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

Libyan security forces say they have arrested a brother and the father of Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

A spokesman for the Libyan anti-terrorism force said Hashim Abedi had recently been in contact with his brother and knew of his plans for the attack.

Salman Abedi blew himself up in the Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and wounding scores of others, just moments after the ending of a pop music show featuring the young American singer, Ariana Grande.

Ms. Grande canceled her tour schedule in Europe until June 7, when she is to perform in Paris.



The militant group, Al-Shabaab, has claimed responsibility for a deadly car bombing in Somalia's capital and two other fatal attacks in Kenya.

Officials in Mogadishu say at least eight people were killed and 15 injured in the bombing late Wednesday near the city's seaport.

Witnesses told VOA's Somali service that a car exploded next to a small restaurant. The dead include a mother and a young boy whose family owns the restaurant.

Al-Shabaab said it was targeting police and intelligence officials at the site.

Separately, eight Kenyan security officers were killed in two separate roadside bombings in the country's northeast, according to witnesses and officials.

Five of the officers were killed after an IED hit a convoy of vehicles escorting the governor of Mandera County who was campaigning.

This is news from VOA.

President Trump said Wednesday that he is now "more determined than ever to pursue peace in our world" after his meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.

He said terrorism is the "number one problem currently facing the world," when he met Wednesday with Belgium's prime minister in Brussels.

Thursday, Trump will take part in the opening of a new NATO headquarters and a meeting of the alliance's leaders.

Correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.

The war in Afghanistan is one of the key topics European leaders hope to learn more about when they meet with U.S. President Donald Trump.

The U.S. leader wants a boost in NATO contributions for the war effort.

Russia also looms large for European leaders at both the NATO summit and the G-7 meeting that follows in Italy.

Germany, Austria and others hope for a new direction in relations with Moscow following the Ukraine crisis as continued sanctions against Russia have created pressure on western European nations dependent on Russian energy exports.

The big hope among European leaders is that seeing Trump face-to-face and hearing him repeat assurances that he no longer believes NATO is obsolete will quell anxieties about the U.S. role as guarantor of Europe's security.

Luis Ramirez, VOA news, Brussels.

At least three police officers have been killed in two suspected suicide bombings at a bus terminal in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, Wednesday.

Five other officers and five civilians were wounded in the attacks.

So far, no claim of responsibility for the attacks.

Gunmen have kidnapped two Chinese citizens in southwestern Pakistan, where China is investing billions of dollars to help build a trade route linking the two countries.

Police said the kidnappers intercepted a car carrying three Chinese, including two women, Wednesday in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province

A provincial government spokesman told VOA the armed men seized the foreigners and tried to force them into their own vehicle.

During an ensuing fight, a Chinese woman was able to escape the kidnappers.

Pakistan says U.N. military observers visiting its side of the disputed Kashmir border came under attack Wednesday from the Indian troops but were not hurt.

The observes report cease-fire violations across the Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory between the two nuclear-armed rival nations.

Two observers, one each from the Philippines and Croatia, were reportedly fired on by Indian forces.

Pakistani and Indian troops have been locked in cross-border shelling in Kashmir, each accusing the other of violating a mutual cease-fire.

Listen more at voanews.com. I'm Jonathan Smith in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.