11/07/2014 BBC World News

John Kerry warns Afghanistan's future hangs in the balance as he

flies in on a mission to resolve its disputed presidential election.

could you could you A young girl believed to be cured as a baby of

HIV still has the virus. Israel's bombardment enters its

fourth day. And here today, gone before

tomorrow. The San Francisco beach artist whose work is washed away by

the next tide. The US Secretary of State,

John Kerry, has arrived in Afghanistan where he will meet

both candidates of last month's He's warned that the future of

the country hangs in the balance. He's already met with one

of the candidates, Ashraf Ghani who now says he supports

an extensive audit of the polls. The preliminary results show he

won just over 56% of the vote. Here's a little of what he had

to say, just a short time ago. The US Secretary of State,

John Kerry, has arrived in Afghanistan where he will meet

both candidates of last month's He's warned that the future of

the country hangs in the balance. He's already met with one

of the candidates, Ashraf Ghani who now says he supports

an extensive audit of the polls. The preliminary results show he

won just over 56% of the vote. Here's a little of what he had

to say, just a short time ago. Mr Kerry will also meet Mr Ghani's

rival Abdullah Abdullah, who also claimed victory

in the run-off election last month. Our commitment is to ensure the

election process enJoyce the integrity and legitimacy that the

people of Afghanistan and the world believe in. Therefore we believe a

most intensive and extensive audit possible to restore faith.

Simultaneously from day one when we our nominations and our commitment

has been to an inclusive Government. A Government that can represent all

our citizens in the manner that every Afghan deserves according to

the constitution. We are delighted you are here, Mr Secretary. John

Kerry will meet Mr Hani's rival Abdullah Abdullah. Preliminary

results showed him second with just over 43% of the vote. But that tally

might change when the final numbers cut out in a fortnight's time. Our

correspondent is in Kabul. He explained what influence John Kerry

would try to have. The Americans have a lot of

leverage. They still have at least 30,000 troops on the ground. The

Afghan national security forces were heavily funded by the Americans as

well as members of the international community. The Afghan national

security forces cost 4.1 billion dls. The politicians in Afghanistan

realise Afghanistan's future stability is very much tied in its

relationship with help from Washington. There's no doubt about

that. That being said, Abdullah Abdullah's made a number of fresh

demands. He is saying 8.1 million voters did not take part in the

second round of elections. He believed no more than 5.5 million

people took part. Mr Abdullah Abdullah wants Mr Kerry as well as

the UN here to reinspect votes from 11,000 ballot boxes, more than half

of the votes. The UN envoy here said at least 8,000 ballot boxes should

be reinspected, about three million votes. There are still quite a

number of disputes to be solved. More importantly, Mr Kerry would

have to create a climate of trust where Mr Abdullah Abdullah and Dr

Rani could work together. He's meeting Mr Carr sty, another crucial

personality in terms of finding a possible solution to this problem.

Supporters of both candidates are putting up the posters of both of

the candidates across the country. Calling them the be elected

presidents of Afghanistan. They have indeed confused the ordinary

Afghans. This deadlock has brought businesses to a standstill. Has

created a lot of concern among ordinary people across the country.

An American-born child who was thought to have been

the first to be cured of HIV as a baby, has now had the virus

Doctors say tests last week on the four-year-old from

Mississippi born with HIV indicate she is no longer in remission.

She was aggressively treated just hours after she was born.

At 18 months, she stopped being given medication

to suppress the virus and remained free of HIV for at least two years.

Her case had raised hopes of a cure for the quarter of a million babies

With me is Professor Robin Shattock, Chair in Mucosal Infection and

Immunity at the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College London.

The deaths of two Palestinians in an Israeli air raid on a camp

in central Gaza has brought the total number of people killed in

A set back. Were you convinced this baby had been cured in the first

place? I think the world was cautiously optimistic. It is a

single one-off case. While it is seen as a set back, it is still an

interesting case because the baby managed to sup press viral rep

casing for two years without drugs. That's unprecedented. There's a lot

we can learn from that in terms of trying to develop new approaches.

Longevity with anti-veerals is good. Had the mother been treated before

birth, would that have made a significant difference? We know if

you treat mothers before delivery it is the most effective way of

preventing. Preventing completely or curing it or would that child still

have HIV? It would have prevented the child becoming infected. That

remains the most important strategy for preventing HIV infectious of

babies. Early diagnosis. Access to treatment is really key. For adults.

There was that case with the American, Timothy Ray Brown who had

a bone marrow transplant and he seems to be free of the virus. Is

that unique? It is a very unique situation. It is known as the Berlin

patient. This was somebody who had a bone marrow transplant using cells

which had a mutation that made them resistant to HIV. A one-off. Very

interesting study but doesn't have broad app lick ability to the wider

population. That is had a been repeated with other patients to see

if it had the same affect? It hasn't. It was a major operation but

it also requires finding somebody who's match to that donor and has

the mutation. For people who are suffering now, how inconvenient is

it in terms of taking all these anti-rat Rat veerals? Can people

lead a normal life? There are potentially side affects. Treatment

is better and better. People can be treated with a single pill a day and

expect to have a good healthy life span. The picture is much bitter.

But it is treatment for life. It does require taking drugs for their

natural life span. Where are numbers now in terms of global figures on

HIV? And are those veerals getting into Africa where they are needed

where cases are higher? We have about 35 million people living with

HIV. Globally? Yes. There's about 13 million accessing anti-y retroviral.

That's a huge advance. That's lower death rates by about 20% in the last

three years. There's still a long way to go to make access to these

drugs universally available. It is still requires an increasing

financial support given that right now it's costing about 20 billion.

It could be predicted by 2035 to be up to 30 billion doctors a year.

-- $30 billion a year. Thank you.

The deaths of two Palestinians in an Israeli air raid on a camp in

central Gaza has brought the toll at number of people killed in the

conflict to 100 in four days. Overnight, another five people were

killed when a three storey house in Hafah was flattened. Mitt taints

have fired more rockets at Tel Aviv in the last knew hours. Rockets been

fired into northern Is Rat from lab none for the first time in the

conflict. Fired into northern Israel from

Lebanon. Rocket fire from Gaza hit a petrol

station in the southern Israeli city of Ashdod.

In is the petrol station in Ashdod. This is the damage caused by a

Palestinian rocket strike this morning. It struck about 7.30 am.

Look at the fire that started at these pumps here. They are almost

entirely destroyed. The fire spread right up to the ceiling. Have a look

on the roof there. That black, that soot. If you look down there, here's

the damage to the rest of the petrol station. Two more pumps knocked out.

The glass has been shattered. A paramedic I've been speaking to says

six people were injured. One seriously. That person was taken to

hospital. This may be one of the most serious strikes from Gaza to

Israel in recent days. Palestinian militants have fired more than 500

rock etc towards Israel. Many have been intercepted. But, for some

reason, the rockets fired here this morning were not intercepted.

Despite Israel's air strikes, its intention to stop rockets, rocket

fire continues to land here in Israel.

The Middle East envoy Tony Blair says he's extraordinarily worried

about what's happening in Gaza. We've all been trying to call for

restraint and de-escalation. The reality is the situation is

escalating. I think we need, as a matter of urgency, short-term

arrangements and agraements that allow us to de-escalate this

situation and restore some form of calm. I don't think that will work

unless there is also put in place some way of resolving the longer

term questions at the heart of this violence and conflict. And without

that long-term solution in place, I think it will be very difficult to

create any short-term peace. In the previous conflicts Egypt had

a key role under President Morsi in helping to bring the by the #9

fighting to an end. Will Egypt's new president get involved? Let's hear

from Orla Guerin from Cairo? Interesting statement from the

Egyptian authorities about what's happening in Gazza? This was a much

tougher statement from the Foreign Ministry here than we've had so far.

Until now, Egypt's been afforcings blame in both directions, calling

for restraint by both Israel and the Palestinians. Today, we've had a

much stronger statement against Israel. Let me quote you a bit from

that. It accuses Israel of an irresponsible escalation in occupied

Palestinian lands. Israel is using excessive military force leading to

the deaths of innocent civilians. Israel is continuing a repressive

policy of collective uponishments. The major question, as you say, is

whether or not Egypt is going to play the role that if has in the

past. That of a mediator between the two sides. It is one of only two

Arab countries with a peace treaty with Israel. The last ceasefire

between Israel and the Palestinians was in November 2012, that was

brokered by Egypt under the deposed president Mohamed Morsi. We now have

a very different Government in place. That has changed the

relationship between Egypt and Hamas in Gaza in particular, who they

would link with the Muslim Brotherhood? I think it's changed

the dynamics entirely. The Government, the former army chief,

views Hamas as a direct threat, it has taken moves to ban the

activities of the am mass. It is probably quite happy to Seaham mass

under pressure but not happy about the Palestinian civilian casualties

going alongside. Israel's saying it is involved in extensive contacts

with all sides, the Israelis, Palestinians, various regional and

international players. It said this morning those contacts have been met

with intransigence. There is a feeling this time around, Egypt is

not going to rush in to broker a truce that might in any way throw a

lifeline to Hamas. The feeling was in November 2012, the deal brokered

by Mohamed Morsi, who came from the Muslim Brotherhood was favourable to

Hamas, an offshoot from the brotherhood. There is a different

relationship this time. There is a sense in a way Israel and Egypt are

in fact on the same page. Both wanting to Seaham mass brought to

its knees. But, officially, Egypt insists it is doing all it can

diplomatically and it is continuing every contact it can engage in.

Nobody is expecting it to deliver quickly in this case, if at all.

Orla, thank you. Breaking news in the last couple of

moments, the Iraqi oil ministry says Kurdish forces have taken control of

two oil fields near Kirkuk expellinger Rab workers and

replacing them with Kurdish personnel. The oil ministry says the

Kurds took over productions and Kirsten Kirk oil fields early on

Friday. Iraqi oil ministry called on the wise men of curd Stan to

understand the seriousness of the situation and instruct their forces

to leave the oil field so to avoid serious consequences. We'll try to

get more later. The remains of the former king, have been paraded

through the streets of Phnom Penh. Thousands lined the streets To pay

their final respects. The king led the country through decades of

conflict and trauma, following its independence from France. The urns

containing his ashes are to be placed in the pagoda in the royal

palace, following throw days of ceremonies. The final farewell to

the king. Seen by many Cambodians as the father of the nation. He died in

2012 at the age of 89. So on World News, still to come:

Evidence of savage beatings and torture during the conflicts in the

eastern Ukraine. We have the latest from Kiev.

Police in Brazil say a man formerly accused of illegally selling World

Cup tickets has fled arrest. Ray Whelan was arrested with several

others in Rio de Janeiro earlier this week. He is accused of selling

tickets, allocated to team officials and sponsors. The BBC's Ben Brown

has this report. When the police arrived at the lavish Copacabana

Hotel to re-arrest Ray Whelan, they dicovered he had gone. The

detectives said that the television in his room was on and his

flip-flops were there, showing he left in a hurry. He said that they

saw the CCTV images. It was said he left an hour ago

through the back door, the staff door. They are sure someone tipped

him off as it is unusual for someone to leave through the staff door.

They have an arrest warrant for him, so he is officiallially a fugitive.

This shows he does not want to co-operate. Ray Whelan was arrested

a few days ago, then released after questioning. At the time his

company, match services, said he was innocent. Match services is a

partner firm of FIFA, selling VIP tickets. Ray Whelan was detained as

part of a wider investigation into the Geneva Conventional trade of

World Cup tickets at inflated prices. The police have 11 over men

in custody. Detectives allege that they are part of a gang who have

made tens of millions of dollars from selling ticket, not only at

this World Cup but at previous tournaments too. The police in Rio

de Janeiro allege that they have phone tap evidence that points to an

international criminal conspiracy to sell tickets at this World Cup at

vastly inflated prices. They say that they need to talk to Ray Whelan

as soon as possible. They are hoping that he gives himself up.

This is BBC World News. The latest headlines:

The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, is meeting Afghanistan's

rival presidential candidates in Kabul. And 100 Palestinians are now

reported to have been killed in four days of Israeli air strikes on Gaza.

Graphic and compelling evidence of savage beatings and other torture of

activists, protesters and journalists in the eastern Ukraine

in the last three months has emerged. There are no comprehensive

figures on abductions but the Ukrainian Interior Ministry has

reported 500 cases in April to June. I have been speaking to the BBC's

David Stern in Kiev. I asked him about the Ukrainian government's

response to the report. So far no official response, Tim. It

should be said that yes, there is a damning report, it has raised a lot

of concerns on the part of Amnesty International. They said that there

were kidnappings and abuses on both sides. But they said that the

majority, were carried out by the pro-Russian separatists, the

insurgents and the Russians fighting against the government forces. As we

know, the BBC has seen a basement in the town of Slavyansk where

pro-Russian separatists held some of their hostages under grim conditions

indeed. Amnesty was concerned about what they saw. They have spoken of

torture and beatings and that in some cases these instances were

stomach-churning. Will this entrench the situation

further? It is difficult to say. There have been these accusations

and reports for some time. The government accusing the pro-

separatists for carrying out such abductions. There are reasons that

they intimidate the local population, this does not help the

situation but it points to the increasingly ongoing and in some

cases, increasing brutalility of the conflict in the eastern Ukraine.

Germany's Foreign Minister says that the decision to expel the CIA's top

off 1458 in Berlin was inevitable, following two cases of alleged

spying by America in a week. The decision further strained relations

between the two countries, with Germany keen to discuss issues of

trust with the US during talks in veena this weekend. I have have been

speaking to Stephen Evans in Berlin about the row.

The two different sides, are to meet in veena on the conference -- are to

meet in Vienna at the conference there. It is hard to see what it

will achieve. Since the revelations over Angela Merkel's phone, the

Germans have been saying why have they been doing this, can they come

to some kind of agreement for you to stop spying on Al Fayed I. Maybe

John Kerry will have new information over the weekend. But it is hard to

imagine. In which case how do you rebuild the trust, as the German

government sees it, it is hard to imagine. But all governments do

this, is the German government clean on the issue as well? Well, that is

a question that is being asked here. Clearly you don't know how much the

activity of the Secret Services is, as it is secret. But people here

say, that you know, our own people are completely clear. They knew for

example who the head of the CIA was in the embassy. Whether that is

common knowledge, I do not know. But, they do say that, the German

government does say, that listening in to somebody's phone for example

it is a different order of spying. The second incident involves

somebody preparing documents within the German Secret Service for a

parliamentary Committee investigating spying, ironically

enough. They say that's a breach of democracy, that's a nonviolent

attack on the parliamentary system. They find that very offensive.

Have there been one-to-one talks between Angela Merkel and Obama

since the latest episode occurred? There certainly has been a telephone

conversation but the details of that conversation have not been released.

Angela Merkel is trying to balance things, really. She is clearly

voicing extreme disquiet, anger, really. But at the same time she

wants to keep the relationship on track. While all around her there

are people saying why are we being friendly with people that spy on us?

They ask for help over Edward Snowden, sanctions over Russia, why

are we co-operating? Now to art with a difference. You cannot see it in

the studio, you cannot own it, it does not last very long. For a San

Francisco artist, the beach is his studio, the sand is his canvass. It

takes hour to complete each artwork but when the tide comes in they have

gone forever. That does not stop people travelling for miles to see

his creations. It is barely daylight when Andreas goes to work. He is a

work scape artist. He spends his days on the beach raking the sand.

He let's his imagination run wild, creating geometric patterns.

Sometimes they are huge, sometimes not but they are all very different.

I would say that my biggest inspiration is nature. The patterns

that I see around me. I am trying to understand the world that I see. A

scientific pursuit on some level. He rakes the beach and by blending

broad and narrow strokes, he creates the patterns that are really quite

stunning. It is difficult for him to see if the designs are working from

the ground so he mounts a camera on a quad couldn'ter that hovers above

the design and takes pictures. Beach-goers love his work and often

travel miles to see it. But some visitors may not be quite so

welcome. Andreas used to be an environmental

scientist but he gave it all up to follow his dream. He still can't

believe his luck. It has opened more doors and made

more things possible than I could have dreamed of before. I never

thought I could be making a living raking in the sand! His work may

disappear when the tide comes in but it does not worry Andreas, it just

means he has a blank canvass to rake over in the morning.

Absolutely beautiful, ant they? Now, let's show you a very rare outsider,

literally flying home in a photo finish at Brighton racecourse. This

is in the south of England. This sea gull did not quite make it

first-past-the-post but was caught on camera soaring into second place

there. The bird, oh, my goodness, caused a flap on the race on

Tuesday, thought to be the first bird to feature in a photo finish

for a horse race, just a second, by a beak. The Iraqi oil ministry has

accused Kurdish fighters of taking control of oil wells near the

northern city of Kirk kick Kirk.