VOA NEWS

April 23, 2016

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann reporting.



More than 170 countries signed an agreement Friday aimed at limiting the rise of global temperatures and slowing the effects of climate change on the planet.

The deal which was agreed to in Paris at the end of last year opened for signatures on Friday in honor of Earth Day.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that this action is overdue.

"The window for keeping global temperature rise well below two degrees Celsius, let alone 1.5 degrees, is rapidly closing. The era of consumption without consequences is over."

The leader also said nations must intensify efforts to de-carbonize their economies and urged support for developing countries in making this transaction.

The countries signing the deal represent more than 93 percent of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions.

The world's biggest emitters, China and the United States, together account for about 40 percent of emissions and both countries urged early enforcement of the deal.



President Obama has dived into a heated debate over a June 23 referendum in which British voters will decide whether their country will remain in the European Union.

The U.S. leader says he believes the EU magnifies rather than moderates British influence in the world. The U.S. president's remarks at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron are a boost for Mr. Cameron, who has come out in support of remaining in the European Union.

Mr. Obama made his remarks after first making his position known in a column published in The Telegraph newspaper moments after Air Force One touched down at Stansted Airport outside London late Thursday.



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Medical examiners have performed an autopsy on legendary U.S. musician Prince to try to determine why he died. But authorities cautioned that the results might not be made public for weeks.

The 57-year-old artist was found dead Thursday in an elevator at the Paisley Park Studios complex where he lived outside the northern city of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

During his news conference in London with British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Obama called Prince's death a "remarkable loss" and lauded the performer's talents.

"I love Prince because he put out great music and he was a great performer. I didn't know him well. He came to perform at the White House last year and was extraordinary."

Mr. Obama said he listened to Prince's songs "Purple Rain" and "Delirious" on Friday morning at the U.S. ambassador's residence in London where he is staying.



The governor of southern U.S. state Virginia signed an executive order Friday, restoring voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons.

Previously, Virginia, like most other states, had passed laws restricting the rights of people convicted of committing felony offenses.

But instead of pushing legislators to change the Civil War-era law, Governor Terry McAuliffe claims he has the executive authority to overturn it on his own, and Friday restored voting rights to both violent and non-violent offenders.

The governor and his supporters say the action eliminates a measure that was originally aimed at disenfranchising African-Americans.

His opponents point to the fact that the action will boost the rolls of likely Democratic voters for this November's presidential election.



A next major test in the U.S. presidential campaign comes Tuesday when five eastern states hold Democratic primaries in Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

The two presidential front-runners, Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, appear well-positioned to pick up more delegates than solidifying their status as the top contenders.



NATO and Russia held their first dialogue in two years this week.

The meeting among ambassadors of the alliance and Russia in Brussels Wednesday failed to produce agreements, but analysts say it has raised hope that Russia may be making a new effort to emerge from isolation following its annexation of Crimea and support for separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.

Russia is still under sanctions from the United States and other members of NATO, which called on Russian forces to stop their actions to destabilize eastern Ukraine.



For more on this and other stories, visit us at voanews.com. I'm Phoebe Zimmermann in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.