Новости за 09.01.2023

In the fall of 2022, two-time Emmy Award winning songwriter and actress Vonda Shepard released her latest album “Red Light, Green Light.”  2022 also marked the 25th anniversary of her hit TV program Ally McBeal in which she played the role of a resident performer in the bar where the show's characters drank, danced and conversed after work.

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

China has turned down a U.S. offer to hold military de-confliction talks after an unsafe air encounter involving Chinese and U.S. aircraft over the South China Sea last month. According to U.S. diplomatic sources who spoke on background when discussing the sensitive issue, the proposed call on Friday between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe was canceled after Beijing declined to participate. After the Pentagon was asked about Austin’s contacts with his Chinese counterpart, Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Читать дальше...

Thailand has withdrawn its decision to request COVID-19 vaccine proof from visitors — only days after announcing new rules for all international arrivals.  The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand on Saturday announced new rules for all international travelers since China dropped its mandatory quarantine requirements and reopened its borders following three years of a strict zero-COVID policy. But Anutin Charnvirakul, Thailand's health minister, said a panel of health experts agreed to withdraw... Читать дальше...

South African police are investigating allegations by the outgoing head of state-owned power company Eskom that he was poisoned. Andre de Ruyter alleges someone put cyanide in his coffee a day after he tendered his resignation. De Ruyter has been criticized for failing to end widespread graft in the company that fueled the worst blackouts in South Africa's history. Debt-ridden Eskom says due to the police investigation, it cannot comment on de Ruyter's claim that someone tried to poison him at his Johannesburg office on December 13. Читать дальше...

One year after Australia deported Serbian tennis champion Novak Djokovic for refusing to get vaccinated, Australian Open tournament officials say players this year will not be tested for COVID-19 and would even be allowed to compete even if they had the virus.  Tournament director Craig Tiley told reporters Monday they are telling players and tournament staff to stay away if they feel ill, but otherwise they will not be tested. If they have already been tested, they will not be required to disclose their status. Читать дальше...

A major international conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan, co-hosted by the United Nations and Pakistan, is seeking $16 billion to support Pakistan's multi-year effort to recover from last year's unprecedented floods. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres opened the conference with an impassioned plea for aid on behalf of millions of Pakistanis whose lives and livelihoods were upended by the disaster. He described the crisis as a climate disaster of monumental scale, noting that one-third... Читать дальше...

Britain's foreign minister James Cleverly summoned Iran’s most senior diplomat on Monday after Iranian authorities executed protestors Mohammad Mahdi Karami and Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini. "Today I have summoned the Iranian charge d’affairs to condemn in the strongest possible terms the abhorrent executions we witnessed over the weekend," Cleverly said in a statement. Since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini last September, Britain said it had imposed more than 40 sanctions... Читать дальше...

Three days of talks between Sudan’s military and civilian leaders continued Monday, with the aim of reaching a final deal on governing during a two-year transition to elections Sudan's ruling military has vowed the army will come under civilian authority as the two sides hammer out a final agreement. The spokesman for the civilian side, Khalid Omer Yousif, addressed the media Monday at a press conference in Khartoum broadcast by the state-run Sudan News Agency. He said this was an opportunity... Читать дальше...

The number of people in the United States who speak a language other than English at home tripled between 1980 and 2019, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Almost 68 million people who live in the U.S. — about 1 in 5 — speak a second language at home. That number was 23 million in 1980. “It says what the country is known for, it's a melting pot,” says Dina Arid, a California mother of three who grew up also speaking Arabic at home. “So, it's good that it's not just primarily English. There's... Читать дальше...

Cameroon's second largest employer, the state-run Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), is calling for thousands of plantation workers who fled the country's separatist conflict to return to work. About half the company's 20,000 workers left more than four years ago over unpaid wages and after deadly and brutal attacks. The company last week said it was safe to return, but workers are skeptical and say it should first rebuild homes destroyed or damaged in the conflict. The CDC said it wants thousands of workers back at banana... Читать дальше...

A major humanitarian group warned Monday that a continued Taliban ban on women aid workers in Afghanistan could push 6 million people into famine and leave 600,000 children without education.  Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland issued the warning after talks with Taliban officials in Kabul. He tweeted that a continued ban of female workers at nongovernmental organizations could also leave 13.5 million people without a safe water supply and 14.1 million people without protection services. Читать дальше...

A major humanitarian group warned Monday that a continued Taliban ban on women aid workers in Afghanistan could push 6 million people into famine and leave 600,000 children without education.  Norwegian Refugee Council Secretary General Jan Egeland issued the warning after talks with Taliban officials in Kabul. He tweeted that a continued ban of female workers at nongovernmental organizations could also leave 13.5 million people without a safe water supply and 14.1 million people without protection services. Читать дальше...

The National Weather Service said Monday that it is advising residents in some areas of California to prepare for “two major episodes of heavy rain and heavy mountain snow” that are expected “to impact California in quick succession during the next couple of days.”   The wet weather forecast is complicated further the service said by an “energetic and moisture-laden parade of cyclones that are aiming directly for California.”     Heavy precipitation is expected in central California with rainfall... Читать дальше...

Brazil’s president toured the federal buildings in the capital, Brasilia, that were attacked Sunday by supporters of his opponent in the recent presidential race. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva toured the heavily-damaged buildings late Sunday and decreed a federal security intervention in the city’s federal district. He vowed to bring the rioters to justice and promised to punish the police who failed to stop the protesters. The decree gives the government special powers to restore law and order in the capital and lasts until January 31. Читать дальше...

Officials say at least 20 people died and 49 were injured in a bus crash in Kenya. Authorities say the accident happened Saturday shortly after the bus crossed the Ugandan border into Lwakhakha, Kenya. Rogers Taitika, a Ugandan regional spokesman, told Agence France Presse that “Preliminary findings point to a case of over speeding by the bus driver,” causing him to lose control of the vehicle. The bus, headed for Nairobi, the Kenya capital, began its trip from the Ugandan city of Mbale. ... Читать дальше...

Migration, climate change, trade and manufacturing issues headlined the first day of meetings between the leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, as the host, President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador, forcefully urged greater continental integration.     "Dear President Biden, I am certain that you are a humanistic president, a visionary president," Lopez Obrador said as the two leaders sat down with high-level delegations for a bilateral meeting Monday night. "And that there are conditions that couldn't... Читать дальше...

Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador hosts U.S. President Joe Biden for talks Monday in Mexico City ahead of a regional summit that will include Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Migration, climate change, trade and manufacturing are among the major topics on the agenda.  White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that with his visit, the first to Mexico since becoming president, Biden expects to “promote a common vision for North America.”  Jean-Pierre said Biden would... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden visited the American border town of El Paso, in Texas, Sunday afternoon before traveling to Mexico City to meet with North American leaders. This is Biden’s first trip to the Southwestern border since taking office. VOA’s immigration reporter Aline Barros has more. Jorge Agobian contributed to this report.

The Blumhouse evil-doll horror film "M3gan" got off to a killer start, debuting with $30.2 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates, while "Avatar: The Way of Water" continued its box-office reign in the top spot.  Universal Pictures' "M3gan," about a robot companion built for a young girl after her parents are killed in a car accident, rode strong buzz and viral dancing memes to an above-expectations debut. In the low-budget slasher, starring Allison Williams, Blumhouse and producer... Читать дальше...

China will not include Pfizer Inc's Paxlovid in an update to its list of medicines covered by basic medical insurance schemes as the U.S. firm quoted a high price for the COVID-19 drug, China's Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) said Sunday.    The COVID-19 antiviral drug is currently covered by the country's broad health care insurance scheme under temporary measures the regulator introduced in March last year as outbreaks rose.    But authorities held talks with Pfizer in recent days... Читать дальше...

Nature photographers from around the world expressed their sentiments about an ever-changing planet in a contest sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, a U.S.-based environmental nonprofit. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more on the winning images.

Officials from the U.N. and an aid organization were meeting with the Taliban in Afghanistan amid intensified calls for the Islamist rulers to end what a U.N. official describes as a “dangerous campaign” to exclude women from public life. The meetings come as Melissa Fleming, the U.N. chief communicator, said in recent comments that “the systematic campaign by the country’s de facto authorities to gradually erase women from public life and deny their contribution is an extraordinary act of self-harm.”... Читать дальше...

Now that U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has finally been sworn in, Republican legislators can begin working on their agenda. Veronica Balderas Iglesias takes a look at what they seek to accomplish, and their planned "checks and balances” on the Biden administration.