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From Washington, this is VOA news. The U.S. government approves a short-term spending bill. Sierra Leone to ban Christmas celebrations. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.
The U.S. Senate has approved a short-term funding bill that will keep the federal government running through Wednesday while lawmakers continue debating a $1.1 trillion spending package. Senators passed the bill on a voice vote Saturday less than 10 hours before a previous stopgap bill was due to expire. The bill was already approved by the House of Representatives. It now goes to President Barack Obama for his signature. Sierra Leone officials have announced plans to ban public Christmas celebrations starting December 20. A government spokesman said the decision was made to reduce physical contact among people in public in order to slow transmission of the Ebola virus. The World Health Organization said this week that Sierra Leone has become the hardest-hit nation in the West African region where Ebola outbreak is centered. Now critics say the ban will do nothing to contain the virus and will infringe upon the freedom of religion as enshrined in Sierra Leone's constitution. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir is claiming victory over the International Criminal Court after the court's prosecutor suspended the investigation of alleged war crimes in Darfur. Speaking in Khartoum Saturday, President Bashir said the Sudanese people "defeated" the ICC by refusing to hand over Sudanese officials to what he called "colonial courts." ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said Friday she had "no choice but to hibernate investigative activities" in the Bashir case and shift those resources to other urgent cases. The charges stem from charges in 2003 in Darfur. More on these stories at voanews.com. This is VOA news. Reports say at least 20 people have been killed in a string of Taliban attacks in Afghanistan Saturday. The deaths reportedly include two American soldiers. VOA's Ayaz Gul in Islamabad has more. Afghan authorities say a suicide bomber detonated his explosives Saturday near a bus carrying local soldiers in Kabul. The powerful blast destroyed the vehicle and killed at least seven personnel on board while wounding at least 10 others including civilians. Meanwhile, authorities in the southern Helmand province reported that Taliban gunmen riding motorbikes shot dead 12 mine clearing workers and wounded many others. Also, a U.S. defense official was reported Saturday as saying that a bomb attack on a NATO convoy north of Kabul killed two American soldiers the previous night. Insurgent violence has spiked as most international combat forces prepare to leave the country on December 31. Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad. Tens of thousands of people rallied in Washington DC, New York and other U.S. cities on Saturday to protest police killings of unarmed black men and to call for law enforcement reforms. Relatives of Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and Trayvon Martin -- four youngsters killed in incidents over the past two years -- took part in the Washington event labeled the "Justice for All" march. Several thousand protesters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the U.S. Capitol building. Near the Capitol, they heard speeches from the family members and civil rights activist Al Sharpton, who organized the event. Kirsten John Foy is another one of the organizers: "We are here because some people in this nation do not value our lives. And so we are here to say if you don't value our lives, we do." A larger demonstration took place in New York, where tens of thousands joined an event termed the "Millions March." Other marches and rallies are going on across the country including Boston, Chicago and San Francisco. Voters in Japan have begun casting ballots in an early general election likely to keep Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal-Democratic Party in power. Vote counting is expected to begin Sunday night, with normally reliable exit polls expected soon afterward. In Lima, Peru, the United Nations talks on a deal to curve climate change have stalled. Meetings had continued into Saturday a day after the talks were scheduled to end. Rich and poor countries remain in disagreement over who should be responsible for cutting down carbon pollution. How to divide emissions cuts has long been a point of contention. Negotiators from 200 countries are trying to make progress in time for a key summit in Paris next year when governments hope to adopt a new global climate pact. More at voanews.com. I'm Vincent Bruce in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |