April 8

VOA news for Friday, April 8th, 2016

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• published: 08 Apr 2016
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VOA news for Friday, April 8th, 2016 Thanks to http://gandalf.ddo.jp/ for audio and text From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. Russian President Vladimir Putin is denying allegations that documents leaked from a Panamanian law firm contain evidence of corruption among his closest associates. Speaking Thursday to a media forum in St. Petersburg, Mr. Putin described the so-called Panama Papers as part of a Western campaign to undermine Russia. Pope Francis plans to make a trip to the Greek island of Lesbos on April 16 to meet with refugees. The Vatican said the pope accepted the invitation from the leader of the Christian Orthodox Church and the president of Greece. Meanwhile, the European Union struggles to adjust its plan to deport illegal migrants. These migrants say they don't wanna go back to Turkey. Tensions have risen among the thousands of migrants who have fled the chaos in their own countries for safety in Europe. Belgian police have released a new video of a man wanted in the recent Brussels airport bombing. The video was taken minutes after the March 22 bombings, shows the apparent getaway of a third surviving suspect -- often identified simply as "the man with a hat.” Voters in Djibouti go to the polls Friday to elect a president. President Ismail Omar Guelleh is widely expected to win his fourth term in office. He faces six challengers, but none of them have emerged as a clear front-runner. This is VOA news. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says he plans discussions with Syrian government and opposition parties next week. He hopes to start Syria's political transition process. Lisa Schlein takes a look. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura says the next round of Syrian peace talks will resume next week. But he is a bit vague as to the starting date. He says that is the duty of having what he calls flexible, proximity talks. Since the warring parties refuse to meet face to face, the U.N. envoy shuttles from one delegation to another. Therefore, he says it is not necessary for all the delegations to be present at the same time. He says he expects staggered arrivals to begin early next week, with earnest negotiations set for April the 13. Lisa Schlein, Geneva. Bahrain Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa Thursday said Iran needs to change its foreign policy in the region and stop weapons shipments and training of "terrorists.” The minister spoke during an appearance with visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Earlier, Kerry held a series of talks on regional security issues with officials from the Gulf Cooperation Council. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has urged more diplomacy in dealing with world powers. He says the implementation of last year's nuclear agreement shows that "logic and argument can triumph over hard power and threats.” The two U.S. Democratic presidential candidates, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, are feuding over who is qualified to be the country's leader. The two traded contentious barbs Thursday even as they made a nominal effort to cool the rhetoric between them. FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday secret methods employed to unlock an Apple iPhone used by the San Bernardino shooter will only work on a "narrow slice" of phones. He said the tools used by the FBI to unlock the phone, provided by an unnamed third party, will not work on newer iPhone models, such as the 5s, 6 or 6s. U.S. and Turkish authorities are discussing ways to support the moderate Syrian opposition. They want to push the Islamic State group from the Turkish border area farther east into Syria. Speaking to members of the Diplomacy Correspondents Association Thursday in Ankara, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass said both countries share the same goals in fighting the Islamic State. Prosecutors in Taiwan charged five people Thursday with professional negligence for their role in constructing an apartment building that collapsed during a February earthquake. More than 100 people were killed in that incident. In Washington, I'm David DeForest. That's the latest world news from VOA.