A South Korean satellite is in orbit. Russia says no to a drug enforcement effort with the United States.
I’m David Deforest, reporting from Washington.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is urging the warring factions in Syria to halt their fighting, calling the situation in the country catastrophic. Mr. Ban made the appeal today at a conference in Kuwait where the U.N. (humanitarian) agency was seeking $1.5 billion to help Syrian refugees and those within the country affected by nearly two years of conflict.
French forces have entered Kidal, the last major (stronghold) of Islamist militants who seized control of northern Mali last year. The French military says troops took control of the Kidal airport and deployed in the town overnight, continuing a weeklong push to retake the north population centers. For more on this story, visit our website, VOA news.com.
Two people were killed in the Egyptian capital Cairo today as rock-throwing protesters fought with police. Medics said the victims were shot, but it was not clear who fired at them. Demonstrators have been rallying in Egypt since Thursday’s second (anniversary) of the uprising that overthrew former President Hosni Mubarak.
The U.S. Senate has voted 94 to 3 to confirm one of its own, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, as the U.S. (secretary) of state. Michael Bowman takes a look.
Kerry’s confirmation as secretary of state was never in doubt. Senators noted that Kerry has immersed himself in global (affairs) throughout his adult life. As a lawmaker, Kerry travelled the world for more than two decades. Kerry takes over from Hillary Clinton, who was secretary of state throughout Mr. Obama’s first term as president. Later this week, the Senate will begin formal consideration of another Obama (cabinet) pick, former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. Michael Bowman, VOA news, the capital.
Russia has announced it is pulling out of an agreement with the United States to work together to control illegal drugs. The order signed by Prime Minister Dimitri Medevedev appeared today on the Russian government website. It said Russia is withdrawing from the effort because it, quoting now, does not address current realities and has (exhausted) its potential. This comes just days after the United States said it was pulling out of a joint working group with Russia supporting civil society. The spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department told reporters Friday the decision was made in the light of Russian government recent restrictions on civil society.
South Korea says it has successfully launched a satellite into space, a major feat that comes just weeks after North Korea did the same. The Korea Space Launch Vehicle lifted off today from the Naro Space Center on the country’s southern coast. Talking to reporters, Science Minister Lee Ju-ho said the rocket successfully placed the (satellite) into orbit.
Japan’s largest airline says it experienced problems with batteries in its fleet of Boeing 787 Dream liners, even before an emergency landing this month prompted a worldwide safety review. All Nippon Airways said today it had to replace the aircraft lithium-ion batteries 10 times because they failed to charge properly or showed other problems. The airline, which is the world’s biggest Dream liner customer, says it did not report the problems to safety (regulators) because they did not compromise the plane’s safety.
A Dutch court has largely dismissed a bid by Nigerian farmers to hold gas and oil company Royal Dutch Shell responsible for pollution in their villages in the Niger Delta. The court in The Hague said only the company’s subsidiary, Nigerian Shell, will have to pay damages because it did not adequately protect against sabotage in one case. It rejected all claims against the parent company, saying that under Nigerian law, Shell was not responsible unless it operated with (negligence).
A global media monitoring group says press freedom did not improved last year in North Africa and the Middle East that coming despite the so-called Arab Spring. In its annual World Press Freedom Index released today, Reporters Without Borders ranked those regions as the worst in the world.
Britain’s largest grocery store (chain) says it is going to stop buying meat from an Irish firm at the center of a horse meat scandal. Tesco says the granted beef purchased from Silver crest contained meat purchased from outside the UK and Ireland, including horse DNA.
I’m David Deforest, more news on the internet at VOA news.com.