Новости за 02.04.2023

A Myanmar human rights activist told VOA in a recent interview that the ruling junta in Myanmar “is using rape and other violence against women as a bigger part of its campaign to crack down against opposition groups.” May Sabe Phyu organized women’s demonstrations in the anti-coup protest movement. She fled Myanmar in April 2021 under threat of arrest and is now a visiting fellow at the Southeast Asia Program at Cornell University. She and other female Myanmar human rights defenders formed the... Читать дальше...

The lawyer for former U.S. President Donald Trump pledged Sunday to mount a vigorous defense against allegations that he paid $130,000 in hush money to a porn star to boost his election chances in 2016 to keep her from talking about her claim that she had a one-night tryst with Trump a decade before.  Defense lawyer Joe Tacopina told CNN’s “State of the Union” show that the payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels was a “personal expenditure, not a campaign expenditure.” Trump has long denied... Читать дальше...

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has accused the government of arresting thousands of his party workers, including his social media operators, in recent weeks. Khan said in a televised speech late Saturday that the whereabouts of many of the detainees was not known, while a few recently freed from custody complained of being subjected to illegal torture. The cricket-star-turned-prime minister was removed from power last April in a parliamentary no-trust vote, toppling his nearly four-year-old... Читать дальше...

With Donald Trump becoming the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, VOA Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports on the international reaction to his indictment and what it means for the credibility of the U.S. legal and political system

After gaining 14 kilograms (30 pounds) during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Murillo is finally getting back into fighting shape.  Early pandemic lockdowns, endless hours on his laptop and heightened stress led Murillo, 27, to reach for cookies and chips in the barracks at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Gyms were closed, organized exercise was out and Murillo's motivation to work out on his own was low.  “I could notice it,” said Murillo, who is 1.7 meters tall (5 feet, 5 inches... Читать дальше...

Residents across a wide swath of the South and Midwest on Sunday raced to assess the destruction wreaked by storms that dropped possibly dozens of tornadoes and killed at least 26 people in small towns and big cities. The storms tore a path through the Arkansas capital, collapsing the roof of a packed concert venue in Illinois and stunning people throughout the region Saturday with the damage's scope. Confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states destroyed homes and businesses, splintered... Читать дальше...

Donald Trump has made history so many times. The first president without government or military experience. The first to be impeached twice. The first to aggressively challenge the certification of his successor. Now, he adds another: Even as he hopes to return to the White House in 2025, he is the first former president to be indicted. The latest line crossed by Trump challenges again the aura of the American presidency, nurtured in the infallibility of George Washington but made human over and over... Читать дальше...

Burkina Faso has expelled two French journalists working for newspapers Le Monde and Liberation, the two newspapers said on Sunday, accusing the authorities of seeking to stifle freedom of speech with an escalating crackdown on foreign media.    Liberation said its correspondent Agnès Faivre and Le Monde's Sophie Douce arrived in Paris early on Sunday after they were summoned separately for questioning by the military authorities on Friday and later notified of their expulsion.    The two are "journalists of perfect integrity... Читать дальше...

The car ride from Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan region in northern Iraq, to the town of Shaqlawa took about 40 minutes – about the same time it takes to find Fakhria Elia’s home in the mountainous town. The 76-year-old opened the door with a wide smile on her face and welcomed VOA into her house, with its backyard that overlooks a steep valley, surrounded by the famous Mount Safeen. “This is where I made my wine for nearly 50 years,” Elia said, pointing to a corner of her backyard where several wooden barrels stood. Читать дальше...

On Navy ships docked at this vast base, hundreds of sailors in below-deck mazes of windowless passageways perform intense, often monotonous manual labor. It's necessary work before a ship deploys, but hard to adjust to for many already challenged by the stresses plaguing young adults nationwide. Growing mental health distress in the ranks carries such grave implications that the U.S. chief of naval operations, Adm. Michael Gilday, answered "suicides" when asked earlier this year what in the security environment kept him up at night. Читать дальше...

Beijing is sending conflicting signals to foreign companies by telling those offshore that the country is reopening while arresting employees of foreign companies already operating in China, experts say. The contradictory messages suggest China is trying to recover economically from three years of COVID-19-related isolation while still exerting control over the business sector. China’s economy grew 3% in 2022, according to official figures, short of Beijing’s 5.5% target. In the decade before the pandemic... Читать дальше...

Israeli airstrikes hit several sites in Syria's Homs province early Sunday, wounding five soldiers, Syrian state media reported. It marked the ninth time Israel has struck targets in Syria since the beginning of the year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition-linked war monitor. State news agency SANA, citing military sources, said the strikes had targeted sites in the city of Homs and surrounding countryside. Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot down some of them, it said. Читать дальше...

Three British men have been detained by the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Presidium Network, U.K. nonprofit group, said on Saturday. "We are working hard to secure consular contact with British nationals detained in Afghanistan and we are supporting families," the U.K.'s foreign ministry said in a statement.  Media reports named the men as charity medic Kevin Cornwell, 53, an unnamed manager of a hotel for aid workers and YouTube star Miles Routledge. Routledge, 21, is described in the British... Читать дальше...

A self-styled far-right propagandist from Florida was convicted Friday of charges alleging that he conspired to deprive individuals of their right to vote in the 2016 presidential election. Douglass Mackey, 33, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was convicted in Brooklyn federal court before Judge Ann M. Donnelly after a one-week trial. On the internet, he was known as "Ricky Vaughn." In 2016, Mackey had about 58,000 Twitter followers and was ranked by the MIT Media Lab as the 107th-most important... Читать дальше...

Tens of thousands of Israelis protested on Saturday against a controversial plan to revamp the country's legal system, despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's suspension of the changes earlier in the week. The protesters gathered in Tel Aviv, Israel's commercial hub on the Mediterranean, for the 13th weekly demonstration, raising Israeli flags and banners against what they said were plans to weaken the Supreme Court. Several smaller rallies took place in other towns and cities. The protests... Читать дальше...

Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad arrived in Cairo Saturday in the first visit by a top Syrian official in more than 14 years to the Egyptian capital. Speculation is that both countries soon will re-establish diplomatic ties following a recent move by Saudi Arabia to renew relations with its longtime nemesis and ally of Syria, Iran. The visit by Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal al-Miqdad to Cairo is yet another sign of impending normalization among many Arab governments and Damascus, despite... Читать дальше...

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating what caused a train to derail Thursday in Minnesota, forcing hundreds of residents to evacuate. Crews have started removing contaminated soil and damaged rail cars in the wake of the fiery derailment. No injuries have been reported. Around 1 a.m. Thursday, 22 cars of a freight train derailed in the Midwest U.S. state of Minnesota near the town of Raymond. Ten of the tanker cars contained ethanol, a chemical that can be harmful to people. Читать дальше...

As Taiwan's diplomatic partners turn instead to rival China, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is aiming to shore up ties with the self-governing island's remaining allies during a trip this week to Central America. Tsai touched down in Guatemala on Friday afternoon, walking from the plane on a red carpet alongside Guatemala's foreign minister. In a speech addressed to leaders of Guatemala and Belize shortly before departing on her visit, Tsai framed the trip as a chance to show Taiwan's commitment to democratic values globally. Читать дальше...