Новости за 08.02.2023

The U.N. is appealing for $2.6 billion this year to assist 7.6 million of the most vulnerable Somalis who are facing acute hunger and possible famine from conflict, high food prices, and unprecedented drought. "Famine is a strong possibility from April to June this year, and of course beyond, if humanitarian assistance is not sustained, and if the April to June rains underperform as currently forecast," Adam Abdelmoula, the U.N. resident and humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, told reporters in a video briefing. Читать дальше...

Nigeria's Supreme Court has suspended the government's deadline to stop the use of old currency notes. The Central Bank of Nigeria had ordered people to swap out old bank notes for currency with a new design by the February 10 deadline, but the directive led to cash shortages, protests and some attacks on banks. The court ruling halts the move by federal authorities and the Central Bank of Nigeria to completely phase out the old 200, 500 and 1,000 naira bills by this Friday. The Central Bank has yet to respond to the court ruling... Читать дальше...

Independent journalists in Azerbaijan are protesting a media law that they say obstructs their ability to work and gives the government too much control over the media. Journalists involved in the "We Don't Want Sanctioned Media" campaign have called for a repeal of the law that President Ilham Aliyev enacted in 2022, saying it goes against the constitution.  The biggest complaint is over the creation of a registry for journalists and news outlets that provides a press card and access to government briefings and officials. Читать дальше...

Pakistani officials and a visiting International Monetary Fund delegation are holding tough negotiations this week in search of a deal by Thursday on loans to bail out the financially strapped country and avoid a default. Analysts say the financial crisis, coupled with political instability and a mounting terrorist threat, are creating the sort of conditions that have repeatedly led in the past to military takeovers. The IMF delegation has been in Islamabad since January 31 but still is unable... Читать дальше...

The small distant world called Quaoar, named after a god of creation in Native American mythology, is producing some surprises for astronomers as it orbits beyond Pluto in the frigid outer reaches of our solar system. Researchers said Wednesday they have detected a ring encircling Quaoar akin to the one around the planet Saturn. But the one around Quaoar defies the current understanding of where such rings can form - located much further away from it than current scientific understanding would allow. Читать дальше...

A naturalized U.S. citizen who became so enamored with Islamic State that he abandoned his wife and child to join the terror group in Syria, eventually rising to the rank of emir, faces life behind bars after being convicted of all charges against him. The U.S. Justice Department announced Wednesday that a jury has found the now 46-year-old Ruslan Maratovich Asainov guilty on five counts, including conspiracy to provide material support, receiving and providing training, obstruction of justice... Читать дальше...

The Syrian rebel-controlled enclave of Idlib on the Turkish border is reeling from Monday’s two deadly earthquakes. The region has already been devastated by years of civil war, and aid agencies now say the need for international assistance is urgent. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. VOA footage by Mouneb Taim.

The recent rescue of two children from the rubble of collapsed buildings in Idlib and Aleppo in northwest Syria is a rare bit of good news in an area devastated by the massive earthquake that struck southern Turkey and its northern neighbor Monday. While a huge humanitarian operation is slowly gathering steam in Turkey, similar efforts in Syria are barely able to get off the ground. Logistical problems brought on by more than 12 years of crisis and conflict, the crippling impact of unilateral sanctions... Читать дальше...

Twitter became inaccessible on major Turkish mobile providers on Wednesday as online criticism mounted of the government's response to this week's deadly earthquake. AFP reporters were unable to access the social media network in Turkey. It was still accessible using VPN services that disguise a user's location. The netblocks.org social media monitor said Twitter was being restricted "on multiple internet providers in Turkey". "Turkey has an extensive history of social media restrictions during... Читать дальше...

Zimbabweans make up South Africa's largest group of immigrants, with about 800,000 living in the country, many for decades but not all of them legally and doing low skilled jobs. Authorities have granted about 180,000 Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEP) but stopped renewing them and announced a June deadline for Zimbabweans to get a critical skills visa or leave the country. Jan Willem Bornman reports from Johannesburg.

Electric trucks tested two years ago in rural Rwanda have quickly expanded as the fleet reduced costs and with a lower impact on the environment. The British company, Ox Delivers, plans to introduce newer models this year and hopes to expand further into East Africa.  Senanu Tord looks at the challenges they face in this report from Kigali, Rwanda

China says it was “smeared” in U.S. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, in which he called for bipartisan unity to push back against Beijing. Days after a Chinese surveillance balloon drifted across American airspace, Biden said he remains open to working with Beijing, "where it can advance American interests and benefit the world."  "But make no mistake about it," he said. "As we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country, and we... Читать дальше...

Poland on Wednesday condemned as unfair the eight-year jail sentence handed to a Polish-Belarusian journalist who had reported critically on the Belarusian regime. "An inhumane verdict of the Belarusian regime. It is yet another act of persecuting Polish people in Belarus," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in a tweet. Andrzej Poczobut, 49 was sentenced in the western city of Grodno, on the Polish border, where he was based. He was found guilty of taking part in "actions harming... Читать дальше...

A serpentlike robot designed by students from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, could revolutionize how NASA astronauts explore the lunar surface. VOA’s Kane Farabaugh has more

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that the suspected Chinese spy balloon that recently traveled across the continental United States is part of an extensive surveillance program operated by the Chinese military. The link of the balloon to the People’s Liberation Army, the formal name of China’s military, was first reported Tuesday by The Washington Post and later confirmed by the U.S.-based cable news network, CNN. The balloon is part of a fleet of unmanned airships that has been partly... Читать дальше...

Authorities in Pakistan said Wednesday a pre-dawn counterterrorism military operation in a turbulent northwestern district had killed 12 insurgents linked to an extremist banned group, which allegedly operates out of Afghan sanctuaries.    The military identified the slain men as “terrorists” from the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, an offshoot and ally of Afghanistan’s ruling Islamist Taliban.    The army statement noted its “intelligence tentacles” had enabled security... Читать дальше...

U.S. basketball star LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers became the National Basketball Association's all-time leading scorer Tuesday.  James hit a two-point basket late in the third quarter in the game against the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder to surpass the 38,387 career points held by Lakers’ legend and Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Abdul-Jabbar, who was in Crypto.com Arena to watch the historic moment, had held the record since April 5,1984.   James entered Tuesday’s game needing just 36 points to break the record. Читать дальше...

Rescue crews in Turkey and Syria raced against the cold Wednesday to find survivors buried in the rubble of buildings toppled by powerful earthquakes that struck the region Monday and left more than 8,700 people dead.        The rescue effort in Turkey involved 79,000 personnel, the country’s emergency management agency said Wednesday.     Officials in Turkey said at least 6,234 people were killed and more than 37,000 others were injured. In Syria, there were at least 2,470 deaths, according... Читать дальше...

Speaking in front of a divided Congress for the first time since he took office, President Joe Biden delivered his second State of the Union address Tuesday evening, touting low unemployment numbers and the end of pandemic emergency as he pleads for bipartisanship that’s even more elusive under a Republican-controlled House of Representatives. VOA's White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, his wife and daughter Ju-ae, visited soldiers at their barracks ahead of a quinquennial army anniversary, the nation's main broadsheet Rodong Sinmun said on Wednesday. Wednesday is the 75th anniversary of the founding of the North Korean People's Army or the KPA. A large-scale military parade is anticipated, but not yet reported. In a commemorative banquet on Tuesday, Kim Jong Un praised the state's military tradition that — despite the odds — persisted through... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden said the United States is in "the strongest position in decades to compete with China" both economically and militarily.  Biden said during the annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress Tuesday that the United States is now "investing in industries that will define the future" that Beijing is "intent on dominating," as well as modernizing the U.S. military "to safeguard stability and deter aggression."  He told lawmakers he has made it clear to his Chinese counterpart... Читать дальше...

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders drew a contrast between Republicans and what she called a failure of the Biden administration and Democrats as she gave the Republican response Tuesday night to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address.  "The dividing line is no longer between right or left," Sanders said.  "The choice is between normal or crazy."  She said Democrats want to rule Americans with more government control and called for a commitment to the "timeless American idea that... Читать дальше...

The President gave his second State of the Union address with a focus on his domestic economic policy, including an appeal to his Republican opponents to work together.