Новости за 24.05.2017

Professional soccer player Lionel Messi has lost his Supreme Court appeal of a tax-fraud conviction in Spain. The court confirmed the 21-month prison sentence handed to Messi for defrauding tax authorities of 4.1 million euros ($4.6 million) in 2007-09. He is not expected to go to prison because sentences of less than two years for first offenses are usually suspended in Spain. The court maintained the 2 million-euro ($2.24 million) fine handed to the Argentina player in last year's trial. Messi's father... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East and Europe allowed him to escape the political turmoil in Washington for a time, but bad poll numbers seem to follow him no matter where he goes. A new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that 54 percent of those surveyed thought Trump was abusing the powers of his office. Forty-three percent disagreed. Trump's public approval rating stood at 37 percent, with 55 percent disapproving. The poll was the latest in a series of recent... Читать дальше...

Poland's prime minister on Wednesday cited this week's attack in Manchester, England, in which a Polish couple died, to reinforce her government's opposition to a European Union plan to share migrants. Beata Szydlo spoke ahead of a parliament vote in which the opposition sought in vain to oust Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz. She praised Macierewicz, saying he wanted a strong army capable of opposing threats that include terrorism. Citing security reasons, her populist government is rejecting... Читать дальше...

Mosul residents tell horror stories of living under Islamic State rule. The parents of Bakir Amir Qasim are grieving for their son, whom who they say IS killed for writing anti-IS slogans on school walls. VOA's Kawa Omar reports.

As local activists say caning as a punishment in Indonesia's Aceh province is increasing in use and severity, the public caning of two gay men is being questioned by some residents. Amnesty International has called the punishment, meted out by a religious court in the province which adheres to Sharia or Islamic law, a flagrant violation of international human rights law and says it "may amount to torture." Supriyadi Widodo Eddyono, the executive director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform... Читать дальше...

Thousands of civilians have set up tents on roadsides in northern Syria where refugee camps are overflowing with people fleeing Islamic State’s (IS) de facto capital Raqqa ahead of a U.S.-backed offensive. VOA’s Zana Omar reports.

The U.N.’s top official in South Sudan says President Salva Kiir has formally launched a long-awaited national dialogue and declared a unilateral cessation of hostilities. “While the National Dialogue could bring a welcome focus on reconciliation, for it to be credible, it will need the genuine participation of opposition constituencies,” David Shearer told the U.N. Security Council via a video link Wednesday from Juba.  “Meanwhile, opposition groups have come together around a common position... Читать дальше...

International and national pressure is growing on Ankara over the fate of two protesters in the 76th day of a hunger strike. Teacher Semih Ozakca and Professor Nuriye Gulmen are fasting over the loss of their jobs as part of an ongoing nationwide government purge following July’s failed coup attempt. The two hunger strikers were arrested early Monday and charged as members of a terrorist organization. Sixty two members of the European Parliament condemned their arrest in a letter to Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag... Читать дальше...

Pakistan says U.N. military observers visiting its side of the disputed Kashmir border came under attack Wednesday from the Indian troops, but were not hurt. The world body has stationed its mission in the region called U.N. Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan, or UNMOGIP, which observes and reports cease-fire violations across the Line of Control that divides the Himalayan territory between the two nuclear-armed rival nations. A Pakistan army statement said a vehicle “with blue UNMOGIP... Читать дальше...

Ahead of meetings this week with NATO leaders, President Donald Trump called terrorism the "number one" problem facing the world and said "tremendous progress" was being made in the fight against it. Trump, while meeting Wednesday with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel in Brussels, said the U.S. and NATO would work on "various problems," but he pointed at the suicide bombing Monday in Britain and noted that terrorism was at the top of the list. "When you see something like that ... you realize how important it is to win this fight. Читать дальше...

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the World Health Organization’s newly elected director-general, says health as a human right is at the core of his vision for the organization he soon will lead. The former Ethiopian health and foreign minister is the first African chosen to head the organization, which was created 69 years ago.   After a long, bruising campaign that began in 2015, Tedros beat out two other contenders, David Nabarro of Britain and Pakistani physician Sania Nishtar, for the post by... Читать дальше...

A non-partisan U.S. government estimate of the impact of a Republican health care bill could project that millions of Americans will be left without health insurance over a 10-year period. The Congressional Budget Office will release its analysis of the House-passed bill on Wednesday, giving the public an estimate of the impact the measure would have on health coverage, premiums and the nation's budget. The bill, narrowly approved by a 217 to 213 vote on May 4, is the latest attempt to dismantle... Читать дальше...

Instagram and Snapchat are the worst social media platform for young people’s mental health, and YouTube is the most positive, a new study suggests. The ranking comes in a report from the British Royal Society for Public Health, which ranked the sites’ impact on young people. “Social media has been described as more addictive than cigarettes and alcohol, and is now so entrenched in the lives of young people that it is no longer possible to ignore it when talking about young people’s mental health issues,” said Shirley Cramer... Читать дальше...

Shaka Ssali and his guests examine the significance of Africa Day, the creation of the African Union and the state of politics on the continent. He is joined by Arikana Chihombori-Quao, Ambassador of the African Union to the United States, Awet T. Weldemichael, Professor of History at Queens University in Kingston, Canada and Kumi Naidoo, Director of Africans Rising from Durban in South Africa.

Shaka Ssali and his guests examine the significance of Africa Day, the creation of the African Union and the state of politics on the continent. He is joined by Arikana Chihombori-Quao, Ambassador African Union to the United States, Awet T. Weldemichael, Professor of History, Queens University, Kingston, Canada and Kumi Naidoo, Director of Africans Rising.

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

On May 24 in 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge opened, connecting two of New York City's five boroughs — Manhattan and Brooklyn — for the first time in history. The iconic steel-suspension bridge spanned 486.3 meters (1,595 feet) over New York’s East River, thanks to the pioneering work of German designer John Roebling. At the time, it was the largest suspension bridge ever built. It also was the safest due to Roebling’s technological breakthrough: a web truss built on each side of the roadway along the bridge... Читать дальше...

Drug smugglers trying to tap into the United States’ highly profitable market have developed all kinds of secretive routes to deliver their illicit goods. One tactic is to go underground. At the U.S.-Mexico border, tunnels are a popular means of transporting illegal marijuana – a bulky drug whose distinctive odor makes it hard to get past drug-sniffing dogs and other security at border checkpoints and airports. Since 1990, more than 220 tunnels have been discovered there, including 60 in the area... Читать дальше...

A brother and father of the alleged Manchester suicide bomber have been arrested in Libya, according to a spokesman for the country’s anti-terror force. Security spokesman Ahmed bin Salem said alleged bomber Salman Abedi’s younger brother, Hashim, was arrested in Tripoli Tuesday. Bin Salem told the Reuters news agency the two brothers had been in contact recently, and Hashim knew of the attack plans. "We have evidence that he is involved in Daesh (Islamic State) with his brother. We have been... Читать дальше...

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has promised to donate $1 million to support press freedom, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press announced Tuesday. "This generous gift will help us continue to grow, to offer our legal and educational support to many more news organizations, and to expand our services to independent journalists, nonprofit newsrooms and documentary filmmakers," Reporters Committee Chairman David Boardman said. "We'll also be better positioned to help local newsrooms, the places... Читать дальше...

While newly-appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller gets to work investigating Russian meddling in last year's U.S. presidential election and any coordination between Moscow and the Trump campaign, the Senate Intelligence Committee is continuing a probe of its own. President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, is squarely in the committee's sights. Trump fired Flynn in February amid reports that Flynn had lied to Vice President Mike Pence about his contacts with Russia's ambassador to the United States. Читать дальше...

Gunmen have kidnapped two Chinese citizens in southwestern Pakistan, where Beijing is investing billions of dollars to help build a trade route linking the two countries. Authorities said the assailants intercepted a car carrying three Chinese, including two women, Wednesday in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province A provincial government spokesman, Anwaar ul Haq Kakar, told VOA the armed men seized the foreigners and tried to force them into their own vehicle when a scuffle broke out.... Читать дальше...

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded China’s credit rating Wednesday - from Aa3 (Double A-3) to A1 – saying it expects China’s economy to erode in coming years as growth slows and its debt burden continues to rise. The downgrade comes as the government faces new financial challenges after years of credit-fueled stimulus. Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at foreign exchange firm Oanda, said the credit downgrade comes as no surprise. “Because talk of Chinese debt and concerns about the size of... Читать дальше...

South Africa grabbed international attention earlier this year with images of angry demonstrators attacking foreign residents and their businesses. This type of xenophobic violence, analysts say, is largely driven by high unemployment, inequality and frustration with the government’s failure to provide everyone with basic services.   But like those enduring challenges, xenophobic attacks are also proving hard to wipe out. The nation has seen eruptions of major anti-foreigner violence in 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, and earlier this year. Читать дальше...

Violent attacks on foreign residents have grabbed headlines in South Africa in recent years, with graphic scenes of looting and angry, anti-immigrant protests dominating coverage. But foreign residents of the Rainbow Nation say the headlines obscure a sobering fact: Xenophobic violence never has really gone away here. VOA's Anita Powell spent time with members of Johannesburg's Somali community to learn more.