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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven wrap up their first day of talks in Japan.
Global security, the refugee crisis and political instability were focal points of their discussions. They are also expected to discuss maritime security in the South China Sea and recent nuclear and ballistic missile provocations from North Korea. Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says he is resigning. He said in a televised speech, he hopes his resignation will give Ukraine a chance to adopt electoral, constitutional and judicial reforms. U.S. President Barack Obama is guaranteeing he won't intervene in the government's investigation of how the leading Democratic presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, used a private server email account while she was his secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. "I do not talk to the attorney general about pending investigations. I do not talk to FBI directors about pending investigations. We have a strict line, and always have maintained it." Mr. Obama told Fox News Sunday in an interview taped last week that Clinton did not jeopardize national security through her use of a private email server, but he added that "there's a carelessness in terms of managing emails" that she has acknowledged. U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is in India. His visit comes at a time of increased cooperation between the militaries of the two countries. Carter told reporters after arriving Sunday that the two countries' defense ministers will discuss activities and projects that reflect the closeness of U.S.-India strategic relationship. Carter said he hopes to improve defense technology and trade cooperation. This is VOA news. About 100 people died and hundreds were injured when a fire broke out Sunday at a temple in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Thousands had gathered at the Puttingal Devi Temple in Paravur to witnesses the fireworks display being held as part of an annual religious festival. Officials say a shed where fireworks were stored went up in flames after a spark fell on it, setting off a series of explosions and a huge fire that spread quickly. A stampede ensued. Many were injured as they tried to flee the area. A strong earthquake centered in northeast Afghanistan rattled parts of Central and South Asia on Sunday. AFP reports one person killed. There were no immediate reports of other fatalities or substantial damage. Russian news reports say the Syrian military is preparing a major operation with the Russian air force to regain control of the city of Aleppo. The Interfax news agency Sunday quoted Syria's prime minister as saying the military push is aimed at freeing the city and blocking what he called "all illegal armed groups which have not joined or broken the February cease-fire." A new cease-fire took effect in Yemen at midnight local time, with all sides promising to stick to it. The truce is aimed at giving peace talks scheduled for April 18 in Kuwait a chance to succeed. Belgian prosecutors said Sunday the terrorist cell linked to the November attacks in Paris was planning a second attack in France, but last month decided to hit Brussels instead. The Brussels bombings at an airport and a commuter rail system killed 32 people. British Prime Minister David Cameron, hoping to defuse controversy over profiting from his late father's offshore funds, took the unusual step Sunday of releasing a summary of the last six years of his tax returns. Those returns sparked another controversy, this one over financial gifts the prime minister received from his mother in 2011 a year after the death of his father. British media immediately questioned the tax implications of the gifts. Macedonian police fired tear gas and rubber bullets at hundreds of migrants as they tried to break through a border fence on the Greek side of the countries' shared border. Macedonian officials say a group of migrants left their camp Sunday and moved toward the fence after rumors had spread throughout the cramp that Macedonia was going to open the border. When Macedonian police denied the rumors, hundreds of migrants tried to scale the fence. An unmanned SpaceX cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station Sunday, two days after launching from Florida. The SpaceX Dragon docked with the station carrying more than 3,100 kilograms of freight. In Washington, I'm David DeForest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |