Новости за 22.06.2017

The United Nations reports about 250 million people, or 5 percent of the global adult population, used drugs in 2015, and of those, about 29.5 million suffered from drug-use disorders, including addiction. The World Drug Report 2017  launched Thursday by the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said that opioids were the most harmful drug type, accounting for 70 percent of drug-linked health problems worldwide.   It said opioids, including heroin, legal painkillers, such as morphine, and synthetic... Читать дальше...

A 13-year-old Yazidi girl has reunited with her family in Iraq after Islamic State militants kidnapped her three years ago and made her a slave maid. VOA’s Kawa Omar reports.

Over the last year all races and ethnic groups grew in the U.S. That’s according to an annual count released by the U.S. Census Bureau. But Asian and Hispanic populations continued to be the fastest-growing. VOA’s Aline Barros has more.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he did not record his conversations with James Comey, the former chief of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Trump. The president fired Comey after he said the president urged him to curb the agency's investigation of Russian meddling in last year's election, which Trump denies. Trump's comment ended weeks of uncertainty about whether he had taped two private White House conversations he had with Comey. One was a private White House dinner Trump held... Читать дальше...

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

VOA reporter Heather Murdock reports from Mosul, Iraq where soldiers from the Iraqi special forces are inspecting the damage after fighting, June 22, 2017.

As U.S.-led coalition air strikes intensify on central Raqqa, more residents are fleeing their homes in Islamic State’s de-facto capital. A refugee camp in the nearby town of Eyn Isa is stretched to its limits and officials are calling for help. VOA’s Mahmoud Bali reports.

The wait for visitor visas to the United States could get a little longer, after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday revoking an Obama-era guideline on processing times at consulates. The brief order, which was issued without comment from the White House or State Department, deletes a subsection of a 2012 order that sought to expedite the processing time for non-immigrant visas, including those needed by students and tourists. The original order issued by then-President... Читать дальше...

Iraqi generals say Islamic State's destruction of the iconic al-Nuri mosque in Mosul is a sign that the militant group's power in the city is coming to an end. Soldiers in Mosul tell VOA that IS wanted to destroy the mosque in advance of an Iraqi and Coalition victory over the group in Mosul. Iraqi forces have been working to eradicate the terror group from one of its last strongholds in the city. “As you see, our fighters overcame strong resistance here, and you can see how hard they fought. Читать дальше...

Japanese authorities said Thursday they have obtained a data recording device from a container ship to help determine why it collided with a U.S. destroyer, killing seven American sailors.   Japanese transport safety officials said they obtained the voyage data recorder, similar to an airplane's "black box," from the Philippine-flagged ACX Crystal, which is currently docked in Yokohama near Tokyo. Investigators are examining the ship's movements, including its location, direction, speed and... Читать дальше...

India has dropped sedition charges against 15 Muslims who were arrested for celebrating Pakistan's recent victory over India in cricket. Police in the state of Madhya Pradesh told reporters Thursday that sedition, which can carry a life sentence in India, was "hard to prove" in this case as there was no proof that the men necessarily chanted anti-India slogans in their celebration of Pakistan's win. "Moreover, none of them has a criminal background," senior police officer RR Parihar told reporters. Читать дальше...

The Church of England "colluded" to hide long-term sexual abuses committed by one of its former bishops, the head of the church said Thursday. "The Church colluded and concealed rather than seeking to help those who were brave enough to come forward," Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said, following the release of a report on assaults committed by former bishop Peter Ball. "This is inexcusable and shocking behavior," Welby said. Ball was jailed for 32 months in 2015 after pleading guilty... Читать дальше...

More than 500 Muslim volunteers gathered on a hot day on Skid Row, the notorious Los Angeles street best-known for its thousands of homeless people. The volunteers distributed clothes, hygiene essentials, food, water, and other necessities to the people who live their lives on the street. Backpacks and school supplies were also provided. Health screenings, including free HIV tests and dental checks were offered. Many of the Muslim volunteers were observing the Ramadan fast, which requires that... Читать дальше...

A booming plastics and packaging industry in Asia – including China – is being driven by rising incomes and consumption, with analysts saying a growing middle class will add to the rise in plastics demand across the region. But it comes along with a rising environmental alarm over plastic pollution in rivers and oceans. Online plastics industry websites paint a picture of growth and trade and investment worth billions of dollars to Asian economies. Robust plastics industry China has been a... Читать дальше...

There’s good news for pesto lovers. The airport in Genoa, Italy, home of the famous sauce, is allowing passengers to take pesto with them on flights, providing they make a small donation of less than a dollar to the Flying Angels charity, which helps provide money for sick children to be flown overseas for treatment. Travelers giving donations will get a special sticker to put on their jar of pesto. Since June 1, when the program started, some 500 jars of the basil, cheese, pine nut and olive... Читать дальше...

Britain's Prince Harry has suggested that no one in the royal family really wishes to rise to the throne.   Harry says in an interview with Newsweek magazine that it is duty, rather than desire, that prompts the family to continue serving the British people. The prince says that the House of Windsor is "not doing this for ourselves but for the greater good of the people."   Harry also revealed his distress at having to walk behind his mother's coffin as a 12-year-old child following her death in a 1997 car accident. Читать дальше...

The benefits of a Mediterranean diet are widely chronicled, but new research shows extra-virgin olive oil, a key part of the diet, may protect “against cognitive decline.” Specifically, researchers at Temple University in Philadelphia say extra-virgin olive oil “protects memory and learning ability and reduces the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain – classic markers of Alzheimer's disease.” Researcher say olive oil reduced inflammation and triggers a process called autophagy... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump is questioning why his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, and his administration didn't block Russia from meddling in last year's presidential election. In a Twitter comment Thursday, Trump posed a question: "By the way, if Russia was working so hard on the 2016 Election, it all took place during the Obama Admin. Why didn't they stop them?" In another remark, Trump noted that Jeh Johnson, Obama's Homeland Security chief, "is latest top intelligence official... Читать дальше...

Republican U.S. senators have unveiled their version of a health care bill Thursday aimed at repealing the Affordable Care Act, former  President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement. After weeks of closed door meetings, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell initially released the bill to the Republican Senate Conference, a group of Republican members of the upper chamber of Congress. Compromise plan The legislation was crafted as a compromise between the current health care measure... Читать дальше...

Simplice Lenguy told his wife to leave him behind as people fled when fighting broke out in Central African Republic's capital.   "I said, 'Take the children. You go to the camp. I am handicapped. I can't flee like the others. If something happens to me, at least my family will be safe,'" Lenguy, who is disabled from polio, recounted in an interview with The Associated Press. His wife refused and forced him to come with her, even when he lost consciousness because of the pain.   For years Central... Читать дальше...

An estimated 2,500 mourners gathered Thursday to remember Otto Warmbier, the American college student who died this week after being held for nearly a year-and-a-half in a North Korean prison. In Warmbier's home state of Ohio, the mourners - among them friends and family - attended his funeral at his former high school. Warmbier was to be buried at a Cincinnati cemetery. Warmbier was sentenced to hard labor in North Korea after being convicted of attempting to steal a propaganda poster from a hotel in Pyongyang. Читать дальше...

U.S. officials say they are still working to examine a video released by the Taliban purporting to show an American and an Australian abducted in Afghanistan. The video, released Wednesday, shows the two men urging U.S. President Donald Trump to negotiate their freedom with the Islamist insurgent group. American Kevin King, 60, and Australian Timothy Weeks, 48, teachers with the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, were kidnapped at gunpoint near the campus last August. "We continue... Читать дальше...

Food exporters including the United States and European Union are stepping up pressure on China to scale back plans for intensive inspections of imports that they say would hamper access to its fast-growing market.   The group, which also includes Japan and Australia, sent a joint letter to Chinese regulators asking them to suspend a proposed requirement, due to take effect Oct. 1, for each food shipment to have an inspection certificate from a foreign government. They say that would disrupt trade... Читать дальше...

Estimates from the British government show that 600 other high-rise buildings in the country could be covered in similar cladding to that used on Grenfell Tower, which became engulfed in flames last week in London. Following the June 14 fire, the British government asked owners of tower blocks around Britain to send in samples of any cladding material used on their buildings for testing. As of Thursday morning, authorities have found combustible cladding on at least three tower blocks, according to British officials. Читать дальше...

Police in London identified the man found dead after a mosque attack Thursday as Makram Ali, 51, a local resident. Police said he died from “multiple injuries” last week after an attack on a mosque. He suffered a medical incident just before a man drove a large van through a group of people exiting a mosque in London. A statement from London’s Metropolitan Police said preliminary findings showed Ali died of “multiple injuries,” but it was unclear whether Ali died from an illness or from being hit by the van. Читать дальше...