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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting. Migrant boat captain blamed for deaths in the Mediterranean.
Italian prosecutors say the Tunisian captain that capsized the boat in the Mediterranean mistakenly rammed his vessel into a merchant ship that was coming to its rescue. Prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Catania say the captain steered his dangerously overloaded boat into a Portuguese container ship just before it went down off the coast of Libya last weekend, drowning as many as 900 migrants. The 27-year-old boat captain was arrested under suspicion of multiple homicide, causing the shipwreck and aiding illegal immigration. His first mate was also arrested. He, too, on suspicion of aiding illegal immigration. Prosecutors absolved the merchant ship of any responsibility for the tragedy. There were only 28 survivors rescued in what authorities are calling the Mediterranean's deadliest migrant disaster. At least seven people were killed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, when a car bomb blew up outside a popular restaurant Tuesday at lunchtime. At least eight other people were wounded. A spokesman for al-Shabab says the militant group was behind the attack. This is al-Shabab's fourth deadly attack in Somalia in as many days. Saudi Arabia says it is ending its Arab coalition airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen but not easing the pressure on the rebels. Saudi officials said Tuesday after four weeks of bombings the Houthis no longer pose a threat to Yemeni civilians or other countries including Saudi Arabia. They say coalition efforts to stop the rebel advance and fully restore Yemen's internationally recognized government went into a new phase -- one that focuses on the political process and helping Yemen civilians. This is VOA news. An Egyptian court sentenced ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and a number of his former associates to 20 years in prison for the killings of protesters outside the presidential palace in 2012. Edward Yeranian reports. An Egyptian military helicopter took off carrying ousted President Mohamed Morsi shortly after he was convicted and sentenced in the first of a series of trials he and political associates are expected to face. The 20-year sentence is lighter than many observers have been anticipating, yet overly harsh for most of his supporters. Twelve of the former president's aides were also given 20-year sentences and two others received 10 years. Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo China's President Xi Jinping hailed a "profound friendship" between China and Pakistan Tuesday during his first state visit to Pakistan. Addressing the country's parliament, President Xi praised Islamabad's anti-terror efforts. In his own address to lawmakers, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said Islamabad and Beijing "will fight together to eliminate the menace of terrorism." Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani swore in 16 new members of his cabinet Tuesday. Their nominations were endorsed by parliament last week. Ayaz Gul has more. The swearing-in ceremony at Kabul's presidential palace followed Saturday's mandatory parliamentary endorsement of all new cabinet members, including four women. The swift approval by the parliament surprised many because the first such vote of confidence in late January saw lawmakers approving only a third of the ministers President Ghani nominated to form a 25-member cabinet. Dual nationality, allegations of involvement in crimes and lack of higher education were cited among the causes. Ayaz Gul, for VOA news, Islamabad. The head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Michele Leonhart, announced her retirement Tuesday. Leonhart had faced mounting pressure to resign from members of Congress who questioned her competence in the wake of a scathing government watchdog report detailing allegations that agents attended sex parties with prostitutes. She will be leaving the agency in the middle of next month. For the eighth straight year, Russia earned the lowest approval ratings among major world powers in a survey of people in more than 130 countries, with Moscow's ranking falling sharply in Western nations after its intervention last year in Ukraine. The Gallup survey of about 1,000 adults in each of the countries showed the United States with the highest ratings, then followed by Germany, the European Union, China and then Russia finishing last. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |