Новости за 16.04.2017

Iraqi forces are accusing so-called Islamic State of using chemical weapons in the fight to fully retake the city of Mosul from IS fighters. "The Daesh terrorist gangs tried to block the advance of our forces by using shells filled with toxic chemical material, but the effect was limited," an Iraqi military statement said Sunday, calling Islamic State by the Arabic acronym. Iraqi officials gave no details of what kind of poison gas may have been used, and said the injuries were minor. Islamic State has not responded to the charge. Читать дальше...

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

For the second time in as many votes, the “Islamic factor” is expected to play a key role in the outcome of Jakarta’s gubernatorial election. The latest local poll suggests that a run-off vote for the city's de-facto mayor on Wednesday is too close to call. The run-off quickly became a continuation of a struggle that emerged in the initial vote, when moderates favoring a pluralistic society faced off against conservatives eager for Islam to dominate politics and society in Indonesia's huge capital city. Читать дальше...

Easter dawned in Jerusalem with a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb, where the faithful sang hymns of the resurrection. This holy site seeks to recreate the setting of the burial place of Jesus according to biblical accounts: “Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid” (John 19:41). Facing an empty tomb carved into a rock in antiquity, the congregation proclaimed that “The Lord is risen!” A short time later, bells... Читать дальше...

A young Saudi woman's plea for help after she was stopped in an airport in the Philippines en route to Australia where she planned to seek asylum has triggered a firestorm on social media and drawn attention to the plight of female runaways. For runaway Saudi women, fleeing can be a matter of life and death, and they are almost always doing so to escape male relatives. Under Saudi Arabia's conservative interpretation of Islamic law, a male guardianship system bars women from traveling abroad... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Supreme Court is set this week to hear a closely watched case testing the limits of religious rights, and new Justice Neil Gorsuch's judicial record indicates he could tip the court toward siding with a church challenging Missouri's ban on state funding of religious entities. Trinity Lutheran Church, which is located in Columbia, Missouri and runs a preschool and daycare center, said Missouri unlawfully excluded it from a grant program providing state funds to nonprofit groups to buy rubber playground surfaces. Читать дальше...

An Egyptian court on Sunday acquitted Aya Hijazi, a dual U.S.-Egyptian citizen, after nearly three years of detention over accusations related to running a foundation dedicated to helping street children.   Authorities arrested Hijazi, her husband and six others in May 2014 on charges of abusing children in her care and engaging in human trafficking, kidnapping, sexual exploitation and torture. Local human rights groups have said the charges are fabricated and part of a crackdown by Egypt's government on civil society. Читать дальше...

Millions of Orthodox Christians around the world have celebrated Easter in overnight services and with "holy fire'' from Jerusalem, commemorating the day followers believe that Jesus was resurrected nearly 2,000 years ago.   This year the Orthodox churches celebrate Easter on the same Sunday that Roman Catholics and Protestants mark the holy festival. The Western Christian church follows the Gregorian calendar, while the Eastern Orthodox uses the older Julian calendar and the two Easters are often weeks apart. Читать дальше...

About 3,000 people are set for evacuation Sunday from four besieged towns in northern Syria as part of a transfer deal that was halted for about 24 hours by a deadly blast that killed and wounded many. Those being evacuated come from the pro-government villages of Foua and Kfaryam, and opposition-held towns of Zabadani and Madaya. All four places have been under siege for the past two years. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday about 120 buses and ambulances... Читать дальше...

A Somali official says foreign naval forces in international waters shot dead two pirates and wounded another when the bandits attempted to hijack a ship on Saturday. Ahmed Abdullahi, an official with the anti-piracy force in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, said the two killed men were part of a group of nine pirates in a boat approaching an unidentified ship near the Gulf of Aden when a naval force opened fire on them.   He said the six other pirates survived the attack and escaped.   Residents in Durduri... Читать дальше...

Iraqi forces launched a new attack on Islamic State in Mosul's Old City on Sunday, military officials said, trying to break the stalemate in attempts to seize the militants' last stronghold. Mosul, Iraq's second biggest city, was captured by the Sunni Muslim fighters in 2014, but government forces have retaken much of it during a six-month operation. The advance has hardly moved for more than a month, though, as the militants are holding out in the densely populated Old City in western Mosul... Читать дальше...

Tens of thousands of faithful are braving heavy security checks for a place in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican as Pope Francis celebrates Easter Sunday Mass.   Many more tourists, pilgrims and Romans are flocking to the cobblestone square, decorated with colorful spring flowers, to hear Francis deliver the “Urbi et Orbi” — his Easter message “to the city and to the world” — from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica.   Potted hyacinths, tulips and daffodils, as well as bouquets of pink roses... Читать дальше...

Turks are voting in a referendum to turn the country’s government into a powerful executive presidency from the current parliamentary system. The vote has been dubbed the most important in the 84-year republic’s history. The referendum has divided the nation with both supporters and opponents arguing the future of the country is at stake. In the Kadikoy district of Istanbul, voting has been brisk since the opening of the poll stations. “I voted no,” one man said, “there is no such constitution in the world like the one they present to us. Читать дальше...

U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster arrived in Kabul Sunday for talks with Afghan leaders on security matters and to assess the situation for American troops on the ground. McMaster’s visit follows calls by U.S. military commanders for adding “a few thousand” more troops to the existing strength of around 8,400 American troops in Afghanistan. President Afghan Ashraf Ghani's office welcomed McMaster's visit to Kabul and thanked him for continuous U.S. support to Afghanistan. “This is... Читать дальше...

Christians around the world Sunday celebrate Easter — the day they believe Jesus rose from the dead. It is the holiest day of the Christian calendar. Easter is Christianity’s “moveable feast,” falling on a different date each year. Western Christian churches celebrate Easter on the first Sunday following the full moon after the vernal equinox. Easter marks the end of Holy Week, which is the week before Easter and includes Maundy Thursday, the day of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples, and Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified. Читать дальше...

The death toll from the collapse of a massive garbage mound near Sri Lanka’s capital rose to 22 Sunday, and activists said some 20 more people could still be buried underneath the debris.   Maj. Gen. Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is heading the rescue efforts, said authorities were struggling to determine exactly how many people were trapped under the debris.    Lawyer and activist Nuwan Bopage, who had worked with local residents in their protests to have the garbage dump removed, said about 20 people were buried under the debris. Читать дальше...

Javier Duarte, the fugitive former governor of Mexico’s Veracruz state who is accused of running a corruption ring to pilfer from state coffers, was detained in Guatemala Saturday.    A statement from Mexico’s federal Attorney General’s Office said Duarte was detained with the cooperation of Guatemalan police and the country’s Interpol office in Panajachel, which is a picturesque tourist town on Lake Atitlan in Guatemala’s highlands.    It said he is wanted on suspicion of money laundering and organized crime... Читать дальше...

North Korea conducted a failed missile test Sunday in defiance of increased U.S. warnings that there would be serious consequences for such provocative actions, including a possible military response. A White House foreign policy adviser said the type of missile that North Korea tried to fire Sunday was medium-range and it exploded 4-5 seconds after it was launched near the country’s submarine base in Sinpo in South Hamgyong Province on the east coast of the country.   According to the adviser... Читать дальше...

Parkinson’s disease was first identified 200 years ago, but so far, there is no cure. Most people have the disease for many years before it's diagnosed, making it too late for effective treatment. So scientists are focusing on research in an effort to stop the disease before symptoms appear. VOA’s Deborah Block has more during Parkinson’s awareness month in the United States.

Traditionally built houses in old Europe are vulnerable to earthquakes, which again was demonstrated last August when a 6.2 magnitude quake devastated an area in central Italy. Italian engineers are researching ways to minimize the damage. VOA’s George Putic reports.

An art exhibition in New York highlights undocumented immigrants and the items they left behind while crossing hostile desert territory from Mexico into the United States. The show, called State of Exception, stems from the University of Michigan's Undocumented Migration Project, and it uses only discarded objects. Celia Mendoza reports on these traces of human migration from the New School’s Parsons School of Design.

You may have noticed: Much of the recent anti-immigration rhetoric in Washington most loudly comes from factions on the political right: H1B, H2B, it’s all about protecting American jobs. But every step of the way, progressive groups — while pro-immigrant — are just as critical of foreign worker visas. Federal regulations on the books, they argue, are inherently insufficient to protect visa holders from abuse, whether through unwarranted recruitment fees, misrepresentation of job requirements, fraud or intimidation. Читать дальше...

South Korea's military said a missile launch by North Korea early Sunday from the port city of Sinpo "is presumed to have failed." South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff did not provide details of the launch, and it was not immediately clear what type of missile was fired. The launch came less than a day after a massive military parade in the North Korean capital that was widely viewed in world capitals as a show of force by the government of Kim Jong Un. South Korea's official Yonhap News Agency... Читать дальше...

Protesters calling on President Donald Trump to release his tax returns march in New York City, April 15, 2017.

Steeped in centuries of seemingly impenetrable tea tradition, Afghanistan’s capital is getting a little coffee buzz. Nargis Aziz Shahi says business has been increasing day by day since she opened iCafe a couple of weeks ago. Looking a little like a brick-walled Starbucks with a distinctively homey Afghan feel, it’s attracting a mostly youthful clientele drawn by free internet service and books to peruse over a cup or two. “There were three key objectives that led me open the cafe: 1) to introduce... Читать дальше...