Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text VOA news for Tuesday, September 8th, 2015 From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Forrest reporting. France and Britain agree to take thousands of refugees. French President François Hollande said his country would accept 24,000 refugees over the next two years. British Prime Minister David Cameron said Syrian refugees from camps in Turkey, Jordan and Syria could settle in Britain. "Given the scale of the crisis and the suffering of the Syrian people it is right that we should do much more. So Mr. Speaker, we are proposing that Britain should resettle up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over the rest of this Parliament.” Europe is struggling to cope with the continent's biggest migrant crisis since World War II. France has announced a response to Syria's widening crisis with plans to launch surveillance flights and possibly airstrikes against the Islamic State group on Syrian territory. Lisa Bryant takes a look. President François Hollande said France will begin surveillance flights of Islamic State positions in Syria as of Tuesday. Those may lead to possible strikes against the terrorist group. In a wide-ranging press conference, Hollande said the flights aimed to find out what actions the Islamic State group is preparing against France and its allies and against the Syrian population. But he ruled out putting French boots on the ground as inconsequential and unrealistic. Lisa Bryant, Paris. Security officers carried former Chadian dictator Hissene Habre into court Monday after he refused to take part in his trial on war crimes charges. Guards then had to physically restrain the 72-year-old Habre as he thrashed about in his seat and shouted as an indictment was read against him. For more, check our website voanews.com. This is VOA news. Turkish fighter jets launched airstrikes Monday against 13 targets of the banned Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The strikes follow an attack Sunday by Kurdish fighters on a Turkish troop convoy near the country's border with Iraq and Iran. President Barack Obama marked the Labor Day holiday in the United States Monday by ordering federal contractors to provide sick leave for 300,000 employees. Obama told a rally in Boston for union workers that he signed the executive order because Republicans have waged what he called a "constant attack on working Americans.” "This will give about 300,000 working Americans access to paid sick leave for the first time, and builds on the growing momentum of people who are answering the call on paid leave across the country." :President Obama. Italy's high court has faulted prosecutors that compiled the case against American Amanda Knox and her Italian former boyfriend, saying the case had "major flaws." Both defendants were acquitted for the murder of Knox's British roommate. In its 52-page document, the Court of Cassation said there was no "biological trace" linking the two to the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. It also criticized the quality of the prosecution's case from the beginning, noting that expert testimony indicated there was possible contamination of the evidence. The court also said intense media attention hurt the investigation. French President François Hollande has called for a meeting with his German, Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to ensure that the peace agreement for eastern Ukraine is carried out. Hollande said Monday he would propose a meeting be held in Paris before the start of this year's United Nations General Assembly on September 15. Hollande said that if local elections are held in Ukraine, and reforms granting more autonomy to separatist areas in the east are implemented, he will ask that the sanctions imposed on Russia for its actions in Ukraine be lifted. Pakistan's military says a locally developed drone has carried out its first attack, killing at least three "high-profile" militants near the Afghan border. The military spokesman says unmanned aircraft attacked what he called "a terrorist compound" Monday in the Shawal valley of North Waziristan. No other details have been made available. Guatemala faces a presidential run-off election after the leading candidates failed Sunday to garner enough votes to avoid a second round. Jimmy Morales, a comedic actor and political novice, led with 24 percent according to early results. With most of the precincts reporting, only a few thousand votes separated businessman Manuel Baldizón and former first lady Sandra Torres, both with about 19 percent. I'm David Forrest in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA.

• published: 08 Sep 2015
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