Australian leader says Trump will honor refugee pact

CANBERRA, Australia — The nation’s prime minister ruled out any new deal Sunday to get the United States to honor an agreement to resettle hundreds of Muslim refugees that President Trump has described as “dumb.” Prime Minister Malcom Turnbull also dismissed a Nine Network journalist’s suggestion that he should be offended that White House spokesman Sean Spicer has repeatedly called him “Trumbull” in press briefings. Spicer says Trump has agreed to honor an Obama administration deal to resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers rejected by Australia. The Obama administration agreed to resettle Australia’s refugees after Australia agreed in September last year to accept Costa Rican refugees fleeing drug wars. Australian media have described the disagreement over the refugee deal as the lowest point in the bilateral alliance since 1973, when Prime Minister Gough Whitlam clashed with President Richard Nixon over a series of bombings during the Vietnam War.