Новости за 24.03.2017

A member of India's Parliament was unrepentant after repeatedly slapping the 62-year-old duty manager of an Air India flight with his sandal in a rage over a coupon for a business-class seat on an economy-only class flight. Police opened an investigation against Ravindra Gaikwad, a member of Parliament, after Air India filed a pair of complaints that he had assaulted one of its crew Thursday and delayed the plane's next flight to Goa, disrupting the schedules of its 150 passengers. He also was... Читать дальше...

Eleven Syrians were killed when their inflatable boat sank off the country's Aegean coast, Turkish media reported Friday. The Dogan news agency said five of the dead were children, and a baby rescued in critical condition was among 11 people who survived the accident. Television footage showed rescue workers standing next to covered bodies near the Turkish resort town of Kusadasi. Media reports said two Turks, thought to be people-smugglers, had been detained. The boat capsized in strong wind... Читать дальше...

The Correspondents

With the fight between Iraqi forces and Islamic State intensifying in the narrow streets of western Mosul, IS fighters are changing their suicide tactics in hopes of causing large numbers of casualties among civilians and troops, Iraqi officials told VOA. IS militants are predominantly using belts laden with explosives to stop enemy advances as fighting is concentrated in alcoves and alleyways where IS's known method of using suicide car bombs is not possible, say Iraqi commanders on the scene. Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump asked Republican Party leaders to withdraw a controversial health care bill shortly before it was due to be voted on Friday because it became clear there were not enough votes to pass the measure. Trump said "we were very, very close" to passing the ruling party's version of a bill intended to replace the Affordable Care Act signed into law by former President Barack Obama seven years ago. House Speaker Paul Ryan played a leading role in the effort to pass the administration's proposal... Читать дальше...

The United States announced sanctions Friday on 30 foreign individuals or companies that aided Iran or North Korea in the countries' ballistic missile programs. In a statement released Friday, the State Department said it had sanctioned 11 companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates for transferring technology to Tehran that could further the country's ballistic missile program. The 19 other firms or individuals are believed to have either transferred to or received from Iran... Читать дальше...

The International Criminal Court on Friday found Congolese former militia leader Germain Katanga liable for $1 million in damages to his victims, in a landmark ruling for the permanent war crimes tribunal. Judges specified that Katanga, convicted of crimes against humanity and war crimes in 2014, should pay $250 to each of 297 victims individually, or $74,250 in all — the first time the court has ordered a convict to pay damages to individual victims. Noting that Katanga is in prison, indigent and unlikely to pay... Читать дальше...

As police race to identify what motivated a 52-year-old British-born father to carry out Wednesday's attack at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, a debate is simmering over issues of identity, religion and immigration -- hot topics in the wake of the vote to leave the European Union. With police and press helicopters still buzzing overhead, thousands of Londoners gathered Thursday night in Trafalgar Square to grieve for the victims but also to express determination that life in the city will carry on as normal. Читать дальше...

Bonn-based Haribo, which invented the gummy bear nearly a century ago, said Friday it would open a U.S. factory in Wisconsin in 2020. Haribo, founded in 1920, has been in the U.S. since 1982 with a sales operation, and is already the top seller of gummy bears in the country, but says it wants to grow further. Company head Hans Guido Riegel said "Haribo of America is the fastest growing confectionary company in the U.S.A., therefore the step of starting our own production there from 2020 is important... Читать дальше...

U.S. college applications from foreign students for the next school year are down, with the number of undergraduate applications from countries in the Middle East dropping 39 percent. In 2016, 1.2 million international students attended American colleges and universities. That is an increase of 6.5 percent from the year before and the highest number ever. But it appears the steady growth in the number of international students may not last.  A new report by the American Association of College... Читать дальше...

WATCH: Latvia-Russia Ties Shaped by Soviet History, Marred by Politics

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle reunites with his original Trainspotting cast twenty years later to make a sequel that deals with aging, accountability, friendship and, once again, betrayal. Trainspotting 2 becomes a worthy companion to the original, as VOA’s Penelope Poulou reports.

Academy award-winning filmmaker Danny Boyle reunites with his original Trainspotting cast 20 years later to make a sequel that deals with aging, accountability, friendship and once again, betrayal. Those who saw the original film remember four friends in their twenties. They are up to no good, living on the fringes, immersed in drug culture and pulling a heist. Their exuberant youth and reckless lifestyle captured the popular culture of the 90s. Trainspotting became a cult movie and few could believe that a sequel could measure up. Читать дальше...

Sudan has been elected to the deputy chairmanship of the executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The move concerns some analysts, who point to a September report released by Amnesty International that accuses Sudan's government of using chemical weapons against people in Darfur's Jebel Marra region from January to August 2016. The report alleged that as many as 250 people, including children, might have died as a result of chemical attacks, and hundreds more were injured. Читать дальше...

"Some soldiers said the house has to be destroyed," said Dhia Deen, a taxi driver on the street next to the site of the alleged worst chemical attack in Mosul. "Even our cows are getting sick." The home that was bombed in early March does not have to be pointed out. Weeks after the incident, the smell is still rancid and neighbors complain of watering eyes and skin problems.  Regardless of the apparent danger, a crowd of children burst into the home of their neighbor, Natham Hamad, eager to show... Читать дальше...

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

On March 26 in Hong Kong, an electoral committee of nearly 1,200 people, stacked with Beijing loyalists, will select the city's chief executive for the next five years. The race is widely seen as a competition between China's preferred candidate, Carrie Lam, and the more popular John Tsang. While most believe Lam is virtually guaranteed to win with Beijing's support, questions linger about how divided the electoral committee vote will be and what impact the results might have on calls for political... Читать дальше...

Russian President Vladimir Putin wished French far-right leader Marine Le Pen "good luck" for next month's presidential election, a close aide to the National Front candidate said after the two met in the Kremlin on Friday. "He wished her good luck for the presidential election," Ludovic de Danne, who took part in the meeting, told Reuters from Moscow. "We felt they understood each other, they were on the same wave length," he said in a phone interview. The meeting lasted about an hour and a half... Читать дальше...

VOA European correspondent Luis Ramirez in London and VOA National Security correspondent Jeff Seldin in Washington discuss the terrorist attack this week outside the British Parliament that left several dead and many people injured.

VOA Congressional correspondent Cindy Saine and VOA White House correspondent Pete Heinlein talk about this week’s testimony before Congress by FBI Director James Comey regarding an investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb, who did the first post-training media interview with Maria Daume, talks about the first female Marine to join the infantry through the traditional entry-level training process, a process only made available to women just six months earlier.

London Attack 0:46, Comey Congress Hearing 11:13, First Female Infantry Marine 21:17

Bangladesh has proposed moving an influx of refugees from Myanmar to an isolated island that only emerged from the sea 11 years ago, partially floods at high tide and disappears completely for three months during the annual monsoon season.

Hurt by Britain's planned exit, European Union leaders are making a pilgrimage to Rome this weekend with the hope that a visit to the cradle of their project of unity can somehow rekindle the vigor of youth. Saturday marks the 60th anniversary of the signature of their solemn bond, which started with six founding nations but steadily grew to 28. But the biggest setback in the EU's history looms next week when Britain officially triggers negotiations to become the first nation to leave the bloc. Читать дальше...

The Republican chairman of the House intelligence committee says former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort has volunteered to speak with the panel as part of its ongoing investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election. Rep. Devin Nunes of California told reporters that Manafort's counsel contacted the committee Thursday to offer lawmakers the opportunity to interview him.   Nunes said he does not know if the interview will take place in a public forum or behind closed doors. Читать дальше...