VOA News Transcript Videos Week 46, 2014

Monday, November 10th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. Iran nuclear talks extended. White House alarmed over military buildup in eastern Ukraine. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
Negotiators for the U.S., Iran, and the European Union will hold a second day of high-level talks in Oman Monday on the future of Iran’s nuclear program. They are working to resolve differences ahead of a deadline fast approaching. VOA’s Pam Dockins reports.
Secretary of State Kerry, Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif and EU negotiator Ashton smiled but made no comment to reporters about the talks as they opened their session on Sunday.
But as he traveled to Oman, Zarif did say that he thought the most important issues that needed to be discussed were uranium enrichment and sanctions.
“It is important for the West to understand that sanctions have never contributed to the resolution of this issue, sanctions are not a part of a solution, sanctions are the most important part of the problem.”
Negotiators are working against a November 24th deadline to balance Iran’s desire to enrich uranium for fuel and Western concerns that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons.
Pam Dockins, VOA news, Oman.
Thousands of illuminated white balloons were released into the night skies over Berlin as the German capital concluded Sunday’s celebration of the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The helium-filled balloons were perched on poles matching the 3.6-meter height of the Berlin Wall and stretched for 15 kilometers.
In a day marked by solemnity and sheer joy, tens of thousands of people flocked to a citizens’ party at the Brandenburg gate.
Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel led the day of events, including the placing of a rose in one of the few remaining sections of the wall to commemorate those who died trying to escape to the West.
This is VOA news.
The White House is voicing “grave concern” over reports of military reinforcements pouring into eastern Ukraine from neighboring Russia, including the cross-border transfer of heavy weapons and tanks.
National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan also warned that any move by pro-Russian rebels to seize more territory in Ukraine’s embattled east would be seen as a “blatant violation” of a cease-fire deal with the Kyiv government.
The latest U.S. warning comes as European monitors reported convoys of heavy weapons and armor moving into the east along with a heavy shelling of the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk.
Senior Iraqi officials are reporting that the leader of the Islamic State group, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, was wounded in an airstrike, but the Pentagon says it has no such information.
Iraq’s Defense Minister Khalid al-Ubaydi reportedly issued a message on his Facebook page confirming that Baghdadi was wounded in a U.S. airstrike last Friday in the northern city of Mosul.
Various other reports claim the airstrike killed one of Baghdadi’s close aides.
Pakistani military officials say two soldiers and 17 militants were killed in clashes near the Afghanistan border Sunday. The soldiers came under fire in North Waziristan.
Earlier Sunday, army officials said 13 militants were killed in airstrikes in the nearby Khyber tribal region. They said the dead included an “important terrorist commander known for training suicide bombers.”
Two Americans freed by North Korea have returned safely to the United States.
Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller arrived Saturday night at a military base in the Pacific Coast state of Washington.
They flew in the company of U.S. National Intelligence Director James Clapper, who worked to gain their freedom.
In a brief news conference at the base, Kenneth Bae expressed thanks to those who had been, in his words, “supporting me and lifting me up and not forgetting me.”
Bae – a Korean-American missionary – had been in detention since 2012 on a conviction of anti-government activities while leading a group of tourists.
Miller had been in prison since April for tearing up his tourist visa in the Pyongyang airport and demanding asylum.
China’s President Xi Jinping says while the country’s economy faces challenges, it’s not that bad. Bill Ide explains.
President Xi Jinping says that as China adapts to what he calls a “new normal” of slower growth and slacking exports, the country’s growth rate is still ranked as one of highest in the world.
Mr. Xi says “some people worry that China’s economy will fall further. He says “there are indeed risks.”
China’s economy is now at the lowest point since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
Mr. Xi’s remarks came at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s CEO Leaders Summit.
Bill Ide, VOA news, Beijing.
I’m Ray Kouguell in Washington.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.

Tuesday, November 11th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. Deadly suicide bombing hits Nigerian school. President Obama promises U.S. commitment to Asia. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
At least 48 people have been killed in a suicide bombing at a school in northeastern Nigeria. Many of them were students.
The blast happened Monday in the town of Potiskum in the state of Yobe as students were gathering for a morning assembly at a government-run secondary facility focused on science.
Medical workers say at least 79 people were injured, many seriously. Eyewitnesses say the bomber was dressed like a student.
There has been no claim of responsibility, but suspicion is falling on militant group Boko Haram.
President Obama says his government “welcomes the rise of a prosperous and peaceful China.” He commented during a speech to business leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing Monday.
“This is my sixth trip to Asia as president, and my second this year alone. And that’s because, as I’ve said on each of my visits, America is a thoroughly Pacific nation. We’ve always had a history with Asia. And our future — our security and our prosperity — is inextricably intertwined with Asia.”
President Obama also announced a new visa policy with China that will increase the validity of short-term tourist and business visas issued to one another citizens from one to ten years.
Iran, the United States and the European Union have wrapped up two days of talks in Oman without any breakthrough on a comprehensive nuclear agreement.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union envoy Catherine Ashton were trying to reach a deal Monday ahead of the looming November 24th deadline for a pact.
This is VOA news.
A team of 50 American troops deployed in Iraq’s volatile western Anbar province for the first time in the fight against Islamic State jihadists.
U.S. officials say the team is visiting the al-Asad Air Base to survey the facility for potential use of a larger advise-and-assist operation.
The U.S. Defense Department says it cannot [collaborate] confirm reports that Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed or wounded in the U.S. airstrike in northern Iraq last Friday.
A Pentagon spokesman says that U.S. forces are not specifically targeting Baghdadi in the strike but are trying rather to degrade the group’s ability to command its forces.
The jihadi group known as Ansar Beit al Maqdis put out a message declaring its loyalty to the Islamic State. We get details from Edward Yeranian.
In an audio message purportedly from Ansar Beit al Maqdis, the militant group claims to have pledged its loyalty to the Islamic State and its self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The voice cites a number of verses from the Koran to support Ansar Beit al Maqdis’ decision to support the Islamic State. It also says Islamic State and its supporters are waging a battle against what it called “Jews and crusaders.”
Edward Yeranian, Cairo.
Knife-wielding Palestinians carried out two attacks Monday in Israel, killing a young woman and critically wounding a soldier.
It was the latest violence over tensions at a Jerusalem holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says a U.N. plan for a cease-fire in rebel-contested Aleppo was “worth studying.”
Mr. Assad says the plan, however, will need to be worked on to achieve its goals of “returning security” to Aleppo.
The plan envisions a freeze in fighting to allow for humanitarian aid through a series of small-scale, locally-negotiated truces.
The three-year civil war in Syria has claimed at least 200,000 lives.
New reports of violence and convoys of heavy weaponry on the move in eastern Ukraine Monday — they are increasing doubts about the viability of a shaky cease-fire reached between Kyiv and Russia-backed separatists in September.
The Donetsk regional administration reports three civilians and a Ukrainian serviceman were killed and seven others wounded Monday.
The United States opened the first of up to 17 Ebola treatment units it is building in Liberia.
The new clinic opened Monday in Tubmanburg, about 60 kilometers north of the Liberian capital, Monrovia.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people infected with Ebola appears to be decreasing in Monrovia, but more cases are being detected in other areas of Liberia. More than 2,700 people in Liberia have died from Ebola.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.

Wednesday, November 12th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. President Obama seeks new level in U.S. relationship with China. Last known U.S. Ebola patient walks out of a hospital disease free. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
President Obama says he wants to take the U.S. relationship with China “to a new level.”
During the first of two days of meetings in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping, President Obama said the whole world benefits when the U.S. and China are able to work together.
Their meetings are being held alongside the Beijing-sponsored Asia-Pacific Economic Summit, where leaders gave their initial approval to a China-led free trade zone.
President Obama and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin met briefly on the sidelines of the conference in Beijing.
A U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman says the topics included Iran, Syria and Ukraine, but did not provide additional details.
A New York doctor who is the last known Ebola victim in the United States has been cured of the deadly disease and left a hospital on Tuesday.
Officials at a New York hospital say that “after a rigorous course of treatment and testing,” 33-year-old Craig Spencer was declared free of the Ebola virus and “poses no public health risk.”
Spencer worked for Doctors Without Borders. He contracted Ebola while treating patients in Guinea and was hospitalized after returning to the U.S. last month.
Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan says he will seek a second full term. Mr. Jonathan made the expected announcement at a rally in the capital, Abuja, on Tuesday.
Mr. Jonathan has come under intense criticism for failing to stop Boko Haram.
Nigeria is set to hold general elections in February. The ruling People’s Democratic Party is being challenged by a new coalition of opposition parties called the All Progressives Congress.
This is VOA news.
NATO’s military commander is expressing concern over an increasing flow of weaponry and military supplies to Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.
That’s happening as European observers in the region reported seeing another unmarked military convoy near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove says there has been “increased movement” of armored weapons and other military equipment into eastern Ukraine over the past several days.
Negotiators from Iran and a group of six leading nations held another round of nuclear talks in Oman Tuesday. The talks came as the deadline approaches for reaching an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
Abbas Araghchi is Iran’s deputy foreign minister and senior nuclear negotiator: “Negotiations in the past two days and discussions were very useful. But we are not still in the position to say that we have made progress.”
The two sides have been trying for almost a year to reach a comprehensive, lasting agreement after deciding to extend their initial six-month ???window until November 24.
The U.N. refugee agency is warning it will have to cut winter aid for almost one million displaced Iraqis and Syrians because of a severe funding shortage. Lisa Schlein has details.
The U.N. refugee agency warns of very tough times ahead for hundreds of thousands of people in conflict-ridden Syria and Iraq. Because of a funding shortfall of more than $58 million, the UNHCR says it will have to concentrate its efforts on helping the most vulnerable survive the harsh winter.
The vicious onslaught of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq has forced 1.9 million people to flee for their lives. These people are bereft of homes, comfort, of any belongings that could make their lives bearable during the coming months.
Lisa Schlein, Geneva.
Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man and wounded another during clashes Tuesday in the West Bank. It’s the latest as tensions rise over the Temple Mount, disputed Jerusalem’s holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews.
Veterans Day activities are winding down here in the United States. A huge crowd is attending a “Concert for Valor” on the National Mall here in Washington, featuring rock-and-roll legend Bruce Springsteen, rhythm-and-blues singer Rihanna, country star Carrie Underwood and the heavy metal band Metallica.
Earlier Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden spoke at Arlington Cemetery to honor American military veterans, calling them the best that this country has had to offer.
“As every adversary in every age who has ever come up against you has learned, American warriors never bend, never break and never, ever, ever yield.” — Vice President Joe Biden.
I’m Ray Kouguell in Washington.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.

Thursday, November 13th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. European space probe lands on comet. Afghan opium production soars. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
A European Space Agency probe made a historic landing on a comet, but its status remains unclear after harpoons failed to anchor it to the surface.
ESA officials say the lander, known as Philae, touched down Wednesday on Comet 67P after a seven-hour descent from its orbiting mother ship, Rosetta. But during the free fall to the comet’s surface, harpoons designed to anchor the probe failed to deploy.
Officials say the craft may have briefly lifted off after the initial landing before touching back down again. Lisa Bryant reports on the climax of a decade-long trip.
It was celebration time at the European Space Agency’s mission control in Darmstadt, Germany. After tense hours monitoring their computer screens, controllers finally got the signals they were hoping for, showing that the 100-kilogram Philae spacecraft had landed on Comet 67P.
The touchdown is a first in space history.
The landing was the combination of a 10-year, 6 billion-kilometer journey across space by ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft to reach the comet.
Lisa Bryant, Paris.
By exploring the comet, scientists hope to get insights into the earliest phases of our solar system.
The U.S. Military says it’s conducted 16 airstrikes in Syria since Monday, most around the heavily contested town of Kobani near the Turkish border.
The U.S. Central Command says 10 of the strikes hit eight Islamic State units, damaged three fighting positions and destroyed an Islamic State logistics facility.
The U.S. Military also says seven other airstrikes were carried out on Islamic State units in oil-producing regions in northern Iraq.
This is VOA news.
The World Health Organization says the number of people who have died of the Ebola virus is now more than 5,000 out of just over 14,000 cases.
A WHO report says the actual death toll is likely far higher as many people are reluctant to seek treatment for the virus.
President Obama is in Myanmar, also known as Burma, where regional leaders have opened the annual summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Mr. Obama is expected to hold talks this week with President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Earlier in Beijing, President Obama and China’s President Xi Jinping reached agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat climate change.
President Obama says the U.S. agreed to cut emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025. President Xi Jinping says his country’s CO2 emissions will peak by 2030.
The U.N. Peacekeeping chief is urging the Security Council to extend the mandate of its 7,000-member peacekeeping force in Liberia. Margaret Besheer has more.
Head of U.N. Peacekeeping, Hervé Ladsous, told the Security Council on Wednesday that plans to continue to gradually draw down the mission have been put on hold as Liberia struggles to cope with an Ebola outbreak that has killed more than 2,800 people.
“We are of the view that it would be appropriate to extend the mandate of UNMIL until September, 2015.”
The mission has been in the West African country for more than a decade, helping the authorities rebuilding and developing capacity of state institutions, and maintaining law and order.
Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations.
The United Nations says opium production in Afghanistan hit a new high this year, raising questions about the internationally-founded counter-narcotic strategy in the country. Ayaz Gul has details.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime says the opium harvest in Afghanistan jumped 17 percent from last year and the increased cultivation could produce up to 6,400 tons of narcotics.
The U.N. agency’s regional representative, Andrey Avetisyan, called for finding better ways to fight drugs inside and beyond Afghanistan together with the Afghan government.
“Without tackling the problem of drugs seriously, no serious economic achievement is possible.”
Avetisyan said political will and readiness are needed from the Afghan government and people for the anti-drugs fight to succeed.
Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad.
Israeli authorities are given preliminary approval for the construction of 200 new homes in a Jewish area of East Jerusalem. The move comes at a time of already heightened tensions with Palestinians.
There has been no immediate comment from Palestinian officials.
I’m Ray Kouguell in Washington.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.

Friday, November 14th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. President Obama in Myanmar. Liberian president ends state of emergency over Ebola. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
President Obama says he is confident of a “new day” in Myanmar, but admits there is still work to be done as that country transitions to a democracy.
President Obama spoke Thursday during a meeting with legislative leaders in the capital, Naypyidaw, and he said he his talks also focused on pushing the government to do more to protect human rights.
President Obama is attending a summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
He praised Myanmar and its leader Thein Sein for hosting the gathering.
“During the past six years, we’ve made great strides in elevating and expanding this partnership, but I think we all agree we can still do more. And that’s why the United States is committed to strengthening ASEAN, both as an institution and as a community of nations bound by our shared interests and values.”
President Obama plans to meet with long-time democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi today.
Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is ending the state of emergency she instituted because of the Ebola crisis.
President Sirleaf says the fight against Ebola is not over and that some restrictions will remain in place.
“Until the national goal of zero new cases by Christmas is achieved all across the country, we will keep many of the previous measures in place with appropriate adjustments consistent with the progress in our fight.”
President Sirleaf says markets can reopen and a curfew will be pushed back to midnight in non-affected areas. She says “hot spots” for the virus continue to appear in rural areas, but the worst may be over.
This is VOA news.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State militants will intensify in the future as Iraqi ground forces work to become more effective.
Secretary Hagel told a U.S. congressional committee Thursday the United States and coalition forces are making progress in the fight against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, but that the American people must prepare for a long struggle.
General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also testified Thursday and said it is possible that sometime in the future U.S. officials will consider assigning a modest number of American troops to fight with Iraqi forces in the northern city of Mosul and elsewhere.
Israel is lifting age restrictions from Muslims who want to worship at the Temple Mount, the Jerusalem holy site the Muslims call al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli police have been limiting access to the site to women and men 35 and older, fearing youths plan to stir up violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised Thursday to take steps to ease tensions between Jews and Palestinians over the holy site revered by both faiths and overseen by Jordan.
Mr. Netanyahu met in Jordan with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Jordanian King Abdullah.
In a new recording, a man purporting to be Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is calling for “volcanoes of jihad” against more Arab states and says the United States will eventually be drawn into a deadly ground war against the group’s fighters.
The 17-minute recording was released on social media networks Thursday by the Islamic State.
Iraqi authorities say Baghdadi had been wounded in a U.S. airstrike last week that hit a convoy of Islamic State leaders near Fallujah. The U.S. military never made a similar claim. It was not known whether the recording was made before or after that air attack.
The World Health Organization says the global campaign to eliminate measles is in trouble. About 146,000 children died from measles last year, an increase of almost 24,000 from the previous year. Lisa Schlein has more.
The World Health Organization says a decline in routine measles vaccine coverage has resulted in large outbreaks of this highly contagious disease in recent years. It also has stalled global efforts to eradicate measles by 2015.
The U.N. agency says measles immunization efforts are hampered by lack of money, weak health systems and not enough awareness of the importance of vaccinating children against this killer disease. It notes it only costs about one dollar to vaccinate a child.
WHO estimates 15.6 million deaths have been prevented through vaccination between 2000 and 2013.
Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
And I’m Ray Kouguell in Washington.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.

Saturday, November 15th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. World leaders gather in Australia for the G20 summit, and a showdown is brewing over U.S. immigration policy. I’m David Byrd reporting from Washington.
World leaders are in Brisbane, Australia, for the G20 meeting amid tense rhetoric between Russia and the West.
As Henry Ridgwell reports from London, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbot has pledged to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin over his support for separatist rebels in Ukraine, while the Kremlin has announced long-range bomber patrols near American waters.
NATO accuses Russia of once again sending its forces into Ukraine — a charge Moscow denies. The show of force in Ukraine is matched in the warmer crimes of the southern Pacific. Russia sent warships to international waters off Australia ahead of the G20 meeting in Brisbane.
Publicly, President Putin has said he wants to reach a compromise over Ukraine. Speaking Friday, he criticized Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s involvement in the conflict.
With increasingly bellicose rhetoric in Brisbane, there is little hope that East-West tensions will be eased as leaders gather round the G20 table.
Henry Ridgwell, the VOA news, London.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to address the G20 leaders at 3:15 Universal Time. We will carry the president’s address live over these VOA frequencies and on our website.
Ukraine’s president says his country’s armed forces are “willing and able to fight back” should the cease-fire agreement reached in September between his government and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine unravel.
NATO reported the movement of troops, tanks and artilleries from Russia into eastern Ukraine this week.
This is VOA news.
The militant group Boko Haram has seized the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok, the home of more than 200 schoolgirls the group kidnapped earlier this year.
Pogo Bitrus, the chairman of the Chibok elders’ forum, told VOA that militants attacked the Borno state town late Thursday. He says locally-based soldiers and civilian fighters put up a fight but were outgunned by a large Boko Haram force.
In a separate development, a suicide bomber killed at least six people Friday in the northern city of Kano. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Boko Haram militants have previously attacked the city.
Boko Haram has seized a number of towns in Borno and Adamawa states this year for a “caliphate” proclaimed by the group’s leader, Abubakar Shekau.
Officials in Mali are trying to trace at least 200 contacts of people linked to Ebola patients in that country even as it struggles to contain an outbreak of the virus.
Health officials say they have identified [that] at least that many people who had contact with one of at least four confirmed cases of Ebola since last month.
Mali shares a border with Guinea, one of the three countries at the center of the epidemic, along with Liberia and Sierra Leone. The first victim of Mali’s recent outbreak was a two-year-old girl from Guinea.
The White House has announced a plan to grant refugee status in the United States to certain children living in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
Vice President Joe Biden announced the new program on Friday at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington.
“It’s not about what we can do for the region. It’s about what we can do with or what we can do together. We all have an obligation to help the most vulnerable and to keep families together.”
Under the plan, those 21 years and younger with at least one parent who is a legal resident of the U.S. can qualify.
President Barack Obama has promised to take executive action on immigration reform by the end of the year, meaning that it would need no approval from the U.S. Congress.
The Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, has said that lawmakers will “fight the president tooth and nail if he continues down this path.”
Israeli police say a Jerusalem holy site at the heart of recent tensions between Israelis and Palestinians was quiet on Friday after Muslims of all ages were allowed to worship there.
Israel had restricted worship at the Temple Mount, or known to Muslims as the al-Aqsa Mosque, to people under 35, fearing youths would cause violence. That’s the news. I’m David Byrd in Washington.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.

Sunday, November 16th, 2014
From Washington, this is VOA news. World leaders pledge to boost the global economy, and Ukraine shuts down government institutions in pro-Russian areas. I’m David Byrd reporting from Washington.
World leaders are preparing to issue a communiqué at the Group of 20 summit in Australia that is aimed at reviving the global economy.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot said Saturday that increasing the global gross domestic product by 2 percent will help inject around $2 trillion into the world economy.
“This is our message to the world that governments can deliver, that governments can agree, that the world can be better, that there can be higher jobs, higher growth and more jobs.”
Meanwhile, U.S. President Barack Obama met with [Prime Minister Abe] Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the G20 meeting Sunday in Brisbane.
White House officials say the tripartite meeting was not meant to send a message to China. However, Mr. Obama has said on his trip that China needs to be a “responsible actor” on the world stage.
Beijing has viewed the president’s attempts to deepen ties with Australia and Japan as an attempt to counter its expansion in the Asia-Pacific region.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has issued several decrees shutting down state institutions in pro-Russian eastern Ukraine. The moves further separate Ukraine’s separatist-dominated Donetsk and Luhansk regions from the rest of the country.
Meanwhile, officials said that at least five civilians and seven Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine since Friday.
This is VOA news.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Martin Dempsey has visited Iraq for talks with Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders and troops about the next phase of the expanding war against Islamic State militants.
An Iraqi spokesman says that his country’s prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, is hoping for close military cooperation from the United States but is not seeking combat troops on the ground from any countries.
A spokesman for General Dempsey said the primary purpose of the visit to Iraq was to get a firsthand look at the situation in the country, and to get a better sense of how the campaign against Islamic State militants is progressing.
The leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan have wrapped up three days of negotiations aimed at easing more than a decade of tensions between the two Muslim countries.
New Afghan President Ashraf Ghani held face-to-face talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at his offices in the capital Saturday.
Prime Minister Sharif said that the two countries have begun a comprehensive dialogue on strengthening security cooperation against the common threat of terrorism.
“Our two countries face formidable challenges, including extremism and terrorism, a precarious security environment, and trans-national crimes. I am convinced that we can effectively meet them, through common resolve and common endeavors.”
Later in the day Saturday, the two leaders watched an exhibition cricket match between Afghanistan and Pakistan before the end of the state visit.
A new version of the hit song “Do They Know It’s Christmas” was recorded Saturday in London, with the proceeds going to help fight the Ebola crisis.
Pop music starts, including One Direction, Bono from U2, Chris Martin from Coldplay and others, recorded the song in a West London studio.
Bob Geldof, who also organized the original Band Aid concerts to fight famine in Africa in the mid-1980s, encouraged fans to buy the song so more resources can be sent to fight Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
“So the most you can do on this is buy as many of this track as you possibly can. Buy, that’s the key issue. Buy this song, we will stop the virus. We will certainly help to stop it.”
The song has been reworked, with words to the original version changed to reflect the current crisis.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo has declared itself Ebola-free after an outbreak that started in August killed nearly 50 people.
DRC Health Minister Felix Kabange Numbi made the announcement on Saturday, but he warned that the end of the outbreak does not mean the country is fully out of danger.
For more on these stories, visit our website voanews.com. I’m David Byrd in Washington.
That’s the latest world news from VOA.