Новости за 16.08.2017

Thousands upon thousands of cans are filled with beer, capped and washed, wrapped into six-packs, and boxed at dizzying speeds — 1,500 a minute, to be exact — on humming conveyor belts that zip and wind in a sprawling factory near Tokyo. Nary a soul is in sight in this picture-perfect image of Japanese automation. The machines do all the heavy lifting at this plant run by Asahi Breweries, Japan's top brewer. The human job is to make sure the machines do the work right, and to check on the quality the sensors are monitoring. Читать дальше...

In an attempt to stabilize Raqqa after the Islamic State, the U.S.-backed Raqqa Civil Council on Wednesday announced it has pardoned 96 local members of IS who reportedly did not engage in crimes. VOA’s Mahmoud Bali reports.

Tom Cruise broke his ankle while performing a stunt on the set of the upcoming Mission: Impossible 6, causing production on the film to go on hiatus while the actor recovers, Paramount Pictures said in a statement Wednesday. Paramount, a unit of Viacom, said the action movie, from one of its biggest franchises, remains on schedule to open on July 27, 2018. Cruise, 55, who is known for doing his own stunts, was seen in a video on celebrity news website TMZ trying to jump between the roofs of two... Читать дальше...

A court in Kyrgyzstan sentenced opposition politician Omurbek Tekebayev to eight years in prison for corruption and fraud on Wednesday, two months ahead of a presidential election in which he planned to run. The Central Asian republic's pro-Russian president, Almazbek Atambayev, is barred from running in the October 15 election and is backing an ally. Tekebayev is one of Atambayev most outspoken critics. The state security service detained 58-year-old Tekebayev, who leads the Ata Meken (Fatherland) party's parliamentary faction... Читать дальше...

The organizers of New York's annual Tribeca Film Festival are launching a standalone television event to recognize the vast and varied content now available on broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. Organizers said on Wednesday the inaugural three-day Tribeca TV Festival will take place on Sept. 22-24 in New York, and is aimed at bringing new shows and returning favorites to the public. The lineup for the festival includes screenings and celebrity talks for the return of comedy Will & Grace... Читать дальше...

Iraq asked for international help Wednesday to collect and preserve evidence of crimes by Islamic State militants and said it was working with Britain to draft a U.N. Security Council resolution to establish the investigation. Britain, international human rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Nadia Murad, a woman from the Yazidi religious minority who was enslaved and raped by IS fighters in Mosul, have been pushing Iraq to allow a U.N. inquiry. The 15-member Security Council could have established an inquiry without Iraq's consent... Читать дальше...

Ukrainian officials and analysts were quick to deny allegations that the Soviet-era Yuzhmash arms factory was a likely source of engine technology used in North Korea’s missiles and to redirect suspicions to Russia.   “It is a complex and bulky piece of equipment. It is simply not possible to supply it by bypassing export procedures,” said Mykola Sunhurovskyi, director of military programs at the Razumkov Center, a Kyiv think tank, to VOA’s Ukrainian Service. “What is possible, is for North Korea... Читать дальше...

Kenyans voted mainly along ethnic and geographic lines to give President Uhuru Kenyatta a second term in office, according to election data analyzed by VOA. Over the weekend, the country's Elections Observation Group deemed the Aug. 8 vote valid and reiterated Kenyatta's victory, despite the opposition's rejection of the outcome and allegations of vote rigging. The U.S. State Department also supported the results of the election.  To understand how the country voted, VOA looked at ballot tallies... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe has sought diplomatic immunity in South Africa, where she is under investigation over the assault of a 20-year-old model in an upscale hotel, South African police said on Wednesday. Police also confirmed that Mugabe, the 52-year-old wife of Zimbabwe's leader Robert Mugabe, had failed to appear at a court hearing Tuesday relating to allegations she attacked Gabriella Engels with an electric extension cord. Engels' mother Debbie told Reuters her daughter had received... Читать дальше...

Lebanese and Syrian ministers pledged Wednesday to boost economic ties. The announcement was part of a visit that has challenged the Lebanese state's policy of neutrality toward Syria's war. Government ministers from Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Shiite Amal party arrived in Syria for a trade fair, a trip that has ignited a political row in Lebanon. The Lebanese government has refused to sanction the visit as official business, but Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan has insisted they will be there as government representatives. Читать дальше...

The British government has vowed repeatedly to end the free movement of people from the European Union when the U.K. leaves the bloc in 2019. But on Wednesday it acknowledged that, in one area of the country, it won't. Britain said there must be no border posts or electronic checks between Northern Ireland and the Irish republic after Brexit, and it committed itself to maintaining the longstanding, border-free Common Travel Area covering the U.K. and Ireland. "There should be no physical border... Читать дальше...

A day after the U.N. chief voiced concern about Indian plans to potentially deport tens of thousands of Muslim Rohingya refugees, an Indian government official said Wednesday that authorities are only working to identify those who fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar — not expel them. An estimated 40,000 Rohingya Muslims have taken refuge in various parts of India, though fewer than 15,000 are registered with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Last week, India's Home Affairs Minister... Читать дальше...

The United States on Wednesday said it had sanctioned Hizbul Mujahideen, the largest of the anti-Indian Kashmiri militant groups fighting in the Himalayan territory divided between Pakistan and India. The Treasury Department, in a statement on its website, said it had listed the Pakistan-based group as a counterdesignated group, freezing any assets it may hold in the Untied States and prohibiting Americans from dealings with it. "These designations seek to deny HM [Hizbul Mujahideen] the resources... Читать дальше...

A Muslim-American radio host is accusing the publisher of a notorious neo-Nazi website of defaming him by falsely labeling him the "mastermind" of a deadly concert bombing in England, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. SiriusXM Radio show host Dean Obeidallah sued The Daily Stormer's publisher, Andrew Anglin, two days after domain name registration companies Google and GoDaddy yanked the site's web address, making it unreachable until it re-emerged with a Russian domain name Wednesday. Читать дальше...

Both were great generals. Both Virginians. Both came from slave-owning plantation families. Is it really so far-fetched to put Robert E. Lee in the same category as George Washington, as President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday? Many historians say yes. "It's a ridiculous conflation," said Professor Alice Fahs of the University of California, Irvine. "He's not a founding father, and it's as though Trump thinks he is. It's really astonishing. It's amazing." Trump's remarks on Tuesday came... Читать дальше...

For the first time in a century all 50 states will get to witness at least a partial eclipse. VOA's Ardita Dunellari visited the National Air and Space Museum in Washington to learn what preparations are underway for viewing this spectacular display of nature.

Diagnosing if a tick bite caused Lyme or another disease can be difficult, but scientists are developing a new way to do it early — using a "signature" of molecules in patients' blood. It's still highly experimental, but initial studies suggest the novel tool just might uncover early-stage Lyme disease more accurately than today's standard test, researchers reported Wednesday. And it could tell the difference between two tick-borne diseases with nearly identical early symptoms. "Think about it... Читать дальше...

A synthetic psychoactive drug linked to substance abuse in the Middle East and said to be a fund-raising tool and stimulant for Islamist militants is more dangerous than previously thought, scientists said on Wednesday. The stimulant, called fenethylline and by its trade name Captagon, is a super-boosted amphetamine, they said, and has unique chemical complexities allowing it to induce potent psychoactive effects far more rapidly than amphetamines alone. Developing a vaccine to mitigate its effects in people is possible... Читать дальше...

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

British Parliament officials said Wednesday they will review plans to silence Big Ben during four years of repairs after senior politicians criticized the lengthy muting of the beloved bell. When the repairs were announced last year, officials said the massive bell in Parliament's clock tower would be silenced for several months. But this week they said the ringing pause would last until 2021. Prime Minister Theresa May said "it can't be right for Big Ben to be silent for four years.'' The 13.5 British ton (15.1 U.S. ton... Читать дальше...

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is urging the government and opposition in Venezuela to restart negotiations to find a political solution to the country's political crisis.   “Venezuela needs a political solution based on dialogue and compromise between the government and the opposition,” Guterres said Wednesday during a short news conference.   “I recognize the efforts that the international facilitators and regional leaders that are assisting Venezuelan government and opposition in... Читать дальше...

Serbia offered a 10-year-old migrant from Afghanistan, who has been nicknamed "Little Picasso" because of his talent for painting, and his family citizenship on Wednesday, after they spent eight months in a refugee camp while seeking to reach Switzerland. Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic made the offer to Farhad Nouri, which also included a job for his father, upon meeting the five-member family in his office. Nouri's drawings and photographs were put on display last week in what was also a... Читать дальше...

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said a political solution must be found to the North Korean nuclear issue, because the potential consequences of military action “are too horrific to even contemplate.” “Tensions related to the Korean peninsula are at levels not seen in decades,” Guterres said during a brief news conference Wednesday at the United Nations.   “As tensions rise, so does the risk of misunderstanding, miscalculation or escalation,” he warned.  “That is why it is so important to dial down rhetoric and to dial up diplomacy.

Guest host Peter Clottey discusses the simmering political situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Noel K. Tshiani Muadiamvita, DRC Presidential Candidate, and with Claude Gatebuke, Executive Director of African Great Lakes Action Network.

U.S. President Donald Trump continues to face a barrage of criticism for his contention that both white supremacists and counter-protesters were to blame for the deadly violence that erupted last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. On Wednesday, the president announced that he had dissolved two business advisory committees made up of top American corporate executives, after at least seven CEOs announced they were resigning from the councils because of his remarks. Also Wednesday, two former U.S. presidents... Читать дальше...