Новости за 21.10.2017

Victims of the regime of former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh announced Saturday an "international campaign" to bring him to justice. Jammeh, a former soldier, ruled the small English-speaking West African country from 1994 to January 2017, but now lives in exile in Equatorial Guinea. His regime is accused by human rights defenders of systematically torturing political opponents and journalists, extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances. "We will do whatever it takes to get justice... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a statement praising the Syrian Democratic Forces for recapturing the city of Raqqa from ISIS control. Trump wrote in a statement Saturday that the defeat of ISIS, or Islamic State, in the group's self-proclaimed capital city represents a "critical breakthrough" in the worldwide campaign to eliminate the terrorist organization. "With the liberation of ISIS's capital and the vast majority of its territory," the statement reads, "the end of the ISIS caliphate... Читать дальше...

The NAACP, one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the United States, announced the hiring of an insider to lead group as it responds "aggressively and decisively to new attempts to roll back civil rights protections." At a meeting of the board of directors Saturday in Arlington, Virginia, just south of Washington, the board finalized the hiring of Derrick Johnson as the NAACP's 19th president and CEO. The Jackson, Mississippi native served as interim leader since July and previously as vice president of the board. Читать дальше...

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, or JuA, a faction of the banned Pakistan Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) terror group, confirmed the death on Friday of its chief, Umar Khalid Khorasani. Khorasani has been blamed for directing several deadly attacks carried out in different parts of Pakistan in recent years, including the devastating March 2016 attack on the Christian community in Lahore on the day before Easter that claimed the lives of 75 people.  “Chief of our Jamaat-ul-Ahraar, Umar Khalid Khorasani, who sustained... Читать дальше...

A popular Russian TV anchor who recently announced plans to seek the presidency has vowed to withdraw her candidacy if mainstream opposition leader Alekei Navalny becomes eligible to reenter the contest, but some Russia observers have been quick to pan her candidacy as a Kremlin ploy to split the liberal opposition. Journalist Ksenia Sobchak, daughter of the late Anatoly Sobchak, the former St. Petersburg mayor and one-time mentor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, launched a promotional video... Читать дальше...

Authorities in Niger say at least a dozen paramilitary police have been killed in an attack similar to the one that killed four U.S. Green Beret and four Nigerien troops on October 4. Saturday's attack took place in the same area, officials said. The raid took place in the town of Ayorou, about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, Niamey.  Reports said the attackers were heavily armed with guns and rocket launchers. They arrived in five vehicles to launch their ambush on a gendarmes' base. Читать дальше...

Authorities in Niger say at least a dozen paramilitary police have been killed in an attack similar to the one that killed four U.S. Green Beret and four Nigerien troops Oct. 4. Saturday’s attack took place in the same area, officials said. The raid took place in the town of Ayorou, about 200 kilometers northwest of the capital, Niamey. Reports said the attackers were heavily armed with guns and rocket launchers. They arrived in five vehicles to launch their ambush on a gendarmes’ base. The attackers... Читать дальше...

New details are emerging about the attack that left four U.S. soldiers dead in Niger as U.S. congressional leaders are demanding answers from the Pentagon. The U.S. Green Berets (special forces), along with four Nigerian soldiers, were killed on October 4 in an ambush in Tongo-Tongo, a village near the border with Mali. On the eve of the attack, about 30 Special Forces, mostly Nigeriens and eight U.S. Green Berets, set off in pickup trucks toward the border village and arrived at night, according to Almou Hassane... Читать дальше...

New Zealand not only has its youngest female prime minister with the rise to power of center-left Labour leader Jacinda Ardern, but a renegade new "first bloke" who is a national celebrity in his own right. Clarke Gayford, who hosts his own fishing television show, has already broken the mold of his predecessors, stepping in to defend his partner against "scaremongering old dinos" including one political rival who made a disparaging reference to Ardern and "lipstick on a pig." On Twitter, Gayford... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump announced Saturday he will authorize the release of classified documents that may provide more information about the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. "Subject to the receipt of further information, I will be allowing, as President, the long blocked and classified JFK FILES to be opened," Trump said on Twitter. The last batch of classified files were scheduled to be publicly disclosed by October 26 if the president did not intervene before then... Читать дальше...

In a surprise Saturday morning tweet, President Donald Trump announced that he would allow the release of thousands of long-secret files relating to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy 54 years ago. Trump left open the possibility, however, that he might withhold some of the documents, raising concerns among Kennedy scholars who fear that the president might yield to pressure from intelligence agencies that might be embarrassed by the revelations. "Subject to the receipt of further information... Читать дальше...

In a controversial move, the World Health Organization has appointed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as a "goodwill ambassador" to help tackle non-communicable diseases, such as heart attacks, strokes and asthma across Africa. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the first African head of the the United Nations agency, has received a raft of criticism from international rights campaigner and others for the appointment. Hillel Neuer, executive director of the Geneva-based U.N. Watch... Читать дальше...

A suicide bombing in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, has killed at least 15 and wounded 4 others.   General Saleem Almas Kabul, the police crime branch chief, told VOA Saturday, “A suicide bomber exploded his explosive-laden vest in front of a Marshal Fahim Military Academy student bus around 4:00 PM today.” He said police cordoned off the area and an investigation is underway. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, however, Taliban militants often target Afghan and international armed forces in Afghanistan.

A suicide blast Saturday outside the Afghan military academy in Kabul killed at least 15 cadets and wounded several others, said the defense ministry. The attack came a day after an Islamic State suicide bomber stormed a crowded Shi’ite Muslim mosque in the city, killing 50 worshipers and wounding dozens more. Afghan police and witnesses said Saturday’s attack occurred when a bomber on foot blew himself up near a minibus packed with cadets at the main entrance to the capital city’s Marshal Fahim Military Academy. Читать дальше...

China's increasingly powerful leader Xi Jinping has pledged to make the Communist Party more responsive to public demands and to calls for democracy, fairness and justice in a lengthy address to the 19th Party Congress. But at least three cases involving the harassment of lawyers this week and an online crackdown as the party hosts top level political meetings raise serious questions about how he might do that. Prior to Wednesday’s start of the twice-a-decade meetings, renowned human rights lawyer... Читать дальше...

Australia has been elected unopposed to the United Nations' Human Rights Council, despite the U.N.'s consistent criticism of Canberra’s policies on asylum seekers and indigenous people. The United Nations' Human Rights Council was set up in March 2006.  It is made up of 47 states which are responsible for promoting and protecting the rights of individuals around the world. Australia this week was one of 15 new members, including Afghanistan, Pakistan and Qatar.  They will sit alongside existing members... Читать дальше...

Former White House adviser Steve Bannon on Friday depicted former President George W. Bush as bumbling and inept, faulting him for presiding over a “destructive” presidency during his time in the White House. Bannon’s scathing remarks amounted to a retort to a Bush speech in New York earlier this week, in which the 43rd president denounced bigotry in Trump-era American politics and warned that the rise of “nativism,” isolationism and conspiracy theories have clouded the nation’s true identity. But Bannon... Читать дальше...

Police say a man with a knife has lightly wounded four people in Munich. Officers are looking for the assailant.   Munich police called on people in the Rosenheimer Platz area, located close to the German city’s downtown, to stay inside after the incident Saturday morning.   The perpetrator fled the scene. Police said he appeared to be about 40 years old and had a black bicycle, gray trousers, a green jacket and a backpack.   The police department said on Twitter that officers are looking for... Читать дальше...

Hong Kong’s last remaining stock market floor traders are taking their final orders as the exchange prepares to shut its trading hall. The bourse’s operator, Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing, says it will close the trading hall by the end of the month and turn the space into a showcase for the city’s financial markets. Yip Wing-keung, a trading manager at brokerage Christfund Securities, donned his red trading jacket for the last time Friday, his final day on the floor. He and the other few... Читать дальше...

Worn down and traumatized, children make up about 60 percent of the Rohingya refugees fleeing what aid groups call ethnic cleansing in Myanmar and heading to difficult conditions and an uncertain future in Bangladesh. Some 320,000 refugees have crossed over since August, including 1,200 to 1,800 children daily in recent days, the United Nations Children’s Fund said Friday. Bangladesh’s social services department said 13,751 children without a parent or parents were identified in a survey of the crowded refugee camps. Читать дальше...

U.S. intelligence officials are closely watching developments during China's 19th Party Congress, calling it a key test for Chinese President Xi Jinping and a telling barometer of what type of relationship Beijing likely will pursue with Washington. Xi opened the high profile, high stakes political meeting earlier this week promising to build what he described as a “modern socialist country” for a “new era.” But more than Xi’s rhetoric, what has caught the attention of U.S. intelligence agencies is how he has worked... Читать дальше...

Spanish Prime Minister Mariono Rajoy announced Saturday he would dismiss Catalonia's separatist government and call for new elections in an attempt to prevent the semi-autonomous region from declaring its independence. Rajoy made the announcement after an emergency cabinet meeting Saturday to deal with the political crisis caused by the secession effort undertaken by the regional leadership of Catalonia. Spain's government set plans in motion Thursday to strip Catalonia of its autonomy after... Читать дальше...

Spain is holding an emergency Cabinet meeting Saturday to deal with the political crisis caused by the secession push from the semi-autonomous Catalonia region. Spain’s government set plans in motion Thursday to strip Catalonia of its autonomy after the region’s leader vowed to continue steps toward independence. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s office has said the Cabinet meeting Saturday is planned to trigger Article 155 of Spain’s Constitution, which gives the government the power to take away some or all of Catalonia’s autonomy. Читать дальше...

Parents of small children have long been hearing about the perils of “screen time.” And with more screens, and new technologies such as Amazon’s Echo speaker, the message is getting louder. And while plenty of parents are feeling guilty about it, some experts say it might be time to relax a little. Go ahead and hand your kid a gadget now and then to cook dinner or get some work done. Not all kids can entertain themselves quietly, especially when they are young. Try that, and see how long it takes... Читать дальше...

A California judge on Friday threw out a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products like Johnson’s Baby Powder for feminine hygiene. The ruling by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson marked the latest setback facing women and family members who accuse J&J of not adequately warning consumers about the cancer risks of its talc-based products. The decision followed a jury’s... Читать дальше...