Новости за 21.06.2017

Iran’s missile strike this week against Islamic State targets in Syria is escalating its military involvement in Syria and likely will heighten tensions between the U.S.-led coalition and Russian and Iranian forces aligned with the Syrian regime, analysts say. The strike — the first time Iran fired missiles outside its borders in 30 years — was meant as retaliation for the IS-claimed twin terror attacks in Tehran on June 7 that killed 17 people and wounded more than 50, Iranian officials said.... Читать дальше...

Islamic State militants blew up on Wednesday the Grand al-Nuri Mosque of Mosul and its famous leaning minaret, an Iraqi military statement said. It was from this medieval mosque that the militants' leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi declared a self-styled ''caliphate'' spanning parts of Syria and Iraq three years ago. Islamic State's Amaq news agency accused American aircraft of destroying the mosque. "The Daesh [Islamic State] terror gangs committed another historical crime by blowing up the al-Nuri... Читать дальше...

One of the biggest icebergs on record is like a "niggling tooth" about to snap off Antarctica and will be an extra hazard for ships around the frozen continent as it breaks up, scientists said on Wednesday. An area of the Larsen C ice shelf, about as big as the U.S. state of Delaware or the Indonesian island of Bali, is connected by just 13 km (8 miles) of ice after a crack has crept about 175 kms along the sheet, with a new jump last month. "It's keeping us all on tenterhooks," Andrew Fleming... Читать дальше...

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered weekend missile strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria, Revolutionary Guards said, contradicting a previous report that they were authorized by the country's security council. The Guards fired six mid-range surface to surface missiles from western Iran into Syria's Deir al Zour province on Sunday night, the first attack of its kind carried out by the Islamic Republic in years. The Guards statement, published on Wednesday by Sepah News, ran... Читать дальше...

More than 1,000 children have been killed in Iraq since 2014, when IS militants swept into the country, claiming territories, including Mosul and other major cities, according to the United Nations Children's Fund, or UNICEF. More then 5 million children are in need of emergency humanitarian relief.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Saudi Arabia and its allies have prepared a list of demands for Qatar, and he emphasized the United States looks forward to the diplomatic dispute between the Gulf states "moving toward a resolution." "We hope the list of demands will soon be presented to Qatar and will be reasonable and actionable," Tillerson said in a statement. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates imposed measures to isolate Qatar two weeks ago, causing the worst Gulf Arab crisis in years. Читать дальше...

Global liquor behemoth Diageo said Wednesday it will pay up to $1 billion to buy a tequila brand co-founded by movie star George Clooney.   Clooney founded the Casamigos brand four years ago with partners Rande Gerber and Mike Meldma.   Diageo said it will pay $700 million for Casamigos at first, and then pay another $300 million over 10 years if the brand reaches certain performance milestones.   London-based Diageo's other brands include Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Captain Morgan.   Clooney and Gerber... Читать дальше...

May was Mexico's bloodiest month in at least 20 years and homicides are up sharply in 2017 compared with last year, according to newly released government crime statistics. Statistics published Tuesday by the Interior Department said that 2,186 people were murdered last month. The previous monthly high was 2,131 in May 2011, according to a review of publicly available records that date back to 1997. During the first five months of 2017, there were 9,916 murders nationwide —  an increase of about... Читать дальше...

Some of the biggest names in British music, including Stormzy, Robbie Williams and The Who, released a charity single on Wednesday to raise funds for people affected by the fire at a tower block in west London. The song, a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” also features performances from Leona Lewis, James Blunt and a large choir made up of local people, some of whom survived the blaze. Many people remain missing A total of 79 people died in the fire, which swept... Читать дальше...

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

President Donald Trump is headed Wednesday to the Midwestern farm state of Iowa, where he is scheduled to tour an agricultural program at a community college and then hold a political rally. It is his first visit to the rural state in the U.S. heartland since he won it in last November's election on his way to a four-year term in the White House. Trump has made several forays to states that he won over Democrat Hillary Clinton for political rallies reminiscent of his 2016 campaign. Trump, who... Читать дальше...

The British government plans to introduce a public advocate who will act for bereaved families after any disaster, it announced Wednesday, a week after a catastrophic fire killed 79 people at a social housing tower block in London. The government response to the Grenfell Tower blaze has been widely criticized, with complaints from bereaved families and people who lost their homes that official agencies gave them no information or support. "The purpose of the Independent Public Advocate is to... Читать дальше...

Shaka Ssali discusses Kenya’s upcoming elections with David Ohito, Digital Editor, The Standard Media Group, Jeremiah Mbui, Former Kenyan Parliamentary Candidate Meru District, Ali Badawy, NASA North America Spokesman, and with Roselyn K. Akombe, Commissioner, Kenyan Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Lockheed Martin Corp said on Wednesday it had won a $104 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop, produce and field a threat simulator to train combat aircrews to recognize and deal with rapidly evolving threats, such as surface-to-air missiles. Tim Cahill, vice president of air and missile defense systems for Lockheed, said a number of other countries had already expressed interest in the  Advanced Radar Threat System Variant 2, and talks could begin soon on possible sales. Cahill did not estimate the volume of possible future sales... Читать дальше...

The gunman who shot and wounded Congressman Steve Scalise in an attack on Republican lawmakers last week acted alone and did not post any online threats to members of Congress, FBI officials said Wednesday. The gunman, James Hodgkinson, 66, of Belleville, Illinois, was shot dead by Capitol Police officers last week after opening fire on lawmakers practicing for an annual Congressional baseball game in Alexandria, Virginia. Four other people were wounded in the incident. An FBI statement Wednesday said items found on Hodgkinson... Читать дальше...

An airport in the Midwestern state of Michigan was evacuated Wednesday after a police officer was stabbed in the neck, authorities said. Michigan State Police said the officer was in critical condition after being stabbed as he patrolled in the main terminal of Bishop International Airport, a small regional airport in Flint, Michigan. Airport officials posted a statement on Facebook that all passengers were safe. Flint Mayor Karen Weaver said in a release “the situation is under control,” but... Читать дальше...

German prosecutors have filed espionage charges against a man accused of spying for Turkish intelligence on a Kurdish politician and activists.   Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that the indictment against 32-year-old Mehmet Fatih S., whose full name wasn't given in line with privacy laws, was filed in a Hamburg court.   The Turkish national was arrested in December. Prosecutors say that he had worked for a Turkish intelligence service since 2013 and was tasked in September 2015 or earlier with snooping on Kurds in Germany. Читать дальше...

Russian officials reacted to new sanctions unveiled by the U.S. by canceling upcoming talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Undersecretary of State Thomas Shannon. Ryabkov said that “the situation is not conducive to holding a round of this dialogue.” The U.S. State Department expressed regret at the cancellation of Friday's talks. "We regret that Russia has decided to turn away from an opportunity to discuss bilateral obstacles that hinder U.S.-Russia relations," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. Читать дальше...

With the conflict in Ukraine now in its fourth year casualties have mounted substantially in recent months, according to a new report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Between mid-February and mid-May of this year, the period covered, U.N. investigators documented 193 conflict-related civilian casualties, including 36 deaths. “This is a 48 percent increase over the last reporting period,” said High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein in presenting an oral update on the human rights situation. Читать дальше...

U.S. officials told lawmakers Wednesday there is no question that Russia engaged in widespread interference in last year's presidential election aimed at helping real estate mogul Donald Trump win the White House, but they said there is no evidence that Moscow was able to change the vote count. Former Homeland Security agency chief Jeh Johnson said at a House Intelligence Committee hearing that the extent of Russian hacking into computer files at the Democratic party headquarters in Washington... Читать дальше...

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for special consideration to be taken for civilians trapped in Raqqa, Syria, as U.S.-backed forces prepare to take action to remove Islamic State jihadists from the city. Guterres said some civilians stuck in hard-to-reach areas have been deprived of food and medical aid for years and said he was “deeply alarmed” by the situation. “Civilians continue to be killed, injured and displaced at a terrifying rate [and] places of refuge... Читать дальше...

Afghanistan’s Taliban released a new video Wednesday showing two professors, one American and one Australian, urging U.S. President Donald Trump to negotiate their freedom with the Islamist insurgent group. Sixty-year-old American Kevin King and 48-year-old Timothy Weeks of Australia, teachers with the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, were kidnapped at gunpoint near the campus last August. The Taliban wants freedom for its “soldiers” being held at the U.S.-run Bagram airbase and the... Читать дальше...

Egypt on Wednesday trucked 1 million liters of cheap diesel fuel to the Gaza Strip's sole power plant — a rare shipment that temporarily eased a crippling electricity crisis in the Hamas-ruled enclave but also appeared to undercut Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas has been stepping up financial pressure on Gaza in hopes of forcing the militant group Hamas to cede ground in the territory. Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas' forces in 2007. The power plant stopped operating in April after Hamas... Читать дальше...

United States college students warned Congress on Tuesday that free speech is being threatened across the country.   The testimony is in response to campus violence against controversial speakers, and “free speech zones” on at least one campus. Free speech zones are areas designated for protest on some campuses.   Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Zach Wood, a student at Williams College in Massachusetts, said he has seen “considerable backlash in addition to administrative obstacles”... Читать дальше...

Prince Philip has been admitted to a hospital for treatment of an infection and will not be able to attend the queen's speech, Buckingham Palace said Wednesday.   Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband, was admitted as a precautionary measure and is in good spirits, the palace said.   Philip, also known as the Duke of Edinburgh, is 96 and recently said he was cutting down his public appearances and would not take on new charity roles.   Philip announced the decision to reduce his commitments in May. Читать дальше...