Obama predicts successor will end Cuba embargo
AFP, Washington
Days before becoming the first US president to visit Cuba in 88 years, Barack Obama has predicted that his successor will lift a controversial decades old embargo against the communist-run island.
“My strong prediction is that sometime in the next president’s administration, whether they are a Democrat or a Republican, that the embargo in fact will be removed,” Obama told CNN Espanol in an interview released Monday.
Vatican to approve sainthood for Mother Teresa
AFP, Vatican City
Mother Teresa will be cleared to become a saint today after a Vatican panel recognises a second miracle attributed to the nun famed for her work with the poor of Kolkata. The committee of senior clerics that approves elevations to sainthood is due to meet from around 0900 GMT (14:30 IST) with the long-awaited green light seen as a formality, less than two decades after her death.
US man jailed 150 years in Russia
AFP, Los Angeles
A Los Angeles man was sentenced to 150 years in prison on Monday for raping a 12-year-old girl while in Russia and vowing to sever her head if she went to authorities.
US District Judge Otis Wright called Yusef Abramov, 58, “the ultimate predator” in handing down the sentence.
According to the charge sheet, Abramov, who has dual US and Russian citizenship, preyed on schoolgirls during repeated visits to Russia.
