Новости за 01.05.2017

Chanting "Yes, We Can" in Spanish and English, hundreds of people marched to the White House in observance of May Day. The march and rally, combined with a general strike, are intended to champion workers' rights like other May Day demonstrations around the world. But this protest had the added impetus of protesting anti-immigrant policies of President Donald Trump by highlighting the role immigrants play in the U.S. economy. About 150 businesses in the D.C. area closed, most of them restaurants and legal offices. Читать дальше...

Fifty-six years ago today, Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro banned multiparty elections and declared Cuba a socialist nation. Addressing hundreds of thousands of Cubans at a May Day parade (read his speech in English here), Castro openly identified himself as a Marxist-Leninist, setting off a decades-long Cold War with the United States. "If Mr Kennedy does not like socialism, we do not like imperialism," Castro said, referring to then-president John F. Kennedy. "We do not like capitalism."... Читать дальше...

Islamic State is claiming to have attacked and captured a volatile district from the rival Taliban in eastern Afghanistan. The Syrian-based terrorist group in a statement through its Amaq News Agency says overnight clashes for the control of Chaprhar in Nangarhar province killed at least 10 Taliban fighters. It added that three enemy fighters were captured alive while the rest fled the area. IS said both sides used light and heavy weapons in the fighting. The Taliban has not yet commented on the fighting. Читать дальше...

At least one person is dead and several others are injured in a stabbing attack on the University of Texas campus Monday. Austin police say one person is in custody, but there is no word about a possible motive. Emergency services said three people were taken to a hospital with "potentially serious injuries." There also were reports of additional patients with non-life-threatening injuries. Student Rachel Prichett said she was standing in line at a food truck outside a gym when she saw a man... Читать дальше...

When Iraqi forces made advances against Islamic State (IS) in Mosul's Bab al-Baith neighborhood last week, they discovered that embattled IS fighters turned part of the Wala Mosque into an indoor graveyard. VOA's Kawa Omar reports.

John Lansing, the CEO of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the parent organization for the Voice of America, told a panel commemorating World Press Freedom Day that there is a war of information happening in the world. The BBG and George Washington University's (GWU) School for Media and Public Affairs organized the panel in Washington on Monday to discuss the challenges of international journalism, the rise of fake news and how media can establish credibility. Lansing brought up the... Читать дальше...

Oystermen, pirates and police clashed violently more than a century ago over who could collect the Chesapeake Bay's tasty and lucrative oysters. As the shellfish makes a comeback, a modern-day oyster war is brewing, this time between wealthy waterfront property owners and working-class fishermen. Over the past five years, oyster production has doubled on the East Coast, driven by new farming methods, cleaner water and Americans' growing taste for orders on the half shell. The resurgence has led... Читать дальше...

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke at the annual May Day celebrations Monday in Nairobi, a day when many countries celebrate workers. But in sub-Saharan Africa, about three-fourths of those laborers work in the informal sector, without contracts or job protections, according to the International Labor Organization. Kenyatta pledged to tackle high unemployment during his May Day speech. One hundred meters away, 31-year-old Christine Ndunge continued her work selling sodas and snacks. She has... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump, after weeks of assailing North Korea's nuclear weapons ambitions, said Monday he would be "honored" to meet with Pyongyang's leader, Kim Jong Un, "under the right circumstances" to discuss the issue. In an interview with Bloomberg News, Trump declared, “If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it. If it’s under the, again, under the right circumstances. But I would do that.” Trump added, "Most political people would never say that... Читать дальше...

Showtime cable network is presenting four hours of director Oliver Stone interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin on four consecutive nights in June. The network announced Monday that “The Putin Interviews” will air first on June 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern, with three additional hour-long installments on the following nights. Showtime said Stone interviewed Putin more than a dozen times over the past two years, most recently in February.   Showtime is comparing the project to conversations held... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump got decidedly mixed reviews on his first 100 days in office.  But he wasted little time in urging his supporters to expect some accomplishments in the months ahead. To mark his first 100 days in office, Trump held a campaign-style rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, among the supporters who have stuck with him in good times and bad.  Trump told the boisterous crowd it was time to “reflect on an incredible journey together and to get ready for the great, great battles to come, and that we will win in every case, OK? Читать дальше...

Twitter and Bloomberg news are teaming up to launch a 24-hour streaming news channel. In response to a story in the Wall Street Journal about the partnership, Bloomberg Media’s top executive tweeted confirmation of the news. "We'll have a lot more to say about this exciting new partnership at Bloomberg Media's NewFronts on Monday," tweeted Justin Smith, referring to a meeting the company is holding. The Journal said Bloomberg would create exclusive content for the streaming channel, but... Читать дальше...

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

With the U.S. economy on solid footing and unemployment at a near-decade low, the Federal Reserve remains in the midst of a campaign to gradually raise interest rates from ultra-lows. But this week, it's all but sure to take a pause. The Fed is widely expected to keep its key short-term rate unchanged after having raised it in March for the second time in three months. Most analysts foresee the Fed raising its key rate again at least twice more before year's end, a testament to the durability of... Читать дальше...

Protesters in the United States and around the world have marked International Workers Day, May Day, with rallies and demonstrations that, from France to Turkey, turned violent Monday. VOA Europe Correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.

A man sat calmly with a gun on his lap and opened fire on seven people enjoying a birthday party at an apartment complex pool near the University of California, San Diego, killing one woman before officers fatally shot him, witnesses and authorities said. The suspect, Peter Selis, 49, shot four black women, two black men and one Latino man Sunday, police said. San Diego's police chief says race was not a factor in the shooting and that the gunman was despondent over a recent breakup with his girlfriend. Читать дальше...

The new federal spending bill would spare - and even slightly increase - funding for three arts-related agencies that President Donald Trump had proposed eliminating: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities.   The agreement announced Monday calls for the CPB's budget to remain the same, at $445 million. Spending for fiscal 2017 would go up for the NEA and NEH, each from $148 million to $150 million. The three organizations... Читать дальше...

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing new tamper-resistant green cards. The redesigned cards, which have enhanced graphics and additional security features, are more secure than the old ones. "The new card designs demonstrate USCIS' commitment to continue taking a proactive approach against the threat of document tampering and fraud," according to USCIS. The new green cards will: * Display the individual's photos on both sides. * Show a unique graphic image and color palette. Читать дальше...

A Liberian forestry authority says a mob of people have killed two forestry staffers who had arrested 20 people for hunting illegally in Liberia's Sarpo National Park. Forestry Development Authority managing director Darlington Tuagben said Monday that the two staffers found a new base set up by illegal hunters and arrested 20 of them on Thursday in the protected rainforest park which covers more than 100 hectares (247 acres) in Liberia's southeast. He said a mob in support of illegal hunting then formed and attacked... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump, in an interview Monday, asked why the Civil War, one of the country’s seminal events, occurred in the 19th century. The history of the bloodiest war on U.S. soil is taught to school children across the country, but Trump remarked, “People don’t realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? People don't ask that question, but why was there the Civil War? “Why could that one not have been worked out?” Trump said in the interview with the satellite radio carrier Sirius XM. Читать дальше...

Human Rights Watch has accused Syrian government forces of using deadly nerve gas on four occasions in recent months, including the April 4 chemical attack on Khan Sheikoun that killed nearly 100 people. In a report issued Monday, the rights group said forces loyal to Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad also carried out gas attacks in December of 2016 and March of 2017. “The government’s recent use of nerve agents is a deadly escalation – and part of a clear pattern,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. Читать дальше...

Iran on Monday acknowledged that the fate of detained Iranian-American dual nationals came up during its first face-to-face meeting with the Trump administration, with an official saying there have been "positive results" for prisoner trades in the past. The comments by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi mark the first official government confirmation it discussed prisoners with the U.S. at a recent meeting in Vienna over the nuclear deal.   While falling far short of signaling... Читать дальше...

Facebook appears to have targeted vulnerable young people for advertising purposes, according to a report from Australia. According to The Australian newspaper, which obtained documents about the targeting of young people from Facebook’s Australian office, the company was seeking ways to exploit the feelings of kids as young as 14 to serve up ads to them. The documents, which were marked as confidential, show how the social media giant could monitor posts from youth to try to figure out how they were feeling. Читать дальше...

“Loyalty Day” is Monday, according to President Donald Trump.   It's a designation made by his predecessors for decades, but the nation's 45th president is putting his own stamp on it as workers elsewhere in the U.S. call May 1 “May Day” and protest Trump's immigration policies.   Trump is recommending specific ways Americans should mark the day - by flying flags over government buildings and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. His proclamation also mentions Republicans' priority of “limited government”... Читать дальше...

The Indian army has accused Pakistani forces of killing two of its soldiers and mutilating their bodies along the border in the disputed Kashmir region. India has vowed retribution for the incident that will deepen tensions between the South Asian rivals, whose relations have hit a low point in recent months. The army said the soldiers were killed on patrol when Pakistani forces fired rockets and mortars at two Indian posts in the Krishna Ghati sector Monday. "In an unsoldierly act" the bodies of two soldiers were mutilated... Читать дальше...