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From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Tommie McNeil reporting.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he does not think North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is trying to deceive anyone by agreeing to work toward removing all nuclear weapons from the Korean peninsula. President Trump says he's had a "long and very good talk" with South Korean President Moon Jae-in about his just completed summit with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un. The two Korean leaders have pledged to seek a formal end to the Korean War by year's end and to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. With anticipation growing for a possible U.S.-North Korean summit soon, Trump tweets that things are going very well and the time and location of a meeting with Kim Jong Un are being set. Trump says he is also keeping Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe up-to-date on what he describes as the ongoing negotiations. Ben Thomas, Washington. After making his diplomatic debut in Brussels at the NATO foreign ministers meeting, new U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in Saudi Arabia Saturday on the first stop on a swing through the Middle East, also visiting Israel and Jordan. "I did come straight away. I was sworn in yesterday afternoon, hopped on a plane and came straight here. There's a good reason for that. The work that's being done here today is invaluable." Pompeo will be tasked with briefing U.S. allies on administration policies towards Iran. Pompeo says no decision has been made on whether President Trump will withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. "I think that negotiations are ongoing." A suicide bomber attacked a tea restaurant in central Somalia Saturday, killing at least four Somali government soldiers, wounded six others. The attack happened on the northern side of the town controlled by the Puntland semi-autonomous region. No one claimed immediate responsibility for the attack, but it had the hallmarks of an al-Shabab strike. That group has attacked dozens of government buildings, hotels, restaurants and other targets in Mogadishu over the years. This is VOA news. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong says the Islamic State still poses very real threats to the ASEAN region. "ISIS continues to propagate its ideology and to foment trouble in Southeast Asia, despite having been defeated militarily in the Middle East." His comments came during an opening address at the summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Singapore. He also warned that the region's embrace of technology also makes it especially vulnerable. A Saudi-led coalition airstrike in Yemen's capital has killed two leaders of the armed Houthi group. Saudi Arabia's state-run television put the death toll at more than 50. Meanwhile, funeral services were held for International Red Cross worker Hanna Lahoud, who died while working in Yemen. "He is an example, is what we should all follow. He gave his life for the job that he was doing and his job was helping people affected by conflict and violence. And he is an example for all of us, a beacon of humanity." Director of Operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross Dominik Stillhart. A sick British toddler whose parents won support from the pope during a protracted legal battle to take him to the Vatican children's hospital for treatment has died five days after he was taken off life support. Alfie's case sparked a medical ethics debate that resonated far beyond Britain. Doctors overseeing his care in Liverpool, England, said further treatment was futile and he should be allowed to die. But his parents fought for months to try to convince judges to allow them to take him to Vatican hospital, where life support would be maintained. Pope Francis, who had publicly supported Alfie's parents' campaign, wrote a condolence that was posted on Twitter. "I am deeply moved by the death of little Alfie," Francis said. "Today I pray especially for his parents, as God the Father receives him in his tender embrace." Karen Thomas, London. U.S. immigration lawyers are telling Central Americans in a caravan of asylum seekers they may be separated from their children and detained for many months. President Donald Trump and cabinet members have promised a stern response when the asylum seekers try to enter the U.S. from Mexico on Sunday. The administration threatens criminal prosecution for anyone who lies about why they deserve asylum or advises people to lie. The volunteer attorneys adamantly deny that they are coaching anyone. Democratic Senator Jon Tester of Montana is responding to President Trump's call for him to resign by saying he has a duty to make sure veterans in the state get what they've earned. Tester says, "I'll never stop fighting for them." He is responding to Trump's statement that Tester should resign after going public with allegations that prompted the White House physician Ronny Jackson to withdraw from consideration. I'm Tommie McNeil, VOA news. That's the latest world news from VOA. |