英语新闻 VOA NEWS March 8, 2017

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting.

The U.S. deployed the first elements of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system to [North] South Korea Tuesday.

Admiral Harry Harris, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, says THAAD elements were deployed because of commitments to South Korea and the need to defend U.S. interests and allies.

Like the Patriot system, THAAD uses its own missiles to shoot down incoming enemy missiles.

Iraq, now removed from the U.S. travel restrictions, is praising the new executive order on immigration President Donald Trump signed on Monday. But Sudan, still included in that ban, is reaffirming its opposition to the measure.

The order's 90-day ban on the issuance of new visas applies now to six countries: Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.

In Nigeria, the government released a travel advisory suggesting people postpone any plans to go to the United States until the immigration policy is clear.

Malaysia is barring all North Koreans, including diplomats and embassy staff, from leaving the country. At the same time, North Korea is banning all Malaysians from leaving its territory.

The two nations continue a diplomatic battle, kicked off by last month's killing of the half-brother of North Korea's leader.

The decisions Tuesday followed the mutual expulsion of each nation's ambassador.

Iraq's military said Tuesday its forces have recaptured control of the main government buildings in western Mosul from Islamic State militants.

And a key monitoring group says Syrian troops backed by Russian air power have regained control of the key pumping station near the Turkish border from the Islamic State group.

This is VOA news.

A Chinese telecommunications company has agreed to pay $892 million for violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. The agreement settles a case that resulted in increased tension between the U.S. and China.

ZTE Corporation pleaded guilty to signing contracts to sell hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of hardware and software from U.S. technology companies.

Wilbur Ross is the U.S. secretary of commerce. "The results of this investigation and this unprecedented penalty reflects ZTE's premeditated egregious scheme to evade U.S. law. ZTE's most senior managers lied to, obstructed and misled investigators for years."

The penalties are among the largest ever imposed in a sanctions case.

The chairman of the U.S. House Intelligence Committee said Tuesday he has seen no evidence to support President Donald Trump's allegation that the Obama administration tapped his phones during the election campaign.

Devin Nunes said if the charges were true, the committee should have been briefed about it.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres Tuesday urged the international community to send help to people starving in Somalia.

He made an urgent visit to the nation Tuesday and was visibly shocked by the suffering he witnessed.

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega suffered a hemorrhage after surgery Tuesday. The operation was to remove a benign brain tumor.

His daughters report that he is now in critical condition.

The European Union is warning that it could start taking action against member states if they continue to refuse to take part in the bloc's refugee relocation program. Henry Ridgwell reports.

The EU voted in favor of a plan to relocate refugees stranded in Italy and Greece across the bloc in 2015 but latest figures show European countries have accepted just eight percent of the 160,000 refugees they promised to resettle.

EU Commissioner for Migration Dimitris Avramopoulos said Tuesday Brussels will accept no more excuses.

Henry Ridgwell, London.

U.S. President Donald Trump says the new Republican plan to overhaul the country's health care system is "wonderful," but its fate in Congress is uncertain.

Representative Greg Walden spoke Tuesday to reporters about the plan. "Under our plan, we are moving forward in a positive direction to rescue the individual insurance market and to give flexibility to our states. We are protecting those patients living with pre-existing conditions under our plan. We are not returning to the days of lifetime or annual limits." :Republican Congressman Greg Walden.

From the VOA news center in Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.