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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Steve Miller reporting.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said that progress has been made since Monday's suicide bombing after an Ariana Grande concert. "A significant amount of police activity has taken place over the last 24 hours and there are now 11 suspects in custody. In the light of these developments, JTAC, the independent joint terrorism analysis center, has this morning taken the decision to reduce the threat level from critical to severe." Soldiers who have been helping police will be withdrawn from Britain's streets in the next few days. A militia in Libya has detained bomber Salman Abedi's father and brother. But details on how they may be tied to the bombing have not been released. Grande says she will return to Manchester to do a benefit show to raise money for the victims and their families. But the date has not been set. Following the two-day Group of Seven summit in Italy, U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to service personnel at Naval Air Station Sigonella. "Every single day, you protect the safety and security of the American people and provide a symbol of hope, freedom and justice for the world. To our friends and allies, you are the ultimate reassurance. To our enemies, you are the ultimate deterrent." On the second and final day of the G7 summit in Italy, the county wanted to draw attention to the migration crisis and the dangerous Mediterranean crossings taken by tens of thousands of people looking for a better life in Europe. The Africa-focused anti-poverty group One said the G7 communique sets a "new low" for the G7 in a year of "greatly diminished expectations." Find updates to these stories and more on our website voanews.com. This is VOA. U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said Saturday he was not concerned about a The Washington Post report that President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, discussed with Russia's ambassador to Washington the possibility of setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin. "We have back-channel communications with any number of countries. So generally speaking, about back-channel communications, what that allows you to do is communicate in a discreet manner. So it doesn't pre-expose you to any sort of content or any kind of conversation or anything. So we're not concerned about it." McMaster said he would not comment specifically on Kushner. The Post quoted U.S. officials Friday as saying that the move was meant to shield pre-inauguration discussions from scrutiny. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy United Kingdom holiday weekend. The airline said it was suffering a "major IT systems failure" around the world. Chief executive Alex Cruz believes the cause was a power supply issue and not one of a cyberattack. He said the crash had affected all check-in and operational systems. Passengers shared their frustrations via social media and to reporters at the scene. The airlines said it was working to resolve and restore services out of Heathrow and Gatwick beginning on Sunday although it told passengers to expect some disruptions. It also said that long-haul bound flights into London would land on schedule Sunday. Hundreds of hunger striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on the first day of the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan. They reached a compromise with Israel for additional family visits, according to Israeli and Palestinian officials. Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike they said was aimed at improving prison conditions. The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests since Israel's 1967 capture of territories Palestinians seek to have for their state in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. Spain's maritime rescue service has said it saved 157 migrants from five small boats attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. In Washington, I'm Steve Miller. That's the latest world news from VOA. |