|
From Washington, this is VOA news. U.S. capture suspect in 2012 Benghazi attack. Russian, Ukrainian presidents discuss possible cease-fire. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
The United States captured a key suspect in the 2012 attack on the consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three other Americans. The Pentagon says a special operation unit arrested Ahmed Abu Khatallah Sunday near Benghazi. He is reported to be held on a U.S. naval ship for interrogation and will be flown to the United States for trial in a civilian court on murder charges. President Obama says he gave the go-ahead for the operation to capture Khatallah. He says the alleged terrorist will now face a full weight of the American justice system. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who was a top U.S. diplomat at the time of the Benghazi attack, says she hopes Khatallah's arrest will answer such questions as who was behind the attack and what the motivations were. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is urging Iraq to reach out to all factions to stop sectarian violence that erupted this month. He spoke in Geneva, where Lisa Schlein reports. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is very concerned about the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Iraq, including reports of mass summary executions by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant. He says there is a real risk of further sectarian violence on a massive scale within Iraq and beyond its borders. He says he spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Kamil al-Maliki, urging him to start an inclusive dialogue in search of a solution. Mr. Ban tells VOA he has concerns about the possibility of Iraq breaking up. "What is important at this time is that the Iraqi government should have one state, whether it is a Sunni or Shiite or Kurds. They should be able to harmoniously live together." Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva. Iraqi officials say at least 44 prisoners died in a militant assault on a prison in the city of Baquba. Reports differ as to whether the militants or security officials killed the detainees. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says "urgent assistance is clearly required" in Iraq. During a visit to Brazil Tuesday, he also said Iraqis must "pull together" to end the sectarian violence. Delegates from Iran and six world powers are meeting in Vienna, hoping to work out a deal aimed at curbing the country's nuclear program in exchange for lifting U.N. and Western sanctions. The parties face a July 20th deadline for a final agreement. Egypt freed an Al Jazeera journalist after ten months in prison without charge. Abdullah Elshamy had been on hunger strike since January to protest his detention. Prosecutors ordered his release for health reasons. Police arrested Elshamy last August as he covered a protest by supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta is rejecting claims that Somali militants were behind attacks in a coastal town that killed more than 60 people this week. He puts the blame for the attacks in Mpeketoni on domestic operatives. A militant Somali-based group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for those attacks. The U.N. Children's Fund and the World Health Organization have successfully vaccinated more than one million people against meningitis in eastern Guinea. Jennifer Lazuta has details. Health workers in Guinea say the mass vaccination campaign could help stop a deadly outbreak of meningitis, which has claimed at least 52 lives since the first cases were reported in January. The spokesman for the U.N. Children's Fund in Guinea, Timothy La Rose, spoke to VOA from the capital, Conakry. "In Guinea, only 35 percent of the children are fully vaccinated. So, getting with the government, the World Health Organization and other partners, UNICEF launched a campaign to vaccinate 95 percent of the people ages 1 to 29 who live in the affected areas." La Rose said UNICEF and its partners also conducted community awareness campaigns to educate people about meningitis as well as the importance of getting vaccinated. Jennifer Lazuta, for VOA news, Dakar. A U.S. research group says a cruise missile appears to be the latest addition to North Korea's increasingly advanced arsenal. The U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University spotted the new missile in a brief shot buried within a North Korean military propaganda video. It says the cruise missile is a sea-based copy of a Russian-made one, which can be launched from ships, helicopters or land. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |