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giving these former race dogs a real chance to win. a raymond james financial advisor gets to know you, your purpose, and the way you give back. life well planned. 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: and now, "bbc news" ín washington and this is bbc world news america. secretary of state antony blinken visits haiti initial of u.s. support as the country expands its state of emergency. the 14-year-old suspect in a georgia school shooting is charged with murder for allegedly killing four people. and president biden's son hunter switches his plea in a tax evasion case to guilty.

♪ hello and welcome to world news america. america's top diplomat has arrived in haiti to shore up the country's interim government as it navigates rampant in gun violence and humanitarian crisis. in a meeting with the new haitian prime minister, u.s. secretary of state said the u.s. hopes to see an electoral council established year to organize elections in the country. this comes as heating continues to battle violent gangs that patrol the majority of the capital and have moved into nearby regions. a state of emergency was expanded to cover the entire nation. about 400 kenyan troops arrived in june as part of the u.n. backed security mission and other countries have pledged

2500 more troops but they have yet to arrive. mr. blinken reaffirmed the united states commitment to the haitian people and to secure haiti. >> the government stood up. the arrival of kenyan troops to help in this security mission. we are seeing results from that, all with the objective of putting haiti on a path to elections next year. but also to creating a secure environment not only for elections but making sure services can be delivered to people who desperately need it. life can return to normalcy. anchor: the secretary of state is also expected to fly to the neighboring dominican republic on a thursday evening. the united states secure the release of 135 nicaraguan political prisoners on thursday on humanitarian grounds.

the white house says they are all nicaraguan citizens and include members of a texan based christian evangelical orgazation, catholic laypeople, and students. a majority of the students arrived in guatemala tuesday morning where they can lawfully request to go to another country. the release comes after months of negotiations between the u.s. and nicaragua. the nicaraguan president has been engaged in what is being described as a brutal crackdown of critics. joining us now with the latest is our mexico, central america and cuba correspondent. looking at this prisoner release deal in nicaragua, talk us through the background. what led up to today? will: in a sense we need to throw our minds back to 2018 when daniel ortega and his wife, who is the vice president,

launched a major crackdown amid nationwide protests against their rule. scores were killed in the streets. since that time, mr. ortega has focused on critics, clamping down hard, not allowing political spaces for them to operate in, whether the mediar otherwise, and of course the church. we've seen a lot of people imprisoned as a result. we saw people released in 2022, including presidential candidates, and a former foreign minister and they came to washington by a large. the state department is saying they did not make a deal, that the position toward daniel ortega and his government hasn't changed and the timing is interesting because washington is at a low relationship with the hard left in latin america around the venezuelan election which is deeply disputed. anchor: are there others still

being detained who may have hopes of being released at some point in the future? will: yeah, in essence there are, but calculations are difficult to make about who could defined as a political prisoner. some ngos estimate there are around 150, we see 135 least today. there's a suggestion that some refused to leave, they would not go until essentially the ortega government is removed from office. nevertheless there are still people related to the church, related to civil society, still people behind bars state department say are there unjustly. anchor: we were reporting earlier about the situation in haiti and the u.s. secretary of state is there today. bring us up-to-date, what ishe current situation in haiti. we saw scenes of dreadful violence earlier in the year.

how is the situation now? will: i think secretary blinken's visit is symbolic in the sense that what it says is the united states backs this effort to see foreign troops on haitian soil, to bring the security situaon under control . i think in a sense they've been successful in the short term. there is more haiti, that this is not an easy thing to achieve. the capital city is still a controlled by gangs. the symbolism of mr. blinken being there is important and he will go onto the dominican republic, the neighbor country whose relations with haiti have been difficult to killer with -- particularly with the exodus of people trying to leave the country. haiti is split into the security on one hand and humanitarian on the other, and that is as bleak and dire as ever.

tens of thousands displaced and many not knowing where their next meal or clean water is coming from. anchor: the u.n. leading the mission with a kenyan troops but there a very checkered and difficult history with the u.n. in haiti. is there a sense that there is trust therefore u.n. officials to deliver on the humanitarian need? will: i think if you speak to people in port-au-prince and around the country, you hear a lot of skepticism about what for an intervention means in the couny. as you say, they've had very bad experiences, particularly with the united nations. the interim administration has been placed there between the nations of the caribbean, and others, finding a way to continue after the president

stepped down. there isn't a great deal of confidence and that will only be won by stability on the streets and in political terms. there's the first green shoots of that and we've heard about secretary blinken talking about the possibility of elections next year and i think people in haiti will want to see concrete steps forward and those are still a fair way off. anchor: will grant, thank you for bringing us up-to-date. two legal stories to bring you now, two events in the united states. president biden's son hunter has decided to change his plea to guilty in his tax evasion trial. the announcement was made after jury selection was about to begin in los angeles. prosecutors accuse hunter biden of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes at a time when he was spending lavishly on drugs, sex workers and luxury goods. separately, former u.s. president donald trump pleaded not guilty to revised charges over alleged election interference.

special counsel jack smith dated the wording of the charges to reflect the supreme court ruling earlier in the year that from criminal prosecution fory official acts. it's still unclear whether the case will head to trail -- to trial before the november election. officials in the u.s. state of georgia have charged a 14-year-old suspect with four felony counts of murder in connection with wednesday's deadly school shooting. the 14-year-old student at appalachia high was already known to law enforcement your law-enforcement said they interviewed him and his father last year over online threats about a school shooting. his father said he had hunting guns in the house but his son did not have unsupervised access to them. investigators determined there were no grounds for arrests or confiscating weapons. meanwhile, we are learning more

about the four victims of the shooting. the two students have been identified. two teachers were also killed and police have identified them as well. both were maths teachers and one a football coach. one of the classmates described the shooting unfold. >> he came out the door and students went to open the door because nobody knew what was happening but we knew he was dangerous. i saw him, someone open the door for him and they backed away. they saw something, and for some reason they didn't open the door. i could see him turn to the side. you just could hear gunshots. 10 to 15 of them at once, back to back.

we all dropped to the floor, we did not know what corner to go to. everybody was against the wall, trying to get low. anchor: the 14 euros suspect is currently held without bond at a youth detention center and his arraignment is set for friday. u.s. president joe biden has given his first on camera comments about the shooting. he did that while at an event in wionsin. he offered his condolences and also called for a ban on assault weapons. >> students, just young teenagers, educators just doing their job, communities like so many around the country just getting back to school and enjoys an exciting time absolutely shattered. as a nation we cannot continue to accept the carnage of gun violence. [applause] i'm a gun owner and i believe

strongly in the second amendment but we need more than thoughts and prayers from our republican friends in congress. they have to say enough is enough. anchor: the gun violence archive says there have been 385 mass shootings in the u.s. in 2024, including this one in winder, georgia, which reignited the gun control debate, one of america's most vice of issues. a majority of americans arin favor of gun control, 57% of those surveyed said they want stricter gun laws according to gallup. 32% said the laws should remain the same, while 10% said they should be less strict. among those calling for more restrictions on guns is man well although -- manuel oliver, whose son was killed in the parkland shooting. i spoke to him about the path forward. condolences on the loss of your

n, i'm sure talking right now is not easy so thank you. when you saw what happened in georgia yesterday, does that bring everything back up for you, the loss of your own son, joaquin, and everything that happened at his school in rkland? >> in a way, of course, but on the other hand, my wife and myself, we lead under these circumstances. we haven't stopped doing things that continually remind us of that day. that's an option that parents have. you can keep on fighting in a way that will bring back that moment every day and that is our case, by doing campaigns and activism, or you can just try to find other answers. so it's not a trigger for me when i see this is happening again. it's just i feel very offended

and a lot of anger that nothing has been done. anchor: do you know exactly how the parents in georgia feel now? manuel: yeah, i know exactly, they feel lost and devastated. there's a lot of pain and confusion. a lot of support hopefully from family members and close friends. but a huge pain that, by the way, it never goes. i wish i had a better answer but i don't. the pain is always with us and in our case we want the pain to be with us because we are walking -- joaquin's parents, and there's no reason to get rid of that. anchor: of course, absolutely.

it would seem in this case that the teenage boy who has been charged was studying previous school shootings. there's reporting there was evidence of this in his room. is that surprising or troubling to you? manuel: i don't think this would've been an issue in any other country. you have teenagers with problems in dealing with things, we all know it is a hard time in life, but they don't have access to guns but not in stores and not at home. we had that lethal combination of a kid with trouble and bullying may be or however you want to call it. he had access to a weapon that could kill and hurt others. that's the case here and thais usually the case. the narrative of the mental

health and even having the fbi investigating the kid, i don't think that's the reason for these things to happen. i think it's the access to the gun. anchor: you mentioned a moment ago your anger and frustration, nothing has changed and we are still here speaking about a school shooting. do you have confidence things can change and will change in this country? manuel: i hope they will. i'm doing my best to make that happen. here is a question i ask everyone watching this interview -- what were you doing the day of the shooting two days ago? i know what i was doing, i was with my wife patricia touring around the country trying to prevent these things fr happening, talking to people in the streets. we also called politicians.

we have a campaign that has the voice of our son calling politicians. i'm very active along with others. i can say at least i was trying to do something. there are a lot of people like me and that is my hope. on the other hand, we have a very specific, rare, political moment and that is we have a president, joe biden, who still has two months in the white house. i thi he can do some thing on an executive level. this is a president that has no potical ambition after this presidency. he can sign a set of bills in the next 60 days and i'm hoping he will do that. usually we have a president trying to keep himself in the white house.

the other ethical reason to save lives, the president and white house can do something this time. anchor: thank you so much for joining us on bbc news. thank you for your time. manuel: thank you. anchor: the united nations on thursday condemned what it called the violent murder of a ugandan marathon runner four days after she was set on fire in nonetheless attack by her former boyfriend. she was reportedly doused with petrol in her home in kenya. local reports suggest the pair had argued. she sustained burns over 70% of her body. she recently competed in the olympic's in paris, finishing in 40 fourth place in the women's marathon. her father said she pred for justice for his daughter, added he had never seen such an inhumane act in his life. violence against women is a major concern in kenya as a number of high-profile athletes have been killed in the last two

years. r deputy africa editor reports from nairobi. anne: this has brought to the fore the mystic violence. this is the third elite female athlete to fall victim to domestic violence in just three years in kenya. therefore there's a lot of outrage and anger and disturbing since of deja vu and people are asking what more can be done to end at? i've spoken to lawyers involved in cases of domestic violence dealing with victims and they say the laws exist to protect them and deliver justice, however, the problem is we have two previous cases of elite athletes killed as a result of domestic violence and to this day the families are seeking justice. in one case, the suspect is still at large. he was somebody cle to her.

therefore the discussions are ongoing in kenya and uganda and calling on the authorities, governments and judiciaries to put more resources to do mo to make sure victims are protected and the law follows its course and justice is done quickly. anchor: the chief prosecutor of the international criminal court tells the bbc that justice must be seen to be done. after seeking an arrest warrant for israel's prime minister and another minister and three hamas leaders. >> what could i have done? if one had applied for warrants for hamas and not looked at the evidence in israel when at that time 30,000, 40,000 people have been killed in gaza, that say this is a weak court influenced

by power dynamics? if one had applied for warrants in relation to israeli officials and not for gaza, they would say this is an obscenity. i think we did what was right, we had evidence. we need to apply the law and you can have one approach for countries where there is support, nato and european support, powerful countries behind you, and a different approach where you have clear jurisdiction because a storm may result. anchor: meanwhile, the israeli prime minister told u.s. media that there is not a deal in the making for a cease-fire in gaza and the return of israeli hostages. speaking about a potential agreement with hamas, he said unfortunately is not close but we will do everything we can to get them to the point where they make a deal.

hamas says israel's refusal to withdraw from a strategically important strip of land in southern gaza is thwarting an agreement to end the war. we explain why the corridor is so contentious. reporter: israel has been paving around in gaza, in an area where their continued presence is a major sticking point in cease-fire negotiatis. construction is happening here on this strip of land called by the philadelphi corridor. it's the only land border with egypt, and it is about 12.6 kilometers long. we've been analyzing satellite imagery, mapping the paving of the road along the corridor. look at this from august 24, around the time we believe the recent paving began. two days later, you can see this dark road extending self -- south along the quarter.

the first of september, you can see how far the paving has advanced. this is what it looks like on the ground. we verified this video posteon x at the end of august that looks like a newly paved road and you can just about make out a border fence on the right here. over the last few months, the israeli army have cleared large areas near the corridor, destroying hundreds of fillings like this one. from satellite imagery, the destruction is stark. this is from earlier this year, you can see the corridor here, and this is from late last month. we asked the i about the construction of a road and they did not respond to us. prime minister netanyahu has had control of the -- has said control of the corridor is nonnegotiable but hamas has rejected any israeli presence in gaza at all. the paving of the road puts

pressure on cease-fire negotiations as suggest israel won't completely withdraw from the gaza strip anytime soon. anchor: let's look at important news from around the world. the first round of mpox vaccines arrived in congo. 100,000 doses were donated by the european union. another hundred thousand are expected to be delivered saturday. last week, the who estimated nearly 23,000 mpox cases and over 622 deaths in africa had occurred. the majority taking place in congo. the next prime minister of france has been appointed. he served as the european union chief brexit negotiator. he is a longtime member of the

right wing republicans party and he will replace the youngest ever french prime minister, who has been in office the past eight months. remember, you can keep up-to-date with that story and all of the day's on our website, bbc.com/news and our app as well, and your facial social -- favorite social media platforms. thank announcer: funding for presentation of this program is provided by... financial services firm, raymond james. 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: "usa today" calls it, "arguably the best bargain in streaming." that's because the free pbs app

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