Новости за 29.08.2017

The Archbishop of Paris is on a 100 million-euro ($120 million) fundraising drive to save the crumbling gargoyles and gothic arches of the storied Notre-Dame cathedral. Every year, 12 million to 14 million people visit the 12th-century Parisian landmark on an island in the Seine river. Groundbreaking for the structure occurred in 1163 and construction was completed in 1345. Pollution and exposure to elements over time have resulted in losses of large chunks of stone. "If we don't do these restoration works... Читать дальше...

School playgrounds across Syria are being transformed into vegetable gardens where children whose diets have been devastated by six years of war can learn to grow — and then eat — aubergines, lettuces, peppers, cabbages and cucumbers. Traditional Syrian cuisine is typical of the region, and rich in vegetables. Its mainstays include hummus, minced lamb cooked with pine nuts and spices, varied salads, stews made with green beans, okra or courgettes and tomatoes, stuffed cabbage leaves and artichoke hearts. Читать дальше...

Brazil's government has revised a decree that stripped protections from a reserve in the Amazon after environmental groups criticized the original order. The new decree announced late Monday still lifts the reserve designation from a gold- and copper-rich area larger than the Netherlands in two northern Brazilian states.   But President Michel Temer's administration clarifies that mining will not be allowed in conservation or indigenous areas within the former reserve.   The government says... Читать дальше...

Jordan will open its main border crossing with Iraq on Wednesday for the first time since 2015, now that Iraqi forces have gained control of the main highway to Baghdad from Islamic State militants, officials said Tuesday. Iraqi troops pulled out of the Tureibil post, on the 180-km (110-mile) border, in the summer of 2014 after the militants secured nearly all the official crossings of the western frontier as they swept through a third of the country. Commercial traffic continued for a year after... Читать дальше...

Lebanon's foreign minister said on Tuesday he supported renewing the mandate of U.N. peacekeeping forces in the country for another year, despite U.S. and Israeli criticism that the peacekeepers should do more to stop Hezbollah from gaining arms. "Preserving the mandate of @unifil is necessary for peace and stability, otherwise will jeopardize efforts of @UN," Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil said on Twitter. The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrols Lebanon's southern border with Israel. Читать дальше...

Moroccan authorities have arrested a man suspected of supplying gas canisters to a jihadist cell that carried out a double attack in Catalonia earlier this month that killed 16 people, a source from the Spanish investigation said. The cell accumulated around 120 canisters of butane gas at a house in a town south of Barcelona with which, police say, it planned to carry out a larger bomb attack. Police believe the cell accidentally ignited the explosives on Aug. 16, the eve of the Barcelona attack... Читать дальше...

More than 100,000 members of the Saudi security forces will help protect the 2 million worshipers expected to participate in the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage this week, but no specific militant plots have been detected, a senior spokesman said Tuesday. The world's largest annual gathering of Muslims has in the past seen deadly stampedes, fires and riots, with authorities sometimes struggling to respond. Saudi Arabia, which stakes its reputation on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites and its organization of the hajj... Читать дальше...

A 22-year-old New York resident has been arrested on charges of attempting to provide material support to Islamic State, the Department of Justice said Tuesday. Authorities also said Parveg Ahmed was due in federal court Tuesday for an initial appearance. News reports say Ahmed had sent messages through social media accounts about his support for IS. “As alleged, Ahmed sought to take up arms with violent terrorists who have killed numerous innocent victims, including Americans,” said Acting U.S.... Читать дальше...

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday ruled out forming a government coalition after elections with either the far left or the far right. Supporters of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party jeered her throughout a 30-minute campaign speech in the eastern city of Bitterfeld-Wolfen hours after Merkel declared comments by a top AfD official to be racist. Merkel, whose conservatives have a double-digit lead over the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) in polls ahead of the Sept. Читать дальше...

President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday denied that Finland was buying new fighter jets from American planemaker Boeing, following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump. Finland is looking to replace its aging fleet of 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets with multirole fighter aircraft in a procurement estimated at 7-10 billion euros by 2025. "One of the things that is happening is you're purchasing large amounts of our great F-18 aircraft from Boeing and it's one of the great planes, the great fighter jets,"... Читать дальше...

The United States has raised the issue of religious freedom in talks about easing sanctions on Sudan, the new head of the U.S. Agency for International Development said in Sudan on Tuesday. The head of the agency, Mark Green, held the talks with senior Sudanese officials as the U.S. government weighs whether to ease or extend the 20-year-old sanctions, a decision that must be made by Oct. 12. "We have asked questions and... have received assurances," Green told reporters after a meeting with Sudanese Prime Minister Bakri Hassan Saleh. Читать дальше...

Despite seemingly stalled peace talks between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban, officials say the intelligence chief speaks by telephone with militant leaders nearly every day about the country's constitution and political future. In addition, Afghanistan's national security adviser has conversations with the Taliban every other month, officials familiar with the efforts said. The Associated Press has seen documents describing the conversations between the Afghan officials and the Taliban... Читать дальше...

Last June, al-Shabab militants attacked an Ethiopian base in the Somali town of Halgan, one of several raids on African Union military camps. The Ethiopian troops repelled the attack, causing massive casualties. One of the al-Shabab fighters, Mohamed Daud Mohamed, known as Mohamed Dhere, said his unit lost 45 men. "It was a difficult fight; we left behind the wounded as we didn't have a chance to evacuate them. ... Everyone ran for their lives," he told VOA's Somali service. For Dhere, 20, it was a lesson. Читать дальше...

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the opioid crisis America's "top lethal issue" Tuesday, saying that a "comprehensive antidote" was needed to address the crisis. Speaking from the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children national conference in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Sessions thanked the audience for their work in making the crisis' effects on children known. “Our country, despite the record deaths, I don’t think has fully recognized the damage this addiction nightmare is doing to us," he said. Читать дальше...

The International Organization for Migration reports no migrants have died while crossing the Mediterranean Sea over the past 20 days. It adds migrant fatalities in general appear to be on the decline. The central Mediterranean Sea route from Libya to Italy is much favored by African migrants who risk their lives on smugglers boats desperate to reach Europe. While this route might become a gateway to a better life for some, it also is notorious for taking the lives of many. The International... Читать дальше...

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

The Houston megachurch led by televangelist Joel Osteen says it's opened its doors to people seeking shelter as Harvey swamps the city. Osteen had faced criticism for not using the massive Lakewood Church as a storm shelter. In a statement Monday to ABC News, Osteen said the church "never" closed its doors and was serving as a relief supply distribution center. He said it would "house people once shelters reach capacity." The church announced on Twitter it was receiving people who needed shelter late Tuesday morning. Читать дальше...

Public sentiment on unauthorized immigration continues to sour across Europe, prompting authorities to respond with decisive, sometimes violent, action. An example occurred last week in Rome, when Italian police forcibly evicted hundreds of refugees from a building near the Piazza Indipendenza.   Police used water cannon and beat people with batons, resulting in 13 people being treated for injuries at the scene and four hospitalizations, according to Doctors Without Borders in Italy. The force was necessary... Читать дальше...

Kim Kardashian West and her famous siblings are donating $500,000 to help Harvey victims. A spokeswoman for the reality star says she and her mother and sisters have given $250,000 to the Red Cross and $250,000 to the Salvation Army. Kardashian West announced the donation on Twitter on Tuesday, saying, "Houston we are praying for you.'' She used the hashtag #HoustonStrong. They are among several stars who've said publicly they are helping hurricane victims. Kevin Hart on Monday announced a... Читать дальше...

In the straight-laced world of the U.S. military, the big room with glossy white paint stands out. Beyond the desks lined with computer screens, the overhead projectors or the digital clock displaying the time in various world cities, the walls demand your attention.     They are covered from floor to ceiling with questions, equations, sketches and ideas — scribbled frantically or in moments of inspiration — all representing the best thinking of some of the U.S. military’s best analysts.   ... Читать дальше...

Beyonce says she's working with her charity to assist those in her hometown affected by Tropical Storm Harvey.   The Houston native says in a statement to The Houston Chronicle late Monday that "my heart goes out to my hometown, Houston, and I remain in constant prayer for those affected."   Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and the original members of Destiny's Child who left the group, LeToya Luckett and LaTavia Roberson, formed as teenagers in Houston.   Harvey made landfall four days ago as the fiercest... Читать дальше...

Federal prosecutors have charged a retired U.S. Army colonel with conspiring to bribe Haitian government officials in connection with an $84 million port development project in the impoverished island nation.   The U.S. attorney's office in Boston said Tuesday that 64-year-old Joseph Baptiste, of Fulton, Maryland, was charged with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and to commit money laundering.   Baptiste is a dentist. He is scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court in Maryland later Tuesday. Читать дальше...

Middle-class cocaine users are turning a blind eye to the link between their drug habit and sex trafficking, slavery and murder, said the former head of UK drug strategy. "These are middle-aged, middle-class people at dinner parties," Tony Saggers, former head of drugs threat at the National Crime Agency, told The Times on Tuesday, in his first interview since leaving the post. "They will find sweatshops abhorrent, slave labor a brutal, terrible thing to be happening in their neighborhood, and... Читать дальше...

Guatemala's president must not hinder the work of a U.N.-backed anti-corruption unit that is investigating his campaign financing, U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein said on Tuesday. President Jimmy Morales ordered the expulsion of the head of the anti-graft body, known as CICIG, on Sunday and declared him persona non grata, an order that was suspended by the nation's top court hours later. "I am deeply disturbed by the unprecedented decision of the President of Guatemala," Zeid said in a statement. Читать дальше...

The Venice Film Festival is kicking off the fall cinema season with searing drama, serious glamour and a crop of new movies vying for attention, awards and acclaim.   Thanks to its late-summer time slot, just ahead of rivals in Telluride and Toronto, the world's oldest cinema festival has become a key showcase for films hoping to dominate Hollywood's awards season. In recent years, Venice has been a launch-pad for Oscar winners including “Gravity,” “Birdman,” “Spotlight” and “La La Land.”   This... Читать дальше...