aug. 31
It is twenty-three hours thirty Universal Time and here is the news in Special English. ▼ President Obama says American fighting operations in Iraq have ended and that the Iraqi people are now responsible for their security. Mr. Obama is to speak on national television in about half an hour. His administration has released parts of his speech. He will discuss how ending the war is in the interest of Iraq as well as the United States. And he is expected to say that the most important duty for the United States is to rebuild the economy and put millions of Americans back to work. Earlier, Mr. Obama spoke to troops at the Fort Bliss army base in Texas. Many of the soldiers on the base served in Iraq during the seven-year-long war. The President told the troops that he will discuss the United States military's duties as advisors and trainers. NATO says resistance fighters have killed five American soldiers in separate attacks in Afghanistan. Four soldiers died Tuesday in a roadside bombing in the eastern part of the country. Another soldier was killed during an attack in the south. Roadside bombs killed seven American troops and an Estonian soldier on Monday. President Obama warned Tuesday of a difficult fight in Afghanistan. The head of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan said Tuesday that Taliban militants are still trying to extend their influence in parts of Afghanistan. General David Petraeus said this was true even as coalition forces began to secure areas in the south where the Taliban is strong.
Gunmen from the military part of Hamas have killed four Israeli settlers in the West Bank. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades claimed full responsibility for the shooting Tuesday. The group says the killings are part of a series of planned attacks. The attack took place near the entrance to the Israeli settlement of Kyriat Arba near the city of Hebron. Two men and two women were killed. The incident took place as Israeli and Palestinian leaders prepare to meet in Washington for direct peace talks. Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the killings. He promised action to prevent any further violence.
A United Nations official says rebels in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo could face war crimes charges for suspected mass rapes. The U.N. says the rebels in eastern Congo raped more than one hundred fifty women, many of them in front of their husbands and children. They blamed the attack on the Hutu militant group FDLR and the Mai Mai, another eastern Congolese militia. The rapes reportedly took place between July thirtieth and August third in and near the town of Luvungi.
You are listening to the news in VOA Special English.
United Nations officials warn that flood victims in Pakistan are facing threats from lack of food, shelter and hope. The leaders of the U.N. children's fund and World Food Program called on countries to increase support to Pakistan during a visit Tuesday. Also Tuesday, a U.N. official told reporters in Islamabad that Pakistan has received more than one billion dollars in aid and promises of aid but that is far from enough. Flooding from seasonal rains has killed an estimated one thousand six hundred people and affected nearly twenty million others.
Three members of Pakistan's cricket team possibly involved in illegally influencing games are to meet with Pakistani officials in London. Cricket officials and the Pakistani ambassador to Britain want to question the team captain, Salman Butt, and players Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asid. The three are accused of accepting illegal payments to make illegal throws during a game against England last week. A British newspaper made the accusations in an article published Sunday. Police officials in London have already questioned several Pakistani cricket players and seized their cell phones as part of the investigation.
Police in Nepal have arrested two Tibetan activists accused of spreading anti-Chinese publications. The arrests come days before Democracy Day, which is observed by Tibetans in Nepal on September second. Local police officials say Kelsang Nordup and Tashi Dawa were detained Monday in the town of Boudha. The publications were connected with a major demonstration planned for Democracy Day. The two exiled Tibetans are leaders of the New Age Network based in Nepal. The group is involved in organizing anti-Chinese protests in the Kathmandu area. Mr. Dawa is expected to be released Thursday, but Mr. Nordup may be held longer.
An Iranian newspaper says the wife of France's president should die after she condemned an Iranian decision to stone a woman to death. The newspaper Kayhan first said Carla Bruni-Sarkozy was a sex worker after she signed a document calling for the release of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani. Ms. Astiani is accused of having a relationship with two men after her husband died. Iranian state television also accused Ms. Burni-Sarkozy of immorality. Again on Tuesday, state media repeated the charge that she sells sex for money.
Hurricane Earl is moving toward the eastern United States, after striking islands in the Caribbean Sea. Weather experts have announced a hurricane watch for the coast of North Carolina. Tuesday, Hurricane Earl had winds of up to two hundred fifteen kilometers per hour. Experts say it could threaten parts of the eastern coast of the United States with dangerous winds and heavy rains. ▲ And now briefly, here again is the major news of the hour.
President Obama says American fighting operations in Iraq have ended and that the Iraqi people are now responsible for their security. NATO says resistance fighters have killed five American soldiers in separate attacks in Afghanistan. And, gunmen from the military part of Hamas have killed four Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
And, that's the news in VOA Special English coming to you from Washington. Source: VOA Special English August 31, 2010 2230 UTC
