Новости за 22.04.2017

The U.S. Surgeon General under the Obama administration has resigned and been replaced, at least, temporarily, by his deputy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed that Vivek Murthy was asked to resign after "assisting in a smooth transition" from the Obama administration to that of President Donald Trump. Murthy's replacement is his deputy, Sylvia Trent-Adams, who becomes one of the first nurses to serve in the position. Her photo replaced Murthy's on the Surgeon General's web page and Twitter account on Friday. Читать дальше...

As U.S.-Afghan forces pound Islamic State hideouts in their Nangarhar Province stronghold, civilians fleeing the fight say they’ve been left to deal with their plight alone. The exact number forced out of their homes by the war against the so-called Islamic State Khorasan Branch (IS-KB) in Afghanistan is unknown, but officials in Nangarhar, where the war is concentrated, say thousands of households are displaced.   Most operations against IS-KB have been conducted in the rugged terrain of Achin District... Читать дальше...

Drawn-out deaths. Communities torn apart. Survivor's guilt. Patrick Fallah says his memories of the days when the Ebola virus swept through Liberia are so awful that he sometimes has trouble focusing on the present. "Sometimes when I have a flashback of the death of my son and others who died in the Ebola treatment unit, I don't want to speak to people. I grieve so much that my mind is not really on what I am doing," said Fallah, 30, who lost his 8-month-old son and stepmother and is president... Читать дальше...

Philippine forces killed a suspected Muslim militant in new fighting Saturday in a central resort province where troops foiled possible kidnapping and bombing plots by extremists earlier this month, officials said. Army troops and police killed Joselito Melloria in a gunbattle with about seven militants near Clarin town in Bohol province. Melloria's companions fled and were being pursued by troops, police said. Melloria, a convert to Islam and a Bohol resident, guided Abu Sayyaf militants from... Читать дальше...

European scientists are taking part in the March for Science demonstration taking place in hundreds of cities around the world to commemorate Earth Day. Science and research skeptics are becoming more mainstream in an era of populist and Eurosceptic movements. And on both sides of the Atlantic, there is less funding to support independent research. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, a professor at the University of Leuven, says shifting priorities in Europe has had an impact on the work of scientists. ... Читать дальше...

Thousands of people around the world are expected to March for Science Saturday, Earth Day, in more than 600 locations, including Seoul, Madrid, London and Cape Town. The flagship event will be in Washington, featuring speakers and several large teach-in tents on the National Mall. There, scientists, educators and leaders from a variety of disciplines will discuss their work, effective science communication strategies and training in public advocacy. Organizers say the international event is... Читать дальше...

Michele Scarponi, the 2011 Giro d’Italia champion, has been killed in a road accident while training close to his home in Filottrano, his Astana team said Saturday. Scarponi, 37, left home early on Saturday morning for a training ride and was hit by a van at a crossroads. “This is a tragedy too big to be written,” Astana said in a statement. “We left a great champion and a special guy, always smiling in every situation, he was ... a landmark for everyone in the Astana Pro Team.” Scarponi... Читать дальше...

The desperate effort this week to find two hikers who disappeared at the bottom of the Grand Canyon represented the National Park Service’s most extensive use yet of drones in a search-and-rescue mission.   The Grand Canyon is the only national park with its own fleet of unmanned aircraft for locating people who have gotten lost, stranded, injured or killed. Under a program that began last fall, it has five drones and four certified operators.   While the aerial search for the two hikers came up empty... Читать дальше...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence says the U.S. is quietly confident that China will do more to influence North Korea to drop its nuclear weapons program. Pence spoke Saturday in Sydney at a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Both the U.S. and Australia have pressured China to take more responsibility in influencing North Korea to abandon its nuclear program. Pence said Pyongyang's ballistic missile program “represents a threat to the stability and security... Читать дальше...

The founder of Microsoft, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, has given a passionate defense of foreign aid while voicing fears the political climate in the U.S. and in Britain could result in cuts to aid budgets. In a speech this week in London, he warned that withdrawing aid would "create a leadership vacuum that others will fill." Gates, who gives $5 billion a year to development aid through the foundation he set up with his wife, Melinda, is one of the world's most generous philanthropists. Читать дальше...

A Taliban suicide raid on a major military base in northern Afghanistan is reported to have left at least 140 people dead, mostly soldiers, in the deadliest attack on Afghan forces since 2001. Witnesses said a group of 10 heavily armed suicide bombers aboard two army vehicles and disguised as government soldiers stormed the Afghan National Army’s 209th Shaheen Corps Headquarters Friday in Mazar-i-Sharif, the capital of the northern Balkh province. Local television stations quoted an unnamed security... Читать дальше...

Lawmakers from coal-mining states are pushing to extend health benefits for more than 22,000 retired miners and widows whose medical coverage is set to expire at the end of April. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and other coal-state Democrats threatened to shut down the government over the issue in December, but they retreated after winning a four-month extension that preserves benefits through April 30. As lawmakers return to the Capitol following a two-week recess, Manchin says the time for extensions is over. Читать дальше...

Vice President Mike Pence and Australia’s prime minister brushed off any lingering hostility over a contentious refugee deal and joined forces Saturday to urge China to take a greater role in pressuring North Korea to drop its nuclear weapons program. Pence and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull repeatedly praised the decades-long American-Australian alliance following a meeting in Sydney, with the vice president thanking Turnbull for calling on Beijing to play a more active part in the international... Читать дальше...

Motorists in Pyongyang are scrambling to fill their tanks as gas stations begin limiting services or closing amid concerns of a spreading shortage.   A sign outside one station in the North Korean capital said Friday that sales were being restricted to diplomats or vehicles used by international organizations, while others were closed or turning away local residents. Lines at other stations were much longer than usual and prices appeared to be rising significantly.    The cause of the restrictions... Читать дальше...

Ear infections are one of those things almost everyone has to deal with. They're painful, but generally easily treatable. But for many people, chronic ear infections can significantly affect their hearing and their quality of life. Polish doctors may have discovered a tiny solution for what can be a big problem. VOA's Kevin Enochs reports.

Silicon Valley is not the only place to find the next Mark Zuckerberg. Nearly 9,000 tech startups call New York City home, and their offerings reflect the unique needs of the most populous city in the U.S. VOA's Tina Trinh reports from the NY Tech Day event in New York.

The co-founder of Microsoft, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates, has given a passionate defense of foreign aid and voiced fears that the political climate in the US and Britain could see aid budgets cut. In a speech in London this week, he warned that withdrawing aid would create a 'leadership vacuum that others will fill.' Henry Ridgwell reports.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis visited Israel Friday on his Middle East tour to discuss regional security. VOA correspondent Carla Babb is traveling with the secretary, who received a warm welcome from Israeli leaders hopeful for a tougher approach on Syria and Iran.

The son of a Russian lawmaker was sentenced Friday by a U.S. federal court to 27 years in prison after being convicted of a cyber assault on thousands of U.S. businesses, marking the longest hacking-related sentence in the United States. Roman Seleznev, 32, was found guilty last year by a jury in Seattle of perpetrating a scheme that prosecutors said involved hacking into point-of-sale computers to steal credit card numbers and caused $169 million in losses to U.S. firms. The Russian government... Читать дальше...

Venezuela's security forces are finding that low salaries, fear of violent clashes, and opposition to President Nicolas Maduro are hurting their recruiting and retention efforts, sources in or close to the armed forces and police told Reuters. Maduro, a leftist who is facing the fiercest protests against him in three years, has promised to boost the armed forces, police, and civilian defense groups to guard against what he says is an attempt to overthrow "21st century Socialism." To help meet the needs... Читать дальше...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in Sydney, in an effort to improve relations after a highly publicized argument between U.S. President Donald Trump and the Australian leader. The visit to Australia is the first by a senior Trump administration official as the United States looks to strengthen ties with Asian allies. Pence sought to reassure Australia Saturday that the United States remains committed to the countries’ longtime alliance, following a... Читать дальше...

The U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee said on Friday it had invited FBI, NSA and Obama administration officials to testify as it restarts its investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. After stalling over the committee chairman's ties to President Donald Trump's White House and disagreements over who should testify, the bipartisan committee said it sent a letter inviting James Comey, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Admiral Mike Rogers... Читать дальше...

The gigantic black and white portraits of children started appearing on walls around a suburban neighborhood of Havana two years ago, the work of Cuban artist Maisel Lopez. The sober, finely painted portraits contrast with Cuba's dilapidated buildings and pot-holed streets, colorful vintage cars and peeling pink, apricot and turquoise paint on eclectic architecture. With nearly 30 murals completed, Lopez said he is only getting started on his "Colossi" series, a striking endeavor in the Communist-run country where street art is rare. Читать дальше...

A Panamanian court has granted bail to the two founders of Mossack Fonseca, the law firm at the center of the Panama Papers scandal, in a case allegedly tied to a sprawling corruption scandal in Brazil. Following their February arrest on charges of money laundering, Jurgen Mossack and Ramon Fonseca each paid $500,000 Friday and will be set free soon, the attorney for the two lawyers, Guillermina McDonald, told Reuters. McDonald said the court ruled the two were not a flight risk because they had been cooperating with the investigation. Читать дальше...

Philosopher, humanitarian and physicist Albert Einstein is the subject of new TV series "Genius," which delves into the drama and passion of the man who developed the theory of relativity and helped initiate the U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb. Executive producer Ron Howard told reporters at the TV show's launch at the Tribeca Film Festival that he had always been fascinated by Einstein. "But I never realized how many twists and turns and, you know, there were in his life, and how much drama there was," Howard said on Thursday. Читать дальше...