Новости за 14.06.2017

Facebook said Wednesday that it would soon allow its U.S. users to raise and donate money using its "Safety Check" feature, to make it easier for people affected by natural disasters and violent attacks to receive help. "Safety Check," launched in 2014, allows Facebook users to notify friends that they are safe. The feature was used for the first time in the United States last year after a gunman massacred 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The fundraising tool in "Safety Check" will... Читать дальше...

Lebanon is likely to hold long-delayed elections in May 2018, ministers said on Wednesday, after the Cabinet approved a new law for a legislative vote that has spared the country a major political crisis. Recent disputes over an election law that is at the heart of the nation's sectarian political system had pushed Lebanon to the brink of crisis, threatening to leave it without a parliament for the first time. The new law will extend parliament's term by almost a year until next May, avoiding... Читать дальше...

There's not much middle ground on broccoli — people either love it or hate it. U.S. President George H.W. Bush, for instance, was not a fan. "I do not like broccoli," he famously said. "And I have not liked it since I was a little kid.  And my mother made me eat it.  And I am president of the United States.  And I am not going to eat any more broccoli." But there's no denying that it's a superfood. And today, there's one more reason to love it: A compound found in broccoli appears to be at... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved an amendment that would strengthen sanctions against Russia as a punishment for its campaign to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The provision also would require congressional review if the White House decides to relax, suspend or terminate sanctions already in place. The bipartisan agreement came in the form of an amendment to legislation the Senate already is considering on sanctions for Iran. That legislation is expected to... Читать дальше...

A major fire broke out at Mexican state oil producer Pemex's Salina Cruz refinery on Wednesday after a crude spill, injuring nine people and extending the shutdown of the plant into a second day, the company said. The blaze began in the pump house of Salina Cruz, Mexico's largest refinery, on Wednesday morning, and the company was working to put it out, a Pemex spokeswoman said. A Pemex spokesman said the fire had not yet reached the refinery's nearby massive storage tanks, adding that efforts were under way to prevent that from happening. Читать дальше...

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says he believes the Trump administration can continue to carry out American foreign policy goals despite massive proposed funding cuts to diplomacy programs and foreign aid. President Donald Trump's proposed budget for 2018 would slash State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) spending by 32 percent, but Tillerson said the amount of funding doesn't necessarily correlate with the results achieved. Congress is responsible for setting... Читать дальше...

Critics denounced Poland's prime minister for making comments during a memorial observance at Auschwitz on Wednesday that appeared to defend her tough anti-migrant policies, saying her words were inappropriate given the location. Beata Szydlo said that “in today's restless times, Auschwitz is a great lesson showing that everything must be done to protect the safety and life of one's citizens.” The remark was widely understood as a defense of her conservative government's refusal to accept refugees... Читать дальше...

Researchers have identified an "Achilles heel" in the malaria parasite — a weakness that could stop the mosquito-borne infection in its tracks. The discovery offers the possibility of a cure, as well as a way to halt transmission.  The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, uses a protein to infect red blood cells. By blocking the protein, called PfAP2-I, the malaria parasite can't enter the cells where it replicates billions of times before bursting forth into the bloodstream, according to researchers. Читать дальше...

At least seven people were killed Wednesday when suspected al-Shabab militants attacked a busy restaurant in the Somali capital popular with diaspora and government staff. Witnesses say the attackers set off a car bomb outside the Posh Treats restaurant and then sent a group of armed militants inside. “We heard a huge deafening explosion and saw a flash of light. Then, after 30 seconds gunfire ensued inside the restaurant," a witness told VOA's Somali Service. A reporter for VOA who went to... Читать дальше...

Airstrikes carried out by a U.S.-led coalition have killed a "staggering" number of civilians in Raqqa, Syria, a United Nations investigator said Wednesday. With the help of coalition airstrikes, U.S.-backed ground forces entered the city, Islamic State's stronghold in Syria, last week. “We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF [Syrian Democratic Forces] advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but... Читать дальше...

Pakistan's military chief is sharply criticizing a suspected U.S. drone strike that killed two key Haqqani network commanders in northwestern Pakistan earlier this week. Pakistani security sources said Tuesday's pre-dawn missile attack destroyed a suspected militant hideout in the remote district of Hangu. The strike, witnesses reported, killed two men, including commander Abubakar of the notorious, Taliban-allied network. A Pentagon spokesman told VOA on Wednesday that the U.S. Department... Читать дальше...

The top Republican and Democratic leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives, often at sharp odds over contentious government policies, joined Wednesday in a common plea for humanity in the immediate aftermath of a gunman's attack on a congressman and four others at a baseball field. “We are united, we are united in our shock, we are united in our anguish. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us,” House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Republican leader, told a hushed and packed chamber hours after the shooting in nearby Alexandria... Читать дальше...

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court on Wednesday called for the arrest and surrender of Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, who is wanted on war crimes charges for allegedly suppressing opposition to the rule of his father, former Libya ruler Moammar Gadhafi. On Sunday, Saif al-Islam's lawyer said his client had been released under an amnesty law passed by parliament from prison in the eastern Libyan town of Zintan, where he had been held since 2011. ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a... Читать дальше...

Zambia's parliament has suspended 48 opposition lawmakers for boycotting a speech by President Edgar Lungu earlier this year, a sign of mounting tensions as the jailed opposition leader awaits trial on a treason charge. For the next 30 days, the 48 opposition lawmakers will not be allowed to attend parliamentary sessions. The move will effectively kneecap many parliamentary committees, which will no longer form a quorum since 48 of the nation's 166 lawmakers will be out of commission. And politically... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump announced that the gunman suspected of shooting Republican Congressman Steve Scalise and several others Wednesday outside Washington has died from injuries sustained in a shootout with law enforcement officers. The president spoke to reporters at the White House just hours after Scalise was shot in Alexandria, Virginia, just south of Washington, while Scalise and other Republican congressional lawmakers and aides were practicing for an annual charity baseball game. The 51-year-old... Читать дальше...

Top officials of the U.S. central bank raised the benchmark interest rate slightly on Wednesday, as the recovering economy no longer seems to need quite as much of the boost it gets from ultra-low rates. The Federal Reserve raised its short-term rate a quarter of a percent, to a range between one and 1.25 percent.   To cope with the recession that started in 2007, the Fed cut interest rates nearly to zero, a record low, in a bid to cut the cost of borrowing and encourage economic activity and cut unemployment. Читать дальше...

In defiance of a court ruling, Egypt's parliament voted on Wednesday to ratify a disputed 2016 agreement that would transfer two strategic Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia.   The vote, in which lawmakers in favor were asked to stand up, came shortly after the 596-seat chamber opened a debate on the pact earlier in the day. The outcome was a foregone conclusion since the legislature is packed with supporters of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi, whose government signed the deal when Saudi King Salman visited last year. Читать дальше...

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

Shaka Ssali discusses Africa women empowerment with Julian B. Kiganda, Founder, Bold and Fearless, Monipel Owusua Ansong, 2016-2017 Hubert Humphrey Fellow, Cornell University, and Louise Uwacu, Author, Host and Executive Producer, U&I TV Talk Show.

Members of the New York Army National Guard will gather at its upstate headquarters to mark the 242nd birthday of the United States Army. Wednesday afternoon's ceremony will be held at the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs facility in the Albany suburb of Latham. State officials say the traditional cake-cutting ceremony for the Army's birthday will feature one of the oldest soldiers and one of the youngest soldiers in the National Guard: Lt. Col. James Freehart, who has 36 years in the military, and 18-year-old Pfc. Читать дальше...

At the moment, nothing is airing on Taranga FM; the office is dark. Power has been cut for 48 hours and even the generator has stopped working. This popular community radio in the outskirts of Gambia's capital, Banjul, is used to challenges. Its troubles started in 2008, when Taranga FM began broadcasting local press reviews in the Wolof, Mandinka and Fula languages. "We are the first radio station in The Gambia to make sure that we review all newspapers irrespective of their ideology," said Biram S. Читать дальше...

Steve Scalise, a Republican congressman from Louisiana and House Majority Whip was shot and wounded during a baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington, on June 14, 2017. Gabrielle Giffords, former Democrat congresswoman from Arizona, was shot in the head in 2011 in her Tuscon district during a constituency meeting. She survived the attack and has gone on to become an active voice against gun violence in the U.S. Leo Ryan, a Democrat congressman from California, was shot... Читать дальше...

A man dressed in a UPS uniform and armed with an "assault pistol" opened fire at a United Parcel Service package sorting hub in San Francisco, killing three people before turning the gun on himself, police said. Police did not identify the suspect or say if he was a UPS employee. They told a news conference the incident was not terrorism-related and they recovered two firearms from the scene. Two other people were shot and have been taken to an area hospital, police said. The shooter and the victims were all drivers... Читать дальше...

As the political instability in Britain continues, pollsters say last week’s election appears to have marked a watershed moment. Young people voted in big numbers – with some estimates suggesting turnout soared from 44 percent in 2015 to as much as 72 percent this year – and most voted for the left-wing Labour party. Activists say they have taken inspiration from other political movements across the globe. Ben Noble and James Fox work at a radio station in Brighton. Outside work hours, they are committed Labour party activists. Читать дальше...

Workers hired to build stadiums and other structures in preparation for the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup and 2018 World Cup in Moscow face exploitation and labor abuses, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday. Russian workers, many of whom migrated internally, and migrant workers from neighboring countries both reported unpaid or delayed wages, work in conditions as cold as -25° C, and the failure of their employers to provide work contracts required for legal employment, the watch dog said. “FIFA’s... Читать дальше...