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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. EU officials move to make the migrant return process more humane.
European Union officials are pledging that there will be "no automatic return" for the migrants before they are given a chance to apply for asylum. The announcement follows angry protests by international human rights activists who had accused the EU of denying migrants the basic rights of refugees to seek asylum. Meanwhile, Turkey is to receive a second group of migrants deported from Greece. The odds of a unity government taking hold in Libya got smaller Wednesday when the current Tripoli-based government backed down from its earlier promise to give up power. Now it says the new U.N.-brokered unity government violates Libyan sovereignty. Libya has been split between rival governments -- the pro-Islamic administration that took over in [Triboli] Tripoli, rather, and what had been the internationally recognized government that met in Tobruk. Tobruk authorities are also refusing to recognize the unity government. A Panamanian law firm says the millions of documents leaked from its offices this week about offshore bank accounts were stolen by hackers, not divulged by an insider. Ramon Fonseca, one of the founders of the Mossack Fonseca firm, says he has ruled out an inside job. He said the hacking was carried out from overseas, but he didn't say what country. NATO is preparing to step up its response to threats from the Islamic State group and from Russia. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is neither seeking confrontation with Russia nor a new cold war. But Stoltenberg told VOA NATO is implementing the biggest reinforcement of its collective defense since the end of the Cold War in response to the new security environment. This is VOA news. Texas Senator Ted Cruz's resounding win over Republican front-runner Donald Trump in the Wisconsin primary election Tuesday makes it more likely that none of the three candidates will have enough votes to win the party's nomination. Speaking Wednesday in New York, Cruz said the campaign changed in Wisconsin. "And I'm so encouraged after what was a terrific victory yesterday in Wisconsin. It was a turning point, I believe, in this entire election." The Democratic race, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton facing growing competition from her sole challenger, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Sanders has defeated her in six of the last seven state nominating contests, including the primary Tuesday in Wisconsin. The World Health Organization reports 422 million adults are living with diabetes, a four-fold increase over 1980 figures. Lisa Schlein takes a look. The release of this report in advance of World Health Day is meant as a call to global action to halt the rise of type 2 diabetes, which is killing 1.5 million people a year. The World Health Organization estimates 43 percent of these deaths occur prematurely, before the age of 70. The WHO says the highest rates are in the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the western Pacific. The WHO report says the dramatic rise of this deadly disease is largely due to the increasing number of overweight and obese people. Lisa Schlein, Geneva. A majority of the Dutch who voted in Wednesday's referendum rejected the European Union trade agreement with Ukraine. The exit polls showed 64 percent of those who voted said "no" on the idea, with some 36 percent voting in favor. Here is Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders: "We are not here and not sure yet if 30 percent of the people have voted. That's a threshold. So there is still uncertainty there. When we look at the preliminary outcome right now, it looks like a majority of the people have voted against the association agreement." The exit polls initially put turnout at 29 percent, 30 needed to make it valid. Regional security issues will be the focus of discussions for Secretary of State John Kerry as he visits Bahrain. Bahrain is on the first leg of a week-long overseas trip. Kerry will meet with his counterparts on the Gulf Cooperation Council. He will make preparations for President Barack Obama's attendance at an April 21 GCC summit in Saudi Arabia. Kerry will also discuss efforts to combat the Islamic State group and the efforts to stabilize Yemen and Libya. Later in the week, Kerry will travel to Hiroshima, Japan, where he will attend a G7 ministerial meeting. From the VOA news center in Washington, I'm David DeForest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |