VOA NEWS

November 21, 2015

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. At least 22 people were killed Friday when Islamic terrorists attacked a hotel in Mali.



Two al-Qaeda-linked groups, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and its affiliate El Mourabitoune, have claimed responsibility for the assault on the Radisson Blu hotel in Mali's capital city, Bamako.

The militants said in a statement they cooperated on the operation targeting the hotel which is popular with foreigners.

An operation to clear the hotel of gunmen ended late Friday afternoon after Malian special forces spent hours going room to room amid periodic sounds of explosions and gunfire.

Mali has been battling rebels linked to al-Qaeda for several years and al-Qaeda-linked groups claimed responsibility for an attack earlier this year on another hotel in southern Mali.



The United Nations Security Council has unanimously adopted a French-sponsored resolution that calls on all able states to fight the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq and increase efforts to prevent further attacks by the militant group.

The resolution comes in the wake of last Friday's attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead. It calls Islamic State "a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security."

The resolution calls on member states that have the capacity to take all necessary measures against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. It also urges states to intensify their efforts to keep their citizens from traveling to Iraq and Syria to join Islamic State.

The resolution stops short of authorizing military action because it was not drafted under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter.



This is VOA news.



European Union ministers have agreed to tighten inspections for all travelers including EU citizens entering the bloc.

As VOA Europe correspondent Luis Ramirez reports, the action comes in the wake of last week's attacks in Paris as governments voice concern that terrorists are taking advantage of the continent's open borders.

Justice and interior ministers gathered in Brussels Friday for an emergency meeting. French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said the need for action is urgent after the attacks in his country.

Cazeneuve said that strengthening of external border controls, particularly in light of the heightened terrorist threat, is indispensable for the security of European citizens.

French officials say some of those behind the massacres in Paris, including Abdelhamid Abaaoud, the alleged planner killed in a police raid Wednesday, took advantage of the refugee crisis to slip into France, using the chaos and Europe's open borders to transit freely and undetected.

Luis Ramirez, VOA news, London.



Russia says it has carried out a massive bombing campaign against Islamic State targets in Syria.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported to President Vladimir Putin Friday that Russian warplanes destroyed 15 oil facilities and more than 500 fuel trucks in bombings this week in a bid to cripple the economic and financial foundations of Islamic State.

Shoigu said that Russia's navy fired 18 cruise missiles Friday from ships in the Caspian Sea at targets in the provinces of Raqqa, Idlib and Aleppo.



Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard has been released on parole after spending nearly 30 years in a U.S. prison, a move welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Pollard, a former U.S. Navy Investigative Service civilian analyst, was sentenced to life in prison in 1987 after pleading guilty to selling classified defense documents to Israel.

Mr. Netanyahu said he welcomes Pollard's release. "I wish him on this first Sabbath that he's going to spend with his family a lot of joy, a lot of happiness, a lot of peace. May these be the hallmarks of the rest of his life."

The 61-year-old Pollard is expected to settle in New York while he spends at least the next five years on parole.



U.S. President Barack Obama plans to visit a refugee center in Malaysia Saturday amid a controversy at home over his plans to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees.

Concerns that Islamic extremists could use the refugee crisis to infiltrate the United States have led many lawmakers to insist the president's plan be scrapped or altered.



For more, visit our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.