Новости за 01.09.2017

About 400 people have died in violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state over the past week, military officials said, almost all of them Muslim insurgents. A military Facebook page reported the numbers, saying 370 were insurgents and 29 were either police or civilians. Members of the minority Rohingya Muslim community, however, have reported attacks on their villages that left scores dead and forced thousands to flee. The United Nations says at least 38,000 people have fled from Myanmar into Bangladesh, most of them Rohingya. Читать дальше...

On Alaska's Kenai peninsula, the city of Homer proudly calls itself the halibut fishing capital of the world. For more than 30 years it has held an annual "Halibut Derby." VOA's Natasha Mozgovaya and Aleksandr Bergan were there for this year's big event.

For the second consecutive month, the number of refugees coming to the United States dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade. State Department data shows 910 refugees arrived in August, compared to an average of 6,955 for that month in the preceding 10 years. A month earlier, July set the previous decade-low arrivals level, with 1,224 refugees admitted. This time last year, the U.S. refugee program looked dramatically different. As the country ramped up efforts to resettle displaced Syrians... Читать дальше...

It's easy to understand why Heela Najibullah would crave revenge. Her father, Afghan President Najibullah, was executed by the Taliban, his body and his brother's dragged by a truck through the streets of Kabul before they were strung up for public display. But Heela has managed to quell her inner demons. Now an aid worker living in Switzerland, she not only wants peace for her homeland but also hopes to play a role in its reconciliation and the compromises that will have to be made to achieve peace. Читать дальше...

Rescuers continued their search for survivors Friday in Texas, one week after Hurricane Harvey began sweeping through the Gulf Coast region, dumping unprecedented amounts of rain, displacing more than one million people and claiming the lives of at least 39 others. As floodwaters began to recede, some Texans returned to their homes to begin the sobering task of assessing the damage inflicted by Harvey. Despite receding water levels, Texas officials warned that many rivers and basins continued... Читать дальше...

Harry Potter’s magical world is coming alive like never before. Fans of the best-selling books and films can now fly through the boy wizard’s Hogwarts School and its quidditch pitch, in an immersive digital experience. The Hogwarts Experience was launched on the fan website Pottermore.com on Friday to coincide with the Sept. 1 date when 11 year-old orphan Potter first started at Hogwarts school in J.K. Rowling’s 1997 book “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” While Hogwarts School has been created many times for movies... Читать дальше...

United States-backed fighters in Raqqa say they have taken the last districts of the Old City from Islamic State jihadists. "We declare to our people the liberation of the old city of Raqqa," the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said in a statement. Talal Sello, a spokesman for the SDF, told French news agency AFP  that coalition fighters are now "on the edges of IS's security quarter in the city center, where most of its main bases are." About 25,000 civilians remain trapped with the remaining jihadists... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe spoke in public Friday for the first time since she was accused of assaulting a South African model in Johannesburg. Addressing a rally of the ruling Zanu PF party with her husband, President Robert Mugabe, she called for unity as Zimbabwe prepares for elections in 2018. The 52-year-old Grace Mugabe did not make any reference to the case, in which she was accused of assaulting model Gabriella Engels with an electrical cord two weeks ago. The alleged incident occurred after Mugabe found her two adult sons... Читать дальше...

The Grand Canyon -- one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World -- has inspired adventurers, poets and painters for hundreds of years. Whether looking down from its massive rim or up from the rushing waters of the Colorado River, it's easy to see how it got its name. National parks traveler Mikah Meyer explored the majestic site during an eight-day adventure he says he’ll never forget. He shared highlights with VOA’s Julie Taboh.

In Silicon Valley, all eyes are on Dara Khosrowshahi, the new CEO of Uber, who starts his turnaround of the ride-hailing firm on Tuesday. But for Iranian Americans working in tech, Khosrowshahi's appointment is not just about who will guide Uber, a nearly $70 billion company that has searched since June for a new leader. Khosrowshahi, 48, is Iranian American. Born in Tehran, he came to the U.S. when he was nine. His appointment highlights the prominence of people of Iranian descent in the tech... Читать дальше...

“Yes We Can,” President Barack Obama's famous catch phrase, was borrowed from a petite fiery American Latina named Dolores Huerta. Not many people know Huerta’s name, or her contributions to American civil rights, but a new documentary, Dolores, by filmmaker Peter Bratt reveals 70 years of her rich life and work as an American union leader and activist. In the late 1950s, Dolores Huerta, a community organizer and activist in California gave voice to disenfranchised Latinos in America. “I had seen... Читать дальше...

“Yes We Can,” President Barack Obama's famous catch phrase, was borrowed from a petite fiery American Latina named Dolores Huerta. Not many people know Huerta’s contributions to American civil rights, but the documentary “Dolores,” by filmmaker Peter Bratt, reveals 70 years of her rich life and work as a union leader and activist. VOA’s Penelope Poulou has more.

China on Sunday hosts the annual summit of leaders from the BRICS countries — the emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. They represent 40 percent of the global population, and observers say the talks are aimed at showcasing the nations' combined economic might as a counter to Western domination of world affairs. As host, China hopes to make the meeting in the southeastern city of Xiamen a landmark event. However, it is hamstrung by sharp differences among member countries on several issues... Читать дальше...

Quirky spiritualism? Solace? The assurance of food and healthcare? What draws millions of Indians towards gurus whose allure has not dimmed even after some high-profile "godmen" landed behind bars in recent years for crimes ranging from rape to fraud and murder? The latest guru to be discredited is 50-year-old Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, who was handed a 20-year prison sentence this week for raping two of his followers. The judge who ruled in the case said he acted "like a wild beast." At least... Читать дальше...

Russia vowed Friday to respond to a U.S. order to shut the Russian Consulate in San Francisco and offices in Washington and New York, but also indicated that Moscow was not inclined to raise the stakes in the diplomatic tit-for-tat between the two countries. The Trump administration said the order issued Thursday was in retaliation for the Kremlin's "unwarranted and detrimental" demand last month that the U.S. substantially reduce the size of its diplomatic staff in Russia. "The United States... Читать дальше...

A group in Italy is training migrants — mostly from sub-Saharan Africa — as beekeepers, then pairing them with honey producers who need employees. Aid groups say new efforts by European leaders to stem the flow of migrants from Africa ignores the fact that Europe needs these workers. According to Oxfam, Italy alone will need 1.6 million migrants over the next 10 years. Back in his native Senegal, the only interaction Abdul Adan ever had with bees was when one stung his mouth while he was eating fresh honey. Читать дальше...

Cameroon's President Paul Biya has ordered the release of three anglophone leaders detained over the ongoing strike in parts of the country. The move is in an important concession to strikers' demands and may open the way to renewed talks to the end the nine-month crisis. Neighbors, relatives, admirers and family members prayed at the Yaounde Tam Tam Weekend residence of Ayah Paul Abine. The former advocate general of the supreme court of Cameroon and national chairman of the Popular Action Party... Читать дальше...

The U.S. unemployment rate rose slightly in August and the net gain in jobs was lower than economists predicted. Friday's report from the Labor Department says the jobless rate rose one-tenth of one percent to 4.4 percent. While that is an increase, it is still close to a 16-year low. Across the economy, there was a net gain of 156,000 jobs, which was tens of thousands less than the prior month. Wages continued to grow at a 2.5 percent annual rate. PNC Bank chief economist Gus Faucher says "soft" wage growth is a persistent problem... Читать дальше...

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan labeled as a “scandal” the decision of a U.S. court to indict 19 people, among them 15 members of a Turkish security detail, accused of attacking peaceful demonstrators during Erdogan's visit to Washington on May 16. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul Friday, Erdogan called the indictment “a clear and scandalous expression of how justice works in America,'' adding that he would discuss the issue with U.S. President Donald Trump during a trip to New York this month. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly will soon nominate Georgetown University professor Victor Cha for ambassador to South Korea. The addition of the highly qualified North Korea expert would fill an important diplomatic vacancy needed to manage what seems to be significant disagreements between Washington and Seoul over how to deal with the North’s increasingly provocative nuclear and missile tests.   Cha, who is Korean-American, is the director of Asian studies at Georgetown University, and... Читать дальше...

Philippine residents are settling in for a long war against Muslim rebels entrenched in a southern Philippine city, despite government pledges of a speedy end, analysts say. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and military officials have promised to quickly defeat the Maute Group at its base, Marawi city. Analysts say fighting in the city on the embattled island of Mindanao could go on as long as that group or its sympathizers pose a terrorism threat, and there is no sign of the threat abating. Читать дальше...

As the annual Hajj pilgrimage nears its end, thousands of Muslims carried out the symbolic “stoning of the devil” ritual Friday to mark the beginning of Eid al-Adha celebrations. Pilgrims threw stones at three walls at Jamarat in Mina, in one of the main rites of the Hajj. During Hajj, devoted Muslims perform a series of religious rituals, including walking seven times counterclockwise around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped structure at the center of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, which Muslims believe... Читать дальше...

Kenya’s Supreme Court has nullified the results of last month’s presidential election that handed a victory to incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta. The court said Friday the electoral board has committed “irregularities and illegalities” during the vote, harming the integrity of the election. Opposition leader Raila Odinga had petitioned the court to throw out the results of the August vote. Odinga says the results that had him losing to Kenyatta by about 1.4 million votes were false. Kenya’s... Читать дальше...

Hungary’s prime minister is asking the European Union to pay for half of the cost of anti-migrant fences it built on its southern borders, some 440 million euros ($523 million).    In a letter dated Thursday to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the fences erected in 2015 protect not just Hungary “but entire Europe against the flood of illegal migrants.”   Orban said Europe needed to show solidarity with Hungary’s border protection efforts, not just with Greece and Italy... Читать дальше...

Floodwaters are slowly receding in Houston, but many freeways and neighborhoods near dams and reservoirs are still under water, meaning thousands of flood victims are still in need of shelter. Several mosques have opened their doors to flood victims, providing shelter and donations. For 19-year-old Sara Al Azaat, who is from Saudi Arabia, passing the time at the shelter has not been easy. She has only been in Houston for four months. “We’ve never had any experience before ... with any kind... Читать дальше...