Новости за 14.12.2017

Amid reports of violent clashes that have led to at least 15 deaths, the Ethiopian government has partially blocked internet access to its citizens, suppressing information about the exact scope of the violence and the response of the federal security forces.   ​Ethiopians have been unable to reliably reach Twitter and Facebook since Tuesday, and other services may also be affected. The loss of service was believed to be a response to ethnic clashes earlier this week in eastern Ethiopia, home to the Oromo and Somali ethnic groups. Читать дальше...

Two U.S. warplanes intercepted two Russian jets over a part of Syria they were not supposed to be operating in, the Pentagon said Thursday. At one point during Wednesday's incident, the American F-22 Raptor stealth fighters deployed radar and infrared countermeasures to try to persuade the Russian Su-25s to leave the area, and one U.S. pilot had to "aggressively maneuver" to avoid a midair collision, Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said.  The Russian fighters had flown into airspace controlled... Читать дальше...

Paul Ryan may be in his final term as speaker of the US House of Representatives and could leave Congress by the end of 2018, Politico reported Thursday, in a report that could set off a scramble for a successor. The news outlet cited several people who know Ryan, including fellow lawmakers, congressional aides, conservative intellectuals and party lobbyists, saying they did not expect him to remain in Congress beyond 2018. Asked directly after a Thursday press conference whether he would be stepping down soon... Читать дальше...

A solar system with as many planets as our own has been discovered with the help of NASA's Kepler space telescope and artificial intelligence, the U.S. space agency said Thursday. "Our solar system now is tied for most number of planets around a single star," NASA said in a statement. However, none of the planets is expected to be hospitable to life. The eight-planet system, the largest known outside ours, orbits a star called Kepler 90, which is 2,545 light-years away. "The Kepler-90 star... Читать дальше...

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday the EU's decision to extend economic sanctions on Russia was "an important political decision" on behalf of his country. The EU announced the six-month extension earlier in the day of the sanctions imposed in retaliation for Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and backing of separatist rebels in Ukraine's eastern Donbass region. "[It is] an important political decision by the leaders of the European Union to continue... Читать дальше...

European Union leaders extended tough economic sanctions leveled at Russia over the country's role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The decision, announced Thursday at an EU summit, will extend current restrictions against Moscow until July 2018. "EU united on roll-over of economic sanctions on Russia," European Council President Donald Tusk posted on Twitter. The sanctions, which target the financial, energy and defense industries and limit Russian access to EU markets, were first imposed... Читать дальше...

The German foreign intelligence agency BND must not store the metadata, such as phone numbers, of international calls for the purpose of intelligence analysis, a court ruled Thursday. Surveillance is a sensitive issue in Germany because of the abuses by the Gestapo during the Nazi era and the Stasi in Communist East Germany during the Cold War. Whistleblower Edward Snowden's revelations about the United States spying on Germany also caused upset. Media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders... Читать дальше...

A pledge by health and development experts to tackle neglected diseases that blind, disable and disfigure millions of the world's poorest people has spurred tremendous progress in five years, a report said on Thursday. More than one billion people were treated in 2016 for painful infections, such as sleeping sickness and elephantiasis, as increased funding, drug donations and political will helped health workers reach patients in remote areas, it said. "There are hundreds of millions more people... Читать дальше...

The eighth round of Syrian peace talks have ended on a sour note with the United Nations mediator describing them as a “missed opportunity.”  U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura did not hide his frustration and disappointment in the fact that real negotiations, as he called them, did not take place. He said great efforts were made to hear multiple voices and opinions — those of the government and the opposition and of Civil Society. Unfortunately, he said these many consultations did not end up in negotiations. Читать дальше...

A round of Syria peace talks that ended on Thursday was a big missed opportunity, but there may be a new round next month if new ideas can be found to encourage President Bashar al-Assad's government to engage, U.N. mediator Staffan de Mistura said. "I will probably need to come up with new ideas, parameters, about how to move the talks forward, particularly on constitution and elections," de Mistura said, adding that plans for Geneva talks in January depended on the outcome of discussions at the... Читать дальше...

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

A pledge by health and development experts to tackle neglected diseases that blind, disable and disfigure millions of the world's poorest people has spurred tremendous progress in five years, a report said on Thursday. More than one billion people were treated in 2016 for painful infections, such as sleeping sickness and elephantiasis, as increased funding, drug donations and political will helped health workers reach patients in remote areas, it said. "There are hundreds of millions more people... Читать дальше...

There could soon be a major change in what Americans see on the internet after federal regulators voted Thursday to scrap traditional "net neutrality" rules.  Thursday's 3-2 vote by the Federal Communications Commission went along party lines, with Republican members voting to end the regulations and Democrats dissenting. Individual states will also be barred from enacting their own rules governing the internet. Net neutrality has been the norm since the internet was created more than 30 years ago. Читать дальше...

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Thursday dismantled two-year-old "net neutrality" rules that guaranteed equal access to the internet in favor of policies that will reduce regulation of major internet service providers and hand them sweeping powers to decide what web content consumers can access. The FCC voted 3-2 to adopt a plan advanced by chairman Ajit Pai, appointed to his position by President Donald Trump, for a "light touch" on regulating major telecommunication companies... Читать дальше...

The commander of Iraq's biggest Shi'ite Muslim paramilitary group told its fighters on Thursday to take their orders from the national military and cut their ties with the group's political wing. Hadi al-Amiri, leader of the Iran-backed Badr Organization, also called on the group's fighters to withdraw from the cities under their control. The move paves the way for Amiri to stand in parliamentary elections on May 12. Participation in the election by members of Iraq's Iran-backed Shi'ite paramilitaries... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe’s new foreign affairs minister says that the southern African nation will not allow the West to dictate its policies and that no country had a monopoly on how diplomacy should be conducted. In a hurriedly called address to diplomats accredited in Zimbabwe, new Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo said there are “no angels” that should dictate any country’s foreign policy. The address was delivered after Zimbabwe’s opposition and civic leaders testified Tuesday before the U.S. Congress and... Читать дальше...

The government of Burundi says a recently launched referendum campaign is aimed at strengthening and advancing the country’s laws after more than two years of political violence. But some experts say the government wants to use the referendum campaign to legitimize its rule. The Burundi government has launched a referendum campaign to change the constitution. The government insists its move is to strengthen current laws and improve others. Agathon Rwasa, vice president of the National Assembly and a former presidential candidate... Читать дальше...

U.S. Congressman Blake Farenthold, the target of sexual harassment allegations, will not seek re-election in 2018, according to House Speaker Paul Ryan. "I think he's making the right decision to retire," Ryan said Thursday on Capitol Hill.  "There are new stories that are very disconcerting." The Texas Republican lawmaker has denied engaging in any inappropriate behavior and has said he plans to stay in office for the remainder of his term.  Farenthold is the fourth lawmaker whose career has... Читать дальше...

Republican U.S. Representative Blake Farenthold will not seek re-election in November after allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior from former staffers, according to news reports on Thursday. Farenthold will withdraw from the March 6 Republican primary in his Texas district, the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and other media outlets reported. Mike Bergsma, chairman of the Nueces County Republican Party, told the Caller-Times that Farenthold's campaign team let him know Thursday... Читать дальше...

The United Nations says humanitarian needs in refugee camps in Cameroon are increasing, exceeding the means available to take care of the growing number of refugees. But some of the refugees have empowered themselves by making use of resources around them to earn a living for their families. At Gado refugee camp in eastern Cameroon,  200 refugee women have developed a fish pond by a river and are supplying fish not only to people in need in the camp but to surrounding villages. More than a hundred... Читать дальше...

South Africa’s powerful ruling party is coming together at a time when it has never been more divided. Starting Saturday, 5,000 delegates of the African National Congress will meet in Johannesburg to anoint a successor to party leader and president Jacob Zuma. For years Zuma wallowed in serious, mounting corruption allegations, and just this week was hit with a stinging blow when the High Court in Pretoria censured him for trying to evade corruption investigations. As a result of that and other scandals... Читать дальше...

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence will delay an upcoming Middle East trip by a few days in case a tie-breaking vote is needed from him for tax cut legislation in Congress, a senior White House official said on Thursday. Pence will now leave some time on Tuesday on a trip that will begin with a visit to Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, the official said. He had initially planned to leave late on Saturday. As vice president, Pence can cast a tie-breaking vote in the U.S. Senate... Читать дальше...

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed for the first time to place “liaison officers” at each other’s military headquarters for better security coordination, and Islamabad is awaiting a formal response from Kabul to its proposal for opening a wide-ranging bilateral dialogue. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal, at his weekly news conference on Thursday, discussed the rare progress in a relationship traditionally plagued by suspicion and mistrust. He revealed the proposal entitled... Читать дальше...

Iraq hanged 38 jihadists belonging to the Islamic State group or Al-Qaida for terrorism offences on Thursday in the southern city of Nasiriyah, provincial authorities said. It was the largest number of executions in Iraq on a single day since September 25 when 42 people were put to death in the same prison. "The prison administration executed on Thursday in the presence of Justice Minister Haidar al-Zameli, in Nasiriyah prison, 38 death row prisoners belonging to Al-Qaida or Daesh (IS) accused of terrorist activities," said Dakhel Kazem... Читать дальше...

The U.N. Secretary General's Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide Adama Dieng is defending the performance of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Dieng told South Sudan in Focus that there is a need to educate South Sudanese citizens on the mandate of the UNMISS, a 12,000-member U.N. peacekeeping force authorized by the U.N. Security Council to protect civilians following an outbreak of deadly violence in South Sudan’s capital in December 2013. The U.N. diplomat insisted... Читать дальше...