Новости за 11.03.2023

Iran is striving to expand its influence in fellow U.S. adversary Venezuela, which is hosting an Iranian cultural fair this week and seeking Iranian assistance to revive the ailing Venezuelan energy industry. The International Fair of Venezuelan-Iranian Culture and Friendship opened March 4 in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and runs through Sunday. It is organized by a Caracas-based group called the Center for Intercultural Exchange in Latin America, or CICL. The U.S. research group Foundation... Читать дальше...

A bomb blast tore through a Shiite cultural center in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province Saturday, killing a security guard and wounding at least eight people. A local police spokesman, Mohammad Asif Waziri, told VOA the blast had targeted a ceremony honoring the Afghan media in the provincial capital, Mazar-i-Sharif. He said that five journalists and three children were among those injured. Provincial officials and religious clerics were also among the guests at the event. Abdul Nafi Takor... Читать дальше...

A film buff from Oklahoma City, Elyssa Mann has scant time to waste, needing to cross just four more movies off her Oscars binge list before Sunday's Academy Awards broadcast: Two animated films, one for cinematography and another for costume design. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Steve Tornello has just one left — the latest “Avatar” — before he can fairly judge all 10 of the Best Picture nominees. In the perfect multiverse, time would bend to allow time-strained movie buffs to watch anything anywhere, all at once. Читать дальше...

Residents of the Mukondi village in eastern Congo inspected the burnt-out remains of their homes Friday and told how they fled for their lives as rebels cut the throats of people around them. Members the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) struck Mukondi and a neighboring village overnight Wednesday, torching buildings and killing at least 39 people and wounding many more, according to the local authorities. "They killed with machetes and lit homes on fire," local chief Kasereka Deogratias said near... Читать дальше...

India and Australia aim to expand trade in a critical mineral to help them achieve their goals on reducing carbon emissions, as they seek a broad trade pact, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said Saturday. "India is short of critical minerals. Australia has a large reserve of critical minerals that go into (electric vehicle) batteries, which isn't fully processed or manufactured presently," Goyal told a news conference after meeting Australia's trade and tourism minister, Don Farrell. Critical minerals... Читать дальше...

Three years since the COVID pandemic began, nearly 200 prominent world figures Saturday called for the vaccine inequity seen during the crisis to be relegated to history. “We ask world leaders to pledge ‘never again,’” the current and former dignitaries said an open letter. It was published to mark the three-year anniversary since the World Health Organization first described the COVID-19 crisis as a pandemic. The letter, coordinated by the NGO coalition People's Vaccine Alliance, was signed... Читать дальше...

More than 1,000 migrants were brought ashore to southern Italy on Saturday after coastguards launched major rescue operations for three boats struggling in rough seas off Calabria. One coastguard vessel brought 584 people to the city of Reggio Calabria, while another escorted a packed fishing boat carrying 487 migrants into the port of Crotone, close to the scene of a February 26 shipwreck that killed at least 74 people.   Local officials said a further 200 migrants had been picked up off the... Читать дальше...

The BBC faced an escalating crisis Saturday over its suspension of former soccer star and program host Gary Lineker for comments criticizing the British government's new asylum policy. As a growing number of players and presenters rallied to Lineker’s support, Britain’s national broadcaster faced allegations of political bias and suppressing free speech, as well as praise from some Conservative politicians. Presenters of the BBC's lunchtime “Football Focus” and early evening “Final Score” said... Читать дальше...

Saudi Arabia's surprise move to restore ties with Iran adds a new, complicated layer to its delicate diplomatic dance with Israel, which craves a breakthrough normalization deal of its own, analysts said. Riyadh and Tehran announced on Friday that after seven years of severed ties they would reopen embassies and missions within two months and implement security and economic cooperation agreements signed more than 20 years ago. The China-brokered deal provoked sharp criticism within Israel of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu... Читать дальше...

Three former members of a Hong Kong group that used to organize annual vigils in remembrance of the victims of China’s 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square were jailed Saturday for 4½ months for failing to hand over information on the group, in accordance with Hong Kong’s national security law. The offense carries a maximum sentence of six months. Chow Hang-tung, Tang Ngok Kwan and Tsui Hon Kwong, leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, were found guilty March 4. Читать дальше...

A group of U.S. lawmakers recently drafted a resolution criticizing South Africa’s government for its close relations with Beijing, including its use of Chinese technology, and called on President Joe Biden to review American’s relationship with Pretoria. The resolution was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives as South Africa conducted naval exercises with China and Russia in February. There are U.S. concerns about the surveillance risks of Chinese telecommunications, but some analysts... Читать дальше...

On the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still spreading, and the death toll is nearing 7 million worldwide. Yet most people have resumed their normal lives, thanks to a wall of immunity built from infections and vaccines. The virus appears here to stay, along with the threat of a more dangerous version sweeping the planet. “New variants emerging anywhere threaten us everywhere,” said virus researcher Thomas Friedrich of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Maybe that... Читать дальше...

Only a few months into its term, Iraq’s government is suddenly enforcing a long-dormant law banning alcohol imports and arresting people over social media content deemed morally offensive. The crackdown has raised alarm among religious minorities and rights activists. Some see the measures as an attempt by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to head off potential political challenges from religious conservatives and to distract from economic woes, such as rising prices and wild currency fluctuations. Читать дальше...

Li Qiang, the former Communist Party chief of Shanghai, took office on Saturday as China's premier, the country's No.2 post, putting the close ally of President Xi Jinping in charge of reviving an economy battered by three years of COVID-19 curbs. Widely perceived to be pragmatic and business-friendly, the 63-year-old Li faces the daunting task of shoring up China's uneven recovery amid global headwinds and weak confidence among consumers and the private sector. Li takes office as tensions rise... Читать дальше...

Four years before Li Qiang gained notoriety as the force behind the two-month COVID-19 lockdown of Shanghai, the man who became China's new premier on Saturday worked quietly behind the scenes to drive a bold revamp of the megacity's sclerotic stock market. Li's back-channeling -- sources said he bypassed the China Securities Regulatory Commission, which lost some of its power under the new setup -- demonstrated what became a reputation for pragmatism as well as close ties with President Xi Jinping. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday sought to minimize differences over a Washington plans to subsidize American companies — a concept that has frustrated many in Europe. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara reports.

Residents across most of the United States will turn their clocks forward Sunday to begin daylight saving time. The change will lead to brighter evenings and darker mornings. Beginning Sunday, the sun will set one hour later in the evening than it does during standard time. Most of the country observes the change, with the exceptions being the Pacific state of Hawaii and most of the southwestern state of Arizona. U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa... Читать дальше...

Tropical Storm Freddy was on track to hit the coast of southern Africa again early Saturday, after killing at least 27 people in Mozambique and Madagascar since it first made landfall last month.  One of the strongest storms ever recorded in the Southern Hemisphere, Freddy may also have broken the record for the longest-lasting tropical cyclone, according to the World Meteorological Organization, which said the current record is held by a 31-day hurricane in 1994.  Freddy was named on February 6, 33 days ago. Читать дальше...

The Italian coast guard launched rescue operations on Friday to save hundreds of migrants packed aboard several boats off the toe of Italy, less than two weeks after at least 73 drowned in a shipwreck. "More than 1,000 people are in danger," the coast guard said in a statement. The president of the southern Calabria region, Roberto Occhiuto, said around 1,300 migrants were aboard boats that the European Union's border force Frontex had warned could run into problems. Three coast guard boats... Читать дальше...

The Republican chairman of a special House committee targeting China called Beijing's government “bloodthirsty” and “power hungry” on Friday at a rally outside the Chinese Embassy in Washington.  Representative Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin attended a rally to commemorate the failed 1959 Tibetan uprising against China's rule. The gathering took place on what is known as Tibetan National Uprising Day and came as tensions between the U.S. and China continue to escalate.  Speaking to members of the Tibetan community... Читать дальше...