|
From Washington, this is VOA news. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry says it'll be a long fight against Islamic militants. Iranian ambassador's residence in attacked. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says it will take years to defeat the Islamic State militants, but that coalition airstrikes against the insurgents have made it "much harder" for them to launch new attacks. Secretary Kerry spoke in Brussels Wednesday at a meeting with foreign ministers from 60 coalition partners fighting the militant group. "One outcome of this meeting will be a statement that encompasses our message: that we are united and moving ahead on all fronts and that we will engage in this campaign for as long as it takes to prevail." Secretary Kerry says the U.S.-led airstrikes will continue as necessary while training and assistance for Iraq's security forces expand. Iran would not confirm U.S. assertions that it carried out airstrikes on Islamic State militants inside Iraq close to its border. U.S. military officials say American-built jets that Iran bought in the 1970s hit Islamic State targets in eastern Diyala province. The Pentagon says the U.S. does not operate in that area. A suicide car bomber attacked a U.N. convoy in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, killing at least three people and wounding seven others. The attack Wednesday occurred near the city's heavily secured international airport. A U.N. spokesman says no U.N. workers were injured or killed in the blast. The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility. New data shows the Ebola outbreak intensifying in Sierra Leone even as it stabilizes or drops off in other West African countries. The worst affected area was the capital, Freetown, where more than 200 new cases were reported. According to the World Health Organization, the overall death toll is just over 6,000. A car bomb blast outside the Iranian ambassador's residence in Yemen's capital Sana'a killed at least one person Wednesday and wounded at least 17 others. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed responsibility. Officials in Yemen say the new Iranian ambassador left the building just 10 minutes before the blast. Edward Yeranian reports. Ambulances rushed to the scene of the explosion which blew a hole in the Iranian ambassador's home. Yemeni media report the son of a security guard was killed. A number of government employees at a nearby ministry were also wounded. Bodyguards and employees at the ambassador's residence shouted and yelled as they picked through the rubble while security forces fired into the air to clear a path to the building. Edward Yeranian, Cairo. Israeli lawmakers have agreed to hold new elections March 17 after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would dissolve the current parliament "as soon as possible." Party officials decided on the date Wednesday a day after Mr. Netanyahu fired two key ministers and called for early elections. A grand jury in New York City voted not to indict a white police officer in the chokehold death of an unarmed black man in July. The decision reached Wednesday by the Staten Island grand jury not to bring charges against Officer Daniel Pantaleo threatened to add to the tensions that have simmered in the city since the July 17 death of Eric Garner. During the fatal encounter, Garner raised both hands in the air and told the officers not to touch him. Chokeholds are banned under the official policy of the New York Police Department. President Obama reacted swiftly to the grand jury decision, saying it underscores frustrations many African-Americans feel "that law enforcement is not working with them in dealing with them in a fair way." Hundreds of protesters began to gather in New York's Times Square, some holding signs. Venezuela's attorney general indicted opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on charges of being involved in an alleged plot to kill President Nicolas Maduro. The attorney general's office says Machado was charged with conspiracy for allegedly having links to the assassination plan against the president. Machado was at the forefront of major street protests against Maduro's Socialist government earlier this year. The International Criminal Court is giving prosecutors one week to either strengthen or drop charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. The trial has been postponed several times. Mr. Kenyatta faces charges of crimes against humanity for allegedly organizing post-election violence in late 2007 and early 2008. The unrest killed about 1,100 people in Kenya and displaced more than a half million others. Mr. Kenyatta says he is innocent. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |