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From Washington, this is VOA news. Hello, I'm Steve Miller.
U.S. President Donald Trump is likely to decertify the nuclear deal with Iran and turn it back to Congress for possible renewed sanctions. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not say Thursday what the president plans to do. "The President is going to make an announcement about the decision that he's made on a comprehensive strategy that his team supports, and we'll do that in the coming days. I'm not going to get ahead of that announcement by leaning in now." Officials say Trump is expected to announce his plans in a speech next week in which he would say the agreement is not in the U.S. national interest. This would not scrap the 2015 deal, but instead return it to Congress. Lawmakers would then have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions that were suspended under the agreement. A decertification would also open the door to renegotiate the deal although Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that is not an option. Trump has to announce every 90 days whether [the Iran deal] Iran is in compliance. His next deadline is October 15. U.S. lawmakers are calling for "full access" by journalists and aid workers to Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state. U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce says it is very important to get reporters on the ground in the region to check into those kinds of atrocities there. "The U.N. is engaged in its assessment of the situation. But I would say that that puts us out on the ledge of what my, what I and Eliot Engel and outfits on the committee, have, have named and called ethnic cleansing. We encourage everyone to use that term." The Myanmar government has taken groups of reporters into the region in recent weeks but has denied charges of ethnic cleansing. This is VOA news. A chemical weapons expert with the Malaysian government said his analysis showed traces of VX, its precursors and degradation products on the sleeves of a T-shirt worn by Doan Thi Huong, as well as VX degradation products on Siti Aisyah's shirt sleeves. Philip Alexiou has the latest from the trial of the murder of Kim Jong Nam. The women are charged with murdering the estranged half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un by smearing his face with VX at Kuala Lumpur Airport on February 13. VX is a chemical poison banned by the United Nations. The expert said that VX could be applied on a bare palm and potentially have no effect on a person if washed off quickly enough. The women have pleaded not guilty, saying they thought they were involved in some sort of a prank for a reality TV show. They face the death penalty if convicted. The trial will resume on Monday. Philip Alexiou, VOA news. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned that his country will close its border with Iraqi Kurdistan as part of new sanctions following an independence vote by Iraqi Kurds earlier this month. Dorian Jones has the story. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stepped up pressure on Iraqi Kurds following their independence vote, warning tough new measures will be introduced against Iraqi Kurdistan. "All air spaces will be closed, the flights already are suspended. Who will come? How will you go? Soon, the borders also will be closed. How will you be able to exit and enter?" Erdoğan said to a meeting in Ankara. The Turkish president said the planned new measures will be coordinated with Baghdad and Tehran. But he gave no timetable on their introduction other than saying it will be soon. The Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum earlier this month in which Kurds voted more than 92 percent in favor has been strongly condemned by Baghdad, Ankara and Tehran, all of which claim that independence would create regional instability. Dorian Jones, of VOA news, Istanbul. A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded Sufi shrine Thursday in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province. The blast killed at least 20 and wounded dozens more. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing. The president of the Brazilian Olympic Committee was arrested amid an investigation into vote-buying schemes to bring the Olympics to Rio de Janeiro. Carlos Nuzman, who is an honorary member of the International Olympic Committee [member], was held for questioning last month by both Brazilian and French authorities. Point your web browser to voanews.com for more. I'm Steve Miller in Washington. That's the latest world news from VOA. |