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From Washington, this is VOA news. U.N. chief appeals to Israel and the Palestinians to restore calm as regional fighting escalates to its most serious level in years. And Indonesia's presidential election ends, with both candidates claiming victory. I'm Michael Lipin reporting from Washington.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has responded to a surge in fighting between Israel and Palestinian militants by appealing on both sides to exercise maximum restraint and engage in meaningful peace talks. From the United Nations, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more. Mr. Ban said Wednesday he spent much of the day telephoning world and regional leaders trying to contain the spiraling crisis. He said the new wave of violence is one of the most critical test the region has faced in recent years. "The risk of violence expanding further still is real. Gaza, and the region as a whole, cannot afford any other full-blown war." The U.N. chief condemned the rockets launched by the Islamic militant group Hamas into Israel and said he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to respect international obligations to protect civilians. Israel's military said Wednesday it had struck around 200 sites linked to Hamas on the second day of an offensive aimed at stopping rocket attacks on Israeli cities. Palestinian officials say at least 44 people have been killed this week, including women and children. Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations. The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on the situation in Israel and Gaza on Thursday at the request of Arab ambassadors. The Palestinian U.N. ambassador, Riyad Mansour, accused Israel of engaging in a military onslaught against the Palestinian people. "We demanded that the Security Council to act and to act immediately to bring this aggression to a halt and to hold those responsible for this aggression for killing the children and the civilians and elderlies to be brought to justice and protection to be provided for the Palestinian people." Israel's ambassador to the world body, Ron Prosor, said his nation is only at war with Palestinian militants responsible for rocket fire against Israeli civilians. "Israel is using precision strikes to avoid harming civilians, but Hamas is exploiting our concern for human life by hiding in Palestinian homes, schools and mosques and using a Palestinian hospital as the headquarters." Washington says it supports Israel's right to self defense against Palestinian rocket attacks, but it also has urged all sides to de-escalate the situation. Indonesia's two presidential candidates both are claiming victory after a closely fought election. Unofficial results from Wednesday's vote indicate that Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo leads by five percentage points over ex army general Prabowo Subianto. Widodo, also known as Jokowi, held a news conference declaring himself the winner. A short time later, Subianto announced at a political rally that his campaign surveys indicate that he won. In Washington, the White House congratulated the Indonesian people on completing what it called "their historic presidential election." It said President Barack Obama looks forward to continued close ties with the new leader of Indonesia. But the election's official outcome is not expected to be known for two weeks. In Japan, Typhoon Neoguri has weakened to a tropical storm as it heads towards the most populous Japanese areas after dumping torrential rain on the southern Japanese islands of Okinawa. Authorities said the storm killed two people and injured at least 28 others as it moved across Okinawa on Wednesday, leaving 52,000 houses without power. Officials say their main concern now is the prospect of heavy rainfall on Japan's main islands. And in World Cup semifinal action in Brazil, Argentina has beaten the Netherlands in a penalty shootout by 4-2 after a game that was scoreless at the end of extra time. The Argentines converted all four of their penalty shots against the Dutch goalie. Maxi Rodriguez put away the winning spot kick. Argentine goalie Sergio Romero saved penalty shots by Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder. The result means that Argentina will play Germany in Sunday's championship game at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. I'm Michael Lipin in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |