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From Washington, this is VOA news. Reports of poison gas used in a Syrian village. Pro-Russian protesters force the resignation of Ukraine police chief. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.
Amid reports of fighting in Damascus, the Syrian government, rebel forces and a rights group now say poison gas has injured several people in a central village. The government and rebels are blaming each other for the incident. The Syrian government and the rebel forces again report the several people injured in a central village. An amateur video reportedly posted online by opposition activists showed a hospital in Kfar Zeita village in Hama province. The video shows the hospital filled with men and women--some with oxygen masks. The government and rebels are blaming each other for the incident. Neither claim has been independently verified. Pro-Russian protesters in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk have forced the local police chief to resign after threatening to storm police headquarters. Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov has called a meeting of the National Security Council. Henry Ridgwell reports from Donetsk. Around 200 pro-Russian protesters armed with clubs and knives took over the building Saturday and met no resistance -- forcing the police chief to resign. Armed pro-Russian groups also stormed police buildings in the nearby city of Slovyansk Saturday. There were reports that the demonstrators seized around 400 firearms. Authorities in Kyiv accuse Russia of instigating the trouble that has spread across the east of the country -- a charge Moscow denies. Henry Ridgwell, the VOA news, Donetsk. Ukraine's interior minister says security officials are preparing to implement an operational response plan to the attacks by the pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, on the social network Facebook, says the attacks are "an act of external aggression by Russia." More details at voanews.com. The world's top economic officials say the global economy is recovering, but remains fragile. Christine Lagarde is the IMF managing director. She spoke with reporters: "We are moving into a strengthening phase. As I said, the recovery is turning, we are turning the corner. The global economy is faring better." Officials pledged to work for faster economic growth to help alleviate high unemployment in some nations. Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore finance minister and chairman of IMF policy committee, said politicians need to avoid repeating mistakes that led to past economic downturn. "So, what we have got to try to do is avoid once again making bad policies as times get better. And that means especially placing strong emphasis on medium-term fiscal planning so that we do not build up deficits that can only be solved in a crisis, which is when it's much more painful." A powerful earthquake has struck near the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Geological Survey says the 7.6 magnitude quake hit early Sunday about 100 kilometers south of Kira Kira in the Solomon Islands at a depth of 29 kilometers. There was no immediate report of damage. Iran says it is not considering a replacement nominee for its prospective new envoy to the United Nations, despite his being denied a U.S. visa. A senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official said Saturday there is no replacement choice for Hamid Aboutalebi and Iran will pursue the visa denial issue through legal mechanisms at the U.N. White House officials say the government will not issue a visa to Aboutalebi because of his alleged involvement in the 1979 seizure of the U.S. embassy in Tehran. Voters in Guinea-Bissau will choose a new president and members of parliament on Sunday. The country is trying to move on from two years of uncertainty that followed an April 2012 military coup. One of the 13 presidential candidates is Abel Incada. He says if there is peace and stability, the country will start at once even after 40 years of independence. To this day, there is no electricity, roads are in bad shape, many things, health, education, a lot of problems in Guinea-Bissau, says Incada. There is no clear frontrunner among the candidates. Analysts say they expect the election to go to a second round. There are several first-time or independent candidates. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott Saturday told reporters it will likely take a long time to locate the Malaysian passenger jet that went missing five weeks ago given the depth of the water that searchers must search through. More on these stories at voanews.com. I'm Vincent Bruce, VOA news, Washington. |