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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.
As the Security Council prepared for an emergency meeting on the subject, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres called North Korea's latest missile test a "further troubling violation" of U.N. resolutions. The United States, Japan and South Korea requested the emergency session. In a news conference Monday with Canada's prime minister, U.S. President Donald Trump talked about North Korea. "Obviously, North Korea is a big, big problem and we will deal with that very strongly." North Korea launched a missile Sunday, and South Korean military officials say it traveled about 500 kilometers before splashing down into the Sea of Japan. President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met Monday at the White House. Trade between the two neighbors topped their agenda. Mr. Trump said the U.S. and Canada would be tweaking their trade relations making them better. The two leaders disagreed on immigration policies but Mr. Trudeau offered no public criticism. "The foundational pillar upon which our relationship is built is one of mutual respect. And that's a good thing, because as we know, relationships between neighbors are pretty complex and we won't always agree on everything." The Canadian leader also held talks with key leaders on Capitol Hill. President Trump made his first phone calls to African heads of state Monday. He spoke with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari and South African President Jacob Zuma. Turkish media reported Monday that the suspect in Istanbul's New Year's nightclub bombing says he is a member of the Islamic State group and has asked to be given the death sentence. The reports quoted Abdulkadir Masharipov's testimony in court Saturday that he targeted Christians as an act of revenge. Thirty-nine people were killed in the attack. This is VOA news. A White House spokesman said Monday President Trump is "evaluating the situation" surrounding U.S. national security adviser Michael Flynn. Flynn is in trouble over not disclosing sensitive conversations with a Russian official. Sean Spicer's statement leaves Flynn's status in doubt even though just an hour earlier, presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway had said Flynn had the full confidence of the president. Video drone footage released Monday by Russia shows the extent of the most recent destruction in the historic Syrian city of Palmyra. The video shows significant damage to the facade of a Roman-era theater and the Tetrapylon - a series of four monuments with 16 columns, of which only two are said to remain standing. Thirty-two people were killed Monday when a tour bus crashed in Taiwan. Shortly after the crash, 12 people were said to be under treatment for injuries. A Kenyan judge has jailed officials of the national doctors union for a month. That's because they went on strike. Public hospital doctors are seeking better pay, better working conditions. They've been [out of work] out on strike since December 5. Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski has asked U.S. President Donald Trump to consider deporting a former Peruvian president sought by the country to face charges of bribery. His office says the request to deport Alejandro Toledo was made Sunday in a phone call with Mr. Trump. Peru believes Toledo is living in California. The group, Human Rights Watch, is accused Pakistan and the United Nations refugee agency of complicity in promoting what it calls "unlawful and coerced" repatriation of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees. In a report released Monday, the rights organization alleges that Pakistani authorities have mounted a concerted campaign to drive Afghans out of Pakistan. It says the campaign was in response to security incidents and deteriorating relations with Afghanistan over the past several years. Pakistani police say a suicide bomber set off an explosion Monday at a protest rally in Lahore, killing at least 13 people and wounding about 85. Two senior police officers are among the dead. Nearly 200,000 people remain under evacuation orders in the western U.S. state of California while authorities try to repair erosion to a spillway at the country's tallest dam. A spillway failure could lead to flooding. Officials are assessing how to fix the overflow channel at the Oroville Dam before deciding whether it is safe to let people return to their houses. The 235-meter dam, which holds back Lake Oroville, is not itself in danger of collapse. From the VOA news center in Washington, I'm David DeForest. That's the latest world news from VOA. |