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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jim Bertel reporting.
Explosions rock a Pakistani town. Scores of people have been killed and many injured in bombings protest marches and shootings in the north and south of Pakistan. At least 25 people were killed in two explosions at a market in the northwestern town of Parachinar. A member of parliament from the area told local media he anticipated the death toll will rise. Earlier, at least 13 people died in a suicide bombing in Quetta. Violence also hit the city of Karachi, where at least four policemen were reported to have been shot and killed Friday evening. Speaking Friday in Brussels and on the one year anniversary of Britain's decision to leave the European Union, Prime Minister Theresa May addressed the fate of the three million EU citizens who called Britain home. "I want all those EU citizens who are in the UK, who have made their lives and homes in our country, to know that no one will have to leave. We won't be seeing families split apart. People will be able to go on living their lives as before." May [smoke] spoke on the residency rights on the second day of the EU summit. Her offer gives EU nationals who have been living in Britain for at least five years the same rights they enjoy now. May also said the government will set out more detailed proposals on Monday. The leader of Afghan's Taliban said Friday the United States will be "making a mistake" by increasing its troop numbers in the country. He went on to blame foreign forces for being "the main obstacles in the way of peace in Afghanistan." The Taliban wants NATO forces to leave the country before it engages in any peace talks. President Donald Trump recently authorized several thousand additional troops to Afghanistan. This is VOA news. In London, hundreds of apartment households in the borough of Camden are being evacuated for fire safety concerns. This comes after a deadly blaze at a public housing building last week killed 79 people. Borough officials say the evacuations are happening because combustible exterior insulation was discovered on the apartment buildings just like Grenfell Tower, which was destroyed last week. Renovations to the five Camden apartment buildings are expected to take two to three weeks. President Trump signed into law Friday a bill that will make it easier to fire Department of Veterans Affairs employees. [Its development that has] It's a development that has union officials concerned the measure could be misused for political purposes. The signing is the latest step in an effort by the Trump administration to strengthen the VA, an agency that provides health care and other services to millions of military veterans. "Today we are finally changing those laws -- wasn't easy, but we did have some fantastic help -- to make sure that the scandal of what we suffered so recently never, ever happens again -- and that our veterans can get the care they so richly deserve." The scandal refers to a situation in 2014 where some veterans died awaiting treatment in Arizona. There were also long wait times for medical treatment and attempted cover-ups by agency employees. Four Arab countries are demanding Qatar take its government-supported Al Jazeera news channel off the air. However, Al Jazeera's English division manager is speaking out, saying that would suppress freedom of expression. Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates plus Bahrain gave Qatar a list of demands to end its embargo on Thursday. One of the demands for Al Jazeera and affiliates to be shut down. The countries recently broke ties with Qatar over allegations it funds terrorism. Doha rejects that. Acting managing director Giles Trendle said he believes the opposition to his network goes back to 2011 during the so-called Arab Spring. "At that time, Al Jazeera was covering the dreams and the aspirations of a new generation of people. We provided the platform for the voice of the man and the woman in the Arab streets. We were covering those protests and we were providing a diversity of viewpoints. We were really the voice of the voiceless. I think there are some regimes in the region that don't appreciate that diversity of views." Trendle also reiterated what government officials have said. Shutting it down is not up for negotiation. For all the latest news, visit voanews.com. That's the latest world news from VOA. |