Новости за 09.12.2017

California Governor Jerry Brown cautioned Saturday that more wildfires were in his state's future, as firefighters battled six major blazes that have killed at least one person and damaged hundreds of homes. Brown surveyed fire damage in Ventura County, just north of Los Angeles, the scene of some of the worst destruction of the past week. "This is the new normal," he said, blaming climate change for the increased danger of wildfires late in the year. "We're facing a new reality in the state where fires threaten people's lives... Читать дальше...

Six major wildfires continued to torch parts of southern California Saturday, even though firefighters had some success in stemming their spread, thanks to milder weather conditions. Since Monday, the fires have burned more than 670 square kilometers, destroyed at least 500 structures and forced more than 210,000 people to evacuate their homes, officials said. As firefighters gained ground Friday, some people who evacuated their homes Monday were allowed to return to their homes. New fires kept erupting in dry conditions... Читать дальше...

Humanitarian organizations are urging the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh to ensure Rohingya refugees return to their home country in safety and on a voluntary basis. They also say they would boycott any new camps for Rohingya returnees to Rakhine state in Myanmar if the Rohingya refugees are not allowed to safely establish themselves in their existing homes. In a joint statement issued Friday, groups aids such as Care International, Save the Children, Consortium Dutch NGOs and Solidarites International... Читать дальше...

Join our host and correspondents from Washington and across Africa as they bring you in-depth interviews, news reports, analysis and features on this 60-minute news magazine show.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Saturday that the three-year war aimed at driving Islamic State out of Iraq was successful and has come to an end. "Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh [IS]," Abadi said at a conference in Baghdad that was arranged by the Iraqi journalists' union. IS fighters seized control of nearly one-third of Iraq in the summer of 2014, threatening the very existence of the Iraqi state. Читать дальше...

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced Saturday that the three-year war aimed at driving Islamic State out of Iraq was successful and has come to an end. "Our forces are in complete control of the Iraqi-Syrian border and I therefore announce the end of the war against Daesh [IS]," Abadi said at a conference in Baghdad that was arranged by the Iraqi journalists' union. The announcement came two days after Russia said it had defeated IS in Syria, where Moscow is supporting the Syrian military. Читать дальше...

Civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis says he will not attend the opening Saturday of a civil rights museum in Mississippi because President Donald Trump will be there. The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson will feature a stark look at the often bloody struggle for civil rights in the American South from 1945 through 1976. Exhibits include such weapons of terror and hate as a Ku Klux Klan cross and the gun used to murder activist Medgar Evers. Decades later, as Mississippi marks its bicentennial... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is "moved" by the opening of a civil rights museum in Jackson, Mississippi, where he praised civil rights leaders such as Medgar Evers and the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Trump's presence at the event was controversial among his critics, who say he has fueled the fires of racial tension in the United States. Civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis, who was scheduled to speak at the event, announced on Thursday that he would not attend because the president will be there. Читать дальше...

Queen Elizabeth’s representative in Australia has officially signed same sex marriage into law following a landmark vote in the federal parliament.  The first weddings can take place in a month's time (Jan 9). The passing of the historic same sex marriage bill Thursday prompted songs and celebrations in the Australian parliament.  The new law brings to an end more than a decade of bitter debate on the issue.  MPs voted to  change the Marriage Act and bring to an end a ban on gay and lesbian couples marrying. Читать дальше...

At least 6 armed separatists and a police official have been killed and several people wounded in the southwestern Cameroon English speaking town of Mamfe during an attack on a military post. The attack occurred after a special envoy from Nigeria assured Cameroon that they want to work jointly to reduce terrorism on their frontiers. Cameroon has been complaining that armed separatists were using Nigerian territory as a training ground. Cameroon communication minister and government spokesman Issa... Читать дальше...

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from Gaza killed two men Saturday, in the latest fallout from the announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and plans to move its Israeli embassy there. Hamas said two of its gunmen were killed in the strikes.   An Israeli army statement said the target of the strikes were "two weapons manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse and a military compound." Large crowds... Читать дальше...

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in response to rocket fire from Gaza killed two men Saturday, in the latest fallout from the announcement from U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington is recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and plans to move its Israeli embassy there. Hamas said two of its gunmen were killed in the strikes.   An Israeli army statement said the target of the strikes were "two weapons manufacturing sites, a weapons warehouse and a military compound." Large crowds... Читать дальше...

A winter storm shrouded the Deep South in snow and threatened more overnight as it advanced eastward.   With temperatures expected to sink below freezing across much of the region, forecasters warned that black ice could make roads treacherous. The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for northern Georgia, including metro Atlanta, until Saturday morning and forecast up to 3 inches (8 centimeters) of additional snow.   The snowfall was enough to remind some residents of the 2014... Читать дальше...

Many scientists believe the Arctic, one of the fastest-changing places on the planet, could drive change in other parts of the world, including wildfire-ravaged Southern California. In a recent NASA mission called Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG), climate scientist Josh Willis embarked on a journey to study ice in Greenland and surrounding oceans and how much oceans are eating away at the ice around the edges of the ice sheet. The data collected included the ocean’s temperature and salinity, and the shape and depth of the sea floor. Читать дальше...

The Venezuela National Electoral Council is making final preparations for Sunday’s municipal elections, which are expected to tighten leftist President Nicolas Maduro's grip on the beleaguered South American nation. State owned Corporación Venezolana de Televisión (Venezuelan Television Corporation— VTV) is reporting the National Electoral Council had installed about 99 percent of the voting stations. Venezuelan official Tania D’Amelio, who is overseeing the process of installing voting machines, urged voters to trust the election process. Читать дальше...

Venezuelans will head to the polls Sunday for municipal elections that are expected to tighten leftist President Nicolas Maduro's grip on the beleaguered South American nation. The opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) coalition refused to put up candidates for the 335 open mayoral seats, saying it had no confidence that the vote would be fair. Coalition candidates had been expected to win more than half of Venezuela's 23 governorships in a mid-October ballot, but they claimed only five after irregularities... Читать дальше...

A new report from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory predicts a link between sea ice melting in the Arctic and drier conditions in California over the next several decades. This finding comes at a time when several wildfires are raging across Southern California. VOA's Elizabeth Lee reports on the work of scientists as they look at the global implications of the melting of glaciers and sea ice, and other impacts a changing climate could have around the world.

An alliance of two major communist parties is leading parliamentary election results in Nepal and could be forming the next government in the Himalayan nation. According to preliminary results by Nepal’s Election Commission on Saturday, the alliance of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist Leninist) and Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) has won 19 seats in the National Assembly and is leading in 81 other constituencies. In the assembly, 165 seats are directly elected and 110 are allocated... Читать дальше...

The leaders of the two primary opposition parties in Honduras have asked for the annulment of the results of the still unresolved presidential election. Salvador Nasralla and Octavio Pineda each filed paperwork Friday with the election tribunal calling for the votes from the November 26 election to be thrown out. The vote count had incumbent President Juan Orlando Hernandez leading Nasralla by a slim 1.6 percentage point margin. At one point, polling had predicted Hernandez would win handily... Читать дальше...

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced his most crucial electoral test since he took office in 2014 as voters lined up Saturday to choose a local government in his home state of Gujarat.     Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is fighting a tough battle to retain control in the western state that Modi governed for nearly 13 years before emerging on the national stage.   Political analysts say victory for the BJP in Gujarat is critical if Modi is to retain the image of a leader who can deliver on development and jobs ... Читать дальше...

Three central banks, meeting on both sides of the Atlantic, will highlight the diverging fortunes of the world’s biggest economies as they head into 2018 after an exceptionally tranquil year. While the growth cycle in the United States may be close to peaking, the eurozone is just getting comfortable with its economic run, and Britain is weighed down by Brexit uncertainty, suggesting that their monetary policies will be out of sync for years to come. Indeed, the U.S. Federal Reserve is all but certain to raise rates Wednesday... Читать дальше...

A U.N. envoy says time is of the essence to resolve tensions on the Korean Peninsula peacefully. Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general for political affairs, visited North Korea this week, holding meetings with Foreign Minister Ri Yoing Ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Guk. North Korean state media say the two sides have as a result agreed to communicate regularly. KCNA, North Korea’s state run news service, said Saturday this latest development is a result of a Feltman’s recent four-day visit to the isolated nation. Читать дальше...

North Korea and the United Nations have agreed to communicate regularly. KCNA, North Korea’s state run news service, said Saturday this latest development is a result of a senior U.N. official’s recent visit to the isolated nation. Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general for political affairs, visited North Korea this week, holding meetings with Foreign Minister Ri Yoing Ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Guk. State media said Feltman’s visit “contributed to deepening the understanding... Читать дальше...

A U.N. envoy says time is of the essence to resolve tensions on the Korean Peninsula peacefully. Jeffrey Feltman, the U.N.’s under-secretary-general for political affairs, visited North Korea this week, holding meetings with Foreign Minister Ri Yoing Ho and Vice Foreign Minister Pak Myong Guk. North Korean state media say the two sides have as a result agreed to communicate regularly. KCNA, North Korea’s state run news service, said Saturday this latest development is a result of a Feltman’s recent four-day visit to the isolated nation. Читать дальше...

The U.S. envoy for North Korea will travel to Japan and Thailand next week to discuss how to increase pressure on Pyongyang after its latest ballistic missile test, the U.S. State Department said Friday. North Korea, formally called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), last week tested its most powerful intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), saying the device could reach all of the United States. Joseph Yun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, will travel to Japan and Thailand, Dec. Читать дальше...