BBC News:波罗申科呼吁与亲俄分裂分子进行对话
Ukraine's new president Petro Poroshenko has called for dialogue with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country. He was speaking after his swearing-in ceremony in Kiev. But Mr. Poroshenko said Ukraine would never give up Crimea which Russia annexed in March, and would continue to seek closer ties with Europe. David Stern reports from Kiev.
Mr. Poroshenko's speech was a combination of tough words mixed with more conciliatory statements. To the pro-Russian separatists, he offered an amnesty, if they lay down their weapons, and in his words, "if they didn't have blood on their hands." However, to the people of eastern Ukraine, he promised greater autonomy and the free use of the Russian language. Separatist leaders in Ukraine's east, who've established their own self-declared republic, rejected the new Ukrainian president's offer. But Russia's ambassador to Ukraine who attended the ceremony called Mr. Poroshenko's peace plan promising.
The Colombian government and negotiators from the FARC rebel group have agreed to set up a truce commission to investigate the deaths of at least 200,000 people, most of them civilians in five decades of conflict. The announcement was made during a new round of peace talks in Cuba. The statement says the left wing rebels and the government have agreed to hear the demands of war victims who would travel to Havana at an undisclosed date.
The Nigerian army has raided distributions centres for some of the country's main newspapers. The Daily Trust which serves mostly northern Nigeria said the army detained its drivers and delivery vans on Friday and Saturday at many parts of the country. Mannir Dan-Ali is the editor.
All the distribution vehicles that were impounded, they were checked, nothing was found of them yet. They are not allowed to proceed to their destinations, and the newspapers did not reach the readers. The fact is that in spite of their protestations, that actually they are not trying to prevent journalists from doing their work, they are not trying to stifle the media. Yet that is the message that people seem to be getting from these signals.
Other newspapers gave similar accounts. Nigeria's defence spokesman said the soldiers' actions were part of a routine security operation. He denied reports that copies of newspapers were confiscated.
A series of car bombs across the Iraqi capital Bagdad has killed more than 50 people and injured many more. The blasts targeted mainly Shiites' majority neighbourhoods. Earlier in the day, militants stormed an Iraqi university campus in the western city of Ramadi, briefly holding dozens of students hostage. They were released after a battle with security forces in which several militants were killed, others escaped. They are believed to be members of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Levant" group.
This is the World News from the BBC.
America's First Lady has led tributes to the black writer and civil rights activist Maya Angelou, who died last week. Michelle Obama said that Ms. Angelou's words inspired and sustained her throughout her journey from the south side of Chicago to the White House.
She taught us that we are each wonderfully made, intricately woven and put on this Earth for a purpose far greater than we could ever imagine. And when I think about Maya Angelou, I think about the affirming power of her words. The first time I read Phenomenon Women, I was struck by how she celebrated Black women's beauty like no one had ever dared to before.
Armed men in the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed at least 27 people in the eastern province of South Kivu. Witnesses say at least eight children and 14 women are among those killed overnight. The victims were shot, stabbed or burnt at a local church and in their homes. A Red Cross official Cilvi Pelaez told the BBC that a number of seriously injure people were being treated in hospital.
A lot of deaths and also a lot of injured people; from what I know for the time being is that they were mainly from gun shots. There are some pretty serious injuries.
Eleven crew members of a Malaysian-owned ship that was hijacked by Somali pirates have been freed after more than three years in captivity. The sailors from south Asia and Iran were on board the container vessel the MV Albedo when it was hijacked 1,500 kilometers off the coast of Somalia.
Tennis, and Maria Sharapova of Russia has won the French Open title in Paris. In a tightly fought match. She beat Romania's Simona Halep in three sets: 6-4, 6-7, 6-4. It's Sharapova's fifth Grand Slam title and her second at Roland Garros where she lost one in 2012.
BBC News.
