BBC News with Nick Kelly.
An American-born child, who was thought to have been the first to be cured of HIV as a baby, has had the virus detected in her blood once again. The girl's case has raised hopes of a cure. Steve Jackson reports.
“The girl was born in Mississippi to a mother with HIV and was given aggressive treatment in the first two days of her life. At 18 months she stopped being given medication to suppress the virus, but remained free of HIV for more than two years afterwards. This was unprecedented and led medical experts to hope that the technique could be used much more widely to cure babies born with HIV. Doctors treating the girl said the reemergence of the virus was a disappointing turn of events, but the treatment may still have limited the development of HIV and the need for anti-retroviral drugs.”
American Secretary of State John Kerry has arrived in Afghanistan to try to resolve tensions over the disputed presidential elections that are threatening to destabilize the country. Aleem Maqbool reports.
“The fact John Kerry has made his trip at such short notice is an indication of just how concerned the US is of Afghanistan descending into post-election turmoil. Preliminary results in the second round of the Presidential poll appeared to show a huge turnaround with Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank economist, now well ahead of former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah. To many, such a reversal of fortunes as compared to the first round of voting can only have been achieved through widespread election fraud amid renewed fears the country could quite literally be divided. Secretary Kerry's already threatened a suspension of financial and security support to Afghanistan if anyone seized power illegally.”
President Obama says the United States is prepared to facilitate a cessation of hostilities in Gaza between Israel and Hamas. More than 80 people are reported of being killed there in the Israeli air attacks launched in response to Palestinian rocket fire across the boarder. Tom Esslemont reports from Washington.
“President Obama's offer of America's help to end the escalating violence is a sign of how unstable the situation has become, and how much he and other world leaders want it to end. In November 2012 during the last phase of intense hostilities between Hamas and Israel, the United States gained the support of Egypt to broker a ceasefire, but there is still a great deal of pessimism that an imminent solution can be struck. When Benjamin Netanyahu was asked earlier about the prospects of a ceasefire, he said simply that it wasn't even on the agenda.”
The German government has asked the official who represents the US intelligence services in the country to leave. The government spokesman in Berlin said the move had resulted from the current investigation by the German federal prosecutor into the activities of the US agencies. There has been no immediate comment from Washington; but the White House stressed the importance of its relationship with Berlin.
World News from the BBC.
A court in the United States has sentenced a Californian businessman to 15 years in prison for economic espionage. Walter Liu was also fined ＄28 million for selling trade secrets from the American firm DuPont to a state-owned Chinese company. The judge said Mr. Liu had been motivated by greed when he sold the technology needed to make a white pigment used in a list of everyday products.
And mounting evidence that pro-Russian separatists have abducted hundreds of people during the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the human rights organization says there is what it calls graphic and compelling proof of torture and severe beatings. David Stern reports from Kiev.
“Amnesty International said both sides had engaged in kidnapping, but pro-Russian militants carried out the bulk of instances. The separatists have targeted political activists, protesters and journalists. Those abducted were often subjected to stomach-churning, beatings and torture, an Amnesty official said. The pro-government forces also committed a smaller number of abuses.”
Police in Brazil said that the man at the center of an investigation into the illegal sale of the football World Cup tickets has fled to escape arrest. Ray Whelan, a director of a FIFA partner company arranging World Cup hospitality, and 11 others were indicted earlier on Thursday by a Brazilian judge. But when the police tried to apprehend Mr. Whelan at his Cope Havana Hotel, he disappeared. The British businessman was arrested last week, but later released again. He denies the charges.
And the controversial auction of an ancient Egyptian statue has taken place in London with the artifact fetching more than ＄27 million. Egypt's ambassador to Britain has condemned the sale of the 4000-year-old Sekhemka statue by the English company of Northampton, saying it's unethical and breaches international principles.