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

Investigators say a Malaysian passenger plane that crashed over Ukraine in 2014 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was transported into the country from Russia. Henry Ridgwell has more.

The conclusions of the multi-national joint investigation team were clear: Flight MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile fired from territory controlled by Russian-backed rebels.

The precise launch site has been narrowed down to a specific field outside the village of Pervomaysk.

Russia has consistently denied any involvement.

The investigation has identified over 100 people who were linked to the transport of the missile or the crash itself. But prosecutors have not identified who might be criminally responsible.

Henry Ridgwell, London.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has condemned the attacks on two hospitals in the rebel-held areas of the Syrian city of Aleppo.

"Let us be clear: Those using ever more destructive weapons know exactly what they are doing. They know they are committing war crimes."

The Syrian government with a help of Russia is mounting an offensive to retake the rebel-controlled sector of the city.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, telling him that the U.S. is making preparations to suspend bilateral engagement with Russia concerning Syria.

He said the engagement would end unless Russia takes immediate steps to end the assault on Aleppo and restore the agreed-upon cessation of hostilities.

The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to keep the U.S. government operating for another few months. Senators approved a continuing resolution Wednesday, with a sweeping 72-26 vote.

This is VOA news.

The U.S. Congress has voted to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that allows lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Wednesday's votes in both houses of Congress were overwhelming. It was the first time an Obama veto has been overturned.

Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced Wednesday that the U.S. and Iraq have agreed on a plan to send about 600 American troops to Iraq to help retake Mosul from the Islamic State group.

Speaking in New Mexico, Carter told reporters that the additional U.S. military personnel will train, advise and assist Iraqi security forces and the Kurdish Peshmerga.

He said the Iraqis plan to push into the city of Mosul in the coming weeks.

U.S. presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump headed Wednesday to key states they need to win in the November 8 election.

Clinton campaigned in New Hampshire with her one-time rival, Bernie Sanders. She proposed reforms to the student loan program.

"We've had in effect zero interest rates for eight years. It's outrageous and it's really so unfair. It makes me furious."

Republican Trump, meanwhile, campaigned in the Midwest, telling a Polish group he would support NATO.

"... so we want NATO to be strong which means we want more nations to follow the example of Poland. If every country in NATO made the same contributions as Poland, all of our allies would be more secure."

The Politico/Morning Consult poll, which had Trump ahead by one point before Monday's contentious debate, said its first post-debate polling shows Clinton with a three-point edge.

Leaders from around the world are paying tribute to former Israeli President and Prime Minister Shimon Peres, who died Wednesday at the age of 93.

Secretary of State John Kerry is one of them. "one of the world's great statesmen, a giant of history, a founding father of Israel, and a true warrior for peace"

The White House says President Obama will attend the funeral for Shimon Peres on Friday.

A senior U.S. official said Wednesday a growing number of Chinese companies and individuals could face investigation for suspected violations of sanctions placed on North Korea due to its nuclear proliferation.

State Department coordinator for sanctions policy Daniel Fried spoke to a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee Wednesday. Another senior State Department official said the government is not "fully satisfied" with China's North Korea sanctions implementation.

New research shows that the North's state-run trading companies are evading international sanctions by hiring Chinese middlemen.

In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.