Новости за 29.10.2017

Washington is abuzz over news reports a grand jury has approved the first charges stemming from the special counsel’s probe of Russian meddling in last year’s U.S. election. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, the exact charges and who stands accused of wrongdoing could be revealed at any moment.

The recent drought in the Western region of the United States, and the hurricanes and floods along the Gulf Coast are extreme weather events on just one continent.   “There is no doubt that part of this is climate change," said Bill Patzert, oceanographer and research scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Winters are warmer. Snow packs come later. They leave earlier. Droughts have tended to be more intense especially here in California.” Scientists say while climate change cannot be blamed for every weather event... Читать дальше...

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister says Iran’s hostile policy is the major obstacle to solving the crisis in Yemen, where Riyadh is leading a military alliance against Iran-aligned Houthi militant forces. Adel al-Jubeir accused Iran of interfering in Yemen and providing arms to the Shi’ite Houthi rebels. “Iran provides weapons to Houthi and [supporters of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah] Saleh,” al-Jubeir said Sunday at the opening of a conference of foreign ministers and chiefs of staff of Muslim counterterrorism coalition countries... Читать дальше...

An air of calm settled over Barcelona after hundreds of thousands of Catalans attended a rally Sunday for Spanish unity.  The atmosphere of the rally was peaceful, as police helicopters monitored from above. Amid a forest of Spanish national flags and chants of “Viva Espana,” protesters called for the jailing of Catalan president Carles Puigdemont, who on Friday issued a declaration of independence shortly before the Spanish government stripped Catalonia of its autonomy.   But the calm that followed... Читать дальше...

Tension is high in a remote village in western Kenya after a body an elderly man was discovered Sunday on a sugarcane farm. There were marks of violence on the body. The death comes a day after high government officials visited the area to calm ethnic tension. A body of an elderly man lies on the ground outside Koguta village surrounded by angry men armed with spears, machete, bows, and arrows. They are angry about the killing, the death of the man came a day after two communities promised to... Читать дальше...

Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga is demanding a new presidential election within 90 days, saying the country is in "grave danger" from political violence. Odinga spoke to the Associated Press, three days after he boycotted Thursday's rerun of the August election, whose results were thrown out by the Supreme Court because of irregularities. Odinga called Thursday's vote invalid because President Uhuru Kenyatta faced no opposition. "It was Uhuru versus Uhuru," Odinga told the AP. He also... Читать дальше...

The governor of Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory that was devastated by a hurricane a month ago, called Sunday for the immediate cancellation of a contract to restore electrical power to the Caribbean island as questions grow about the small company that was awarded the work. Governor Ricardo Rossello said the board of the island's power company should rescind the $300 million pact with Whitefish Energy Holdings, an upstart repair company in Montana, a western U.S. state, even though just days ago he defended the contract. Читать дальше...

Puerto Rico's electric power company says it is canceling the $300 million contract with a Montana energy company hired to restore power to the storm-ravaged island. Earlier on Sunday Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello had called for the contract to be pulled. PREPA chief Ricardo Ramos calls the controversy surrounding the contract with Whitefish Energy "an enormous distraction ... negatively impacting the work we're already doing." Ramos said Whitefish will complete work on fixing two transmission lines, get paid off, then go home. Читать дальше...

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

Liberia's ruling party is challenging the results of the first round of presidential elections in which its candidate was the runner-up. The Unity Party has accused incumbent President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, of "interfering" with the results of the October 10 election, saying she acted inappropriately by meeting privately election magistrates before the vote. A statement released by the Unity Party Sunday along with two other parties said the elections were "characterized... Читать дальше...

Protesters in Irbil stormed the parliament building Sunday after Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani announced he is stepping down as president of the self-ruled northern Kurdish region. Angry Kurds attacked members of parliament and journalists inside the building, while a crowd outside waved Kurdish flags in support of Barzani. In a televised speech, Barzani announced his resignation as of November 1. He asked parliament to dissolve the position of the president and distribute its duties among the Kurdish prime minister... Читать дальше...

Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani has confirmed he will be stepping down, dissolving his position as president of self-ruled northern Kurdish region and distributing his dutuies between the Kurdish prime minister, parliament and the judiciary. In a letter to parliament Sunday, Barzani said he will not be seeking re-election, with his term set to expire on November 1. The parliament had already decided to halt Barzani's governmental activities, and on Saturday said it would read a statement from Barzani during its upcoming meeting. Читать дальше...

Washington is bracing for the first criminal charges linked to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, even as President Donald Trump continued to claim Sunday the investigations are a "Witch Hunt for evil politics." A federal grand jury on Friday approved charges in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, according to several major news outlets, and the allegations could be disclosed Monday, with a suspect taken into custody. It was not immediately known... Читать дальше...

The bones and ashes of Thailand's revered King Bhumibol Adulyedaj were brought to their final resting place Sunday in the conclusion of a five-day funeral after a year of official mourning. The funeral ceremonies drew hundreds of thousands to the streets of Bangkok, and millions more to shrines across the country. Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana led the final royal procession on horseback to the Wat Rajabopidh and Wat Bovoranives temples where a traditional ceremony took place to lay the ashes of her grandfather. Читать дальше...

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a united Spain took to the streets of Barcelona Sunday to voice their rejection of Catalonia’s declaration of independence. Chanting "Viva Espana" and waving Spanish, Catalan and European Union flags, the protesters marched in Catalonia's capital to show they supported the Spanish central government's dismissal of Catalonia's cabinet and quashing of the region's secession push. Protesters also held banners reading, “We won't let Spain be torn apart into... Читать дальше...

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of a united Spain are attending a rally in Barcelona Sunday, according to police. Demonstrators marched in Catalonia's capital to show they are in favor of the Spanish government's dismissal of Catalonia's Cabinet and squashing of the region's secession push. Meanwhile, ousted Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has called for peaceful "democratic opposition" to Spain's takeover of the region that once enjoyed a considerable amount of autonomy. In a pre-recorded statement... Читать дальше...

The health of one of Australia’s greatest natural treasures — the Great Barrier Reef — is improving, according to a new government study. But environmentalists say the report has failed to address the contentious political issue of land clearing. The joint report by the Queensland state government and its federal counterpart shows that pollution flowing into the Great Barrier Reef has declined. Farmers are praised for reducing the amount of harmful fertilizers, pesticides and other contaminants... Читать дальше...

People are big polluters, on the land, in the sea and even in outer space, that can include anything from a hammer that floats away from the space station, to radiation from a nuclear weapons test in the atmosphere. "This can range from little chips of paint all the way up to spent rocket bodies and things like that," said Dan Baker, director of the Laboratory of Atmosphere and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder. "We’ve been trying to figure out how can we most effectively eliminate... Читать дальше...

Xavier Gabriel can take some credit if the tiny Catalan mountain town of Sort is one of the most famous in Spain. He runs a lottery shop called La Bruja de Oro, or The Golden Witch, in a town whose name, aptly, means “Luck” in Catalan. Its fortune in having sold many prize-winning tickets has made it a household name and a successful online business. But the crisis surrounding Catalonia’s push for independence has changed life for 60-year-old Gabriel. He joined more than 1,500 companies in moving... Читать дальше...

A pre-dawn Taliban attack in northern Afghanistan has killed at least 13 government forces.    Officials reported the heavily armed insurgents raided a police outpost in the Khan Abad district of troubled Kunduz province.  The district police chief, Hayatullah Amiri, confirmed the death toll to VOA, saying 14 police personnel were guarding the post at the time. One officer managed to escape, and the assailants took away weapons, ammunition and an armored military vehicle, Amiri added.   The Taliban swiftly took credit for the attack... Читать дальше...

As President Donald Trump prepares for a 10-day trip to Asia, his first to the region since taking office, one of the region’s leaders brought to Washington last week insights that potentially represent sentiments held not just by his government.   Lee Hsien Loong — eldest son of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s founding prime minister, and a successor to the position his father held for decades — told audiences in the U.S. capital that the emerging geostrategic landscape of the Asia Pacific depends not only on internal dynamics... Читать дальше...

Somali police said Sunday they have ended an Islamist militant siege of a hotel in the capital.   Officials say at least 23 people were killed in the attack on the popular Nasa Hablod Two hotel in Mogadishu. Dozens more were injured in the explosion. Militants stormed the hotel Saturday, following a car bomb blast at the hotel’s gate. Police say they have captured two of the attackers and have killed two more. The al-Shabab militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the hotel. Читать дальше...

Somalia's police chief and intelligence chief have been fired, after a deadly al-Shabab siege of hotel in the capital Mogadishu Officials say at least 26 people were killed in the attack on the popular Nasa Hablod Two hotel in Mogadishu.  Dozens more were injured in the explosion.   Militants stormed the hotel Saturday, following a car bomb blast at the hotel’s gate.   Police say they have captured two of the attackers and have killed two more. The al-Shabab militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the hotel. Читать дальше...

Taiwan’s president began a weeklong journey Saturday, and China is not happy about it.   Tsai Ing-wen’s trip has her visiting three Pacific Island allies — Tuvalu, the Solomon Islands and the Marshall Islands — via Honolulu and the U.S. territory of Guam.   China claims sovereignty over democratic, self-ruled Taiwan and believes Tsai is seeking formal independence from China.   Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Washington should not allow Tsai to stop in the U.S. to” avoid... Читать дальше...

The Education Department is considering only partially forgiving federal loans for students defrauded by for-profit colleges, The Associated Press has learned, abandoning the Obama administration’s policy of fully erasing that debt. Under President Barack Obama, tens of thousands of students deceived by now-defunct for-profit schools had more than $550 million in such loans canceled completely. But President Donald Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, is working on a plan that could grant such students only partial relief... Читать дальше...