Новости за 20.10.2017

More than a dozen civilians have been killed and wounded, and hundreds of families displaced by fierce fighting in recent days between the Islamic State (IS) terror group and Taliban insurgents in eastern Afghanistan.   At least eight civilians have been killed and four others wounded as clashes between the two rival groups continued for the sixth day on Friday in the Waziro Tangi region of the Khogyani district in eastern Nangarhar province. Among the dead were four civilians who were caught in the crossfire of clashes Sunday... Читать дальше...

Deadly mob attacks on people suspected to be "vampires" have led to 140 arrests in Malawi, police said Friday. The situation had spun out of control, the inspector general of police, Lexon Kachama, told The Associated Press. More arrests were expected. Nine people have been killed in the attacks that began last month after rumors of "blood-suckers" spread. In the latest case, a man with epilepsy was burned to death in Blantyre, the southern African nation's second-largest city, Kachama said. Another person there was stoned to death. Читать дальше...

The Group of Seven industrialized nations threw their support behind a new technology industry alliance aimed at detecting and blunting online propaganda, saying Friday it had a "major role" to play in combating extremism on the internet. G-7 interior ministers meeting in Italy invited representatives from Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter to a session Friday dedicated to the fight against terrorism. In a final communique, the ministers pressed the industry as a whole to do more. "Internet... 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.

A U.S. appeals court has blocked an undocumented minor from getting an abortion in Texas, while leaving open the possibility that she could still have the procedure shortly. The appeals court in Washington ruled Friday that the U.S. government had until Oct. 31 to approve an adult sponsor for the minor who could help the teen get an abortion without the government’s assistance. The court said the requirement that a sponsor be found does not “unduly burden” the girl’s right to an abortion. Escalation of case The case of Jane Doe... Читать дальше...

The fate of an undocumented minor seeking an abortion in Texas remains in limbo as a U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., heard arguments from both sides Friday. The case of Jane Doe, as she is known to protect the 17-year-old's identity, was appealed by the D.C. circuit court a day earlier in yet another escalation of the case, which began when Doe obtained permission from a state judge, in lieu of parental consent, and raised private money to pay for the procedure. However, the Health and... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has long faced United States sanctions over his government's human rights abuses. But the World Health Organization's new chief is making the longtime African leader a "goodwill ambassador." With Mugabe on hand, WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus told a conference in Uruguay this week on non-communicable diseases that he'd agreed to be a "goodwill ambassador" on the issue. Tedros, an Ethiopian who became WHO's first African director-general this year, said... Читать дальше...

The World Health Organization is part of an international effort working to rapidly contain an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in eastern Uganda on the border with Kenya. Marburg Hemorrhagic fever shares similarities with Ebola. The virus is very rare, extremely contagious, and has a high mortality rate. It is spread from person to person through bodily fluids. There is no specific treatment. The Uganda Ministry of Health has responded rapidly since the first case of the disease was detected Oct. Читать дальше...

A Texas law banning sanctuary cities would harm diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Mexico, Mexico argues in a brief submitted to the appeals court reviewing the law. The brief, filed Thursday with the Fifth District Court of Appeals in New Orleans, says whenever state or local officials act improperly in upholding the sanctuary law, the U.S. federal government would be unable to resolve the problem or prevent similar ones. Thus it runs the risk "that actions of a state or its officials regarding... Читать дальше...

Officials in Afghanistan say a suicide blast inside a crowded Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Kabul has killed at least 40 worshipers and wounded dozens more. Eyewitnesses and security officials told VOA the bomber walked into the Imam Zaman Mosque Friday evening in the western Dashti Barch area of the capital city and blew himself up. Women and children were said to be among the victims. Local reports say the death toll is higher than local officials are reporting. A pro-Islamic State website reported... Читать дальше...

Officials in Afghanistan say a suicide blast inside a crowded Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Kabul has killed at least 40 worshippers and wounded dozens more. Eyewitnesses and security officials told VOA the bomber walked into the Imam Zaman Mosque on Friday evening in the western Dashti Barchh area of the capital city and blew himself up. Women and children were said to be among the victims. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. Suspicion, however, fell on the Afghan branch of the Islamic State terrorist group... Читать дальше...

Suicide bombers struck two mosques in Afghanistan Friday, killing at least 72 people. At a Shi’ite mosque in Afghanistan’s capital, at least 39 people died and at least 41 were injured. Women and children were among the victims. “This is absolute barbarism,” said Ibrahim, a man who rushed to the mosque after the blast. Security officials told VOA the bomber walked into the Imam Zaman Mosque Friday evening in the western Dashti Barch area of Kabul and blew himself up. “It was one suicide bomber... Читать дальше...

Scores of Afghan troops have failed to show up while undergoing military training in the United States due to death threats, other potential violent acts and uncertain job prospects, according to a report issued Friday. Of the 320 foreign military trainees who left U.S. military bases without permission since 2005, about half were Afghan nationals, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), a monitoring agency that oversees reconstruction projects and other activities in Afghanistan. Читать дальше...

Aid agencies report nearly 7,000 Rohingya refugees stranded in dire conditions on the Bangladesh side of the border with Myanmar have been allowed to enter the country of refuge. The refugees, who were stranded for four days in no-man's land, are now being assisted by aid agencies in Cox's Bazar. The agencies say the Rohingya refugees were moved by the Bangladesh military to several makeshift settlements where they are being given food, water, medical checks and temporary shelter. Spokesman for the International Organization for Migration... Читать дальше...

A spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency says some 589,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar for Bangladesh since August 25. At a news conference Friday, Farhan Haq told reporters that just over half of them are staying at a large site known as the Kutupalong Expansion, where aid partners are working to improve basic services, infrastructure and road access. A conference is set for Monday to discuss the relief plan for the Rohingya crisis. It calls for $434 million to help 1.2 million refugees through February 2018. Читать дальше...

The United States says two more government workers are confirmed victims in the unexplained Cuba attacks. The State Department is increasing the official tally from 22 to 24. But State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert says the new victims "do not reflect new attacks." She says the additional victims were confirmed following medical evaluations of workers attacked earlier in the year. Nauert says the most recent attack is still believed to have been near the end of August. A U.S. official... Читать дальше...

Wedged between the rubbish-choked Rimac river and lanes of traffic belching fumes, the Cantagallo slum in downtown Lima is a far cry from the Amazon rainforest land that the Shipibo-Konibo people were forced to flee two decades ago. Hundreds of families belonging to the Peruvian indigenous group make their home in this gritty wasteland just a few blocks from the capital's main square. Forced from their homes by violent leftist Shining Path rebels or pushed out by extreme poverty and lack of opportunities... Читать дальше...

President Salva Kiir opened South Sudan's first-ever kidney hospital Thursday in Juba, calling it a breakthrough for the country's medical care. The facility — a welcome positive sign in conflict-torn South Sudan -- is to provide free services to all kidney patients in the country, including foreigners who have been residing there for at least six months. However, the government has not explained how it will pay for the services. Oil production is the country's main revenue-producer, and output... Читать дальше...

Electrical linemen descend from helicopters, balancing on steel girders 90 feet high on transmission towers in the mountains of central Puerto Rico, far from any road. At the same time, crews fan out across the battered island, erecting light poles and power lines in a block by block slog. A month after Hurricane Maria rolled across the center of Puerto Rico, the power is still out for the vast majority of people on the island as the work to restore hundreds of miles of transmission lines and thousands... Читать дальше...

Japanese Prime Minster Shinzo Abe's conservative coalition is increasingly confident it will win a decisive victory in Sunday's early election, and hold on to its current two-thirds majority in parliament. Seeking to take advantage of rising public support for his hardline stance against the North Korean nuclear threat, Abe recently dissolved the lower house of parliament to call for a "snap" election this month, rather than wait for the legislative term to end in December, 2018. If Abe's Liberal... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump says the United Nations has "tremendous potential" but that it "hasn't been used over the years nearly as it should be." Trump spoke during a meeting at the White House with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who leads the 193-member world organization.   Guterres says "we live in a messy world'" but we need strong reforms at the U.N. and a "strong United States engaged based on its traditional values."   Trump also praised Guterres' leadership in their first extended meeting. Читать дальше...

A mass transit strike in the Philippines this week risks more disruptive collective action unless drivers and the government settle differences over costly upgrades to an aging yet iconic vehicle fleet, analysts say. Thousands of drivers and operators of "jeepneys" went on strike Monday and Tuesday. The government called for two days off work and school to minimize disruption for commuters. Jeepneys are distinctly Philippine vehicles that are about the size of small buses and provide most urban mass transit. Читать дальше...

A top official in China has praised President Xi Jinping's expansive anti-corruption drive, arguing it has helped stop coup plotters from threatening the party's tight grip on power. Chinese officials have previously talked about the threat that "plotters," "cliques" and "conspirators" pose to the party, but the remarks from Liu Shiyu, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, were the clearest to date. However, analysts say that while the revelation is stirring much speculation... Читать дальше...

Medical student Alejandra Duran Arreola dreams of becoming an OB-GYN in her home state of Georgia, where there’s a shortage of doctors and one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the U.S. But the 26-year-old Mexican immigrant’s goal is now trapped in the debate over a program protecting hundreds of thousands of immigrants like her from deportation. Whether she becomes a doctor depends on whether Congress finds an alternative to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that President Donald Trump phased out last month. Читать дальше...

The European Union will push to conclude free trade talks with South American bloc Mercosur by the end of the year, leaders said, despite French reservations over the surge of farm imports an agreement would bring. French President Emmanuel Macron had said he was in no hurry to do a deal with the beef-exporting Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and succeeded in pushing trade onto the agenda of an EU leaders summit in Brussels. "We had a short moment just after midnight... Читать дальше...