From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Philip Alexiou reporting.
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The U.S.-led coalition that launched airstrikes against what it says were Syria's chemical weapons apparatus believes it has sent a clear message to Damascus.
The United States, France and Britain launching the strikes early Saturday morning.
Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Saturday.
"This strike aimed to deliver a clear, unambiguous message to the Syrian regime that their use of chemical weapons against innocent civilians is inexcusable, and to deter any future use of chemical weapons."
International reaction to joint U.S., French and British airstrikes against government targets in Syria ranging from support to intense criticism.
Syria's U.N. ambassador Bashar Jaafari saying the only thing the Security Council should be talking about now is the actions of the U.S., France and Britain.
"This draft resolution [calls] condemns the trilateral aggression - American, British, French aggression against my country - and calls for the immediate cessation of this military aggression."
U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley saying at an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council that Trump informed her [the president] that the United States is "locked and loaded" if Syria uses chemical weapons again.
"We obliterated the major research facility that it used to assemble weapons of mass murder. I spoke to the president this morning and he said if the Syrian regime uses this poisonous gas again, the United States is locked and loaded. When our president draws a red line, our president enforces the red line."
Russian President Vladimir Putin describing the attacks as an act of aggression against a sovereign government.
This is VOA news.
The Islamic Jihad militant group says four of its members were killed Saturday in an accidental blast in Gaza near the Israeli border.
An explosion apparently striking a three-wheeled vehicle near a Palestinian protest camp. Islamic Jihad said the four were killed "during preparations" without elaborating.
On Friday, the Gaza Health Ministry said one Palestinian was killed and more than 900 others were injured Friday by Israeli troops, who used gunfire and tear gas to repel numerous attempts by Palestinians to cross the border fence separating the Palestinian-governed Gaza Strip from Israel.
South Africans have held a funeral for Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, one of the most prominent figures of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement and member of parliament from 2009 until her death earlier this month.
Known to her supporters as "Mother of the Nation," Madikizela-Mandela was married to anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela and spoke for him publicly during his 27 years in prison for conspiring to overthrow the state.
Madikizela-Mandela was remembered at a service attended by nearly 40,000 mourners in her hometownship of Soweto in Johannesburg.
Zenani Mandela paid tribute to her mother and eulogy.
"The apartheid state developed a sophisticated and brutal infrastructure for our oppression. It was intolerant of any talk of democracy, especially from a woman activist. I hope that the rediscovery of the truth about my mother helps South Africans come to terms with the pivotal role that Winnie Nomzamo Madikizela-Mandela played in freeing us from the shackles of the system of terrorism and white supremacy known as apartheid." :Zenani Mandela.
The state funeral service packed Orlando Stadium.
Fresh fighting in northern Afghanistan has disrupted the electric supply to Kabul and several provinces for the second time in less than three weeks.
The hostilities coming as the country's Independent Election Commission on Saturday launched a long-delayed voters' registration process for parliamentary and district council elections scheduled for October 20.
A provincial police spokesman told VOA that a team of technicians from the state-owned electricity department has arrived in the Baghlan province to assess the damage and carry out the repair work, but heavy fighting prevented them from reaching the site in Dushi district.
A Justice Department report accusing fired FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe of lacking candor and misleading investigators.
The report by the Justice Department inspector general's office claims that McCabe misled investigators about his role in a news media disclosure about presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
