Новости за 21.08.2017

President Donald Trump looks to get his administration back on track after a difficult week with a campaign-style rally of supporters Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona. Trump is trying to move past his controversial comments from last week when he blamed protesters “on both sides” for the violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. “You had some very bad people in that group. But you also had some people that were very fine people on both sides,” Trump told reporters last week at Trump Tower in New York. Читать дальше...

Russia’s armed forces chief staff, General Valery Gerasimov, is due to visit Turkey this week in the latest step in bilateral regional coordination efforts on Syria. Ahead of Gerasimov’s visit, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusolgu took a swipe at NATO ally the United States, saying Russia better understood Turkey's concerns about the Syrian Kurdish rebel militia, the YPG. Washington’s strong backing of the YPG in its fight against Islamic State in Syria continues to strain relations between the NATO partners. Читать дальше...

16 — Years U.S. troops have fought in Afghanistan 2,300 — U.S. troops killed 31,000 — Civilians killed, as of August 2016 800 billion — Dollars spent by U.S. on war 8,400 — U.S. troops currently in Afghanistan 6,575 — Allied and NATO troops in Afghanistan 3,053 — Private security contractors working for DOD in Afghanistan 60% — Percentage of Afghanistan controlled by Kabul's government 40% — Percentage of Afghanistan controlled by Taliban

A rare total solar eclipse began in the Western state of Oregon Monday, as millions of people across the U.S. are watching the phenomenon from the Pacific to the Atlantic for the first time in 99 years.

Germany's anti-immigrant AfD party pushed Monday to make the massive influx of migrants into the country an election issue as it battles with flagging support, despite waning concern among Germans over the matter. More than 1 million migrants entered Germany in 2015-2016. Alternative for Germany leaders Alexander Gauland and Alice Weidel told reporters in Berlin they think the wave of newcomers has led to increased crime, an overwhelmed educational system and an "Islamization of society." "The... Читать дальше...

“If you refuse to join, IS militants take you away by force,” said Ahmed Ali, 29, a former farmer in Syria's northeastern countryside.  “We don't actually know where they take people. But they don't come back.” Surrounded by more than 20 other young men in a sweltering tent, Ali described fleeing Islamic State militants three nights earlier, paying a series of smugglers $1,000 to get him to the relative safety of a camp in the town of Ain Issa.   A week ago, Islamic State fighters had hung fliers all over his village... Читать дальше...

Every August, tens of thousands of Egypt’s Coptic Christians and Egyptian Muslims take buses and trains to the Virgin Mary Monastery in Assiut. This year, Muslims were banned from attending the event by the Egyptian authorities. The monastery is believed to have been visited by the Holy family when they fled Israel out of fear of persecution by King Herod.

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

Islamic State militants continue counterattacking from their remaining strongholds in Raqqa, Syria, as coalition-backed forces advance to recapture the city. Families fleeing the fighting often have no place to go but to camps desperately short of clean water, food and medicine. VOA's Heather Murdock is on the scene in Raqqa and in the Ain Issa Camp in Syria.

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl has decided be to tried by a judge — not a military jury — on charges that he endangered comrades by walking off his post in Afghanistan.   Bergdahl's lawyers told the court in a brief filing last week that their client chose trial by judge alone, rather than a panel of officers. He faces charges of desertion and misbehavior before the enemy at his trial scheduled for late October at Fort Bragg. The latter carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.   Defense attorneys declined to comment on the decision. Читать дальше...

The warring factions in South Sudan and the country’s neighbors must leave no stone unturned in finding a political solution to the three-and-a-half-year civil war.  That was the message of the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as he wrapped up his visit to South Sudan and neighboring Uganda. Peter Maurer has visited conflict zones around the world, including Syria and Yemen.  The International Committee of the Red Cross president paints a grim picture of what he has just seen in South Sudan... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Navy has ordered an immediate, worldwide “operational pause” after a guided-missile destroyer collided with a merchant ship Monday east of Singapore, the second such collision in as many months.   Ten American sailors are reported missing and five injured, with the USS John S. McCain sustaining "significant damage" as a result of the incident near the Strait of Malacca, according to a statement from the U.S. 7th Fleet. The chief of naval operations, Admiral John Richardson, has ordered... Читать дальше...

Police in Spain have confirmed that the man they shot dead west of Barcelona Monday was the perpetrator of Thursday's deadly van attack. "We confirm that the man shot dead in #subirats is Younes Abouyaaqoub, author of the terrorist attack in #barcelona," police tweeted on Monday, after earlier reporting that the man in the town of Subirats was wearing what appeared to be a suicide belt. Catalan interior minister Joaquim Forn told Catalunya radio that "everything indicates" Younes Abouyaaqoub... Читать дальше...

A rare total solar eclipse began in the Western state of Oregon Monday, as millions of people across the U.S. are watching the phenomenon from the Pacific to the Atlantic for the first time in 99 years. The temperature in Oregon dropped significantly as the moon moved to cover the sun. An estimated 200 million people live within a day's drive of Monday's path of totality, which starts from Oregon's Pacific Coast, across the U.S. heartland, all the way to South Carolina's Atlantic Coast. WATCH... Читать дальше...

China has been an "incredible partner" in cracking down on synthetic opioids seen as fueling fast-rising overdose deaths in the United States, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Monday during a visit to the country considered the source of many of the deadly substances sought by addicts.   Price said China has been quick to respond when regulators identify a threat from a dangerous drug such as fentanyl, the powerful opioid blamed for thousands of fatal overdoses, including the death of entertainer Prince. Читать дальше...

Wisconsin Assembly Democratic Leader Peter Barca was branded as failing "on all accounts" by a fellow Democrat who was "incredibly frustrated and concerned" with his actions after Barca joined Republicans in voting for a $3 billion tax incentive package for Foxconn Technology Group.   Emails obtained by The Associated Press show that Democratic state Rep. Lisa Subeck of Madison spelled out her grievances to Barca on Friday, the day after the Assembly passed the incentive package backed by Republicans... Читать дальше...

Nigerian activist, Rebecca Dali has won the prestigious Sergio Vieira de Mello Foundation award for her work in re-integrating women and orphans abducted by Boko Haram militants into their home communities. The award was presented at a ceremony Monday commemorating World Humanitarian Day (August 19) at the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva. It is given every two years in memory of Sergio Vieira de Mello, who was killed in a terrorist attack on August 19, 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq, along with 21 others. Читать дальше...

For the majority of Angola's 29 million people, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos is the only leader they have ever known. Now, as he steps aside after nearly four decades, many Angolans are preparing to vote for the very first time. Until this year, Ana Maria Espirito Santos Monteiro never registered to vote. The 60-year-old saw no reason, because for the last 38 years Angola has been ruled by President dos Santos, who was accused of rigging elections in his favor. But with dos Santos not running for re-election this time... Читать дальше...

Thirty-three people taken into custody in Boston during a counterprotest of a small, conservative "free speech rally" over the weekend are headed to court this week.   The arrests — mostly for disorderly conduct — were made Saturday as an estimated 40,000 counterprotesters gathered in and around Boston Common. Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley says a "small number of people went beyond the bounds of safe behavior," during the events on the Common.   Arraignments are set for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Boston Municipal Court. Читать дальше...

The lieutenant governor of Guam has reassured Japanese that the U.S. territory is calm amid the recent tension between the U.S. and North Korea. Lt. Gov. Ray Tenorio said in Tokyo on Monday that Guam remains in a "state of normalcy." Japan is a major source of tourists for the Pacific island. North Korea threatened recently to launch ballistic missiles into waters near Guam. Tenorio said at a news conference that the White House has told Guam Gov. Eddie Calvo that it "is closely watching... Читать дальше...

Hurricane Kenneth has rapidly grown into a monster Category 4 storm, but it's centered far off Mexico's Pacific coast and posing no threat to land. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Kenneth had winds of 130 mph (215 kph) early Monday and could strengthen further before weakening later in the day. The hurricane was centered about 1,355 miles (2,180 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. It was moving west-northwest at about 10 mph (17 kph) over the open sea. Читать дальше...

Germany's Foreign Ministry is having some fun at the expense of a Breitbart News gaffe. The online news site's London operation on Friday used a photo of famous German soccer star Lukas Podolski riding on a jet-ski to illustrate a story headlined "Spanish Police Crack Gang Moving Migrants on Jet-Skis."   The image prompted immediate online ridicule, and the site quickly removed it. The photo was taken of Podolski in 2014 just before the start of the World Cup final in Brazil.   Breitbart also apologized, saying "there is no evidence Mr. Читать дальше...

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro says new measures will be rolled out this week to combat economic speculation in the crisis-ridden country.   In an interview distributed via state-run media Sunday, Maduro said he was working with a "special commission" of the new, pro-government Constituent Assembly to clamp down on price gouging.   The commission is "going to announce a set of actions so that the maximum price of the products is respected," Maduro said, without providing details. He also... Читать дальше...

University of Texas President Greg Fenves ordered the immediate removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from a main area of campus, saying such monuments have become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.” Fenves announced the move late Sunday night as crews were in place to begin taking the statues down. The school also blocked off the area during the process, and the statues are expected to be gone by mid-morning Monday, a spokesman said. The... Читать дальше...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has named deputy foreign minister Anatoly Antonov as the country's new ambassador to the United States. He will replace Sergei Kislyak, who served for as Moscow's envoy to Washington for more than nine years. U.S-Russian relations have fallen to their lowest point since the Cold War, with U.S. intelligence agencies concluding that Moscow interfered in the 2016 presidential election, in an effort to help Donald Trump win. Russia has denied meddling in the election. Читать дальше...