Latest On Americas Summit: Summit Wraps Up 5 Hours Late

Cuba's President Raul Castro talks at reporters before turning to leave the staging area of the official group photo of the VII Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama, Saturday, April 11, 2015. Castro is flanked by his personal assistant and grandson, Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, and Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves. Castro and U.S. President Barack Obama held their first formal meeting in more than half a century on Saturday, clearing the way for a normalization of relations. (AP Photo)

9:40 p.m. (0240 GMT, 10:40 p.m. EDT)

Cheers have broken out in the media center of the Summit Americas after Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela declared the gathering over. Saturday's conference was a marathon session that ran about five hours over schedule, with a number of leaders speaking well beyond the recommended eight minutes.

Cuba's Raul Castro was among the most loquacious, clocking in at 49 minutes after joking that his country had not been allowed to attend the regional gathering until now so he was owed the equivalent of six speeches.

8:00 p.m. (0100 GMT, 9:00 p.m. EDT)

Next stop on the road to reconciliation between the United States and Latin America: Peru.

At the conclusion of the Summit of the Americas on Saturday, host Panama announced that the next edition of the regional gathering of hemispheric leaders will take place three years from now in the Andean nation.

7:00 p.m. (2400 GMT, 8:00 p.m. EDT)

Cuba's foreign minister says the meeting between presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro helped both leaders understand, face-to-face, each side's respective interests and also the areas where the two countries don't agree.

Bruno Rodriguez says that "we have found common ground in the willingness to have a civilized behavior that respects our differences."

Rodriguez says the encounter on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas lasted an hour and 20 minutes. He adds that there is still no timeline for re-establishing diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Cuba, which were severed in 1961.

6:10 p.m. (2310 GMT, 7:10 p.m. EDT)

President Barack Obama has met privately with his Venezuelan counterpart amid a deepening dispute over recent U.S. sanctions on seven senior Venezuelan officials.

Venezuela's presidential office says Obama and President Nicolas Maduro met on the sidelines of the Summit of Americas in Panama on Saturday.

Maduro aide Teresa Maniglia says in a tweet that "there was a lot of truth, respect and cordiality" at the meeting.

She says the two leaders greeted each other in Spanish but offers no additional details.

There has been no immediate comment from the White House and Obama did not mention the encounter in remarks at the conclusion of the summit.

5:30 p.m. (2230 GMT, 6:30 p.m. EDT)

Cubans are hailing Saturday's historic meeting between presidents Raul Castro and Barack Obama but say they want to see their lives improve faster as a result of warming ties between the Cold War foes.

Havana residents stopped in the middle of their Saturday errands or family time to watch Castro and Obama shaking hands and addressing the press about their reestablishment of diplomatic ties and saying they agreed about the need for progress.

Retired office worker Magaly Delgado said: "I like that Raul left all the doors open. That seems important to me. We'll see if it leads to results."

Street performer Rosa Marie Argudin said, "It's been years that we've been waiting for something like this. I hope this doesn't just remain a conversation."

—Michael Weissenstein, Associated Press writer in Havana

3:45 p.m. (2045 GMT, 4:45 p.m. EDT)

President Barack Obama says it is time to "turn the page" on old divisions when it comes to the United States' relationship with its longtime adversary, Cuba.

As Obama opened a meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, he told reporters, "It was my belief it was time to try something new, that it was important for us to engage more directly with the Cuban government."

"And more importantly, with Cuban people," the president added.

Castro said he was ready to discuss sensitive issues, including human rights and freedom of the press.

"We are disposed to talk about everything — with patience," Castro said in Spanish. "Some things we will agree with, and others we won't."

The two are meeting in Panama on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas.

2:45 p.m. (1945 GMT, 3:45 p.m. EDT)

History is being made at the Summit of the Americas.

President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro are holding the first substantive meeting between leaders of their countries in more than five decades.

The face-to-face exchange is the latest step in the effort the leaders announced in December to move past years of suspicion and hostility and restore diplomatic relations between the American superpower and the communist island nation situated less than 100 miles off the U.S. southern coast.

Obama and Castro shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before the summit's opening ceremony Friday night.

They also spoke by telephone on Wednesday before Obama departed the White House.

2:40 p.m. (1940 GMT, 3:40 EDT)

President Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico is expressing support for negotiations to improve relations between Cuba and the United States, countries he describes as "two great friends of Mexico."

Pena Nieto says, "The leaders of both nations have reminded the world that openness to dialogue is charged with promise and possibilities."

Pena Nieto comments came at a plenary session of the Summit of the Americas in Panama.

1:45 p.m. (1845 GMT, 2:45 p.m. EDT)

U.S. President Barack Obama and President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia have concluded a meeting on the margins of the Summit of the Americas.

The White House says the leaders noted there has been progress since a 2012 summit on the Colombia peace process.

Obama also expressed his continued support for Colombia as it works through victims' rights and other issues related to the peace talks.

He told Santos the appointment of a U.S. special envoy to the peace process symbolizes shared hope for a stable and lasting peace in Colombia.

1:30 p.m. (1830 GMT, 2:30 p.m. EDT)

Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro is holding out an olive branch of sorts to President Barack Obama, saying he's willing to forgive a long history of aggressions against his socialist government and work to repair relations.

The two countries have seen relations fall to a new low since the White House slapped sanctions on senior officials for alleged human rights abuses. In a 40-minute speech at the Summit of the Americas, Maduro said any effort to normalize relations depends on the U.S repealing the financial and travel sanctions.

Maduro said he's been waiting for more than a year for the Obama administration to respond to his invitation to exchange ambassadors for the first time since 2010.

Obama wasn't present for Maduro's remarks at the Summit of the Americas. He had stepped away from the plenary session earlier to attend a bilateral meeting with Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos.

1:15 p.m. (1815 GMT, 2:15 p.m. EDT)

Cuba is dedicating a special TV channel to live coverage of the Summit of the Americas, but relatively few in Havana seemed to be watching when Raul Castro made his impassioned speech. Many capital residents said they had no idea it was going to be on.

Sixty-nine-year-old retired lawyer Paco Soler was one of the few who caught Castro's remarks, watching from a bar in the Vedado district.

Soler was struck by Castro's remark absolving President Obama of blame for the past.

Soler says that comment is "an elegant way to create a positive atmosphere for the possible meeting between the two presidents."

Seventy-five-year-old retiree Diego Reyes saw footage of last night's historic handshake between the two presidents on TV but was unimpressed.

In his words, "What I want is for them not to shake hands so much, not to talk so much, but to do something concrete that fixes something."

He complained that since the Dec. 17 announcement that the U.S. and Cuba would move to restore diplomatic relations, "nothing has changed for regular Cubans. And what we're waiting for is an improvement."

—Anne-Marie Garcia, Associated Press writer in Havana.

12:15 p.m. (1715 GMT, 1:15 p.m. EDT)

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is one of several leaders criticizing recent U.S. sanctions against seven Venezuelan officials whom Washington accuses of human rights abuses related to anti-government protests last year.

"This good moment for hemispheric relations can no longer allow unilateral measures and policies of isolation in general, and they are always counterproductive and ineffective," Rousseff says, according to a translation of her remarks into Spanish. "For that reason we reject the adoption of sanctions against Venezuela."

She adds that the South American regional bloc UNASUR supports dialogue to ease political tensions in Venezuela.

12:15 p.m. (1715 GMT, 1:15 p.m. EDT)

One prominent face is missing as leaders of the Americas meet in Panama.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet scrapped plans to attend in order to oversee her country's recovery from devastating floods that have killed at least 26 people and left more than 100 missing.

Foreign Minister Heraldo Munoz is representing Chile in her stead.

11:45 a.m. (1645 GMT, 12:45 p.m. EDT)

Cuba's President is offering effusive praise for President Barack Obama and his decision to restore ties with the communist island even as he catalogues more than a century of grievances against the United States.

Raul Castro says Obama bears no responsibility for past aggressions against Cuba.

In a speech at the Summit of Americas he thanked Obama for his historic decision to try to overcome the past, beginning with his consideration to remove Cuba from a list of state sponsors of terrorism.

To the applause of hemispheric leaders, Castro drew attention to Obama's modest origins, saying it was the source for his decision to turn a new page in relations with the former Cold War enemy.

11:30 a.m. (1630 GMT, 12:30 p.m. EDT)

Cuban President Raul Castro has lightened the mood at the Summit of the Americas with a wry crack at his country's longtime absence from the gathering.

Castro noted that the leaders' speeches were supposed to last around eight minutes. But he asked for special dispensation.

"Since you owe me six summits when you excluded me, six times eight is 48," he said to laughter.

This is the first time Cuba has taken part in the summit.

11:15 a.m. (1615 GMT, 1215 EDT)

U.S. President Barack Obama is pushing back against Latin America's criticism of his recent sanctioning of Venezuelan officials for alleged human rights abuses

During his speech at the Summit of Americas, Obama said that when the United States speaks against injustices it sees around the world, it's not seeking to meddle in the affairs of other nations but rather to live up to the democratic ideals it defends at home.

While he didn't cite Venezuela by name, he said the U.S. would continue to promote the right of Latin Americans to peacefully demonstrate against governments without fear of arrest or retribution.

He cited the history of segregation in the southern United States as evidence that the U.S.'s record for freedom is far from perfect — a point made earlier by Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa,.

He noted that many of the ideological battles and dark chapters of past U.S. interventions in Latin America date from before he was born. He encouraged leaders to work together to solve the problems of the future in areas ranging from protection of the environment to reducing inequality.

11:15 a.m. (1615 GMT, 1215 EDT)

President Barack Obama blasted back at Ecuador's President Rafael Correa for his criticism of the United States.

Correa says that when it comes to Latin America, the U.S. has failed to live up to its founders' ideals of freedom. Obama responded that he is very aware that the U.S. has "dark chapters" of its own history, but the lessons learned are precisely why he speaks out on human rights abuses abroad.

Obama says talking about past grievances and using the United States as an excuse for domestic political problems won't bring progress.

Obama reproved Correa for trying to silence criticism of his government by prosecuting owners of some of the country's biggest media outlets.

Obama says he doesn't like media coverage that criticizes him either. But he says democracy means everyone has the opportunity to offer opinions.

11:00 a.m. (1600 GMT, 12:00 p.m. EDT)

President Barack Obama says when it comes to relations with Cuba, the United States will not be imprisoned by the past.

Obama says he's looking for a new relationship with Cuba that's not caught up in ideological arguments. He says the Cold War is over and he's not interested in battles that started before he was born.

The U.S. president spoke to assembled leaders at the Summit of the Americas ahead of a highly anticipated meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday.

He says both he and Castro would say there will continue to be significant differences between their two countries. But he says reopening diplomatic relations allows more Americans to travel to Cuba and gives more opportunity and resource to the Cuban people.

10:45 a.m. (1545 GMT, 11:45 EDT)

Ecuador's President Rafael Correa is borrowing the U.S. Declaration of Independence to take a swipe at critics at home and abroad.

The leftist leader has been accused by human rights groups of trying to silence criticism of his government by prosecuting owners of some of the country's biggest media outlets.

On Saturday, in a speech at the Summit of Americas, he cited a history of U.S. military interventions and strong-arm tactics to denounce what he said was the failure of the United States to live up to Thomas Jefferson's ideals of freedom when it comes to its relationship with Latin America.

"The elites of Latin America are incapable of understanding that inalienable rights are for everyone," said Correa, a U.S.-trained economist.

10:15 a.m. (1515 GMT, 11:15 EDT)

The changing face of politics in Latin America: sitting behind Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos are two openly gay cabinet members

Education Minister Gina Parody is a partner of Trade Minister Cecilia Alvarez. Both are seated behind Santos at the start of the plenary session at the Summit of the Americas.

Conservative critics blasted the couple after they spoke publicly about their relationship for the first time late last year. But that hasn't prevented Santos from singing their praises, especially of Parody, whose focus on improving the quality of education in Colombia has made her into one of the country's most popular politicians.

9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT, 10:45 a.m. EDT)

Its kickoff time for a marathon session of speeches at the plenary session of the Summit of the Americas.

More than 30 heads of state have gathered inside the Atlapa Convention Center.

President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak fifth, while a highly anticipated speech President Raul Castro, who is representing communist Cuba at the summit for the first time, comes near the end of the morning session.

Each leader is expected to address delegates for no more than 10 minutes but that may not stop some.

At the 2009 summit in Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega delivered an hour-long denunciation of U.S. military incursions in Latin America.

Obama, Castro To Come Face To Face Amid Bid To Restore Ties

President Barack Obama, center, speaks at the summit with Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders, Thursday, April 9, 2015, in Kingston, Jamaica. The president said Thursday that he soon decide whether to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism now that the State Department has finished a review on the question as part of the move to reopen diplomatic relations with the island nation

PANAMA CITY (AP) — As leaders from across the Western Hemisphere gather Friday in Panama, all eyes will be on two presidents: Barack Obama and Raul Castro, whose expected encounter at the Summit of the Americas will mark a historic moment as the U.S. and Cuba seek to restore ties they abandoned decades ago.

Americans and Cubans alike can recall just how deep the animosity between their countries ran during the Cold War, when even a casual, friendly exchange between their leaders would have been unthinkable. So while Obama and Castro have no formal meetings scheduled together, even a brief handshake or hallway greeting will be scrutinized for signs of whether the two nations are really poised to put their hostile pasts behind them.

Obama and Castro cross paths at the Summit of the Americas in the throes of a delicate diplomatic experiment: the renewal of formal relations between countries that haven't had any in more than 50 years.

Even their arrival Thursday evening seemed steeped in symbolism: Obama, after arriving in Panama City, was whisked via helicopter to his waiting motorcade at an airport former known as Howard Air Force Base, from which the U.S. launched its 1989 invasion of Panama.

Castro's plane landed on the tarmac minutes later, missing Obama only briefly — two world leaders passing warily in the night. Four months ago, Obama and Castro announced their intention to restore diplomatic relations, beginning a painstaking process that has brought to the surface difficult issues that have long fed in to the U.S.-Cuban estrangement. Hopes of reopening embassies in Havana and Washington before the summit failed to materialize. The U.S. is still pushing Cuba to allow more freedom of movement for its diplomats, while Cuba wants relief from a sanctions regime that only Congress can fully lift.

Yet in the days before this year's Summit of the Americas — the first to include Cuba — both leaders sought to set a productive and optimistic tone for their highly anticipated encounter. While in Jamaica on Wednesday, Obama signaled that he will soon act to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, removing a stigma that has been a source of friction for Havana.

Obama's move could come within days. "We don't want to be imprisoned by the past," Obama said Wednesday in Kingston, Jamaica, before flying to Panama City. "When something doesn't work for 50 years, you don't just keep on doing it. You try something new."

In another sign of engagement, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez met privately in Panama on Thursday — the highest-level meeting between the two governments in decades. The U.S. said the meeting was lengthy and that the leaders agreed to keep working to address unresolved issues.

On Friday, Obama was to meet with Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela and other Central American leaders. He planned to speak at a forum of CEOs before joining other leaders for dinner at Panama Viejo, home to archaeological ruins dating to the 1500s. A visit to the Panama Canal was also possible.

In a nod to lingering U.S. concerns about human rights and political freedoms, Obama was also attend a forum bringing together both dissidents and members of the Cuban political establishment.

Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.

Reach Josh Lederman at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

North Korea Says It Deports American For Plotting, Making Videos

Sandra Suh, second from right, walks out from the arrival gate of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Thursday, April 9, 2015. North Korea has deported the American woman who frequently visited the country over the past 20 years, accusing her of engaging in "plot-breeding and propaganda."

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AP) — North Korea has deported an American woman who frequently visited the country over the past 20 years, accusing her of engaging in "plot-breeding and propaganda."

North Korea's state media said Wednesday that Sandra Suh had traveled to North Korea "under the pretense of 'humanitarianism,'" but that she had secretly produced and directed anti-North Korean videos and photos because of her "inveterate repugnancy" toward Pyongyang.

Suh arrived on a flight to Beijing on Thursday but made no comments to reporters there. A U.S. Embassy official in Seoul didn't immediately have details about the report. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf in Washington said Wednesday she could not confirm any of the details that have been reported about the woman.

North Korea has occasionally detained Americans and other foreigners for what the cloistered country considered missionary work or "anti-state" activities that it sees as attempts to bring down its authoritarian government.

Analysts say past detentions have been attempts to wrest outside concessions out of Washington. Authorities in Pyongyang have also in the past staged news conferences, during which foreign detainees appeared before the media and made statements that they then recanted after their releases.

However, Wednesday's report appeared to be the first word about Suh. Pyongyang said it decided to deport the American because of her "old age" and after she apologized and admitted that she'd "seriously insulted" its citizens' trust in leader Kim Jong Un.

Last year, the North released three Americans who had been detained — two who had entered the country on tourist visas and Kenneth Bae, a missionary convicted and sentenced for "anti-state" crimes. An Australian missionary detained for spreading Christianity was also deported last year after he apologized for anti-state religious acts.

Iran Sends Navy Vessels To Waters Off Yemen, Raising Stakes

Iranian warship Alborz, foreground, prepares before leaving Iran's waters. Iran dispatched a naval destroyer and another logistic vessel, Wednesday to waters near Yemen as the United States quickened weapons supply to the Saudi-led coalition striking rebels there, underlining how foreign powers are deepening their involvement in the conflict. Iran's English-language state broadcaster Press TV quoted Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari as saying the ships would be part of an anti-piracy campaign "safeguarding naval routes for vessels in the region."

SANAA, YEMEN (AP) — Iran dispatched a destroyer and another naval ship to waters off Yemen on Wednesday, raising the stakes amid a Saudi-led air campaign targeting Iranian-backed Shiite rebels fighting forces loyal to the country's embattled president.

The Iranian maneuver came as the U.S. deepened its support for the Saudi-led coalition, boosting weapons supplies and intelligence-sharing and carrying out the first U.S. aerial refueling mission of coalition fighter jets

The Iranian warships were sent to the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait as part of an anti-piracy campaign to "safeguard naval routes for vessels in the region," Iranian Rear Adm. Habibollah Sayyari was quoted as saying by the English-language state broadcaster Press TV.

Securing navigation in the narrow strait was a key reason for the Saudi-led air and maritime blockade that began after Yemen's internationally recognized president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, fled the country two weeks ago as the rebels closed in on Aden, Yemen's second-largest city where he was based.

The fighting has pitted forces loyal to Hadi against the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and allied military units who back ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Critics say Shiite powerhouse Iran backs the Houthis, though both the Islamic Republic and the rebels deny any direct military assistance.

On Wednesday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani condemned the Saudi government, accusing it of committing crimes against humanity in Yemen during airstrikes that hit civilian areas. His comments, carried by the official Iran news agency, came as Iranian diplomats worked to erode support among Sunni nations for the air campaign, visiting Pakistan and Turkey, both supporters of the Saudi-led coalition, and Oman, the only Gulf country that has abstained from participating in the military operation.

Pakistan's parliament is debating a Saudi request to send soldiers to join the Saudi-led coalition. Speaking in Islamabad, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic was ready to facilitate peace talks in Yemen to form a broad-based government and called for a cease-fire to allow for humanitarian assistance.

"We need to work together to put an end to the crisis in Yemen. The people of Yemen should not suffer from aerial bombardment," Zarif said. In Washington, meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. had conducted its first military intervention in support of the Arab coalition, the aerial refueling of Emirati F-16s and Saudi F-15s. He did not provide details, except to say the refueling did not take place over Yemeni airspace.

Speaking a day earlier in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken blamed the violence in Yemen on the Houthis and forces loyal to Saleh, saying the U.S. was committed to defending Saudi Arabia.

"We have expedited weapons deliveries, we have increased our intelligence-sharing, and we have established a joint coordination and planning cell in the Saudi operations center," he said after meeting with Saudi royals and Hadi, the Yemeni president who fled to Saudi Arabia two weeks ago.

Intelligence-sharing includes making available raw aerial imagery the coalition can use to better strike anti-Hadi forces, said a U.S. defense official who was not authorized to comment publicly. Warren said the munitions, mostly "bombs and guidance kits," were in the pipeline but had not yet been delivered.

Analysts said Wednesday's move by Iran to send warships to Yemeni waters was posturing by the regional powerhouse. "The Iranian navy has regularly sent warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect its ships from pirates," Iranian political analyst Davoud Hermidas Bavand said. "But given the timing, the dispatch of a destroyer is seen as ... muscle-flexing by Iran."

Mustafa al-Ani, a Gulf security expert with closes to the Saudi government, said the Iranian destroyer had been in the area before, as part of an anti-piracy force. But with its dispatch Wednesday, the Iranians were signaling that they have seaborne capabilities, he said.

"They are sending messages that we are going to be involved sooner or later if the war is going on. We have the capability to do that," he said. In Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, a leading partner in the Saudi-led coalition, Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Iran's meddling in several Arab countries, including Yemen, left little hope for cooperation. He characterized the conflict as part of a broader pattern of Iranian efforts to expand its influence in the region.

"It's not about sectarianism. It's about Iran believing in exporting the revolution. It's a part of their regime, a part of their ideology. Until they choose to deal with us country to country, we will have suspicions," he said.

The U.S. says the chaos in Yemen has allowed the local al-Qaida branch, which it considers the world's most dangerous wing of the group, to make "great gains" on the ground, causing Washington to rethink how it prevents it from launching attacks in the West.

Speaking in Tokyo, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said the collapse of the central government in Yemen makes it harder to conduct counterterrorism operations against al-Qaida, which has ambitions to strike Western targets, including the United States.

On Wednesday, al-Qaida in Yemen, a staunch rival of the Houthis, posted a video offering a bounty of 44 pounds (20 kilograms) of gold for whoever captures or kills the rebel leader and his prime ally in Yemen, ousted president Saleh.

Along with the ongoing military campaign, Arab countries have lobbied members of the U.N. Security Council to adopt a draft resolution that would ban arms shipments to the rebels and their allies. The draft calls on all parties to resolve their differences through dialogue and accelerate U.N.-brokered negotiations on a political transition.

Meanwhile, the first boats carrying medical aid to Yemen since the March 26 start of the Saudi-led bombing campaign arrived in the southern port city of Aden on Wednesday. The head of Doctors Without Borders in Yemen, Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, said the ship carried some 2.5 tons of supplies from Djibouti for its hospital in Aden.

The Geneva-based spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Sitara Jabeen, said another boat carrying five of its staff and five medical workers as well as hundreds of pounds of medicine also made it into the embattled city.

Jabeen said a plane carrying tons of medical supplies has been held back by complicated negotiations for securing a safe landing in the capital, Sanaa. The World Health Organization said Wednesday that at least 643 civilians and combatants have been killed in the fighting since March 19.

El Deeb reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Sagar Meghani in Washington, Ali Akbar Dareini in Tehran, Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Adam Schreck in Dubai, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Brian Rohan in Cairo contributed to this report.

560 Dead Amid Fears Of Humanitarian Collapse In Yemen

Yemenis stand amid the rubble of houses destroyed by Saudi-led airstrikes in a village near Sanaa, Yemen. Since their advance began last year, the Shiite rebels, known as Houthis have overrun Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and several provinces, forcing the country’s beleaguered President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to flee the country. A Saudi-led coalition continued to carry out intensive airstrikes overnight and early Saturday morning targeting Houthi positions.

SANAA, YEMEN (AP) — As tons of desperately needed medical supplies await clearance to be flown into Yemen, aid workers warned Tuesday of an unfolding humanitarian crisis, saying at least 560 people, including dozens of children, have been killed, mostly in a Saudi-led air campaign and battles between Shiite rebels and forces loyal to the embattled president.

More than 1,700 people have been wounded and another 100,000 have fled their homes as fighting intensified over the past three weeks, the World Health Organization said. The Red Cross shipment would be the first to reach Yemen since the start of the Saudi-imposed air blockade. Sitara Jabeen, a Geneva-based spokeswoman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said a cargo plane with 17 tons of medical supplies was in the Jordanian capital, Amman, awaiting the go-ahead from coalition forces to land in Sanaa, hopefully on Wednesday. Another 35 tons of supplies were also ready for shipment, she said.

"If these medical supplies do not reach Yemen, then unfortunately we are afraid many more people will die," Jabeen said. She said a surgical team was also awaiting clearance to dock in the embattled Yemeni port of Aden, where heavy fighting Monday left streets littered with bodies.

The fighting pits allies of Yemen's president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, and allied military units loyal to ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The Saudi-led air campaign, which supports Hadi, now in its 13th day, so far has failed to stop the Houthis' advance on Aden, Yemen's second-largest city, which was declared the provisional capital by Hadi before he fled the country for Saudi Arabia as the rebels closed in two weeks ago.

WHO said Tuesday that at least 560 people have been killed and 1,768 wounded — many of them civilians — since the rebels and their allies launched an intensified land grab on March 19. Among the fatalities are at least 293 people killed since the March 26 start of the Saudi-led air campaign in support of Hadi.

The dead include at least 74 children killed since the start of the airstrikes, the U.N. children's agency said. At least 44 children have been wounded. Comprehensive casualty figures are difficult to collect and verify because of the ongoing violence, and aid agencies warned the overall death toll is likely far higher.

The Saudi campaign has turned Yemen into a new proxy war between the kingdom and Iran, which has backed the Houthis, though Tehran denies aiding the rebels militarily. Civilians have paid a heavy toll for the violence that mushroomed from an internal power struggle into a regional war.

Children have been especially vulnerable, said UNICEF's Yemen representative, Julien Harneis. "They are being killed, maimed and forced to flee their homes, their health threatened and their education interrupted," Harneis said in a statement, released Monday. Warring factions have also increased their recruitment of children under the age of 18.

Humanitarian groups say they are running out of supplies and have called for a temporary halt to the fighting to allow medical teams and fresh medical supplies to arrive in the country and for residents to identify and bury their dead.

UNICEF said the violence has disrupted water supplies in areas of southern Yemen and that sewage is overflowing in some locations, raising the risk of outbreaks of disease. Water systems have been repeatedly damaged in Aden and two other areas, UNICEF said, adding that it is providing fuel for water pumps.

Hospitals are struggling to treat large numbers of wounded with insufficient supplies and some medical facilities have come under attack, the agency said. On Tuesday, Saudi-led coalition jets bombed a rebel-allied military installation in southern Yemen as local tribes battled the Shiite fighters and their allies in the area, seizing a makeshift camp and weapons, Yemeni military officials said.

A medical volunteer in southern Ibb province said the airstrikes hit a Republican Guard camp, wounding at least 25 Saleh loyalists. Residents say the camp was close to a school, and the rebel television station, al-Masirah, said three children were killed in the airstrike. The medical volunteer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, could not confirm the children's deaths.

About 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of the camp, local tribes battled with Houthis who had set up a makeshift camp in the area, driving the rebels away and seizing their weapons, a local resident said, also speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

Fighting intensified in Aden on Monday, with the rebels and their allies making their strongest push yet to seize control of the city, a main stronghold of Hadi supporters. The fighting has raised doubts over the possibility of landing ground forces from the Saudi-led coalition to carve out a secure enclave for the return of Hadi.

"Conditions are very dangerous right now," UNICEF's Dr. Gamila Hibatullah in Aden was quoted as saying. "Hospitals are overflowing, and even ambulances have been hijacked." In Islamabad, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addressed a joint session of parliament convened to debate whether Pakistan would join the Saudi-led coalition.

Sharif warned Iran to "ponder upon its policy and consider whether that policy is correct or not."

Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb in Cairo, Karin Laub in Gaza City and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Uber's Popularity Surges; Travelers Avoiding Taxis

 The Uber app displays cars available to make a pickup in downtown Manhattan on a smart phone, in New York. A new report by expense management system provider Certify shows that 47 percent of the ground transportation rides by its users in March were through Uber.

NEW YORK (AP) — Business travelers are bypassing the taxi queue with greater frequency, choosing instead ride-hailing services like Uber Technologies.

A new report by expense management system provider Certify shows that 47 percent of the ground transportation rides by its users in March were through Uber. That's more than tripled from the 14 percent of rides that Uber had just over a year ago in January 2014. In a few cities, Uber now tops taxi rides for business travelers.

"While we often see noteworthy market shifts — leading restaurant chains and hotels exchanging leadership positions, for example — it is unprecedented to see one vendor grow to take such a commanding market share within one year's time," says Certify CEO Bob Neveu.

While taxis, limousines and airport shuttles still dominate the ground transportation business, Certify's report shows ride-hailing services are rapidly on the rise among business travelers. Certify based its finding on the 28 million trip receipts its North American clients submit each year.

Uber connects travelers with various cars through its smartphone app. Some drivers work for car service companies; others spend a few hours driving their personal cars on the side for some extra money.

Business travelers might be quickly moving toward Uber, but their employers have some major concerns. Mike McCormick, executive director of the Global Business Travel Association, notes that many companies are worried about issues of safety and liability. Depending on the city, Uber drivers aren't necessarily regulated by government taxi licensing authorities. Both Uber and competitor Lyft insure their drivers during paid rides and also require the drivers to carry personal auto insurance that covers them the rest of the time.

Uber has faced criticism that its employees inappropriately accessed customer data and that it does not properly screen drivers to ensure they have clean criminal records. In a few cities, Uber beats out taxis by a wide margin for business travelers. In its home town of San Francisco, 71 percent of rides expensed through Certify during the first quarter were for Uber; 29 percent used taxis. Uber also beat out all other forms of ground transportation in Dallas, accounting for 56 percent of the rides.

In Los Angeles and Washington D.C., Uber represented 49 percent of business travel rides. Taxis, limousines and airport shuttles still reigned in New York, Miami and Chicago where they took 79 percent, 77 percent and 75 percent of rides expensed, respectively.

__ Scott Mayerowitz can be reached at http://twitter.com/GlobeTrotScott

Kenyan Students Protest School Killings, Urge More Security

Kenyan students wearing black shirts to represent mourning hold candles as they march in memory of the victims of the Garissa college attack and to protest what they say is a lack of security, in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Tuesday, April 7, 2015. Hundreds of Kenyan students marched through downtown Nairobi on Tuesday to honor those who died in the attack on a college by Islamic militants and to press the government for better security in the wake of the slaughter.

NAIROBI, KENYA (AP) — Hundreds of Kenyan students marched through downtown Nairobi on Tuesday to honor those who died in an attack on a college by Islamic militants and to press the government for better security in the wake of the slaughter.

The raucous crowd of about 250 jogged down main thoroughfares in Kenya's capital, sometimes sitting in traffic circles and intersections, backing up traffic for blocks and attracting bystanders. The singing, chanting demonstrators, some of whom were dressed in black to mourn those killed, denounced Somalia's al-Shabab extremist group that carried out the attack last week on Garissa University College that killed 148 in northeastern Kenya. "Comrades are tired of al-Shabab," said one placard.

Other signs said: "You remain in our hearts!" and "RIP comrades." The protesters stopped at President Uhuru Kenyatta's office building to present their demands which include state compensation for the families of the victims who died in the Garissa attack, the construction of a memorial for the dead and better security on campuses and in Kenya as a whole.

"We might be next," said Walter Mutai, a 22-year-old statistics student at Moi University. "These people, they can target anywhere." "We are not safe," the demonstrators shouted. On one road, the students passed a truck carrying security forces with red berets and rifles.

"Where were you?" the students shouted angrily. The troops did not respond. They also banged on the sides of a police vehicle and converged briefly outside Kenyan police headquarters, again shouting: "Where were you?"

"We want guns," they cried. Kenyatta's government has faced criticism for an allegedly late response by its security forces to the college assault. Also on Tuesday, Kenyan police presented in court 5 suspects arrested in connection with the Garissa attack.

The court granted police 30 more days to investigate the suspects before charging them in court. The five suspects are: Mohammed Adan Surow, Osman Abdi Dakane, Mohammed Abdi Abikar, Hassan Aden Hassan and Sahal Diriye Hussien. Police say they supplied guns to the four gunmen who carried out the killings.

Police said they also want more time to investigate a sixth suspect, Tanzanian national Rashid Charles Mberekesho, who is being held in Garissa.

AP Writer Tom Odula contributed to this story from Nairobi.

Kenyan Airstrikes Hit Suspected Militant Camps In Somalia

Students attends a vigil for people killed in an attack on a college by Islamic militants in Garissa, Kenya, at the University of Cape Town, in Cape Town, South Africa, Monday, April 6, 2015. Kenya launched airstrikes against Islamic militants in Somalia following an extremist attack on a Kenyan college that killed 148 people, a military spokesman said Monday

NAIROBI, KENYA (AP) — Kenyan warplanes bombed militant camps in Somalia, officials said Monday, following a vow by President Uhuru Kenyatta to respond "in the fiercest way possible" to a massacre of college students by al-Shabab extremists.

The airstrikes Sunday and Monday targeted the Gedo region of western Somalia, directly across the border from Kenya, said Col. David Obonyo of the Kenyan military. The al-Shabab camps, which were used to store arms and for logistical support, were destroyed, but it was not possible to determine the number of casualties because of poor visibility, he said.

The Somalia-based militant group claimed responsibility for Thursday's attack at Garissa University College in northeastern Kenya in which militants killed 148 people, most of them students. Hawa Yusuf, who lives in a village near the town of Beledhawa that is close to the Kenyan-Somali border, said the warplanes "were hovering around for a few minutes, then started bombing." She didn't know if there were any casualties, she said by phone.

Another resident of the village, Ali Hussein, said the airstrikes hit a grassland "where nomads often take their animals for grazing." "We are not aware of any military camps located there. They dropped bombs on the whole area," he added.

Al-Shabab fighters often use shrubby areas to conceal fighters and vehicles. Airstrikes and other conventional military operations have hurt al-Shabab, but analysts say better intelligence is needed to thwart an extremist group that has proven effective in infiltrating civilian populations and carrying out attacks on so-called "soft" targets in urban areas.

The extremist group said the Garissa attack was in reprisal for Kenya sending troops into Somalia in 2011 to kill its members who took part in cross-border raids and kidnappings. Kenya's troops in Somalia are part of an African Union force and are also shoring up the beleaguered Somali government. Kenya has conducted airstrikes in Somalia before.

The four al-Shabab attackers who stormed the university were killed by Kenyan security forces, and their bullet-riddled bodies were displayed in Garissa. Five people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in the attack, a Kenyan official said.

The al-Shabab group has struck several times on Kenyan soil, although last week's assault was the deadliest. Other attacks have occurred elsewhere in northeastern Kenya last year, as well as at the upscale Westgate shopping mall in the capital of Nairobi in which 67 people died in 2013.

The group pledged to strike again against Kenya, saying: "No amount of precaution or safety measures will be able to guarantee your safety, thwart another attack or prevent another bloodbath." In a nationally televised address over the weekend, Kenyatta vowed that his administration would retaliate against the extremists.

"We will fight terrorism to the end," he said. "I guarantee that my administration shall respond in the fiercest way possible." Obonyo noted that the airstrikes were "part of continuing operations, not just in response to Garissa."

Kenyatta has been under pressure from the political opposition to deal with the security threat from the Islamic extremists. In December, he finally fired the interior minister, who was ridiculed for a slow response to the Westgate attack, and accepted the resignation of the national police chief.

A leading member of parliament, Aden Duale, said Monday that work must be done to prevent Kenyan youths from becoming followers of extremism. "Some of our youth have fallen victim to this evil ideology of al-Shabab," he said. "We will embark on an immediate, massive and sustained campaign to win back the hearts and the minds of our youth within our constituencies and the countries as whole. We recognize that some of our religious institutions have had some role in radicalization and propagation of this ideology."

He also called for the closure of the Dadaab Refugee Camp, which houses nearly 500,000 who have fled Somalia. The camp is the center for "the training, the coordination, the assembling of terror networks," Duale alleged, and he urged that the refugees be relocated across the border.

Associated Press writer Abdi Guled in Mogadishu, Somalia, contributed to this report.

ANALYSIS: Nuclear Agreement Risks Projecting US Weakness

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks in a news briefing at the Saadabad palace in Tehran, Iran. If, as critics contend, the nuclear framework deal between world powers and Tehran ends up projecting U.S. weakness instead, that could embolden rogue states and extremists alike, and make the region's vast array of challenges even more impervious to Western intervention.

CAIRO (AP) — On a basic level, the framework deal between world powers and Tehran will be judged by whether it prevents an Iranian bomb, but that will take years to figure out.

A more immediate issue is the projection of Western power. Supporters of the framework deal can argue that the U.S. and world powers extracted significant concessions from Iran, breaking a decade-long impasse and proving that diplomacy backed by tough sanctions can bring about positive change even in the Middle East.

But if, as critics contend, the agreement ends up projecting U.S. weakness instead, that could embolden rogue states and extremists alike, and make the region's vast array of challenges -- from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Syrian civil war to the fighting in Libya and Yemen -- even more impervious to Western intervention.

The United States wants to rein in Syria's President Bashar Assad as his ruinous civil war grinds into year five. It would like to encourage more liberal domestic policies in Egypt and push Iraq's leaders to govern more inclusively. Despite years of setbacks, the U.S. would still like to see a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But if leaders in those places read the fine print of the agreement the U.S. and other world powers hope to reach with Iran by June 30 and conclude that they were duped or have flinched, these leaders will be less likely to give in to pressure in the future, rendering the Iran agreement a lonely foreign policy achievement clouded by the region's chaos.

The implications may first be seen in Iran itself. If the agreement leads to acceptance of Iran's theocracy, hard-liners could feel less pressure to curb their support of regional militant groups and crack down even harder on dissent at home. They would be flush with cash from the lifting of sanctions and emboldened in their confidence that the West will turn a blind eye.

Alternatively, the deal could mark a major victory for President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate, and a broader rapprochement could bring about a Persian glasnost of sorts that leads to democratic reform.

Whichever direction Iran goes will have wide-ranging implications for the rest of the region. Iran backs powerful Shiite proxies in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. It also has supported the Palestinian Hamas, the Sunni Islamists who rule Gaza. Sunni powers like Egypt and Saudi Arabia fear and distrust Iran and have warned of a regional arms race if it becomes a threshold nuclear weapons state. Saudi-led warplanes are bombing the Shiite Houthi rebels in Yemen, who are supported by Iran, though both Tehran and the rebels deny it arms them.

The implications of a weak United States, meanwhile, are not just regional but global, affecting events from Russia to China and North Korea — as well as the prospects for global accords on climate change or even significant trade deals.

Many of these questions will only be answered by the final agreement, assuming there is one. For now, both sides are presenting the framework accord as a major accomplishment. On one hand, Iran accepted limits on its enrichment levels and centrifuge numbers to prevent the accumulation of weapons-grade material for a decade or more. "Breakout time" to a bomb would be extended from mere months to a year or more.

But on the other, its right to enrich uranium would be enshrined, its facilities would remain in place, the sanctions would be lifted and a sort of legitimacy bestowed. Critics in Israel and elsewhere cannot understand why world powers, who could afford to play for time, did not squeeze Iran by presenting it with a mind-clearing choice between having a nuclear program and having an economy. They never believed Iran's claims that — with oil in generous supply — it was investing such effort for nuclear energy and research. They expect Iran's energies to now focus on fooling the inspectors and developing a bomb.

That won't be easy. Under the framework deal the U.N. nuclear agency would have substantially more authority than it has had in the past. The fact sheet issued by the U.S. says Iran has agreed to grant inspectors more intrusive access to both declared and undeclared facilities — access that may not be "anytime, anywhere," but goes far beyond anything that was in place when weapons were developed by India, Pakistan, North Korea — and Israel.

Supporters of the deal argue that any risks that may remain are preferable to war. Implied is the admission that a global consensus on tougher sanctions to force Iran to its knees was unattainable -- Russia, China and even India could not necessarily be corralled. That would leave armed force, never taken off the table, as the only remaining option.

Some also note that viewing Iran as an implacable regional menace is simplistic. Iran backs groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, which the West views as terrorist organizations, but it is also training and supporting Shiite militias battling the Islamic State group in Iraq, where Washington and Tehran have found themselves on the same side of the conflict.

Washington's bridled ambitions are understandable given its recent failures in the region. Both Afghanistan and Iraq are still at war more than a decade after the U.S.-led invasions. The Islamic State group, an al-Qaida breakaway, controls a third of both Syria and Iraq. A NATO intervention helped topple dictator Moammar Gadhafi, but Libya today is a failed state in the grip of rival militias and jihadi groups. The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is in shambles.

There is, beyond the specifics of the Iran deal, an implied admission by the global powers: there is a limit to countries' ability to interfere with one another, however interdependent the world may be.

Ironically, it is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the most outspoken opponent of the Iran deal — who might have reason to appreciate this kind of humility. Recently re-elected and at odds with the White House, Netanyahu faces a global clamor to end the West Bank settlement project and enable the creation of a Palestinian state. If the United States and other powers got serious about enforcing their will on other countries, Israel could be no less a candidate than Iran.

George Jahn contributed to this report from Lausanne, Switzerland. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/georgejahn

Dan Perry is AP's Middle East editor leading text coverage in the region. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/perry_dan