Section: Voice of America (USA)
Australia to Send 100 More Officers to MH17 Crash Site
Australia is close to finalilzing a plan to send 100 additional police and some defense force personnel to Europe to join a planned Dutch-led international security force to secure the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash site, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Friday. Armed pro-Russian separatists control the area and have hampered...
Airline Expert: Missile will Show Signature on Debris
The debris field from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is spread over a 21-kilometer radius in eastern Ukraine. It is expected to take investigators months to sort through the airplane pieces to learn about the missile that brought down the jetliner and who fired it. VOAs Carolyn Presutti explains how this work will be done. …read more Source:...
IMF Reports Cuts Growth Forecast
The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its global economic growth projection for 2014, projecting a slower advance in the United States and a less optimistic outlook for several emerging markets. The Washington-based IMF cut its world forecast Thursday to a 3.4 percent advance this year, down three-tenths of a percentage point from its...
Russian Army Said to Be Tipping Balance in E. Ukraine
Ukraine’s national security spokesman said Thursday Russian forces are conducting a multi-faceted campaign from their own side of the border against Ukrainian troops. The allegation came a week after the downing of the Malaysian airliner in the rebel-held part of eastern Ukraine. Colonel Andriy Lysenko says the Russian troops across the...
Ukraine PM Quits as Stage is Set for Early Poll
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has announced he is resigning, amid the break-up of the country’s ruling coalition in parliament. Yatsenyuk made the announcement Thursday, hours after two major political parties in the ruling coalition pulled out. Usually mild-mannered and even-keeled, he expressed frustration over...
Column: Russians Grapple with Conflicting MH17 Accounts
There’s a fascinating debate among two Russians playing out on my Facebook newsfeed. It all started when I posted a news item from our sister broadcaster RFE/RL: “Ukraine Separatist Social Media Site Claims Plane Downing.” It was a fairly straight-forward account of a post on Ukrainian separatist leader Igor Girkin’s VK...
Malaysian PM: ‘Weeks or Months’ Before Crash Victims’ Remains Returned
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday it might take “weeks or months” before remains of his compatriots who perished in the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine can be brought home. Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, had initially sought to have the remains returned by July 28 for Hari Raya, also known...
MH17’s ‘Black Boxes’ Could Reveal Crash Details
The government of Malaysia now has custody of the cockpit voice and flight data recorders from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was hit by a missile over Ukraine before crashing last week. As VOA’s Carolyn Presutti reports, the so-called black boxes may hold information about the final minutes of the flight. …read more Source: Voice...
Ukraine Rebel Commander Acknowledges Fighters Had BUK Missiles
A powerful rebel leader in Ukraine has confirmed that pro-Russian separatists had an anti-aircraft missile of the type Washington says was used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and it could have originated in Russia. In an interview with Reuters, Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Vostok Battalion, acknowledged for the first time...
No Quick Decision Seen on Tougher EU Sanctions on Russia
European Union ambassadors will debate proposals on Thursday on restricting Russian access to Europe’s capital markets and defense and energy technology but are not expected to make a quick decision. Ambassadors from the 28 EU nations are expected to agree on Thursday to add the names of some Russian companies that are helping to undermine...
