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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter revealed Thursday that the U.S. military has been conducting joint patrols in the South China Sea with the Philippines.
"These patrols will continue to help build our inter-operability and improve the Philippine Navy, even as these patrols contribute to the safety and security of the region's waters." Speaking at a news conference in Manila with his Filipino counterpart, Carter said the first South China Sea joint patrol was carried out in March. Defense officials say a second one was completed in April. The announcement comes amid concerns by the U.S. and others about China's aggressive actions in disputed areas of the South China Sea. Speaking Thursday during his annual television call-in show, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested the United States has what he called "imperial ambitions." Commenting on another subject, he said Syrian people must engage in talks to agree on a new constitution, and that the solution to Syria's problems is not to be found in military action. The European Union accuses Turkey of "backsliding" on democracy. Members of the European Parliament Thursday approved an annual progress report on Turkey. The report criticized that nation's record on human rights and media freedom and urged the country to show progress on the rule of law and fundamental values. Two years after Islamist militants kidnapped more than 200 schoolgirls in northern Nigeria, a new video purports to show the missing girls or at least some of them. Until now, there has been almost no news about the 219 girls taken by Boko Haram militants in 2014 from a school in the town of Chibok. But a video emerged Wednesday, showing 15 of the girls. This is VOA news. The Turkish parliament has begun the process of lifting the immunity of leading parliamentary deputies of the pro-Kurdish party. Dorian Jones reports. Parliament is considering a motion by the ruling AKP to amend the constitution to ease immunity for parliamentary deputies. The move is widely seen as aimed at the pro-Kurdish HDP, with its leading members facing charges of supporting terrorism. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said opposition parties have an obligation to support the move in the battle against terrorism. The reform is expected to easily pass in parliament, with the main opposition Republican People's Party supporting it. Dorian Jones, Istanbul. The two U.S. Democratic presidential candidates, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, will debate Thursday in New York, just days before next week's nominating contest in the state. Pre-election surveys show Clinton with a lead of 10 percentage points. On the Republican side, polls in New York show businessman Donald Trump far ahead of his two opponents, Senator Ted Cruz and Ohio Governor John Kasich. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said Thursday he is "extremely concerned" about the widespread creation of offshore companies by wealthy people around the world to evade taxes. He also decried the push in Europe to curb migration as well as proposals by U.S. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to erect barriers along the U.S. southern border. "Smart leaders have to sit back and say, 'We are going to need migrants, we are going to need to increase the diversity and inclusiveness of our societies over time, not only because it's the right thing to do, but for economic reasons.'" Kim said he is also very worried about the recession in Russia, whose economy has been hobbled by declining oil revenues and Western sanctions. Syrian government delegates are due to attend peace talks with opposition representatives in Geneva Friday. They will try to bring an end to five years of civil war in that country. U.S. Congressman Keith Ellison, a Muslim, says the Islamic State group is threatening to kill him. The Islamic State issued death threats this week against a number of people it calls "politically active apostates" in the Western world. They include Huma Abedin, an aide to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says he was alarmed at a video of Russian war planes flying dangerously close to a U.S. warship. He said he will raise the matter directly with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. A State Department spokesman says Kerry described the Russian maneuvers as "unprofessional, needlessly provocative and dangerous." On Wall Street, stock markets concluded the day mixed. I'm David DeForest in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |