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CAIRO — The executive board of the International Monetary Fund confirmed a deal with Egypt to increase its bailout loan from $3 billion to $8 billion, in a move that is meant to shore up the Arab country’s economy, which is hit by a staggering shortage of foreign currency and soaring inflation. In a statement late Friday, the board said its decision would enable Egypt to immediately receive about $820 million as part of the deal, which was announced earlier this month. The deal was achieved after Egypt agreed with the IMF on a reform plan that is centered on floating the local currency, reducing public investment and allowing the private sector to become the engine of growth, the statement said. Egypt has already floated the pound and sharply increased the main interest rate. Commercial banks are now trading the U.S. currency at more than 47 pounds, up from about 31 pounds. The measures are meant to combat ballooning inflation and attract foreign investment. The Egyptian economy has been hit hard by years of government austerity, the coronavirus pandemic, the fallout from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and, most recently, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthi attacks on shipping routes in the Red Sea have slashed Suez Canal revenues, which is a major source of foreign currency. The attacks forced traffic away from the canal and around the tip of Africa. “Egypt is facing significant macroeconomic challenges that have become more complex to manage given the spillovers from the recent conflict in Gaza and Israel. The disruptions in the Red Sea are also reducing Suez Canal receipts, which are an important source of foreign exchange inflows and fiscal revenue,” said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. The IMF said such external shocks, combined with delayed reforms, have hurt economic activity. Growth slowed to 3.8% in the fiscal year 2022-23 due to weak confidence and foreign currency shortages and is projected to slow further, to 3%, in the fiscal year 2023-24 before recovering to about 4.5% in 2024-25, the IMF statement said. The annual inflation rate was 36% in February, but is expected to ease over the medium term, the IMF said. The currency devaluation and interest rate increase have inflicted further pain on Egyptians already struggling with skyrocketing prices over the past years. Nearly 30% of Egyptians live in poverty, according to official figures. Finance Minister Mohamed Maait said the confirmation by the IMF executive board “reflects the importance of the correcting measures” taken by the government. Egypt also this month signed a deal with the European Union that includes a 7.4 billion-euro ($8 billion) aid package for the most populous Arab country over three years. To quickly inject much-needed funds into Egypt’s staggering economy, the EU intends to fast-track 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) of the package, using an urgent funding procedure that bypasses parliamentary oversight and other safeguards, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

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ROME — The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis would preside over the Easter Vigil service Saturday night, after he decided at the last minute to skip his participation in the Good Friday procession at the Colosseum as a health precaution. The Vatican’s daily bulletin confirmed Francis would lead the lengthy vigil in St. Peter’s Basilica, one of the most solemn and important moments in the Catholic liturgical calendar. The service, which is due to begin at 7:30 p.m. and usually lasts two hours, commemorates the resurrection of Jesus and includes the sacrament of baptism for eight adult converts. The 87-year-old Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, has been battling respiratory problems all winter that have made it difficult for him to speak at length. He has canceled some audiences and often asked an aide to read aloud some of his speeches. But he ditched his Palm Sunday homily altogether and decided at the last minute Friday to stay home rather than preside over the Way of the Cross procession at the Colosseum reenacting Christ’s crucifixion. The Vatican said in a brief explanation that the decision was made to “conserve his health” in view of the vigil service Saturday and his even more taxing obligations on Easter Sunday. The pope is due to preside over a morning Easter Mass in St. Peter’s Square and deliver his Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) speech praying for an end to global crises. While Francis also skipped the chilly Good Friday procession last year because he was recovering from bronchitis, his sudden absence from the event this year raised concern. His chair was in place on the podium, and his aides were preparing for his arrival when the Vatican announced five minutes before the official start time that he wasn't coming. In addition to his respiratory problems, Francis had a chunk of his large intestine removed in 2021 and was hospitalized twice last year, including once to remove intestinal scar tissue from previous surgeries to address diverticulosis, or bulges in his intestinal wall. He has been using a wheelchair or cane for nearly two years because of bad knee ligaments. In his recently published memoirs, “Life: My Story Through History,” Francis said he isn’t suffering from any health problems that would require him to resign and that he still has “many projects to bring to fruition.”

MACAO — After more than 40 years, Macao’s horse track hosted its final races Saturday, bringing an end to the sport in the city famous for its massive casinos. In January, the city’s government said it would terminate its contract with the Macao Jockey Club in April. The decision came at the request of the Macao Horse Race Company, which cited operational challenges as part of the reasons for the closure. On Saturday, gamblers congregated in the half-full stands and placed their final bets. Some tourists also visited the track. Mai Wan-zun, a student from mainland China in Macao, said she wanted to get a taste of the atmosphere. “We could come to see horse racing here in Macao, but not in mainland China,” she said. Helena Chong, a Macao resident, decided to visit the race course for the first and last time to see what it's all about. “It’s a pity to see the end of all this gambling and entertainment," she said. Horse racing in the former Portuguese colony has struggled with economic challenges in recent years and has yet to rebound from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Its jockey club had accumulated operating losses of over $311 million, the Macau News Agency earlier reported. Under the termination arrangement, the horse racing firm had pledged to arrange for transportation of owners’ horses to other locations by March 2025 and handle the company’s employees according to the law, the government said. In neighboring Hong Kong, horse racing remains popular and profitable. Its jockey club runs various gambling activities and is the city’s major donor for many charities.

GENEVA — An independent expert warns that multifaceted crises facing Mali, propelled by increasing attacks from Islamist armed groups, are leading to a rapid deterioration of the country’s security situation and surging human rights violations, with potentially serious effects in the region.  “I reiterate my serious concerns by the rapid and continuing deterioration of the security situation in almost all regions of Mali that appears to be escaping from all control of the authorities,” said Alioune Tine, an independent expert on human rights in Mali.  Tine, who submitted his latest report to the U.N. Human Rights Council Thursday, said, “Increasingly we see confrontation of violent extremist groups seeking to control the country to the detriment of civilians, who are the main victims caught in the crossfire.”  The independent expert expressed serious concern about attacks on civilians and Malian defense and security forces by violent extremist groups.  Beginning with December 2023, the report documents numerous cases of killings and injuries from improvised explosive devices, kidnappings of civilians, pillaging, armed robberies, extortion and destruction of property.  The report says deadly attacks have occurred in all regions of the country, principally in Gao and Timbuktu in the north; Mopti, Bandiagara and Segou in central Mali; and Kayes and San in the south. Tine said he was worried by the marked deterioration of the human rights situation and protection of civilians. “According to recent information between 2022 and 2023, violations and attacks on human rights rose by almost 86%, violations and attacks on the right to life rose by almost 28%, and gender-based violence documented cases rose by 12.5%.”  Additionally, he noted that insecurity and ongoing humanitarian crises have forced many schools to close, depriving almost 500,000 children of the right to education, “which is a ticking social time bomb.”  He called on Malian authorities to step up their efforts to prosecute human rights violators and to hold them accountable for their crimes.  “While violent extremist groups have continued to be the presumed perpetrators of most human rights violations in Mali, the high number and severity of the violations attributed to the Malian defense and security forces and particularly their impunity are a major concern,” Tine said.  “Furthermore, in addition to the violations in my report, I continue to receive allegations regarding violations of human rights attributed to the army, and at times also foreign military personnel.”  That is a reference to alleged crimes committed by the Wagner Group, a Russian state-funded private military company that has been in Mali since 2022.    A report published Thursday by Human Rights Watch, says Wagner fighters have helped the Malian army carry out drone strikes in counterinsurgency operations in Mali’s central and northern regions since December, and of killing and summarily executing dozens of civilians, including children.  Mamoudou Kassogue, Mali’s minister of justice and human rights, rejected the findings of the independent expert.  “My delegation takes note of the present report, which is essentially incriminating on the basis of unverified and overly alarming information,” he said. “I would like to highlight the progress and successes recorded to date by the Malian armed forces against terrorist and extremist groups and their allies. This reality contrasts sharply with the security situation described as worrying in the report.”  Contradicting other aspects of the report, he said that his government has been actively working to put an end to impunity, noting “the systematic opening of investigations for every serious human rights violation reported.”  He said political and institutional reforms were underway, and “the fight against gender-based violence and sexual violence committed during conflicts has been addressed in the draft penal code and the code of criminal procedure.”  While reaffirming his government’s sovereign right to pursue its human rights agenda as it saw fit, the justice minister said, “Mali will continue to support the mandate of the independent expert and encourages him to pursue an objective and constructive approach.”  For his part, Tine recommended that the International Criminal Court “extend the scope of its current investigation” to establish criminal liability for the crimes that “continue to be committed in Mali.” 

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NEW DELHI — The Indian navy said it had freed the 23-strong crew of an Iranian fishing vessel that was seized by armed pirates off Somalia.  The Al-Kambar 786 was southwest of the Yemeni island of Socotra, in the Arabian Sea, on March 28 when it was reported to have been boarded by nine pirates, according to a naval statement Friday.  The vessel was intercepted by the navy's INS Sumedha and INS Trishul, leading to "over 12 hours of intense coercive tactical measures" forcing the pirates to surrender, the statement said.  The nine pirates are being brought to India under the domestic law against piracy on the high seas, the navy said in a separate statement Saturday.  The fishing vessel's crew of 23 Pakistani nationals were safe and received medical checks before being cleared to continue with fishing activities, the statement said.  Piracy incidents east of the Red Sea have resurfaced for the first time in nearly a decade.  Taking advantage of Western forces' focus on protecting shipping from attacks in the Red Sea by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi militants, pirates have made or attempted more than 20 hijackings since November, driving up insurance and security costs and adding to a crisis for global shipping companies. 

ATHENS — Greek authorities have arrested a senior member of an international gang that smuggled Latin American fuel products for illegal sale around the world, raking in an estimated profit of more than $21 billion, police said on Saturday.  The gang member, an Italian national for whom Interpol had issued an arrest warrant, was found in a southern Athens suburb on Friday, a police official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.  The warrant had ordered the man's arrest and his extradition to Venezuela to be tried for crimes that include the illegal transport and trade of resources of strategic importance, the official said.  The gang stole the fuel products, which were loaded onto its oil tankers from ports in Latin America, and switched off tracking transponders to deceive shipping brokers, police said in a statement. Police did not disclose the suspect's name.

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ISLAMABAD — A roadside bomb explosion in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province Saturday killed at least one person and injured 14 others. Officials said the attack targeted surveyors from a major, private gas-producing company and Pakistani security forces escorting them in the Harnai district, 170 kilometers (106 miles) northeast of the provincial capital of Quetta. Javed Domki, the district deputy commissioner, confirmed the casualties to VOA by phone. He said the injured were airlifted to a Quetta military hospital, where some of them were in “critical condition.” Several personnel of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps force were among the victims, he said. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the bombing in turbulent Baluchistan, which is rich in natural resources. The Pakistani province has experienced a surge in insurgent attacks in recent days. The so-called Baluch Liberation Army, an outlawed group, has claimed credit for plotting much of the violence. Last week, ethnic Baluch insurgents assaulted a key Pakistan naval air base and a government complex in the Turbat and Gwadar districts, respectively. The ensuing clashes killed several security personnel and a dozen insurgents in both attacks. Gwadar is home to a China-run, deep-water Arabian Sea port, central to a multibillion-dollar bilateral collaboration under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, or CPEC, an extension of Beijing’s global Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure program. Thousands of Chinese engineers and laborers are associated with CPEC and other Chinese-funded projects in Pakistan. On Tuesday, a suicide car bombing in a northwestern mountain Pakistan region killed five Chinese engineers and their local driver. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Pakistani officials suspect militants linked to an Afghanistan-based terrorist group, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, was behind it. The TTP distanced itself from the bombing, saying its violence campaign targets only Pakistani security forces.

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WASHINGTON — Somalia changed its constitution Saturday during a parliamentary vote that, among other things, gives the country’s president the power to appoint a prime minister. After weeks of intense debate, Somalia's bicameral federal parliament approved amendments to the first four chapters in the country's provisional constitution. In a joint session in Mogadishu, lawmakers voted on each chapter individually before casting votes on the overall amendments proposed by the Independent Constitutional Review and Implementation Commission, or ICRIC. The speaker of the Lower House, Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur Madobe, announced a significant majority of members were in favor of amending the constitution. “A total of 212 members of the Lower House and 42 members of the Upper House supported the amendments, with no abstentions or rejections. Therefore, the amendment has been approved with a unanimous vote,” said Madobe. Hussein Idow, chairperson of the Constitutional Review Committee, said that three proposed provisions in a draft related to religion would get further review. “This decision of the postponement of the religion provisions aims to ensure that these provisions align with the principles and values of the Somali people,” he said. “This provisional constitution has been under review for nearly a decade. From 2012, three parliaments have tried to amend it, but the efforts to finalize the review gained momentum in late 2023. Thanks to the 11th parliament of Somalia for daring to conduct the amendment,” said Idow. One key provision in the approved draft establishes that Somalia will have a president and a prime minister. The president will hold the authority to appoint and remove the prime minister from office, an amendment that replaces the previous requirement for the prime minister to obtain a vote of confidence from parliament and allowing more flexibility in the executive branch. The amended constitution sets the term of office for government constitutional bodies at five years and refers to regional state presidents as leaders. It also establishes the presence of three political parties in the country, promoting a multi-party system. Some political stakeholders, including former Somali Presidents Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo and Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, as well as Puntland state leaders, strongly opposed that amendment. They expressed concerns about the lack of consensus among political actors regarding the changes. In February, the ICRIC submitted suggested amendments to parliament, focusing on the first four chapters. Those amendments cover the age of maturity for girls and the criminalization of female genital mutilation. The approved amendments establish the age of maturity at 15 and the age for responsibility at 18 — suggesting that everyone under 18 should remain protected by juvenile justice standards. But rights groups say this would risk reinforcing existing traditional norms, which can force girls to marry at the age of 15. On Friday, Human Rights Watch warned that the constitutional proposal in its current form puts children at risk. “It would place girls in particular at greater risk of child marriage, which affects their health, notably reproductive health, their access to education and their protection from other forms of abuse,” Human Rights Watch said. “Somalia’s parliament should resist efforts to weaken constitutional protections for children, especially girls,” said Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Somalia’s donors should press the government to carry through on its claims that it is taking significant steps to meet its international human rights commitments.”

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND — Teams of engineers are now focused on the formidable job of hauling the shattered remains of the Francis Scott Key Bridge out of Maryland’s Patapsco River, the first step toward reopening the Port of Baltimore and recovering the bodies of four workers who are still missing and presumed dead. A massive cargo ship felled the span Tuesday after striking one of its main supports. Experts are trying to figure out how to “break that bridge up into the right-sized pieces that we can lift,” U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Shannon Gilreath said Friday at a news conference. The tools that are needed have been coming into place. They include seven floating cranes — one of which is one of the largest on the Eastern Seaboard, capable of lifting 1,000 tons — 10 tugboats, nine barges, eight salvage vessels and five Coast Guard boats. “To go out there and see it up close, you realize just how daunting a task this is,” Governor Wes Moore said Friday afternoon as the massive crane loomed behind him. “With a salvage operation this complex — and frankly with a salvation operation this unprecedented — you need to plan for every single moment,” Moore said. Moore surveyed the scene and saw shipping containers ripped apart “like papier-mache.” The broken pieces of the bridge, including its steel trusses, weigh as much as 4,000 tons. The wreckage has blocked ships from entering or leaving the vital port and also stymied the search for the missing workers. “We have to bring a sense of closure to these families,” Moore said. Moore also spoke of the disaster's severe economic impact, saying, “What we’re talking about today is not just about Maryland’s economy; this is about the nation’s economy. The port handles more cars and more farm equipment than any other port in this country.” Maryland’s Department of Transportation is already planning for rebuilding of the span and “considering innovative design, engineering and building methods so that we can quickly deliver this project,” Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld said. Adam Ortiz, the Environmental Protection Agency’s mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator, said there was no indication in the water of active releases from the ship or materials hazardous to human health. Colonel Roland L. Butler Jr., superintendent of the Maryland State Police, said the Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to establish a flight restriction area that would begin 3 nautical miles in every direction from the bridge's center span and extend upward to 1,500 feet. Butler advised people to keep drones away and said law enforcement is poised to act on any violations of that airspace. The victims, members of a crew fixing potholes on the span when it was destroyed, were from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, officials said. At least eight people initially went into the water when the ship struck the bridge column, and two of them were rescued. Divers then recovered the bodies of two men from a pickup truck in the river, but the nature and placement of the debris has complicated efforts to find the other four workers, as have the murky water conditions. “The divers can put their hands on that faceplate, and they can’t even see their hands,” said Donald Gibbons, an instructor with Eastern Atlantic States Carpenters Technical Centers. “So, we say zero visibility. It’s very similar to locking yourself in a dark closet on a dark night and really not being able to see anything.” President Joe Biden’s administration has approved $60 million in immediate aid, and Biden has said the federal government will pay the full cost of rebuilding the bridge, which was completed in 1977 and carried Interstate 695. Ship traffic at the Port of Baltimore remains suspended, but the Maryland Port Administration said in a statement Friday that trucks were still being processed at marine terminals. Federal and state officials have said the collision and collapse appeared to be an accident that came after the ship lost power. Investigators are still trying to determine why. The crash caused the bridge to break and fall into the water within seconds. Authorities had just enough time to stop vehicle traffic but were unable to alert the construction crew. The cargo ship Dali, which is managed by Synergy Marine Group, had been headed from Baltimore to Sri Lanka. It is owned by Grace Ocean Private Ltd. and was chartered by Danish shipping giant Maersk. The loss of a road that carried 30,000 vehicles a day and the port disruption will affect not only thousands of dockworkers and commuters, but also U.S. consumers, who are likely to feel the impact of shipping delays. Scott Cowan, president of the International Longshoremen’s Association Local 333, said the union was scrambling to help its roughly 2,400 members whose jobs are at risk of drying up. “If there’s no ships, there’s no work,” he said. “We’re doing everything we can.”

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Gaza City — The Palestine Red Crescent said five people were killed and dozens wounded by gunfire and a stampede during an aid delivery Saturday in the Gaza Strip, where famine is looming. AFP video footage shows a convoy of trucks moving quickly past burning debris near the distribution point in pre-dawn darkness as people shout and gunfire echoes — some of which were warning shots, witnesses said. The Red Crescent said the incident happened after thousands of people gathered for the arrival of some 15 trucks of flour and other food, which were supposed to be handed out at Gaza City's Kuwait roundabout, in the territory's north. The roundabout has been the scene of several chaotic and deadly aid distribution incidents, including one on March 23 in which the Hamas-run government said 21 people were killed by Israeli fire — a charge Israel denied. The Red Crescent said three of the five killed early Saturday had been shot. Witnesses told AFP that Gazans overseeing the aid delivery shot in the air, but Israeli troops in the area also opened fire and some moving trucks hit people trying to get the food. AFP contacted the Israeli military for comment. A UN-backed report warned on March 19 that half of Gazans are experiencing "catastrophic" hunger, with famine projected to hit the north of the territory unless there is urgent intervention. The report estimated that 1.1 million people — half the population, according to United Nations data — were facing catastrophic conditions. The situation is particularly dire in the north of Gaza, where the United Nations says there are about 300,000 people — and where the report said famine was "imminent ... projected to occur anytime between mid-March and May."

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