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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting. U.S. envoy attacked in South Korea.
The U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert, was injured in an attack by an armed assailant in Seoul. Local media reports say Lippert has been transported to a hospital for treatment. Local TV carried a picture showing the ambassador after the assault, with his right hand raised to his face and his left hand smeared with blood. The extent of his injuries is not known. The Yonhap news agency says a man only identified by his surname, Kim, was arrested after the attack. Dozens of miners are missing and feared dead after an explosion Wednesday at a coal mine in the rebel-held part of eastern Ukraine. Rebel authorities in the separatist stronghold of Donetsk say the explosion was not caused by shelling that has hit frequently in the area. A rescue operation is ongoing at the local coal mine in Donetsk. Hoover, rescue crew say they are being hampered by pro-Russian separatists in the city. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk blames Moscow. "That is why I publicly address the president of the Russian Federation to give instructions to these bastards to allow our mine rescue brigades to save the lives of miners." Local authorities say over 200 workers were inside the mine at the time of the explosion, and what caused it is not clear. A top U.S. official says Washington is considering imposing new sanctions against Russia if a Ukraine cease-fire deal reached last month in Minsk continues to be violated. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland told the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday the new sanctions would be imposed should Russia fail to implement the accord between Russia-backed separatists and Ukraine's government. This is VOA news. Russian opposition activists say they will publish documents gathered by opposition leader Boris Nemtsov before his February 27 murder that purport to show Russia's direct military role in Ukraine. Activist Ilya Yashin, a close Nemtsov ally, said Wednesday the evidence gathered by the slain activist includes details obtained from parents of Russian soldiers killed while fighting on Ukrainian soil. Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead last Friday as he and his companion walked just steps from the Kremlin. He was to attend opposition protest in Moscow on Sunday. Instead, tens of thousands of supporters turned out to mourn his death. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrapped up three days of nuclear talks in Switzerland Wednesday. Officials in both sides say progress was made. A framework deal faces a deadline at the end of this month. The president of Chad says his forces know the location of Abubakar Shekau, the leader of the Nigerian insurgent group Boko Haram, and is calling on him to surrender or be killed. President Idriss Deby says Shekau narrowly escaped when Chadian forces liberated the Nigerian town of Dikwa from Boko Haram on Tuesday. Mr. Deby says if Shekau does not surrender, he will suffer the same fate as the insurgents who died in the town. Lesotho's leading opposition party formed a coalition government following a snap election which gave no group an outright majority. The Democratic Congress finished a close second in last Saturday's election with 37 seats, three seats behind Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's All Basotho Convention. Tensions are rising again on the Korean peninsula as the United States and South Korea conduct joint military drills this week. VOA's Brian Padden reports. Every year the United States and South Korea conduct a large-scale, weeks-long military exercise to prepare for a possible attack from North Korea. And every year Pyongyang responds with harsh rhetoric and a display of military force. This year is no different. Pyongyang fired two missiles into the sea on Monday. On Wednesday North Korea's foreign minister warned his country has the nuclear capability to conduct a preemptive strike. Military readiness remains a priority on both sides of the Korean border and no imminent meaningful prospects for peace seem to be forthcoming. Brian Padden, Seoul. China's defense spending will increase by 10 percent this year. That is the latest double-digit increase for the world's largest standing military. The figure announced Wednesday means China's officially declared military budget would amount to about $145 billion in 2015. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |