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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Forrest reporting. Not everyone is thrilled with President Barack Obama's meeting with Cuba's leader.
The talks with Cuban President Raul Castro in Panama were strongly criticized by some Republican presidential hopefuls. U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was one of them. His father was born in Cuba and the meeting he said represents "a disturbing trend" in striking bad agreements with dictators. Mr. Obama's highly anticipated meeting with Mr. Castro on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama is the first formal meeting between leaders of the two nations in more than half a century. Republicans are also criticizing Mr. Obama's preliminary agreement on Iran's nuclear development program. Former presidential candidates Mitt Romney and John McCain attacked the framework agreement. But U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, appearing on the CBS program "Face the Nation," defended it. "What's important is Iran not only signed it but has lived up to it in every respect. Iran has proven that it will join into an agreement and then live by the agreement." : John Kerry. Voting in Nigeria's regional elections extended into Sunday in some parts of the country after irregularities were reported in several districts, particularly in Rivers state. Voters are electing 36 state governors, and 29 of those races are contested. Turnout appeared to be weaker than the recent presidential vote. Former first lady, former U.S. senator and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has officially announced she is running for president of the U.S. in 2016. Clinton made her long-awaited announcement Sunday in an online video posted on social media. Recent polls show her ahead of all Republican candidates. This is VOA news. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the Vatican Sunday after Pope Francis marked the 100th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians by calling it a genocide. The Turkish government said its envoy was returning home for consultations with government officials. The sound of an exploding transformer sounded like an armed attack on a Kenyan university early Sunday, causing a stampede that ended in the death of one student. Students at the University of Nairobi's Kikuyu campus thought the site was under attack by al-Shabab militants. Eddy Capella is one of the students. "Students thought that again it was another attack from al-Shabab, that we think it was a fire breakout. So people left the hall in various ways, some through the window from sixth floor to ground floor." More than a hundred students were injured in the stampede. Some of them jumped from the fifth floor windows in an attempt to leave the campus that they thought was under attack. Security forces are on alert in Bangladesh following the execution of a top Islamist leader. Mohammad Kamaruzzaman had been convicted of crimes against humanity for atrocities committed back in 1971 during the war of independence from Pakistan. He was hanged Saturday night at the central jail in Dhaka. The Jamaat-e-Islami party denounced the execution and is calling for a nationwide strike on Monday. The United Nations says civilian casualties from ground fighting in Afghanistan rose by 8 percent in the first three months of this year compared to the same period in 2014. Ayaz Gul takes a look. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan says fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban insurgents has caused 136 deaths and 385 wounded in the first quarter of 2015. The latest figures, released Sunday, show a 43 percent rise in civilian casualties from mortars and rockets. But the UNAMA report noted total civilian casualties declined by 2 percent compared to the same period last year. It says Taliban insurgents are responsible for 73 percent of the total civilian casualties, with government forces responsible for 14 percent. Ayaz Gul, Islamabad. South Korean and Libyan officials say unidentified gunmen attacked the South Korean embassy in Tripoli on Sunday. They say two local security guards were killed. Orthodox Christians around the world celebrated Easter on Sunday. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his family observed Orthodox Easter services in Kyiv. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev attended services in Moscow. I'm David Forrest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |