|
From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.
At least one person has been killed in an attack Wednesday at Afghanistan's American University in Kabul. At least 25 people have been wounded. Dozens of staff and students are believed to be trapped inside the university complex. The attacks began around 6:30 p.m. local time and set off an hour of gunfire as security forces responded. This student says he first heard an explosion and then gunfire. He says two bullets hit the floor of his classroom and the students escaped by climbing out of window. The number of attackers involved remains unclear and there were no claims of responsibility. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says at least 120 people died in Wednesday's earthquake in central Italy. The hardest hit areas include the towns of Amatrice and Accumoli. The U.S. Geological Survey put the magnitude at 6.2, with the epicenter about 10 kilometers southeast of the town of Norcia. A strong earthquake shook north-central Myanmar Wednesday. At least three people were killed. The quake damaged about 60 ancient Buddhist pagodas. Turkish tanks and special forces stormed into Syria on Wednesday, launching an offensive aimed at clearing Islamic State militants and Syrian Kurds from the border region. About 1,500 Syrian opposition fighters also joined the cross-border operation. Hours after heavy pre-dawn artillery attacks and a Turkish and U.S. aerial bombardment of Islamic State targets around the town of Jarablus, Turkey's state-run news agency reported the rebels had captured one IS-held village. A senior U.S. official says American military is providing forces with air cover, intelligence and advisers. This is VOA news. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says the White House is determined to listen to "every scrap of evidence" Turkey provides before deciding if it will extradite Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen. Gulen lives in the U.S. and Turkey is demanding his immediate extradition, accusing him of organizing last month's failed military coup -- a charge he denies. Biden met in Ankara Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He tried to head off Mr. Erdoğan's impatience by explaining that American courts require firm evidence before a suspect is surrendered to another country. "(We should) make clear under American law no president of the United States has authority to extradite anyone under his own power, that only an American court can do that." Turkey's prime minister says any delay in sending Gulen to Turkey could harm U.S.-Turkish relations. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has praised non-governmental organizations working in Nigeria. He met with representatives of anti-corruption NGOs. Anti-corruption groups in Nigeria have asked Kerry to help speed the return of billions of dollars looted from the country's treasury by local officials. They believe the looted money is in the United States or several European countries. Kerry told the group asset recovery is a lengthy, complicated process but that the U.S. government has lawyers and accountants working on it. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is proposing a new fund to improve the way the federal government responds to the Zika virus and other public health emergencies. The Public Health Rapid Response Fund would allow the president to quickly release money in the event of a public health crisis without having to wait for congressional approval. Meanwhile, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigned Wednesday in Florida. He also plans to travel to Mississippi, where he is expected to address concerns of the black community. Mississippi student Muhammad Dakhlalla has been sentenced to eight years in prison on federal terrorism charges. He and his fiancée had planned to marry in Turkey and then travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group. The fiancée, Jaelyn Young, had converted to Islam while studying at Mississippi State University and was described as the mastermind of the plot. She was sentenced earlier this month to 12 years in prison. The South Sudan government Wednesday said that even though former rebel leader Riek Machar is being treated at a Khartoum hospital for an apparent chest infection and leg injury, relations between the two countries will not be soured. A spokesman says South Sudan will continue to work with Sudan on trade and other issues of interest. In Washington, I'm David DeForest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |