Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text VOA news for Monday, May 4th, 2015 From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Ray Kouguell reporting. Death toll in Nepal earthquake tops 7,000. Four more people have been rescued in Nepal from underneath earthquake rubble, including a 101-year-old man. Police say he was found about 80 kilometers northwest of the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu. Rescue workers pulled three other survivors from the debris northeast of Kathmandu. Officials say hopes of finding more survivors are fast fading and the death toll could climb "much higher" than the current total of more than 7,000. Thousands of people are still missing. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Kenya for talks with top officials. VOA's Pam Dockins reports. Counterterrorism and economic cooperation will be two key focal points for Kerry as he meets with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and other high-level officials in Nairobi, and he travels to Djibouti later in the week. His visit comes just weeks after an al-Shabab rampage at Kenya's Garissa University left 147 people dead. Kerry launched his trip to Kenya with a tour at Nairobi's National Park where he got an up close look at orphaned baby elephants and other animals. Pam Dockins, VOA news, Nairobi. Hundreds of kidnapped women and children are receiving assistance at a Nigerian refugee camp in Yola province following their rescue from a forest in the country's northeast, where they were held by Boko Haram militants for undetermined amount of time. Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency says that 275 women and children are receiving medical care, food and trauma counseling. A camp official says some of the children are being treated for gunshot wounds and broken limbs. This is VOA news. Ten migrants drowned in the Mediterranean near the coast of Libya over the last two days, but at least 4,800 were rescued as people smugglers took advantage of calm seas to attempt the often perilous crossing to Europe's southern shores. All of those rescued were ferried to Italian ports, with some arriving on Italy's southernmost island, Lampedusa, and others taken to Sicily and Calabria. Afghan and Taliban officials are meeting in Qatar in an unofficial dialogue about how to end their war. Ayaz Gul has more. The meeting in the Gulf state is happening amid arising Taliban attacks in Afghanistan as part of the insurgents' annual so-called "spring offensive.” Afghan officials say days of deadly clashes between government forces and the Taliban have displaced thousands of civilians in the northern Kunduz province. Representatives of the Taliban-led warring factions, government peace negotiators and Afghan peace activists are among the delegates attending the two-day open discussions in Qatar's capital, Doha. Neighboring Pakistan is also reportedly represented in the meeting, but officials in Islamabad refused to confirm it though they said they are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the talks. Ayaz Gul, Islamabad. The Saudi-led coalition battling Shiite Houthi insurgents in Yemen landed several dozen special forces in Aden Sunday, its first ground deployment in the battle for control of the Arab world's poorest country. The coalition denied that a major ground offensive is under way, but the special forces engaged in fighting the Houthis at Aden's international airport. A human rights says it has "credible" evidence the Saudi-led coalition used banned cluster bombs supplied by the United States in recent airstrikes against Houthi forces in Yemen. Human Rights Watch said Sunday cluster bombs pose long-term dangers to civilians and are prohibited by a 2008 treaty adopted by 116 countries. Saudi Arabia, Yemen and the U.S., however, did not adopt the treaty. Here in the United States, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has ended the citywide overnight curfew as protesters held another rally against police violence outside city hall. Baltimore was in turmoil last week after the funeral for Freddie Gray, the African American man who died last month while in police custody. Shortly after the mayor's announcement ending the curfew, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said some of the 4,000 soldiers and police brought in from other states have begun to leave the city. Governor Hogan said the state of emergency in Baltimore will not be lifted until all the soldiers have left. And Sunday was World Press Freedom Day, an annual observance established by the United Nations in 1993 to support and celebrate the fundamental principles of press freedom. That's run by the U.N. I'm Ray Kouguell in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA.

• published: 04 May 2015
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