Новости за 17.05.2023

Rights groups announced on Wednesday they had filed a new complaint in France against clothing giants including Uniqlo and Zara owner Inditex for allegedly profiting from forced labor of the Uyghur minority in China. The complaint, filed on Tuesday, includes allegations of crimes against humanity, aggravated reduction to servitude, genocide and human trafficking. The companies denied using forced labor in their supply chains. The complaint was filed by anticorruption association Sherpa, the Ethics on Labels collective... Читать дальше...

On a sandy lot below a Khartoum apartment building, helmetless Sudanese soldiers in a mishmash of uniforms raised their fists as machine gunners blasted away from atop two small trucks. It was another day in a war that has not stopped for more than a month, and continued Wednesday, as the United Nations reported that more than half of the country's people, 25 million, need aid and protection, Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the U.N. humanitarian agency's Geneva bureau, told reporters there. Analysts say neither side ... Читать дальше...

Nigerian and American authorities are investigating after armed men on Tuesday attacked a U.S. convoy in southeast Anambra state, killing two consulate staff and two policemen. Nigerian police say the attackers also abducted two police officers and a driver.  Anambra state police command spokesperson Tochukwu Ikenga said Wednesday that security forces are searching for the perpetrators and the three people they abducted. In a separate statement late Tuesday, Ikenga said local police were unaware... Читать дальше...

Rebels in Ethiopia’s Oromia region have accused federal troops of launching attacks, despite an agreement stemming from Tanzania peace talks to de-escalate the conflict. Preliminary talks between the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and the government took place earlier this month in Tanzania, with no agreement reached. But OLA spokesperson Odaa Tarbii said the attacks contradicted the understandings that the two parties reached. “After the conclusion of the preliminary talks in Tanzania, where... Читать дальше...

"I remember my wife, Dora, coming home one day and telling me she had a problem while driving," said Bill Collier, a marketing professional living near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. "She said she stopped at an intersection and suddenly couldn't remember where she was going."  That was in August of 2015. Then things got worse. Within months, Collier said Dora began experiencing nervous breakdowns and hallucinations on a nightly basis.  "She freaked out at me, at the world, at God — you name it," he told VOA. Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden on Wednesday sought to assure Americans that the U.S. will not default on its debts as the White House and top congressional leaders conduct tense, protracted budget negotiations in which Republicans seek substantial spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt limit.     “I'm confident that we'll get the agreement on the budget and America will not default,” Biden said as he prepared to leave Washington for a summit in Japan with leaders of the world’s top seven economies. Читать дальше...

Authorities in Lesotho have imposed an indefinite curfew in hopes of curbing gun violence in the South African mountain kingdom, in response to the shooting death of a journalist over the weekend. About 10 p.m. Sunday, unknown assailants gunned down investigative journalist and radio presenter Ralikonelo “Leqhashasha” Joki as he left the radio station Ts’enolo FM in the capital, Maseru, after presenting his program. He was shot once in the head and at least 13 times in the body. Less than 24 hours later... Читать дальше...

Afghanistan's Taliban confirmed Wednesday they had appointed a caretaker prime minister to oversee daily affairs, saying the incumbent, Mohammad Hasan Akhund, is unwell and needed time to recover. The new head of the all-male Taliban cabinet, Abdul Kabir, is under terrorism-related United Nations sanctions, along with several other senior members of his hardline government. He was elevated from serving as the deputy prime minister for political affairs. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid announced the power shift on Twitter. Читать дальше...

The U.S. military has confirmed another Russian military aircraft was tracked while operating near the U.S. state of Alaska on Monday, the second such incident in less than a week. North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said that it had “detected and tracked” one Russian military aircraft while it was operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign airspace, according to a NORAD press release. Читать дальше...

An international election monitoring group says Thailand's general election voting process was "much improved" compared with the last ballot the country held in 2019. On Sunday, millions of Thais voted in a general election to choose which political party and prime minister they want to lead the next government. Thailand's opposition parties gained big, with the progressive Move Forward Party winning the most seats. The Asian Networks for Free Elections (ANFREL), an independent election monitoring organization based in Bangkok... Читать дальше...

The Gift of Chess, a U.S. aid group, has set up a workshop in Ghana producing chess pieces for women's empowerment and youth development. The group is using chess to create jobs and strengthen communities through the game. Nneka Chile reports from Accra, Ghana.

Britain's Prince Harry, his wife Meghan and her mother were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase" involving paparazzi photographers, a spokesperson for the prince said on Wednesday. It occurred after the couple had attended an awards ceremony held in New York by the Ms. Foundation for Women, where Meghan was honored for her work.   Pictures that have appeared on social media have shown Harry, Meghan and her mother, Doria Ragland, in a taxi.   "Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex... Читать дальше...

Officials in Cameroon say 18 separatists have disarmed and surrendered to authorities in the biggest defection since the conflict broke out in 2017.  Authorities say the English-speaking rebels, including two self-proclaimed generals, were hiding across the border in neighboring Nigeria. Leaders of the separatists, who want to break away from French-speaking-majority Cameroon, have vowed to track down and kill the defectors.  Cameroon's military says 18 fighters, including David Dibo, alias General Baron... Читать дальше...

A French appeals court on Wednesday upheld a one-year prison sentence for former President Nicolas Sarkozy on a conviction for corruption and influence peddling. His lawyer said he will take the case to France's highest court and insisted that Sarkozy is innocent. The 68-year-old ex-president would not have to serve time until a final ruling, and if definitively convicted, he could ask to serve his sentence at home. Sarkozy, 68, was convicted in 2021 of trying to bribe a magistrate in exchange... Читать дальше...

The World Meteorological Organization said Wednesday that global temperatures "fueled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases and a naturally occurring El Niño event" are likely to hit record levels during the next five years. The WMO said there was a 98% chance that at least one year between 2023-27 and the entire span will be the warmest on record for the annual average near-surface global temperature. The U.N. agency further said it is 66% likely that the annual average for at least one of those... Читать дальше...

India has stepped up security in the Jammu and Kashmir region because of an increase in militant attacks in the run-up to a G-20 meeting on tourism in the Himalayan territory, officials said on Wednesday. The city of Srinagar, the summer capital of the federal territory, is due to host a tourism working group meeting of G-20 members on May 22-24, part of a series of meetings ahead of a G-20 summit in New Delhi in September. Islamist militants have stepped up attacks this year in the Jammu region... Читать дальше...

A Nepali sherpa scaled Mount Everest for a record 27th time on Wednesday, beating his own record, a government official and his hiking company said.   Kami Rita Sherpa, 53, scaled the 8,849 meter (29,032-foot) mountain early in the morning along the traditional southeast ridge route, guiding a foreign climber. "Yes, Kami Rita climbed Sagarmatha for the 27th time," said Department of Tourism official Bigyan Koirala, referring to the mountain by its Nepali name. Separately, Ishwari Paudel of... Читать дальше...

A Ghanaian student at Central Michigan University who has spent his academic career studying ways to improve the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis is ready for the next step: a job at a U.S. drug manufacturer that will let him continue his work. (May 2023)

The United Nations appealed Wednesday for $3 billion to help those affected by the conflict that erupted last month in Sudan.  The U.N. humanitarian agency said it needs $2.6 billion to help those still within Sudan, saying 25 million people in the country are in need of humanitarian aid and protection.  Ramesh Rajasingham, head of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva and director of the Coordination Division, said the fighting in Sudan has been a “cruel blow... Читать дальше...

India’s top female and male wrestlers are braving rain and canings by police as they continue protests in Delhi demanding “convincing legal action” against a former top Indian wrestling official who is accused of sexually harassing several female Indian wrestlers.  The wrestlers, including some Olympic and other international tournament medalists, began their second stretch of sit-in protests April 23 in Jantar Mantar, Delhi’s popular protest site. They are demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh... Читать дальше...

Top administration officials testified Tuesday on Capitol Hill about how the president's new budget request will shape U.S. competition with China. VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb has details.

In this special presentation: Who was Mahsa Amini, the young woman who has inspired protests around the world? Plus, a look at the significance of the protests against Iran’s leadership. And, the story of a dancer who fled the country for fear of being jailed.

Britain is accelerating plans to protect London from flooding caused by a warming climate and rising sea levels, bringing forward its scheme to protect the city center by 15 years. London, which sits on a tidal stretch of the River Thames about 80 kilometers from the sea, is protected from storm surges by a 520-meter-wide movable flood barrier east of the city that is raised a handful of times each year. The government said in a statement it was speeding up an existing climate adaptation program... Читать дальше...

Gunmen on Tuesday targeted a convoy of U.S. Embassy staffers in southeastern Nigeria, killing two of its local workers and two policemen, the police said.  The assailants opened fire on the convoy along a major road in Ogbaru local government area in Anambra State, one of the epicenters of separatist violence in the region, according to police. "The hoodlums murdered two of the Police Mobile Force operatives and two staff of the consulate, and set their bodies ablaze and their vehicles," said Tochukwu Ikenga, a police spokesperson in Anambra.

Africa's Sahel region has become a hot spot for violent extremism, but the joint force set up in 2014 to combat groups linked to the Islamic State terror group, al-Qaida and others has failed to stop their inroads, and a senior U.N. official warned Tuesday that without greater international support and regional cooperation the instability will expand toward West African coastal countries.  "Resolute advances in the fight against terrorism, violent extremism and organized crime in the Sahel desperately... Читать дальше...