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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Forrest reporting. Greece votes "no."
Greek voters have overwhelmingly rejected a demand by the country's lenders to impose more austerity measures in exchange for new loans. With 87 percent of the votes counted from Sunday's referendum, more than 60 percent are rebuffing warnings from European leaders that a "no" vote could force the country from the eurozone. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said, "Today we celebrate the victory of democracy." He said his government is ready to return to the negotiating table. Speaking to the press on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says progress has been made toward a nuclear agreement with Iran, but he says negotiators are stuck on several key issues. "While I completely agree with Foreign Minister Zarif that we have never been closer, at this point this negotiation could go either way." Kerry and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met Sunday after breakthroughs were reported on two highly contentious issues. Pope Francis has returned to his home continent to begin an eight-day visit to Ecuador, Bolivia and Paraguay. The pope landed in Ecuador's capital, Quito, Sunday afternoon. At the airport, he was greeted by government and church dignitaries, as well as children and adults waving the papal flag. A suicide bomber killed at least five people at a church in northeast Nigeria. The bombing is the latest in a string of suspected Boko Haram attacks that have left some 200 dead over the past week. The blast took place Sunday morning in a church in the town of Potiskum in Yobe state. Witnesses say the bomber was disguised as a church member. This is VOA news. Iraqi Sunni political leaders are accusing the government of two attacks on civilians in Anbar province, but an Iraqi military spokesman denies the charges. Edward Yeranian reports. Iraqi media claims two government attacks in the past 24 hours have killed a large number of civilians in Anbar province's largest cities of Ramadi and Fallujah. Sunni leaders from Anbar province say dozens of civilians were killed and wounded in a government airstrike on a football stadium near Ramadi. Witnesses also accuse government forces of shelling parts of Anbar's second largest city Fallujah, killing several dozen people. Other reports claim the government dropped barrel bombs over parts of the city. VOA could not independently confirm the allegation. Edward Yeranian, Cairo. Coalition airstrikes in eastern Syria Saturday and Sunday have killed at least 23 Islamic State militants and wounded a number of others. In a statement issued Sunday, the U.S.-led coalition said the airstrikes targeted structures and transit routes used by the IS group in and around Raqqa. The casualty figures were released by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. An IS-affiliated website confirmed the strikes and said 10 people were killed and dozens wounded. Saudi-led airstrikes killed a number of civilians Sunday in the Yemeni city of Aden. The exact number killed was unclear, but media sources said between eight and 30 civilians are dead. Meanwhile, a U.N. envoy arrived in the capital for talks on a cease-fire plan with Houthi rebels. Ould Ahmed's visit to Yemen follows talks in Riyadh last week with officials from the exiled government. East African regional heads of state are planning to meet in Tanzania's commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, on Monday to find a way to resolve the crisis in Burundi. It is unclear if Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza will attend the meeting, which comes as he intensifies a campaign for reelection. Burundi's opposition says Mr. Nkurunziza's third term bid undermines the constitution. Tunisia was put under a state of emergency Sunday a week after a purported Islamic State terrorist massacred 38 people at a tourist beach resort. The nation's president went on national television Saturday to announce the declaration, saying Tunisia is facing a "very serious danger." Lawmakers in the southern U.S. state of South Carolina will begin debating whether to remove the Civil War-era Confederate battle flag from the grounds of the state capitol. That debate follows an appeal by South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to remove the banner. Hundreds of people have held weekly demonstrations urging lawmakers to scrap the flag. In Washington, I'm David Forrest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |