VOA NEWS

April 5, 2015

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting. Kenya's president has called for three days of mourning following this week's terrorist attack at a university there.



President Uhuru Kenyatta called for unity on Saturday, two days after al-Shabab militants massacred 148 people, most of them Christians, on a university campus.

In a televised address to the nation, Mr. Kenyatta declared a three-day mourning period, appealing to Kenyans to safeguard the nation's "peace and stability."

"I declare three days of national mourning, during which our flags are flying at half mast. I also want to assure the families that the government will do everything possible to support the victims and their families."

Thursday's slaughter at Garissa University College was Kenya's deadliest terrorist attack since the 1998 al-Qaeda bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi killed more than 200 people.



A monitoring group says Islamic militants are [out] in control of most of a large Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Syria's capital, Damascus.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday that fighters from the Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front, which is al-Qaeda's branch in Syria, gained control of about 90 percent of the Yarmouk refugee camp. The two groups fought together against other rebels, including a militia of Syrians and Palestinians who oppose the Syrian government.

In addition to the ground clashes, U.N. officials said Syrian forces were shelling the camp. Violence during the past week has trapped all the current residents - about 18,000 civilians - inside the camp.



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Russia and the Red Cross are calling on Saudi Arabia to pause its military campaign against Houthi rebels in Yemen to allow for safe deliveries of civilian aid and the evacuation of foreigners.

The Russian plea came Saturday during an emergency meeting of [the United Nations] the United Nations Security Council, that is, called by Moscow. A Russian draft proposal demands "regular and obligatory" pauses in airstrikes by the Saudi-led Sunni coalition.

Jordan's U.N. ambassador and this month's Security Council president, Dina Kawar, said that Council members hope to reach a decision on the Russian-backed resolution by Monday.

"The Council members reaffirmed their views on the importance of the full implementation of the Security Council resolutions on Yemen, in particular Resolution 2201. The Council members also reiterated their concern over the grave humanitarian situation that Yemen has been facing for a while."

In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross called for an immediate break in hostilities, saying its aid shipments are being blocked.



U.S. President Barack Obama says the framework nuclear deal reached with Iran this week is a "good deal" that was hammered out through "tough, principled diplomacy."

In his weekly media address, the president noted that international inspectors will have unprecedented access to Iran's nuclear program and Iran will face more inspections than any other country.

"If Iran cheats, the world will know it. If we see something suspicious, we will inspect it. So, this deal is not based on trust, it is based on unprecedented verification."

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has said the framework agreement reached with world powers will protect Iran's nuclear rights and provide relief from international sanctions.



Recovery efforts at the Germanwings crash site came to a halt on Saturday for at least the next couple of days.

Authorities said they had found both black boxes and human remains for DNA analysis.

Families and loved ones of the victims arrived at a memorial site near the disaster location to honor the dead and to grieve over the Easter weekend.



Pope Francis has led the world's 1.2 billion Catholics in observing the Easter Vigil and challenged them to shun indifference and live their faith at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The pontiff called on Catholics to go beyond their comfort zone, beyond laziness and indifference and search, instead, for truth, beauty and love.

On Sunday, Francis will lead a mass in St. Peter's Square and deliver his yearly blessing.



For more on these stories, please log on to our website voanews.com. I'm David Byrd in Washington.

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