Новости за 10.04.2017

Center-left Chilean presidential candidate Carolina Goic cast doubt on Monday on the possibility of participating in a primary round, heightening the chance of a fractured left heading into the South American nation's November election. Earlier on Monday, moderate leftist candidate Ricardo Lagos, who had been struggling with low poll numbers, dropped out of the race after Chile's powerful Socialist Party endorsed leftist independent Alejandro Guillier. The candidates to the left of center with... Читать дальше...

Lawmakers in the state of New York have approved a plan to provide free tuition for lower- and middle-class students attending the City University of New York (CUNY) and the State University of New York (SUNY). The new initiative, called the Excelsior Scholarship Program, comes as part of the 2018 New York State Budget, which was approved Sunday. Starting in the fall of 2017, students from households making less than $100,000 will be eligible for the free tuition, with the annual household income... Читать дальше...

Serbia and the United States agreed to step up efforts to bolster regional security including joint military and police training drills, Serbian Prime Minister and President-elect Aleksandar Vucic said on Monday. Serbia is maintaining a balancing act between the West and Russia, its traditional Orthodox Christian and Slavic ally. Although it wants to join the European Union, Belgrade has adamantly refused to join NATO which bombed it in 1999 during the war in Kosovo. In 2008, with the U.S. backing, Kosovo declared independence. Читать дальше...

U.S. police say a shooting at a southern California elementary school left two adults dead and two students critically wounded in what is being called a murder-suicide. Authorities say a male gunmen entered San Bernardino's North Park Elementary School on Monday, shot dead an adult female in the classroom and then shot himself. Authorities say they do not believe the two wounded students were targeted by the shooter. The police chief of San Bernardino, Jarrod Burguan, said on Twitter "We believe... Читать дальше...

The White House on Monday made clear it sees no way that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad can stay in power for the long term. Sean Spicer, U.S. President Donald Trump's spokesman, told reporters, "You can't imagine a stable and peaceful Syria with Assad in charge. I don't think that's a scenario that's possible." The White House press secretary said the U.S.'s main priority is defeating Islamic State fighters in Syria and then to "create an environment for a change in leadership." He said one goal in ending the conflict... Читать дальше...

Researchers are reporting a link between a climate phenomenon know as El Nino and the number of cholera cases in eastern Africa. Predicting when there’s going to be an El Nino event could improve public health preparedness. El Ninos are a global climate phenomenon that occurs at irregular times, approximately every two to seven years. During an El Nino, surface ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific off the coast of South America become warmer than usual. The warming trend begins around Christmas time. Читать дальше...

When they are not tending to international affairs, diplomats based in Havana can be found these days stewing in interminable queues at gas stations and concocting ways to increase the octane in fuel as Cuba's premium gasoline shortage takes its toll. Cuba sent around an internal memo last week advising that it would restrict sales of high-octane, so-called "special fuel" in April. That is not an issue for most Cuban drivers, whose vintage American cars and Soviet-era Ladas use regular fuel. ... Читать дальше...

Bahaa Franshaw spikes pieces of meat onto a skewer, ready to sell to the passing trade. His potential customers include civilians coming through Hamdaniya from Mosul to escape the fighting there. Heading toward Mosul are military reinforcements and non-governmental organization workers trying to help get the war-torn city back on its feet.   Five months on from its capture by Iraqi troops, Hamdaniya — which lies between Irbil and Mosul — stands as a near-deserted example of the immense task of... Читать дальше...

An Ugandan judge charged a university researcher Monday with offensive speech and cyber harassment against the country’s president. The root of this controversy is sanitary pads for schoolgirls. According to the charge sheet, Stella Nyanzi used her computer in February to post to her Facebook page an insulting message about President Yoweri Museveni, allegedly calling him a “pair of buttocks,” among other things. This is the third time Nyanzi has been detained in relation to these alleged postings... Читать дальше...

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is heading to Moscow for meetings Wednesday with Russian leaders amid a spike in tensions over Syria. Tillerson has accused Moscow of either being complicit or incompetent in failing to prevent the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad from using chemical weapons against civilians. VOA's Daniel Schearf reports from Moscow.

At least 16 people have been killed in South Sudan as militiamen targeted civilians based on their ethnicity. Witnesses say the Dinka militiamen, aligned with South Sudan's government, went house to house Monday in the town of Wau searching for people from the local Luo and Fertit ethnic groups.  Residents say streets were deserted Monday as families hid inside their homes. The United Nations mission in South Sudan, or UNMISS, said its workers saw "the bodies of 16 civilians in a hospital. There... Читать дальше...

Two new U.S. public opinion polls show Americans support President Donald Trump's missile attacks on Syria for its use of chemical weapons, but have little appetite for further military action against the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. A CBS News poll showed that by a 57-to-36 percent margin, those surveyed favored Trump's assault last week, when the U.S. launched 59 missiles at an airfield believed to have served as a base for Syria's gas attacks that killed dozens and sickened hundreds more. Читать дальше...

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) on Monday urged European Union members to temporarily suspend transfers and returns of all asylum seekers to Hungary. UNHCR said the situation in Hungary has gotten worse since the country's new policy to detain new asylum seekers, including children, in shipping containers surrounded by high razor fences at the border for the entire time of their asylum procedures. According to a U.N. statement, as of April 7, there were 110 people, including four unaccompanied children and children with their families... Читать дальше...

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

In the aftermath of President Donald Trump's surprise strikes on Syria, his allies and adversaries have searched for some broader meaning in his decision. Is Trump now a humanitarian interventionist, willing to wield American military power when foreign governments threaten their own citizens? Is he a commander in chief who once warned against intervention in Syria but is now prepared to plunge the United States deeper into the conflict? Is he turning on Russia, one of Syria's most important patrons... Читать дальше...

Opposition calls for mass protests against Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila fell flat on Monday when only a handful of people showed up, undermining efforts to oust him after his refusal to quit on expiry of his mandate last year. The sparse turnout in the capital Kinshasa and other major cities pointed to the opposition's waning credibility and persistent difficulties convincing Congolese to risk frequently deadly crackdowns by security services. The normally hectic streets of Kinshasa... Читать дальше...

Video of a man being dragged out of a United Airlines flight in Chicago has gone viral and has given the airline a huge public relations headache. The Sunday flight from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked so the flight crew asked passengers to voluntarily take another flight, according to the airline. Airlines often offer free tickets or some financial compensation to such volunteers. “Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer... Читать дальше...

Pope Francis' trip to Egypt this month is expected to go ahead despite twin attacks on Christian churches that killed 44 people, Vatican officials said on Monday. However, diplomats and Vatican sources cautioned that the trip could be put in jeopardy or parts of it changed if the security situation worsened. The pope is due to spend about 27 hours in the Egyptian capital Cairo on April 28-29, meeting with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, grand imam Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb and the country's Coptic Pope Tawadros. Читать дальше...

Somali security forces have taken over an Indian-owned commercial boat held by Somali pirates during an operation overnight, officials said.   The mayor of Hobyo, Abdullahi Ahmed Ali, told VOA's Somali service that his forces seized the boat after they surrounded the vessel off the coast of Hin-Barwaaqo village, south of Hobyo.   He said the pirates abandoned the boat after elders warned that security forces were approaching and planning to storm the vessel. Pirates seized the boat, MSV Al Kausar, earlier this month. Читать дальше...

Past cyber attacks on scores of organizations around the world were conducted with top-secret hacking tools that were exposed recently by the Web publisher Wikileaks, the security researcher Symantec Corp said on Monday. That means the attacks were likely conducted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The files posted by WikiLeaks appear to show internal CIA discussions of various tools for hacking into phones, computers and other electronic gear, along with programming code for some of them... Читать дальше...

U.S. Senator John McCain has accused Russia of having cooperated with Syria in a chemical weapons attack that has killed more than 80 people, including more than a dozen children. The Republican senator said Monday at a press conference in Belgrade that he believes “the Russians knew about chemical weapons because they were operating exactly from the same base.” He says “I hope that this behavior by Syria, in what clearly is cooperation with Russia and Syria together, will never happen again.”... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Air Force is downplaying reports a U.S. military plane appeared to come unusually close to Air Force One moments before the jet carrying President Donald Trump landed at Joint Base Andrews on Sunday. The sighting aboard Air Force One of a C-17 Globemaster occurred at 6:23 p.m. (2223 UTC) as the presidential aircraft was descending into its home base located in the state of Maryland, just outside Washington. Air Force One took no evasive measures and there was no indication it was in any danger. Читать дальше...

A strike in English-speaking parts of Cameroon is approaching its sixth month mark. Schools in those areas remain shut and business paralyzed. As tensions deepen, Cameroon has begun grappling with some of the deeper grievances underpinning the divide. Another market was burned in an English-speaking area of the country on Saturday. This time, it was in the northwestern town of Kumbo at St. Augustine’s College junction. Local businessman Ndukong Gabriel estimates he lost $20,000 worth of property. Читать дальше...

Rapper Drake and EDM duo The Chainsmokers are the top contenders at the Billboard Music Awards with 22 nominations each.   Dick clark productions announced Monday that the performers set a record for most nominations in a year. The 2017 awards show will air live May 21 from the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.   Other big contenders include twenty one pilots (17 nominations) and Rihanna (14).   Nominees for the biggest award, top artist, include Adele, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, the Chainsmokers, Drake... Читать дальше...

The FBI has been reviewing the handling of thousands of terrorism-related tips and leads from the past three years to make sure they were properly investigated and no obvious red flags were missed, The Associated Press has learned. The review follows attacks by people who were once on the FBI's radar but who have been accused in the past 12 months of massacring innocents in an Orlando, Florida, nightclub, injuring people on the streets of New York City, and gunning down travelers in a Florida airport. Читать дальше...