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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Victor Beattie reporting. Iran nuclear talks extended for another day.
Negotiators for Iran and the six world powers continue meeting in Switzerland on Tehran's nuclear program, working past a midnight Tuesday deadline for a framework agreement. White House spokesman Josh Earnest Wednesday expressed hope for a breakthrough in reigning in Tehran's nuclear ambitions. Iran reportedly insists on having an outline in place for lifting all international sanctions against his country before it agrees to a nuclear deal. Another sticking point includes details on Iran's future research and nuclear development. Nigerian President-elect Muhammadu Buhari says his government will "spare no effort" to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency. He spoke in Abuja Wednesday after Nigeria's electoral commission officially named him winner of Saturday's presidential election. Mr. Buhari promised his government will serve all Nigerians, not rule over them. He also promised to tackle corruption that he says poses a threat to the country's economic development and democratic survival. President Obama in a telephone call congratulated Mr. Buhari on his victory and praised him along with defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan for their role in the peaceful transfer of power in the country from years with military coups. He also pledged continued support by the United States for Nigeria. Once again, Nigeria's President-elect Muhammadu Buhari insisting his government will spare no effort to defeat the Boko Haram insurgency. This is VOA news. The U.N. Human Rights Council Wednesday unanimously adopted a resolution that calls on the international community to step up support to African countries fighting Boko Haram. The U.N. human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, said in Geneva Wednesday the group uses children as human shields and abuses women and girls. Mr. Zeid says recapturing parts of northeast Nigeria in recent weeks has brought to light what he calls "gruesome scenes of mass graves and further evident signs of slaughter by Boko Haram." Zeid says the group is blamed for at least 15,000 deaths in the past six years of a bloody insurgency in the northeast part of Nigeria. Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou says "the end of Boko Haram is near." Speaking to VOA Wednesday during a visit to Washington, Mr. Issoufou said Boko Haram is "not eradicated but was greatly weakened" by an offensive launched by a multinational force late in January. The Nigerean leader said Boko Haram "has no future," and predicted that "in a few months or weeks, we will see the end of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad region." Meanwhile, on the ground, regional forces retook the town of Malam Fatori near Niger's border with Nigeria, with Chad's army claiming it killed hundreds of Boko Haram fighters. A Russian trawler with an international crew of more than 130 sank Thursday morning in the icy waters of the Sea of Okhotsk off the Kamchatka peninsula, with an initial death toll of at least 54. Sixty-three crew members have been rescued with 15 still missing. More than two dozen fishing boats are said to be taking part in a rescue and recovery operation. Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says his government is "determined to liberate every inch of Iraqi land" after declaring victory over Islamic State in the strategic city of Tikrit. Iraq's defense minister vowed to maintain the momentum, saying the victory puts the Iraqi government on the doorstep toward recapturing Anbar and Nineveh. U.S. defense officials say Iraqi forces are still meeting pockets of resistance from hundreds of militants in Tikrit, adding the Iraqis control the city center and the main government headquarters. President Obama on Wednesday announced new economic sanctions that are aimed at penalizing cyber-attackers that have targeted key U.S. businesses and consumers, especially those who were targeting the "critical systems of banks, major businesses and electrical power utilities." These new sanctions also are applied to countries, firms or individuals who steal trade secrets and sensitive business and consumer information. I'm Victor Beattie, VOA news. That's the latest world news from VOA. |