Новости за 14.05.2017

Ankara’s apparent intention to build a wall along its border with Iran is being met with skepticism by some regional experts who question its practicality and whether it will curb cross-border terrorism as Turkey intends. A report last week in the Hurriyet Daily News, written by a reporter close to the Turkish government, quoted unnamed Turkish authorities as saying the wall is necessary to keep out militants in Iran associated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is fighting the Turkish State for greater autonomy. Читать дальше...

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

Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Moscow on Sunday to rally against a bill to tear down Soviet-era low-rise apartment buildings. Protesters, mostly young and middle couples, gathered on a central street to rally against arguably Russia's largest redevelopment project to pull down entire neighborhoods of Soviet-era prefabricated buildings. City Hall has insisted the buildings are too dilapidated and outdated, while many residents and activists see the plans as a ruse to make way for... Читать дальше...

Veteran Irish rock band U2 is the top-selling live music act in the United States for summer 2017, ticket seller StubHub said on Sunday, outpacing pop acts such as Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga with a concert tour celebrating its seminal "Joshua Tree" album. U2's 13-stop "The Joshua Tree Tour 2017" topped the list of most popular live music acts in the United States between Memorial Day (May 29) and Labor Day (September 4). British singer Sheeran's U.S. leg of his "divide" tour came in at No. 2 with 32 shows over the summer. Читать дальше...

Former president Mohammad Khatami, considered the spiritual leader of Iran's reformists, urged voters on Sunday to re-elect President Hassan Rouhani and support his policy of seeking to end Iran's isolation from the rest of the world. Iran's hardline security and judicial powers, which operate separately to the presidency and are close to Iran's ultimate authority — Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — have banned media from publishing Khatami's image or mentioning his name. But Khatami has... Читать дальше...

Western diplomats shunned the opening ceremony of a conference in Qatar on Sunday attended by Sudan's president, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who came to power in Sudan in a 1989 Islamist and military-backed coup, has continued to travel abroad since the ICC charged him with genocide and crimes against humanity in 2008. But his appearance on a list of speakers at a humanitarian conference in Doha on Sunday attended by the deputy head of the United Nations prompted the U.S.... Читать дальше...

A new public opinion poll shows more Americans than not are opposed to President Donald Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey. The NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey in recent days said just 29 percent of those surveyed say they approve of Trump's dismissal of Comey, who was in the fourth year of a 10-year term leading the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the country's top criminal investigating agency, while 38 percent disapprove. The remainder said they did not know enough to have an opinion. Читать дальше...

U.S.-backed Iraqi forces pushed deeper into the last pocket of Mosul controlled by Islamic State militants on Sunday as the battle for the city approaches an end after seven months of grueling urban combat. The militants have now been dislodged from all but a handful of districts in the western half of Mosul including the Old City, where Islamic State is expected to make its last stand, taking advantage of narrow streets and its dense population. Brigadier General Yahya Rasoul said the area... Читать дальше...

Pope Francis said on Saturday he would be "sincere" with U.S. President Donald Trump over their sharp differences on subjects such as immigration and climate change when the two hold their first meeting at the Vatican later this month. But the pope also told reporters aboard a plane returning from Portugal that he would keep an open mind and not pass judgement on Trump until first listening to his views at their meeting on May 24. "Even if one thinks differently we have to be very sincere about... Читать дальше...

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he is not worried about his standing with President Donald Trump following Trump's firing of FBI chief James Comey. "I have a great relationship with the president," Tillerson told NBC News' Meet the Press on Sunday. "I understand what his objectives are. When I'm not clear on what his objectives are, we talk about it." Tillerson spoke as Trump prepares for his first overseas trip as president. He heads Friday to Saudi Arabia for discussions with King... Читать дальше...

While the election of Emmanuel Macron as French president with a vision of closer European Union integration was a relief to much of Europe, for Poland and Hungary it fanned fears of losing influence. Poland has been the most vocal among eastern EU members fearing that their wealthier western neighbors, keen to deepen cooperation among themselves, will erode the single market that has been the biggest benefit of membership in the east and, in shifting power westward, reduce financial support for less wealthy countries. Читать дальше...

Europe's police agency Europol says a global cyberattack has affected at least 100,000 organizations in 150 countries, with data networks infected by malware that locks computer files unless a ransom is paid. Speaking to Britian's ITV, Europol director Rob Wainwright said the healthcare sector in many countries is particularly vulnerable.   So far there has been no progress reported in efforts to determine who launched the plot. Computer security experts have assured individual computer... Читать дальше...

Countries across the globe scrambled to respond to a malicious "ransomware" virus, as internet security watchdogs said the attack had disproportionately targeted Russia. The Russian cyber security firm Kaspersky Labs was among the first to identify the so-called "Wanna Cry" malware — a viral worm that exploits a vulnerability in the Windows operating system to encrypt files without users permission. A group of hackers known as "The Shadow Brokers" are widely believed to have stolen the program... Читать дальше...

At least five people were wounded by gunfire on Sunday during protests in Ivory Coast's second-biggest city, Bouake, against an army mutiny, according to a witness, as popular opposition to the three-day nationwide revolt over bonuses gathered momentum. Mutinous soldiers have now opened up access to the city, a leader of the uprising and Bouake residents said, allowing vehicles to move in and out for the first time since Friday. The mutiny began in Bouake and spread quickly to other cities and towns... Читать дальше...

Ahmad Dawoud recalls the day 10 years ago when a Lebanese soldier asked to search his taxi. Then 17, the Palestinian didn't wait for the soldier to find the weapons hidden in the trunk. He jumped from the car and fled into the nearby Palestinian refugee camp, where the Lebanese army has no authority. But it was not long afterward that Dawoud, who once admired the radical groups that have sprouted in the camps in Lebanon, decided he was tired of running. That same year, in 2007, he surrendered to authorities and spent 14 hard months in jail.

Judges from one of the Egyptian judiciary's three main branches voted Saturday to defy a newly adopted and widely disputed law giving the president a degree of control over the judiciary, nominating as head of their branch a judge who ruled against a government decision to surrender two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.   State Council judges, who rule on disputes with the government, voted overwhelmingly to put forward judge Yahya Dakroury, their most senior, as their nominee to head their branch. Читать дальше...

France’s youngest head of state since Napoleon Bonaparte presented himself as president of all the French Sunday as he was sworn into office in Paris, following in the Fifth Republic footsteps of political giants Gen. Charles De Gaulle and Jacques Chirac. Much is riding on the 39-year-old Emmanuel Macron, who two years ago set out on what many dismissed as a Quixotic quest — to get himself elected to the French presidency as a centrist, pro-European Union candidate on his first ever political campaign... Читать дальше...

Rescuers saved 484 migrants from boats in the Mediterranean Sea Saturday and found the bodies of seven men who had died in the attempt to get to Europe, Italy’s coast guard said. More than 45,000 people have reached Italy by boat from North Africa this year, a more than 40 percent increase from the same period in 2016, and 1,222 people are known to have died on the route, according to the International Organization for Migration. The migrants were rescued from four separate rubber boats by the Italian coast guard and navy... Читать дальше...

The Syrian army and its allies are on the verge of seizing the rebel-held district of Qaboun on the edge of the capital Damascus after more than two months of aerial strikes and artillery shelling, rebels and state media said Sunday. The rebels said they still hold a small pocket within the neighborhood in the northeastern edge of the capital, although it has been mostly reduced to rubble after about 80 days and hundreds of aerial strikes and missiles. The army resumed its bombardment in the... Читать дальше...

An election Sunday in Germany’s most populous state is serving as a prelude to September’s national vote. It could give conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel new momentum in her quest for a fourth term — or offer her center-left challenger some relief. The pressure is on the Social Democrats, led by challenger Martin Schulz, in the election for the state legislature in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is Schulz’s home territory, though he isn’t on the ballot, and home to 17.9 million people, nearly a quarter of Germany’s population. Читать дальше...

France has inaugurated new president, Emmanuel Macron, a 39-year-old independent centrist who was elected May 7.    The president of the Constitutional Council, Laurent Fabius, proclaimed the official result of the vote in a ceremony Sunday at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris.    Macron formally took power after his predecessor, Socialist Francois Hollande, met with him for one hour and left. Hollande was applauded by the employees of the French presidency at his departure. He shook hands with Macron... Читать дальше...

A 5.7-magnitude earthquake has hit the Iranian city of Pishqaleh in North Khorasan province, killing two people and injuring at least 225 more, according to IRNA, Iran's official news agency. The Red Crescent Society said 37 search and rescue teams were sent to the quake-hit region Saturday, immediately after the earthquake struck. Eighty percent of the injured and survivors have been relocated into tents, the Red Crescent said. The quake was centered at a depth of 11 kilometers. Iran is... Читать дальше...

A woman who used to be a bullfighter, a video game tycoon, and a mathematics genius are some of the candidates France’s president-elect Emmanuel Macron hopes can help him win a majority in the National Assembly in next month’s parliamentary elections. The pro-business, pro-Europe centrist rode to power on a promise to bring change to France and to revive the flagging economy. However, he needs a majority in order to push through tough reforms. Nevertheless, he will be, at least at first, a president without a party. Читать дальше...

Dr. David Nabarro says he wants to rid the world of two diseases that are close to being eradicated: polio and guinea worm. Polio exists mainly on the Pakistani-Afghan border and in northern Nigeria. Both are conflict zones, where vaccine workers risk their lives to immunize children. “The last part of eradicating any disease is always the hardest part,” Nabarro said during a visit to VOA. “If you don’t do it, you lose everything. To do it, you’ve got to really bring all the energy and commitment... Читать дальше...

Dr. David Nabarro says he wants to rid the world of two diseases that are close to being eradicated: polio and guinea worm. During a visit to VOA, he also said he wants to work to end malaria if he becomes the next head of the World Health Organization. This is the first time candidates will be elected to become director-general of WHO. VOA's Carol Pearson has more.