BBC News with Jerry Smit.
Saudi Arabia says it will continue to use force to stop Houthi rebels from taking over Yemen. The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir said
rebel troops were closing in on the port of Aden from 3 sides. And Saudi Arabia was determined to stop them taking the city. He said the operation in the country was
entering a second phase.
“The objective of this new phase is to continue to protect the civilians in Yemen from take-over by the Houthis, to counter any aggressive moves by the Houthis in
Yemen, and to work on enhancing the flow of humanitarian assistance to Yemen, and ease the work of international humanitarian organizations in Yemen. And so when the
Houthis or their allies make aggressive moves, there will be a response.”
The Red Cross has described the situation in Yemen as catastrophic and deteriorating by the day. The ICRC's Regional Director, Robert Mardini, who's just back from
Yemen, described reports he'd received from the Red Cross office in Aden.
“We got 3 reports of dozens of dead bodies in the streets that nobody could retrieve. The humanitarian situation is really deteriorating by the day, and at times,
catastrophic for people. In Sanaa, for instance, there has been no electricity now for 9 days. So you can imagine a city like Sanaa without electricity, no public
services, water shortages, people now have to buy water with private tankers. It's very expensive.”He said the major logistical challenge was now to distribute the 50
tons of medical aid they'd managed to fly in a week ago.
The United Nations Refugee Agency says nearly 12,000 people have fled Burundi in less than 2 weeks, amid fears of election violence. The refugees report harassments
and the disappearance of family members associated with the political opposition. Mur Julien reports.
The presidential election is not due until late May. But already, a wave of panic has spread in Burundi, and people are running from their homes, often taking nothing
with them. The UN Refugee Agency says those who fled, speak of insecurity and forced recruitment by a pro-government youth group, which has been accused of politically
motivated violence. Burundi's ruling party is said to announce over the weekend whether the incumbent president Pierre Mkurunziza will be a candidate for a third term
in power. Opponents say it would be illegal for him to run again.
The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda has held its last hearings into crimes carried out during the massacres in 1994. Based in the Tanzanian town of Arusha,
the United Nations Tribunal started work a year later, indicting a total of 93 people for their roles in the violence that claimed some 800,000 lives.
World news from the BBC.
The Nigerian military says a major offensive is underway in the Sambisa Forest, thought to be the main hideout of the Boko Haram Islamist group. A defence ministry
spokesman said ground troops had also joined the campaign. There's been speculation that the forest, spanning thousands of kilometres in northeast Nigeria, could be
where Boko Haram is holding more than 200 schoolgirls whom they kidnapped over a year ago.
Scientists in the United States say an experimental drug has saved the lives of all 3 monkeys infected with a strain of Ebola and could be equally effective in humans.
Researchers from the University of Texas say the monkeys were infected with the Makona strain, which was responsible for the current outbreak in West Africa. They'll
be given the experimental strain 3 days later. The animals survived despite fevers and high blood levels of virus. In research published in the journal Nature, the
scientists say the new drug can be developed within 8 weeks.
The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will visit Cuba later this year. The stopover will take place before a scheduled trip to the United States in September.
More details from David Willey.
The Catholic Church maintains relations with the Communist authorities in Havana, ever since Fidel Castro took over in 1959. Pope Francis can claim credit for
brokering the new phase in American-Cuban relations. He was there when the former Pope Benedict visited the Caribbean island in 2012, but he's also the author of a
book on the Cuba.
The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, says the European Union should be prepared to take military action against human traffickers, describing them as the slave
traders of the 21st century. He was speaking a day before an EU summit on the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, where hundreds have drowned in recent days. Mr.
Renzi said the boats used by people smugglers should be put out of operation.