From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David Byrd reporting.
调整语速:
U.S. President Donald Trump told federal agencies to reunite immigrant families separated after they were arrested for illegally crossing into the country from Mexico.
During a cabinet meeting Thursday, the president blamed congressional Democrats for an immigration logjam.
"We have come up with a lot of solutions, but we have Democrats that don't want to approve anything because that's probably, they think, bad for the election that's coming up. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people suffering, and that's unfortunate."
More than 2,000 children have been detained apart from their parents since April. Public outrage over images of young people sitting in cages and the audio of wailing children caused the president to sign an executive order rescinding his administration's policy of separating children from their families.
House Republican leaders have delayed a vote on a compromise GOP immigration bill until next week.
The vote on the so-called compromise Republican plan had been delayed until Friday. It was then pushed back after lawmakers said they failed to resolve key differences in a Thursday evening meeting.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said that even if the bill does pass the House, Democratic support would be needed in the Senate.
"Even if it's about here, you need nine Democrats to stop, trying to stop things in voting with us, and I don't see that happening."
The compromise measure was aimed at moderate Republicans.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives voted down 193-231 a more conservative measure.
For more on these stories and the rest of the day's news, log on to our website voanews.com. This is VOA news.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the trans-Atlantic alliance remains strong despite differences with President Donald Trump.
Speaking in Britain, Stoltenberg said that while Trump and European nations differ on policy, they continue to act on issues, such as terrorism, cyber warfare and defense.
"and I'm absolutely certain that at the summit to make new decisions on how United States, Canada and Europe can do more together."
NATO has been disturbed by Trump's America first stance, his characterization of the alliance as obsolete and his recent criticism of U.S. allies at the G-7 summit in Canada.
Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Turkish opposition candidate Muharrem İnce packed the Aegean port city of Izmir Thursday.
İnce has energized the opposition ahead of Sunday's elections and told the mass of people that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is an arrogant man who looks down on others.
He said after 16 years, you cannot name one person he is friends with. Erdoğan is now a tired man. He is an unexcited man. He is looking down on people. He is an arrogant man.
Analysts say that Erdoğan remains the favorite to win another term in office even if İnce forces a run-off in Sunday's vote. İnce has support on the mostly secular Aegean coast but Erdoğan has a bedrock of support in the more religiously conservative Anatolian regions.
Syrian government forces pounded rebel-held areas of the southwest with artillery on Thursday in an escalation by President Bashar al-Assad, who has vowed to win back the area bordering Jordan and Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Central military media uploaded footage on Wednesday showing the allied advance firing tanks said to be in Sweida.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 12,500 civilians had fled the town of Busra al-Hariri and nearby areas in the last two days. Rebel officials gave conflicting assessments of the scale of displacement.
A major government offensive in the southwest risks further escalating the seven-year-old war.
Nicaragua's Catholic bishops have entered the embattled town of Masaya in a show of solidarity with residents who said they were under threat from forces loyal to President Daniel Ortega.
The city has become a flashpoint of conflict between opposition protests and Ortega backers.
At least 187 people have been killed in protests demanding Ortega step down.
