VOA NEWS

July 13, 2014

From Washington, this is VOA news. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry announces an agreement in the Afghan election dispute. A call for cease-fire after fifth day of Israeli aggression but no end immediately in sight. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.



U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says both Afghan presidential candidates have agreed to a full audit of the election ballots and promised to abide by the results.

Speaking late Saturday at a press conference with runoff candidates Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani, Kerry said "every single ballot" cast across the country will be audited in Kabul starting in 24 hours.

"With respect to national unity, both candidates have agreed to abide by the results of the audit and that the winner of the election will serve as president and will immediately form a government of national unity." Kerry said the process will take a number of weeks.

Both candidates say they agree the winner will serve as president and immediately form a national unity government.

Ashraf Ghani said a "winner take all" approach would not benefit Afghanistan, but that a government of national unity would "honor every Afghan" and show the government is committed to the well-being of everyone.

Both candidates had claimed victory in the June 14th runoff to replace Mr. Karzai, Hamid Karzai.



The U.N. Security Council has called for a cease-fire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as Israeli airstrikes continued in Gaza for a fifth day.

In a statement Saturday, the 15-member council called for a de-escalation of the violence, a restoration of calm, and a reinstitution of a 2012 Egyptian-brokered cease-fire between the two sides.

"The Security Council members also expressed their support for the resumption of direct negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians with the aim of achieving a comprehensive peace agreement based on the two-state solution," as the voice of U.N. Security Council President Eugène Gasana earlier Saturday.

Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is considering all military options.

U.S. President Barack Obama said the U.S. is willing to help facilitate a cessation of hostilities while backing Israel's right to defend itself.

Dr. Mahdi Abdul Hadi, head of the organization, Palestinian Academic Society in Jerusalem, says both Israeli and Palestinian leadership have shown little willingness to back down.

"Netanyahu refuses any reconciliation, any negotiation, any halting of the operation and he is carrying on the mission as usual. The same thing, Hamas is saying that's going forward as it planned, whatever will happen will happen to all of us."

More on these stories at voanews.com.



At the World Cup, the Netherlands handed Brazil its second straight devastating loss, topping the World Cup's host, 3-0, to capture third place in the tournament.

Russia's president has begun a 6-day tour of Latin American countries. Vladimir Putin is scheduled to be in Rio de Janeiro Sunday for the World Cup final, where Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will officially hand over World Cup responsibilities to the Russian leader, whose country hosts the next global tournament in 2018.



A senior U.S. official at nuclear talks in Vienna says Iran has not moved from what he calls its "unworkable and inadequate" positions. The official said Saturday there has been some progress but that both sides are still very far apart on some issues, including uranium enrichment.



The Iraqi government says it's sending 4,000 volunteers to bolster government control of Ramadi, Al Anbar province capital. The action follows Kurdish Peshmerga fighters capturing several strategic oil fields near the Kurdish-controlled town of Kirkuk on Friday.



A global human rights group is accusing Iraqi security forces and militias associated with the government of unlawfully executing at least 255 prisoners in last month. Human Rights Watch says the executions took place in six Iraqi towns and villages since June 9th, calling them an outrageous violation of international law.



The European Union says it is placing sanctions on 11 leaders of the pro-Russian rebellion in eastern Ukraine, including separatist leader Alexander Borodai, who has declared himself the prime minister of the Donetsk region in the east of Ukraine.



Visit us at voanews.com 24 hours a day for all the latest. I'm Vincent Bruce, VOA news in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA.