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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jonathan Jones.
Two car bombs in the Somali capital killed six people and injured at least [five hour] five others on Sunday, witnesses said. One of the car bombs exploded at a key checkpoint in Mogadishu, killing four people and injuring at least four others, according to medical sources. Witnesses said the car driven by a suicide bomber rammed into the checkpoint at high speed after a soldier flagged it to stop. The soldier was killed immediately. The three civilian bystanders were, standers were, also killed. Earlier Sunday, another car bomb exploded close to a security checkpoint outside Mogadishu, killing the bomber and injuring a police officer. Police said the car exploded during a chase. Pro-separatist marchers clashed with riot police in Barcelona, Spain, during a demonstration Sunday against the arrest of Catalonia's former President Carles Puigdemont. Police swung batons to stop protesters from marching on the Spanish government offices. The marchers threw garbage and other objects at the officers. At least 50 people were hurt. Thousands of people filled the streets of the Catalan capital in support of the ousted president and separatist leader who was picked up on an international arrest warrant in Germany on Sunday. He had just crossed the border from Denmark. Puigdemont is expected to appear in court Monday while German prosecutors consider Spain's extradition request. Puigdemont is wanted in Spain on charges of treason and inciting violence. This is VOA news. Nigeria's government is in talks with Islamist militant group Boko Haram about a possible cease-fire and the talks have been going on for some time, according to the Information Minister Lai Mohammed. It is the first time in years that the government has said it was talking to Boko Haram about a cease-fire. President Muhammadu Buhari's government has previously said it was willing to hold talks with the group but has given no details. Boko Haram has waged an insurgency in northeast Nigeria and neighboring countries since 2009 and aims to create an Islamic state. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, more than 2 million displaced and thousands abducted. Mohammed made his statement in an email to Reuters outlining the background to the release of more than 100 schoolgirls freed last week by the group after being kidnapped on February 19 from the northeastern town of Dapchi. The Saudi Air Force intercepted an apparent Houthi rebel missile fired over Riyadh Sunday from Yemen. That report from state-run Saudi Television. Witnesses on the ground said they heard loud explosions and saw bright flashes in the sky, but no damage or casualties are reported. The Houthis have fired a number of missiles into Saudi Arabia since late last year, including one on the international airport in Riyadh, which United Nations experts determined was Iranian-made. Pope Francis has encouraged young people to stand up for what they believe in and not let their voices be silenced. His Palm Sunday address during mass in St. Peter's Square came the day after throngs of people around the world mobilized by young organizers staged demonstrations urging the U.S. to adopt stricter gun control laws. And Facebook co-founder and chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg apologized Sunday in full-page advertisements in nine major British and U.S. newspapers for the massive "breach of trust" at the social media giant that revealed personal information of millions of Facebook users. In the ads, Zuckerberg wrote, "This was a breach of trust, and I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time. We're now taking steps to make sure this doesn't happen again." You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. From the world headquarters of the Voice of America in Washington, I'm Jonathan Jones, VOA news. That's the latest world news from VOA. |