Новости за 31.07.2017

President Donald Trump has presented the U.S. military's most prestigious honor to former Army Medic Jim "Doc" McCloughan for his heroic actions during the battle of Nui Yon Hill in May 1969. The 71-year-old Vietnam War veteran was the first to be awarded the Medal of Honor by President Donald Trump, and he is credited with saving 10 soldiers over the three-day battle. "Today, to 320 million grateful American hearts, Private McCloughan carries one immortal title, and that title is hero," Trump... Читать дальше...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Monday there is no larger threat to Baltic states than the "specter of aggression" by Russia, as he pledged support for NATO allies Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Pence met in Tallinn with the presidents of all the Baltic states — Estonia's Kersti Kaljulaid, Latvia's Raimonds Vejonis and Lithuania's Dalia Grybauskaite — and afterward summarized the U.S. position on Russia's "destabilizing" activities: "At this very moment, Russia continues to seek to redraw international borders by force... Читать дальше...

Securing petrochemical plants and keeping chemicals out of the hands of terrorists were the topics of discussion at a recent Chemical Sector Security Summit in Houston, Texas. Security experts say the countries that are producing chemicals are shifting and that is one of many reasons developed and developing nations need to share best security practices. VOA's Elizabeth Lee reports from Houston, a petrochemical hub in the United States.

Kenya's national police force says it is investigating the killing of a top electoral official, Christopher Msando, who was found dead Monday, a little more than a week before the country holds general elections. In a statement, the inspector general of the National Police Service, Joseph Boinnet, says Msando's body was brought to a mortuary on the outskirts of Nairobi on Saturday, but not identified until Monday. Boinnet says police view the killing of Msando as "a crime of grave proportions,"... Читать дальше...

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are locked in debate over what to do about wild horses which roam across Western range lands and reservations, competing with domestic livestock for food and water and scarring the environment. Native American tribes and nations are also grappling with the problem. Everyone agrees something needs to be done to reduce the wild horse population, but what? Today's herds descend from runaway or stray horses brought to America by 16th-century Spanish conquistadors. Читать дальше...

With only a few days until Rwanda's presidential election, candidates are focusing on the economy as they make their final pitches to voters. President Paul Kagame, predicted by most analysts to win big in Friday's poll, campaigned Monday in Rwanda's Northern Province. While there, he promised residents that the dusty roads in their district would be improved as soon as he is re-elected. The president appealed to national pride as he addressed a large crowd. "We have the responsibility to transform our own nation. Читать дальше...

The U.S. said Monday that for the first time it will sell coal to Ukraine, easing its reliance on Russia and Moscow-back separatists in eastern Ukraine to meet its energy needs. The accord calls for Xcoal Energy & Resources in the eastern state of Pennsylvania to ship 700,000 tons of thermal coal by the end of the year to Ukraine's state-owned energy firm Centrenergo to help it heat homes and businesses in the coming winter months. The first shipment, at a cost of $113 a metric ton, is expected... Читать дальше...

Online searches about suicide and suicide methods spiked in the weeks following the release of Netflix's 13 Reasons Why, a show that dramatizes the suicide of a teenage girl, according to a U.S. study released Monday. Google searches about suicide were 19 percent higher than average in the 19 days following the show's release on March 31, translating into 900,000 to 1,500,000 more searches, researchers reported in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) Internal Medicine.  The study... Читать дальше...

Police broke up protests in several towns in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo Monday, arresting at least 50 people in the city of Goma. The demonstrators were from the civil society group, La Lucha, which is demanding the government honor a December 31st deal to hold delayed elections by the end of this year.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday abruptly fired Anthony Scaramucci as his communications director, just over a week after the New York financier started work in the key White House post. Trump ousted the 53-year-old Scaramucci at the request of new White House chief of staff John Kelly, officials told U.S. news outlets. The White House officially announced that Scaramucci was leaving in order to give Kelly a "clean slate" to run day-to-day operations of the White House staff. Scaramucci... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Army soldier took a deep breath before hitting the button that sent the email to more than 200 fellow troops. "All considered, I am, and have been, traversing what is essentially a personal matter, but is something I must address publicly," the email stated. "I am transgender." The April 13 email officially ended the secret that burned inside Capt. Jennifer Sims, who was known as Jonathan Sims. But the feeling of relief swiftly turned to unease last week after President Donald Trump... Читать дальше...

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

U.S. President Donald Trump uttered assurances during the start of his Cabinet meeting on Monday morning that the threat from North Korea will be taken care of.   “We’ll handle North Korea. We’re going to be able to handle them. It will be handled. We handle everything,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter.   On Saturday, the president, a day after North Korea tested a ballistic missile it claims can reach all of the United States, took to social media with a blunt chastisement of China... Читать дальше...

Ride-hailing service Lyft carried more passengers through June this year than it did in all of last year as it capitalized on missteps at Uber.   The company says ridership through June surpassed the 162.5 million rides it gave in all of 2016. A spokeswoman wouldn't give an exact number.   Lyft has made its gains as some shun much larger rival, Uber. Riders boycotted Uber after allegations that it took advantage of a New York taxi boycott in protest of President Donald Trump's first order on immigration. Читать дальше...

Jury selection has begun in the federal trial in Boston of four Teamsters accused of intimidating the staff and crew of the "Top Chef" reality TV show.   Prosecutors allege the Local 25 union members threatened to picket if the show's producers did not hire union drivers. They also say union members threatened and harassed the crew of the show's non-union production company.   The men have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to extort, and aiding and abetting.   Jury selection began Monday. Читать дальше...

Russian President Vladimir Putin is defending his massive cut in the size of the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia, saying it had waited long enough for relations with Washington to improve. Putin said he had hoped "the situation would perhaps change for the better. But it seems that even if the situation is changing, it is not for any time soon." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said an improvement of U.S.-Russia relations rest on "curing the worsening political schizophrenia" in Washington,... Читать дальше...

A British television channel on Monday defended its decision to broadcast recordings of Princess Diana candidly discussing her personal life, after some royal watchers called it a betrayal of the late princess' privacy. Channel 4 said the video tapes, made in the early 1990s, are an "important historical source'' and place Diana "front and center" in her own story as Britain marks 20 years since her death.   The channel said that although the recordings were made in private, "the subjects covered... Читать дальше...

Tropical Storm Emily churned ashore on Florida's Gulf Coast near the mouth of Tampa Bay, forcing Gov. Rick Scott on Monday to declare a state of emergency for 31 of the state's 67 counties as the storm takes aim at crossing the peninsula in the coming hours.   Rain began falling around midnight in St. Petersburg on Florida's west coast, making for a soggy Monday morning rush hour in the region. Forecasters warned of possible risks of isolated tornadoes and even offshore waterspouts from the system... Читать дальше...

George Clooney's foundation is planning to open seven public schools for Syrian refugee children.   The Clooney Foundation for Justice announced a new partnership Monday with Google, HP and UNICEF to provide education for more than 3,000 refugee children in Lebanon.   George and Amal Clooney said in a statement Monday that the foundation's commitment of more than $2 million toward education for Syrian refugees aims to prevent thousands of young people from becoming "a lost generation."   The... Читать дальше...

The African Union Peace and Security Council has urged Cameroon to ensure the repatriation of Nigerian refugees fleeing Boko Haram is done on a voluntary basis. Hundreds of refugees, most of them children, complain they are thirsty and hungry as they leave Cameroon on their way back to Nigeria. They are escorted by troops from the multinational joint task force fighting the Boko Haram insurgency. Cameroon Red Cross official Joseph Guisso is among the humanitarian staff accompanying the refugees. Читать дальше...

In 2016 "Moonlight" won best picture and "Hidden Figures" was the 14th highest grossing film of the year, but popular Hollywood films remained as white and male-dominated as ever. A new report from the Media, Diversity, & Social Change Initiative at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism finds that the representation of women, minorities, LGBT people, disabled characters in films remains largely unchanged from the previous year, despite heightened attention to diversity in Hollywood. Читать дальше...

Whistleblowing site Wikileaks has published more than 20,000 leaked emails it says it has verified to be from now French President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign. Months after the emails were initially leaked and posted online before the election, Wikileaks says it has verified the authenticity of 21,075 of them using DomainKeys Identified Mail, or DKIM. Wikileaks has posted the remainder of the emails, 50,000 more, “for context”. All the emails are available to the public in a searchable archive, with verified messages flagged as such. Читать дальше...

Peru’s government is organizing a meeting of Latin American foreign ministers on what it calls Venezuela’s “illegitimate” vote Sunday approving a new government body charged with rewriting the country’s constitution.   The meeting, planned for August 8 in Lima, represents some of the international concern expressed Monday about the approval of a National Constituent Assembly. Its 545 members all support socialist President Nicolas Maduro and theoretically could supplant the opposition-led legislature, the National Assembly. Читать дальше...

The U.S. military and the Somali government say an air-strike Sunday targeted and killed a senior member of the al-Shabab extremist group. Somali intelligence officials who asked not to be named identified the target as Ali Mohamed Hussein, who served as al-Shabab's shadow governor for Mogadishu and has been one of the group’s most outspoken members. Hussein, also known as Ali Jabal, was known for forcing Mogadishu businesses to donate money to the Islamist militants. Somalia’s information minister... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump's plans to build a security wall along the U.S.-Mexican border are well known, but many argue the northern U.S. border with Canada also presents a challenging security problem for both countries. There is human and drug trafficking across the border in both directions and border patrol agents have limited resources to stop it. VOA's Jeff Swicord has more in this report from the Canadian-U.S. border.