VOA NEWS

November 6, 2015

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. NATO's secretary-general says the alliance must counter a Russian military build-up.



Jens Stoltenberg says Russia is bolstering its military forces from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean.

Speaking Thursday during NATO war games in Portugal, Stoltenberg said the Russians have concentrated military forces in Kaliningrad, the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean. He said it would give Russia control of key areas and limit access of the United States and its allies to certain regions.

"The question on our agenda now is how to overcome, how to deal with the increased Anti-Access/Area Denial capabilities of Russia." :Jens Stoltenberg.



The head of Russia's air force said Thursday the military has sent anti-aircraft missiles to Syria in order to protect Russian planes that have been conducting airstrikes there since the end of September.

Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Department spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told reporters Wednesday that less than 10 percent of Russian airstrikes in Syria are targeting the Islamic State group.



U.S. President Barack Obama says he "thinks there is a possibility" that a bomb destroyed a Russian jetliner over Egypt last week.

British Prime Minister David Cameron also says it is "more likely than not" the plane was bombed.

Cameron met in London Thursday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi.

"We're committed to working together in the short term to meet all concerns about the security of the airport in order to enhance the safety of departing passengers. We're also committed to working together to restore normal flights in both directions as soon as possible."

The Russians and the Egyptians say any theory about a bomb on the plane is nothing more than speculation.



This is VOA news.



A government website says Vietnamese Communist Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong has asked visiting Chinese President Xi Jinping "not to militarize" the South China Sea and to "maintain peace" there.

Mr. Trong held talks with Mr. Xi shortly after the Chinese leader arrived Thursday in Hanoi for a two-day visit. The visit is aimed at repairing the relations damaged by China's assertive moves in disputed waters claimed by China, Vietnam and other countries.



The outgoing U.N. envoy for Libya Thursday urged the country's rival governments to stop blocking the democratic process and vote on a political agreement that lays out the composition of a future government.

Bernardino León told the U.N. Security Council in his final briefing that in recent weeks there has been progress made toward resolving outstanding issues.



Tanzania's President John Magufuli was sworn in Thursday.

Magufuli and Tanzania's first female vice president took their oaths of office in front of a cheering crowd at Uhuru Stadium in Dar es Salaam.



The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, PKK, said Thursday the cease-fire it declared with Turkey ahead of the country's elections is over.

In comments carried by the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency, the PKK attributed the change in policy to what it called the government's focus on war and its latest attacks.



A United Nations group has accused Iraq of violating the human rights of its citizens in the name of combating acts of terrorism. Lisa Schlein reports.

The U.N. committee of 18 independent experts acknowledged Iraq's need to adopt measures to combat acts of terrorism. This, especially in light of the grave crimes being committed by the so-called Islamic State, including killings, abductions, enslavement, rape and torture.

But, it said these horrific acts do not justify the human rights violations reportedly being committed against civilians by Iraqi security forces and allied armed groups in their efforts to defeat IS.

Lisa Schlein, Geneva.



The international humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders says an internal review of last month's airstrikes by U.S. forces on its hospital in northern Afghanistan shows no reason why the facility should have come under attack.

The organization released a report Thursday documenting the events surrounding the airstrikes.



Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi says if her party wins elections this weekend, she will take a post "above that of president" in order to skirt a ban on her holding office.

Aung Suu Kyi held a news conference Thursday in which she announced her plan but did not elaborate.



On Wall Street, U.S. stock indexes were down today.



In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.