Новости за 21.12.2017

The White House has condemned "in the strongest terms" the ballistic missile launch this week by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, which it said "was aimed at the Saudi royal palace in Riyadh," the official residence of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. A statement Thursday by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders urged the United Nations to hold Iran responsible for "repeated and blatant violations" of Security Council resolutions on Yemen. The White House and Saudi leaders have... Читать дальше...

The White House on Thursday condemned "in the strongest terms" this week's ballistic missile attack by Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels that apparently targeted the Saudi royal palace in Riyadh.  The missile that the U.S. said targeted the official residence of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the latest in a series of Houthi missile launches into Saudi territory. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders urged the United Nations to hold Iran responsible for "repeated and blatant... Читать дальше...

A federal appeals court in Virginia on Thursday rejected a bid by President Donald Trump's administration to prevent the U.S. military from accepting transgender recruits starting January 1. The administration had urged the appeals court to suspend an order by a federal judge in Baltimore for the armed forces to begin accepting transgender recruits on that date. The administration has said the January 1 start date was causing the armed forces to scramble to revise their policies at the risk of harming military readiness. Читать дальше...

Two Turkish-American men have pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a brawl at the Turkish Embassy in Washington earlier this year,  according to court documents. Sinan Narin, 45, of Virginia and Eyup Yildirim, 50,  of New Jersey "each pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to one count of assault with significant bodily injury. The pleas, which are contingent upon the Court’s approval, call for each defendant to be sentenced to agreed-upon terms of one year and one day of incarceration." Eighteen people... Читать дальше...

The United States has approved the sale by U.S. manufacturers of lethal defensive weapons to Ukraine. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert confirmed this week that Congress was notified of the matter on December 13. The legal framework for U.S. manufacturers to sell arms to Ukraine has existed since the Obama administration, Nauert said.  Nauert noted in remarks to reporters Wednesday that the government itself was not supplying weapons to Ukraine, but only allowing U.S. weapons manufacturers to do so. Читать дальше...

Apple, the American multi-national technology company, has acknowledged it has taken action that slows the performance of its older iPhones. After Primate Labs, which makes an application that measures the speed of iPhone processors, disclosed data Monday that seemingly showed the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 models perform slower as they aged, Apple addressed the claims two days later. Apple said it released software last year that makes those models operate more slowly to countervail problems with their aging lithium ion batteries... Читать дальше...

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

Poland's populist government remained defiant Thursday in the face of a European Commission decision to trigger a legal procedure that could lead to Poland losing EU voting rights. The unprecedented move by the commission to invoke an article 7 process to deter the Polish government from tightening political control over the judiciary was met with bravado by the country's president, Andrzej Duda, who in a television address said he would go ahead and sign two controversial reform laws, adding to 11 other measures. Читать дальше...

The charity, Doctors Without Borders reports preventable, long-forgotten diseases are re-emerging in Yemen due to the catastrophic war that has been going on since March 2015. Diphtheria has been eradicated in most parts of the world. The last outbreak of this highly infectious, but preventable respiratory disease occurred in 1982 in Yemen. But, this disease has made a deadly comeback after two and one-half years of catastrophic war and the blockade of humanitarian and commercial goods imposed by Saudi Arabia. Читать дальше...

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) says it needs urgent and reliable funding in order to defeat al-Shabab militants and transfer security responsibilities to the Somali National Army. AMISOM chief Francisco Madeira issued the appeal while talking to reporters in Nairobi Thursday.   “We need urgent support. Our troops are ready, but they need to be resourced. This has not been happening to expectations, despite the repeated commitments by partners in different forums,” said Madeira. Читать дальше...

Burkina Faso said it will immediately stop importing goods from North Korea and that it only learned of possible violations of U.N. sanctions through American news reports. The West African country was the top importer of North Korean goods in Africa in 2015, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, a website that collects and distributes international trade data. Speaking to VOA's French to Africa Service, Burkina Faso's foreign minister, Alpha Barry, said the decision to end imports from North Korea takes effect immediately. Читать дальше...

The United States imposed sanctions Thursday on a Myanmar army chief accused of leading an ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya Muslims. Myanmar General Maung Maung Soe was among 52 accused human rights abusers worldwide who are targeted by U.S. Department of Treasury sanctions. Also included was former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, who the U.S. said created an assassination squad and directed it  to kill individuals he determined to be threats to his authority. Sanctions were also placed on Mukhtar Hamid Shah... Читать дальше...

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa is urging Zimbabweans in South Africa to come back home to help him rebuild the country’s ailing economy. Zimbabweans in South Africa flocked to the Zimbabwean embassy in Pretoria to listen to the president speak to them for the first time since his inauguration last month. Mnangagwa pleaded with the crowd , which included business owners, civil society, traditional leaders and ordinary Zimbabweans to invest in their motherland. "May I say, I am hopeful. Читать дальше...

Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski faces possible congressional impeachment Thursday over his alleged involvement with Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction company that is mired in Latin America's largest corruption scandal. The ultraconservative populist party that controls Peru's legislature, Popular Force, is planning to unseat Kuczynski in a vote that he is "morally unfit" to lead the country. Peru's political crisis stems from Odebrecht's acknowledgement that it bribed officials in the region for much of the century... Читать дальше...

Pakistan is rejecting reports authorities plan to execute an Indian death row prisoner soon after arranging a meeting with his relatives next week in Islamabad. Former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav was arrested in early 2016 in the southwestern Pakistani province of Baluchistan. In April this year, a military court sentenced him to death for espionage and terrorism against Pakistan. Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal confirmed Thursday visas have been issued to the mother and wife of Jadhav. Читать дальше...

The future of Spain and Catalonia could be decided Thursday, as voters in the Spanish region head to the polls to choose new lawmakers for the regional parliament. The election was called by the Spanish government after it seized control of the Catalan administration, following the disputed independence referendum in October. Since then several independence leaders have been jailed or are in exile. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Barcelona, the heated debate appears to have brought voters out in big numbers.

The future of Spain and Catalonia could be decided Thursday, as voters in the Spanish region head to the polls to choose new lawmakers for the regional parliament. The election was called by the Spanish government after it seized control of the Catalan administration, following the disputed independence referendum in October. Since then several independence leaders have been jailed or are in exile. As Henry Ridgwell reports from Barcelona, the heated debate appears to have brought voters out in big numbers.

U.S. President Donald Trump is basking in his first major legislative victory, passage of a $1.5 trillion tax cut that he said "will soon be kicking in" to give American workers bigger paychecks and cut corporate tax bills. In a Twitter comment Thursday, Trump said opposition Democrats, who uniformly voted against the legislation, "want to raise taxes" and "hate these big cuts." Two telecommunications firms, AT&T and Comcast, said they would pay a $1,000 bonus to most of their workers... Читать дальше...

House Republicans early Thursday unveiled a new, stripped-down spending bill to prevent a government shutdown this weekend and allow quarreling lawmakers to punt most of their unfinished business into the new year. The bill would stave off a government shutdown through Jan. 19 and permit lawmakers to head home for the holidays. It would delay battles over the budget and immigration into January, denying Democrats wins that they had hoped to score this year. Failure to pass the measure would trigger a government shutdown at midnight Friday... Читать дальше...

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres is “disappointed” that Myanmar has failed to cooperate with the world body's staff, a spokesman told VOA Burmese Thursday, a day after a special human rights envoy was barred access to the country. “We are disappointed by this. We encourage all member states to allow access to all of the human rights mechanisms of the U.N. system,” spokesperson Farhan Haq said. “We want to make it very clear that it is the responsibility of the government to cooperate with the human rights mechanism." A day earlier... Читать дальше...

The far eastern Russian port of Nakhodka on the Sea of Japan is swathed in coal dust. It blankets the streets, clogs the air and is blamed by some for a rise in respiratory diseases among the city's 150,000 residents. Yet despite pledges this year by Russia President Vladimir Putin to tackle coal pollution in ports such as Nakhodka and Murmansk thousands of kilometers away near Finland, port workers and local officials don't expect any change soon. Once mainly an entry point for cars from Japan and an export route for Russian wood and fish... Читать дальше...

South Africa's ruling ANC decided to downgrade its embassy in Tel Aviv to a liaison office over a U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, ahead of a U.N. vote on Thursday on a resolution urging Washington to drop the move. The decision was taken at the end of a five-day African National Congress conference, in which Cyril Ramaphosa was elected as its new leader and South Africa's likely next president after 2019 elections, following Jacob Zuma. "Delegates endorsed the proposal... Читать дальше...

The Czech far-right Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) said on Thursday it would not support a new minority government formed by the ANO party leader Andrej Babis, making it more likely the government will lose a confidence vote next month. If Babis loses, he will stay in power as caretaker while another coalition arrangement is sought. Given ANO's strength, however, it is almost impossible to form a government without it. SPD leader Tomio Okamura told a news conference his party had led... Читать дальше...

It’s a drizzly night in central Beirut, and breaths are being held as 27-year-old Maytham Khassir tells a packed room full of strangers how his aunt was murdered by her ex-husband. Khassir, emotional, finishes, and his eyes survey the audience. A pause. Then, filling the cafe, a swell of applause rises to meet him. With the rapid rise of Beirut’s storytelling, scene moments like this are becoming ever more commonplace as Lebanese find they have a voice — and people willing to listen. Embraced... Читать дальше...

A senior U.N. official says people are dying because the Syrian government will not give the green light for an urgent medical evacuation from eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus. The United Nations has been asking the Syrian Government for permission to transport patients from eastern Ghouta to Damascus for urgent medical treatment since May to no avail. Special advisor to the U.N. Syrian Envoy, Jan Egeland, says 494 people were on the priority lists for medical evacuations drawn up two months ago. Читать дальше...