Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text Sunday, November 1st, 2015 From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. Authorities are investigating why a Russian passenger jet crashed in the Sinai, killing all 224 people aboard. At least 25 children are among the dead. As Edward Yeranian reports from Cairo, the chartered plane went down less than half an hour after leaving the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh on its way to St. Petersburg. The Airbus 321 belonging to the Russian carrier, Kogalymavia Air, known as Metrojet, had lifted off from the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh and reached cruising altitude on its course for St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, when it disappeared from radar. Al-Arabiya TV reported there were no survivors and said the Russian plane broke into pieces when it crashed. Witnesses told Egypt's ON TV that the rear half of the jet's fuselage caught fire on impact and burned. Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says President Barack Obama's decision to send special operations forces to Syria is focused only on fighting the Islamic State. Speaking at a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Saturday, Mr. Kerry said the 50 special operations commandos will work with rebels in northern Syria and are not part of a larger U.S. involvement in that country's civil war. "It is focused exclusively on Daesh and on augmenting our ability to be able to more rapidly attack Daesh and do a better job of eliminating Daesh and its influence in that region.” Kerry's visit to Kyrgyzstan was the first stop of a long-planned Central Asian tour that will take him to four other countries. This is VOA news. The United States has increased its support for Syria's opposition with a pledge of nearly $100 million in fresh aid. Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the assistance at the Manama Dialogue security conference in Bahrain Saturday. The State Department said the money would be used for keeping schools open, restoring access to clean water and electricity, and supporting an independent media. The United States has pledged nearly $500 million to the Syrian opposition since 2012. U.S. President Barack Obama pleaded for peace between Israelis and Palestinians at a rally to remember slain Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. Speaking by video to tens of thousands of Israelis who celebrated Rabin's life in Tel Aviv Saturday, Mr. Obama said the late prime minister's dream continues to inspire those who seek peace. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who worked directly with Rabin, told the crowd that the prime minister was a model for those who were seeking peace. "Whenever there was a terrible incident here and I would call him, he simply repeated what we in the White House came to know as Rabin's law -- we will fight terror as if there were no negotiations, but we will negotiate as if there were no terror.” Elsewhere in Israel Saturday, Palestinian protesters battled with Israeli police as thousands attended the funerals in Hebron for five teenagers killed by Israeli forces when they tried to attack Jews. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for urgent action to address attacks on non-combatants, including hospitals and schools, in conflicts around the world. Speaking in Geneva Saturday, Mr. Ban said that such attacks cannot be thought of as normal parts of war. "These violations have become so routine there is a risk people will think that the deliberate bombing of civilians, the targeting of humanitarian and healthcare workers, and attacks on schools, hospitals and places of worship are an inevitable result of conflict.” Ban and International Committee of the Red Cross head Peter Maurer issued a statement calling for respect of international humanitarian law. The statement comes after 30 people were killed and 37 injured in U.S. attacks on a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan earlier this month. And Triple Crown-winning horse, American Pharoah, won his last race, taking the Breeders' Cup Classic in Kentucky Saturday. The win made American Pharoah the first horse to win the Triple Crown and the Classic in the same year. He is now off for stud fees. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA.

• published: 01 Nov 2015
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