Новости за 31.05.2017

Populist leader Aleksandar Vucic was sworn in as Serbia's president on Wednesday, pledging to work for peace and stability in the war-weary Balkans while strengthening the country's armed forces. Hours before the oath in parliament, Vucic's supporters clashed with opposition groups that were prevented from protesting in downtown Belgrade. Opposition groups said there were no injuries. Later on Wednesday, a few thousand people joined an opposition protest against Vucic. Carrying banners that read “not our president” or “against dictatorship... Читать дальше...

A massive suicide truck bombing rocked a highly secured diplomatic area of Kabul on Wednesday morning, killing 90 people and wounding as many as 400. The attack left a scene of mayhem and destruction in the Afghan capital. A look at some of the lingering questions after the attack:   How was this possible? Investigators will seek to understand how insurgents managed to get an explosives-packed tanker truck into one of the best-protected areas of Kabul. The Wazir Akbar Khan district is home... Читать дальше...

With Turkey facing strained relations with most of its neighbors and allies, Ankara is deepening ties with Israel in a rare bright spot.  Diplomatic relations collapsed in 2010 after Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish citizens on a boat seeking to break Israel's economic blockade of Gaza. A reconciliation deal reached last year has opened the door to a resumption in relations that could pose a threat to Iran's regional aspirations. “Almost every day there is a certain bilateral activity, either... Читать дальше...

The White House spokesman, during a truncated, off-camera briefing Wednesday, brushed aside a question about a report that fired FBI Director James Comey plans to testify publicly that President Donald Trump pressured him to end an investigation into a top Trump aide's ties to Russia. "We are focused on the president's agenda," White House press secretary Sean Spicer answered. "Going forward, all questions on these matters will be referred to outside counsel Marc Kasowitz."  The New York City... Читать дальше...

Brazil's scandal-plagued President Michel Temer has gained some breathing room from an incipient economic recovery and the failure of his allies to agree on a caretaker to keep his fiscal reforms on track if he is ousted. Temer, who is being investigated for corruption by the Supreme Court, went on the offensive this week to convince Brazilians he is their best bet to pull the nation from its worst recession. But his coalition allies are divided on whether it is best to dump the damaged president quickly... Читать дальше...

Immigrants from around South America hoping to seek their fortunes in the continent's copper mining capital of Antofagasta, Chile, are instead finding poverty, exclusion and a precarious home in the city's growing temporary slums. Chile, one of Latin America's most developed countries, has become a magnet in recent years for immigrants from poorer and less stable parts of the region, especially Haiti, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. Many are attracted to this northern Chile city... Читать дальше...

A guitar that Jerry Garcia played everywhere from San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom to Egypt's Great Pyramids is headed to auction on Wednesday night. The Grateful Dead frontman's guitar — named Wolf — will be offered at the Brooklyn Bowl, a bowling alley, restaurant and music venue. The proceeds are earmarked for the Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center. The guitar is being sold by devoted Deadhead Daniel Pritzker, a philanthropist, musician and film director who bought the instrument in 2002 for $790,000. Читать дальше...

After months of testing, a hospital in Syria will have uninterrupted power from this week, charged by solar power in a project designers hope will save lives and can be repeated across the country. Syria's electrical grid has taken a big hit after six years of a volatile civil war with most the electrical infrastructure bombed, dismantled or destroyed, leaving hospitals relying on diesel generators but at the mercy of fuel shortages. So the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM)... Читать дальше...

A Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur safely landed back in Melbourne, where it had taken off, after a passenger attempted to enter the cockpit late Wednesday. In air traffic control audio posted online, a male voice can be heard saying a passenger "claiming to have an explosive device, tried to enter the cockpit, has been overpowered by passengers." The disruptive passenger, a Sri Lankan national, was apparently drunk and claimed to have a bomb, but it was a powerbank charging device, Malaysia's... Читать дальше...

China's Prime Minister Li Keqiang arrived in Berlin on Wednesday at the start of a European tour, poised to jump into the global climate change leadership gap left by U.S. President Donald Trump's impending withdrawal from the Paris climate pact. China's number two official was received with military honors at Chancellor Angela Merkel's office, becoming the second leader of a rising Asian giant to visit in as many days after India's Narendra Modi. The flurry of visits comes as concern grows in... Читать дальше...

Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders on Wednesday approved a proposal calling for the oil company to disclose the impact on its business of compliance with global climate change guidelines, an issue at the heart of a probe by two state attorneys general. A preliminary tally showed the nonbinding proposal passed with 62.3 percent of ballots cast, the world's largest publicly traded oil company said. The sizable increase over last year's 38 percent support for a similar report signaled the nonbinding proposal... Читать дальше...

Venezuela’s political, economic and social breakdown is getting a hard look from the international community on Wednesday, with the Organization of American States considering solutions at a special meeting in Washington and the European Parliament doing the same, hours earlier, in Brussels. Both groups are trying to help restore peace and stability in the South American country, reeling from two months of often violent protest against left-leaning President Nicolás Maduro. At least 60 people... Читать дальше...

At least five Kenyan security personnel were killed Wednesday after an improvised explosive device bomb hit their vehicle in coastal Lamu County, security sources say. The explosion occurred as the officers traveled on a road between Baure and Milimani in Lamu East, officials said. James Olesirian, director of security operations in the Boni forest, an area used by militants to launch attacks in Lamu, confirmed the incident to VOA's Somali Service. “Today at about 8:30 a.m. there was a security... Читать дальше...

A court in Bahrain ordered the country's last main opposition group dissolved and its property confiscated Wednesday in the latest blow to reformers and dissenting voices in the Middle Eastern island nation. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said the political society known as Waad planned to appeal the ruling. Waad confirmed the court order for its dissolution on its official Twitter account. The Justice Ministry had launched proceedings to dissolve the 15-year-old group, alleging that Waad incited acts of terrorism... Читать дальше...

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

Kenya has launched a new railway service that will cut travel time between Nairobi and the port city of Mombasa in half. Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and a number of Chinese and Kenyan officials were aboard the train Wednesday for its inaugural run from Mombasa to the capital. The standard-gauge railway was built with the help of loans from the Chinese government.  Chinese companies also built the line and supplied locomotives. “This is a historic moment we are witnessing today because this... Читать дальше...

People smugglers make about $35 billion a year worldwide and they are driving the tragedy of migrants who die trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe, the head of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told Reuters on Wednesday. Increasing numbers of desperate migrants fleeing from Africa and elsewhere due to conflicts and humanitarian crises are dying as they attempt to reach Europe via Libya, coaxed to do so by smugglers as they wait in detention centers. The death toll... Читать дальше...

Mzee Boniface Byanyima, served Uganda as the longest-serving Democratic Party National Chairperson. He is considered an icon who pushed for multiparty representation. Byanyima died in May at age 97. In this Straight Talk Africa" host Shaka Ssali is joined by Mzee's daughter Edith Byanyima, Paul Ssemogerere, fmr President of the Ugandan Democratic Party, Remigius Kintu Chairman of Uganda National Front and Milton Allimadi, Publisher of Black Star News.

Canadian politicians and refugee advocates urged the government on Wednesday to scrap a U.S. pact that has spurred asylum seekers to cross the border illegally after a woman trying to walk into Canada was found dead of possible hypothermia. U.S. police said they discovered the woman's body on Friday near Noyes, Minnesota, which is directly across from the Canadian border town of Emerson where asylum seekers have been crossing in recent months. "This is exactly what we have feared," said New Democrat parliamentarian Jenny Kwan. Читать дальше...

Peter Bol Wal, 35, lost his left leg below the knee during fighting against Sudan in 1994. He now lives in a United Nations protection of civilians site in the South Sudanese capital of Juba, where he says life is not easy. "You know, before when the conflict erupted, it was a bit better because the disabled person is not like [an] able person," Bol said. "Now, when the things become tough, it is difficult for a person with disabilities to cope with this situation and to survive in the way that other people struggle for their lives... Читать дальше...

When Rajnish Dhall's driver wanted to borrow money to buy a home, Dhall suggested he go to a bank. But without proof of income or tax returns to show his credentials, the driver said no bank would lend to him. It was the start of a whole new business for Dhall, a former banker whose firm aims to help the hundreds of millions of informal workers who make up the bulk of India's labor force. They are the newly emerging home-owning class. "My driver was earning a steady income and could have paid back the loan easily... Читать дальше...

Two U.S. aircraft carriers have started military exercises together in the Sea of Japan, U.S. Navy officials tell VOA. "The USS Carl Vinson Strike Group and USS Ronald Reagan Strike Group are conducting routine operations in the Western Pacific," Navy spokesman Lt. Loren Terry said. Officials said the carriers, along with the ships and aircraft assigned to each, began dual operations in international waters within the sea on Wednesday. The dual-carrier exercises come days after North Korea launched another missile into the Sea of Japan. Читать дальше...

A Russian court ruled on Wednesday against Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in a defamation lawsuit brought by one of Russia's richest businessmen, ordering a popular online video detailing the offending allegations to be redacted. Navalny, who says he plans to run in next year's presidential election, has emerged as a major irritant for the Kremlin after thousands of people across Russia attended anti-graft protests he organized in March. A former lawyer, he has revived some Russians' interest... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump again assailed the congressional probes into his campaign's links to Russia on Wednesday, claiming opposition Democrats were blocking the testimony of one of his former aides looking to clear his name. "Witch Hunt!" Trump declared in one comment on his Twitter account. Trump said, without citing evidence, that Democrats on the House intelligence committee "don't want" Carter Page, a former campaign adviser whose ties to Moscow officials are under investigation, to testify. Читать дальше...

South African ministers ceded to mounting political pressure by dismissing an ally of President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday, in an effort to mend deep rifts in the ruling African National Congress ahead of a party leadership contest. State power utility Eskom was told to remove chief executive Brian Molefe "for the best interests" of the country after members of the ANC criticized his reinstatement just two weeks ago, given he resigned last year amid allegations of graft. Zuma has come under increasing calls to resign... Читать дальше...