Новости за 19.03.2017

A former North Carolina police chief who now works as a law enforcement consultant said Sunday that he's disappointed with his country of 42 years after he was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Former Greenville Police Chief Hassan Aden of Alexandria, Virginia, said he was detained March 13 on his return trip from Paris. He supports the officers of the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, but he believes his 90-minute detention was unreasonable, he said in a telephone interview. Aden... Читать дальше...

Iraqi helicopters on Sunday fired rockets near a key mosque in the contested city of Mosul, as ground forces closed in on the site where Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled caliphate in 2014. Video showed billowing black smoke and mushroom clouds near the al-Nuri Mosque, as helicopters hovered overhead and civilians in the densely packed Old City fled to safety. U.S. and Iraqi analysts have eyed the mosque as the jihadists' unofficial administrative headquarters,... Читать дальше...

Heavy fighting broke out between Syrian government forces and rebel groups in several districts of the capital Damascus, after rebel fighters detonated two cars in a contested area that killed 20 people, reports and activists said. Sunday's clashes came as rebels affiliated with the Tahrir al-Sham, a coalition of Islamist opposition forces, rapidly advanced in Jobar, Qaboun and Ein Tarma neighborhoods in eastern Damascus. Since the outbreak of Syria’s civil war in 2011, the government of... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump risks driving wedges between the United States and its closest allies, something America can ill-afford. So say lawmakers of both political parties as public disputes have arisen between the White House and Britain as well as Germany. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports from Washington.

Syrian forces and rebels battled on the fringes of Damascus Sunday after the insurgents infiltrated the capital through tunnels overnight and staged a surprise assault on government-held parts of the city. The rebels began the day with two car bombs and several suicide attacks, the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported. The insurgents seized several buildings in the Jobar neighborhood of the heavily fortified city, about two kilometers northeast of the old city walls... Читать дальше...

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

Tensions between Germany and Turkery are on the rise again, with the Turkish president accusing the German chancellor of using "Nazi" measures. The accusation follows a pro Kurdish rally in Germany Saturday that turned into a rally against the Turkish President. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, campaigning in a referendum to extend his presidential powers again, turned his fire on the German chancellor Angela Merkel. In a televised speech Sunday, Erdogan used Germany’s Nazi past against Merkel "When we call them fascists... Читать дальше...

Fierce clashes broke out in the Syrian capital on Sunday after insurgents infiltrated government-held parts of the city through tunnels overnight, state media said. It was a surprising breach of Damascus's security perimeter, where the government has effectively walled itself off against two opposition enclaves in the eastern parts of the city.   Residents said artillery shells and rockets were landing inside the heart of the city, and the activist-run Damascus Today Facebook group reported government air raids over the area of the clashes.

Two key U.S. officials are set to testify publicly about whether there is any truth behind the explosive, but unsubstantiated claim by U.S. President Donald Trump that former President Barack Obama wiretapped him in the weeks before last year's presidential election. Both James Comey, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the country's top law enforcement agency, and the National Security Agency chief, Admiral Michael Rogers, would likely have known about the eavesdropping if it occurred. Читать дальше...

At least three American soldiers were wounded Sunday when an Afghan solider opened fire at them in southern Afghanistan. The incident happened during a training exercise at a military base in the Helmand province. The U.S. soldiers are receiving medical care, said NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. Afghan officials say that the attacker was swiftly gunned down by foreign troops. So-called insider attacks in which Afghan security personnel would turn their guns on colleagues before... Читать дальше...

A dispute between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his finance minister over broadcast regulation sparked speculation on Sunday that Netanyahu could seek an election two years ahead of schedule. A national vote could delay any U.S. peace moves under new President Donald Trump and also put off Netanyahu's possible indictment over suspected corruption. The speculation came after Netanyahu said late on Saturday that he was abandoning an agreement with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, a key coalition partner... Читать дальше...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday welcomed the prospect of the International Criminal Court (ICC) putting him on trial over his bloody war on drugs, saying he would not be intimidated and his campaign would be unrelenting and "brutal." A self-confessed assassin who testified to being in a "death squad" under Duterte is expected to file a case at the ICC this month or in April, accusing the president of crimes against humanity, his lawyer said recently. But Duterte has said he is... Читать дальше...

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the U.S. and China feel a sense of urgency about North Korea, which on Sunday tested a high-thrust rocket that it called the “new birth” of its rocket industry. Concerns about North Korea and its increasingly threatening behavior dominated discussions during Tillerson’s first trip to the region, which included stops in Japan, South Korea and China, the final stop. WATCH: US Looks for New Way Forward on North Korea The administration of Donald Trump... Читать дальше...

Concerns about North Korea and its increasingly threatening behavior dominated discussions during U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s first trip to Asia, which included stops in Japan, South Korea and China. The administration of Donald Trump is looking for a new way forward on the issues and clearly finding a way to work together with China on the issue is key. VOA’s Nike Ching has more from Beijing.

On a wind-swept hilltop in this Bedouin village, a cracked solar panel lying atop a mattress and slabs of broken concrete provide an eerie reminder of a clash that has come to symbolize the strained relations between Israel's government and its Arab minority. On a frigid January morning, Yaakub Abu al-Qiyan was shot dead as his jeep swerved into Israeli police who had come to demolish his illegally built home. At the time, police called the 47-year-old schoolteacher a terrorist with ties to the Islamic State group. Читать дальше...

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States "vast sums" of money for defense. "There is no debt account at NATO," von der Leyen said in a statement, adding that it was wrong to link the alliance's target for members to spend 2 percent of their economic output on defense by 2024 solely to NATO. "Defense spending also goes into UN peacekeeping missions, into our European missions and into our contribution... Читать дальше...

The once-cordial ties between South Korea and its biggest trading partner have soured due to the perception that China has targeted businesses, sports teams and culture to protest deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea. A South Korean candy maker, a chocolate factory, video games and a soccer team have suffered from actions many in South Korea view as retribution and Chinese have vandalized some South Korean-run stores.   Beijing is incensed over the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system. Читать дальше...

Opposition figures in Turkey say they have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and even sabotage in the campaign for a referendum on expanding the president's powers. The complaints come even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself has slammed European countries for not letting his ministers campaign on their soil for the April 16 vote on giving his office more power.   Politicians campaigning against the constitutional changes proposed by Erdogan also... Читать дальше...

Sam Schwarzkopf, a German neuroscientist at University College London, was startled to receive a letter from the British government telling him that his application for permanent residence had been rejected and he should prepare to leave the U.K. As a European Union citizen, he is legally entitled to live in Britain, and last year's decision by U.K. voters to leave the 28-nation bloc hasn't changed that. But he is one of hundreds of thousands of Europeans battling British bureaucracy to confirm... Читать дальше...

Officials say three suicide bombers attacked a village in northeastern Nigeria Saturday, killing four people and wounding eight. Authorities say the bombers — a man and two women — targeted the village of Umariri, near the city of Maiduguri, the heart of the seven-year-old insurgency by the Boko Haram militant group. Victor Isuko, Borno state police spokesman, said the the bombers "detonated the IEDs [improvised explosives devices] strapped to their bodies while running to different directions."... Читать дальше...

As desperate Syrians flee the devastating war in their country, some are finding refuge in sub-Saharan Africa, including Ghana. One imam from Aleppo, Abdul Ghani Bandenjki, first visited Ghana in 2006 after being invited to officiate at prayers during the Ramadan holy month. When fighting broke out in Syria five years later, Bandenjki decided to return to this West African nation more than 3,000 miles (4,825 kilometers) away.   Now the 42-year-old tutors Quranic students outside the capital, Accra. Читать дальше...

The eastern U.S. city of Philadelphia has canceled this year's celebration of Cinco de Mayo, an event that attracts as many as 15,000 people. Edgar Ramirez, one of the event's organizers, said the unanimous decision by the planners was "sad," but it was the "responsible" thing to do because of "the severe conditions affecting the immigrant community." Ramirez said the organizers were afraid federal immigration officers would stage a raid on the annual festival in Philadelphia — the country's fifth-largest city. Читать дальше...

Before President Trump’s Supreme Court choice testifies before a Senate panel, Republicans are optimistic Judge Neil Gorsuch will be confirmed while Democrats face enormous pressure from progressive activists to block him. “Hopefully a week from Thursday, I’m able to tell you he [Gorsuch] has done such a good job in answering questions [at the confirmation hearings] that anyone would be embarrassed to take him on [vote against him],” the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican Chuck Grassley of Iowa, told VOA. Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump’s nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Neil Gorsuch, will have his moment in the spotlight Monday when the Senate Judiciary Committee begins confirmation hearings. Gorsuch is a solid conservative jurist who has strong Republican support in the Senate. But many opposition Democrats are preparing tough questions, as we hear from VOA National correspondent Jim Malone.

Malaysian police are expected to make a few more arrests, including an “important person,” in connection with the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, state media reported Sunday. Police chief Khalid Abu Bakar declined to elaborate on details when speaking to the state media, adding that the arrests would be made at the appropriate time. “I don’t deny we are targeting new individuals including North Korean nationals involved in this murder, and... Читать дальше...