Новости за 04.02.2023

The Biden administration is considering a plan to shoot down a large Chinese balloon suspected of conducting surveillance on the U.S. military by bringing it down once it is above the Atlantic Ocean where the remnants could potentially be recovered, according to four U.S. officials. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operation, said it was unclear whether a final decision had been made by President Joe Biden. In a brief remark Saturday in response to a reporter’s question about the balloon... Читать дальше...

Since the military coup in Myanmar two years ago, more than 100 of the nation's diplomats have chosen to draw international attention to their opposition to the military government by refusing to represent it. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar's permanent representative to the United Nations, was among the first to join the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM). It is opposed to the military government that on February 1, 2021, ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and her democratically elected National League for Democracy (NLD) government. Читать дальше...

Iran slammed U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi after the agency raised concerns over covert changes to equipment at its Fordo uranium enrichment plant, state media said Saturday. The criticism of Grossi comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency director-general said he plans to visit Tehran in February for talks on getting it to increase cooperation over its activities, amid stalled negotiations to revive a landmark deal over Iran's nuclear program. The IAEA said in a confidential... Читать дальше...

Nigerian Central Bank authorities are calling for calm as citizens march in the streets protesting cash and fuel shortages days ahead of the February 10 deadline when the country will switch to redesigned currency.  Protesters asked authorities Friday to circulate the new notes or reverse the currency switch decision. President Muhammadu Buhari assured citizens Friday that the problem will be addressed in a matter of days. Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele told reporters Saturday... Читать дальше...

Police stepped up security Saturday as North Macedonia and Bulgaria commemorated a 19th-century revolutionary claimed by both neighbors as a hero at a ceremony expected to be attended by nationalists from the two countries. The two Balkan states have had tense relations since 2020, when European Union member Bulgaria blocked the start of accession talks with North Macedonia over disputes relating to history and language. Police sealed off the area around the Church of Holy Salvation in Skopje... Читать дальше...

Pakistan has blocked access to Wikipedia for not removing what it denounced as blasphemous content, the host of the world’s largest free online encyclopedia said Saturday.   The Wikimedia Foundation demanded that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) immediately reverse the ban, and said, it "believes that access to knowledge is a human right."   The ban denies "the fifth most populous nation in the world access to the largest free knowledge repository,” the platform said in a statement. Читать дальше...

Pope Francis called on Catholic clergy Saturday, especially those in Africa, to raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power by authorities. Francis was speaking to church leaders on his second day in Juba, South Sudan, where he is on a three-day ecumenical peace pilgrimage. Pope Francis said Saturday the church should play a significant role in ending violence and bad governance in Africa by speaking out about injustices committed by those in power.  The pope said, if we want to be pastors who intercede... Читать дальше...

A bipartisan group of leading U.S. lawmakers has nominated Jimmy Lai and five other Hong Kong democracy advocates for the Nobel Peace Prize.     The six nominees "are representative of millions of Hong Kongers who peacefully opposed the steady erosion of the city's democratic freedoms" by both the Hong Kong government, widely seen as taking orders from Beijing, and the government of the People's Republic of China, the U.S. lawmakers said in a press release Thursday.     Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ)... Читать дальше...

Arab media report that relations between Iran and Syria have taken a turn for the worse after Tehran stopped providing subsidized petroleum products to Damascus. Repeated Israeli attacks on pro-Iranian militia forces are also leading Tehran and its militia allies to question whether some Syrian military commanders aren't informing Israel about their movements. A drone strike in late January on a pro-Iranian militia truck convoy near the Syrian-Iraqi border appears to have made both Iran and Syria nervous about their strategic relations... Читать дальше...

As it marks World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to tackle breast cancer, the most common and leading cause of cancer deaths among women.   Every year, more than 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 700,000 die of the disease, which disproportionately affects women living in low- and middle-income countries.   WHO officials say women who live in poorer countries are far less likely to survive breast cancer than women in richer countries. Читать дальше...

South Korea’s top nuclear envoy said an agreement with the United States to jointly bolster “extended deterrence” against North Korea gives the Yoon administration needed confidence that the alliance will be able to effectively defend against aggression from Pyongyang. The U.S. commitment, laid out in a joint statement by the two countries in mid-September, includes an affirmation that a North Korean nuclear test “would be met with an overwhelming and decisive response.” It adds that the two... Читать дальше...

Paco Rabanne, the Spanish-born designer known for perfumes sold worldwide and for metallic, space-age fashions, has died, the group that owns his fashion house announced Friday.      “The House of Paco Rabanne wishes to honor our visionary designer and founder who passed away today at the age of 88. Among the most seminal fashion figures of the 20th century, his legacy will remain,” the statement from beauty and fashion company Puig said.    Le Telegramme newspaper quoted the mayor of Vannes... Читать дальше...

Peruvian lawmakers have once again blocked the president’s attempt to bring elections forward to 2023. Protesters have been demanding new elections, but Congress has refused to make it happen. President Dina Boluarte's proposal for the new vote was rejected Friday by a congressional committee on a technicality before the bill could even be debated. Peru has been in crisis since early December when then-president Pedro Castillo was arrested after attempting to dissolve Congress and rule by decree. Читать дальше...

Italy’s coast guard Friday found eight bodies, including the body of a pregnant woman, on a migrant vessel that was attempting to make the journey across the Mediterranean from Tunisia to Italy. The bodies were unloaded on Italy’s Lampedusa island, the first stop for many migrants on the journey across the sea. Dozens more Africans were aboard the vessel, according to ANSA, the Italian news agency. Survivors of the journey told officials that three other people had died at sea, ANSA reported. Читать дальше...

"Helloooo! Hello the Universe! Whoo!" shouted Jakkaphong "Anne" Jakrajutatip, the latest owner of the Miss Universe contest, from a stage filled with beauty queens. Jakkaphong, a Thai media tycoon and trans rights activist, bought the parent company, Miss Universe Organization (MUO), last year. She is the first non-American and first transgender woman to own the 7-decade-old pageant, which drew contestants to New Orleans from 83 countries last month. The competition, launched in 1952, was once co-owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump... Читать дальше...

Jimmy Cherizier zips through Haiti's capital on the back of a motorcycle, flanked by young men wielding automatic weapons. As the pack of bikes flies by graffiti reading "Mafia boss" in Creole, street vendors selling vegetables, meats and old clothes on the curb cast their eyes to the ground or peer curiously. Cherizier, best known by his childhood nickname Barbecue, has become the most recognized name in Haiti. And here in his territory, the informal settlement of La Saline, he is the law. Читать дальше...

Logistics manager Nicholas Rehak was visiting his parent's home in Baltimore County, Maryland, several years ago. He was standing on the back deck one night when he noticed a bluish white light. "It was shaped in a damn near perfect oval and it started to rise," Rehak told VOA. "I'm talking straight up vertical, no deviation. It sat there for nearly 30 seconds and then suddenly it vanished — like a lamp when someone pulls the plug. Just sudden darkness." Perhaps it was a drone. Rehak said that was his first thought. Читать дальше...

America’s urban youth may not live in war zones, but some face staggering death rates from gun violence that exceed the mortality rates of U.S. troops in recent wars, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers focused on gun-related deaths among young men in four major U.S. cities: Chicago, Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles. The death rates for men ages 18 to 29 in two inner-city postal zones were higher than those faced by U.S. military... Читать дальше...

Chilean authorities say at least 13 people have died in the dozens of wildfires raging in the South American country during a heatwave. Hundreds of homes and 14,000 hectares of land have been destroyed in the blazes. States of disaster have been declared in Biobío region and neighboring Ñuble region, allowing for the deployment of soldiers and other resources. Chilean President Gabriel Boric cut short his vacation Friday to visit the affected areas. "My role as president today is to ensure... Читать дальше...

Around seven in 10 people in Haiti back proposed creation of an international force to help the national police fight violence from armed gangs who have expanded their territory since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, according to a survey carried out in January. Some 69% of nearly 1,330 people across Haiti said they supported an "international force" -- which has been requested by the Haitian government -- according to a survey from local business risk management group Agerca and consulting firm DDG. Читать дальше...

The U.S. Defense Department said Friday another Chinese surveillance balloon is sailing over Latin America, two days after a similar high-altitude balloon was discovered traveling over the United States. Pentagon press secretary Air Force Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement to media outlets “we are seeing reports of a balloon transitioning Latin America.” “We now assess it is another Chinese surveillance balloon,” he said. Earlier Friday, Ryder told reporters at the Pentagon that... Читать дальше...

VOA White House Correspondent Sayed Aziz Rahman speaks with National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby about what the Taliban’s policies mean for future US relations

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said after meeting with his South Korean counterpart that the United States is committed to "improving its allied defense" of South Korea and called the alliance between the two nations the "linchpin" of peace in the region. Speaking Friday at a joint news conference in Washington, alongside visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, Blinken said the United States reaffirmed its commitment to defending South Korea "using the full range of U.S. capabilities... Читать дальше...

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed his trip to Beijing after a Chinese balloon was discovered hovering in American airspace. Blinken said Friday that he told China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, in a phone call that the presence of the surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace was a "clear violation of U.S. sovereignty and international law," and he called it "an irresponsible act." Speaking at a news conference alongside visiting South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, Blinken said China's... Читать дальше...

In 2021, the “Ghetto Project” was started in Lome, Togo, for impoverished young people. The objective was to help them get out of poor urban areas, find work and stay away from drugs. Amen Assignon looks at how the project is going. Narrator: Michele Joseph. Camera: Steven Midjola.