Новости за 14.05.2023

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas denied the U.S. has imposed a ban on asylum-seekers, but he also emphasized that there is a lawful and orderly way to reach the U.S. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the details.

Many voters in southeast Turkey lost their homes, valuables and loved ones in February’s earthquakes. Still, they came out to vote Sunday in what analysts say could be the country’s most pivotal elections in decades. VOA’s Heather Murdock reports on the scene with videographer Yan Boechat.

As Tamar Ana Jawa wove a red sarong in the fading sunlight, her neighbor switched on a light bulb dangling from the sloping tin roof. It was just one bulb powered by a small solar panel, but in this remote village that means a lot. In some of the world's most remote places, off-grid solar systems are bringing villagers like Jawa more hours in the day, more money and more social gatherings. Before electricity came to the village, a little less than two years ago, the day ended when the sun went down. Читать дальше...

Iranian authorities have arrested eight people for "leading" a workers' strike at a key gas site in the south of the country, local media reported Sunday. "Eight main leaders of the workers' strike in the South Pars projects have been arrested by the intelligence services," Akbar Pourat, the deputy local governor, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. Some 40,000 people are employed at the South Pars/North Dome mega-field, the largest known gas reserve in the world, which Iran shares with Qatar. Читать дальше...

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that the number of migrants trying to cross into the United States from Mexico since border entry rules were changed late last week has dropped nearly in half but that it was “too early” to know whether the surge in migration has peaked. U.S. immigration officials had been expecting a huge surge in the number of migrants walking across the border when it ended a three-year policy late Thursday that called for the automatic expulsion... Читать дальше...

Dozens of supporters of two French nationals detained last year in Iran demanded their release in Paris Sunday after Tehran freed two fellow citizens who had been on hunger strike. "Freedom for Cecile Kohler and Jacques Paris," they chanted at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, a little over a year after their arrest on May 7, 2022. Kohler, a teacher, and her partner Paris, remain in prison in the Iranian capital's Evin prison accused of espionage charges their family deny.  Their relatives and... Читать дальше...

Voters in Turkey cast their ballots amid the ruins of the worst natural disaster this region has seen in a century. Despite the suffering, analysts say the contest is fierce and it could change the course of history.

The dominance of Western universities in global rankings is often cited as a kind of “soft power,” which allegedly makes elites around the world think and act like liberal democrats. But is this really true? Some leaders such as Viktor Orbán in Hungary or Bashar al-Assad in Syria, are illiberal, despite their extensive Western educations. Yet others seem to hold more liberal values than their educators did, like the anti-colonial Jawaharlal Nehru and Mahatma Gandhi in India or Jomo Kenyatta in Kenya. Читать дальше...

In the southern Chilean city of Santa Juana, hit hard by wildfires earlier this year, locals have a special taskforce helping fight blazes: a herd of goats. The goats have already saved the native forest of the Bosques de Chacay once in February, preventing the park from being consumed by forest fires - fueled by heatwaves and a punishing drought - that left dozens dead, thousands injured and almost 440,000 hectares destroyed in south-central Chile. "The park was surrounded by fires, but it ended... Читать дальше...

A Nepali sherpa guide climbed Mount Everest for the 26th time Sunday, hiking officials said, becoming the world’s second person to achieve the feat. Pasang Dawa Sherpa, 46, stood atop the 8,849-m (29,032-ft) peak, sharing the record number of summits with Kami Rita Sherpa, said Bigyan Koirala, a government tourism official. Kami Rita, who is also climbing Everest now, could set another record if he makes it to the top. Pasang Dawa reached the top with a Hungarian client, said an official of his employer Imagine Nepal Treks... Читать дальше...

A fragile cease-fire between Israeli forces and militants in the Gaza Strip appeared to be holding Sunday after a five-day clash that killed 33 Palestinians and two people in Israel. In an early test for the truce, Palestinian militants fired a rocket that landed in an open area of southern Israel Sunday evening. Palestinian media said the launch was caused by a technical error as militants were trying to deactivate the rocket. Israel responded with tank fire on what it said were two military... Читать дальше...

The leader of an insurgent group that rules much of northwest Syria rose to notoriety over the past decade by claiming deadly bombings, threatening revenge against Western “crusader” forces and dispatching Islamist religious police to crack down on women deemed to be immodestly dressed. Today the man known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani is trying hard to distance his group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, known as HTS, from its al-Qaida origins, spreading a message of pluralism and religious tolerance. As part of the rebranding... Читать дальше...

Turkey is voting in presidential and parliamentary elections Sunday, in what is predicted to be one of the closest votes in decades and one of the most important, both domestically and internationally. The poll will decide the political fate of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled for more than 20 years. Sunday's elections are predicted to see a record turnout in a country with one of the world's highest voting participation rates. Both incumbent President Erdogan and his primary challenger... Читать дальше...

ACCRA, May 14 (Reuters) - Ghana’s main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress, voted overwhelmingly on Saturday to retain former president, John Mahama, as its leader for the 2024 presidential election. This is the third time Mahama will run for the top job in Ghana, one of Africa's most stable democracies. He came second to President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2016 and 2020. The upcoming presidential vote is expected to be keenly contested. No party has ever won more than two consecutive... Читать дальше...

More than a dozen people were killed in an overnight battle between Pakistan paramilitary troops and militants who stormed their base and took families hostage, the army said. "Well-equipped" fighters assaulted a Frontier Corps compound in Muslim Bagh, Balochistan province, and captured three families in a residential block, the military said. Fighting raged from Friday evening until Saturday morning and "the complex clearance operation involved hostage rescue operation," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. Читать дальше...

Four sisters are building the first Hobbit-style village in southeast Europe in the green hills of central Bosnia, hoping to attract fans of "The Lord of the Rings" books and movies as well as sharing their childhood memories. "We have often held family gatherings on this hill and discussed what would be the best way to make use of this view for tourism purposes," said Milijana, the eldest of the Milicevic sisters, pointing to the stunning view of a valley and a lake nestled among the hills. The Kresevo Hobbiton... Читать дальше...

When she was a girl in South Africa's Northern Cape, Katrina Esau stopped speaking her mother tongue, N|uu, after being mocked by other people and told it was an "ugly language." Now at age 90, she is the last known speaker of N|uu, one of a group of indigenous languages in South Africa that have been all but stamped out by the impacts of colonialism and apartheid. "We became ashamed when we were young girls, and we stopped speaking the language," Esau told Reuters. Instead she spoke Afrikaans... Читать дальше...

Footage of a plump snapping turtle relaxing along a Chicago waterway has gone viral after the man who filmed the well-fed reptile marveled at its size and nicknamed it "Chonkosaurus." Joey Santore was kayaking with a friend along the Chicago River last weekend when they spotted the large snapping turtle sitting atop a large chain draped over what appear to be rotting logs. He posted a jumpy video of the turtle on Twitter, labeling it the "Chicago River Snapper aka Chonkosaurus." In the video... Читать дальше...

China’s bid for dominance in East Asia appears to have achieved what years of U.S. efforts could not – prompt a reconciliation between feuding American allies Japan and South Korea. The leaders of South Korea and Japan came together officially this week for the second time this year, emphasizing that security situations in the region compelled them to work together. "Grave international circumstances" and a "complex set of global crises" necessitate cooperation between South Korea and Japan,... Читать дальше...

Gimena Páez could barely pay her bills. Then inflation in Argentina started rising even faster. The value of the country's currency plunged, making most goods nearly unobtainable. Getting enough food for herself and her 11-year-old daughter became a daily struggle. Inflation has been a problem across the world, but Argentina is second in a World Bank ranking of countries with the highest food inflation, at 107% over the last year. It's topped only by Lebanon, with a whopping 352%. Life was never easy for the neighbors of Nueva Pompeya... Читать дальше...

Voters in Turkey are heading to the polls Sunday for landmark parliamentary and presidential elections that are expected to be tightly contested and could be the biggest challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces in his two decades in power. The vote will either grant the increasingly authoritarian Erdogan a new five-year term in office or set the NATO-member country on what his opposition contender calls a more democratic path. Polling began at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) and will close at... Читать дальше...

Voters in Thailand head to the polls Sunday in national elections seen as a pivotal test of the military’s hold on power and the chance for political change in a country where victory at the ballot box is often thwarted by coups and court rulings. Tens of thousands of polling stations opened at 9 a.m. local time (0100 UTC). About 52 million eligible voters are choosing among progressive and conservative parties, with the military seeking to preserve its hold on power after nearly a decade of a government led or backed by the army. Читать дальше...

Armed attackers killed at least 33 people when they opened fire on vegetable farmers in Burkina Faso, the governor of the Boucle du Mouhoun region said on Saturday. Much of the country, including parts of western Boucle du Mouhoun region, has been under a state of emergency since March as the government seeks to combat jihadi attacks. "On the evening of Thursday, May 11 at around 5:00 pm (1700 GMT), the village of Youlou in the department of Cheriba, Mouhoun province suffered a cowardly and barbaric... Читать дальше...

Mali's military junta on Saturday denounced as fictitious and biased a United Nations report that said the army and foreign fighters executed at least 500 people during a 2022 anti-jihadi operation. Denouncing revelations that the U.N. had used satellites to gather information for its report, the authorities also announced an investigation into what it called espionage. The statement came a day after the U.N. released its long-awaited report into the events that unfolded in the central town of Moura between March 27-31, 2022. Читать дальше...

The platypus, a species unique to Australia, was reintroduced into the country’s oldest national park just south of Sydney on Friday in a landmark conservation project after disappearing from the area more than half a century ago. Known for its bill, webbed feet, and venomous spurs, the platypus is one of only two egg-laying mammals globally and spends most of its time in the water at night. Because of its reclusive nature and highly specific habitat needs, most Australians have never seen one in the wild. Читать дальше...