Новости за 07.08.2017

Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama met over the weekend for the first time since 2015, raising hopes of an end to violence following a disputed election three years ago. Fighters from the ruling Frelimo and Dhlakama's Renamo parties have clashed sporadically since Renamo challenged the results of the 2014 vote, though the fighting takes place mostly in the remote interior, making it difficult to gauge its scale and casualties. Nyusi and Dhlakama met at the Gorongosa mountain district... Читать дальше...

Pro and anti-government factions dug themselves further into their trenches Monday amid Venezuela's deepening political crisis, with each side staking a claim to the powers granted them by dueling national assemblies. The new chief prosecutor who replaced an outspoken government critic outlined plans for restructuring the Public Ministry, and the opposition-controlled National Assembly vowed to continue meeting at the stately legislative palace — a short walk across a plaza from where the all-powerful... Читать дальше...

The Cuban government said on Monday the freeze on new licenses for some private-sector occupations would not last years, in an attempt to reassure citizens worried about an apparent pause in the liberalization of the economy. Communist-run Cuba last week said it was suspending issuing licenses for popular activities like renting out rooms in homes while it took new measures to "perfect" the functioning of the nascent private sector and curb wrongdoing. "We are not talking about a very long period of time. Читать дальше...

Changes in the worldwide fisheries industry have turned live baby American eels into a commodity that can fetch more than $2,000 a pound at the dock, but the big demand and big prices have spawned a black market that wildlife officials say is jeopardizing the species. Law enforcement authorities have launched a crackdown on unlicensed eel fishermen and illicit sales along the East Coast. Although not a well-known seafood item like the Maine lobster, wriggling baby eels, or elvers, are a fishery worth many millions of dollars. Читать дальше...

A Pakistani Islamist charity, which the United States designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" three years ago, has formed a new political party with a mission to enter mainstream politics and contest future national elections. The controversial charity, called Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), is believed to be a front for the banned anti-India Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) organization and is run by Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of the 2008 deadly Mumbai attacks. Washington has offered a $10-million... Читать дальше...

The Syrian army stepped up shelling and air strikes on the last rebel-held enclaves in the Syrian capital on Monday, its heaviest bombardment in a two-month campaign, rebels and witnesses said. From the strategic Qasyoun Heights that overlooks Damascus, elite units of the army pounded Jobar district, some 2 km (1.2 miles) east of the Old City wall and Ain Terma just to the south. The army's offensive has dented a Russian-sponsored ceasefire announced two weeks ago in the Eastern Ghouta area to the east of Damascus. Читать дальше...

A Nigerian court has ordered the permanent forfeiture of $37.5 million mansion belonging to a former oil minister facing corruption charges. Authorities allege that Diezani Alison-Madueke bought the property in 2013 with the proceeds of unlawful activities.   Judge Chuka Obiozor ordered Monday's forfeiture after nobody showed up in court to prove ownership of the property.   This is the second major victory for Nigeria's anti-corruption body against the former oil minister. In February, a Nigerian... Читать дальше...

More than 100 children fleeing areas controlled by al-Shabab militants in central Somalia have arrived in the coastal town of Adale, seeking the government's protection, officials said. Adale is a key trading town in the Middle Shabelle region, 220 kilometers northeast of Mogadishu. In an interview with VOA Somali, the town's district commissioner, Muse Mohamed Ahmed, said the fleeing children are resisting new al-Shabab recruitment campaigns. "Al-Shabab has a large number of old fighters,... Читать дальше...

The wife of the former head of South Sudan's army says her husband has been under house arrest for months on the direct orders of President Salva Kiir. In an exclusive interview Monday, Lucy Ayak Malong, the wife of Paul Malong Awan, told VOA's South Sudan in Focus that her husband has not been allowed to leave Juba since May, when the president fired him. Health concerns   Malong’s health has deteriorated steadily since she last saw him in the capital two months ago, according to Ayak, who is living in Nairobi, Kenya. Читать дальше...

Silicon Valley's efforts to promote workforce diversity haven't yielded many results — unless you count a backlash at Google, where a male engineer blamed biological differences for the paucity of female programmers. His widely shared memo, titled "Google's Ideological Echo Chamber," also criticizes Google for pushing mentoring and diversity programs and for "alienating conservatives." Google's just-hired head of diversity, Danielle Brown, responded with her own memo, saying Google is "unequivocal... Читать дальше...

A port director in Tunisia says authorities have instructed commercial ports in the North African nation to deny access to a ship rented by European identity groups and sailing the Mediterranean Sea with an anti-migrant message. Fishermen and human rights activists in the Tunisian city of Zarzis unfurled a banner reading "No Racism" as the C Star, the flagship of operation Defend Europe, sailed in international waters off Tunisia's coast over the weekend.   Zarzis port director Karim Nouira told... Читать дальше...

Israel's Supreme Court ruled Benjamin Netanyahu must reveal phone call logs with U.S. casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, and a former editor of his free newspaper in Israel, as police press ahead with investigations into corruption cases involving the prime minister. The decision Monday came after an appeal by investigative journalist Raviv Drucker of Channel 10 TV. Netanyahu backer Adelson owns the pro-government daily Israel Hayom. Police are investigating Netanyahu in two cases. One reportedly... Читать дальше...

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

Two members of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot were briefly detained Monday after rallying for the release of a Ukrainian filmmaker outside his Siberian prison. During Sunday's protest in Yakutsk where Oleg Sentsov is serving his sentence, the band members unfurled a banner on a nearby bridge that read "Free Sentsov!" Longtime Pussy Riot member Maria Alyokhina tweeted that she and Olga Borisova were taken to a police station following their detention earlier in the day and faced a court... Читать дальше...

Turkey is building up military forces on the Syrian border, while Turkish President Recep Erdogan steps up his rhetoric suggesting an imminent military operation into Syria. Ankara is reportedly courting Moscow for its support for a possible operation into Syria's Afrin enclave, which is now under the control of the Kurdish YPG militia. Ankara accuses the YPG, which controls large swathes of Syrian territory along its border, of being an offshoot of the PKK, which is fighting the Turkish state. Читать дальше...

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has called a meeting the three parties in his ruling coalition after a junior partner, the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party, unexpectedly announced it is withdrawing from the pact that brought the parties together. Fico, who called the move "absurd," will meet leaders of the other two parties on Tuesday. He says he expects Slovak National Party chairman Andrej Danko to explain the reasons for the step. It is not immediately clear whether the move threatens the government's existence. Читать дальше...

Pakistan Pakistani police say a blast near parked fruit trucks has wounded ten people, collapsed the roof of small school building and destroyed a truck in the eastern city of Lahore. Senior police officer Adil Memon says Monday that the blast is being investigated. He said the destroyed truck was parked in an empty lot. Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, is the power base of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif. The Supreme Court disqualified Sharif earlier this month for concealing assets. The blast occurred in his constituency... Читать дальше...

The city of Chicago has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice over new regulations for a public safety grant Monday. "These new conditions ... fly in the face of longstanding city policy that promotes cooperation between local law enforcement and immigrant communities," the 46-page lawsuit read. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel announced Sunday that the city would file the lawsuit, telling a press conference that "Chicago will not let our police officers become political pawns." ... Читать дальше...

Russia will speed up work on reducing dependency on U.S. payment systems and the dollar as a settling currency, RIA news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying on Monday. It is a response to the new sanctions against Russia reluctantly signed into law last week by U.S. President Donald Trump. The sanctions targeted Russia's energy sector, with new limits on U.S. investment in Russian companies. "We will of course intensify work related to import substitution, reduction of dependence on U.S. payment systems... Читать дальше...

The British government denied Monday that it has agreed on the amount of its European Union exit bill, after a report emerged that it plans offer the bloc 36 billion pounds ($47 billion). Britain's outstanding tab to settle commitments it made as an EU member is one of the biggest issues confronting the divorce talks. The EU says it won't discuss future trade relations with Britain until there is progress on the bill and other key issues. The EU has not put an official number on the size of the bill... Читать дальше...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte met Monday with America's top diplomat, where he voiced solidarity with the U.S. amid global concerns over North Korea's nuclear program and angrily dismissed media questions about human rights abuses by his government. Duterte and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met in Manila at a regional Asia gathering. It was the highest-level interaction to date between a member of President Donald Trump's administration and Duterte, accused by human rights groups... Читать дальше...

A vote of no-confidence in South African President Jacob Zuma will take place Tuesday via secret ballot. The vote against the increasingly unpopular and scandal-plagued leader will mark the eighth parliamentary attempt to remove him from power. After spending more than six weeks deliberating the matter, National Assembly speaker Baleka Mbete announced her decision Monday, taking 12 minutes to read it before a packed news conference. “I therefore determine that voting on the motion of no-confidence... Читать дальше...

The Uganda Red Cross says it has begun registering Kenyans who have fled their country in anticipation of violence surrounding elections set for Tuesday. The Uganda Red Cross says it plans to set up receiving sites at the border towns of Busia and Tororo. The Uganda Red Cross says it has received and seen a number of Kenyans who crossed the border, fearing for their safety. Bob Akankwasa is its director of disaster risk management. “We’ve seen a couple of hundreds coming through; we are yet... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump claimed Monday that his political base of Republican support is "far bigger & stronger than ever before," despite new polling that shows it eroding. Trump tapped out a string of Twitter comments from his working vacation at his golf resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, deriding the surveys as "phony Fake News polling." He contended that political rallies he's held in several states he won in last year's election show his continuing strength and that several factors... Читать дальше...

South Sudan's government forces have overtaken the rebel-held stronghold and opposition headquarters of Pagak, along the Ethiopian border, William Gatjiath Deng, spokesman for the opposition IO, told The Associated Press. "They took the main town and our forces are now regrouping," said Deng. Army spokesman Lul Ruai Koang did not confirm the reports saying that he's "not aware" of Pagak's takeover. The rebels burned their military barracks before fleeing, to prevent government forces from being able to use the ammunition... Читать дальше...