January 6, 2018 From Washington, this is voa news. I'm Liz Parker reporting

VOA NEWS

January 6, 2018

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Liz Parker reporting.

The U.S. and Iran at odds.

"If the founding principles of this institution mean anything, we will not only hear their cry, we will finally answer it. The Iranian regime is now on notice. The world will be watching what you do."
That's United States ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaking at Friday's emergency Security Council meeting.
Requested by Haley, the meeting was held to discuss the competing pro- and anti-government demonstrations in Iran.
Russia and other members of the U.N. Security Council have criticized the move, saying the protests are a domestic issue.
The unrest has left 22 people dead and led to the arrest of more than 1,000 others.
Iran's ambassador to the U.N. fired back at U.S. involvement. Gholamali Khoshroo accused the U.S. of bullying and said it had abused its power as a permanent member of the Security Council by calling for the meeting.
"It is unfortunate that despite the resistance on the part of some of its member(s), this council has allowed itself to be abused by the current U.S. administration in holding a meeting on an issue that falls outside the scope of its mandate."
Competing pro- and anti-government demonstrations have been taking place in Iran's major cities for the past week. Anti-government protesters have focused on economic hardships and government corruption.

The United States said its decision to suspend military aid to Pakistan will cost Islamabad just under $2 billion.

President Donald Trump's administration announced Thursday it was freezing military aid to Pakistan. The administration said it would remain frozen until Islamabad takes "decisive action" against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network.

This is VOA news.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visits to see French President Emmanuel Macron Friday, was met by protests and criticism.
However, the French presidency insisted on the need to "maintain dialogue" without "covering up differences."
Macron said after talks with Tayyip Erdoğan at the Élysée Presidential Palace that they had disagreements about how they saw human rights.
Macron said that he had raised the cases of specific journalists and members of Galatasaray University with Erdoğan but declined to say which.
Tayyip Erdoğan defended the crackdown, saying that some journalists encouraged terrorism with their writing, comparing them to gardeners nurturing plants.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera on Friday sounded a note of caution about the planned talks between North and South Korea, saying the North would continue developing its weapons program and Tokyo would remain vigilant.

"North Korea goes through phases of apparent dialogue and provocation but either way, North Korea is continuing its nuclear and missile development. We have no intention of weakening our warning and surveillance activity."
North and South Korea will hold official talks next week for the first time in more than two years after Pyongyang accepted Seoul's offer for dialogue just hours after the United States and South Korea delayed a joint military exercise.

Britain's Secretary of Defense Gavin Williamson said the fight against the Islamic State group had entered "a new phase." Williamson expressed his government's commitment to continue working with the U.S.-led international coalition to chase down IS group fighters in Syria and beyond.

He signed a statement of intent to investment $13. 5 million to strengthen Iraqi counter terrorism.
Last month, Iraq declared the defeat of the Islamic State group after more than three years of fierce fighting in northern and western Iraq.

Supreme Court judges Friday ruled against allowing ousted Catalan Vice President Oriol Junqueras out of jail while he is investigated for rebellion and other charges stemming from the restive region's recent drive for independence from Spain.

In the decision, the judges said there was a risk that Junqueras might again commit crimes, as there was no sign he intended changing his ways.

And the United States has frozen $125 million in funding for a U.N. agency that provides aid to Palestinian refugees, according to the Axios news site. That was reported on Friday and this comes days after President Donald Trump threatened to withhold future aid payments to Palestinians.

I'm Liz Parker.
That's the latest world news from VOA.