VOA NEWS

December 20, 2014

From Washington, this is VOA news. New Kenyan security rules signed into law. President Obama declares there will be [in] a response to the North Korean hacking. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.



Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta Friday signed into law a set of security measures that critics say could threaten civil liberties and free speech.

As Mr. Kenyatta signed the legislation, he warned: "We must all remember that we are still at war and still vulnerable to terror attacks."

With the new legislation, the amount of time terrorism suspects can be detained will be lengthened and punishments will be imposed on media outlets who distribute material deemed harmful to national security.



At a year-end press conference, U.S. President Barack Obama promised to respond to North Korea's hacking of Sony Pictures. VOA White House correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.

President Obama spoke to reporters as he does every year at year's end.

His message to North Korea after U.S. authorities on Friday confirmed Pyongyang was behind the attack on Sony Pictures was firm and direct.

"They caused a lot of damage, and we will respond. We will respond proportionally."

The president added he will be reviewing a range of options.

U.S. officials say North Korea was behind the hacking of computers at Sony Pictures in which sensitive information was stolen as the company prepared to release "The Interview," a comedy film showing the fictional assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Luis Ramirez, VOA news, at the White House.



There are new reports of sporadic fighting between Iraqi Kurdish fighters and members of the group calling itself the Islamic State, delaying the evacuation of the last Yazidis still trapped on Mount Sinjar. That's according to an Iraq lawmaker in the area.



More details on the story at voanews.com. This is VOA news.



U.S. officials have confirmed China's arrest of a Korean-American missionary who has operated a vocational school on the border with North Korea for years.

A lawyer for 73-year-old Peter Hahn said his client is suspected of embezzlement and possession of fraudulent receipts.

The U.S. State Department says a consular official visited Hahn Friday and will continue to provide diplomatic support.

Hahn ran a Christian aid agency in an autonomous region of northeast China where he provided cross-border aid to the poor in North Korea



United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon is touring West African nations in a show of United Nations support for the most-stricken countries in the Ebola crisis.

Mr. Ban visited Sierra Leone Friday, where he praised health care workers fighting Ebola as heroes. Earlier in the day in Liberia, Mr. Ban said there is reason to be "cautiously optimistic" the outbreak can be defeated.

He said more people are gaining access to treatment and things are getting better, but he warned that just one case can trigger epidemic.

According to the World Health Organization on Friday, the number of Ebola cases is at 18,600 and the death toll at 6,900.



Pakistan has intensified counterterrorism security operations near the border with Afghanistan, killing scores of Islamist militants since Tuesday's school massacre when militants killed 149 people, most of them children. Ayaz Gul has a report from Islamabad.

The military's media wing says that 32 insurgents were killed when troops ambushed them at two sites in the northwestern Khyber district, where the Pakistani Taliban are believed to have bases. It added forces killed another 18 insurgents in a separate raid in the tribal area on the Afghan border.

Authorities say that security forces killed eight Taliban militants, including an important commander in southwestern Baluchistan province, which also borders Afghanistan.

Pakistan observed a third day of national mourning on Friday.

Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad.



The U.N. General Assembly has passed a resolution urging North Korea be referred to the International Criminal court for its human rights situation.

The non-binding resolution passed Thursday urges the Security Council to refer North Korea to the ICC for crimes against humanity. It passed with 116 votes in favor, 20 against, and 53 abstentions.

The Security Council plans to discuss North Korean human rights on Monday. But it is not likely to refer the North to the ICC, since China, North Korea's main ally, will likely veto such a proposal.



More on all of the stories at voanews.com. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.