From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting.

Eighteen people have been killed in three separate incidents Sunday as Indian troops conducted counterinsurgency operations in Indian Kashmir.

Militant groups have been waging an armed struggle against Indian rule in the only Muslim majority state of Kashmir.

The Indian soldiers and militants died in clashes south of Srinagar, the main city of the region divided between India and Pakistan, but claimed in full by both.

At least ten people have died after a heavy vehicle rammed into a building in central India, causing it to collapse.

Al-Shabab fighters launched coordinated attacks on five military camps in Somalia's Lower Shabelle region, killing at least 12 people and a civilian.

Somali officials say two suicide trucks filled with explosives blew up Sunday at the AMISOM military camp in Bula Marer, about 110 km south of Mogadishu and one of the main towns in the region. This was followed up by al-Shabab infantry attacking the camp.

Moments later, a bomb-laden mini-bus approached another AMISOM base in the nearby Golweyn village and exploded, and Al-Shabab militants attacked a third AMISOM base in Barawe with mortars. The militants also launched infantry attacks on two Somali government positions.



A magnitude 5.3 earthquake hit western Iran on Sunday. State television reported there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake in the same area in November killed more than 500 people.

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Israel on Sunday said 10 of the 15 Palestinian protesters killed by Israeli gunfire Friday were "documented" terrorists who tried to sneak across the border.

Friday's violence along the Gaza Strip was the deadliest day between Israelis and Palestinians since 2014. More than 1,400 people were wounded.

In his Easter message, Pope Francis called for peace in a world marked by war and conflict. Addressing tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square from the central balcony of the basilica, the pope called for an end to "carnage" in the long-suffering land of Syria and "reconciliation" in the Middle East.

Correspondent Sabina Castelfranco reports for VOA from Rome.

The pope urged reconciliation in Israel, a place "experiencing in these days the wounds of ongoing conflict that do not spare the defenseless." His words followed the Friday deaths of 15 Palestinian protesters on the Israeli-Gaza border two days before Easter Sunday.

Turning his thoughts to Africa, the pope also called for peace in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

"Let us not forget the victims of that conflict", the pope said, "especially the children! May there be no lack of solidarity with all those forced to abandon their native lands and lacking the bare essentials for living."

The world's first Latin American pope also urged international assistance for Venezuela so that more people would not have to abandon their homeland because of the economic and political crisis.

Sabina Castelfranco, for VOA news, Rome.

President Trump called for tougher immigration laws Sunday, promising that there would be no deal for DACA recipients. That's a problem that allows people brought to the U.S. as children illegally to remain in the U.S. and legally study and work.

On Twitter, the president wrote "Border Patrol Agents are not allowed to properly do their job at the Border because of ridiculous liberal (Democrat) laws like Catch & Release. Getting more dangerous. 'Caravans' coming. Republicans must go to Nuclear Option to pass tough laws NOW. NO MORE DACA DEAL!"

He wrote "These big flows of people are all trying to take advantage of DACA. They want in on the act!"

You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. From the world headquarters of the Voice of America in Washington, I'm Jonathan Jones, VOA news.

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