VOA NEWS

September 28, 2019

David Byrd.



A Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives committee has subpoenaed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seeking to compel him to hand over documents concerning contact with the Ukrainian government.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is warning President Trump not to retaliate against a whistleblower whose complaint is at the impeachment probe center.

AP's Sagar Meghani reports.

The president this morning referred to the CIA officer as the so-called whistleblower, saying it sounds more and more like there's not a whistleblower at all but a partisan operative.

Yesterday, he went after those who may have given information to the whistleblower, saying they're close to a spy.

"You know what we used to do in the old days when we were smart with spies and treason, right? We used to handle it a little differently than we do now."

Bloomberg recorded the president's comments in New York.

Pelosi tells MSNBC she is worried and says House panels will make sure there is no retaliation against anyone who provided information in the case.

Sagar Meghani, at the White House.



The Trump administration is reportedly considering delisting Chinese companies from American stock exchanges as a way to limit U.S. investment in China. The move would further escalate the ongoing trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Delisting the companies is part of a broader plan to limit U.S. investment in China, according to a report on Bloomberg news.

Meanwhile, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said tariffs and trade disputes could plunge the world into recession and Beijing was committed to resolving them in what he called a "calm rational and cooperative manner."

A new round of trade talks between the U.S. and China is set to start next month.



For more, visit our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.



The British-flagged tanker Stena Impero detained by Iran in July has arrived in Dubai, according to Refinitiv ship-tracking data.

As Reuters Lauren Anthony reports, the ship was the center of international tensions between Britain and Iran.

Iran detained Stena Impero in July in the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations. It was just two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar, which was released in August.

Earlier this week, Iran said all legal hurdles for the ship to be released have been cleared. A judicial file on the vessel is still open, though, and the process of looking into violations committed by the ship is ongoing, according to Iranian authorities.

The seizure of Stena Impero ratcheted up tensions in the region. It came after attacks in May and June on other merchant vessels in Gulf waters, incidents Washington blamed on Tehran, who denied any involvement.

And that is Lauren Anthony of Reuters.



More than 300 boys and men, some as young as five and many in chains, have been rescued in a raid on a building that purported to be an Islamic school in northern Nigeria.

Ciara Lee has more.

Police said the boys were freed in a rain on a building that purported to be an Islamic school. Most of the freed captives seen by a Reuters reporter in the city of Kaduna were children aged between five and late teens. It thought some had come from neighboring countries while local media said others had been left by their parents in what they believed to be an Islamic school or rehabilitation center.

The police added that seven people who said they were teachers at the school had been arrested in Thursday's raid. It was not clear how long the captives had been held there.

Police said the children have been moved to a temporary camp while attempts are being made to find their parents.

Ciara Lee of Reuters.



British police say they have come up empty-handed in their search for the culprits behind last December's drone disruptions at Gatwick Airport.

We get more from ??? of AP.

More than 140,000 travelers were stranded or delayed after dozens of drone sightings shut down Britain's second-busiest airport for parts of three consecutive days.

Sussex Police said the perpetrators had "detailed knowledge" of the airport.

The force said detectives had identified 96 people of interest, took 222 witness statements and made 1,200 house-to-house inquiries. Two suspects were arrested but were released without being charged.

???, London.



A down day on Wall Street with all three major indices ending trading on a down note. The Dow lost 0.26 percent. The S&P fell by more than one half of one percent. The NASDAQ lost 1.13 percent.



I'm David Byrd, VOA news.