Новости за 08.05.2023

Space tourism company Virgin Galactic announced Monday that it is resuming flights with a mission this month, its first in nearly two years, and the launch of commercial trips in June. The Unity 25 mission will take place in late May with four company employees on board, said Virgin Galactic, which was founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, who took part in the firm's last spaceflight in July 2021. "Unity 25 is the final assessment of the full spaceflight system and astronaut experience before commercial service opens in late June... Читать дальше...

With the Arab League agreeing to readmit Syria in the regional bloc, U.S.-backed Kurdish groups are expressing hope that this development will lead to a permanent resolution to the country’s 12-year conflict. Arab League foreign ministers met Sunday in Cairo to vote on the reinstatement of Syria's membership after a suspension of nearly 12 years due to the government of President Bashar Assad’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in 2011. Syrian Kurdish groups welcomed the move, saying... Читать дальше...

A wave of mass arrests in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish region ahead of the May 14 elections is triggering concerns among the opposition and human rights observers. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Diyarbakir, Turkey’s largest majority-Kurdish city.

The chief diplomat of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban insisted Monday that his government had not banned girls' education "permanently,” while women continue to work in different sectors across the country. Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi addressed a seminar in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, to wrap up a four-day official visit to the neighboring country, where he also attended a trilateral dialogue with his Chinese and Pakistani counterparts. "We have 10 million students currently... Читать дальше...

As prices for food and goods remain high in many countries, some economists say the persistent inflation is partly due to corporate profit-seeking. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

Consultant Iain Sloan’s recommendations for student recruitment are for the United Kingdom but could apply anywhere: Diversify beyond China and India, efficiently manage the visa process, focus on career guidance and not just academics and build hands-on curriculums. Weigh Sloan’s recommendations in the Times Higher Education. (April 2023)

There is diversity in the ways Asian American adults identify themselves, a new report found, with about half saying they most often describe themselves by the ethnic labels that reflect their heritage, and the other half saying they describe themselves as American.  The study, released Monday by the Pew Research Center, also found that 90% say Asians living in the United States have many different cultures. Among all adults in the United States, 80% say Asians in the country have many different cultures. Читать дальше...

Nigerian security forces have rescued 58 people who were abducted by gunmen in central Kogi state, near the capital, Abuja. Nigerian police say one of those abducted was killed during the rescue operation and the kidnappers escaped. Police authorities in a statement Sunday said the rescue mission was part of operations by security forces to fight violent crimes, rescue victims and nab offenders around Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and neighboring states. The captives were held in a forest in Gegu district of nearby Kogi state.

More than 37 years have passed since the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, and for decades, American volunteers have helped both people and animals in the radiation-contaminated exclusion zone. 2022 was no exception, even though Russian troops occupied Chernobyl for a month. Iryna Shynkarenko has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera:  Kostiantyn Golubchyk.

Police in Pakistan say people attending a political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Saturday beat a man to death because they believed he made blasphemous remarks. Local police officer Iqbal Khan said Maulana Nigar Alam, 40, was killed because “Some words of his prayer were deemed blasphemous by a number of protestors, leading to torture and death at the hands of the angry mob.” Police locked the man up in a shop to protect him, but the mob broke through the shop’s door. Khan told Dawn... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at fentanyl in Washington state in a series that today explores how stigmas about fentanyl abuse complicate treatment for addicts.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States, says U.S. law enforcement. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at fentanyl in a series from the state of Washington that concludes by showing how breaking... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at community efforts to tackle the challenges of fentanyl abuse and homelessness.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at fentanyl in Washington state with a series of stories that includes how U.S. law enforcement is responding.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says America’s leading cause of overdose deaths is synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl, which can be up to 50 times stronger than heroin. U.S. law enforcement says illicit fentanyl is cheaply made from chemicals mostly coming from China, trafficked through Mexico, and then smuggled into the United States. From Seattle, VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya looks at fentanyl in the state of Washington in a series of stories that starts with one teenager’s overdose.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo on Monday condemned a "shootout" involving Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officials delivering humanitarian aid in Myanmar, and called for an end to violence in the strife-torn country. It was unclear who was behind the incident which, according to Indonesian foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah, took place in Hsi Hseng township in the western Shan State and targeted officials from the ASEAN humanitarian assistance center. Myanmar has... Читать дальше...

The death toll from the floods last week in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has risen to nearly 400. Officials say many people remain missing. The heavy rains were especially harsh for the villages of Bushushu and Nyamukubi. The numbers of the dead are forcing villages to bury the victims in mass graves. Congo’s government has declared Monday a national day of mourning. The heavy rains have also fallen recently in Uganda and Kenya.

A picturesque tourist destination will host crisis-weary Southeast Asian leaders with sun-splashed tropical islands, turquoise waters brimming with corals and manta rays, seafood feasts, and a hillside savannah crawling with Komodo dragons. The sunshiny setting is a stark contrast to the seriousness of their agenda. Indonesian President Joko Widodo picked the far-flung, rustic harbor town of Labuan Bajo as a laidback venue to discuss an agenda rife with contentious issues. These include the continuing... Читать дальше...

Thousands of Indian troops have been deployed to the Indian state of Manipur where deadly ethnic clashes erupted last week. The violence broke out last week because the Meitei community is seeking to be included in the Scheduled Tribe category, which would give them access to forest lands and a percentage of government jobs and college placements in designated institutions. The Meiteis who are Hindus make up more than 50% of the Manipur population. Other ethnic groups already on the Scheduled Tribe list... Читать дальше...

An Indian military jet has crashed, killing at least two people on the ground and injuring several others. The Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter jet crashed Monday in the Hunumangarh district of Rajasthan while on a routine training run. The plane had taken off from the Suratgarh Air Force Station. The air force tweeted that the pilot ejected safely, sustaining minor injuries. The Times of India newspaper reported that more than 2,000 people have gathered at the crash site.

Envoys from both of Sudan’s warring factions are in Saudi Arabia to arrange for the opening of humanitarian corridors in Sudan. The parties have insisted that they are only sitting across from each other to bring some relief to the humanitarian situation in the North African country and not to negotiate a truce.   The pre-negotiation talks began Saturday. The Saudi kingdom has already pledged that it will provide Sudan with $100 million’s worth of humanitarian aid.   Fighting erupted in Sudan in mid-April. Читать дальше...

A fire followed by an explosion in a remote gold mine in southern Peru killed at least 27 workers during an overnight shift Saturday.     Local Peruvian authorities said that a short circuit may have sparked the fire at the La Esperanza 1 mine about 100 meters below the surface in the Arequipa region.  The Yanaquihua Company that operates the mine said that 175 workers were safely evacuated after the fire.  The Public Ministry of Arequipa’s Fiscal District said in a statement that investigators... Читать дальше...

Iran’s judiciary announced the executions Monday of two men who were sentenced to death for blasphemy. The judiciary’s Mizan news site identified them as Yousef Mehrdad and Sadrollah Fazeli Zare. The report said their crimes included insulting Islam and the prophet, and that they used online platforms to spread hatred of Islam and promote atheism. A group of U.N. experts last year highlighted concerns about Iran’s criminalization of blasphemy and called on the Iranian government to “take... Читать дальше...

Indian officials say at least 22 passengers, including children, died Sunday when their boat capsized in Southern India.    A report in the Times of India described the vessel as a “heavily overloaded double-decker boat.”   It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the boat, although sources said there were more than 30.   Kerala Tourism Director P.B. Nooh told the Times of India that district disaster management had warned earlier this year about the possibility of “boat tragedies”... Читать дальше...

The White House said national security adviser Jake Sullivan discussed efforts to end the war in Yemen as he met Sunday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.  A White House statement said the two also discussed Saudi Arabia’s support to U.S. citizens who evacuated from Sudan following the outbreak of fighting there last month.  Saudi state media said the talks took place in the port city of Jeddah, and that the discussion involved “strategic relations.”  The White House said the two... Читать дальше...