Four top Western foreign ministers will be in Geneva Saturday with reports that a deal with Iran on its nuclear program may be close.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry just arrived a moment ago and will be joining the foreign ministers of Britain, France, and Germany.

State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki says in light of the progress being made, Kerry decided to go to Geneva with the hope that an agreement will be reached.

Iran insists it keeps the right to enrich uranium and denies it wants to build a nuclear weapon. It has offered to suspend parts of its nuclear program and agreed to tighter inspections if the West relaxes sanctions that have devastated its economy.

On a cold, rainy day, thousands of people gathered in Dallas, Texas, to honor the memory of President John F. Kennedy near the spot where he was killed 50 years ago by a sniper.

VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Dallas.

The simple ceremony took place in Dealey Plaza next to Elm Street, where an assassin's bullets ended the life of President Kennedy.

For Dallas, this was an especially poignant moment, as the city has struggled for decades to remove the stigma of the assassination.

Kennedy's inspiring and youthful image also was recalled when historian David McCullough took the podium. "He was young to be president, but it did not seem so if you were younger still. He was ambitious to make it a better world and so were we."

Greg Flakus,Dallas.

The death toll from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines has risen to more than 5,200, and officials say more than 1,600 people are still missing.

The latest figures were released by Philippine officials Friday -- more than two weeks after Haiyan wiped out entire villages. It was one of the strongest storms ever to make landfall.

Officials say the death toll is likely to increase.

International aid is now flowing to most of the worst-hit areas of the central Philippines, and relief groups say the biggest challenge will be to provide longer-term help to the millions affected by the storm.

The Obama administration is pressing the Afghan government to sign a new security pact or face the prospect of no U.S. troops in the country beyond 2014.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told VOA's Afghan Service Friday that failing to conclude the Bilateral Security Agreement this year with Afghan President Hamid Karzai is "not an option" the U.S. is considering.

Psaki's comments come after a spokesman for President Karzai insisted Friday -- in a rebuff to the U.S. -- that the pact will be signed only after presidential elections scheduled for April.

Today Ukrainians mark the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor, the man-made famine that historians say as many as 10 million people died.

The White House calls the sad occasion an example of the worst in mankind and an opportunity to reflect on the evil that men can do.

But it also says the Ukrainian people showed tremendous resilience and courage, and never gave up hopes of independence.

For more on this story and completely look at today's news,you should visit our website at geilien.cn.

Reporting from Washington,I'm Bill Michaels.

VOA News.