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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting. The U.S. still not sure about aid to Kyiv.
The United States has not made a decision on whether to provide Ukraine with lethal military assistance in its fight against Russia-backed separatists. According to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, no options have been "on or off the table" and there is an "ongoing discussion." The New York Times says a report by eight former senior American officials urging the U.S. to send $3 billion in defensive arms and equipment to Ukraine is "fueling the broader debate" in Washington. Fighting has been raging in the self-declared separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Earlier Monday, a pro-Russian separatist leader in eastern Ukraine announced a "general mobilization" with the aim of bolstering separatist armed forces to as many as 100,000 fighters. A bomb exploded outside a stadium in northern Nigeria Monday just minutes after President Goodluck Jonathan left a campaign rally at the same site. Police say at least one female suicide bomber was involved in the attack. It happened in Gombe. Rescue workers say a second female bomber may have also died in the explosion. Eighteen people were treated for injuries at a local hospital. There has been no claim of responsibility for the bombing. A large-scale trial of two potential Ebola vaccines is starting in Liberia, all part of a global effort to prevent a repeat of the epidemic that's killed almost 9,000 people in West Africa. The study started Monday at a hospital in the capital, Monrovia. Yemeni tribal and security officials say that a U.S. drone strike Monday killed at least four suspected al-Qaeda insurgents. It will be the third American drone attack in a week. The latest attack targeted a car that may have been loaded with arms and explosives. This is VOA news. Al Jazeera journalist Peter Greste says it was a relief to be freed from an Egyptian prison. In an interview Monday with Al Jazeera, Greste said his release is a "massive step forward" for Egypt, but expressed concern about the journalists left behind. "Amidst all this relief, I still feel a sense of concern, a real sense of worry, because if it's appropriate for me, if it's right for me to be free, then it's right for all of them to be freed." Egypt deported Greste back to his home in Australia Sunday, releasing him from more than a year's imprisonment after his conviction for allegedly aiding the banned Muslim Brotherhood. But there is still no word on the fate of a second Al Jazeera journalist who was arrested with Greste in December, 2013. Canadian-Egyptian Mohammed Fahmy was given a 10-year term for also being in possession of a fired bullet casing. An Egyptian court sentenced 183 supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood to death on charges of killing about 15 policemen in the aftermath of the 2013 ouster of President Mohammed Morsi. The charges were related to an attack in August, 2013 on a police station in a village on the outskirts of Cairo where the policemen were killed. Members of Afghanistan's partially formed cabinet have started work four months after the so-called national unity government of President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah took office. Ayaz Gul has details. Eight ministers and the country's spy chief are among the first members of the Afghan cabinet to have taken office after clearing a nomination process that suffered repeated delays. The men were part of the list of 19 cabinet nominees jointly presented by President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah for parliamentary endorsement last week. The remaining 10 did not win confidence of majority of Afghan lawmakers. Three key ministers were approved -- Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Interior Minister Nur ul-Haq Ulumi and Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi. Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says Qatar is a significant contributing partner in the U.S.-led international coalition battling Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Secretary Kerry says he appreciates the many ways Qatar has been available to assist in anti-terrorism efforts in the Middle East, most recently in Yemen. His remarks Monday preceded talks with Qatar's foreign minister in Washington. President Obama sent a $4 trillion spending plan to Congress calling for higher taxes on the wealthy in 2016 and an end to mandated spending cuts and more money to help the country's financially strapped middle class. The president acknowledged Monday many of his proposals will face stiff opposition from Republicans in Congress. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |