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From Washington, this is VOA news. World powers and Iran try to negotiate an extension of nuclear talks, and Burkina Faso's military gets key posts in a new cabinet. I'm Michael Lipin.
The United States and other world powers are discussing whether to extend negotiations with Iran aimed at curbing the Islamic nation's nuclear development program. The parties had set a deadline of Monday to conclude a deal. A senior U.S. official says Secretary of State John Kerry suggested the deadline extension to his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, when they met on Sunday in Vienna. The United States and its partners in the talks -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- are trying to reach a deal that would prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. In exchange, the world powers would lift some of the international sanctions that have weakened the Iranian economy. Burkina Faso's military has held on to prominent positions in a new cabinet unveiled on Sunday three weeks after seizing power in the midst of a popular uprising against the government. Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Zida will remain prime minister and also take over as defense minister. The Burkina Faso military also have control of the ministries of interior, territorial administration, and sports. Interim civilian President Michel Kafando also will function as foreign minister. Burkina Faso's former President Blaise Compaoré was forced from power by mass protests in October after trying to amend the constitution to prolong his 27-year rule. The military led by Colonel Zida then assumed control of the country but the African Union pressured it to cede power to a civilian president who will rule until elections in 2015. You are listening to VOA news. Afghan authorities say a suicide bomber has struck a volleyball match in the country's southeast, killing at least 50 people and wounding more than 80 others. The attack near the Pakistani border came as the Afghan parliament approved security deals with the United States and the NATO alliance, allowing them to maintain a smaller military presence in Afghanistan beyond this year. Ayaz Gul has more from Islamabad. Authorities in the Afghan province of Paktika, where Sunday's bombing occurred, say most of the victims are civilians, including children. Speaking by phone, a provincial spokesman, Mukhles Afghan, described the incident to VOA. He says residents from nearby districts had gathered in Yahya Khel to watch a volleyball match when a man with explosives strapped to his body walked into the crowd and detonated the bomb. The spokesman says the powerful explosion instantly caused most of the deaths, and those seriously wounded were being flown to hospitals in the provincial capital. Paktika is one of the Afghan border regions in the east where insurgents of the Haqqani Network have an active presence. The al-Qaeda-linked militant group is fighting U.S.-led allied forces alongside the Taliban. Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad. Tunisians have voted in their first presidential election since a 2011 revolution that sparked the Arab Spring pro-democracy uprisings in other parts of the region. Sunday's vote marked the long-awaited completion of a transition to democracy after Tunisians overthrew dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali three years ago. Official election results have not been released, but Tunisian authorities allowed representatives of political parties to unofficially tally votes for their candidates. A campaign manager for presidential candidate Beji Caid Essebsi said the 87-year-old political veteran has emerged as the frontrunner but likely will face a runoff contest next month. The Israeli cabinet has approved a controversial legislative proposal that will declare Israel to be the nation-state of the Jewish people. The nationalist-dominated cabinet approved the measure on Sunday. The measure must still be approved by the Israeli parliament to become law. The bill calls for recognizing Israel's Jewish character and institutionalizing Jewish law, while downgrading the role of Arabic from an official state language to one with a special status. Critics say the legislation would undermine the democratic character of Israel, where Arabs comprise about 20 percent of the population. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu favors the measure, saying it would "uphold the individual rights of all of Israeli citizens." I'm Michael Lipin. That's the latest world news from VOA. |