Новости за 22.08.2017

Relations between Caracas and Washington are at their lowest  point ever, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday in a speech at the presidential palace for international media that was televised to the nation. “Unfortunately we are in the worst moment of the relationship with the government of the United States,” said Maduro. He said that he and U.S. President Donald Trump should be respectful of each other and that relations between Venezuela and the United States should be normalized and a dialog established. Читать дальше...

Morgan Freeman, the versatile actor known for playing gods, presidents and pimps, will be honored with the 2017 lifetime achievement award by the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) at its annual ceremony in January. Freeman, 80, whose prolific career spans 50 years and more than 100 movies, will join the likes of past recipients Lily Tomlin, Debbie Reynolds and Dick Van Dyke when he gets the honor at a Los Angeles ceremony on Jan. 21. SAG announced the award on Tuesday. "Some actors spend their entire careers waiting for the perfect role. Читать дальше...

One hundred fifty baskets of pink petunias hang from the light posts all over this city, watered regularly by residents trying to make their community feel alive again. A local artist spends his afternoons high in a bucket truck, painting a block-long mural of a little girl blowing bubbles, each circle the scene of an imagined, hopeful future. But in the present, vacant buildings dominate blocks. A van, stuffed so full of blankets and boxes they are spilling from the windows, pulls to the curb outside Stacie Blodgett's antiques shop. Читать дальше...

Ukrainian cyber security firm ISSP said on Tuesday it may have detected a new computer virus distribution campaign, after security services said Ukraine could face cyber-attacks similar to those which knocked out global systems in June. The June 27 attack, dubbed NotPetya, took down many Ukrainian government agencies and businesses, before spreading rapidly through corporate networks of multinationals with operations or suppliers in eastern Europe. ISPP said that, as with NotPetya, the new malware... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump arrives in Phoenix, Arizona, Tuesday evening for a rally — his first such event since he drew widespread condemnation for his comments in the wake of violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month. Thousands of people are expected to be on hand for his visit, some to support the president and others to protest. Security in the city is on high alert, as Celia Mendoza of VOA's Spanish service reports from Phoenix.

Al Azhar University, Egypt's venerable seat of Islamic law, has been working to project a more modern image of Islam to counter the violent versions being espoused by Islamic State, al-Qaida and other militant groups.   Efforts by Al Azhar religious authorities to control the tenor of Islamic religious edicts or “fatwas” are part of the strategy that moderate forces are using to battle clerics espousing death and violence. Egypt has been plagued by the efforts of militant Islamic terrorists and... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has ordered a halt to research on the potential health hazards of people who live near mountaintop coal mining operations. The U.S. Interior Department ordered the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to end a study of surface coal mining sites in the Appalachian Mountains, pending a review of projects that cost more than $100,000. Last year the Interior Department, under then President Barack Obama, commissioned research into possible... Читать дальше...

Chancellor Angela Merkel's main challenger in next month's election says he would push for the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from German soil. The dpa news agency reported Tuesday that Social Democrat Martin Schulz also told supporters in the city of Trier on Tuesday that a government led by him would seek to limit Germany's own military expenditures. The news agency quoted Schulz saying: "As chancellor, I will work to ensure that the nuclear weapons stationed in Germany ... are removed." ... Читать дальше...

Excitement and suspicion are swirling around Angola's capital as the nation readies itself for a historic vote Wednesday, in the first election many citizens will have seen without the longtime president on the ballot. Jose Eduardo dos Santos is stepping down after 38 years in power. Five parties are challenging his powerful People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola, or MPLA, which has ruled since independence in 1975 and is widely expected to win again. Already, the two main opposition parties... Читать дальше...

Thirty-two men. One woman. That's how large the gender gap is among U.S. President Donald Trump's recently announced candidates to head U.S. attorney's offices around the country. There are 93 U.S. attorneys in the nation, politically appointed prosecutors charged with enforcing federal laws while carrying out the president's law enforcement agenda. They serve a term of four years. Among Trump's 33 nominees, all but three are white men. Jessie Liu, tapped to head the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia... Читать дальше...

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports more than 700 people have died and more than 24 million people in Nepal, Bangladesh and India have been affected by the worst flooding to hit South Asia in decades. The International Red Cross Federation reports nearly one-third of Nepal and Bangladesh are flooded, as is one half of the state of Bihar in India. It says millions of people are now homeless. While the flooding was triggered by a monsoon, the Red Cross under-secretary... Читать дальше...

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

For 100-year-old Tamam Shaheen, the day Islamic State militants took over her village was not particularly memorable.   “One night Free Syrian Army rebels were occupying our village and the next day it just changed,” she said, sitting on the concrete floor of a one-room house with an unlit cigarette in her hand.  “All those bearded people were here.”   During their rule over her village, Sarran, IS militants ruined the local economy and forced villagers to adhere to dress codes.  They tried, unsuccessfully... Читать дальше...

The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Chinese and Russian individuals and companies Tuesday, accusing them of conducting business with North Korea in ways that helped Pyongyang's nuclear weapons and missile programs. The U.S. Treasury Department said the 10 companies and six individuals helped North Korea generate revenue that could be used to pay for weapons programs. According to the Treasury, those targeted do business with previously sanctioned companies and people who work with the North Korean energy sector... Читать дальше...

"Transformers: The Last Knight" star Mark Wahlberg has outmuscled Dwayne Johnson to become Hollywood's highest-paid actor in the past year with a transforming income of $68 million, according to Forbes magazine. The former rapper known as Marky Mark beat out "Baywatch" star Johnson, with $65 million, and Johnson's "The Fate of the Furious" co-star Vin Diesel, worth $54.5 million The rest of the top five, released Tuesday, includes Adam Sandler, flush with a Netflix deal, at No. 4 with $50.5 million and Jackie Chan with $49 million. Читать дальше...

George and Amal Clooney are donating $1 million to fight hate groups.   The couple announced Tuesday that their Clooney Foundation for Justice is supporting the Southern Poverty Law Center with a $1 million grant to combat hate groups in the United States.   George Clooney says in a statement Tuesday that they wanted to add their voices and financial assistance to the fight for equality.   Clooney said, "There are no two sides to bigotry and hate."   The Southern Poverty Law Center monitors... Читать дальше...

The U.S. State Department is expanding expanded its travel advisories to warn of dangers in more parts of Mexico.   The new travel advisory doesn't mention the Caribbean resorts of Cancun or Playa del Carmen by name. But the advisory issued Tuesday says "turf battles between criminal groups have resulted in violent crime in areas frequented by U.S. citizens."   Warnings have also been extended to the states of Veracruz and Chiapas that previously didn't have them.   The department also extended... Читать дальше...

When President Donald Trump announced his long-awaited policy on Afghanistan, his remarks Monday hinted the plan was a compromise between his instinct, to “pull out,” and advice he received that “a hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including IS and al-Qaida, would instantly fill.”   The broad strokes of the policy appeared to be the same as the Obama administration - beat back the Taliban, increase pressure on Pakistan and demand reform from the Afghan government.   Shamila Chaudhary... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump plans to visit border patrol facilities near the frontier with Mexico in the southwestern U.S. state of Arizona.   The trip Tuesday to Yuma comes as the president has struggled to obtain Congressional approval to fund his long-promised additions to the border wall that already exists in some parts of the U.S. southwest. Trump is expected to tour a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility to see equipment used for surveillance and detection of border crossings, and hold a closed-door briefing with local staff. Читать дальше...

The friendship of the four young roommates — though cemented in the dark trappings of an obscure neo-Nazi group called Atomwaffen Division — never seemed destined for bloodshed.   One was described as a former science nerd, serving in the Florida National Guard. Two others worked temp jobs at a recycling plant and talked about joining the military. The fourth caught flak from his roommates for wasting his days with video games.   Now two of the young men are dead, the other two are in jail and authorities are left to answer this question... Читать дальше...

Violence surged in rural central Kenya earlier this year as armed northern herders brought thousands of cattle, sheep and goats onto private property, prompting clashes that took the lives of humans and wildlife.   As drought raged on, it did not help that some politicians encouraged constituents to graze their livestock wherever they could find grass and water.   Peter Hetz, executive director of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, says that although the recent elections and change in government were peaceful, there are still unresolved issues. Читать дальше...

Following an announcement by President Donald Trump declaring the United States' commitment to Afghanistan, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said Tuesday he has not yet made a decision on how many troops to send to the South Asian country. Speaking from Baghdad, Mattis said he is consulting with Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and will make the decision based on his plan. In an evening address from a military base outside Washington Monday, Trump said that he would... Читать дальше...

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis is set to visit Ankara, Turkey in the coming days as part of a tour of the region. Mattis' visit comes as bilateral relations between the two NATO allies are strained over Washington’s support of Syrian Kurds, whom Ankara considers terrorists. “Turkish relations are as bad as they can get,” said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served in Iraq and Washington. “But the fact Turkey’s position on the world map is extremely important, one can look on... Читать дальше...

A top Palestinian official says the Palestinians are hoping for some clear answers from the U.S. when White House envoy Jared Kushner returns to the region this week. Ahmad Majdalani, a top aide to President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians asked Kushner for the U.S. position on two key issues - Israeli settlements and support for Palestinian independence - during his last visit to the region in June.   "Since then we didn't hear from them," he said Tuesday. "We hope they bring clear answers... Читать дальше...

The co-founder of a Washington opposition research firm that produced a dossier of salacious allegations involving President Donald Trump is set to speak behind closed doors to congressional investigators.   Glenn Simpson is expected to appear privately Tuesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a transcribed interview. Simpson runs Fusion GPS. That firm hired the British intelligence officer who produced the dossier containing allegations of ties between Trump and Russia.   The Senate... Читать дальше...