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From Washington, this is VOA news. French media report the data recorders found in the wreckage of a Russian passenger jet on the Sinai show a bomb brought down the plane last week, killing all 224 on board.
A French news agency source says authorities are quoting investigators the so-called black boxes show everything was normal aboard the Russian Metrojet. Then 24 minutes into the flight, "suddenly there was nothing," it says, with one of the boxes registering a loud sound and a "violent, sudden end," strongly indicating that a bomb went off. Islamic State militants claimed responsibility for blowing up the plane, but has not given any proof. The U.S. moved Friday to boost security at airports in the Middle East where passenger and cargo flights take off for the United States, even as investigators continue to probe whether a bomb brought down a Russian jetliner over the Sinai last weekend. Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson made the announcement. Later, White House spokesman Josh Earnest was asked about the security plan: "This is just a prudent response and the exercise of an abundance of caution, a base on information that has been learned about this possible terrorist attack in the Sinai Peninsula. And so this is just a series of steps that the secretary of homeland security believes should be taken out an abundance of caution based on what we know about what might have happened aboard the Metrojet flight 9268." White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the expanded security procedures will take place at fewer than 10 airports in the region. This is VOA news. The global chemical weapons watchdog says it has confirmed "with utmost confidence" that mustard gas was used during an attack on a town in northern Syria in August. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Friday the gas killed an infant and poisoned two others during fighting in the town of Marea. The group did not say who used the outlawed chemical. But activists and other rebel groups blame Islamic State, which is also fighting to topple the Syrian government. The United States suspects Islamic State has used mustard gas in the past. Political campaigning in Myanmar has drawn [close] to a close now ahead of a national vote that could bring to power Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. "Even if we win 100 percent, we would like to make it a government of national reconciliation in order to set a good precedence for our country but it should not be a zero-sum game -- winner taking all and loser losing everything. This is not what democracy should be about." Myanmar's President Thein Sein has again pledged to hold free and fair elections with a result reflecting what he called the people's genuine desire. Western nations and human rights groups are calling for free, fair and transparent elections on Sunday. The national election will be the first since 2011 when, after nearly 50 years, a military dictatorship ended in the country formerly known as Burma. President Obama has rejected the controversial Keystone XL project, a plan to build an oil pipeline to transport Canadian crude to the U.S. Gulf states. After [an interview] review, Mr. Obama announced the project is not int the national interest of the U.S. Here is Mary Alice Salinas. The Keystone XL pipeline project had become a centerpiece of the debate over President Obama's environmental agenda and stated commitment to take bold action to curb climate change. With the U.N. summit on climate change set for Paris in December, Obama rejected construction of the oil pipeline that would have carried crude from Canada to U.S. ports along the Gulf of Mexico. "The State Department has decided that the Keystone XL pipeline would not serve the national interests of the United States. I agree with that decision." The decision drew sharp and quick reaction from members of the Republican-led Congress who backed construction of the pipeline, saying it would create jobs, reduce oil prices and U.S. reliance on foreign oil. Mary Alice Salinas, the White House. And get more on this story and the rest of the hour's news. Check out our website. You can find us at voanews.com. I'm Steve Norman in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |