Новости за 19.07.2017

Brazil's central bank has frozen four bank accounts belonging to ex-President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva due to his recent conviction on corruption charges, the federal judge overseeing the case said Wednesday. The assets in question amount to more than 600,000 Brazilian reals ($190,000), according to the office of Sergio Moro, who last week sentenced Silva to 9 years in prison in connection with a sprawling graft probe involving state-run oil giant Petrobras.   Moro also barred the ex-president from using three apartments... Читать дальше...

Fishermen facing dwindling catches are latest symbol of the trash crisis that continues to haunt Lebanon

Women dominate Westeros as never before, and it's the same with the Game of Thrones ratings. The HBO drama's seventh-season premiere last weekend drew a record-setting 10.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen company figures released Tuesday. That eclipsed previous top-rated Game of Thrones episodes, including the 8.11 million who watched the season five finale in 2015 and the 8 million who tuned in to that year's opener. The numbers represent viewers who watched the episodes as they first aired. Читать дальше...

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

A blaze in the rugged mountains outside of Yosemite National Park is threatening 1,500 structures and forcing thousands of nearby residents to flee their homes as it rages toward a historic Gold Rush era town.   It's burning near Highway 49, a historical route winding its way up California foothills of the western Sierra Nevada dotted with communities and landmarks that sprouted up during the state's Gold Rush.   As of Wednesday morning, the fire had scorched 71 square miles (183 square kilometers)... Читать дальше...

As fighting flared in parts of Syria on Wednesday, a U.S.- and Russian-backed cease-fire in the south appeared to be holding. U.S. officials said Russia has offered to send observers to the area to monitor the truce. Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, said last week that the U.S. has had "constructive" talks with Russian military officials on Syria in recent weeks and that both sides were keen to explore the possibility of cease-fires in other areas of the country. Despite talk of enlarging the cease-fire... Читать дальше...

Tensions between Germany and Turkey escalated Wednesday after Berlin summoned the Turkish ambassador to receive an official protest after Ankara arrested several human rights activists, including a German citizen. Berlin has warned that EU aid to Turkey could be at risk, putting in jeopardy a key migrant deal. A Turkish court Tuesday ordered the detention of Peter Steudtner, a German national who was attending a human rights workshop in Istanbul and was among six rights activists held as part of... Читать дальше...

Talks aimed at breaking down trade barriers between the United States and China appeared to hit a snag Wednesday in Washington, as the two sides canceled news conferences that were scheduled for the end of the meeting. As the talks started in Washington, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin called for "a more fair and balanced economic relationship" between the United States and China. Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said trading cooperation between the two countries "is a realistic choice for... Читать дальше...

Marijuana aficionados lined up at pharmacies across Uruguay on Wednesday to be among the first in the South American nation to legally buy pot as a law regulating its sale took full effect.   Customers sniffed pungent green buds and grinned as they showed off blue-and-white envelopes containing the substance, which is now available as part a 2013 measure that made Uruguay the first nation to legalize a pot market covering the entire chain from plants to purchase.   Santiago Pinatares, a 35-year-old construction worker... Читать дальше...

Shaka Ssali discusses the upcoming Africa elections with Senator Alhaji Gbenga Kaka, Nigerian Senator (2011-2015), Gervais Condo, Former Rwandan Member of Parliament and Diplomat, and with Arthur Larok, Democracy Fellow, National Endowment for Democracy.

Thirty-five European children have died from measles in the past 12 months in what the World Health Organization calls an "unacceptable" tragedy. The deaths could have been prevented by a vaccine. A measles outbreak in Minnesota sent nearly two dozen people to the hospital. Still, some parents in developed countries continue to believe false reports that the measles vaccine causes autism. VOA's Carol Pearson reports.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said a voter fraud commission launched under his administration will be “very transparent” and the results will be made available publicly, once a report is written. The panel's work will be "very open for everyone to see" Trump said during the commission's first meeting. "You will approach this important task with a very open mind and with no conclusions already drawn. You will fairly and objectively follow the facts wherever they may lead,” he told the group. Читать дальше...

Pakistan says India’s border forces opened fire Wednesday in the divided Kashmir region in violation of a mutual cease-fire truce, killing a soldier and two civilians.   The “unprovoked” Indian military action has “critically injured” two soldiers and wounded five civilians, Pakistan army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor said. Ghafoor said Pakistani troops retaliated and destroyed Indian posts that had been firing at them and a nearby civilian population, killing five Indian soldiers. There... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Supreme Court has put a temporary halt to U.S. refugee admissions until an appeals court rules on the matter. In a ruling Wednesday, the nation's highest court upheld a request from the Trump administration to bar refugees as part of his travel order limiting travelers from six majority Muslim countries. But the government win is both partial and temporary. The justices also upheld a lower court ruling that expanded the list of relationships that can be considered "bona fide" to include grandparents. Читать дальше...

The U.S. State Department is urging Russia to reconsider their new ban on the Jehovah's Witnesses. Monday, the Russian Supreme Court rejected an appeal on an earlier ruling that labeled the group extremist, ordering the Christian denomination to disband immediately on Russian territory. The State Department called the court decision "the latest in a disturbing trend of persecution of religious minorities in Russia."   It said, "Religious minorities should be able to enjoy freedom of religion... Читать дальше...

Thirty-five European children have died from measles in the past 12 months in what the World Health Organization calls an "unacceptable" tragedy. The deaths could have been prevented by a vaccine. A measles outbreak in Minnesota sent nearly two dozen people to the hospital. Still, some parents in developed countries continue to believe false reports that the measles vaccine causes autism. And now a number of parents are refusing to get their children vaccinated for other diseases as well. A vaccine ended small pox. Читать дальше...

Police in Saudi Arabia have released without charge a woman who was arrested after she appeared in a posted video wearing a miniskirt and crop top, with her hair uncovered, in violation of the country's strict dress code. The Saudi Ministry of Information said police released the woman Tuesday night after a prosecutor closed the case. Police detained the woman, known on the social media app Snapchat as “Model Khulood,” for wearing “suggestive clothing” after someone posted videos of her walking through the historic fort of Ushaiqer... Читать дальше...

An impending auction of pop star Madonna’s personal items, including a love letter from her ex-boyfriend the late rapper Tupac Shakur, a pair of previously worn panties and a hairbrush containing her hair, was halted by a judge on Tuesday. Manhattan state Supreme Court Judge Gerald Leibovitz ordered Gotta Have It! Collectibles to pull 22 items from its rock-and-roll-themed auction scheduled for Wednesday. The Material Girl had earlier sought an emergency court order saying she was “shocked to... Читать дальше...

Malawi's Anti-corruption Bureau, or ACB, has arrested a former agriculture minister and two others linked to a corruption scandal involving maize imports.  Malawi was importing the grain to avert food shortages after flooding and drought wrecked last year's harvest.   ACB officials Wednesday announced the arrests of former agriculture minister George Chaponda, along with businesswoman Grace Mijiga Mhango and Rashid Tayub, an entrepreneur based in Blantyre. They are accused of illegal actions... Читать дальше...

An Afghan women’s delegation visiting Islamabad to meet with their Pakistani counterparts emphasizes the need for including women leaders in any peace-building efforts.

Prominent women rights defenders from Afghanistan and Pakistan have jointly called on their governments to push for the inclusion of women in any peace negotiations aimed at easing bilateral tensions and resolving an increasingly deadly Afghan conflict. The two countries share a nearly 2,600-kilometer border, and landlocked Afghanistan relies mostly on Pakistani transit routes and ports for international trade. Tensions in relations have undermined bilateral economic and political ties, however... Читать дальше...

Syrian rebel militias and Turkey appear to be preparing to intensify their military operations north of Aleppo aimed at taking back mainly Arab towns and villages the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, seized in 2015.  The fighting is a new sign that the United States Turkey, Russia and Iran are plunging deeper into a multifaceted conflict that's carved Syria into unstable zones of influence with no clear lines emerging of how piece it back together.  The Syrian Kurdish force is the United States' main ally in northern Syria. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump is emphatically telling the Republican majority in the Senate it needs to keep its seven-year promise to voters to repeal the country's health care law championed by former President Barack Obama. Trump invited all 52 Republican senators to the White House for lunch Wednesday to talk about health care, a day after the collapse of the party's effort to overturn and replace the law, commonly known as Obamacare. A handful of conservative Republican lawmakers said the... Читать дальше...

Young refugees from Somalia and Eritrea who are eagerly awaited by American foster families have been cleared to travel to the United States, Lutheran Social Services (LSS) tells VOA. As VOA reported Friday, the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (UMR) Program has been in a state of uncertainty since the Trump administration’s travel order went into effect June 29. The Supreme Court allowed the order to be implemented as long as travelers and refugees with “bona fide” relationships to people or businesses in the United States were admitted. Читать дальше...

Germany has called terrorism accusations against one of its citizens in Turkey absurd and demanded the “immediate release” of the activist. "The Turkish government needs to immediately and directly hear the German government's outrage and incomprehension as well as its crystal-clear expectations in the case of Peter Steudtner, and this time without diplomatic niceties," Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer said.  After a meeting Wednesday with Turkey’s ambassador, Schaefer said he told... Читать дальше...