minutes long against donald trump, is to convince american voters he is not for the job, he has the mental capacity and he is physically strong enough. he does not want any moments where he looks like he is stumbling, distracted or having

a memory lapse or some kind of freeze. for donald trump, the challenge is to be more disciplined than he was in the 2020 debates against joe biden, come across as reasonable, give answers that are rational and coherent. not come across as angry. some american voters have concerns. each candidate wants the other candidate to be the most extreme version of themselves. donald trump wants joe biden to come across as old and joe biden wants donald trump to come across as crazy and angry. the challenge for each will be the opposite in 90 minutes. debates do not have a impacted times, i think this could be different. i think the american public will see side by side this is a choice between these two candidates, neither of whom they are madly enthusiastic about but they realize they have to make a

choice. >> now we will head to glastonbury. the gates have open for more than 200,000 people. the music festival gets underway. headliners include coldplay and shania twain. here is our entertainment correspondent. >> glastonbury is gold. the gates were opened by the festival boss. >> this is the moment we have all been waiting for. this is it. we work on it all year to open the gates. it is amazing. ♪ >> for the first time since the festival began in 1970, two are female. do-- dua lipa. >> it means a lot to me. i have been working on this for a long time. >> why has it taken so long?

>> we are working on that. >> as the festival -- there were more cowboy hats than usual due to country star shania twain playing this year's legend slot. >> i am buzzing. i feel like a woman. >> among the early arrivals were the usual trolley malfunctions. >> you have not made your bed. >> there were veterans of 20 glastonburies. >> this is my favorite place on the planet. you get away from it. >> pioneering new attempts. >> they are wearing out. hopefully they do not fly away. >> i am worried about spider-man's health. >> he is not looking great. >> you know you are at glastonbury when a live tv

interview -- >> good morning, yes indeed -- >> takes a very strange turn. >> i have a boyfriend. >> you have something crazy to tell me, you have a boyfriend? that is quite a declaration to make on tv. >> my daddy said he would lock him in the tower. >> glastonbury 2024, the mayhem has only just begun. >> interview of the day. what a way to finish. that is it from me. thank you forcing with us. plenty more coming up and plenty more on the website. this is bbc news. bye bye. ♪ announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james.

cunard is a proud supporter of public television. announcer: funding was also provided by, the freeman foundation. and by judy and peter blum kovler foundation, pursuing solutions for america's neglected needs. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ announcer: get the free pbs app now and stream the best of pbs.

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