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From Washington, this is VOA news. Coming up, the latest on the Ukraine crisis, and rival Afghan candidates already claiming election victory. Hello everyone, I'm Steve Norman.
Ukraine says it will end by Friday the pro-Russian separatist occupation of a Security Services building in the eastern city of Luhansk either through negotiations or by force. VOA's Al Pessin reports. Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said his forces are engaged in an anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine, and that pro-Russian militants who want conflict will get a forceful answer. But the minister also said there's still time for dialogue. He predicted the situation in Luhansk would be resolved within 48 hours. The force inside the city's Security Services building has access to a supply of rifles and grenades. It is supported by several hundred protesters outside guarding a growing barricade of tires, sandbags and wooden crates and armed with firebombs. Al Pessin, VOA news, London. Meantime, Victoria Nuland, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, said on Wednesday that the U.S. doesn't have high expectations for any talks between the Russians, the European Union and the U.S. over the escalating crisis in Ukraine, but it remains important to keep the diplomatic door open. "The events in Ukraine are 'a wake-up call' for all of us. Everything we have stood for for over 40 years as a community of free nations is at risk if we allow aggressive acts to go unchecked and unpunished." Ms. Nuland was testifying in Washington before the U.S. Helsinki Commission over the crisis in Ukraine. After two days of talks in Vienna, European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says the nuclear talks between Iran and world powers will "move on to the next stage" in May. Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reiterated his support Wednesday for nuclear talks with world powers. But he also insisted that Tehran would continue its atomic program. Negotiators want to reach a permanent deal by the end of July that builds on an interim agreement reached last year. Pakistani authorities say at least 22 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in a bomb blast at a crowded market in Islamabad Wednesday. Police say the bomb was hidden in a crate of fruit and set off by remote control while the market was packed with shoppers and with dealers. All the votes are still being counted in Afghanistan's presidential election that was held last Saturday, two rival candidates already (are) predicting victory. VOA's Sharon Behn has details. The vote results for a new president of Afghanistan are not in yet, but already the two top rivals among the candidates are each claiming a win. Technocrat Ashraf Ghani, a former World Bank official, told media he is certain he received a majority of the votes, given the turnout in areas where he gathered a lot of support. His chief competitor, former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah, has said he is sure that 60 percent of the voters had cast their ballots for him. To win the election, a candidate needs 50 percent plus one vote. If no one reaches that threshold, there will be a run-off. Sharon Behn, VOA news, Islamabad. Angus Houston, the Australian chief of the search team looking for the missing Malaysian jet, said Wednesday he is optimistic the plane could be found soon. He said the most recent faint sounds detected by an Australian ship will help to reduce the search area west of Australia to a "much more manageable" region. The Boeing 777 disappeared March eighth on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. Police in the eastern U.S. state of Pennsylvania say a student armed with two knives wounded 20 of his classmates and a security officer during a 30-minute stabbing and slashing spree at a high school near Pittsburgh. A hospital spokesperson says four victims appear to have life-threatening injuries, but they are expected to survive. Police said the incident was over in minutes after the suspect, whose name was not immediately released, was tackled by the school's assistant principal. Later in the afternoon, the 16-year-old male was brought into court to face charges. A glitch in the Internet security from software meant to encrypt and protect online transactions has potentially exposed millions of passwords, credit card numbers and other sensitive bits of information to potential theft by computer hackers. Security researchers revealed the breakdown, known as "Heartbleed", this week. The glitch was a vulnerable version of software known as OpenSSL. Get more news at voanews.com. |