Новости за 26.03.2017

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame hailed Rwanda-Israel friendship Sunday in an address to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference. He was the first African head of state ever to address the pro-Israel forum that brings together thousands of activists, experts and elected officials. “My message today is simple: Rwanda is, without question, a friend of Israel,” said Kagame,who is credited for putting an end to the 1994 genocide in his country. In a refence to the genocide... Читать дальше...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right party won a state election by large margin, exit polls said Sunday, in an early setback to center-left hopes of unseating her in the September national vote. Early results from the voting in Saarland state had Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) leading with 40 percent while the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) had around 30 percent. The SPD was facing its first electoral test since nominating Martin Shultz to face off against Merkel in September. Читать дальше...

The coming week will see Republicans attempting to regroup and reignite momentum behind a conservative agenda that failed its first major test of 2017: repealing and replacing former President Barack Obama’s signature health care law. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, last week’s legislative train wreck showed that, despite controlling the White House and both houses of Congress, Republicans may not have a governing majority capable of delivering on the party’s promises to voters.

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

Human Rights Watch says an apparent Saudi-led coalition attack on a boat carrying Somali civilians off the Yemen coast "highlights the need for accountability" on the second anniversary of the conflict that has been raging in the country. A statement issued Sunday noted that all parties to the conflict have denied responsibility for the attack on the boat that killed more than 30 of 145 Somali migrants and refugees on board. But HRW said only Saudi-led coalition forces have military aircraft. ... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump is set to move on this week after suffering the worst defeat of his young presidency. With the words “repeal and replace Obamacare” still ringing in voters ears, Trump’s loudest campaign promise crashed when the Republican majority in Congress proved incapable of taking the first legislative step to put an alternative plan in place. “I’m disappointed,” the president said Friday after it became clear there were not enough Republican votes to move forward on a replacement bill. Читать дальше...

The Islamic State group ordered residents to evacuate the Syrian city of Raqqa on Sunday following reports that a dam contested by U.S.-backed forces upstream on the Euphrates River could collapse, activists reported. The militants said coalition airstrikes had weakened the Tabqa Dam, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Raqqa, and that the water level behind the dam was rising. The extremists captured the city from Syrian rebels in 2014 and it now serves as the capital of the group's self-styled Islamic caliphate. Читать дальше...

A joint committee of ministers from OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers has agreed to review whether a global pact to limit supplies should be extended by six months, it said in a statement on Sunday. An earlier draft of the statement said the committee "reports high level of conformity and recommends six-month extension." But the final statement said only that the committee had requested a technical group and the OPEC Secretariat "review the oil market conditions and revert ... in April, 2017 regarding... Читать дальше...

At least six people, including two policemen, have died in explosions in eastern Bangladesh as troops battle suspected militants holed up with an ammunitions cache, police said Sunday. The explosions Saturday on a road near an Islamic religious school in the city of Sylhet also wounded at least 25 people, police officer Bashudev Bonik said.   Paramilitary troops have been trying since Friday to flush out Islamist radicals who have holed up in a building with a large cache of ammunition.   Several explosions have occurred... Читать дальше...

An Egyptian court sentenced 56 people to prison terms of up to 14 years on Sunday over the capsizing of a boat that killed over 200 people, one of the deadliest disasters in the dangerous Mediterranean crossings of migrants to Europe. The boat capsized off the Egyptian coast on Sept. 21. Rescue workers and fishermen rescued at least 169 people, but at least 202 died. Fifty-seven people faced charges including causing the accidental death of 202 passengers, not using sufficient rescue equipment... Читать дальше...

The family of a former FBI agent who went missing in Iran a decade ago on an unauthorized CIA assignment has filed a lawsuit against the Islamic Republic, accusing it of using "cold, cynical and false denials'' to torture his loved ones.   The lawsuit by Robert Levinson's family in U.S. federal court comes years after the last hostage photos and video of the 69-year-old investigator surfaced in emails they say were sent by Iran so the country "would not be held responsible for his ultimate fate."... Читать дальше...

Americans who have benefited from the Affordable Care Act are feeling some relief at the failure of Republican efforts to repeal it, but they face new anxieties with President Donald Trump tweeting that "ObamaCare will explode." Premiums have risen and major insurers have backed out of the state markets where people can buy insurance online under Obama's signature health care law. But people who say it saved their lives or helped them start a business want lawmakers to fix these problems, not encourage them. Читать дальше...

The leaders of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development regional grouping, meeting in Nairobi Saturday, agreed to facilitate the voluntary return of refugees and address the political and security situation in Somalia. Eight leaders from eastern Africa met in Nairobi to discuss the situation of Somali refugees in the region. The meeting was held two months before the planned Dadaab refugee camp closure by the Kenyan government. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta insists the refugee camp... Читать дальше...

Thousands of Russians took to the streets across the country Sunday to protest against corruption and demand the resignation of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in rallies called by opposition leader Alexei Navalny.   Navalny was detained in Moscow while walking on central Moscow's Tverskaya Street accompanied with supporters. The area was part of an unsanctioned rally. According to a Reuters’ reporter, who saw Navalny being arrested, police put him in a truck that was surrounded by hundreds of... Читать дальше...

Hong Kong has selected Carrie Lam to be the city's first-ever female chief executive, sealing an election that many saw as a foregone conclusion and not a democratic race.   Lam previously served as Hong Kong's chief secretary for administration and was China’s preferred candidate in the race.   While she lagged behind in public opinion polls, she outperformed her two male rivals — former finance secretary John Tsang and retired judge Woo Kwok-hing — claiming 777 votes. That is about 70 percent... Читать дальше...

Interior minister Amber Rudd said on Sunday the British government did not yet know what kind of cost there may be for trying to get the "widest possible access" to the European Union's single market. Prime Minister Theresa May will trigger Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty on Wednesday, hoping to secure what she calls a "good deal" of close cooperation on the economy and security while being able to control immigration. "I certainly do think that we should try to have the widest possible... Читать дальше...

Gaza's Hamas rulers shut down the territory's main border crossing with Israel Sunday in a rare measure following the mysterious killing of a senior militant.   Hamas Interior Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Bozum said the Erez crossing point will be "fully closed in both directions" until further notice.   The unusual measure came after a senior Hamas militant, Mazen Faqha, was found shot dead at the entrance of his Gaza City home late Friday. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, said... Читать дальше...

Officials in Cincinnati, in the U.S. Midwestern state of Ohio, say at least 15 people were shot, one fatally, in a crowded nightclub early Sunday. A police official, Assistant Police Chief Paul Neudigate, said the scene at the Cameo Night Club was "a very horrific situation." He said hundreds of people were in the club when the shooter opened fire. Local television station WLWT reported several of the victims have life-threatening injuries, and that officials have not said whether anyone is in custody. Читать дальше...

Iraqi’s military on Sunday said 61 bodies had been recovered from a collapsed building that was booby trapped by Islamic State in western Mosul, but there was no sign it had been hit by a coalition strike though a large vehicle bomb was discovered nearby. The statement was a response to reports by eyewitnesses and local officials that as many as 200 bodies had been pulled from a collapsed building after a coalition strike last week targeted IS militants and equipment in the Jidideh district. ... Читать дальше...

One person was killed and about 14 injured when violence erupted following a scuffle between Muslim and Hindu school students in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, a senior administrative official said Sunday. A crowd of about 5,000 people attacked Muslim residents and set dozens of homes and vehicles on fire at Vadavali village in Patan district Saturday after Hindu students complained of misbehavior by Muslim students, said K. K. Nirala, the district's top administrative official. Читать дальше...

Bulgarians began voting in a snap general election Sunday with the center-right GERB party challenged for power by Socialists who say they will improve ties with Russia even if it means upsetting the country’s European Union partners. Opinion polls put the GERB party of former Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, 57, narrowly ahead of the Socialists (BSP), who have seen their popularity rise since the candidate they backed, Rumen Radev, won Bulgaria’s presidency in November. Borisov resigned in the wake of Radev’s victory... Читать дальше...

There are an estimated 1.1 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, 500,000 of them are children. For many of them, getting enough food and water are their biggest challenges. Children who are hearing impaired face even bigger obstacles. But some of them are getting help, thanks to a U.S. based charity called Deaf Planet Soul. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports.

These days, the only words most people see are typed. Many young people never learn cursive handwriting, but it is making a comeback. Thousands of school students around the country are learning to write in longhand. At one elementary school in New York City, teachers and students seem excited about the elegance, but also the educational power, of cursive handwriting. VOA's Faiza Elmasry has more. Faith Lapidus narrates.

One day you may be carrying your own drone everywhere you go. A drone has been developed to take selfies that is so thin it can be put into your pants pocket. The Selfly, as it is called, is attached to a smartphone that fits into the phone’s case. VOA’s Deborah Block tells us more.

A state election Sunday in western Germany offers Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives a tough test against their resurgent center-left rivals six months before Merkel seeks a fourth term in a national vote. The election for the state legislature in Saarland, a region of just less than 1 million people on the French border that Merkel’s Christian Democrats have led since 1999, is the first of three regional votes before Germany’s September 24 national vote. Test for Merkel, Schulz It’s... Читать дальше...