The world pledges money for the military operation in Mali. UN officials appeal for humanitarian aid for Syria. I'm David Deforest reporting from Washington.
International donors have pledged hundreds of millions of dollars to support a force to fight Islamist militants in northern Mali. The pledges came at a conference today in Addis Ababa where the US promised 96 million dollars, the African Union 50 million. Germany said it would add 20 million to the effort. Other (donors) include the West African bloc ECOWAS, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia. In Tokyo, Japan offered 120 million dollars for the force to be known as the African-led International Mission to Mali. For more on this story, check our website VOA news.com.
The head of Egypt's military is warning that the country's political crisis could lead to the collapse of the state. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who also served as Defense Minister, made the comments today in a speech to military academy cadets. Sissy's warning followed a night of protests with hundreds of anti-government demonstrators packing the streets of Egyptian cities. VOA' s Elizabeth Arrott says the demonstrations are continuing despite a (curfew).
What they did was to actually organize rallies right before curfew was to go into effect. In some of the cities under this curfew actually they arranged for football games, but mainly national rallies on the streets, to show that they were going to defy any kind of order from the president. These obviously are very angry young people, mainly, and they have been out in force for days now, much of it anti-Morsi but also (anti-police).
VOA' s Elizabeth Arrott.
Somali officials say at least 2 people were killed and 3 wounded when a bomber blew himself up outside the Somali Prime Minister's office. Mohammed Yusuf takes a look.
The bomber set off the blast near a group of soldiers killing 2 people and wounding others. The president was out of the country and the prime minister is reported to be safe. According to some of the guards of the prime minister, the attacker was an al Shabab defector. There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the (blast). Al Shabab power has waned but the group is still considered a threat. Earlier this month, the group executed a French hostage, Denis Allex, and has warned it will kill a group of Kenyan hostages unless Kenya releases Muslims arrested on charges of terrorism. Mohammed Yusuf for VOA NEWS, Nairobi.
United Nations humanitarian officials are making appeals for international aid for Syria as those affected by 2 years of fighting struggle for basic services. , who is director of operations for the UN humanitarian agency, told reporters in New York Monday an estimated 4 million people are in need of assistance. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is said to lead a humanitarian (pledging) conference scheduled for Wednesday in Kuwait.
Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition met with representatives of more than 50 nations Monday in Paris appealing for 500 million dollars to help set up a (provisional )government for Syria.
President Barack Obama is to highlight immigration proposals today after a bipartisan group of US senators unveiled an immigration reform plan Monday. The plan includes a path to (citizenship) for those in the country illegally. Mr.Obama will speak in Nevada, a state among those most affected by illegal immigration.
India's supreme court is rejecting a request to move the trial of 5 men accused of the premeditated rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old female student. In New Delhi today, a 3-judge panel said the petition to have the trial moved is not valid because the attorney filing it no longer represents one of the (defendants).
Police in northwestern Pakistan say a gunman has killed a police officer escorting a polio vaccination team. This is the latest in a series of attacks on polio vaccination workers.
North Korea issued new threats against the South and its allies today saying it views a recent expansion of United Nations Security Council (sanctions) as an act of war.
A Guatemalan judge is ordering former dictator, José Efraín Ríos Montt, to be tried for the genocide of nearly 2000 indigenous Mayans in the early 1980s. The 86-year-old former (dictator) is accused of being behind a so-called scorched earth policy in 1982 and 1983.
From the VOA NEWS Center in Washington, I'm David Deforest.
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