Новости за 23.05.2023

Seattle, Washington, is the first U.S. city to ban discrimination based on caste — the primarily Indian social hierarchy that is tied to family. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya has our story.

Fighting that broke out in Khartoum on April 15 shows no sign of stopping and citizens are paying a big price. Residents in Sudan’s capital city are enduring food shortages, electrical outages and constant fear. Sidahmed Ibraheem has more from Khartoum in this report narrated by Vincent Makori.

Two jailed Iranian journalists, who helped break the story of the case of a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody last September, will go on trial later this month, according to Iranian authorities. A judiciary spokesman said Elaheh Mohammadi will go on trial on May 29 and Niloufar Hamedi will be tried on May 30. Hamedi, with the Sharq newspaper, was the first to report on the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police. The death of Amini, who was accused of wearing her headscarf too loosely... Читать дальше...

The United States on Tuesday announced new North Korea sanctions related to thousands of IT workers, many operating in China and Russia, whose labors allegedly help fund weapons of mass destruction and missile programs, the Treasury Department said. One individual, Kim Sang Man, and the North Korea-based Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company were sanctioned jointly by the United States and South Korea in relation to their IT worker activities, Treasury said. North Korea oversees thousands of IT workers around the world... Читать дальше...

An al-Shabab leader appears to have survived the latest United States military airstrike in Somalia, according to a spokesperson for U.S. Africa Command. "Following a comprehensive battle damage assessment, U.S.-AFRICOM assesses that one al-Shabab leader was injured as a result of the operation," Lt. Commander Timothy S. Pietrack, an AFRICOM spokesman, told VOA on Tuesday. Pietrack did not disclose the name of the al-Shabab leader injured in the May 20 strike, which took place in Jilib, an al-Shabab... Читать дальше...

The United States has called for Russia to immediately release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after Moscow sought to extend his pre-trial detention by three months. Gershkovich’s original pre-trial detention was set to expire on May 29. But a Russian court on Tuesday lengthened that period until August 30 after Russia's intelligence agency, the FSB, requested an extension. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday that the U.S. is working hard to bring... Читать дальше...

A report in Uganda shows journalists there face a difficult present and uncertain future. Activists say while abuses and human rights violations against journalists decreased slightly last year, the media space remains hostile.  The Human Rights Network for Journalists documented 94 cases of rights violations and abuses against Ugandan journalists and media practitioners in 2022. The reported cases involved assault, unlawful arrests and detention, denial of information, and sexual harassment of female journalists. Читать дальше...

Delegations from across Asia will converge on Detroit later this week to review negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework – or IPEF. IPEF is the economic element in Washington’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. And now, the Biden administration is trying to prove its commitment to the region after canceling a historic visit as VOA’s Jessica Stone reports.

As Turkey heads to a presidential runoff on May 28, challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu is targeting nationalist voters with an anti-refugee and strong security stance in a bid to overtake incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is exploring ways artificial intelligence can help detect fentanyl and prevent it from entering the country. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more.

Blind and visually impaired people often rely on walking sticks and guide dogs to help them navigate streets and sidewalks, but one Japanese startup is bringing navigation technology directly to their shoes. Tina Trinh reports

The Washington Post reports on a two growing trends in higher education: a growing enrollment in the computer sciences and a falling demand among students interested in the humanities. The Post reports the story. (May 2023)

U.S. President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy met again Monday for tense Oval Office talks on raising the government's borrowing limit — and, again, reached no agreement — as the U.S. government stares down a looming deadline for its first-ever default. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a letter to congressional leaders Monday, said the government could default on its debt as early as June 1, and warned that even waiting until close to that time to reach an agreement "can cause... Читать дальше...

A top U.S. defense official is dismissing China’s use of surveillance balloons as a distraction, calling them inconsequential when compared to the larger problem posed by Beijing’s increasing ability to militarize space. China’s use of spy balloons has grabbed headlines since the Pentagon announced it was tracking one of the high-altitude devices as it traveled across the continental United States this past February. Since then, the United States has shot down a handful of Chinese balloons and other suspicious high-altitude objects... Читать дальше...

A federal appeals court has ruled that a U.S. deportation law that fueled family separations at the southern border is "neutral as to race," striking down an unprecedented Nevada ruling that had determined it was racist and unconstitutional. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals made that determination Monday in its long-awaited decision on the law known as Section 1326, which makes it a crime to unlawfully return to the U.S. after deportation, removal or denied entry. The ruling is a blow for advocates... Читать дальше...

Four men suspected of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior off a highway bridge in Madrid in January have been arrested, Spanish police said Tuesday. The arrests come two days after the latest case of racial abuse against the Brazil forward in a Spanish league game against Valencia. The effigy was hanged by the neck the morning of a derby between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey. Along with it was a banner with the words "Madrid hates Real." The perpetrators... Читать дальше...

There were no survivors after a fishing vessel carrying 39 crew members from China, Indonesia and the Philippines capsized last week in the Indian Ocean, according to an initial government probe released on Tuesday. The Chinese vessel overturned on May 16, with 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesians and five Filipinos on board. "From an analysis of the ship's capsizing … it is preliminarily judged that there are no survivors from the ship," Beijing's transport ministry said in an official social media post. Читать дальше...

In the U.S., there's often a big gap between the "sticker price" advertised on a college website, and what students pay after grants, scholarships and aid are awarded. The Hechinger Report's Tuition Tracker tool uses historical data to estimate how much students similar to you have been charged in the past. (May 2023)

Universities in the U.S. are beginning to experiment with using AI in admissions decisions. AI programs can already review transcripts, and one school is even training an AI program to accept or reject the same applicants as its admissions committee. While AI could lessen the workload for admissions departments, critics worry its reasoning could be biased or difficult for humans to understand. Scott Jaschik of Inside Higher Ed sums up the debate. (May 2023)

A growing number of health emergencies around the world, from COVID-19 to cholera, have left the World Health Organization's response "overstretched," a senior advisor said on Tuesday.   Speaking at the U.N. agency's annual meeting, Professor Walid Ammar, chairman of a committee reviewing the WHO's emergency response, said funding and staffing gaps were widening in the face of ever-increasing demands.   "[The] program is overstretched as demands have only grown with the multiplicity and complexity of emergencies," he said. Читать дальше...

Authorities in northwestern Pakistan said Tuesday that a predawn militant attack near an oil and gas extraction plant killed at least six security guards.    Dozens of armed men assaulted a security outpost guarding the plant in Hangu district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province abutting Afghanistan. Officials said that the ensuing clashes killed four paramilitary Frontier Constabulary force members and two private company guards.    “The terrorists seized automatic weapons and ammunitions of... Читать дальше...

Interpol, the international police organization founded in 1923 to facilitate cooperation among law enforcement agencies, has transformed into a formidable crime fighting force in recent years.  However, recent controversies over the misuse of its alert system have cast a shadow over its reputation as an indispensable tool for global law enforcement cooperation.   Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, speaking on Monday at a Justice Department event marking Interpol’s centennial, praised the organization’s... Читать дальше...

Residents in Sudan’s capital reported fighting Tuesday, including artillery fire, on what was supposed to be the first full day of a weeklong cease-fire. The Sudan Armed Forces of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Security Forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo had agreed to the halt in fighting beginning late Monday, with the ability to renew the deal after its initial seven-day period. Multiple previous cease-fires have broken down amid continued violence. The latest agreement came during negotiations in Jeddah... Читать дальше...

A weeklong cease-fire in Sudan went into effect late Monday as witnesses in the capital, Khartoum, reported some clashes.  Sudan’s rival sides, the Sudan Armed Forces of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Security Forces led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, can renew the agreement after its initial seven-day period.     While fighting has continued during previous cease-fires, this one was agreed upon during formal negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and includes a monitoring mechanism... Читать дальше...

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee condemned an unusual rise in the number of requests to withdraw from the city's organ donation system, saying Tuesday that police would investigate suspicious cases.  According to the government, the city's centralized organ donation registration system received nearly 5,800 withdrawal applications in the five months since December, when the government raised the possibility of establishing an organ transplant mutual assistance program with mainland China. More... Читать дальше...