From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.

Syrian government forces continued their offensive on rebel-held eastern Aleppo. Government forces and their allies are advancing street by street in the eastern sector.

The British-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, says 290 civilians have died in the artillery bombardment in the eastern districts of Aleppo. Fifty civilians have been killed in the western districts of the city.

Ten Turkish soldiers and eight civilians were killed Sunday when suspected Kurdish militants detonated a car bomb outside a military checkpoint in Hakkari province in southeastern Turkey. Another 26 people were wounded.

President Barack Obama calls Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, "insecure" and says he "pumps himself up" by putting other people down.

"He pumps himself up by putting other people down. Not a character trait that I would advise for somebody in the Oval Office. It tells you that he doesn't care much about the basic values that we try to impart to our kids. It tells you he'd be careless with the civility and the respect that a real, vibrant democracy requires."

Mr. Obama was reacting to lewd comments Trump made in 2005 when he was caught on camera boasting how he can grope women because he is a "star." A video of those comments was released Friday by The Washington Post.

Republican Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton meet Sunday night for the second of three presidential debates.

Trump has apologized for his remarks and said he is in the race to stay, dismissing suggestions by some Republicans that he step aside.

This is VOA news.

The storm formerly known as Hurricane Matthew has lost its hurricane status. Matthew [was weakened] has weakened to a post-tropical cyclone. It is nearing the end of a week-long march through the Caribbean islands and along the U.S. Atlantic coast.

The Ethiopian government has announced a six-month state of emergency in response to growing anti-government protests across the country.

Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn says the declaration is intended to curb recent attacks on government buildings and businesses.

Thousands of marchers took to the streets of Yemen's capital, Sana'a, on Sunday to protest an apparent Saudi-led coalition airstrike that killed more than 140 people at a funeral on Saturday. A United Nations observer said more than 500 people were wounded in the airstrike.

Protesters gathered outside U.N. offices in the capital chanting "death to al-Saud."

The protests came a day after bombs hit a funeral hall where mourners marked the death of the father of a prominent Houthi rebel official.

Late Saturday, the Obama administration said an urgent review of U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition is under way.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says the closure of Hungary's main opposition newspaper, the left-wing Nepszabadsag, is a "huge blow" to the media diversity and press freedom of the country.

Its chief editor says the newspaper will be put up for sale a day after its owner suspended publication due to financial losses amid a government clampdown on opposition media.

An OSCE representative said he found it "hard to believe" that the closures were solely a business decision.

A Palestinian opened fire from a car in Jerusalem Sunday, killing a pedestrian and a police officer. The assailant was shot and killed by police.

Medical officials say six people were wounded in the attack.

With a month-long military assault on Mosul possibly just days away, U.S. officials are scrambling to resolve disputes between allies in the coalition.

At one point, the assault had appeared imminent but simmering disagreements between coalition allies appear[s] to be worsening, especially over how the greater Mosul area will be governed after liberation and who should be involved in the fight to eject the Islamic State group.

A military helicopter has crashed in northern Afghanistan, killing all seven people on board.

A Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed the incident, saying three Afghan soldiers and four crew members were among the victims.

He blamed a "technical fault" with the aircraft.

For more on these and other stories, check our website. It's voanews.com. In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.