Новости за 29.12.2017

Golf and tweets. Golf and tweets. Repeat. President Donald Trump has been largely out of sight the last two weeks of the year, ensconced at his Florida golf resort where he has played his favorite game almost daily, out of sight of the cameras (mostly). But he's not out of mind. With a regular but limited series of tweets, and an impromptu interview with The New York Times, Trump has kept himself the center of attention, affecting stock prices, triggering a defensive response in Beijing, and... Читать дальше...

Mystery writer Sue Grafton has died in Santa Barbara, California. She was 77. Her daughter, Jamie Clark, posted news of her mother's death on Grafton's web page Friday. She says her mother passed away Thursday night after a two-year battle with cancer and was surrounded by family, including Grafton's husband, Steve. Grafton was the author of the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series, in which each book title begins with a letter from the alphabet. The last was Y Is for Yesterday. Her daughter concluded her posting by saying... Читать дальше...

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The launch of Angelina's Jolie's Khmer language feature "First They Killed My Father" promised to deliver a much needed shot of exposure and enthusiasm into the arm of Cambodia's emergent film industry. Instead of using the spotlight to springboard their productions though, leading Cambodian filmmakers are fearing a proposed tax enforcement drive could kill the industry entirely. Cambodia's Ministry of Culture called filmmakers to a meeting in October to discuss the planned imposition of taxes on filmmakers. Читать дальше...

Fed up with food shortages and exorbitant prices, Juana Medina joined hands Thursday with dozens of strangers on this capital city's west side to register her fury. "This political and economic system is killing us with hunger," Medina complained to VOA as she and others formed a human chain to demand that the federal government deliver the pork they'd expected for the holiday season. Similar anti-hunger demonstrations have surfaced in different regions of Venezuela since Saturday. "Give us what we were promised. Читать дальше...

Israeli tanks and aircraft struck the Gaza Strip Friday after three rockets were fired from the Palestinian enclave towards Israel, according to Palestinian and Israeli military sources. The attacks occurred as thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza and the occupied West Bank for a fourth straight day in protest of U.S. President Donald Trump's December 6 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Trump's decision has outraged Palestinians, many Middle Eastern states... Читать дальше...

In Zimbabwe, some residents in the capital, Harare, want the mayor to step down because of chronic bad tap water. He had urged citizens to use "caution" as water in Zimbabwe's capital was not safe to drink. Residents directed their anger at Mayor Benard Manyenyeni during a public meeting, where they complained about muddy, colored and smelly drinking water. Some parts of the capital city have gone for weeks or months with dry taps, despite above normal rain in Zimbabwe last season. "Water is a basic fundamental right. Читать дальше...

Social media giants Facebook and Twitter could face sanctions in Britain if they fail to be more forthcoming in providing details about Russian disinformation campaigns that used their platforms in the run-up to last year's Brexit referendum, the chairman of a British parliamentary inquiry committee warned. The companies have been given until January 18 to hand over information. Damian Collins, chairman of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport committee in the British parliament, which is looking into Russian fake news' efforts... Читать дальше...

New York Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said the Thursday fire that killed 12 people at an apartment in the Bronx was started by a three and a half year old boy playing with a stove. Nigro told reporters Friday the boy’s mother fled the apartment with her son and other child, leaving the door open.  The fire then spread quickly, with the five story building's stairwell acting like a chimney.  Officials said housing records show the building had previous violations, including defective carbon monoxide and fire detectors. Читать дальше...

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Kenya's opposition says it will proceed with its planned inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga as president if Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta does not convene a national dialogue. Kenyatta won October's election after Odinga boycotted the vote, and experts warn that an opposition inauguration could create even more division in the country. Deputy opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka, who has been out of the country for three months caring for his sick wife, said the only thing that can stop the opposition inauguration is dialogue. Читать дальше...

Beijing may have turned a corner in its battle against the city's notorious smog, according to Reuters calculations, and environmental consultants say the Chinese government deserves much of the credit for introducing tough anti-pollution measures. The Chinese capital is set to record its biggest improvement in air quality in at least nine years, with a nearly 20 percent change for the better this year, based on average concentration levels of hazardous breathable particles known as PM2.5. The dramatic change... Читать дальше...

California adults not content to ring in the New Year with the traditional fizz of champagne can look forward to celebrating with the buzz of marijuana, purchased for the first time from state-licensed retailers of recreational pot. Dozens of newly authorized marijuana stores are due to open for business across California on January 1, launching yet another chapter in America's drug culture and the largest regulated commercial market for cannabis in the United States — one valued at several billion dollars. Читать дальше...

When the 55-year-old woman stood up to speak at a meeting of shoemakers in south India earlier this month, she was seeing her employers for the first time. She told them about the decades she had spent hunched up in her home, repeatedly pulling a needle through tough leather as she sewed shoe uppers, the meager income she earned, her failing eyesight and the wounds on her hands. For manufacturers and brands, her story was a revelation. The meeting brought women workers, manufacturers, charities... Читать дальше...

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called for a Catalan parliament to be formed on January 17, the first step in reinstating a local government that was taken over by Madrid after illegally declaring independence in October. Once the parliament is formed, members must put forward a candidate to lead the regional government who must then undergo a vote of confidence. Separatist parties secured a slim majority in a December 21 election, but they may have difficulty forming a government with... Читать дальше...

Turkey and Russia have signed an accord for Moscow to supply Ankara with S-400 surface-to-air missiles, CNN Turk and other media reported on Friday, finalizing a deal the two countries have been working on for more than a year. The S-400 deal, reportedly worth about $2.5 billion, has caused concern in the West because Turkey is a member of NATO and the system cannot be integrated into NATO's military architecture. It is the latest in a series of moves by Ankara to boost its defense capabilities... Читать дальше...

Members of a Russian environmental group say masked men attacked their leader in the southern Russian city of Krasnodar late Thursday. Andrei Rudomakha, head of Environmental Watch of the North Caucasus, was hospitalized with multiple injuries including a fractured skull and broken nose. Rudomakha and several other activists were returning from a trip to Russia's Black Sea region, where they had documented the illegal construction of a luxury mansion. Local authorities said they are investigating the incident. Читать дальше...

A gunman opened fire Friday outside a church south of Cairo and at a nearby Christian-owned store, killing at least nine people, including a policeman. Egyptian authorities said the attacker was shot in an exchange of fire at the Mary Mina Church, a Coptic church in the Helwan district. Five other people were wounded, including another police officer, Health Ministry spokesman Khaled Megahed said. The Health Ministry said the shooter had died in the gunfire, while the Interior Ministry said the shooter had been wounded and arrested. Читать дальше...

At least two attackers opened fire on a Coptic church in the Cairo suburb of Helwan Friday, just over a week before Orthodox Christmas celebrations in Egypt. Andn police say they thwarted an even bigger tragedy by preventing a militant wearing a suicide belt from entering the church. Amateur video showed people scrambling for cover as a gun battle rages between Egyptian security forces and militants attacking the Mar Mina Coptic Church in the Cairo suburb of Helwan. One of the attackers was killed by police and another was apprehended. Читать дальше...

A gunman who opened fire outside a church south of Cairo has killed at least four people and wounded five more. At least one of the dead was a policeman. Egyptian authorities say the attacker was shot dead Friday at the Mary Mina Church, a Coptic church, in the Helwan district. Officials say they are searching for a possible second gunman. Details about the attack are still coming in, and there has been no immediate claim of responsibility. The Islamic State group, however, has killed dozens... Читать дальше...

An attack on a church south of Cairo killed at least three people Friday, and an attacker was shot dead by security forces, security sources said. The incident took place in the Helwan district on the capital’s southern outskirts and involved more than one attacker, according to the state-run news agency MENA. Local media cited the Interior Ministry as saying two policemen had been killed in the attack on the Mar Mina church. It was not clear if the three reported dead included the attacker, or how many attackers were involved. Читать дальше...

China has denied facilitating oil shipments to North Korea in violation of United Nations Security Council sanctions, one day after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Beijing of doing so. "China has been completely and strictly implementing Security Council resolutions and fulfilling our international obligations,'' foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters Friday at a media briefing. "We will never allow Chinese citizens and enterprises to engage in activities that violate Security... Читать дальше...

South Korea’s foreign ministry says the country has seized a Hong Kong-flagged ship that transferred oil to a North Korean vessel in international waters despite United Nations Security Council sanctions. Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, reports South Korean custom officials say the Lighthouse Winmore vessel transferred “600 tons of refined petroleum” to a North Korean ship October 19. South Korea seized the Lighthouse Winmore on November 24 when it sailed into South Korea’s Yeosu Port, the news agency says. Читать дальше...

South Korea’s foreign ministry says the country has seized a Hong Kong-flagged ship that transferred oil to a North Korean vessel in international waters despite United Nations Security Council sanctions. Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, reports South Korean custom officials say the Lighthouse Winmore vessel transferred “600 tons of refined petroleum” to a North Korean ship October 19. South Korea seized the Lighthouse Winmore on November 24 when it sailed into South Korea’s Yeosu Port, the news agency says. Читать дальше...

Autism is on the rise in many developed countries, and the reasons why are still unclear. But more autistic children mean that, one day, more autistic adults will be entering the workforce. A new robot is trying to help these workers navigate the emotional elements on the job. VOA's Bronwyn Benito narrates this report by Kevin Enochs.