US settles Native American lawsuit

The US government has agreed to pay more than $3.4bn to settle a long-standing lawsuit over the management of native American land.

The agreement ends the case brought by Native American tribes charging that the Interior Department had swindled hundreds of thousands of Indians out of royalties for leasing their lands to mining, timber and energy interests.

If cleared by congress and a federal judge, it would be the largest such claim ever approved, creating an important step for reconciliation.