Новости за 16.11.2017

Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski said on Wednesday claims he had worked as a consultant for Brazilian construction company Odebrecht SA, which is embroiled in an international bribery scandal, were false. Kuczynski also said in a speech broadcast on television that he had never received any campaign donations from Odebrecht, which has admitted to paying millions of dollars of bribes in the country. The statements came a day after local newspaper El Comercio reported that the scandal-plagued... Читать дальше...

Mexico's threats to weaken U.S. narcotics and migration co-operation if NAFTA dies are pure bluster, Mexican and U.S. officials say, with next year's election posing a far greater challenge to future collaboration. Mexican officials have threatened to strike back if U.S. President Donald Trump kills the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), warning they could relax controls on the southern Mexican border crossed by Central American migrants, or scale back collaboration in tackling drug crime. Читать дальше...

Strong demand is set to give a huge boost to renewable energy growth in sub-Saharan Africa over the next five years, driving cumulative capacity up more than 70 percent, a senior international energy official said Wednesday. From Ethiopia to South Africa, millions of people are getting access to electricity for the first time as the continent turns to solar, wind and hydropower projects to boost generation capacity. "A big chunk of this [growth] is hydro because of Ethiopia, but then you have solar ... in South Africa... Читать дальше...

Climate change threats, from worsening drought and flooding to sea level rise, could increase the risks of hunger and child malnutrition around the world by 20 percent by 2050, food security researchers warned Wednesday. But looking carefully at the very different risks facing each country, region and type of food producer — from highland rice farmers in Cambodia to cattle herders in South Sudan — could help reduce that threat of growing hunger, they said. In North Africa, for instance, both... Читать дальше...

With the Islamic State group almost defeated on the ground in Iraq and Syria and its territorial hold dramatically reduced, the terror group and its sympathizers continue to demonstrate their ability to weaponize the internet in an effort to radicalize, recruit and inspire acts of terrorism in the region and around the world. Experts charge that the terror group's ability to produce and distribute new propaganda has been significantly diminished, particularly after it recently lost the northern Syrian city of Raqqa... Читать дальше...

Many cities are being overwhelmed by growing numbers of people migrating to them, and will become highly vulnerable to floods, storms and other disasters unless authorities receive more support, urban experts said Wednesday. The proportion of the global population living in urban areas has risen from half in 2000 to 55 percent now, and is predicted to reach 70 percent by 2050, according to the U.N. agency for human settlements. “If we don’t start supporting local and national authorities in (the)... Читать дальше...

India's push to digitize its land records to minimize conflicts and increase transparency of transactions is marred by torn maps, tradition and disputes dating back decades, according to an analysis of the progress made by three states. The national land record modernization program, launched in 2008, aims to survey lands, update records and establish ownership. It is scheduled to be completed in 2021 after overshooting its budget and deadline. The government says the program has covered about 565,000 villages... Читать дальше...

London hosts the season-ending men’s tennis tournament with the top ranked player going home and another great coasting toward the new season. Celebrating one of golf’s legends, and the tournament he hosts.

Venezuela won easier debt terms from Russia and got a vote of confidence from China on Wednesday, as the oil-rich country said it had starting making interest payments on bonds after a delay that had threatened to trigger a default. A debt restructuring deal with Russia that allows Caracas to make “minimal” payments to Moscow in the next six years, together with a separate statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry that Venezuela was capable of handing the debt issue “appropriately,” underlined... Читать дальше...

The U.S. embassy in Liberia on Wednesday defended the credibility of last month's presidential election there, amid allegations of irregularities and fraud that have delayed a run-off poll. First-round winner George Weah, a former international football star, was initially set to face the runner-up, Vice-President Joseph Boakai, last week to determine who will replace current term-limited President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. But the third-place finisher, Charles Brumskine, contested the outcome of the first round... Читать дальше...

The White House’s new strategy for Afghanistan makes a critical change by committing U.S. support “as long as it takes to get the job done,” the departing U.S. ambassador says. Hugo Llorens, who is leaving after a year on the job and previously served as the U.S. Embassy’s No. 2 official, told VOA’s Afghan service in Kabul the old strategy of having a timeline with a specific end “made it very easy for the enemy to guess our moves, and that is not a good move.” He called President Donald Trump’s... Читать дальше...

The internal watchdog at the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday he hopes to complete his review by early spring into whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation erred when it announced it was reopening its investigation into Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's emails ahead of the 2016 presidential election. "We have interviewed dozens of people. We are not at the 100 level yet, but we're in the dozens range. We've reviewed about 1.2 million records in the course of the investigation,"... Читать дальше...

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani sacked the chairman of the country's Independent Election Commission on Wednesday, raising doubts over whether parliamentary and council ballots scheduled for next year will take place as planned. Najibullah Ahmadzai, head of the body charged with organizing the elections, had faced growing pressure following repeated delays to preparations for them and had lost the support of both Ghani and disillusioned foreign donors. The 2018 votes are seen as dry runs for a... Читать дальше...

Two senior U.S. senators asked Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Wednesday to explain "questionable management practices" at his department that they believe are weakening the country's diplomatic power, adding to a chorus of concern in Congress. Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen delivered a letter to Tillerson asking him to begin consulting with lawmakers on decisions that have an impact on recruiting, retaining and staffing the State Department, removing a hiring freeze and resuming promotions. Читать дальше...

The gunman who went on a shooting spree in Northern California began by killing his wife inside their home, raising the death toll from the attack to five. Kevin Neal, 44, fatally shot his wife late Monday, Assistant Tehama County Sheriff Phil Johnston said at a news conference Wednesday. The next day, he went on a shooting spree that included an attack on an elementary school in Rancho Tehama Reserve, an unincorporated community. Police ultimately shot and killed him. Police found the body of Neal's wife... Читать дальше...

The ruling Cambodian People's Party has seemingly never had a firmer grip on power.  The CPP dominates government administration, the military and the judiciary, and has eliminated or outlasted all of its political opponents. But its apparent supremacy masks a serious and growing problem: The more control the party exerts, the less certainty it has about whether anyone truly supports it. As it moves to further consolidate its power in the run-up to the July general election, the government... Читать дальше...

A 72-year-old Swiss aid worker was freed by security forces early  Wednesday, more than a month after she was abducted in Sudan's Darfur region, officials said. Margaret Schenkel later flew back to the capital, Khartoum, but did not give details of her ordeal to waiting journalists. She was kidnapped October 7 in the main city in North Darfur region, El Fasher, a hub for relief workers and U.N./African Union peacekeepers. Security forces launched an operation to free her from a rural area where... Читать дальше...

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that "America's standing in the world has never been stronger" after his just-completed two-week trip to Asia. Trump stood in the White House and gave a recap of his five-nation tour, which he called "historic" and a "tremendous success." "Everywhere we went, our foreign host greeted the American delegation ... with incredible warmth, hospitality and, most importantly, respect." Along with a handful of trade and investment deals with China, South Korea... Читать дальше...

The Puerto Rican rapper, who leads nominations with nine nods for his first solo album post-Calle 13 — including album, record and song of the year — admits that he felt pressured to do "something huge and great'' after spending a decade with the most decorated act in the history of the Latin Grammys.   "I was very precise with every sound, with every word, with the videos, with the page. I learned a lot with this (project) and now I just wanna do some music and be relaxed, and that's what I'm... Читать дальше...

A former Argentine lawyer for a government-run soccer television program ran in front of a Buenos Aires train and committed suicide late Tuesday, hours after being accused in a New York court of receiving bribes, police said. Jorge Delhon, attorney for the Futbol Para Todos (Soccer for All) program, received bribes from the end of 2011 to 2014, according to testimony by the former head of sports marketing company Torneos y Competencias, Alejandro Burzaco, as recorded in a court transcript seen by Reuters. Читать дальше...

The Angolan economy is set to grow 1.1 percent this year as sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest economy enjoys a mild recovery, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday following a 10-day visit to the country. But Ricardo Velloso, the Brazilian economist who led the visit, said macroeconomic imbalances remain that need to be tackled by the new government. In a statement, he highlighted the wide spread between the parallel and official market exchange rates and a backlog of foreign exchange... Читать дальше...

The Angolan economy is set to grow 1.1 percent this year as sub-Saharan Africa's third-largest economy enjoys a mild recovery, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday following a 10-day visit to the country. But Ricardo Velloso, the Brazilian economist who led the visit, said macroeconomic imbalances remain that need to be tackled by the new government. In a statement, he highlighted the wide spread between the parallel and official market exchange rates and a backlog of foreign exchange... Читать дальше...

At least 3,000 people formed a chain of light in Vienna on Wednesday to protest against the formation of a government that includes the far-right Freedom Party. Demonstrators holding flickering candles, torches and bicycle lamps encircled the capital's government district. "Our republic's most powerful political offices should be exclusively reserved for trustworthy people who are not in the slightest connected to right-wing extremists," said Alexander Pollak, spokesman for SOS Mitmensch, one... Читать дальше...

The US President gives himself a pat on the back for his just concluded Asian journey. China is sending a representative to Pyongyang for new talks with North Korea. The US Secretary of States pays a visit to Myanmar. Three U.S. college basketball players make their apologies after being released from China.

Allegations that former President George H.W. Bush inappropriately touched seven women involve potential crimes punishable by fines or jail time, if they had been prosecuted. All but one of the cases is ineligible under state laws that limit when a prosecution can begin after an alleged crime, and several lawyers interviewed said that it would be difficult to win a conviction against Bush, who has vascular parkinsonism, a rare syndrome that mimics Parkinson's disease. "You're still going to be... Читать дальше...