Новости за 09.03.2017

Archaeologists from Egypt and Germany have found a massive eight-meter statue submerged in ground water in a Cairo slum that they say probably depicts revered Pharaoh Ramses II, who ruled Egypt more than 3,000 years ago. The discovery, hailed by the Antiquities Ministry as one of the most important ever, was made near the ruins of Ramses II's temple in the ancient city of Heliopolis, located in the eastern part of modern-day Cairo. "Last Tuesday they called me to announce the big discovery of a colossus of a king... Читать дальше...

With the broad release of Google Assistant last week, the voice-assistant wars are in full swing, with Apple, Amazon.com, Microsoft and now Alphabet's Google all offering electronic assistants to take your commands. Siri is the oldest of the bunch, and researchers including Oren Etzioni, chief executive officer of the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Seattle, said Apple has squandered its lead when it comes to understanding speech and answering questions. But there is at least one... Читать дальше...

Madagascar has started evacuating thousands of people from flooded areas after storm waters broke dykes as the country reeled from the impact of Cyclone Enawo that slammed into the Indian Ocean archipelago this week. Enawo first hit Madagascar's vanilla-producing northeastern coast on Tuesday morning, destroying roads and cutting off lines of communication to the Antalaha district that has a population of 230,000 people. Five people were confirmed killed and seven injured late on Wednesday, while... Читать дальше...

Pro-democracy activists and family members gathered Thursday in Harare to renew pressure on Zimbabwean authorities to investigate the abduction two years ago of activist Itai Kadiki Dzamara. Dzamara was an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe, and he organized anti-government demonstrations. He was last seen in 2015 being loaded into a car by men thought to be plainclothes officers of the central intelligence organization. Dzamara was about to have his hair cut, and his barber and several bystanders said they witnessed the incident. Читать дальше...

A U.S. military investigation has found that U.S. forces killed between four and 12 civilians during a January raid targeting al-Qaida’s branch in Yemen, according to U.S. Army General Joseph Votel, the commander who oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East. Votel, who heads U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday the civilian casualty determination was based on the “best information available.” The general took responsibility for the mission against al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Читать дальше...

One of Hawaii's islands may soon be powered by solar energy, at least during the night. In the biggest project since it acquired the solar cell giant SolarCity, the Tesla company will build a 13-megawatt solar farm on the island of Kauai, covering more than 44 acres (18 hectares). The solar cells will charge a 53-megawatt hour battery station able to provide most of the island's power at night. The batteries, called Powerpacks, will be built by Tesla's new Gigafactory. Right now, Kauai residents are paying very high prices for energy... Читать дальше...

After topping the polls for months, anti-immigrant, anti-Islam, far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders, often dubbed the Dutch Donald Trump, is now polling in second place, less than a week before the Dutch national elections. A square in the center of Breda, a mid-sized city in a southern province, is filled with police while rain pours down. Retired truck driver Rien Adriaanse has come to see Wilders, leader of the Freedom Party. Adriaanse has decided that this year, for the first time, he will vote for the Freedom Party of Wilders. Читать дальше...

A new poll has found that 63 percent of American voters believe the level of hatred and bias against minority groups in the U.S. has increased since Donald Trump was elected president in November. The poll, released Thursday by Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, found another 32 percent saw no change, 2 percent believed it has declined, and 3 percent offered no opinion. More than three-quarters of those surveyed, 77 percent, felt prejudice against minority groups was "very" or "somewhat" serious. Читать дальше...

Ever wonder what it’s like to ride on a swamp buggy? Just hop on board with national parks traveler Mikah Meyer and his friends as they explore the swamplands at Old Cypress National Preserve in southern Florida.

For the first time, doctors have tied infection with the Zika virus to possible new heart problems in adults. The evidence so far is only in eight people in Venezuela, and is not enough to prove a link. It's also too soon to know how often this might be happening. The biggest trouble the mosquito-borne virus has been causing is for pregnant women and their fetuses. "I think as awareness increases, the cases will start to show up more," said Dr. Karina Gonzalez Carta, a Mayo Clinic research fellow... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Senate has voted to repeal an Obama-era education regulation that governs teacher training and evaluation. On Wednesday, the senate voted 59-40 in favor of rescinding the rule, which comes as part of the Every Student Succeeds Act, a successor to the No Child Left Behind law. The rules, issued in October 2016, stipulate that federally-funded teacher preparation programs must be evaluated on the academic outcomes of those teachers' students. Some lawmakers criticized the bill saying... Читать дальше...

Oil bulls trying to push the crude market higher finally waved the white flag Wednesday, triggering the biggest rout in a year on concerns that stubbornly high inventory levels would persist despite supply cuts. Prices had been locked in the tightest trading range in over a decade as traders and speculators piled into bets that oil prices would rise after the world's top producers cut output. For weeks, they shrugged off record high inventories in the United States until Wednesday, when the market finally blinked. Читать дальше...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is heading to Russia in the latest step in rapprochement efforts between the countries. Erdogan is to meet Friday with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin Erdogan will be accompanied by several of his Cabinet ministers for bilateral talks, under the auspices of the High level Cooperation Council.   The council was created as part of rapprochement efforts between the countries after the Turkish downing of a Russian jet operating from Syria in 2015. ... Читать дальше...

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

When humans finally land on Mars one of the first dishes made of locally grown vegetables may be the universally popular French fries. Researchers from the International Potato Center and the University of Engineering and Technology in Lima, Peru, say potatoes could grow in Martian soil, if they are given certain nutrients and water. Researchers successfully grew potatoes in soil from the Pampas de La Joya desert in Peru, which they say is the closest chemically to the dry Martian soil.   ... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump's new environmental chief said Thursday that carbon dioxide emissions are not a chief contributor to global warming. "I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see," Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt said on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' "But we don't know that yet ... We need to continue to the debate and continue the review and the analyses," Pruitt added. Pruitt's position on carbon dioxide is contrary... Читать дальше...

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange accused the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency of “devastating incompetence” Thursday after his organization was able to obtain and publish documents related to CIA hacking programs. "This is a historic act of devastating incompetence, to have created such an arsenal and then stored it all in one place and not secured it," Assange said during a live-streamed press conference. Earlier this week, WikiLeaks published thousands of pages of what it says are classified... Читать дальше...

Nigerian Abdulhakim Mohammed has just graduated in architecture but, like many people ranging from unemployed locals to foreign investors and Africa's richest man, he has decided the future lies in rice farming. The reason is that domestic rice prices have more than doubled in the last two years due to an import ban and a dive in the Nigerian currency. At the same time, the government is subsidizing tractors, mills and fertilizers as well as arranging cheaper loans to boost production - with considerable success. Читать дальше...

Iran's supreme leader criticized the country's slow pace of economic recovery on Thursday despite the lifting of sanctions and called on President Hassan Rouhani's government to champion greater self-sufficiency, state TV reported. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's criticism comes ahead of Iran's presidential election in May, when the pragmatist president is expected to seek re-election. "Of course the government has taken remarkable steps but if the resistance economy had been implemented fully and widely... Читать дальше...

What looks like yellow sulphur powder covers everything in the home, and the smell is rancid. Covering their noses with cloth, local boys trudge up the stairs to the roof, being careful not to touch anything. They examine the hole where an Islamic State bomb fell into the small house about a week ago with a woman and five children inside. It is the home of Natham Hamad, and as of Sunday his two sons, 11 and 12, were still hospitalized in critical condition.   The small crowd quickly departs the poisoned home... Читать дальше...

Pouring milk into her cereal bowl, Olivia Juarez puts on an infectious smile for the camera, perhaps inspired by the telenovella playing behind her.  “Can you fit me in your bag?” she asks, laughing. As a single mother who supports four children, several grandchildren and her own mother, Juarez has persevered through economic struggles all her life, working two, sometimes three jobs. But her motto has carried her through times of distress and happiness: “Move ahead, not backward.” It’s these... Читать дальше...

A contingent of U.S. Marines has arrived in northeast Syria to provide artillery support for local forces in an upcoming assault on Raqqa, the defacto capital of the Islamic State terror group, U.S. officials said. But there appears to be no final agreement yet between Washington and Ankara on the disposition of the Raqqa attack force — whether U.S.-backed Kurdish militiamen or Turkish-led Syrian rebels will be in the vanguard to oust an estimated 4,000 jihadists entrenched in the city. As the Marines arrived... Читать дальше...

A former employee of a state-owned newspaper who figured among China's 100 "most-wanted" fugitives has returned from the United States to turn himself in, the top anti-graft body said on Thursday, as China mapped out its strategy on fugitives in 2017. Last year, China brought back more than 1,000 people and assets of 2.4 billion yuan ($347 million) after kicking off its "Sky Net" campaign in 2014 to target corruption suspects who had fled overseas and the illicit funds they spirited out. In the campaign's latest victory... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump holds a net unfavorable rating among Americans, though his favorability rating is still higher than Congress, both major political parties, former rival Hillary Clinton, and the media, according to a new poll. The poll, conducted over the course of last week by USA Today, shows 45 percent of Americans have a favorable view of Trump, while 47 percent view the president negatively. It shows Congress with a 26 percent favorability rating compared to a 52 percent unfavorable. Читать дальше...

Chancellor Angela Merkel told Turkey to stop invoking Berlin's Nazi past in criticizing cancellations of Turkish ministers' rallies in Germany, and said she would do everything possible to prevent Turkish domestic conflicts spilling onto German soil. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who survived an army attempt to topple him in July, is working to enlist the votes of Turks abroad to clinch sweeping new powers in an April referendum. But unease is spreading in Europe over the dispatch of ministers... Читать дальше...