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From Washington, this is VOA news. European monitors released in Ukraine. An alleged attacker of the U.S. embassy in Benghazi is brought to the U.S. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.
Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine have released four European monitors who'd been detained for months. Four observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were freed Saturday a month after they were taken from Lugansk. Four others seized in Donetsk were let go earlier this week. OSCE officials say all are in good health. It's still unclear whey they were taken. The European Union has demanded the separatists and their supporters in Moscow take steps to deescalate crisis in eastern Ukraine, or face more sanctions. Steps the EU demands include peace talks and letting the OSCE monitors do their jobs. Ahmed Abu Khatallah, the accused ringleader of the deadly attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya in 2012, arrived in Washington Saturday. Amid heavy security, Khatallah pleaded not guilty in a federal courthouse in Washington. He was brought to Washington from a U.S. navy ship and was formally charged with murder and terrorism. He faces the death penalty if convicted. The United States accuses him of being the ringleader the September 11th, 2012 attack which killed U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. Republicans in Congress accuse the Obama administration and State Department of being negligent in providing enough security in a volatile region prone to terrorism. The opening matches of the World Cup's Round of 16 occurred today. And Brazil won earlier today in a game over Chile 3-2 in penalty kicks. The teams were deadlocked 1-1 after 90 minutes of play and 30 minutes of overtime before going to 2-2 in the penalty shootout. And again, Brazil won at 3-2 in those penalty kicks. In Saturday's other game, Colombia earned its first trip to the World Cup quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory over Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro. The Iraqi army Saturday launched what it calls a major offensive to retake the northern city of Tikrit from Sunni extremists. According to military officials, the main ground operation started with heavy fighting in the city between Sunni rebels and Iraqi special forces attempting to regain control of a university campus. More on these stories at voanews.com. In Syria, reports of at least 12 people being reported dead in a rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma following a car bombing. Opposition activists accuse the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant of being behind the bombing. Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Cairo. Amateur video shows rescue workers carrying a bleeding child caught by the car bomb blast to a makeshift ambulance. Bodies are visible amid the chunks of rubble as fire burns from at least one vehicle. The explosion took place in the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Douma in the northeastern region of the capital known as the Eastern Ghouta. Rami Abdel Rahman of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told VOA that opposition activists believe the militant Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant was behind the blast because of recent tensions between the group and other rebel groups which control the area. Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo. Sarajevo is marking 100 years since the first two shots of World War I were fired. A choir sang the Serbian anthem. The occasion was being marked with concerts, speeches and exhibitions, celebrating peace in Europe. June 28th, 1914, Serb teenager Gavrilo Princip assassinated Austro-Hungarian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand, who was in the city to inspect his occupying troops. A century later, Sarajevans gathered along the river where Princip fired his shots. In the town of Visegrád, Serbia's Republic of Srpska President Milorad Dodik called Princip's gunshot not end of Europe but for freedom. Austrians and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performed works of European composers reflecting the events and promoting unity in Europe. U.S. President Obama says he will continue to take action on his own as long as congressional Republicans block his economic agenda. Speaking in his weekly address, President Obama said he has already taken action to attract new jobs, raise workers' wages, and help students pay off their loans. In the Republican address, Louisiana Representative Bill Cassidy pushed for growing the U.S. energy, manufacturing and construction industries. I'm Vincent Bruce in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |