Новости за 28.02.2023

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration urged Congress on Tuesday to reauthorize a controversial surveillance program that officials say has become a vital tool of protecting the United States from all manner of threats, from foreign terrorist attacks to Chinese efforts to steal U.S. technology. The program, established in 2008 under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), allows U.S. spy agencies to collect the online communications of foreigners for intelligence purposes... Читать дальше...

Nigerian opposition groups have called Saturday's presidential election a "sham" that should be overturned as their supporters protested in the capital. The electoral commission says ballots show ruling party candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the lead. About 100 protesters, mostly women and youth, chanted as they held up placards less than 600 meters away from the national collation center in Abuja. Barricades set up by security forces blocked them from getting closer to the venue where Nigeria's Electoral Commission... Читать дальше...

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

Sumaira Saeedi was just months away from graduating from journalism school when the Taliban issued a ban on women accessing education. VOA's Shaista Sadat Lami has the story.

French President Emmanuel Macron heads to central Africa Wednesday on a four-nation visit marked by what he said ahead of his planned Wednesday departure. On Monday, he announced a revamped relationship with Africa, amid an increase in anti-French sentiment in some places— and rising Russian and Chinese influence.   “Partnership,” “humility,” and “reorganization” are part of Macron’s lexicon this week, with his new, recalibrated strategy for Africa.   He said French military bases in Africa would be reorganized ... Читать дальше...

A new branch of medicine uses the immersive technology of virtual reality to help patients cope with chronic pain, relieve anxiety and even give birth. As Mike O’Sullivan reports from Los Angeles, the approach brings together the latest technology and the age-old techniques of meditation

A South African group is bringing films to African youth in impoverished areas with poor services through solar-powered, portable cinemas.  The group, Sunshine Cinema, works in four countries aiming to inspire more youth on the continent through African films. Zaheer Cassim reports from Pankop, South Africa.

On a hot day in July 2022, a gray SUV pulled into the parking lot of a grocery store in the Navajo community of Shiprock, New Mexico. One of the three men talking outside the store was Marvin, a 47-year-old Navajo man from Utah. “The driver and another guy asked us if we needed a place to stay,” Marvin told VOA, asking that his full name not be used. “They told us they ran a sober home. They said there was plenty of food in the refrigerator.” Hours later, Marvin says he and his companions were... Читать дальше...

The head of a U.S. government program to fight AIDS, Dr. John Nkengasong, says that in its 20 years of existence the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, has saved 25 million lives. PEPFAR, set up in 2003 under the administration of former U.S. president George W. Bush, has transformed the trajectory of HIV/AIDS, Nkengasong told reporters Tuesday while visiting South Africa. “Twenty-five million lives have been saved, 5.5 million children have been born free of HIV/AIDS, health... Читать дальше...

Officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan have held their first economic security dialogue, South Korea's presidential office said Tuesday, amid efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains and develop technology. Though Japan and South Korea are at time uneasy neighbors, the three countries are keen to expand cooperation in various fields in the face of increased global tensions, a more assertive China and an unpredictable North Korea. "This dialogue is meaningful in expanding... Читать дальше...

Heavy snow bookended the United States on Tuesday, with a late-season storm bringing a messy morning commute to the Northeast and California residents digging out, or in some cases simply stranded, after yet another storm. While not a blockbuster storm by regional standards, the Northeast felt what could end up being the most significant snowfall of what has so far been a mild winter. The brunt of the storm hit Boston as the Tuesday morning commute commenced. A winter storm warning covered parts of the Northeast... Читать дальше...

Vietnam will name a new president later this week, officials said Tuesday, after the dramatic resignation of Nguyen Xuan Phuc as part of an anti-corruption drive.  Vo Van Thuong, 52, is expected to be confirmed at an extraordinary meeting of the country's national assembly Thursday, official political and government sources told AFP on condition of anonymity. His expected appointment comes during a period of significant political upheaval in Vietnam, where the all-powerful Communist Party's anti-graft... Читать дальше...

Two more people in Equatorial Guinea have died of Marburg hemorrhagic fever, a cousin of the Ebola virus, bringing the toll of fatalities to 11, the authorities say. "Two days ago, the monitoring system recorded eight notifications, including the deaths of two people with symptoms of the disease," Health Minister Mitoha Ondo'o Ayekaba said in a statement issued late Tuesday. Work is underway "to strengthen assessment of the spread of the epidemic," said the statement, read on national television. Читать дальше...

Nikos Christodoulides was sworn in as Cyprus's president on Tuesday, promising to make finding a solution to the "Cyprus problem" his top priority after winning an election runoff on Feb. 12. Christodoulides, 49, inherits a deadlock in reunification talks on the ethnically split island, labor disputes over high inflation, and what he called challenges of "exceptionally complex" irregular migration. Christodoulides took an investiture oath in parliament. Cyprus has an executive system of government... Читать дальше...

Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities said Tuesday that 80 Afghan nationals, including women and children, died in a shipwreck this week off the southern coast of Italy. Rescuers have so far confirmed at least 64 people were killed and 80 rescued after a wooden boat carrying hundreds of migrants on Sunday sank in heavy seas near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria. Officials overseeing rescue efforts fear the death toll may still rise.  "With great sadness, we learned ... that 80 Afghan refugees... Читать дальше...

Indigenous and environmental activists, including Greta Thunberg, blocked access to several Norwegian ministries on Tuesday, expanding a protest demanding the removal of wind turbines from reindeer pastures. Norway's supreme court in 2021 ruled that two wind farms built at Fosen in central Norway violated Sami human rights under international conventions, but the turbines remain in operation more than 16 months later. Police began removing a handful of demonstrators from outside the building housing most of the finance ministry... Читать дальше...

Nigeria's electoral commission on Wednesday declared ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu president-elect after a disputed weekend election, at a ceremony that was snubbed by the two main opposition parties.  Tinubu's victory extends the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party's grip on power in Africa's top oil producer and most populous nation, though he inherits a litany of problems from President Muhammadu Buhari, also of APC.  The former governor of commercial hub Lagos polled 8.79 million votes... Читать дальше...

China says the fight of a U.S. military plane over the Taiwan Strait Monday “endangered peace and stability” in the region.   The Eastern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement that it closely monitored a U.S. Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance plane as it flew over the waterway that divides mainland China and the self-ruled island of Taiwan.  The Command said the flight “deliberately interfered with and disrupted the regional situation and endangered peace and... Читать дальше...

For about two decades, China has been funding development projects across the globe. An uptick in spending happened in 2013, with Chinese leader Xi Jinping proposing the creation of what China called the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a land and sea initiative. This concept has evolved over the last 10 years into what is now known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Observers say China's strategy to globalize may be entering a new phase. Contributors: Ahadian Utama, Indra Yoga, Nestor Aguilera.

Ecuador’s largest hydroelectric power plant, the controversial China-built Coca Codo Sinclair project, with financing from China, is facing internal and external challenges. Néstor Aguilera reports from Quito, Ecuador. Videographer: Juan Carlos Játiva

Under President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, China has been spreading its global influence through the building of major infrastructure like railways, ports and bridges. But another key part of the BRI involves something much less tangible – spreading Chinese language and values as well as the Communist Party’s ideology. Kate Bartlett reports from Cape Town, South Africa. Videographers: Gianluigi Guercia and Rajabu Hassan. Contributor: Charles Kombe

Hong Kong’s leader says the city will end its COVID-19 mask mandate Wednesday, March 1.  Chief Executive John Lee told reporters Tuesday the mandate would be lifted in all public spaces, but added that high-risk venues such as hospitals and nursing homes can make their own decision on whether to impose mandatory mask requirements.  The Chinese territory first imposed the strict mask mandate in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and was one of the last places in the world to maintain such a policy. Читать дальше...

Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC) and its unit Aabar Investments PJS have agreed to pay $1.8 billion to settle a legal dispute over the scandal at Malaysian state fund 1MDB, Malaysia's finance ministry said on Monday.  Malaysia in 2018 had filed a challenge in a London court against a settlement agreement between 1MDB and IPIC that had been negotiated a year earlier during the premiership of former leader Najib Razak.  Najib was sentenced to 12 years in jail last year after... Читать дальше...

Canada and the United States moved forward Monday with bans of TikTok on government devices.  The White House gave federal agencies 30 days to halt the use of the popular social media app, implementing a ban approved by Congress in December.  The U.S. measure has limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security and research purposes.  “This guidance is part of the Administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy,” said Chris DeRusha... Читать дальше...

China wants to establish high-speed train service from its southern Yunnan province, across the Mekong and ultimately down into Singapore, as part of its Belt and Road Initiative aimed at increasing its access to the Indian Ocean. If it comes into being over the next decade, the network will pull neighboring Southeast Asian countries closer to Beijing. Thailand is pivotal to that plan, but some have raised questions about the wisdom of the project. Vijitra Duangdee has the details. Videographer:... Читать дальше...