From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting.

President Trump praised Iranian protesters on Tuesday, saying they were "finally acting against the brutal and corrupt" regime in Tehran even as Iran's supreme leader accused the government's enemies of stirring the violent anti-government demonstrations.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the United States would seek to call an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council to discuss the Iranian protests, which have claimed at least 21 lives in the last six days.

She said, "The people of Iran are crying out for freedom."

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday: "Our goal is that we know that they can do more to stop terrorism, and we want them to do that. That seems pretty simple. In terms of specific actions, I think you'll see some more details come out on that in the next 24 to 48 hours."

The U.S. State Department urged Iran to stop blocking social media traffic.

Hundreds of [demonstrati...] demonstrators, that is, have been arrested since the protests began Thursday in Mashhad before spreading to other parts of the country.

Pakistan has criticized and noted with "deep disappointment" charges contained in a New Year tweet by President Trump. It said it should not be held responsible for the "collective failure" in Afghanistan.

The president's tweet instantly provoked strong condemnation and negative reaction from Pakistani politicians and commentators. The Foreign Ministry on Monday night summoned the U.S. ambassador to protest and to seek an explanation.

Trump had tweeted that the U.S. had received "nothing but lies and deceit" in return for "foolishly" giving Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid.

This is VOA news.

Nigerians who fled the country amid the Boko Haram insurgency say their hope for the New Year is to return home.

Correspondent Moki Edwin Kindzeka.

It is a festive atmosphere at Gawar village, one of the communities in the Mayo-Tsanaga administrative unit on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria, hosting thousands of Nigerian refugees.

Staff of the [World Lutheran Federation] Lutheran World Federation, [WLF] LWF, a global communion of 145 churches in 98 countries, share gifts and pray with Nigerians fleeing Boko Haram atrocities in their country.

??? of the [WLF] LWF says they have organized an outreach program that will last two weeks to encourage both the refugees and their host communities to continue to live in peace.

He says the presence of the refugees has an impact on the living conditions of the host communities whose resources are already stressed and so they have brought together the refugees and the host community members as a sign of encouragement and to promote the spirit of living together in such challenging moments.

Moki Edwin Kindzeka, for VOA news, Minawao, northern Cameroon.

Moldova's Constitutional Court has temporarily stripped President Igor Dodon of his official powers because of his refusal to appoint seven ministers.

The court said Dodon has twice refused to name the ministers, exceeding the legal limit of just one refusal.

The pro-Western prime minister, Pavel Filip, made the nominations. Dodon supports closer ties to Russia.

Moldova's IPN news agency quotes a presidential adviser as saying the nominees lack integrity and are suspected of banking fraud.

The court said the prime minister or (the) speaker of parliament will appoint the ministers in the absence of Dodon's presidential powers.

Dodon called the court's decision to suspend him a serious violation of judicial procedures.

The record[-shetting]-shattering cold gripping most of the United States has been blamed for at least nine deaths in recent weeks and forecasters say the worst is yet to come.

The National Weather Service issued wind chill advisories and freeze warnings Tuesday for 40 U.S. states.

It said, "Arctic air mass will bring a prolonged period of much-below-normal temperatures and dangerously cold wind chills to the U.S. over the next week."

You can find more on these and other late breaking and developing stories, from around the world, around the clock, at voanews.com and on the VOA news mobile app. I'm Jonathan Jones reporting from the world headquarters of the Voice of America in Washington.

That's the latest world news from VOA.