Новости за 29.04.2017

Pope Francis leaves Cairo on Saturday after two days of meetings with Egypt's political and religious leaders. Officials hope the papal visit will jump-start interfaith efforts to curb extremism and sectarianism in the region. VOA's Heather Murdock reports.

A U.S. service member in Iraq was killed Saturday by an explosive device outside Mosul, according to a statement released by the Pentagon. The Pentagon said the service member died from wounds sustained in an "explosive device blast," stating further information would be released as appropriate. Saturday's incident marks the second American military fatality since the start of the Mosul operation against the Islamic State group more than six months ago. In October, just days after the operation to retake Mosul was formally launched... Читать дальше...

An American woman convicted of espionage in China and held without a trial for two years is back in the U.S. after being deported, according to her husband. Jeff Gillis said in a statement that his wife, Sandy Phan-Gillis, left China Friday and arrived in Los Angeles the same day — removing a source of tension between the U.S. and China. A court ordered her deportation Tuesday after sentencing her to 3½ years in prison for espionage. The Chinese government has not released details of the charges... Читать дальше...

Turkey has dismissed nearly 4,000 people from its civil service, military, and gendarmerie, in what appears to be a purge related to last year's attempted coup. Turkey announced the move on Saturday, saying in the government's Official Gazette that those let go include 1,127 employees of the justice ministry, made up of prison guards, academics and religious affairs ministry employees. It appears to be one of the largest such purges since the coup attempt last July. Since that time some 120,000... Читать дальше...

So-called Islamic State has wreaked havoc in eastern Afghanistan since 2015, mostly through its loose affiliates — attacking government installations and villages, killing and abducting hundreds of people, and keeping schools shuttered and replacing them with IS religious seminaries. It also claimed responsibility for several deadly attacks in the country’s capital, Kabul. Here is a rundown in a question-and-answer format about how IS operates in Afghanistan: When did IS emerge in Afghanistan? Читать дальше...

The Russian opposition movement founded by exiled Kremlin critic and oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky protested President Vladimir Putin in 32 cities Saturday, despite the fact that authorities have banned the movement and declared it illegal, and police have raided its Moscow offices. The main rally in Moscow had a few hundred protesters gathering in a park before moving to an administrative building nearby, where they submitted a letter urging Putin not to run for a fourth term in 2018. In St. Читать дальше...

Pope Francis concluded a 27 hour visit to Egypt Saturday, after delivering mass to a crowd of 25,000 Catholics and visiting a seminary. Preaching a message of "peace," the pontiff tried to reach out to both Christians and Muslims, denouncing those who preach violence in the name of God. Pope Francis said mass in Latin to a vast throng of worshipers gathered at Egypt's Air Force Stadium Saturday, amid strict security. Egyptian media reported that 25,000 Catholic Christians from six branches of the church attended the mass... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump will spend part of his 100th day in office Saturday in the politically friendly state of Pennsylvania, as anti-Trump protesters actively attempt to diminish the symbolic milestone. The president will sign an executive order at a shovel factory in central Pennsylvania, directing his administration to review the nation’s trade agreements. The order aims to determine whether the U.S. is being treated equitably by its trading partners in the 164-nation World Trade Organization. Читать дальше...

His birthplace in a small village outside Mumbai, India, in a home with no running water or electricity, is a far cry from the technology-filled cubicles Pete Tapaskar has come to know well as an information technology (IT) worker. Tapaskar’s journey from India to the United States through Canada came courtesy of an H1B immigrant visa. “H1B has been a great contributor for the innovation of America,” Tapaskar told VOA. Now an American citizen who lives in suburban Chicago, Tapaskar has spent... Читать дальше...

During a recent visit to Wisconsin, President Donald Trump announced he was signing an Executive Order reviewing the visa program that brings many technical workers to the United States, known as the H1B visa. About 85,000 workers come to the United States annually using an H1B visa. More from VOA’s Kane Farabaugh

Tens of thousands of environmental activists are expected to march in the U.S. capital city Saturday in an effort to draw support for climate-related causes. The event, dubbed the People’s Climate March, is meant to coincide with President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office, according to its organizers, who have condemned what they see as the administration’s lack of concern for environmental issues. “The Trump administration’s policies are a catastrophe for our climate and communities, especially... Читать дальше...

The European Union has voted unanimously to adopt guidelines to negotiate Britain's exit from the bloc, the summit chairman said Saturday. "Guidelines adopted unanimously. [The] EU-27's firm and fair political mandate for the Brexit talks is ready," said EU president Donald Tusk, who tweeted from the summit where EU leaders met in Brussels without British Prime Minister Theresa May. The 27 leaders voted to approve the guidelines in less than 15 minutes. Talks with Britain will begin shortly after its general elections on June 8. Читать дальше...

Pakistan's army has rejected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's decision to sack an adviser over his connections to a reporter who wrote an article last year saying there is a rift between civilian and military leaders over efforts to combat militancy. The army's strong reaction came after Sharif ordered the firing of Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Syed Tariq Fatemi, without specifying his role in the DAWN newspaper article about a conflict between the military and his government. The army said Saturday that Sharif's action is "incomplete.

If you’ve been walking through downtown Nairobi lately, you may have seen Moses Odhiambo. The 29-year-old self-taught saxophonist has been drawing crowds and inspiring a love of music in young people who, like himself, are growing up on the streets. Moses Odhiambo plays his saxophone amid the usual buzz of evening rush hour in Nairobi’s central business district.   He performs here every Tuesday and Thursday.   A small crowd gathers. Today marks one year since he started performing like this. Читать дальше...

San Antonio, Texas, is home to the greatest concentration of Catholic missions in North America, including The Alamo, the state’s first mission dating to 1718. The most visited historic landmark in Texas was also a fort and the site of a battle that played a pivotal role in the state’s dramatic history. San Antonio Missions In the 18th century, the government of Spain established Catholic missions in the American southwest, in an attempt to exert control and expand its influence in the region. Читать дальше...

French presidential hopeful Emmanuel Macron’s party on Saturday called for the resignation of Marine Le Pen’s father from the National Front after comments he made about a ceremony for the policeman killed in an attack in Paris. The policeman was shot dead and two others were wounded April 20, three days before the first round of the presidential election that saw Macron and Le Pen go through to the May 7 second round. The Islamic State militant group claimed the attack. Jean-Marie Le Pen, the... Читать дальше...

South African President Jacob Zuma has signed the anti-money laundering bill FICA, which allows increased scrutiny of the bank accounts of “prominent individuals,” including himself, into law, his office said Saturday. The country risked being kicked out of global fraud monitor, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), if the Financial Intelligence Centre Amendment (FICA) bill was not signed by June. Fight against global financial crime The bill, intended to bolster the fight against global... Читать дальше...

Turkish authorities Saturday blocked access to online encyclopedia Wikipedia, an internet monitoring group said, the latest in what government critics say is a crackdown on free speech on the internet. A block on all language editions of the Wikipedia website was detected at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) Saturday, monitoring group Turkey Blocks said on its website. “The loss of availability is consistent with internet filters used to censor content in the country,” it said. When attempting to access the webpage using Turkish internet providers... Читать дальше...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte opened an annual summit of Southeast Asian leaders Saturday with an oblique swipe at Western governments, asking them not to meddle in the affairs of regional countries.   Duterte has often lashed out at Western criticism of his brutal anti-drug crackdown. Although couched in diplomatic tone, the president’s remarks at the opening ceremony of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Manila reflect his combative character.    Ties between ASEAN and the... Читать дальше...

A hacker claims to have stolen the upcoming season of Netflix’s hit series “Orange Is The New Black,” and is demanding that the video streaming service pay an unspecified ransom to prevent all the new episodes from being prematurely released online.   The hacker, operating under the name The Dark Overlord, has purportedly uploaded the first episode to an illegal file-sharing service. The Associated Press could not legally confirm the authenticity of that uploaded file.   New episodes of “Orange” are scheduled for official release June 9. Читать дальше...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is updating its website to reflect the views of the Trump administration. The agency has removed several pages from the Obama administration explaining the science behind climate change. The EPA said in a statement the website is “undergoing changes that reflect the agency’s new direction under President Donald Trump and Administrator Scott Pruitt.” The statement was released late Friday, just hours before thousands of people descend Saturday on Washington’s... Читать дальше...

When Parvin and Yadollah Jamalreza and their three children came to the U.S. from Iran, they brought two suitcases full of clothes and a pair of 100-year-old scissors. Yadollah had purchased the scissors from another tailor 40 years earlier. Whatever, their monetary value, the scissors have enormous symbolic value for the Jamalrezas.  “This is very old and dear to us. We brought it from Iran,” said Parvin, who adds, “It is still working well.” The Jamalrezas’ new life in the U.S. seems to be anchored by old things. Читать дальше...

Later this year, two pilots in a sailplane will try to break the world altitude record for a glider, soaring more than 27 kilometers above sea level. But their primary mission will be to explore the little-known phenomenon called "mountain waves" and to carry a number of experiments designed by school students. VOA's George Putic reports.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Friday that Washington would not rule out a military response to future North Korean aggression and that it would seek to increase the rogue nation's financial and international isolation. VOA's Margaret Besheer has more from the United Nations, where the secretary chaired a meeting of the Security Council on the North Korean issue.

With President Donald Trump's presidency reaching the symbolic 100-day milestone, battle lines are sharply drawn on the effectiveness of his still developing foreign policy. VOA White House correspondent Peter Heinlein reports that, amid fierce criticism of the president's early performance, the outlines of a "Trump Doctrine" are beginning to emerge.