VOA NEWS

July 24, 2014

From Washington, this is VOA news. The U.S. secretary of state continues to attempt to broker a Mideast cease-fire. Two Ukrainian planes shot down. I'm Ira Mellman reporting from Washington.



The United States top diplomat, Secretary of State John Kerry, said Wednesday that some progress has been made in negotiating a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas as Israel's president called weeks of deadly violence an impossible situation.

Here is Kerry: "President Abbas understands the road to the solution, and that's what we're working for. So we will continue to push for this cease-fire. We will continue to work with President Abbas and others in the region in order to achieve it. And I can tell you that we have, in the last 24 hours, made some progress in moving towards that goal."

Shuttling between Jerusalem and Ramallah to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry is seeking the mediated truce after clashes in Gaza have killed nearly 700 Palestinians and 30 Israelis in two weeks.

Israeli President Shimon Peres told Kerry he is still hopeful for a solution. Kerry has since traveled to Cairo.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Human Rights Council agreed in an emergency session in Geneva to investigate alleged violations during Israel's military offensive in Gaza.

The 47 members adopted a resolution presented by Palestinians by a vote of 29. Only the United States voted against the measure and there were 17 abstentions including some EU members.



Ukraine says it believes Russian forces operating inside Russia shot down two of its fighter jets Wednesday.

The claim of direct Russian involvement in the eastern Ukraine conflict came from the spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Colonel Andriy Lysenko. He told a news conference in Kyiv the fighter jets were flying more than 5,000 meters above rebel-held territory when they were shot down, far above what he says is the maximum capability of separatist anti-aircraft weapons.

Ukraine and Western intelligence agencies say rebels shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane last week from a much higher altitude, but the Russian-supplied system they used was returned to Russia.

Al Pessin, VOA news, Kyiv.



Two military planes carrying the remains of some victims of last week's downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 arrived in the Netherlands Wednesday, where citizens observed a national day of mourning.

The Dutch and Australian planes touched down at Eindhoven air base Wednesday where dignitaries were gathered on the tarmac.

The bodies carried in plain wooden coffins were silently placed in black hearses and driven away.

Mourners laid flowers at the air base to pay their respects and flags flew with half staff.



Dozens are believed to be dead following the crash of a TransAsia Airways flight in Taiwan. Authorities say 47 people were trapped in the wreckage and presumed dead on an island between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.

Reports say another 11 survived and have been taken to a nearby hospital.

The domestic flight was attempting to land at Magong Airport as Typhoon Matmo battered the area with heavy rains and strong winds.



Human Rights Watch says indiscriminate Iraqi government airstrikes on cities have killed at least 75 civilians and wounded hundreds since early June.

The group says in a new report that Iraqi forces are dropping barrel bombs even as Baghdad denies using the deadly and destructive weapons.

Cities under attack have included the extremist held towns of Fallujah, Mosul, and Tikrit.

Human Rights Watch says the fight against a vicious insurgency is no license to kill civilians anywhere the military thinks extremists may be lurking.

It says Iraqi commanders who order explosives used in populated areas have committed war crimes and should be held accountable.



Former army General Prabowo Subianto, who lost Indonesia's presidential election, has decided to challenge the result at the country's Constitutional Court.

The move was announced by his spokesman Wednesday, a day after the election commission named his rival, ex-Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, the winner of the July 9th vote.

Subianto says Mr. Widodo's campaign took part in large-scale vote-buying and other fraud and accuses the election commission of not doing its duty in investigating the claims.

The court challenge should take about a month to complete. Most analysts think it will prove unsuccessful.



I'm Ira Mellman. That's the latest world news from VOA.