Новости за 29.09.2017

A member of President Donald Trump's Cabinet was out of a job Friday afternoon for chartering expensive planes at government expense, rather than taking cheaper commercial flights. "Secretary of Health and Human Services Thomas Price offered his resignation earlier today and the president accepted," a White House statement said. Price's resignation was effective at midnight, and Don J. Wright, deputy assistant secretary for health and director of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, will take over as acting secretary. Читать дальше...

The Correspondents is VOA’s weekly discussion of the world’s top stories, as seen through the eyes of our dedicated reporters in the US and around the globe. Hosted by Mil Arcega, our panel of journalists goes beyond the headlines to give listeners and viewer real context and understanding of what’s driving the story.

Two women accused of murdering the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to plead not guilty when their trial begins Monday in Malaysia, according to an attorney representing one of the defendants. Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Doan Thi Huong of Vietnam are accused of murdering Kim Jong Nam on February 13 at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by smearing his face with a deadly nerve agent. Huong's lawyer, Hysyam Teh, told Reuters the women "will maintain their innocence."... Читать дальше...

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

Twenty-seven European Union nations, not including Britain, will be coming up with clear options on a more tightly knit future for themselves even before they will allow divorce negotiations with the U.K. to move toward brokering a new relationship. EU Council President Donald Tusk said Friday he would be presenting "a political agenda in two weeks' time," after EU vision statements in recent weeks from French President Emmanuel Macron, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and others on how to the reform the bloc. Читать дальше...

A Serbian minister has denied media reports in the Balkan nation that the government is muzzling the free press through intimidation, threats and financial pressure. Vladan Vukosavljevic, Serbia's culture and information minister, told The Associated Press on Friday that his agency "strongly objects" to any form of pressure on journalists and believes in media freedom.   Vukosavljevic spoke a day after dozens of Serbian media outlets and other organizations darkened their web pages and published... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump promoted his sweeping tax cut proposal before the nation's largest manufacturing advocacy group Friday, saying lower rates will make American businesses more robust global competitors. "Under my administration, the era of economic surrender is over and the rebirth of American industry is beginning," Trump declared in a speech to the Washington-based National Association of Manufacturers. Trump said the plan would cap the tax rate for most small and medium-sized businesses at 25 percent... Читать дальше...

The International Committee of the Red Cross reports Yemen is in the grips of an unprecedented cholera outbreak. The Swiss humanitarian organization said the number of suspected cases in the impoverished, war-torn country could reach 900,000 by the end of the year. This latest projection far exceeds the ICRC’s worst case scenario in July, when it forecast 600,000 suspected cases of cholera by the end of 2017. To date, the ICRC estimates around 750,000 suspected cases throughout Yemen, including more than 2,100 deaths. Читать дальше...

The Spanish government says there will be no Catalonia independence vote Sunday, even as the regional government continues preparations for the referendum. Spanish Culture Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo said Friday the independence vote violates Spanish law and the government will not accept the results of the referendum. “We are open to dialogue within the framework of the law. As you would understand nobody can ask us … to engage in dialogue outside the framework of the law. It's impossible,” he said. Читать дальше...

Whole Foods says the credit and debit card information of customers who bought meals or drinks at its in-store restaurants or bars were exposed to hackers. The grocer, which was recently acquired by Seattle-based online retailer Amazon.com Inc., says the data breach did not affect its main checkout registers or any Amazon.com shoppers. Whole Foods did not say which of its 470 stores were affected, and a spokeswoman declined to answer any questions. The Whole Food stores that do have in-store... Читать дальше...

We’re liberating the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending September 30, 2017. Last week featured a rare treat: a Hot Shot Debut single in the Top Five. We're happy to announce that this week, history repeats itself. Number 5: Sam Smith "Too Good At Goodbyes" It happens in fifth place, where Sam Smith re-surfaces. Sam tallies his sixth Top 20 – and his third Top Five – hit, “Too Good At Goodbyes”. Back home in the U.K., the news is even better, where it becomes Sam’s sixth number one. Читать дальше...

The International Organization for Migration says 63 Rohingya refugees are believed to have died when a boat carrying them from Myanmar to Bangladesh capsized in the Bay of Bengal's rough seas Thursday.  Survivors say 80 people were on board the vessel at the start of the voyage. They say 24 men and boys between the ages of 10 and 35 were on board. The 80 passengers included at least six women and 50 children, many traveling without their parents. According to IOM, 23 people are confirmed dead, and 40 are missing and presumed dead. Читать дальше...

U.N. peacekeepers have deployed to a city in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo after clashes between armed groups and the Congolese army. The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Congo, MONUSCO, said it sent troops to Uvira to protect civilians and deter any attack on the city, located near the Burundian border, on the northern end of Lake Tanganyika. A reporter for VOA's French to Africa service said a militia known as the Mai Mai Yakutumba sent four motorboats filled with armed men over the lake to attack a bridge early Thursday. Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump is touting his administration’s disaster response in Puerto Rico, even as officials in the U.S. territory warn that much more help will be needed to fend off mass hunger and disease on the hurricane ravaged island. Adding to his running series of Twitter posts on the subject, Trump noted that Puerto Rico’s Governor Ricardo Rossello had praised Washington’s responsiveness to the island’s needs. Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello just stated: "The Administration and the President... Читать дальше...

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, has a message for the world's central bankers: Don't be Luddites. Addressing a conference in London on Friday, Lagarde said virtual currencies, which are created and exchanged without the involvement of banks or government, could in time be embraced by countries with unstable currencies or weak domestic institutions. "In many ways, virtual currencies might just give existing currencies and monetary policy a run for their money," she said. Читать дальше...

As the last international flights to and from the Kurdistan Region in Iraq were grounded Friday, hundreds of protesters wielding colorful balloons and signs with messages like "compassion" and "love" gathered outside the airport.   Protesters say they are hoping Baghdad backs down on its decision to establish a no-fly zone over their region after a controversial independence vote passed by more than 92 percent.    "This doesn't just impact Kurdistan," said the protest's organizer, Rowand Hussien. Читать дальше...

Pakistan’s military chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, will undertake a crucial visit to Afghanistan on Sunday where his delegation is to discuss with Afghan counterparts ways to strengthen bilateral security cooperation and border management efforts. Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have been marred by mistrust and suspicion, with both sides routinely accusing each other’s security institutions of backing fugitive anti-state militants to plot terrorist attacks against the other. While no... Читать дальше...

Members of Zimbabwe's opposition — mainly youths — sang, "We are tired of living on our knees, begging" as they marched Friday in Harare. Promise Mkwananzi, the youth leader of Zimbabwe's opposition MDC party, said that was a message to President Robert Mugabe's government. He said Zimbabweans want the government to alleviate cash shortages that are strangling the economy. However, the protest was broken up by police and youths wearing ZANU-PF regalia, who were brought to the scene by vehicles adorned with the ZANU-PF logo. Читать дальше...

Somaliland, a semi-autonomous region in the Horn of Africa, has displaced thousands of ethnic Oromos, according to Negeri Lencho, Ethiopia’s information minister. The forced relocations are the latest fallout of simmering conflict along the border between Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regions. Those tensions have boiled over in recent weeks, resulting in hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of displacements, Lencho told reporters at a press conference on Monday. The conflicts are the latest... Читать дальше...

On a sweltering day in July of last year, swarms of people streamed in near perfect unison from sleepy restaurants lining the road of Angk Ta Saom village to join in a funeral procession. It wasn’t from television that they knew the body of slain activist Kem Ley was about to arrive. Nearly all stations instituted a blackout of the monumental event. The requiem was instead streamed live on Facebook by U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia (RFA) and its team of more than 30 video journalists, along with citizen journalists... Читать дальше...

The United States is warning Americans against visiting Cuba and ordering more than half of U.S. personnel to leave the island, senior officials said Friday, in a dramatic response to what they described as "specific attacks'' on diplomats. The decision deals a blow to already delicate ties between the U.S. and Cuba, longtime enemies who only recently began putting their hostility behind them. The embassy in Havana will lose roughly 60 percent of its U.S. staff, and will stop processing visas in Cuba indefinitely, the American officials said.

Cardiovascular disease is a growing health concern in Kenya and around Africa. In Nairobi, 100 motorcycle taxi drivers are riding stationary bicycles and being trained to provide emergency resuscitation using automatic electronic defibrillators. It's all part of an ongoing campaign to raise awareness about heart health in Kenya. Lenny Ruvaga reports from Nairobi.

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Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Friday his planned flight ban into and out of the Kurdish region isn’t meant to “starve” the Kurdish people. On Friday at 6 p.m. local time, all international flights to the region are set to be cancelled — retaliation for the Kurdish independence referendum this week that passed with more than 92 percent of the vote. Humanitarian workers say the flight cancellations could have a “dire impact” on the lives of the region’s 1.6 million refugees and displaced people. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump will embark on a trip to Asia in November with the goal of garnering global support against the North Korean threat, while attending regional summits and discussing trade, the White House announced Friday. "The president's engagements will strengthen the international resolve to confront the North Korean threat and ensure the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," the statement said. The trip will include the president's first visit to China... Читать дальше...