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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. Afghan government officials say that reclusive Taliban leader Mullah Omar is dead.
Abdul Hassib Seddiqi, the spokesman for Afghanistan's main intelligence agency, said that the Taliban leader died in a hospital in Karachi in 2013. However, he did not say why Mullah Omar died. President Ashraf Ghani's office also said that Omar died in 2013, but the Taliban has claimed that its leader is still alive. Here in Washington, the White House said the reports of Omar's death appeared credible and that U.S. intelligence agencies are looking into the circumstances of his death. Turkish warplanes bombarded Kurdish militants in northern Iraq Wednesday hours after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was impossible to continue peace efforts with the Kurds. Ankara's fighter jets hit shelters, depots and caves in six areas. It was the biggest assault since Turkey launched strikes last week against the Kurdish militants and Islamic State fighters in northern Syria. Iraq condemned the air attacks as a "dangerous escalation and an assault on Iraqi sovereignty." Turkey's assaults so far have been heaviest against Kurdistan Workers Party targets in Iraq and in southeastern Turkey. Ankara's pro-Kurdish opposition has accused Mr. Erdogan of launching, that is, the strikes as revenge for the party's strong showing in June's elections which kept him from having a majority in the Turkish parliament. For more on these stories, please log on to our website voanews.com. This is VOA news. U.S. lawmakers pressed top administration officials Wednesday for details on the international inspection regime that will enforce a landmark nuclear pact with Iran. Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain vented his frustration at Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz over Congress's inability to review agreements between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. "First of all, I personally have not seen those documents." "Which is astounding, to be honest with you, that is absolutely astounding that you have not seen the documents about the requirement for verification." "All I can say is that the agreement requires their cooperation with the IAEA, and this is the standard practice of the IAEA." Senators of both parties also pressed the secretaries on Iran's financial windfall from sanctions relief stemming from the nuclear pact and its desire and ability to use new revenue to buy weapons. The Republican-led Congress has less than two months to review the nuclear accord. The votes could come in September and both chambers are expected to reject the deal. President Obama has promised to veto any legislation that overturns the agreement. A two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress would be needed to override a presidential veto. Desperate migrants once again rushed the Eurotunnel terminal in Calais, France, in a renewed effort to get to England Wednesday. French authorities deployed more than 100 riot police to bolster security personnel. Hundreds of migrants have been trying night after night to rush the railway tunnel leading to England. Authorities in Calais said they encountered more than 1,500 migrants on Tuesday night after 2,000 attempted the crossing the previous night. French media reports a Sudanese man died trying to cross early Wednesday. He is believed to have been hit by a truck. That brings to nine the number of people who have died trying to cross into England since early June. Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have set up an international criminal court to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine a year ago. Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia, Ukraine and Belgium had expressed their support for such a tribunal. Ukraine and the West suspect the plane was shot down by either Russian soldiers or Russian-backed separatists. Moscow has repeatedly denied that. Meanwhile, investigators are looking into whether a piece of airplane debris found on a French Indian Ocean island is part of another Malaysia Airlines jet that disappeared without a trace in March of 2014. The two-meter-long piece looks like part of a wing and it was discovered on a beach on Reunion Island between Madagascar and Mauritius. For more, visit our website. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |