It is 15:30 Universal Time. I’m Steve Ember in Washington.
One young person was shot and killed and at least 18 others injured in Port Said, a city in northern Egypt. The violence took place during clashes between (security forces) and thousands of angry soccer fans. Large protests begin late Friday after the Egyptian Football Association said the al-Masry soccer club would be banned for two seasons. The group also said that Port Said stadium would be closed for three years because of a (deadly soccer riot) last month. Seventy-four people were killed in that riot. Clashes continued into Saturday. Security officials fired shots into the air to force demonstrators outside the Suez Canal authority building to leave. The young person was reportedly shot (in the back).
Activists reported heavy shelling again in the city of Homs on Saturday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least three people were killed in the Khaldiyeh area of Homs and the nearby town of Qusair. The group says at least one person was also killed in clashes in Idlib province. Also Saturday, jointed United Nations-Arab League representative Kofi Annan has arrived in Russia. He is there to support (international cause) for a ceasefire in Syria. Both Russia and China have blocked Security Council action against Syrian since the deadly campaign against protesters began.
The leaders of the rebellion in Mali are calling for (calm). State-run television broadcast a statement Saturday by Amadou Sanogo, the leader of the rebels. It was an effort to dismiss reports that Mr. Sanogo had been killed. He said his main goal was to keep Mali’s (territorial borders) and to protect the security of people and there property. On Wednesday, soldiers took control of the home of Mali’s president. They said they were angry with a way president Amadou Toumani Toure has dealt with an ethnic Tuareg rebellion in the north. Video from Mali’s capital shows a lot of stealing and rioting. Some people are afraid to go out and are accusing soldiers of stealing their goods and (gunpoint).
President Obama is on his way to South Korea for the (Nuclear Security Summit) next week. Mr. Obama will join more than 50 world leaders for the high-level conference in Seoul. The meeting comes as North Korea threatens to stop progress made to a nuclear disarmament by planning to launch a long-distance rocket next month. The United States said last week the rocket launch will cancel an earlier agreement to give North Korea (food aid) in exchange for halting its nuclear and long-distance missile programs.
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