VOA News Transcript Videos Week 46, 2013

From Washington, this is VOA news. Typhoon Haiyan leaves thousands dead in the Philippines taking aim at Vietnam and China. The U.S. promises no rush to deal in Iran’s nuclear program. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
Local officials in the Philippines say the death toll in a central province that took the brunt of Typhoon Haiyan could reach as high as 10,000.
Simone Orendain reports from Manila.
Most of those deaths are in Tacloban, a coastal city of Leyte Province. That is where Super Typhoon Haiyan first bore down on the country, leaving a trail of devastation across dozens of islands.
Thousands of cars have been reduced to rubble and splintered trees and power lines clog muddy ground.
Haiyan created a five-meter high storm surge that pounded Tacloban and left bodies tossed about in its wake. The Philippine Red Cross says its people on the ground estimate more than 1,000 people have died there.
Red Cross Secretary-General Gwendolyn Pang says body bags have been ordered, but right now the priority is getting 45,000 food packs to the families most in need.
Simone Orendain, for VOA news, Manila.
Philippine President Benigno Aquino flew into Tacloban Sunday, saying his government’s priority is to deliver relief and medical assistance to survivors and restore power and communications in the isolated areas.
The U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Office in Manila says aid workers have “ramped up critical relief operations,” but that “access remains a key challenge.”
The U.N. World Food Program says it, too, is working with the Philippine government to fly in food, logistics and communications equipment.
Vietnam and China have rushed to prepare coastal communities for the arrival of the typhoon.
Weather agencies predicted it’ll make landfall somewhere near northern Vietnam’s border with China early Monday local time.
The U.S. Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center says the storm has maximum sustained winds of 139 kilometers an hour.
It’s expected to weaken, though it moves northwest over the Gulf of Tonkin, possibly losing its typhoon status and being downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it moves over land.
Syria’s main Western-backed opposition coalition announced it will not go to proposed peace talks in Geneva unless it receives the backing of rebels on the ground.
The Syrian National Coalition spokesman, Khaled Saleh, says an opposition delegation will be holding meetings in Syria with different brigades from the rebel Free Syrian Army over the coming days.
Major Islamist rebel brigades have declared their opposition to the Geneva process if the conference does not result in President Bashar Assad’s removal.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says international negotiations over Iran’s nuclear ambitions will continue, but so will the U.S. caution over the matter.
VOA’s Michael Bowman has more.
Secretary Kerry appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press program after talks in Geneva failed to yield an accord between Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany.
“We always said, President Obama has been crystal clear, don’t rush. We are not in a rush. We need to get the right deal. No deal is better than a bad deal. And we are certainly adhering to that concept.”
Kerry said the United States will pursue peaceful avenues to keep Iran from possessing a nuclear weapon, but added that President Barack Obama “has taken no option off the table.”
Michael Bowman, VOA news, Washington.
In Iran, President Hassan Rouhani said his country will not give up what it considers its nuclear rights, including uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, in any deal with international negotiators.
Thousands of mostly African workers have gathered in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, seeking repatriation after two people were killed in clashes between migrant workers and vigilante residents backed by police.
At least 68 people were injured in the clashes overnight Saturday and police say they arrested 561 foreigners.
The Supreme Court in the Maldives ordered the postponement of Sunday’s planned runoff presidential election one day after former President Mohamed Nasheed won the first round.
The court set the new date as November 16th.
Queen Elizabeth led Britain in paying tribute to its war dead as the country fell silent on Remembrance Sunday.
Thousands in central London observed a two-minute silence during the ceremony observed on the nearest Sunday to the anniversary of the end of World War I on November 11th, 1918.
The United States will honor its war veterans on Monday, the actual anniversary.
I’m Ray Kouguell, VOA news. More at voanews.com.

From Washington, this is VOA news. A grim U.N. assessment of the typhoon disaster in the Philippines. The U.S. responds to Israeli criticism of Iran nuclear talks. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
A senior U.N. humanitarian official says almost 10 million people in the Philippines have been affected by the massive typhoon that ravaged the country last Friday, killing at least 10,000 people.
VOA’s Margaret Besheer reports on the international response.
John Ging, operations director of the U.N.’s humanitarian office, told reporters that 9.8 million people have been affected and 660,000 displaced from what he said was the biggest typhoon recorded in nearly a century.
Ging said the devastation is huge and the U.N. is mobilizing for a massive response.
“We are focused on, as you would expect, first and foremost, the requirements for food, the requirements for shelter support, the requirements for medical support, to prevent the outbreak of public health disasters.”
Ging said everyone must be prepared for the worst as responders reach remote areas.
Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations.
Plane loads of emergency supplies, medical and rescue teams are being flown in from the United States, Japan and Singapore. China is pledging humanitarian aid. Australia is also helping out.
Weakened Typhoon Haiyan made landfall on Vietnam’s northern coast Monday morning, at that point, downgraded to a tropical storm.
It ripped off roofs, uprooted some trees and caused blackouts in some areas, fortunately, no casualties reported.
Syria’s main Western-backed opposition coalition says it will take part in peace talks with the government if certain conditions are met.
The Syrian National Coalition announced its decision Monday after two days of talks in Istanbul.
The group wants the government to guarantee establishment of humanitarian corridors, the release of detainees and for the peace negotiations to result in a political transition in Syria.
Iran has reached a deal with the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency to allow expanded inspections of its nuclear sites and provide some long-sought information about its nuclear activities.
The agreement reached Monday with the International Atomic Energy Agency requires Iran to give inspectors “managed access” within three months to the country’s main uranium mine and to a plant producing heavy water for a partially completed nuclear reactor near the city of Arak. The deal was struck during talks in Tehran.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing back against Israeli criticism of a still developing deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program.
VOA’s Scott Stearns reports from Abu Dhabi, where Secretary Kerry was holding talks on Monday.
Kerry says there is no race “to complete just any agreement” limiting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for easing some sanctions, and the inability to conclude such a deal in Geneva this past weekend shows there is more work to do.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet Sunday the apparent deal is “bad and dangerous” because it lowers the pressure of sanctions while allowing Iran to retain both its capability to enrich uranium and its pursuit of a plutonium reactor.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi Monday, Kerry said Mr. Netanyahu’s criticism is premature. “I believe the prime minister needs to recognize that no agreement has been reached about the endgame here. That’s the subject of the negotiation.”
Scott Stearns, VOA news, Abu Dhabi.
Thousands of delegates from nations and environmental organizations around the world have opened climate talks in Warsaw, Poland.
They are hoping to lay the groundwork for new treaty to fight global warming.
The 12-day U.N. talks began Monday with warnings about potentially disastrous warming.
A European satellite that ran out of fuel re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere early Monday, with some pieces falling harmlessly into the sea.
According to the European Space Agency’s Debris Office, the satellite re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the southern Atlantic Ocean, near the Falkland Islands.
There are no reports of any injuries or property damage after the 1,100 kilograms spacecraft returned to Earth.
The satellite’s mission came to an end in the middle of October when it ran out of its xenon fuel and began dropping from its orbit about 224 kilometers above the Earth.
And President Obama joined millions of Americans on Veterans Day in a salute to the men and women who have served in the country’s armed forces.
He pledged Monday that Americans “will never forget” the sacrifices made by the country’s military veterans, promising his administration would continue pushing for money to support the men and women now home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I’m Ray Kouguell, VOA news. More at voanews.com.

From Washington, this is VOA news. The U.N. launches an appeals for Typhoon Haiyan victims. Iran offers more access to the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
The United Nations is appealing for more than $300,000,000 to provide life-saving aid to 1,000,000s of victims suffering from Typhoon Haiyan during the next 6 months. The Philippines government estimates more than 11,000,000 people in 9 regions are affected by the widespread damage caused by the strongest typhoon to ever make landfall.
Lisa Schlein reports.
The World Food Program reports it plans to feed 2,500,000 people during the next 6 months. But at the moment, it says distributing food to the needy is a logistical nightmare. It says roads are blocked and airports are destroyed. The U.N. food agency says it is working with the government to set up operational hubs and organize airlifts of essential supplies.
The World Health Organization says the typhoon has left health facilities damaged or completely destroyed.
The World Health Organization and other aid agencies say they are concerned at reports that water borne diseases, such as dysentery and diarrhea, are already spreading.
Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
The U.S. Navy is speeding relief to the typhoon-shattered central Philippines with a giant aircraft carrier and supply ships to provide emergency aid to a population increasingly desperate for food and other basic necessities.
The carrier USS George Washington and 4 other ships will arrive in the Leyte Gulf Wednesday with the combined capacity to produce 1,000,000s of liters of drinking water a day.
Officials initially said 10,000 people may have perished. However, Philippine President Benigno Aquino sounded a note of optimism Tuesday, saying the final toll could be significantly lower.
Iranian officials say inspectors from the U.N. could be allowed inside Iran’s new heavy-water nuclear reactor within weeks.
The spokesman for Iran’s nuclear department says Tehran is willing to grant the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency access to its Arak reactor before the next round of talks with the agency on December 11th.
U.S. officials say 2 Americans who were kidnapped by pirates off the Nigerian coast last month are now free. The State Department, however, declined to provide any details on their release.
Officials earlier identified the men as the captain and the chief engineer of a U.S.-flagged oil supply ship. The 2 men were kidnapped after pirates stormed the vessel off the Gulf of Guinea.
A Congolese official is blaming neighboring Uganda for the breakdown of an expected peace agreement with M23 rebels, which both sides were due to sign at a ceremony Monday.
Information Minister Lambert Mende says Uganda, which has mediated talks between the DRC and M23, was seemingly acting like a part of the conflict.
Congo has long accused neighboring Rwanda and Uganda of supporting M23, an allegation both countries deny.
The United Nations Human Rights Council is getting 14 new members. Some rights activists are not happy.
VOA’s Margaret Besheer has more from U.N. headquarters in New York.
The U.N. General Assembly elected 14 new members by secret ballot for 3-year terms starting in January.
Human Rights Watch Global Advocacy Director Peggy Hicks expressed doubts about the rights records of several of the winners.
“This year a number of some of the worst abusers have returned to the council, unfortunately, including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Cuba. And what that means, I think, is that the human rights defenders on the council really have to work to cut out for them and will have to redouble their efforts to achieve real results in the coming year.”
Advocacy group U.N. Watch said in a statement that the election of these countries deals a “severe blow” to the Human Rights Council’s credibility and sends the message that “politics trumps human rights.”
Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations.
The International Energy Agency says that by 2015, the United States will surpass Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s biggest oil producer and is on track to become energy self-sufficient in 2 decades.
But the Paris-based adviser to 28 energy-consuming nations says the U.S. position as the top world oil producer will end by the mid-2020s as resources diminish at the fields now being tapped in the mid-country states of North Dakota and Texas. The IEA says Middle East countries will then provide most of the increase in the global oil supply.
I’m Ray Kouguell, VOA news. Details on these and other stories on our website at voanews.com.

From Washington, this is VOA news. U.N. humanitarian chief tours typhoon- ravaged Philippine city. More pressure for U.S. sanctions on Iran. I’m Ray Kouguell reporting from Washington.
United Nations humanitarian chief Valerie Amos toured the typhoon-ravaged Philippine city of Tacloban, where she says the priority now is to get basic relief supplies to victims.
Amos says that not enough supplies are getting through, five days after Typhoon Haiyan wreaked havoc in the region.
The Philippine government says the death toll from the storm is now up to more than 2,300. Rescue workers fear the body count could grow even higher because many remote areas have not yet been reached.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is telling lawmakers to “calm down” and give negotiators a chance to resolve deep concerns over Iran’s nuclear program diplomatically.
Secretary Kerry briefed lawmakers with the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday in Washington, saying this is not the time to step up the pressure on Tehran.
Republican Senator John McCain is one of several who are skeptical that the current round of talks between Iran and the so-called P5+1 world powers will lead to Iran’s abandonment of any nuclear military capability.
“This whole session of negotiating is a fiasco and [it is] allows the Iranians to continue to enrich. And there is no possible way that this proposal should meet any form of agreement, and we will put the country in danger.”
A number of lawmakers are calling for new economic sanctions, saying Iran’s reported concessions on uranium enrichment and inspections are not enough.
Egypt plans to lift a state of emergency and nightly curfew Thursday. It was first put in place three months ago during a bloody crackdown against people who protested the army’s ouster of democratically elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.
In a message from prison Wednesday, Mr. Morsi said Egypt will not see stability until the coup that drove him from power is reversed and those responsible are held accountable.
A high-ranking Russian delegation is visiting Egypt, suggesting a possible shift in alliances as tensions between Egypt and the United States grow.
VOA’s Elizabeth Arrott has more from Cairo.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s mission in Cairo is to boost economic, political and security ties.
The visit comes as relations between Egypt and its long-time ally, the United States, appear at a crossroads, with Washington cutting aid after the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.
Fresh ties with Moscow comes as many Egyptians, in a wave of neo-nationalism, are chafing at being perceived as Washington’s errant junior partner.
But the U.S. rift can be deceptive. Washington has maintained cooperation in key areas, such as counterterrorism and security in the Sinai Peninsula.
Elizabeth Arrott, Cairo.
Peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians appear to have hit another stumbling block, this time with the resignation of the Palestinian negotiating team.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told Egyptian television his negotiators resigned due to a lack of progress.
Iraqi officials say bombs targeting security forces and Shiite pilgrims killed at least 22 people Wednesday. There has been no claim of responsibility.
The United States named Nigerian-based militant groups Boko Haram and Ansaru as foreign terrorist organizations.
The designation means they are cut off from U.S. financial institutions and allows banks to freeze their assets held in the United States.
A new United Nations report says 2013 is likely to be one of the 10 warmest years since modern records began in 1850. The World Meteorological Organization’s finding is being released now to coincide with the U.N. climate change conference in Warsaw, Poland.
Lisa Schlein has details.
The WMO report provides a snapshot of regional and national temperatures. It goes into detail on precipitation, floods, droughts, tropical cyclones, ice cover and sea level.
WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud says the data indicates an evident warming trend. “This decade, the last decade was the warmest decade on record and what we call cold years now are actually warmer than any warm year before ’98.” Jarraud notes atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are expected to reach unprecedented levels again this year, which means the world will continue to get warmer.
Lisa Schlein, for VOA news, Geneva.
And I’m Ray Kouguell, VOA news. More at voanews.com.

From Washington, this is VOA news. A U.S. aircraft carrier group arrives to help Philippine typhoon survivors, and President Obama offers a fix for those who lost their healthcare. I’m David Byrd reporting from Washington.
The U.S. Navy launched a huge relief operation in the typhoon-ravaged central Philippines Thursday as the devastated Philippine city of Tacloban began the grim task of burying its dead.
The aircraft carrier USS George Washington and a contingent of seven supply ships arrived in the Philippine Sea early Thursday. The ships began delivering water and emergency rations to the wrecked city.
The giant hospital ship USS Mercy is also getting ready to leave the United States and is expected to join the emergency flotilla within weeks. The British carrier HMS Illustrious will also go.
Meanwhile, rescue personnel began lowering unidentified bodies into a mass grave near Tacloban’s city hall on Thursday. U.S. helicopters sped food and water to the city and reconnaissance aircraft began charting the areas worst-hit by Typhoon Haiyan.
The death toll from last Friday’s storm stands at 2,357 although Tacloban’s mayor said that count is expected to rise significantly.
For more on this story, please visit our website voanews.com.
Moving to avert some political damage from what he acknowledges was a “fumbled” implementation of his health care law, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced a fix to allow Americans to keep existing healthcare policies for one year.
Dan Robinson reports from the White House.
The administrative fix announced by Mr. Obama would let insurers renew for one year health plans that were canceled because of the implementation of Obamacare.
Companies could offer plans next year that do not meet minimum requirements but would have to inform applicants how these are deficient and what alternatives are available.
Mr. Obama said it would be up to insurance commissioners in individual U.S. states to allow the fix to proceed, saying Obamacare would not “get in the way” of companies implementing the change.
Dan Robinson, VOA news, the White House.
President Obama’s nominee to be America’s next central bank chief says the U.S. economy must grow faster and needs continued monetary stimulus at least for now.
VOA’s Michael Bowman reports current Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen was cordially received at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee.
Yellen told senators the economy has improved since the deep recession of 2008-2009, but still needs help.
“Our country has come a long way since the dark days of the financial crisis. But we have further to go. I believe the Federal Reserve has made significant progress toward its goals, but has more work to do.”
That work includes further reductions in U.S. unemployment, which stands at 7.3 percent.
Yellen is likely to receive bipartisan support in both the Banking Committee and the full Senate. She would become America’s first female central bank chief.
Michael Bowman, VOA news, the Capitol.
Iraqi officials say that multiple bombings targeting Shiite pilgrims killed at least 41 people Thursday.
The largest attack happened in al-Sadiya, north of Baghdad, where a suicide bomber killed at least 32 people and wounded 75 others.
Earlier, two explosions south of the capital in Hafriyah killed at least nine people.
Both attacks hit groups of Shiites observing the annual Ashura ritual.
President Barack Obama urged Congress on Thursday not to add new sanctions against Iran as world powers attempt to negotiate a deal on Tehran’s controversial nuclear program.
Mr. Obama warned that Washington is not changing its bottom line despite the potential for a nuclear deal with Iran.
The resident’s comments in Washington follow a surge in optimism among top U.S. diplomats that a deal with Iran is within reach.
Economic growth in Europe’s 17-nation euro currency bloc has nearly stalled again only months after it emerged from a recession that lasted a year and a half.
The eurozone said Thursday that its economy expanded just one tenth of one percent in the July to September period. That’s down from the gain of three tenths of one percent in the previous quarter.
With record high unemployment and some debt-ridden governments struggling to regain their financial footing, the eurozone’s fortunes have faltered even as the world’s two biggest economies, the U.S. and China, have continued to grow.
For more on these stories, please log on to voanews.com. I’m David Byrd in Washington.

From Washington, this is VOA news. At least 31 people have been killed and more than 200 wounded in Tripoli, and soon in China, it will be OK to have two. I’m Joe Parker reporting from Washington.
At least 31 people have been killed and more than 200 wounded in Tripoli after militiamen opened fire on protesters who had marched to the headquarters of a militia to demand that it leave the Libyan capital.
The militias are holdovers from the 2011 uprising that ousted dictator Moammar Gadhafi and are a powerful force in the increasingly lawless North African country.
The protesters marched to the Gharghour neighborhood, home to the headquarters of a militia originally from the city of Misrata that has a powerful presence in Tripoli.
The news from China today was indeed historic as announced social reforms include a relaxation of the government’s one-child policy for families, to say nothing of the fact that the country’s “re-education through labor” camps will be abolished.
It’s the very same labor camps where a hundreds of thousands were imprisoned without trial.
Market reforms are also on the headlines that China says development of a mixed ownership economy is a key part of sweeping to natural reforms.
Details of 60 reform proposals endorsed this week by the Communist Party leaders show private investment will soon be allowed in projects that have been dominated by state-owned firms.
The Philippine government is defending its efforts to deliver assistance to victims of Typhoon Haiyan, any of whom have received little or no assistance since the deadly storm struck a week ago.
Interior Secretary Mar Roxas says that in a situation like this, speed is of the utmost importance.
Simone Orendain has more from Manila for VOA.
The aftermath of the disaster has made it difficult to tally the number of victims. But on Friday, the government estimated 1.4 million people have been displaced by Typhoon Haiyan and 400,000 of them are still in need of food and basic necessities.
But now, officials with the U.S. Embassy in Manila say there are significantly more places receiving the goods for distribution, compared to a day ago.
The Philippine government has said this week the crisis has been one of the largest relief operations ever taken on by the country.
On Friday, officials defended the aid effort despite the failures to reach many storm survivors.
Simone Orendain, Manila.
For more on this story, visit our website at voanews.com.
The Nigerian military says soldiers have killed nine members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram during a shootout in the country’s northeast.
Officials say the fighting took place Thursday about 85 kilometers south of Maiduguri, the center of the Boko Haram insurgency, which is blamed for thousands of deaths over the last four years. An army spokesman says one soldier was also injured in the violence.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has rejected a U.S. request that Albania host the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile.
In a speech on Friday, Mr. Rama said it is “impossible” for the Balkan nation to take part in the operation. He said no other countries have stepped forward to house a facility that will dismantle the weapons.
The U.N. Security Council has rejected a proposal to delay the trials of Kenya’s top leaders in the International Criminal Court. A draft resolution to postpone for 12 months the trials of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto fell short in a Friday morning vote.
Mr. Kenyatta and his deputy are charged with crimes against humanity for allegedly organizing post-election violence in 2007 and 2008 that killed more than 1,100 people.
Both men have denied the charges.
This is Joe Parker for VOA news.

From Washington, this is VOA news. Relief efforts gain momentum in the Philippines. 6 killed in Afghanistan’s suicide blast. I’m Bill Michaels reporting from Washington.
The pace of international relief is gaining momentum in the Philippines where aid workers have been struggling to reach typhoon victims in hard-hit remote areas.
The 1st British air force aid flight arrived in Cebu on Saturday. The northern part of the island took a direct hit from Typhoon Haiyan.
Also, the head of the European Community Humanitarian office, Kristalina Georgieva, says aid from the European Union will exceed !$25,000,000.
On Friday, helicopters from the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington began flying food, water and medical supplies to remote villages.
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid organizations say Americans are responding generously to appeals to help typhoon victims in the Philippines.
VOA’s Kent Klein filed this report.
Americans are answering the call to help Filipinos whose lives have been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan.
One of those responding is Philippine immigrant Teresa Descalzota, whose 5 siblings in her home province of Iloilo are struggling in the aftermath of the storm. She spoke with VOA Saturday from a church near Washington where she and others were collecting food, clothing and shoes for the victims. “The number of homeless, hungry people are huge, especially, these people live near the ocean.”
As of Friday, 20 countries had sent aid totaling more than !$159,00,000 to the Philippines. Australia topped the list sending more than 28-million so far.
Kent Klein, VOA news, Washington.
At least 6 people were killed in a suicide car bombing near a compound in Kabul where a security pact between Afghanistan and the U.S. is to be debated.
Afghan officials say at least 1 soldier died in Saturday’s blast, and that 22 people were wounded. Civilians were among the casualties.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which targeted an Afghan army vehicle.
Thousands of Afghan political and tribal leaders are set to begin meeting Thursday to discuss a security agreement with the United States. The agreement would let U.S. troops stay in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of international combat troops at the end of 2014.
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan is calling on armed militias to withdraw from Tripoli, following violence in the capital Friday that left over 40 people dead and several hundred wounded.
Edward Yeranian filed this report for VOA from Cairo.
Hundreds of mourners chanted Islamic slogans at a funeral Saturday for those killed when militiamen fired on a crowd of peaceful protesters in Libya’s capital.
A sheikh delivered an oration for the dozens of victims of Friday’s shootings, insisting that those behind the bloodshed in Tripoli “should put a stop to the violence.”
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan blamed militiamen from the neighboring towns of Misrata and Tajjoura and (said) that the militias must leave the capital.
Mr. Zeidan urged local councils in Misrata and Tajjoura to cooperate with the government to prevent more violence and to refrain from any provocations.
Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo.
The Nigerian military says troops have killed 29 suspected Boko Haram militants in raids since Thursday.
A military spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Dole, says troops killed 20 insurgents during an “offensive operation” late Friday in Bita, a town near the Cameroonian border. He says 1 soldier was killed during the operation.
In a statement obtained by VOA, Dole said Boko Haram had been using the area as a staging ground to launch attacks on villages and people driving through the region.
On Friday, the military said 9 suspected members of the Islamist militant group were killed during a shootout in the country’s northeast.
Officials said the fighting took place on Thursday, about 85 kilometers from Maiduguri, a Boko Haram stronghold.
There has been no independent confirmation of the incidents.
A surprise in the Maldives Saturday as voters elected the brother of the nation’s former strongman ruler as President. Yaamin Abdul Gayoom defeated the favored Mohamed Nasheed, getting more than !51% of the vote, with only 4 boxes remaining to be counted.
For more on these stories, visit voanews.com. From Washington, Bill Michaels, VOA news.