[announcer] the more you know, the more you could save. farmers could help you save hundreds on your auto insurance. call your local agent or 1-800-470-8507 today. hello. you're watching "gmt" on bbc world news. our tom stories. al-jazeera journalists sentenced to serve to ten years for spreading false news. i'm christian frazier outside the prison in cairo where peter greste former of the bbc and colleagues are c contemplating a seven year sentence. america to the rescue. u.s. secretary of state john kerry flies into baghdad for talks with prime minister nouri

maliki. >> i'll be reporting live from if world cup with the latest from here. it is brazil's last group game today against cameroon. also in the program, aaron is here with the battle that's over. >> french have chosen a winner after months of ge trying to take over alstom. boy, strings coming attached. we'll look at why the french were so happy to sell to americ america. hello. welcome to the program. it is noon in london, 7:00 a.m. in washington, 2:00 p.m. in cairo where a court found three journalists guilty of helping

the muslim brother hood organization. there were shouts from defendants as the judge sentenced them to seven years each. the case of peter greste from australia and mohammed fahmy and baher mohamed which has attracted media attention. >> welcome to cairo t backdrop, the prison, high secure jail most prisoners fear. in soaring temperature this is afternoon, peter greste has been dragged back to his four meter cell he's been sharing with two colleagues for past six months and where he must contemplate a seven year sentence. we now have this report. >> the court erupted as the verdict was read out. peter greste hit the stage. his colleagues shouted in protest. deep disappointment for their

families too that hopes were raised this may be the end of their ordeal. >> i don't know how the judge came to that decision. i'd be interested to hear his reasons for giving that verdict. doesn't make any sense. >> peter greste covered the muslim brother hood protest last december. he and two other al-jazeera journalists were accused of helping a terrorist organization and brother casting live against the egyptian national interest, an allegation he and the australian government has always denied. >> we are deeply dismayed by the fact that a sentence has been imposed and we are appalled by the severity of it. it is hard to credit that the court in this case could have reached this conclusion. the australian government simply cannot understand it based on evidence presented in the case. >> al-jazeera has condemned the

sentences on peter greste, mohammed fahmy on the left and baher mohamed has unjust. the convicted face years of grim incarceration. this case is seeped in politics. in egypt the broadcast funded is seen as biassed towards the muslim brother hood. the verdict won't be easy to repeal. bbc news. >> no surprise there was a dramatic change in mood in the courtroom when peter greste and colleagues were put in the cages. there were waves and smiles to family and also colleagues there in support. it very soon turned to frustration when the judge appeared in the court dressed in suit and sun glasses read the verdict. there were three verdicts for the journalists. they were given ten years each. the students of course sentenced

separately. peter greste hit the cage in which he was standing. there were screams of anguish from the bureau chief who reacted with anger. throughout this trial, there's been no evidence shown to the court that would in any way support the charges brought against them. let's talk to sue, one of the three journalist joining us from doha. your reaction to your sentence first of all? >> i think my reaction to my sentence and sentence of the boys now back in prison is a shock. we really thought we could trust the egyptian judicial system to be fair and expected the judge to come out saying he found us not guilty because he recognized these were politically motivated charges. a big surprise for us. we had hoped they would be released and we would be welcoming them back. instead we look at jail

sentences for them. for me, ten years given a prison sentence. of course i'm not there. it means i can't travel to a lot of places on the globe. at least i'm not incarcerated. >> yeah. a lot of frustration here in court among the families. what was the mood like in your newsroom when the verdict was read out? >> speechless. really speechless. we all know the guys who are in that court cage extremely well. i've worked with mohammed fahmy and baher mohamed for months. they're great journalists, very level headed. we've always tried to give a fair and balanced picture of what's going on in egypt. peter greste's reputation is unparalleled. he's an award winning journalist. he won an award working bbc in somalia. he's covered east of africa for a long time and is well respected. people here are looking at

colleagues we talk to and know extremely well to now see them in that situation. it's really heartbreaking and infuriating to think egypt really could go to these extremes to try and stop reporting, fair reporting in the country. >> yeah. the prosecution of course alleging that al-jazeera was backing the muslim brother hood. no evidence in court stood those allegations up. i wonder if you could explain sue what sort of treatment al-jazeera has suffered here in cairo over recent months? >> i first got back to cairo last september. i hadn't been in the country all year and wasn't covering the coup. i was back do cover the african union when our bureau was raided by authorities. we ended up in a hotel room.

courts and prosecution tried to make something suspicious out of the fact we were operating in the hotel room. you and i do that a lot and other colleagues. we were stuck there. i was a special correspondent. we went dark. we eventually went back in vision. i suppose we gained confidence that nothing happened in october. so i think we really thought even though we had to be careful as all international journalists do in cairo because there's a huge media crack down, we did think they were recognizing the government was trying to be fair and balanced in government of what was happening in egypt. none of my reports were noteworthy. they were doing the daily 24 hour news you cover on all subjects. the idea anything could be picked and out accused of this bias and aiding and a betting

terrorism doesn't stack up. >> okay. sue, thank you very much for joining us. i've spoke tn to one of the lawyers leaving the courtroom. he said they will appeal. they'll have to wait 60 days to see the processing. this comes for long period of times. some appeals last two years. a dark day this evening for journalists behind walls in the prison. back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much indeed. you're watching "gmt." in other news today, israel says it's carried out air strikes on syria. the attacks were in response to killing of a teenage boy in a missile strike. two other people including the boy's father were injured when the vehicle was hit. police in kosovo fired tear

gas against the people angry about the protest on the barricade. seven police officers were injured and five cars set on fire. this is following the decision by authorities last week to remove a three year blockade on the bridge which ethic tension in the past. storms in southern china have killed 26 people over five days. authorities say more than 300,000 have been relocated. the landslides and flash floods have caused huge economic losses. the chinese media reports 9,000 homes have been destroyed. 60,000 others have been damaged. stay with us here on bbc world news. still to come. u.s. secretary of state john kerry arrives in baghdad for crisis talks. will prime minister nouri maliki hear his requests for a more inclusive government? ♪

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as sunni militants tighten their grip, u.s. secretary of state john kerry has arrived in baghdad for talks with maliki. amid more government setbacks, isis led rebels are in control of much of the border with syria and jordan. they have taken the town of tal afar including crucially the military airport. they are effectively in control of the western border after capturing the town of al qaim. government forces also pulled out of the crossing with syria and crossing with jordan. this capture of these crossings could move weapons through. >> iraqi troops engaging sunni

militants along the front lines to the north of baghdad. here the army, with help from shiite militias, has succeeded pushing militants going toward to the capital. in this video released by the army, troops say they captured weapon from the fighters of the extremist group isis. they're clearly well armed. but in the western province, the militants are making significant gains taking control of border crossing points leading to jordan and syria as well as a series of towns along the main highways. there are reports there now surrounding hal hadihah which lays close to the dam affecting baghdad and other areas of the country. >> they're destabilizing part of

the country that could spill over to our allies like jordan. and they're engaged in wars in syria in the vacuum created they could mass more arms, more resources. >> with the situation getting more desperate, the united states secretary of state john kerry flew into baghdad this morning to meet the country's top political leaders. mr. kerry who's on a tour of the middle east wants to see a thank you -- see a new government formed in baghdad. not just the shiite population but also the sunni muslims to help reunite the country against extremists. with them now controlling large parts of iraq and syria, it seems they are carving out their own fate or islamic state. here in mosul, in northern iraq, they've been handing out copies of the ka ran. to push them out, the iraqi

military which is weak and short of sophisticated weapons needs as much help as it can get. bbc news baghdad. >> we'll be live in baghdad with our world affairs editor in a moment. let's go to cambridge and speak first to the columnist and argue thorac -- and author. what are they calling on maliki to stand down or provide alternative? >> i think iron an is still goi to work out what they want it to be. his leader ship will be a failure. i think iran will draw a line around him staying in power or what will other groups or leaders might play in political compromise. >> which names potentially are in the frame? >> well, i think what iran is more trying to say with the

statements we've heard recently, rather than sort of dealing with details of what iraqi politics might come, iran is trying to play an assertive role. it's alarmed by the tepidness from washington. we had the petro dollars from the gulf fuelling them brought up. we've seen a more assertive tone. i think this is iran stepping in to show leadership where it feels opportunity. >> iran doesn't want u.s. military intervention, but when you look at some sort of cooperation on the ground, we know or believe, there are strategists on the ground in baghdad. what is iran's long game in perhaps terms of the nuclear question? >> iran wants to preserve the

security of its border. ultimate concern hinis i think stability. at these check points there were hours of the first major isis seize to the country. i think iran wants to create some kind of political compromise that will preserve security, that will keep shii political at the forefront but in a stable way not the disastrous way maliki has overseen. >> thank you very much indeed there in cambridge. let's go to john simpson live from baghdad. john, john kerry in town talking to maliki. is this the ideal scenario as far as america is concerned? >> i think it would be. they would like him to step down. he's a really tough political

fighter, been in power a long time, eight years. he knows how to pull the strings. he's not a quitter. i think he's going to be difficult to push a side. in a way you see the united states doesn't need to do that. they're pushing at a door which isn't exactly open. it is not too impossible to open it. there has to be a new government after the recent elections which mr. maliki did very well in. there has to be a new zboch government. the process is slow. he's starting the process of getting that government going. what he will have to do -- and i dare say he will do that -- is to bring in more sunni faces. that will enable americans to say our pressure has paid off. it will enable some sunnis to

say the government is more open towards being more favorable to the government in baghdad. it kind of facilitates the whole thing. it's how real politics works in the real world. it won't be necessary at all for mr. kerry to bang on the table and say you've got to go. he'd never do a thing like that any way. it does make it possible for him to go back and say yes, all the signs are that maliki has got the message and doing what we want. >> briefly john, another government setback today losing control of the military airport there. what is the atmosphere in baghdad like given how much territory sunni militants seem to have taken? >> well, it's twofold really. of course it's very scary for

people to know isis and their sunni allies are achieving these kinds of gains. in a country as fragmented as iraq always has been, it seems like a long way away even though it isn't terribly far. there's a certain sense here. i find now it's shared by just about everybody from senior politicians i've spoken to here right up to the leading diplomats in this country. yes, it is dangerous. it is frightening. baghdad itself is probably much too big a target for isis to want to hit. certainly by main force frontal attacks. it gives a certain sort of rather phony sense of security here. but people are leaving. they're making arrangements to look elsewhere.

>> john simpson, live in baghdad. thank you very much. right now to the world cup in brazil where the tournament is nearing the end of week two. every match is testing the strength of every team. today is a big day as the host brazil compete in the next game along with other teams in the final round of group matches. yesterday didn't disappoint either. let's go live to rio and ben brown is there. quite a performance between u.s. and portugal last night. >> huge support for the united states and portugal too. it was a real hum dinger of a match. portugal scoring in the first few minutes. not until the very dying seconds, the fifth minute of injury time, the portugal got their equalizer to make it 2-2

breaking the heart of the united states. salvaging pride for portugal. >> now we've got lots of games coming up today. i'll talk about those in a minute. i've got to say as far as one country here, the world cup, ghana is concerned. world cup overshadowed today by allegations that have surfaced in the united kingdom. the president of the ghana football association denied agreeing for ghana to play in matches that others were preparing to fix. these were friendly matches not world cup matches. let's talk to the football author and journalist who joins me here. for ghana, these allegations come at a time in the middle of the world cup. are they going to distract or upset the ghana camp? >> i don't think so. this campaign has so much behind it. a lot of players are big clubs

in europe and other places. having said that, it's not good for the team at moment. >> is it embarrassing for ghana? >> it's more than that. unfortunately it's reinforcing the short term. hopefully this plays out without much damage. we'll see. >> how do you assess performance of african teams in the world cup? mixed bag really? >> ghana more fire powerer against the u.s. algeria standout team. we expected better from their group. nigeria looked good against bosnia. most are happy with their performance. >> overall, who's going to win it. >> france and argentina are the standouts. they've done well with little performance. i think they're going to step up. france is there to the end. >> so france? >> they'll be in the final.

>> thank you very much indeed. they're calling it manic monday. there's four games plays simultaneously. these are the last group games. australia and spain playing it out in group b. netherlands against spain. in group a cameroon and the host favorite brazil. croatia against mexico. >> been a bit of a manic monday here as well. that's a different story. thank you very much ben brown in rio. for more on the world cup, go to the website, catch up with the latest news from ben and other core sperespondents. bbc.com/world cup. you're watching "gmt." stay with us. we'll be getting the latest on

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"gmt" on bbc world news. coming up this half hour, protests in islamabad. talks between pakistan and taliban. we hear from a negotiator. wimbledon police warn players to do the right thing as the tournament opens in west london. aaron is back. looks like a deal between the two. the banking giant could face billions for breaking sanctions.

here's the question. could that jeopardize the bank from ever doing business again in the united states? welcome to the program. pakistani police have fired tear gas at supporters of the antigovernment cleric in the capital islamabad. demonstrators gathered near the city's airport to welcome him. authorities diverted his flight. he is calling for a peaceful revolution against the prime minist minister zarif. supporters of t police did everything they

could, said this man. they weren't going to stop us. the cleric himself was not allowed to step foot in the capital. the government forced his flight from dubai. critics say yet more overreaction to the mara margin political figure. eight died last week when police opened fire outside the party offices. will there's widespread suspicion the campaign is backed after the latest protests. they were taking no chances. >> the leader of a political party can provoke action like this from the pakistani government. they've gone as far as diverting the airliner from landing here. it's a sign a year after zarif

was lielected, it's feeling worried. let's speak to the spokesperson for pakistan's religious leader. his party has been involved in those recent peace talks with the taliban in pakistan. thank you for joining us on the program. is there any way to salvage talks now given that attack on karachi airport? >> i think the airport put pressure on the pakistani government. it has to come out with strategy. the whole international community particularly chinese and americans want pakistan to do something. this is why the government decided to have the operation. the dialogue process has to be

done with. we are in the military operation and there are other signs we are getting that maybe we're about to see the end of some form of militants there through military strikes or you know a letting them escape across the border. they've been there last couple of years. the chinese were upset over pakistani government as it has to do something -- >> sorry to interrupt. just to be clear, you do support the taliban, do you? you are a supporter of the law. is that correct? >> no. we don't support taliban. we very much disagree with their methodology. we believe pakistan has a

constitution, has a parliament. whatever your operations are whether it's law or any system, it has to be through democracy or parliament. we simply cleared this as a sign to taliban we don't buy your methodology. however we're asking the government how to diffuse that. you have to stop, have counter strategy with the mid level commanders. and our policies pakistan had that some sort of -- >> okay. okay. but do you believe that there are good taliban and bad taliban? some believe they're the same thing. and that pakistan is instrumentinstrumen

instrumental in running both groups. >> we believe pakistan should be restored, every corner of the country. no militants taking up arm against the state. what's that constitution states. how to go about by strategy, you have to start with the people attacking you. also then you have to move onto people not attacking you in the region. we believe there has to be a zero tolerance whether you're militant of good nature or bad nature. that's what we're asking for. >> thank you very much indeed for joining us. something completely different. we are discussing this now with aaron. >> there was a lot of this. that one. in paris last night. champagne claiming victory. it's happening in my house.

normally does. after weeks of diplomacy, we certainly have -- it has paid off for general electric boss. now general electric takes control of alstom's power generation business in a cash heavy deal worth $17 billion. of course it does come with strings attached. the french government has exacted guarantees on jobs and will hold a 20% stake in the business. now the state will also retain control over strategic energy efforts such as the country's nuclear power plants. and the economy minister said the deal prevented france from becoming a giant shopping center for foreign corporations. the government says the deal will save jobs. your business correspondent has all the details. >> alstom has flown the flag for

french industry over 80 years, a global leader with 96,000 workers. it's a power generation, energy transmission, builds and maintains the world's most fastest and heavily used railroad trains. after the bailout 11 years ago, it can't live with the mounted debt. to stay on track, it has to sell more assets. steaming to the rescue with $17 billion a board is america's ge. it's offering enough cash for alstom's power arm to wipe out french company borrowing with plenty of cash to spare. but there's a snag. a foreign sale of such a national champion is political dynamite. many fear for their jobs. the president demanded alternatives. last week he got one. siemens and mitsubishi stepped in with their bid to power as

sets between them leaving alstom still with a share. it all hangs as the merger specialist on whether the government deems any bids to protect enough of its key industries. >> both offices have come up with -- mitsubishi siemens and ge offer, is the splitting of company. breaking it up to an energy business which buyers want. the french government wasn't particularly keen on that and has asked both sides to come back with better offers. whether they will or not we'll have to say. >> late talks in paris ended with ge sweetening the deal. it's offer aing more job promises and to cut the energy alliances with alstom. while the siemens transaction was dead in the water, the president is backing the offer and expects it to go through. >> there you go.

let's turn attention to another french company. the french bank bases fines of $9 billion for breaking sanctions. according to reports, their also said to plead guilty to one criminal charge and banned from trading u.s. dollars for a period of time. the u.s. department of justice looks to announce the deal going on for some time. let's go to the editor of the banker. grate to have you on the program brian. what is it that bnp supposedly did with so called banned countries? >> what this is about is trade finance. it's basically trade deals between two counter parts, both non-u.s.. one is a country sanctioned. the only reason the u.s. is involved is their being rooted through the u.s. through new york probably. that's why bnp is in trouble.

it wouldn't be a crime under french law. that's worth considering. >> certainly under u.s. law. possibly $9 billion fine, enough for a bloody nose. >> that's equivalent to 2013 earnings for bpn. there's been a ratchetening up looking at much larger fines. we saw $1.9 billion for money laundering, the worst misdemeanor than sanction busting. this is five times as large. >> it makes you think or wonder -- i don't know how they come up with figures. it's quite curious i guess. does it set precedence though? >> you've got to remember there's a massive regulator and bodies pursuing the banks in the u.s. they seem to be competes

againsts themselves to make the biggest fine. we've turned to banks getting criminal charges which again is unusual. you can kind of understand for credit suisse charge. >> who gets the $9 billion? >> it must go to administration costs or government somewhere. >> somebody gets it any way. brian, we appreciate you. in a country famous for love of football, culminatioculminat doesn't go together. businesses are closing early to watch the brazil games. basically it's coming to a stand still. what effect does this have on an economy that's already slowing down? katie reports fr.

>> reporter: when the team is playing, traffic is not pretty. everyone wants to get home to watch the ch ma. businesses are still making time for football. this shop closes for each game. employees get to watch the match inside. it's a month of challenges. >> with banks and other businesses, it's like a public holiday. they close and don't reopal until after the match. you have to be careful because the bank isn't open neither is the post office. if you leave too late to pay a bill you'll struggle. >> brazilians here clearly have priorities. this is brazil's financial capital and biggest city. i'm on a commercial street that is normally packed. it's rush hour. you can see all shops here are shut. businesses obviously taking a back seat to football. >> while brazilians take the opportunity to enjoy the

tournament, what effect does that have on the economy that grew in the first three months of this year. people have been very negative about brazil's economic prospects in the run up to the world cup. >> people are excited about the country again. i think the confidence on the country is gradually improving as the tournament is evolving. everything is right, doing okay. i think that if you help a little bit. >> bruno and his company with take aways in the tournament are holding up. that keeps him and workers happy even if their team doesn't always score the winning goal. okay. there you go. lots going on. follow me on twitter. get me @bbc aaron. >> love you. thank you very much indeed. stay with us here on "gmt." anyone for tennis? >> i'm john watson live at the all england club in south west

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you're watching "gmt." i'm tim willcox. our top story this is hour. three al-jazeera journalists accused of spreading false news in egypt are sentenced to seven years in jail. u.s. secretary of state john kerry begins talks in baghdad. he's expected to ask nouri maliki to form a more conclusive government. russia's president vladimir putin has voiced support for ukrainian peace plan put forward by president poroshenko.

mr. putin said the proposals can only work if compromises are made with pro-russian rebels. who are the people fighting against the ukrainian military? steve rosenburg has been to southern russia to meet one man who claims to be recruiting volunteers to join the conflict. >> who are the fighters in eastern ukraine? we know that some of the pro russian militants are ukrainian citizens. not all of them. in the russian city, i meet yuri. by the internet he's recruiting russians to fight in ukraine on the side of the militants. kiev identified this group and website as one of the main recruiting grounds for russian volunteers. >> translator: there's a saying you can't do good without using your fists. sometimes it's necessary to take up arms to protect those that

need defending. we call it armed charity. >> the group says it was their volunteers who tried to seize donetsk airport last month. dozens of fighters were killed. more than 30 bodies were taken to russia. >> translator: our job isn't just dispatch volunteers and coordinate activities. it's our responsibility too to bring them home whether dead or alive. >> the russian volunteer group says it gets no direct support from the government here. moscow has repeatedly denied sending troops and military hardware across the border. western governments maintain that among the fighters in eastern ukraine. funded, equipped and backed by russia. >> officially this is the only assistance russia is providing

the people of eastern ukraine. and it's humanitarian. on the russian side of the border, refugees escaping the violence can get clothes and medicine and transport to temporary shelter. at a hospital nearby, refugees told me they had relatives that stayed behind to fight the army. >> translator: i hope my son kills 2,000 of those kiev bandits. if he does, i'll build a statue to him. he'll be my hero. >> to these refugees, talk of peace plans is empty words. there is deep suspicion of kiev. they're counting on russia for protection. bbc news southern russia. you're watching "gmt." strawberries and cream,

champagne, bit of tennis as well. wimbledon championship begins in london today, one of the biggest sporting events of the british summer. let's go to john live in wimbledon. lucky you. it's not raining. big hitters on the court today as well. >> yes indeed. when the sun is shining as it is here, there's not many places you'd rather to be. plenty of action on the opening day of the tournament. all the focus will be center court where the defending champion andy murray is on the course. last year he entered the 77 year wait for a british men's single winner in front of the huge home crowd. this year he has the pressure of trying to do that again. to give you a sense of how difficult that is going to be, the 21st time single champions here in wimbledon open era, four

have gone on to regain the trophy the following year. that gives you a sense of how difficult it will be for murray. in his opening match he's up against the belgian ranked 104 in the world. you think andy murray stands a good chance of making it to second round. the draw has been favorable for murray. he won't face novak djokovic until the semi finals and nadal in the finals. as for things in the women's side of the draw, perhaps serena williams again. she's the favorite looking to add to her five titles. ten years on, will she go on and do that again winning a second wimbledon title? both of those in action tomorrow. andy murray begins theimbledon .

>> thanks very much. >> one of the people behind the scenes is neil, the head grounds man. we've been to talk to him. >> it's a living, breathing surface. it's a constant battle for grounds keeper to keep it as healthy and strong as you possibly can. i'm neil, the head groundsman. this will be my 20th tournament. i've worked my way to the top. in my industry, this is one of the top jobs you can have. to continue to take courts forward, to be a part of the history with the rest of the team, it's an honor. it's a job once you're here, you're here for life. it's nice to be a part of that. as you can see we're down to

playing height of eight mill mee mee mete meters. in the summer it's eight. it's a process now of drawing the course out. we're a clay base. what that does is as it dries out it becomes firm. that's how we get the ball to bounce. as you hear, very hard surface. the actual important ingredient is soil and firmness. that's what gives us the game. my normal daily routine during the championship, i'll wake up at 5:00 a.m., have a look at weather, get early weather reports. decide whether the covers need to come off. we start marking courts. most are 9:00, 9:15, brush the courts make sure they're nice and clean. we'll look at the hardness. i'm waiting here to 10:30, 11:00 every night. we took measurement this is

morning on the soil to get the firmness. they're firming up more quickly than we would like. we're going through the process of putting a little water through each court to make sure we keep them near the magic number. you're always mindful of what potentially can go wrong. you constantly worry the whole championship. sometimes you wake up and you dream it's day one of the championship and baselines are worn out before you start. it's not until the championship is finished you can relax, look back and say this was a successful championship. if players don't say anything they're happy. it's not necessary they pat you on the back and say well done. if they don't say anything, we know they're happen pit. that's good for us. >> hoping all those surfaces are going to last the championship. a reminder of our top story. three journalists are sentenced

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first, there were the daleks, and then, there was a man who fought them. and then, in time, he died. there are a few, of course, who believe this man somehow survived and that, one day, he will return. for both our sakes, dearest hannah, we must hope these stories are true. [ gasps ] i got your message. not many people can do that, send me messages.