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From Washington, it's VOA news. Hello, I'm Steve Miller.
Police in Span say the driver of the van that mowed down pedestrians in a Barcelona street on Thursday may still be at large. Albert Oliva, Catalan police spokesperson: "We still have a suspect at large. But we cannot say whether it is the driver of the van or not. It is true that we are looking for this person. We will find out afterwards his relation with the attack that took place." Younes Abouyaaqoub, a 22-year-old Moroccan-born man, (who) is being sought by police, is now seen as a possible ringleader of the group that carried out the attack in Barcelona and another in Cambrils that killed 14 people. Venezuela's congress met on Saturday in defiance of what opposition leaders consider an autocratic push by allies of President Nicholás Maduro to usurp the legislature's power. Venezuela's ongoing political standoff took another dramatic turn on Friday after the pro-government constitutional assembly approved a decree taking over congress's powers to pass legislation of vital importance to the crisis-racked nation. Police in Finland say a stabbing spree on Friday that left two people dead and at least six others injured in the southwestern coastal city of Turku is being investigated as a terrorist attack. The suspect whom the police shot in the leg was identified as an 18-year-old Moroccan citizen. But police have not released his name. The security intelligence service raised a terrorism threat level in June after becoming aware of terror-related plots. This is VOA news. A tweet by President Donald Trump indicates that the United States may have decided on its Afghanistan war strategy moving forward. Ira Mellman has the story. After a day spent huddling with his top advisers and military leaders in his mountain retreat, President Trump used his Twitter feed to say, "Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented Generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan." He gave no further details but he has expressed dissatisfaction with recent Taliban advances in the fighting there. "We're getting very close. It's a very big decision for me. I took over a mess and we're going to make it a lot less messy." The U.S. Defense Department approved a plan months ago to send about 3,800 additional troops to assist the Afghan army, but some White House officials questioned whether more resources would be effective. Ira Mellman, VOA news. Boston police arrested 27 people in protests surrounding a "Free Speech Rally," Police Commissioner William Evans told reporters on Saturday. Mayor Marty Walsh said that the peaceful demonstration showed that Boston stood for peace and love. "And I think it's important that today, in our city, there's been a lot of work done to be able to come in and to be able to protest, to be able to express themselves all the way from Roxbury Community College, all the way to Boston Common. I was at Roxbury College earlier and you could just feel a sense of pride being there, that people were going to come out and make a statement about how great we are here in the city of Boston. So I want to thank all of the people that came out today, I want to thank all the people who came out to share that message of love not hate, to fight back on racism, to fight back on anti-Semitism, to fight back on the white supremacist that were coming to our city, on the Nazis that were coming to our city. I want to thank everyone who came here today. I want to thank everyone who came here and expressed themselves in such a positive, great manner today." Police Commissioner Evans said most of the arrests were for disorderly conduct, with some for assault and battery during scuffles between police and protesters. At least 23 people were killed and scores injured when a passenger train derailed Saturday in northern India. At least six coaches of the Kalinga-Utkal Express derailed and hit one another in the state of Uttar Pradesh. A railway spokesperson said the cause of the accident was not immediately known. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari returned to the country Saturday after more than three months in London being treated for medical reasons. The government gave no details He is scheduled to address the nation Monday morning on a broadcast. For in-depth coverage, point your web browser to voanews.com. I'm Steve Miller in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |