Новости за 15.06.2017

Lawmakers concerned about curbing pollution and a warming planet gave a cool reception to President Donald Trump's environmental chief on Thursday as he defended the administration's proposal to sharply reduce the budget of his own agency. Scott Pruitt, the administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency, appeared before a House Appropriations subcommittee as it weighs Trump's budget, which seeks to slash funding at the agency by nearly one-third while eliminating more than 3,800 jobs. ... Читать дальше...

The Chinese travel company that arranged a tour to North Korea for an American student who was jailed and injured there specializes in “destinations your mother would rather you stay away from,” according to its website. Young Pioneer Tours, based in Xi'an, China, describes itself as “safe and fun.” Photos from the tour company’s website and Facebook page show selfies of happy, smiling, young Westerners in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Fred Warmbier, the father of Otto Warmbier, 22, who... Читать дальше...

French President Emmanuel Macron laid out his vision for a digital future on Thursday, saying he wants France to undergo a revolution so that it becomes a country that "thinks and moves like a startup." Speaking at the Viva Technology conference in Paris, Macron repeated he wanted to reform labor laws to give more decision-making powers to companies and lower corporate tax. The state should act as an enabler — not a constraint — for innovators and entrepreneurs, he said. The French president... Читать дальше...

Chilean authorities began a fresh drill on Thursday to try to locate two miners who went missing a week ago when the mine in which they were working was flooded. A landslide on Friday at a section of the Delia mine, part of Canadian-listed Mandalay Resources' Cerro Bayo gold and silver complex in Chile's southern Aysen region, sparked the flooding from a nearby lake. The two missing miners have been identified as Enrique Ojeda and Jorge Sanchez. Authorities have not made contact with them and... Читать дальше...

Former Guatemalan Vice President Roxana Baldetti said on Thursday she is willing to face down criminal charges in the United States, a week after U.S. prosecutors sought her extradition for alleged drug trafficking and other offenses. "I'm going to show my face in the United States, and am prepared to present myself to resolve my situation," Baldetti told a hearing addressing the U.S. extradition request via video link. At the hearing, Baldetti, who is already in prison in Guatemala, where she... Читать дальше...

A phone app is helping doctors have difficult conversations with patients about lowering doses of opioids. Primary care doctors prescribe nearly half the opioids dispensed in the U.S. They're increasingly being called upon to stem the flow of the highly addictive pills into medicine cabinets. That means writing lower-dose or shorter-term prescriptions for some patients, helping others taper off high doses and refusing opioids entirely to others. The shift enrages some patients. "People will blow up. Читать дальше...

Residents of northern Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve, an area of lush jungle and historical ruins, are far better at protecting the forest from fires when they have formal land rights, researchers said Thursday. The 2.1 million-hectare (5.2 million-acre) nature reserve in northern Guatemala is under threat from forest fires, drug traffickers and cattle barons, researchers said in a study. Using satellite images, researchers analyzed the severity of this year's forest fires on reserve land... Читать дальше...

The fate of Romania's government hung in the balance on Thursday with Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu refusing to resign in a political crisis that threatens to undermine a sweeping tax overhaul. Grindeanu's leftist Social Democrat Party (PSD) withdrew its support for his cabinet late on Wednesday, saying he was not implementing the coalition government's program. It plans to file a no-confidence motion against him in parliament on Monday along with its junior coalition partner ALDE. The no-confidence vote will be scheduled for Wednesday... Читать дальше...

The electronic bleeps and squawks of “Tetris,” “Donkey Kong” and other generation-shaping games that you may never have thought of as musical are increasingly likely to be playing at a philharmonic concert hall near you. From the “ping ... ping”  of Atari's 1972 ground-breaking paddle game “Pong,” the sounds, infectious ditties and, with time, fully-formed orchestral scores that are an essential part of the sensory thrill for gamers have formed a musical universe. With its own culture, sub-cultures and fans... Читать дальше...

A suicide bomber blew himself up inside a crowded Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Afghanistan's capital late Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding many others. Islamic State, through its global mouthpiece the Amal News Agency, claimed responsibility for the bombing. Witnesses at Kabul's Al Zahra mosque reported that police guards identified and tried to intercept the bomber, but he opened fire at them and forced his way into the worship place. Relatives and friends confirmed that a prominent... Читать дальше...

A senior constitutional panel in Egypt has concluded that two courts, which ruled to annul an agreement to transfer control of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, acted within their jurisdiction.     The panel's report, published Thursday in Egyptian media, defies Egypt's parliament, which the previous day overwhelmingly backed the 2016 deal on the islands transfer. It also signals the start of what is potentially a destabilizing legal battle between the judiciary and the legislative branch of government. Читать дальше...

Facebook has revealed it is using artificial intelligence in its ongoing fight to prevent terrorist propaganda from being disseminated on its platform. “We want to find terrorist content immediately, before people in our community have seen it,” read the message posted Thursday. “Already, the majority of accounts we remove for terrorism we find ourselves. But we know we can do better at using technology — and specifically artificial intelligence — to stop the spread of terrorist content on Facebook.”... Читать дальше...

A bid by Iraqi Kurds to achieve independence could threaten a partnership with neighboring Turkey. "The [referendum] decision by the northern Iraqi authority deeply saddened us," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his ruling AKP lawmakers this past Tuesday. "A step toward the independence of northern Iraq is a threat to the territorial integrity of Iraq, and it is wrong," he added. Erdogan has built a close, if not unlikely, relationship with Masoud Barzani, president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional government... Читать дальше...

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

Campaigning is under way in Kenya for the much anticipated August elections. On the sidewalk near Nairobi City Hall, you can find the Bunge la Wazalendo, or People's Parliament, meeting morning, noon and night. This group is one of a few that meet in Nairobi's city center. They discuss a variety of important issues and, of course, the upcoming elections. "Actually, we talk about the high cost of living, and we also talk about our top leadership," said Margaret Anyango Wayona, a social justice activist. Читать дальше...

New data show the U.S. job market becoming a bit stronger, while credit card costs are increasing for American consumers. Thursday's report from the Labor Department says the number of newly-laid off workers signing up for assistance fell 8,000 last week to a nationwide total of 237,000. Experts say any level below 300,000 indicates strong demand for workers and a healthy job market.  Jobless claims have been under this benchmark now for well over two years, the longest streak since 1970. On Wednesday... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Senate voted 98-2 Thursday to approve sweeping sanctions against Russia and make it harder for President Donald Trump to ease punitive measures against Moscow. “We have no time to waste,” said Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. “The United States of America needs to send a strong message to [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and any other aggressor that we will not tolerate attacks on our democracy.” “We must not allow this kind of interference in our elections become a normal... Читать дальше...

Colombia's foreign minister said Thursday that the implementation of last year's peace agreement with leftist rebels, ending one of the world's bloodiest and longest-running armed conflicts, "has been more difficult" than expected.  Maria Angela Holguin reiterated in Oslo, Norway, that the government in Bogota is "deeply committed."   Almost since the accord was signed in November, the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has complained about foot-dragging in passing implementation legislation... Читать дальше...

Police in Washington have issued arrest warrants for 14 people, including Turkish security agents, for their alleged role in assaulting protesters outside the Turkish Embassy following a visit to the White House by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month. "Using video of the incident, law enforcement has been able to identify the majority of the suspects who were involved in the assault," Washington Metropolitan Police Chief Peter Newsham told a news conference Thursday. WATCH: DC Mayor on arrests... Читать дальше...

Campaigning is under way in Kenya for the much-anticipated August elections. For a preview of the top issues, VOA's Jill Crag visited the "People's Parliament" in Nairobi, and has this report.

Afghanistan’s intelligence chief said three suspects in a bombing in southern Afghanistan in January that killed several diplomats, including an ambassador, are now living in Pakistan.   Masoom Stanekzai, chief of the National Directorate of Security, said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), as well as the United Arab Emirates government assisted Afghanistan in the investigation into the attack on the Kandahar governor’s house that killed 11 people. Five of those were diplomats from the UAE... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered more money and a bigger role for private companies in designing apprenticeship programs meant to fill some of the 6 million open jobs in the U.S.   Trump signed an executive order to roughly double to $200 million the taxpayer money spent on learn-to-earn programs. The money would come from existing job training programs. The executive order would leave it to industry to design apprenticeships under broad standards to be set by the Labor Department. ... Читать дальше...

Last week, police in Mozambique warned bald men in the country to be vigilant, after at least two such men were killed for the use of their body parts in witchcraft rituals. According to local experts, widespread poverty is as much to blame for the killings as mystical belief. Sociologist Book Sambo, who lectures at Mozambique's Eduardo Mondlane University, said the attacks must be seen in a context where people are desperate to improve their lives, and willing to use "magic" in hopes of changing their luck. Читать дальше...

It’s one of the most contentious debates in anthropology today: Where did America’s first peoples come from — and when? The general scientific consensus is that a single wave of people crossed a long-vanished land bridge from Siberia into Alaska around 13,000 years ago. But some Native Americans are irked by the theory, which they say is simplistic and culturally biased. The first European explorers to reach the Americas looked to the Bible to explain the origins of the people they encountered... Читать дальше...

Carrying suitcases, shopping bags and toddlers, thousands of refugees walked back home into Syria from Turkey on Thursday ahead of the Eid festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Turkey has taken in some 3 million Syrian migrants since the start of civil war in 2011, making it home to the world's largest refugee population. Now Ankara is giving Syrian refugees the right to return to Turkey within a month if they want to go home to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday. ... Читать дальше...