VOA DAILY WORLD NEWS FOR ENGLISH LEARNERS
July 21, 2015
From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Forrest in Washington. The United States and Cuba restore full diplomatic relations.
Before dawn, the Cuban flag was hoisted at the U.S. State Department alongside the flags of the other countries that have diplomatic relations with the U.S.
The U.S. and Cuba each now have a full-fledged embassy in each other's country.
Just hours after the ceremony, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with Cuba's new ambassador.
"The foreign minister and I touched on a wide range of issues of mutual concern, including cooperation on law enforcement, counternarcotics, telecommunications, the Internet, environmental issues, human rights, including trafficking in persons. And of course, we also discussed the opening of our embassies."
An opening ceremony for the U.S. embassy in Cuba will be delayed until Kerry can travel to Havana.
President Barack Obama is offering U.S. support to Nigeria's visiting leader, Muhammadu Buhari, in the fight against the Boko Haram militant group. Aru Pande has more.
Just eight weeks after taking office, Nigerian President Buhari sat beside President Obama in the Oval Office and listened as the American leader praised the "historic" vote marking the first democratic transfer of power since the end of military rule in Nigeria in 1999.
"We saw an election in which a peaceful transition to a new government took place."
During Monday's visit to the White House, President Buhari thanked President Obama for U.S. support in making the hope of a peaceful transition a reality.
Aru Pande, the White House.
Explosions and gunfire were heard in Burundi's capital, Bujumbura. That on the eve of a presidential election.
This is VOA news.
The U.N. Security Council approved the Iran nuclear accord Monday. That action clears the path for the lifting of economic sanctions against that country.
Representatives of all 15 member countries on the Council voted in favor of last week's agreement.
U.S. defense chief Ash Carter said Monday Israel is, in his words, "the bedrock of American strategy" in the Mideast. The remarks opened a trip to the region aimed at strengthening U.S. links with allies wary of the Iranian nuclear accord.
"The purpose of my trip is to work on all the things that we do together: to guarantee the security of American interests in the region and very importantly one of those is the security of Israel." :Ash Carter.
Greece reopened its banks Monday for the first time in three weeks.
Depositors swarmed into banks to tap their accounts.
The nation also increased taxes and made important loan payments to two of its international lenders.
A military exercise involving Ukrainian and U.S. forces, along with troops from more than a dozen other countries, opened Monday in western Ukraine. The exercises come as fighting between government troops and Russia-backed rebels escalated in eastern Ukraine
Eastern European, I should say, European Union interior ministers failed on Monday to find temporary housing for some 40,000 African, Asian and Middle Eastern asylum seekers.
Those refugees are encamped in Greece and Italy after making journeys across the Mediterranean.
A suicide bombing in the Turkish city of Suruç has killed at least 28 people and left nearly 100 wounded.
No one has claimed responsibility for Monday's attack although Turkish officials say they have strong reasons to suspect Islamic State militants.
Police in southeastern Afghanistan say American helicopters bombed a security outpost Monday morning, killing at least eight Afghan soldiers and wounding several.
It appears to be a friendly fire incident.
The bombing happened in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province.
U.S. officials say they are investigating.
[Just days after] Just days before U.S. President Barack Obama embarks on his fourth trip to Africa, the State Department is renewing its warning of possible terrorist attacks in Kenya.
Mr. Obama will travel to his ancestral homeland and also visit neighboring Ethiopia. The visit comes amid a travel alert that cites numerous attacks by al-Shabaab militants.
Economists who help manage companies across the United States are saying the U.S. economy will continue to grow but at a moderate pace
On Wall Street, U.S. stock indexes were up at the close of trade today.
I'm David Forrest in Washington.
That's the latest world news from VOA.
