Новости за 09.05.2023

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) plans to send troops to the Democratic Republic of Congo to help fight rebels in the country's east. DRC President Felix Tshisekedi arrived in Botswana's capital on Tuesday and is expected to discuss details of the deployment with the regional bloc's leaders. He also will talk with Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi. Addressing the media at the end of a special SADC meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, Namibian President Hage Geingob said the security... Читать дальше...

China's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday dismissed accusations that boats belonging to a Chinese maritime militia had deliberately approached an area of the South China Sea where the navies of Indian and ASEAN countries were holding drills.  An independent expert in Vietnam said Beijing appeared to be using the militia to intimidate and disrupt the naval exercise.  "As far as we understand, Chinese fishing and scientific research vessels carry out normal production and work activities in maritime... Читать дальше...

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) says it’s still searching for 20 people abducted by gunmen from a church during a Sunday service. CAN says gunmen invaded the church in a remote Kaduna state village and took more than 40 people but later let some go. Kaduna is among Nigerian states most affected by groups of armed bandits that frequently kidnap for ransom. The Kaduna state chair of the Christian Association of Nigeria Tuesday said about 42 people were in the church on Sunday morning before... Читать дальше...

United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said on Tuesday that Iran has executed more than 10 per week on average this year. At least 209 people were executed in the country since January 1, primarily for drug-related offenses, but a United Nations statement said the actual number is likely much higher. "On average so far this year, over 10 people are put to death each week in Iran, making it one of the world’s highest executors," Türk said. "At this rate, Iran is worryingly on the same... Читать дальше...

U.S. officials said on Tuesday they've taken down a global network of compromised computers that Russian intelligence agents used for nearly 20 years to spy on the United States and its allies. Officials said a unit within Russia's Federal Security Service, or FSB, used a malicious software called Snake to steal sensitive documents from hundreds of compromised computer networks in at least 50 countries. The hacked computers belonged to NATO member governments, journalists and other targets of interest to the Russian government... Читать дальше...

The government of Canada says it is determined to reach its target of admitting at least 40,000 Afghan refugees by the end of the year.  More than 30,600 Afghans have been resettled in Canada since August 2021 when Ottawa announced it would admit thousands of Afghans whose lives could be at risk under the new Taliban regime.  Canada "is firm in its commitment to resettle at least 40,000 Afghan nationals by the end of 2023, which remains one of the largest programs in the world," a spokesperson for Immigration... Читать дальше...

Somali humanitarian workers and United Nations officials said women and girls in displaced camps are facing gender-based violence and rape amid the recurring droughts in the country. Physical violence, intimate partner violence (IPV) and rape are the most common types of violence that women and girls are subjected to in displaced communities, according to data gathered by the United Nations Population Fund, or UNFPA. In an interview with VOA Somali, UNFPA Country Representative Niyi Ojuolape... Читать дальше...

Twenty-five days since the war in Sudan broke out, there are no indications the warring factions have any intentions of negotiating an end as fighting rages on. Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. Human Rights Office, told VOA during a recent visit to Nairobi that the situation is troubling. "Yes, there are cease-fires. Yes, that has led to some reprieve, some calm, where people have been able to get out of their homes and try to flee, but air strikes are continuing," Shamdasani said. Читать дальше...

A report by leading United Nations agencies says global progress in reducing maternal and newborn deaths has stalled for nearly a decade largely due to underinvestment in providing the health care. The report shows more than 4.5 million women and babies die every year in pregnancy, childbirth or the first weeks after birth — equivalent to one death every seven seconds — "mostly from preventable or treatable causes if proper care was available.” Allisyn Moran, unit head for maternal health at the World Health Organization... Читать дальше...

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

A federal court jury in New York on Tuesday awarded a onetime magazine advice columnist about $5 million after concluding that Donald Trump was liable for sexually abusing her 20 years before he became the U.S. president and then defamed her by dismissing the encounter as a "hoax."     The nine-member jury — six men and three women — reached its decision after three hours of deliberation, the first time Trump had faced a trial to hold him to account on widespread allegations over many years from women accusing him of unwanted sexual advances.

Kenyan investigators exhumed 21 more bodies on Tuesday as they resumed a search for followers of a doomsday cult, who the interior minister described as victims of a "highly organized crime." Paul Mackenzie, leader of the Good News International Church, is in custody accused of ordering followers to starve their children and themselves so they could go to heaven before the end of the world, which he said would come on April 15. The latest figures on bodies exhumed, announced by regional official Rhoda Onyancha, bring the death toll to 133. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden will become the first U.S. sitting president to visit Papua New Guinea with a trip this month following the G-7 in Japan, marking the administration's investment in the Pacific region to counter China.  White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would meet Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape and other Pacific Island Forum leaders.  "The leaders will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on challenges critical to the region and to the United States such as combating climate change... Читать дальше...

Some migrant shelters along the US-Mexico border report they are filled to capacity. In Reynosa, a Mexican town on the Texas border, some non-profit organizations are stepping in to help migrants as they arrive. For VOA News, Victor Castillo has the story.

Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would cancel President Joe Biden’s proposed forgiveness program. Supporters of the plan, which would forgive up to $20,000 for qualified applicants, say it’s crucial to alleviate the massive student debt burden. But opponents claim the program’s $500 billion price tag is excessive, and that it does nothing to rein in costs and will benefit many people who are already well-off. Democrats and Republicans agree the system needs fixing. Читать дальше...

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Syria will hold their first official meeting on Wednesday since the start of Syrian civil war more than a decade ago, officials said.  The talks in Moscow will also involve the top diplomats of Russia and Iran, Turkey's foreign ministry said in a statement. The announcement delivers a diplomatic boost to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan just days before he faces the toughest general election of his 21-year rule on Sunday. Erdogan supported early rebel efforts to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad... Читать дальше...

Unrest in Myanmar is likely to dominate the agenda at the upcoming summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia. Top diplomats from each of the 10-nation bloc known as ASEAN gathered in the resort town Tuesday to finalize the agenda of the leaders’ two-day summit that will begin Wednesday.  The leaders will likely focus attention on Myanmar, which has been in chaos since the military overthrew the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Читать дальше...

Armenia-born and Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter/producer Rosa Linn returns with a new single and music video entitled “Never Be Mine.”  It marks her first release of 2023 and kicks off another chapter of more music to come.  Her breakout single “SNAP” has reeled in over a billion total streams, 73 million-plus YouTube views on the music videos, and earned a gold certification from the RIAA.

As access to clean drinking water becomes increasingly difficult in many parts of the world, one company is using an innovative technology to help address this problem for underserved communities in the United States. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. VOA footage by Adam Greenbaum.

In 2015, roughly half of the Chinese students who planned to study abroad wanted to attend schools in the U.S. By 2022, this percentage had dropped to 30%, signaling a shift within the largest international student body in the U.S. Higher education professionals suggest that gun violence, rising anti-Asian racism, rocky U.S.-China relations and friendlier immigration policies in other countries are some of the reasons Chinese students have been looking for education elsewhere. Han Chen examines the... Читать дальше...

Authorities in Pakistan Tuesday arrested former prime minister Imran Khan, the leader of the largest national political party, outside a court in the capital, Islamabad. The 70-year-old politician was taken into custody while moving towards a high courtroom to attend a hearing on the dozens of cases against him ranging from alleged terrorism, and corruption, to treason and other criminal offenses. Khan's attorneys alleged that paramilitary forces had physically assaulted him before taking him... Читать дальше...

China’s chief foreign intelligence agency has raided the offices of business consulting firm Capvision in Beijing and other Chinese cities as part of an ongoing crackdown on foreign businesses that provide sensitive economic data.   Foreign companies operating in China have come under increasing pressure, driven primarily by national security considerations, as Xi Jinping’s government tightens control over business, clashing with efforts to lure back foreign investors after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden and the top Republican and Democrats in Congress are set to meet Tuesday at the White House amid an impasse about raising the country’s debt limit.  Republicans House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell will be joined by Democrats House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as the group discusses the impending deadline to make sure the government can pay for spending it has already incurred.  Republicans... Читать дальше...

Iranian American Sanaz Toossi won the Pulitzer Prize in drama Monday for her play English.  The play takes place in 2008 near Tehran, where four Iranian adults prepare for an English proficiency test.  It examines how family separation and travel restrictions push them to learn a new language and how that may change their identity.  The Pulitzer board called the play “quietly powerful.”  The award includes a $15,000 prize.  Toossi is the daughter of Iranian immigrants to the United States... Читать дальше...

Australia says a new government agency that will guide coal-dominated areas away from fossil fuels towards renewable energy will start work in July. The Net Zero Authority will support workers in finding new jobs and training, coordinate official policy and advise businesses.                     Australia has some of the highest per capita rates of greenhouse gas emissions in the developed world.      The government says the new Net Zero Authority will “proactively manage the transformation to a clean energy economy”... Читать дальше...