Новости за 02.04.2017

As Afghan security forces continue their military operations against the Taliban and Islamic State-backed militants in the country, the government plans to improve its security forces in the next few years to help beat the growing threat posed by militant groups, Afghan officials said.   As part of a four-year security plan, Kabul plans to beef up the country’s elite Special Forces, and efforts are underway to improve its air force. “Our commando forces would be further strengthened and they should receive more arms... Читать дальше...

It sounds like science fiction, but a cap-like device that makes electric fields to fight cancer improved survival for the first time in more than a decade for people with deadly brain tumors, final results of a large study suggest.   Many doctors are skeptical of the therapy, called tumor treating fields, and it's not a cure. It's also ultra-expensive - $21,000 a month.     But in the study, more than twice as many patients were alive five years after getting it, plus the usual chemotherapy... Читать дальше...

Thousands of Hungarian and foreign students, professors and civilians rallied in Budapest on Sunday demanding the government withdraw legislation that could force a university founded by financier George Soros out of the country. The demonstrators, who walked from Budapest's Corvinus University to the Central European University (CEU) founded by Soros in 1991 and then to parliament, said the bill was an attack on freedom of education. Parliament is due to discuss the bill this coming week. Prime Minister Viktor Orban... Читать дальше...

An Egyptian court ruled on Sunday that a judicial decision to block the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia is void, judicial sources said, potentially reviving a deal that triggered protests in Egypt. A court in January rejected a government plan to transfer the two uninhabited islands to Saudi Arabia after a maritime demarcation accord was announced in April. The accord awarded sovereignty of the islands to Saudi Arabia, even though most Egyptians believe they belong to Egypt. The... Читать дальше...

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

Rescuers are sorting through mounds of debris and mud Sunday in search of missing people after a massive wall of water from three overflowing rivers in Colombia swept through the region overnight Friday, destroying homes and infrastructure, and killing more than 200 people. Shortly after the banks of the rivers burst, a landslide devastated the southwestern town of Mocoa. President Juan Manuel Santos visited the wrecked town of 40,000 near the border with Ecuador on Saturday and declared a state of public calamity. Читать дальше...

Somaliland authorities say famine looms in the breakaway republic as the government suspends development programs due to a crippling drought that has killed dozens of people and most of the livestock in eastern regions. Speaking to VOA in Hargeisa, Somaliland Vice President Abdirahman Abdullahi Seylici says drought conditions look set to deteriorate further with an increasing risk of famine. Seylici says Somaliland has few resources to cope with the drought, which has severely affected the economy. Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning Israel's enemies not to test the Jewish state at a ceremony inaugurating a joint U.S.-Israeli missile interceptor.   Netanyahu said Sunday that defending the home front is of the "utmost importance'' and went on to warn "whoever tries to strike us will be hit, those that threaten our existence put themselves in existential danger." David's Sling, meant to counter medium-range missiles possessed by Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, officially became operational at the ceremony... Читать дальше...

Nikki Haley, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, said Sunday that President Donald Trump has not blocked her from attacking Russia, even as he continues to assail U.S. news media for its reporting on congressional and legal investigations into whether his aides colluded with Russian officials to help him win the election. "The president has not once called me and said, 'Don't beat up on Russia' — has not once called me and told me what to say," Haley told ABC News. "I am beating... Читать дальше...

France's polling commission has issued a warning over a Russian news report suggesting conservative candidate Francois Fillon leads the race for the presidency — something which contradicts the findings of mainstream opinion pollsters. The cautionary note from the watchdog on pre-election polling followed allegations in February by aides of centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron that he was a target of "fake news" put out by Russian media including the Sputnik news agency. Macron takes a hard... Читать дальше...

Greeted by tens of thousands of faithful, Pope Frances on Sunday visited Italy's northern Emilia Romagna region that has largely rebuilt from pair of deadly quakes five years ago, an example meant to give hope to central Italy, which is still reeling from more devastating temblors last year.   Francis' first stop was the quake-damaged Duomo cathedral of Carpi, where he laid a bouquet of white flowers at the foot of a statue of the Madonna inside. After years of restoration, the cathedral reopened just last weekend. Читать дальше...

Bangladesh's High Court on Sunday confirmed the death penalty for two people tied to a banned Islamist militant group for the killing of an atheist blogger critical of radical Islam. The court also upheld jail sentences for six others after appeals were filed challenging the verdicts handed down by a trial court in 2015.   Sunday's decision involves the killing of Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was hacked to death in 2013. Haider had campaigned for banning the Jamaat-e-Islami party, which opposed Bangladesh's independence from Pakistan in 1971. Читать дальше...

Witnesses and relatives in southern Afghanistan say a pre-dawn bomb blast killed at least 10 civilians, mostly children and women, in an area where Afghan national security forces were conducting anti-Taliban operations. It was not immediately clear whether an airstrike by government forces or an insurgent armed retaliation caused the deadly explosion Sunday in Baba Ji, a volatile portion of Lashkargah, the capital of the embattled Helmand province. The blast destroyed a house, causing the civilian deaths, residents said. Читать дальше...

Russian police arrested about two dozen protesters Sunday in Moscow, a week after more than 1,000 others were detained during a large-scale rally organized by a leading critic of President Vladimir Putin. The Russian state news agency Tass reports that Sunday's arrests were made while protesters tried to conduct unauthorized marches toward the Kremlin from two public squares in Moscow. Police had blocked off Pushkin Square, a traditional gathering place for demonstrators. Authorities also blocked... Читать дальше...

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party has retained support in its Yangon strongholds, but loyalty has weakened in ethnic minority areas that helped boost the NLD's 2015 general election victory, according to by-election results announced Sunday. The results from Saturday's by-elections released by the country's election commission showed the NLD taking eight of 12 seats for the combined upper houses of the national parliament. It won only one of seven seats at stake in state assembles... Читать дальше...

Jets believed to be Russian hit an outpost run by moderate rebel forces in northwestern Syria near a major border crossing with Turkey, killing at least one fighter and wounding several people, two rebel sources said on Sunday. They said several raids overnight hit Babeska, a village in Idlib province that has become a haven for several moderate Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups, mainly Jaish al-Islam, a major insurgent group that controls the last major rebel stronghold on the doorstep of the Syrian capital. Читать дальше...

When Durdana married for a second time and to a man of her own choosing, her parents threatened to kill her if she tried to see her new husband. They imprisoned her in their home, but she still had her mobile phone and had learned that a helpline for women had been set up. She noted the number and then one day when she was alone in the house, she called. Nayab Hassan was on the other end. She had been trained how to answer the call. "Be gentle. Listen. Let them speak. Let them tell you what they want. Читать дальше...

Serbians voted for a new president on Sunday with conservative Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic the runaway favourite despite opposition warnings about the extent of his domination over the Balkan country. Most polls see Vucic, 47, winning in the first round with more than 50 percent of the vote, trailed in the low teens by a former rights advocate and a white-suited student whose satirical portrayal of a sleazy political fraudster has struck a chord with some disillusioned voters. The role of president is largely ceremonial... Читать дальше...

From Bollywood superstars to political heavyweights, the Regal theater hosted some of India's biggest names over more than eight decades. But with nostalgic theater-goers singing their way to the exits after a final showing of a Bollywood classic, the iconic New Delhi theater has closed its doors to make way for a multiplex. "It's the end of an era. It's very sad," said Nanak, who had worked at the theater since 1979. Nanak, whose grandfather and father were part of the Regal's management team in the 1950s and '60s, uses one name. Читать дальше...

Armenians voted for a new parliament on Sunday in a closely fought race between the ruling party and a former coalition partner that heralds the start of a parliamentary system of government. Under constitutional changes critics say were designed to prolong the political life of President Serzh Sarksyan, parliament, not voters, will elect the president for the first time. That role will become largely ceremonial while the office of prime minister will become more powerful. Voting got under way... Читать дальше...

The lawyer for a Sydney-based professor who was prevented from leaving China said Sunday that his client has been allowed to return to Australia, apparently bringing closure to an incident that raised concerns about the safety of conducting academic research in China.   The barring of associate professor Feng Chongyi from leaving the country had prompted diplomatic appeals from Australia and an open letter to China's leaders from dozens of academics.   Feng's lawyer Chen Jinxue said Feng flew... Читать дальше...

Iraq's oil minister said on Sunday that his country plans to increase daily crude oil production to 5 million barrels by the end of this year, up from the current rate of about 4.4 million barrels per day, to secure sorely needed cash for its ailing economy.   Iraq, where oil revenues make up nearly 95 percent of the budget, has been reeling under an economic crisis since 2014, when oil prices began their descent from a high of above $100 a barrel. The Islamic State group's onslaught, starting in 2014... Читать дальше...

A colleague says that a Somali journalist who was kidnapped Saturday was found tied up and alive in the agricultural town of Afgoye, 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Mogadishu, the capital. He had been tortured and released by his captors.   Ahmedwali Hussein, an editor at Goobjoog radio and television station, said a farmer found Hanad Ali Guled, a television news producer, lying in his field with hands and legs tied behind his back.   He said Guled had difficulty speaking because of the torture that had been inflicted on him. Читать дальше...

The United States and Egypt are expected to reach accord on enhanced collaboration in the fight against radical Islamist terrorism Monday when Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi comes calling on President Donald Trump at the White House. “Both have a very deep antipathy toward political Islamism,” said H.A. Hellyer, senior fellow at the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council. “They both view security as very much the first, second and third priority of politics.”... Читать дальше...

As his parents wait for word of their son, who went missing in China more than a decade ago, there is a renewed push in Congress to search for him as suggestions emerge that he may be held against his will in North Korea. Eight senators co-sponsored a resolution Monday to reinvigorate the investigation into the case of David Sneddon, expressing concern over his disappearance in 2004 and likely abduction by the North Korean regime. The resolution calls upon the State Department and the intelligence... Читать дальше...