From Washington, this is VOA News. Iran’s supreme leader threatens retaliation against sanctions on his country. A brutal Khmer Rouge’s jailer is sent to jail for life. I’m Dave Deforest, reporting from Washington.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned that his country will retaliate against Western-backed (oil sanctions) and any threat of attack. Khamenei's comments came in a speech on state television today as he marked the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran.
The United Nations has announced the (famine) in southern Somalia is officially over. The head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization spoke to reporters today in Nairobi, as we hear from Gabe Joselow.
FAO's new Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva delivered what he called (good news) following his trip this week to southern Somalia. “We can say that no more any region in Somalia under famine conditions.” Da Silva says long-awaited rains, an improved (harvest) and the enormous humanitarian response to the famine during the past six months helped lower the famine classification. Still, the United Nations cautions that hunger in Somalia and other regions of the Horn of Africa remains a (serious threat). Gabe Joselow, VOA News, Nairobi.
Health officials in Egypt say two protesters have been shot and killed fighting with police in the city of Suez. The French news agency quotes officials as saying 30 people were (injured) after 74 died in violence between rival soccer fans in Port Said Wednesday. Demonstrators converged on Cairo to protest the failure of Egypt’s military to prevent the violence.
The U.S. says its (labor market) surged last month, with nearly a quarter million workers added to company payrolls. The U.S. unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percent to 8.3 percent. That’s the lowest in almost three years.
The United Nations-backed (war crimes) tribunal in Cambodia has ordered the Khmer Rouge's main jailer to spend the rest of his life in prison. Kaing Guek Eav was sentenced for crimes it says were among the worst in recorded human history. The ruling increased a lower court's 19-year sentence that had been appealed by prosecutors as too lenient. Andrew Cayley is a co-prosecutor. “We were successful in the two major prongs of our appeal. We were successful in ensuring that the cumulative conviction was overturned.” The president of the court said Kaing Guek Eav, better known as Duch, deserves the (highest penalty) available. The tribunal said Duch was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 14,000 people.
Members of the United Nations Security Council are considering a new draft resolution to end the (bloodshed) in Syria, this one with an amendment designed to overcome Russian objections. U.N. ambassadors say the new draft will be sent back to their governments for (evaluation).
Officials believe more than 100 people are still missing after Thursday's ferry accident off the coast of Papua New Guinea. And they may be (trapped inside) the sunken vessel. About 350 people were aboard when it grounded. Nearly 250 were rescued.
I’m Dave Deforest. More news at voanews.com.