VOA NEWS

July 20, 2015

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Forrest reporting. The Obama administration sends the Iran agreement to Congress.



A congressional 60-day review period begins Monday, for the agreement with some Republicans vowing to reject the accord.

Mr. Obama promises to veto any congressional attempt to kill the initiative.

In a series of high-profile television appearances on Sunday, Secretary of State John Kerry said the agreement probably won't restart diplomatic relations with Tehran.

"We're prepared to test whether or not they're prepared to change their relationship in the region, and we certainly, I think it would be diplomatic malpractice if we didn't keep our doors open to possibilities." John Kerry appeared on NBC's Meet the Press.



German Chancellor Angela Merkel has again rejected proposals to write off part of Greece's debt. She says her government will show flexibility in new talks with Greece.

Speaking Sunday on German television, the chancellor also ruled out forcing Greece to leave the 19-nation eurozone.



At least 43 people were killed and 100 wounded near the Yemeni city of Aden on Sunday. Officials say the town was shelled by Houthi rebels.

The militia has been fighting for control of Aden in recent months.

A Saudi-led coalition began an air campaign in the country four months ago in support of exiled President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi.



Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari begins a four-day visit to Washington Sunday.

The threat posed by the Islamist extremist group Boko Haram is expected to top the agenda when U.S. President Barack Obama holds talks with the Nigerian leader at the White House on Monday. The U.S. is seeking to expand assistance to Nigeria in fighting the militants.



This is VOA news.



Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels are accusing each other of shelling residential districts in and near the rebel-held city of Donetsk.

Police on Sunday reported at least four civilians killed in the past 24 hours.



The gunman in the recent shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, sent a text message just hours before the attack in which he declared war.

The message to a friend hints at Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez's motive for Thursday's killing of five American servicemen at a military support center.

The text included a link to an Islamic verse that says "Whosoever shows enmity to a friend of mine, then I have declared war against him."

Investigators have asked foreign intelligence services to help trace movements and activities abroad by Abdulazeez, including a trip he took to Jordan in 2014.



U.S. presidential hopeful Donald Trump refused Sunday to back off his attack on the war record of Senator John McCain. McCain was tortured during his five years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi in the 1960s.

Trump has drawn wide rebukes from his Republican opponents, as well as Democrats John Kerry and Hillary Clinton

Former Texas Governor Rick Perry also running for president appeared today on the NBC program Meet the Press.

"His Twitter handle is TheRealDonaldTrump and I'll suggest you we're seeing the real Donald Trump now."

Asked Sunday on NBC's This Week if he owed the 78-year-old McCain an apology, Trump replied "No, not at all."



Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush has been released from a hospital in the northeastern U.S. state of Maine. His release comes just four days after he fell and broke a bone in his neck.

The 91-year-old Mr. Bush is the oldest living former U.S. president. He is said to be in good condition.



Burundi's foreign minister says the decision of three opposition candidates to withdraw from the July 21 election is unlikely to affect the credibility of the presidential vote.

But analysts say the withdrawal could render the election illegitimate.



The Cuban government has announced plans to expand Internet access by introducing Wi-Fi pots across the country and reducing the cost that Cubans pay to get online.

The move was announced last week in the Juventud Rebelde newspaper. The Cuban government had pledged to increase Internet access as part of talks aimed at normalizing relations with the United States.



British Prime Minister David Cameron says his country needs to take a greater role in fighting the Islamic State group in Syria.



In Washington, I'm David Forrest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.