VOA NEWS

January 25, 2018

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Anne Ball reporting.



Special counsel Robert Mueller is now looking to interview U.S. President Donald Trump about his firing last year of former FBI Director James Comey and onetime National Security Advisor Michael Flynn.

White House press person Sarah Sanders was asked Wednesday if Trump would provoke executive privilege to not answer.

"I can't speak to the specifics of that. I can tell you that the White House has been fully cooperative and will continue to do so."

It's part of the Mueller's ongoing criminal probe into Russia interference into 2016 U.S. presidential election. He is investigating whether Trump obstructed justice when, as Comey says, he asked him to drop the FBI probe of Flynn's contacts when he headed the investigation of Russian collusion.



At least three people were killed and 20 injured in an attack on Save the Children office in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.

Save the Children [CEO] COO Carlos Carrazana confirmed the details.

"We are devastated and very sad when announced that today three of our staff unhappy killed in Afghanistan."

A government spokesperson said a group of armed men stormed the compound after a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb at the entrance.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack.



A judge in a Michigan court has sentenced Larry Nassar to 175 years for sexually abusing young gymnasts.



This is VOA news.



U.S. diplomat [Richard] Bill Richardson resigned Wednesday from an international board that advises Myanmar on the Rohingya crisis, charging the panel was not committed to change.

In a statement, he said it appears that the board is likely to become "[become] a cheerleading squad for government policy, as opposed to proposing genuine policy changes" needed for peace in the Rakhine State." That is where nearly 700,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled after a military crackdown on insurgents in the last five months.



President Donald Trump's administration imposed new sanctions Wednesday aimed at halting North Korea's nuclear and missile development programs.

The Department of Treasury placed sanctions on nine entities, including two China-based trading firms that helped export millions of dollars' worth of metals and other materials used in Pyongyang's defense sector.



U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told his Indonesian counterpart that the U.S. military is willing to work with the country's special forces unit.

"We know that we can learn a lot from them and we must work together on this larger problem."

Mattis's visit to Jakarta comes as [Indonesian] Indonesia looks to modernize its military and is more willing to push back against China's territorial claims.



White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said the White House will unveil a framework to move forward on immigration legislation on Monday.

"This framework will fulfill the four agreed upon pillars: securing the border, and closing legal loopholes, ending extended family chain migration, canceling the visa lottery, and providing a permanent solution on DACA."

On Tuesday, U.S. senators expressed differing expectations for what Congress might produce on immigration topics.

Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was time for serious negotiations and that everyone needed to make the most of the opportunity.

Democratic senator Dick Durbin said that to achieve a solution, the Senate is going to have to be mindful of one another and of reality.



The American Lung Association says fewer Americans smoke cigarettes now than before tobacco control policies were put in place.

In its annual report, the ALA says smoking rates among adults and teens are at historic lows.



I'm Anne Ball in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.