18 March, 2015
Reports from Tunisia say more than 20 people are confirmed dead following an attack in the capital, Tunis. Gunmen fired on visitors to the Bardo Museum, near the parliament building.
Among the dead are 17 tourists from four European countries: Poland, Italy, Germany and Spain. More than 20 others were injured.
Two of the gunmen were killed when security forces moved in to stop the shooting. The country's prime minister said two security force members were killed during the operation.
Israel announces election result
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he will do everything in his power to guarantee the "well-being and security" of all Israeli citizens. Mr. Netanyahu spoke during a visit to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
On Tuesday, his Likud Party won the largest number of seats in Israel's parliamentary election. Nearly all of the ballots have been counted. Likud won 30 of the 120 seats in parliament. The party captured six more seats than its main opponent, the Zionist Union.
A union of four Arab-led parties called the Joint List finished in third place, with 14 seats. Its electoral success will give Israel's Arab minority influence in parliament for the first time.
Nigerian army still searching for kidnapped girls
The Nigerian army says it has found no evidence of the more than 200 schoolgirls kidnapped last year by Boko Haram militants. The army statement comes after troops seized many towns formerly under the control of the militants.
The chief of Nigeria's Army Staff told reporters the army has been asking about the girls in all the recaptured towns. But he said those questioned, in his words, "have not made any comments suggesting the Chibok girls were there and taken away."
Boko Haram kidnapped the girls from a secondary school in the town of Chibok nearly a year ago. The incident led to strong international criticism of the militants and intense criticism of the Nigerian government for failing to protect or find the girls.
Death threats against U.S. officials in Japan are investigated
Japanese police say they are investigating death threats against two United States diplomats. The two are Ambassador Caroline Kennedy and Alfred Magleby, the top U.S. official in Okinawa.
Police officials were reported as saying the threats were made in telephone calls to the U.S. embassy. News of the threats came as the wife of President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, arrived in Japan. The threats follow an attack earlier this month on the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, Mark Lippert.
Vanuatu struggles to recover from storm damage
Workers are transporting emergency supplies to areas far from population centers in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
A powerful storm, Cyclone Pam, hit the country last week. Since then, poor weather conditions and communications issues have slowed the arrival of aid. They have also prevented officials from judging the amount of damage.
This newscast was based on stories from VOA's News Division. George Grow wrote it for Learning English. Jim Tedder was the editor.
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Words in this Story
prose – n., written or spoken language in its normal form
symbolize – v., to stand for something; to be a symbol for something
liberal – adj., not opposed to new ideas or ways of behaving that are not traditional or widely accepted
tolerance – n., the ability to deal with or accept something, including behavior or opinions that one does not agree with
controversial – adj., relating to or causing much discussion, disagreement, or argument
detector – n., a device that detects the presence of something