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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. The leading suspect in the Paris terrorist attacks appears in court.
Salah Abdeslam entered the courthouse in the French capital just hours after his extradition from Belgium. The 26-year-old Frenchman who lived in Brussels had been on the run since the November 13 Paris attacks. He was caught just days before the March 22 Brussels attack. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for both. Iraqi forces renewed their offensive toward the Islamic State stronghold of Mosul on Wednesday. They are pushing their way into villages on the southeastern outskirts of the city under cover of heavy airstrikes. By midday, troops had moved into the village of Mahana. The offensive had stalled for several weeks after Iraqi forces met stiff resistance from Islamic State fighters. The United States is urging Ukraine to start jailing corrupt officials after months of political turmoil. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Victoria Nuland said in Kyiv Wednesday she was encouraged by the government's commitment to reform. "Overall, I go home encouraged by the commitment of all the political forces to continuing and accelerating reform, economic reform, anti-corruption reform, in particular judicial reform." :Victoria Nuland. A former U.S. ambassador to NATO says the alliance should actively counter Russian claims that NATO's expansion threatens Russia. Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Kurt Volker says the Kremlin is continually pressing this narrative against the West, claiming that NATO broke its promises to Russia. Volker says if NATO lets the narrative stand without a rebuttal, it will give the impression that Russia's narrative has merit. This is VOA news. After a string of primary election victories Tuesday, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton appear close to becoming their parties' nominees for president. Trump now needs to win just half of the remaining available delegates to claim the nomination on the first ballot at this summer's Republican convention. On the Democratic side, Clinton is close to defeating her sole competitor, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders plans to begin laying off hundreds of campaign workers around the country in order to focus on winning the June 7 primary election in California. Donald Trump called Wednesday for sharp changes in U.S. foreign policy to put American interests first. "'America first' will be the major and overriding theme of my administration." In comprehensive foreign affairs speech in Washington, Trump attacked President Barack Obama's handling of U.S. foreign affairs as well as decisions made by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz, who is believed to have little or no chance to gain enough delegates to win at the party convention, has chosen his vice presidential running mate. "I have come to the conclusion that if I am nominated to be president of the United States that I will run on a ticket with my vice presidential nominee Carly Fiorina." Fiorina ran for the Republican presidential nomination herself before dropping out. Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has been sentenced to 15 months in prison. Hastert's case involves hush money paid to one of at least four male former students he allegedly abused sexually decades ago. Hastert must also undergo sex offender treatment, two years of supervised release after prison and pay a $250,000 fine. Before sentencing, Chicago Federal Court Judge Thomas Thornton described Hastert as a "serial child molester." OECD Secretary-General Ángel Gurría said during a news conference Wednesday at the London School of Economics that Britain's exit from the European Union would be a costly mistake that could result in a de facto "tax" on British families. "Unlike most taxes, however, this one will not finance the provision of public services or close the fiscal gap. The 'Brexit tax' would be a pure deadweight loss." British voters will decide whether they want to leave the European Union in a June 23 referendum. The press advocacy group, Freedom House, says in a report released Wednesday only one in seven people across the world live in countries where coverage of political news is robust, journalist's safety is guaranteed and there is a minimal state intrusion in media's affairs. It says freedom of press declined across the globe last year to its lowest point in more than a decade. That's the latest world news from VOA. |