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From Washington, this is VOA news. Iraqi prime minister leaves office. Israel-Gaza truce holding. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
Embattled two-term Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says he is stepping aside and will support his nominated replacement. Mr. Maliki was under enormous international pressure to leave office. He announced his decision late Thursday in a nationally televised address, in which he pledged full support for nominee Haider al-Abadi. Mr. Maliki rapidly lost support of the international community and is widely accused of failing to unite Iraq's various factions during his eight-year tenure. President Obama says U.S. airstrikes have broken an Islamic militant group's siege on a mountain in Iraq where civilians have sought refuge. Mr. Obama said Thursday he does not believe an additional operation will be needed to evacuate the refugees targeted by the Islamic State for being members of Iraq's religious and ethnic minority. While on vacation in Massachusetts, Mr. Obama said U.S. airstrikes against the Islamic State militants would continue as the Sunni extremist group threatened U.S. personnel or facilities. "We will continue air strikes to protect our people and facilities in Iraq. We have increased the delivery of military assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIL on the front lines. And, perhaps most importantly, we are urging Iraqis to come together to turn the tide against ISIL, above all, by seizing the enormous opportunity of forming a new, inclusive government under the leadership of Prime Minister-designate Abadi." President Obama has ruled out sending any combat troops back into Iraq. Millions of people in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel are enjoying an extension of a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Egyptian mediators brokered a five-day extension of an existing truce to allow for more negotiations in Cairo aimed at reaching a deal to end the war in Gaza. The extension began at midnight Wednesday and remains despite a brief overnight exchange of rockets and airstrikes. There were no reports of causalities. Heavy shelling was reported in rebel-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine Thursday. The Donetsk City Council reported that two people were killed, two shopping centers and a house damaged -- all from shelling that hit near the city's center. It also reported a fire on the grounds of an oil storage facility. Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country will do everything in its power to stop the conflict in eastern Ukraine between the pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian armed forces. VOA's Gabe Joselow has more. In an address to Russian lawmakers Thursday, President Putin expressed his concern about the growing crisis in eastern Ukraine, saying the country has fallen into "chaos" and warning of a major "humanitarian catastrophe." But Ukrainian leaders accuse Russia of continuing to send supplies to rebels fighting in eastern Ukraine through the porous border between the two countries. In a further escalation of tensions, a convoy of some 300 Russian trucks said to be carrying relief aid to residents of the east made its way to a rebel-controlled area of the border. Ukraine and its allies have voiced suspicion that the Russian humanitarian convoy could be a guise for further military intervention in the east. Gabe Joselow, VOA news, Kharkiv, Ukraine. Korean Air is suspending air travel to Kenya as of August 20th as a measure to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus. Similar action was taken earlier in the month by the Dubai carrier, Emirates, which suspended air travel to Guinea. The World Health Organization says it does not recommend a ban on air travel to and from Ebola affected countries in West Africa. Lisa Schlein explains. The World Health Organization does not endorse a ban on travel or trade. It says air travel even from Ebola affected countries poses an extremely low risk of transmission of the disease. WHO Director of Alert and Response, Isabelle Nuttal, says Ebola is not airborne like influenza or tuberculosis. She says the Ebola infection is passed on only through direct contact with a sick person's body fluid, such as blood, vomit, sweat or diarrhea. Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva. Pope Francis is on a five-day visit to South Korea and says dialogue, and not "fruitless" displays of force, will help bring peace to the Korean peninsula. The pope met with South Korean President Park Geun-hye after arriving in Seoul Thursday. President Park said North and South Korea should get rid of fear and nuclear weapons and instead concentrate on reunification. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |