A state of (emergency) for provinces in Egypt. Brazilians are mourning the loss of more than 200 people in a nightclub fire. I’m David Deforest reporting from Washington.
French forces have taken control of the airport and roads leading into the Malian city of Timbuktu, continuing an operation to oust Islamist militants who have controlled northern Mali for months. Military officials said today (paratroopers) and ground forces secured access to the city overnight.
Protesters and riot police sparked today in Cairo after Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi declared a 30-day state of emergency in three provinces. Sunday Mr. Morsi and authorities introduced emergency measures and a nightly (curfew) in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez which begins today.
Two Cambodians have died from bird flu already in 2013, making a bad start to the new year as we hear from Robert Carmichael.
A two-year-old Cambodian girl is in a serious condition in Phnom Penh after being hospitalized with the H5N1 virus, also known as avian, or bird flu. Sonny Inbaraj Krishnan, the communications officer for the World Health Organization in Phnom Penh, says the development has health professionals concerned.
“This is the fourth (case) this month of human influenza H5N1.”
The latest victims here were a 15-year-old girl, who died a week ago, and a 35-year-old man, who died last Wednesday. A baby who fell ill earlier in the month has recovered. Robert Carmichael, Phnom Penh.
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is set to unveil a set of changes to the nation’s immigration system including a path to citizenship for those currently in the country illegally. The proposal comes just ahead of a speech planned by President Barack Obama in which he is expected to (urge) action on immigration reform.
Brazilians are mourning the loss of 232 people. They were killed early Sunday in a fire that swept through a (nightclub) in the far south of the country. More than a hundred were injured. Brazilian officials say the club in the city of Santa Maria was crowded with university students. For more on this story, visit our website VOA news.com.
A second pretrial hearing in the case against the alleged masterminds of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States begins today at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The hearings will determine if the defendants can get a fair trial. Lawyers for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others say the case should be thrown out because confessions from the suspects resulted from (torture).
Russia says it has never supported the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters today in Moscow, Russia, does not support one side in the Syrian conflict over another.
India and Bangladesh are set to sign (extradition) and visa agreements, as the neighbors take steps to improve ties and formally deny criminals sanctuary on either side of their common border. Aru Pande reports.
The deals will be finalized during Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde’s two-day visit to Bangladesh that began on Monday. Shinde and his Bangladeshi counterpart, Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir , are taking up an extradition treaty that will allow the two countries to hand over criminals in a process that has so far been informal. For India, this means the chance of getting (custody) of rebel leaders from the country’s northeast who have crossed into Bangladesh. For Dhaka, it means having access to Bangladeshi criminals who are in Indian custody. Aru Pande, VOA News, New Delhi.
An official in Bangladesh says the government is ordering an investigation into allegations that the only emergency exit was locked at a garment factory where fire Saturday killed seven workers. The Associated Press cites a government official as saying an inquiry has been ordered into the cause of the (blaze).
Hospital officials in northwestern Venezuela say 61 inmates were killed and more than 120 injured in a prison riot last Friday. Violence broke out at the Uribana jail near Barquisimeto over reports that authorities have planned to search the complex for illegal weapons.
Australian police say three people are dead after (torrential) rains in recent days flooded several cities in northeastern Australia. The bodies of two men were found today, one in the Queensland capital, Brisbane, and another further north at Gympie. The body of an elderly man was found earlier near the city of Bundaberg.
From the VOA News Center in Washington, I’m David Deforest, more news on the Internet at VOA news.com.