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I'm VOA's Joe Ramsey with your worldwide news update.
Syria's new interim prime minister says he wants to deliver basic services, resettle refugees and start tackling other vast challenges facing an economy hollowed out by war, corruption and sanctions under the Assad regime. But Syria's coffers are empty of foreign currency. Reuters correspondent Lucy Fielder has more. Long queues form at a Damascus bakery on Wednesday, one of many signs of Syria's critical economic problems. As the new interim prime minister, Mohammed al-Bashir said he wanted to bring back millions of Syrian refugees and provide basic services, but would struggle too without foreign currency. Syria's coffers contain only local pounds worth barely anything, Bashir told Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Serra. Bashir ran a rebel-led government in a tiny pocket of northwestern Syria before the 12-day rebel offensive toppled President Bashar al-Assad. In the capital, banks have reopened, as have shops, and there are fewer armed men about. But rebuilding Syria will be a colossal task, following a civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people. International sanctions on the Assad regime have also gutted the economy. Two senior U.S. congressmen, a Republican and a Democrat, wrote a letter calling for Washington to suspend some sanctions on Syria. The most punishing ones are up for renewal this month, and the former rebels have told Reuters they are in touch with Washington about potentially easing them. Bassel Hamwi, head of the Damascus Chambers of Commerce, told Reuters the new government has told business leaders it will adopt a free market model after decades of state control and integrate Syria into the global financial system. Reuters correspondent Lucy Fielder. This is VOA News. U.S. officials say Russia might again launch its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine soon. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh cited a U.S. intelligence assessment on Wednesday. "It's possible that Russia could do it in the coming days. I don't have an exact date for you. I think it's important to note that, should Russia choose to launch this type of missile, it's not gonna be a game changer on the battlefield. It's just yet another attempt to inflict harm and casualties in Ukraine. You know, we've seen this before. They're trying to use every weapon that they have in their arsenal to intimidate Ukraine." The warning comes as Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday it may retaliate against Kyiv for an attack on a military base in the Rostov region in southern Russia. FBI Director Christopher Wray says he intends to step down next month when U.S. President Joe Biden leaves office. AP correspondent Sagar Meghani reports. Wray's announcement comes days after President-elect Trump said he'd nominate Kash Patel to take the job he gave Wray in 2017. They clashed from the start. During Wray's confirmation hearing, he split with Trump over the probe into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. "I did not consider Director Mueller to be on a witch hunt." The FBI ended up entangled in explosive probes of Trump that led to two indictments and just days ago, "Well, I can't say I'm thrilled with him." :Trump on NBC's Meet the Press. He calls Wray's resignation a "great day for America." Wray told the FBI workforce his resignation is "the best way to avoid dragging the bureau deeper into the fray." Sagar Meghani, Washington. New York police said on Wednesday that evidence from the killing of an American health care executive links the suspect to last week's shooting. AP correspondent Haya Panjwani reports. The gun found on the suspect in the killing of the UnitedHealthcare CEO matches shell casings found at the scene. "We were able to match that gun to the three shell casings that we found in Midtown at the scene of the homicide." New York City's police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, made the announcement. "We're also able in our crime lab to match the person of interest's fingerprints with fingerprints that we found on both the water bottle and the Kind bar near the scene of the homicide in Midtown." Police had said earlier that they believe the gunman bought the items at a nearby coffee shop while waiting for his target. I'm Haya Panjwani. That wraps up this update, but the world and news never stop. For additional updates, visit our website, voanews.com. I'm Joe Ramsey, VOA News. |