VOA NEWS

August 9, 2016

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. A suicide bomb attack on a hospital complex in the Pakistani city of Quetta Monday has left more than 60 people dead.



Officials say 160 people were wounded in the blast. Many are in critical condition.

Most of the victims were lawyers who had been at a hospital to protest the killing of a local bar association president.

A splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban is claiming responsibility for both incidents.



The fight for Syria's northern city of Aleppo has intensified. Opposition groups are pledging to send in more fighters and fully capture the area. Pro-government forces have responded to rebel gains with airstrikes.

The medical charity, Doctors Without Borders, said Monday airstrikes damaged a hospital in northwestern Syria and killed 13 people, including a number of children.

Meanwhile, U.N. officials in Syria are calling for a stop to fighting so repairs can be done to Aleppo's damaged water and electricity facilities and provide aid to people trapped in the eastern part of the city.



Authorities in Afghanistan said Monday they have made major successes against the Taliban and the Islamic State group. They say national security forces have killed hundreds of fighters, including key leaders linked to both groups.



Officials say fighting between anti-government protesters and Ethiopian police has left dozens of people dead.

Two officials with the Oromo Federalist Congress party say more than 30 people were killed in the Oromiya region during protests on Saturday and Sunday.

Amnesty International says 97 people were killed.

One of the worst cities hit was Bahir Dar, the Amhara region's capital.



This is VOA news.



Fifty former Republican national security advisers, intelligence chiefs and trade representatives have signed a letter saying, none of them plan to vote for Donald Trump.

The strongly worded letter not only says Trump is unqualified to be president, but that he would be a dangerous commander-in-chief and, in its words, "the most reckless president in American history."

Trump dismissed the 50 as part of what he called the "failed Washington elite."

Trump's real focus Monday was the economy. Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump outlined his economic plan, saying he wants to jump start the American economy with new tax cuts, curbs on government regulation and efforts to boost the fortunes of middle-income workers.

"I am proposing an across-the-board income tax reduction, especially for middle-income Americans. This will lead to millions of new and really good-paying jobs."

In St. Petersburg, Florida, Democrat Hillary Clinton assailed the Trump plan.

"So here's the deal, he can't escape the math. Now you know, math can be kind of inconvenient if it doesn't add up the way you want it to. And economists left, right, in the middle all say the same thing. That Trump's policies would throw us into a recession, the last thing we need."

Clinton plans to release her own economic plan later this week.



The United States summoned the envoy of the Philippines on Monday to clarify remarks made by President Rodrigo Duterte about U.S. ambassador Philip Goldberg.

Duterte in his meeting with soldiers at a military base last week was reported to have singled out Goldberg and lashed out with personal attacks.

Goldberg has been critical of Duterte's remarks about sexual violence.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government is alarmed by reports of extrajudicial killings as a result of Mr. Duterte's anti-drug dealer campaign.

Here is State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau: "We believe in rule of law. We believe in due process. We believe in respect for universal human rights. We believe fundamentally that those aspects ensure and promote long-term security."

Media reports say hundreds of people with suspected drug links have been killed, some allegedly at the hands of vigilantes and half a million have surrendered.



Day three of the Rio Olympics featured medal events in gymnastics, swimming, fencing, women's rugby, judo and more. First-timers also debuted on day three.



Delta Air Lines gradually resumed flights worldwide Monday, that after a computer outage grounded planes, leaving thousands of passengers stranded.

Limited service was resumed about six hours after the outage began.



From the VOA news center in Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.