VOA NEWS

August 7, 2018

VOA news.



President Trump has reimposed economic sanctions on Iran and Iranians are bracing for the repercussions.

Correspondent Edward Yeranian reports for VOA from Cairo.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya TV and other Gulf media focused their news cast Monday on the new U.S. sanctions that were due to begin going into effect against Iran Tuesday.

Trump's executive order reimposing sanctions on Iran, including prohibitions on selling gold or U.S. dollars to Iran, sanctions on the country's automotive sector and purchases of jetliners.

Exports of drugs, medical devices and food stuffs are excluded from the list of new sanctions.

Edward Yeranian, for VOA news, Cairo.

In a speech broadcast on state television Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the United States cannot be trusted because it withdrew from a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran.

He said Iran has always believed in resolving disputes diplomatically and he said Trump's call for direct negotiations with Iran [were] was only for domestic consumption in America and to create chaos in Iran.



The situation is chaotic on Indonesia's Lombok island following a deadly quake over the weekend.

AP correspondent Stephen Wright reports.

Parties, while dealing with the human toll of the earthquake on the main island, are also trying to evacuate thousands of people from small outlying islands that are popular destinations for foreign and Indonesian tourists, area today there were thousands of people trying to get off out of the islands in particular and there were hundreds crowded ??? beach all jostling to get on to the small number of boats that were picking people up and taking them to the mainland.



This is VOA news.



Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse students who protested for a ninth day demanding better enforcement of traffic safety laws and protections for pedestrians.

The protest follows the deaths of two college students who were killed by unregulated commuter buses [who] which are racing to pick up passengers.

Students say they'll protest until their demands are met.

The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has promised to grant their list of nine demands in phases.



The president of Ethiopia's turbulent Somali region has resigned following violence in the regional capital Saturday in which at least 29 people were killed.



Zimbabwe's newly reelected president says he will not form a coalition government despite his narrow win in last week's election. The opposition is gearing up to challenge the official results in court.

Correspondent Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare.

In a television broadcast, Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa ruled out forming a coalition government with Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance.

The two locked horns in the July 30 presidential election, with Mnangagwa winning a slim victory with 50.8 percent of the vote, according to official results.

Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has refused to accept results given by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and accused it of rigging the July 30 polls for ZANU-PF party.

On Monday, Chamisa spokesman Nkululeko Sibanda said the opposition had put together a "strong" legal team and will approach the court Tuesday to challenge election results.

Columbus Mavhunga, for VOA news, Harare.



The American military will stop troops and other personnel in some sensitive areas from using fitness-tracker or cellphone apps that could give away their location via GPS.

Fitness-trackers like the Fitbit give user's information about how many steps they've walked and the like. But the military's worried about what the devices can tell others via social media.

"Locations, routines and the numbers of department personnel in the sensitive locations." Colonel Rob Manning says that can pose a significant risk.

A new order requires that personnel at sensitive bases and some high risk war zone areas have to turn off the GPS function on their devices or not use them at all.

Three months ago, officials issued new restrictions on using cellphones and other mobile devices here inside the Defense Department's headquarters.

Sagar Meghani, at the Pentagon.



You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Christopher Cruise, VOA news.