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From Washington, this is VOA news. The U.S. flag is raised over its embassy in Havana for the first time in 54 years.
Secretary of State John Kerry says that talks will begin next month on the "full normalization" of bilateral ties between the U.S. and Cuba. At a joint news conference in Havana with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, Kerry said the path toward fully normal relations will depend on lifting a trade embargo against Cuba that the United States imposed more than 50 years ago. "So it's our hope that over the next days we will be able to lay out a roadmap whereby steps are taken that make it possible for us to move to the next level." Kerry also downplayed any concerns about whether the next U.S. president might roll back or reverse the Obama administration's policy of engaging Cuba. A Cuban-American human rights advocate in Washington said the U.S. move to normalize relations might be a setback for Cuban dissidents. And some U.S. lawmakers and prominent politicians have questioned the Obama administration's decision to move forward with engagement in the wake of human rights concerns. Reports from Libya's coastal city of Sirte say dozens of people have been killed in fighting there this week between Islamic State jihadists and rival gunmen. The country remains in turmoil four years after the overthrow of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The latest clashes erupted when a selafist Muslim group and armed residents attacked Islamic State fighters in Sirte, accusing them of killing a prominent local preacher. Libya is split between two governments supported by armed groups that are fighting each other. The internationally recognized government is in Tobruk and Islamist-backed government is in Tripoli. This is VOA news. Eurozone finance ministers have approved the first $29-billion payment of a $93-billion bailout deal for Greece after the Greek parliament approved the package on Friday. The deal was agreed to after nearly six hours of eurozone meetings in Brussels. Euclid Tsakalotos is Greece's finance minister: "Any deal is only as good as what you make of it. So let's hope that the Greek people will be able to make the best of this deal, to make the best of the reforms and the ability to reform and mitigate any negative consequences that surely exist within it." The eurozone decision saved Greece from defaulting on its debts and helped to avoid its exit from the single currency eurozone. Chinese authorities are continuing an investigation into what caused two gigantic explosions at a warehouse in Tianjin earlier this week. Several small fires were still smoldering early Friday at the site of the blasts, which occurred late Wednesday in a warehouse that stored dangerous chemicals. Officials say the death toll from the explosions has risen to 56, including 21 firefighters. More than 700 people remain hospitalized. Thirty-three of those are reported to be in serious condition. It is not known how many people are missing. There are widespread expectations that the death toll will continue to rise. Meanwhile, the official Xinhua news agency reports that a team of more than 200 military nuclear and biochemical specialists and a group from the International Atomic Energy Agency's Beijing office have been dispatched to the site. Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed feelings of "profound grief" and "sincere condolences" to those who suffered and died from Japan's past military aggression. While making a highly anticipated public statement on the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II Friday, Mr. Abe said that Japan had inflicted "immeasurable damage and suffering" upon innocent people. He said that what has been done cannot be undone but past mistakes should not be repeated. The prime minister upheld apologies made by his predecessors but he offered no new apology of his own. China and South Korea have repeatedly called upon Mr. Abe to directly address atrocities committed by the Japanese military during its occupation of much of Asia. U.S. factory output rose at the strongest pace in eight months during July, largely due to a surge in auto production. The report by the U.S. central bank is the latest in a series of mostly upbeat studies that increased the likelihood that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise interest rates in September. For more on these stories, visit our website. I'm David Byrd in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |