Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text Sunday October 20th, 2013 From Washington, this is VOA news. Central Somalia, suicide bombing kills at least 15, and a U.N. official calls for relief from fighting in Syria. I'm Vincent Bruce reporting from Washington. In the central Somali town of Beledweyne, a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a crowded restaurant Saturday. Earlier in the day, Beledweyne district commissioner Bashir Hussein Dhoor confirmed 15 people were killed and 34 injured. The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack. The group released a statement identifying the main target as troops from Ethiopia and Djibouti. Al-Shabab claims the blast killed more than 20 people, including 13 Ethiopian troops. The group claimed responsibility for September siege at a mall in Kenya that killed at least 67 people. The United Nations' top humanitarian official is urging both sides in the Syrian civil war to allow aid workers access to thousands of civilians trapped in one of several besieged suburbs ringing the capital of Damascus. Valerie Amos Saturday called for an "immediate pause in hostilities" to allow access for medical and other rescue personnel into area. Government troops laid siege to the mostly rebel-held town for months. Last week, more than 3,000 civilians, mostly women and children, were able to leave Moadhamiya in a deal brokered between government and opposition representatives. But the U.N. official said Saturday that "the same number or more remain trapped" in the community, which has been the frequent target of shelling and clashes. Meanwhile, world leaders continued to push for a peace conference in Geneva next month. The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, on Saturday met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy and is due to hold talks with Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi on Sunday. More details at voanews.com. In Rome Saturday, Italian police in riot gear clashed with demonstrators who took to the streets to protest against the government's new austerity measures. The protesters expressed frustration over Italy's 2014 cost-cutting budget unveiled by Prime Minister Enrico Letta that would freeze public sector's salaries--a government attempt to lead Italy out of a recession. Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi could be barred from holding public office after his conviction for tax fraud. An Italian court ruled Saturday that Berlusconi, the former prime minister and current senator, should be barred for two years from holding public office. However, the ruling will not have an immediate effect until a vote in the upper house of parliament in coming weeks on whether to expel him from the Senate. Italy's Supreme Court turned down the 77-year-old Berlusconi's second and final appeal against the tax fraud verdict, upholding his first definitive conviction after many years of legal challenges. French and Thai experts are helping rescue workers in Laos search for the remains of a passenger plane that crashed into the Mekong River Wednesday. All 49 people on board the Lao Airlines plane are presumed dead. As of Saturday, more than 30 bodies had been recovered. The teams from France's air accident agency and the Thai military were using sonar equipment Saturday to scan the river for the aircraft and remaining victims. President Obama Friday nominated a former Defense Department lawyer, Jeh Johnson, to be the next secretary of Homeland Security. Johnson played a major role in explaining Obama administration legal justifications on the use of unmanned drones and lethal targeted strikes and U.S. detention policies. VOA's senior White House correspondent Dan Robinson has a report. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Johnson would become only the fourth Homeland Security secretary, replacing Janet Napolitano, who led the department through President Obama's first term. Created after the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on the United States, the department has a $60-billion budget and 240,000 employees. In announcing the nomination, President Obama paid tribute to Johnson's role in national security and in ensuring that U.S. principles are upheld in the fight against terrorism. "As the Pentagon's top lawyer, he helped design and implement many of the policies that have kept our country safe." Dan Robinson, VOA news, the White House. U.S. Congressman Bill Young--the longest serving Republican in the House of Representatives--has died at the age of 82. His chief of staff said Young died at a hospital just outside Washington where he had been for nearly two weeks with back problems related to a 1970 small plane crash. President Barack Obama said in a statement that Young "will be remembered for his advocacy and support for the armed forces, service members and their families."

• published: 20 Oct 2013
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