From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Steve Miller reporting.

President Donald Trump held a joint news conference with the president of Romania at the White House on Friday. President Trump spoke about his recent foreign trip and Romania's commitment to defeat Islamic State.

"Romania has been a valuable member of the coalition to defeat ISIS, and it's the fourth largest contributor of troops in Afghanistan."

He also commended Romania's pledge to increase their contributions to NATO to more than two percent of its GDP.

When the president was asked about former FBI Director James Comey's testimony Thursday, Trump said he felt vindicated and that he be "100 percent" willing to testify under oath.

British Prime Minister Theresa May took a high risk political gamble and lost. But May is resisting calls to quit.

After visiting the queen on Friday, she announced she would try to form a minority government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party from Northern Ireland.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."

A year after the Brexit vote, Britain appears as divided as ever between young and old, left and right, and pro- and anti-Europe.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reaffirmed his backing for Qatar in its dispute with other Gulf nations.

Erdoğan said Turkey would provide food and medicine to help Qatar ease its isolation despite the other nations' displeasure.

On Wednesday, Turkey's parliament passed legislation permitting the deployment of troops in Qatar.

This is VOA.

Iran's leadership on Friday accused the United States and Saudi Arabia of supporting the attacks on Tehran that killed 17 people this week. VOA's Philip Alexiou.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday's attacks were only increase hate for the U.S. and Saudi governments.

The Ayatollah made the statement in remarks of condolences for the victims. He said the twin attacks on parliament and the tomb of former leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini "will not damage the Iranian nation's determination."

Extremist group Islamic State has claimed responsibility.

Iranian officials continue a crackdown that followed the attacks.

Officials said that they have detained 41 suspects in the capital city and the country's western Kurdish provinces in raids on suspected safe houses.

A White House official has confirmed to VOA that President Donald Trump, the secretary of state and the secretary of defense discussed South Korea's suspension of deployment of a U.S. anti-ballistic-missile system.

Under Secretary for Political Affairs Tom Shannon will travel to Tokyo and Seoul June 12 to 15 to reaffirm U.S. commitments and continue close coordination on the maintenance of stability and prosperity in the region.

North Korea has launched several land-to-sea missiles on Thursday. And RAND Corporation defense analyst Bruce Bennett said these tests do serve a purpose. "These are to demonstrate new capabilities, to suggest that they are advancing and covering new areas, but also to give Kim Jong Un some internal cover from the hits he's taking from the Security Council and elsewhere, trying to demonstrate that Kim Jong Un is still a god."

The Thursday missile tests were North Korea's fourth in a span of one month.

Turkey's prime minister says Iraqi Kurds' plan(s) to hold a referendum on independence are "irresponsible" and will create new problems for the region.

Earlier this week, Iraqi Kurds announced they will hold a referendum on September 25 to decide whether to split with the rest of Iraq and form an independent region.

Kurds have long been called the world's largest group of stateless people and are spread among Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey.

In Turkey, the Kurdish minority have been engaged in an armed conflict with (the) Turkish government for decades. Ankara fears Iraqi Kurds' independence could fuel the violence within Turkish borders.

Drivers in electric vehicles embarked Friday on a week-long trek around Switzerland as part of a grassroots movement to fight global warming.

The seventh World Advanced Vehicle Expedition rally is the brainchild of an environmentally-minded Swiss former teacher who wants to promote plug-in vehicles over carbon-spewing combustion engines.

The rally takes teams over 1,600 kilometers.

I'm Steve Miller in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.