Новости за 13.09.2017

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday he has become convinced that the United States must keep all three parts of its nuclear force, rather than eliminate one, as he once suggested.   Some argue that ground-based missiles may no longer be necessary to America's policy of deterrence, and the Trump administration has been reviewing the military's nuclear posture. Mattis has called the submarine-based component “sacrosanct” and has said it is necessary to retain the ability to fire nuclear weapons from planes. Читать дальше...

This was one of those rare Olympic moments where everyone walked away a winner.   Paris for 2024. Los Angeles for 2028. And the International Olympic Committee for transforming an unruly bidding process to lock down its future by choosing not one, but two Summer Olympics hosts at the same time.   The IOC put the rubber stamp on a pre-determined conclusion Wednesday, giving Paris the 2024 Games and LA the 2028 Games in a history-making vote.     The decision marks the first time the IOC has granted two Summer Olympics at once. Читать дальше...

Gambia is negotiating deals with three private companies to crack down on rampant illegal fishing in its territorial waters, a senior official with the fisheries ministry told Reuters. Made possible by poor monitoring capacity and, in some cases, corrupt local officials, illegal fishing costs West Africa's coastal nations about $2.3 billion a year, according to a recent study. Regional coast guards regularly seize Chinese fishing boats for fishing illegally. An investigation published by marine... Читать дальше...

European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker urged European Union governments on Wednesday to use economic recovery and Brexit as springboards toward a closer union, built on an expanded eurozone and a pivotal role in world trade. In his annual State of the European Union speech, Juncker sketched out a vision of a post-2019 EU in which 30 countries would be using the euro, with an EU finance minister running key budgets to help states in trouble. Tax and welfare standards would converge and Europe... Читать дальше...

The Senate on Wednesday rejected a bipartisan push for a new war authorization against the Islamic State and other terrorist groups, electing to let the White House rely on a 16-year-old law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks as the legal basis to send U.S. troops into combat. Senators voted 61-36 scuttle an amendment to the annual defense policy bill by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that would have allowed war authorizations, created in the wake of al-Qaida’s 9/11 strikes, to lapse after six months. Paul... Читать дальше...

Tunisia's parliament on Wednesday began debating a contested bill granting amnesty to officials accused of corruption during the rule of autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, triggering angry protests from the opposition and activists outside. Opposition lawmakers sang the national anthem and shouted slogans before the session was temporarily suspended. Outside, dozens of demonstrators protested, chanting "This law will not pass" and "Whitewash corruption." After months of protests, the bill was... Читать дальше...

Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman on Wednesday said the government was committed to implementing reforms backed by the International Monetary Fund, following a meeting with IMF first deputy managing director David Lipton. Ukraine has so far received $8.4 billion from the IMF, helping it to recover from a two-year recession following the annexation of Crimea by Russia in 2014 and the outbreak of a Russian-backed insurgency in its industrial east. But further disbursements from the $17.5... Читать дальше...

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday said that deporting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants brought into the country illegally is "not in our nation's interest," as he and President Donald Trump prepared to huddle with top Democrats to try to hash out a legislative fix. Speaking in an AP Newsmaker interview, Ryan said he believes the president "made the right call" when he announced that he would give Congress six months to figure out what to do with former President Barack Obama's Deferred... Читать дальше...

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday that the displacement of a third of Myanmar's Rohingya minority can be described as ethnic cleansing. "When one third of the Rohingya population has got to flee the country, can you find a better word to describe it?" he responded when asked if he agreed that the crisis constituted ethnic cleansing.  "I call on Myanmar authorities to suspend military action, end the violence, uphold the rule of law and recognize the right of return of all... Читать дальше...

More than 80 experts on nuclear non-proliferation issues urged the Trump administration Wednesday to not abandon the global agreement reached with Iran to curb Tehran's nuclear weapons development program. The group, including numerous academics and some former U.S. State Department officials, said the pact that took effect in January 2016 “has dramatically reduced the risk posed by Iran's nuclear program and mandated unprecedented monitoring and transparency measures that make it very likely that... Читать дальше...

Rohingya Muslims have long been seen as one of the world's most persecuted minority groups. Despite having a long history in Myanmar, the mostly Muslim group is not officially recognized by the government, which considers them illegal migrants from neighboring Bangladesh. They are also subject to intense societal and governmental discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. How many Rohingya are there? More than one million Rohingya are believed to live in Myanmar - a relatively small percentage... Читать дальше...

It could take months for Haitian farmers to recover as heavy rains brought by Hurricane Irma have flooded parts of the impoverished Caribbean nation, humanitarians said, calling for better disaster preparedness. Haiti did not take a direct hit from Irma, one of the most powerful Atlantic hurricanes on record, but it unleashed rains that washed away fields of rice and plantains in coastal areas. Some 18,000 poor families in the worst-hit north have lost their food crops, according to preliminary... Читать дальше...

U.S. security officials on Wednesday ordered government agencies to get rid of products and services from Kaspersky Lab, a Moscow-based cybersecurity firm. Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Elaine Duke issued the directive, giving agencies 90 days to comply. "This action is based on the information security risks presented by the use of Kaspersky products on federal information systems," according to a DHS statement. The department said the key concerns were ties "between certain... Читать дальше...

Scientists say one-third of the ice stored in Asia's glaciers will be lost by the end of the century even if the world manages to meet its ambitious goal of keeping global warming below 1.5° C, affecting water supplies for millions of people on the continent. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers in the Netherlands also examined what would happen if average global temperatures rise beyond 1.5° C(2.7° F) by the end of the century. They concluded that almost two-thirds of the ice in Asia's glaciers could vanish... Читать дальше...

In the coming months President Donald Trump’s administration will decide whether to extend eligibility for thousands of foreign nationals living in the country under a legal provision called “temporary protected status.” The protected status is offered to people from certain countries where it could be potentially dangerous for them to return.  Countries whose citizens are eligible for the temporary protected status are designated as experiencing “extraordinary and temporary conditions” that include civil war... Читать дальше...

Tanzania's government has been cracking down on irregularities in the mining sector, most recently confiscating diamonds worth $15 million from British company Petra Diamonds, accusing it of devaluing exports. And in July, the government demanded gold miner Acacia pay $190 billion in what it asserted were unpaid taxes, saying the company had underreported its exports. "They are stealing from us. It's strange, and some who were involved are our people," said Tanzanian President John Magufuli.... Читать дальше...

The wife of former President Jose Mujica has become Uruguay's vice president. Lucia Topolansky took over the post Wednesday after lawmakers accepted Jose Sendic's resignation amid corruption accusations.   Topolansky is a former guerrilla who was imprisoned and later rose through the political ranks to become a lawmaker. She will also head the Senate and the congress' general assembly.   Sendic announced his departure over the weekend amid allegations of corruption stemming from purported credit-card... Читать дальше...

Shaka Ssali recently visited Zambia to discuss democracy with a panel of Zambian governance activists. On his show, today, Shaka and his guest, Henry Sakala, Founder, Patriotic Front Party-Zambian Diaspora-America discuss the politics of Zambia – including excerpts from his interview with Hakainde Hichilema.

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

In his annual State of the Union address European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ruled out Turkish membership of the bloc for the "foreseeable future" over human rights concerns. He also pledged to improve conditions for African migrants held in horrific conditions at detention centers in Libya.

John Tefft, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Russia, says he believes Russia engaged in cyberattacks during the 2016 presidential election. Tefft, a career foreign service officer who came out of retirement in 2014 to serve as U.S. ambassador to Russia, is being succeeded by Trump appointee Jon Huntsman, a former U.S. ambassador to China. In a joint interview in Moscow with the Russian Services of VOA and RFE/RL, Tefft left no doubt he's convinced Russia meddled in the U.S. election. VOA's Danila Galperovich asked Tefft... Читать дальше...

Argentine President Mauricio Macri's favored candidate is gaining ground against former populist leader Cristina Fernandez in a closely watched Senate race in the country's largest province of Buenos Aires, sources from both parties and two analysts said. Macri's former education minister Esteban Bullrich of his Let's Change coalition appears to have reversed the trend since last month when Fernandez narrowly beat him by 0.08 percentage points in a nonbinding primary vote. While a second-place... Читать дальше...

The head of the European Union Commission has ruled out Turkish membership of the bloc for the "foreseeable future" because of human rights concerns.  In his annual State of the Union address Wednesday, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker cited human rights concerns as the reason. Addressing other topics, Juncker struck an upbeat tone compared to his annual address last year, which came in the wake of Britain’s vote to quit the bloc. "Europe's economy is finally bouncing back and with... Читать дальше...

The U.S. military dropped 555 bombs in Afghanistan against Taliban and Islamic State targets in August, the highest number in a single month since 2012. Overall, the U.S. has conducted about 2,400 airstrikes since the beginning of the year in support of Afghan partners battling the Taliban and IS terrorists, said U.S. Navy Captain Bill Salvin, spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support mission in the country. About 1,700 of them were “strategic effects” strikes, Salvin told VOA, explaining "those... Читать дальше...