Новости за 01.04.2023

Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com Refugee Rights Advocates Express Concern Over New US-Canada Border Deal  Human rights activists and immigration advocates expressed concerns over a new immigration deal between Canada and the United States that allows either country to turn away asylum-seekers who reach the border at unofficial crossings. Immigration reporter Aline Barros has the story. Читать дальше...

President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that the hijab was the law in Iran after a viral video showed a man throwing yogurt at two unveiled women in a shop near a holy Shi'ite Muslim city. Growing numbers of women have defied authorities by discarding their veils after nationwide protests that followed the death in September of a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police for allegedly violating hijab rules. Security forces violently put down the revolt. Judicial... Читать дальше...

At almost every stop on former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to mainland China this week, Chinese citizens line the streets and gather outside venues, waiting for a chance to see him. Some greet him by calling out “Mr. Ma.” Others wave excitedly and take videos or photos on their phone. Ma embarked on the peacebuilding trip shortly after China reopened its borders. He and 30 Taiwanese students paid respects at the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of modern China, visited... Читать дальше...

Pakistan said Saturday that four of its soldiers were killed when a "group of terrorists" from across the Iranian side of the border attacked a routine military patrol operating between the two countries.    The deadly cross-border raid took place in the remote Kech district in southwestern Baluchistan province abutting Iran, the Pakistani military said in a statement.  "Necessary contact with the Iranian side is being made for effective action against terrorists on the Iranian side and to prevent... Читать дальше...

An elaborate hoax that duped the U.S. city of Newark, New Jersey, into signing a sister-city agreement with a nonexistent island nation is but one example of a profusion of scams and frauds in the internet age, with hucksters constantly inventing new ways to dupe, trick and swindle. In a case that drew headlines and made Newark a laughingstock in some people’s eyes, the city signed a cultural partnership, known as a sister-city agreement, with a fake country called the United States of Kailasa, named after a mountain in the Himalayas. Читать дальше...

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen arrived in Guatemala on Friday on a visit to the Central American region meant to tighten her country’s alliances with the region’s countries that have not fallen under the influence of China. Tsai held talks with her counterpart, Alejandro Giammattei, and is expected to visit the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal in the north of the country Saturday. On Sunday, she is expected to visit the new Chimaltenango hospital in the west that was built with a $22 million donation from Taipei. Читать дальше...

Former Uyghur propaganda chief dies just days after release from prison Ilham Rozi, a former Uyghur propaganda chief for Beijing, died at age of 57, just five days after his release from prison on separatism charges, according to a report by Radio Free Asia. The cause of Rozi's death is unknown and details surrounding his transfer to a nursing home for the elderly, where he died, remain unclear. Xinjiang's US exports plunge to a record low since enactment of Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act Exports from China's Xinjiang region to the U.

North Korea has long sought to convince its own people that the U.S. and South Korea are its mortal enemies, leaving the nation no choice but to develop advanced weapons for self-protection. Analysts are questioning whether that closed society is giving leader Kim Jong Un's daughter a similarly constricted view of the outside world. Kim Ju Ae, believed to be about 10, has been spotted at military events with her father about 10 times since he introduced her to the public on November 18, a little... Читать дальше...

"While [much of] the rest of the U.S. has its Anglo-Saxon heritage, New Orleans' mother country is France – and that makes a big difference," explained Alexandra Stafford, president of the Council of French Societies, an umbrella organization that promotes the many French nonprofit organizations in Louisiana's most populous city. "Our French connection brings a different flavor to our community," she continued. "A different vocabulary, different traditions, different food and most importantly,... Читать дальше...

The United States has announced its intention to open an embassy in Vanuatu. The State Department said in a statement Friday that the establishment of a Vanuatu embassy would “further strengthen the bilateral relationship.” Washington’s opening of an embassy in the South Pacific nation is widely viewed as a means of countering the growing Chinese influence in the region. The United States has also announced plans to open embassies in the Pacific Island nations of Kiribati and Tonga.

The village of Pono in Pakistan's southern Sindh province is so small it’s difficult to find on Google maps, but it’s still getting international attention. That’s because the village is designed to show how communities that are most vulnerable to climate change can become climate resilient and self-sustaining using old techniques. VOA's Pakistan Bureau Chief Sarah Zaman visited Pono and brings this report.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to be formally arrested and arraigned Tuesday, the first time a former occupant of the White House has faced criminal charges. In a move without precedent in U.S. history, a grand jury in New York voted Thursday to indict Trump on charges related to paying off a porn star during his 2016 presidential campaign. The highly anticipated charges come as Trump seeks a return to the White House after losing a reelection bid in 2020, making him both the only president... Читать дальше...

Human rights activists are voicing appreciation for U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris's recognition of efforts by Tanzania’s president to strengthen democracy in the country. In Dar es Salaam on Thursday, Harris oversaw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two countries, covering a range of issues. In a joint press briefing at Dar es Salaam State House, Harris hailed President Samia Hassan. “You have been a champion in terms of democratic reforms in this country and, in that way, have expanded our partnership," she said.

The bodies of two more migrants who died trying to cross from Canada into the United States were found Friday, bringing the death toll to eight, including two children, police in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne said. The bodies of six people, described as members of two families of Romanian and Indian descent, were found Thursday in a marshy area of the St. Lawrence River, which forms the Canada-U.S. border. Akwesasne Mohawk Police Chief Shawn Dulude said authorities were still looking for a man... Читать дальше...

A tornado raced through Little Rock and the surrounding areas of the state of Arkansas on Friday, splintering homes, overturning vehicles and tossing trees and debris on roadways as people raced for shelter. There were early reports of at least two dozen people hurt, some critically. Another tornado hit the town of Wynne in the eastern part of the state near the Tennessee border, and officials reported widespread damage there including destroyed homes and downed trees. There were more confirmed twisters in Iowa... Читать дальше...

Officials in the small northern Spanish region of Asturias claimed Friday that unspecified arsonists were behind most of the 100 or so wildfires raging in the heavily wooded and mountainous area. Unusually high spring temperatures and gusting winds have helped spread the fires over the past two days, with about 400 people needing to be evacuated from villages and small towns and several roads cut off for safety. Asturias regional President Adrián Barbón said the "full weight of the law" would... Читать дальше...

Vice President Kamala Harris landed Friday in Zambia, the final stop on her weeklong tour of the continent. While there, she discussed debt restructuring with that nation’s president and announced a range of private-sector commitments worth more than $7 billion, aimed at supporting climate resilience, adaptation and mitigation. But for Harris, this stop was a special one – she visited the southern African nation as a young girl, when her grandfather was stationed here as an Indian diplomat. ... Читать дальше...

Iran says it will provide information by Tuesday about Farid Safarli, an Azerbaijani student who went missing after traveling to Farid Safarli, according to his family. Farid Safarli’s mother, Dilara Asgarova, told VOA’s Azerbaijani Service that she met Friday with the deputy ambassador of Iran to Azerbaijan. The official said the Iranian Embassy would respond by April 4 to a letter from Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affairs Ministry about Safarli’s disappearance, according to Asgarova. “The deputy ambassador... Читать дальше...

Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump will become one of them next week. Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon after an investigation into payments made during his 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. The indictment itself remains sealed for now in the first criminal case ever brought against a former U.S. president. Читать дальше...

The Taliban have closed a local women's radio station in the northeastern province of Badakhshan for broadcasting music. Media watchdogs considered the move an attempt to bar women from working in media in the province. On Friday, Mazuddin Ahmadi, the Taliban's director of information and culture for Badakhshan province, told VOA that Radio Sada-e-Banowan (Voice of Women Radio) was closed because it "violated policies." "We repeatedly told them that airing music is forbidden and you should not air music," said Ahmadi. Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden saw for himself the flattened homes, broken furniture and upended lives left behind by last week's deadly tornado in Mississippi and pledged Friday that the federal government is not leaving until the area is back on its feet.  In the close-knit community of Rolling Fork, Biden read aloud the names of each of the 13 residents of the small town killed in the storm and toured the wreckage. He acknowledged to residents that the road to recovery will be long and hard, but said he was committed to helping them through it. Читать дальше...