Новости за 04.05.2017

The Texas Legislature on Wednesday passed a ban on "sanctuary cities'' that allows police officers to ask about a person's immigration status and threatens sheriffs and police chiefs with jail time if they don't work with federal authorities. Republican Governor Greg Abbott has pledged to sign the bill into law. The Republican-led Senate passed the bill Wednesday despite objections from Democrats, who called the bill a "show me your papers'' measure that would be used to discriminate against Latinos. Читать дальше...

Hundreds of Romanians rallied outside government headquarters in Bucharest late on Wednesday to protest against a proposal to widen a draft bill on prison pardons to include corruption offenses. Romania is seen as one of the European Union's most corrupt states and Brussels keeps its justice system under special monitoring. While the European Commission has repeatedly praised the judiciary for progress stamping out graft, it has noted parliament has a track record of trying to weaken legislation. Читать дальше...

International students are welcome and safe at American universities, say educational experts who specialize in the foreign student population at their schools. Speaking at a Voice of America international student town hall, the experts from a wide range of colleges said international students add value to American society through a collegiate soft diplomacy.   “I truly believe that international students bring such value and enrichment to this country and to our institutions,” said Sam Brown... Читать дальше...

Alphabet Inc. warned its users to beware of emails from known contacts asking them to click on a link to Google Docs after a large number of people turned to social media to complain that their accounts had been hacked. Google said Wednesday that it had taken steps to protect users from the attacks by disabling offending accounts and removing malicious pages. The attack used a relatively novel approach to phishing, a hacking technique designed to trick users into giving away sensitive information... Читать дальше...

An explosion tore through a coal mine in northern Iran on Wednesday, killing at least 21 miners and injuring many more, according to Iranian state media. Sadegh Ali Moghadam, head of the emergency department of Golestan Province, said 21 bodies were recovered from the mine following the explosion, according to Press TV, the English-language arm of Iranian state television. He said about 14 people were believed to still be trapped in the mine. Moghadam warned of the "possibility of the death toll... Читать дальше...

Former President Barack Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, on Wednesday declined an invitation to testify at an upcoming Senate hearing on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Rice's attorney notified the senators leading the hearing of her decision not to attend in a letter. Two other former Obama administration officials are scheduled to testify before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee Monday. The subcommittee is one of three congressional panels investigating Russia's role in the 2016 election. Читать дальше...

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a budget bill to fund the government through September — one without funding for the border wall President Donald Trump's promised during his campaign. The $1.16 trillion spending bill passed with bipartisan support, 309 to 118. The bill now goes to the U.S. Senate, which is expected to approve it later this week before Trump signs it into law. The spending bill averts a short-term crisis by authorizing federal spending through the end of the fiscal year, which is Sept. Читать дальше...

African-Americans and Hispanics, the largest racial and ethnic minorities in the United States, made positive strides economically and educationally during the past year but continue to lag behind whites, a civil rights group's annual study contends. "The theme of this year's State of Black America report is 'protecting our progress,' " National Urban League CEO Marc Morial said. In its study, released Tuesday, the league found the standard of living for African-Americans was 72.3 percent of that of whites, on average. Читать дальше...

Amid the Trump administration’s conflicting signals on whether or not it will ask South Korea to pay more for a controversial American missile defense system, experts suggest restraint and caution to avoid eroding the Washington-Seoul alliance, a change that could impede efforts to counter nuclear-armed North Korea.   Earlier this week, the U.S. military said the Terminal High Altitude Defense (THAAD) system has "the ability to intercept North Korean missiles and defend [South Korea]," though work... Читать дальше...

One person was killed and nine were wounded Wednesday when suspected Islamic extremists fired rockets into a U.N peacekeeping camp in Mali. The nationality of the person killed was not known. The wounded included a Swedish peacekeeper and Liberian soldiers. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack on the camp in Timbuktu, but the U.N. mission called it a terrorist incident. Al-Qaida-linked militants were behind another rocket attack on the camp last year. U.N. peacekeepers... Читать дальше...

The United States is bringing its Southeast Asian allies on board to tackle what senior officials described as the number one national security priority for the U.S. — North Korea's nuclear proliferation and missile threats — when foreign ministers from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gather Thursday in Washington. A senior State Department official told VOA that Washington is urging Southeast Asian countries to "cut diplomatic ties" with Pyongyang. Another official told VOA that... Читать дальше...

Minutes after Venezuelan lawmakers led off thousands on a march Wednesday to protest President Nicolas Maduro's plan to rewrite the nation's constitution, government security forces stopped them short with clouds of tear gas and other demonstrations of force. The marchers, some carrying handmade white shields emblazoned with red crosses, were en route to the National Assembly building in the capital city of Caracas. "We were the deputies in front with credentials in hand, intending to arrive at the Assembly... Читать дальше...

Former President Barack Obama unveiled plans for his future presidential library and museum on the south side of Chicago where he raised his family and launched his political career.  The designs show a complex of modern buildings, with a library, museum and event center, plus a community garden, a children's play area and possibly an athletic field. "What we want this to be is the world-premiere institution for training young people and leadership to make a difference in their communities, in... Читать дальше...

The U.S. government received “hundreds” of bids to build prototypes of a wall along the country's border with Mexico, according to federal contracting documents updated this week. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol had previously declined to comment on how many companies ultimately submitted designs by the early April deadline. The agency did not provide a specific number in its notice, posted online Tuesday, noting only that the bids for concrete and non-concrete wall ideas each totaled in the "low... Читать дальше...

As Washington is mulling a new strategy to combat extremism and militancy in Afghanistan, the Afghan government says it should include supporting a Kabul security plan aimed at vastly improving Afghan security forces. “If the United States announces a new strategy, as they have promised, if they support our four-year plan, I can assure you that Afghanistan will have an army that every Afghan will count on and will be proud of,” General Dawlat Waziri, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Defense, told VOA’s Afghan service. Читать дальше...