From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting.

Mixtures of grief and celebration over the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Cuban President Raul Castro announced his brother's death at the age of 90 late Friday night at the University of Havana. Students expressed grief, holding Cuban flags and photos of the deceased leader.

The Cuban government has called for nine days of official mourning.

Fidel Castro will be buried in his hometown of Santiago on December 4.

Meanwhile, in Miami's Little Havana neighborhood, news of Castro's death set off noisy celebrations that continued through the day Saturday.

Tomas Regalado is the mayor of Miami: "This is a dictator that has hurt the lives of at least four generations of Cubans. Inside and outside the island."

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised Fidel Castro as a symbol of an era. French President François Hollande also had kind words for the deceased leader.

Here in Washington, President Barack Obama reached out to the Cuban people to offer his condolences and let them know he will continue his efforts to normalize relations with Havana.

In a statement, Obama said, "In the days ahead, they will recall the past and also look to the future. As they do, the Cuban people must know that they have a friend and partner in the United States of America."

President-elect Donald Trump issued a statement in which he called Castro a "brutal dictator" whose legacy is one of firing squads, theft, poverty and the denial of fundamental human rights.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Cuba before he was born, took a stance similar to Trump, calling Castro a "murderous dictator."

This is VOA news.

President-elect Donald Trump has called efforts by the Green Party to force recounts in three crucial states a "scam" even as Hillary Clinton's campaign joined the recount efforts.

Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein filed a petition Friday to request a vote recount in Wisconsin, one of three recounts she is seeking in states narrowly won by Donald Trump earlier this month.

Stein said Saturday she is calling for the recounts because the American people have lost faith that the election was conducted in a free and fair way.

Hillary Clinton's election campaign lawyer Marc Elia said in a post Saturday that Clinton's campaign joined the effort after investigating whether there was any outside interference in the November 8 vote.

There were ongoing concerns that Russian hackers might have tried to influence the election, particularly after they successfully hacked the computer network of the Democratic National Committee and tried to hack voter database registrations.

At least 20 people were killed and 20 others injured in a car bombing at a crowded market in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, Saturday.

According to security officials, at midday, a man parked a car laden with explosives at the entrance of an open air fruit and vegetable market in the city's Afesyoni neighborhood.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said that security forces had captured the bomber.

The Somali Islamist group al-Shabaab often carries out such attacks in the capital though there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Al-Shabaab wants to topple the Western-backed government and impose its strict interpretation of Islam.

Another day of heavy fighting in Mosul, Iraq, Saturday as Iraqi troops continued their push to dislodge Islamic State militants controlling the majority of the northern city.

Iraqi special forces troops fired mortars and machine-guns in response to two IS attacks in two neighborhoods.

Iraqi military and hospital officials said mortar rounds fired by Islamic State militants overnight and early Saturday had killed 16 civilians in neighborhoods already retaken by Iraqi troops.

After days of heavy combat, Syria said on Saturday that its Russia-backed army has gained "full control" of a key rebel-held district in the war-torn city of Aleppo.

State media reported army engineering units in the Masaken Hanano district are dismantling mines and other explosive devices planted by rebels.

Western analysts have warned that the fall of the area would place government forces in position to cut off northern parts of the rebel-held sector of the city.

I'm David Byrd in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.