13 April 2015

German Nobel laureate Guenter Grass dies at age 87

The Oct. 27, 2007 file photo shows German novelist Guenter Grass prior to his official 80th birthday celebration in Luebeck, northern Germany. Nobel laureate Grass has died his publishing house confirmed Monday, April 13, 2015. He was 87.
Guenter Grass, the Nobel-winning German writer who gave voice to the generation that came of age during the horrors of the Nazi era but later ran into controversy over his own World War II past and stance toward Israel, has died. He was 87.
Matthias Wegner, spokesman for the Steidl publishing house, confirmed that Grass died Monday morning in a Luebeck hospital.

12 April 2015

Obama-Castro meeting overshadows anti-US line at summit

US President Barack Obama with Cuban President Raul Castro during their meeting at the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015. The leaders of the United States and Cuba held their first formal meeting in more than half a century on Saturday, clearing the way for a normalization of relations that had seemed unthinkable to both Cubans and Americans for generations.
As usual when Latin America leftist leaders get together with U.S. officials, there were plenty of swipes at the U.S. during the seventh Summit of the Americas.

11 April 2015

Pakistan frees on bail alleged mastermind of Mumbai attacks

In this Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015 file photo, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the main suspect of the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, raises his fist after his court appearance in Islamabad, Pakistan. A Pakistani lawyer says authorities have released Lakhvi from prison near Islamabad on Friday, April 10, 2015.
The suspected mastermind of the deadly Mumbai attacks in 2008 was released on bail Friday by a Pakistani court — a move likely to further strain relations with India, which has accused Islamabad of turning a blind eye to Islamic militancy.
The release of Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who has been held since his arrest in 2009, drew expressions of concern from both India and the United States.