Новости за 24.05.2023

As a high-profile meeting of tourism ministers from Group of 20 nations ended in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Wednesday, local officials said they hoped the attention would lead to more business for the local tourism and film industries. The G20 consists of 19 of the world’s biggest economies plus the European Union. Kashmir reported record tourism last year, with 18 million visitors who sought out the region’s diverse landscapes, lakes and snow-capped Himalayan peaks. Local officials, however... Читать дальше...

Donors raised around a billion dollars Wednesday in new commitments for the drought-stricken Horn of Africa during a pledging conference held at the United Nations, but failed to close the gap on an appeal seeking $7 billion. “We must act now to prevent crisis from turning into catastrophe,” U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told donors. “Make no mistake: action will make all the difference.” The U.N. says $7 billion is needed this year to assist nearly 32 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya... Читать дальше...

Authorities in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu are implementing a plan to regulate the city’s autorickshaw taxis to ease traffic congestion, while drivers call for reduced taxes. Abdiaziz Barrow spoke to people impacted by the regulation in Mogadishu and Abdulaziz Osman in Washington wrote this story that is narrated by Salem Solomon. Camera: Abdulkadir Zubeir

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights is urging Iran to decriminalize mandatory veiling laws, warning that the harassment of women, including what they do or do not wear, appears to have intensified as street protests have died down. “Women and girls face increasingly stringent legal, social, and economic measures in the authorities’ enforcement of discriminatory compulsory veiling laws,” Volker Türk told reporters in Geneva Wednesday. “I urge the government to heed Iranians’ calls for reform... Читать дальше...

The Taliban have announced the resumption of direct flights between Afghanistan and China after a gap of three years, saying it would help boost bilateral economic and political relations. The first weekly passenger flight of the national flag carrier Ariana Afghan Airlines left Kabul on Wednesday for Urumqi, the capital of the western Chinese border province of Xinjiang. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the air operation in early 2020.  The Taliban deputy minister for transport and civil aviation... Читать дальше...

Months after banning Afghan women from work for the United Nations and other aid agencies, Taliban authorities have told aid workers that new guidelines allowing women to return to humanitarian work are almost complete. “Taliban leaders in Kandahar said ‘guidelines’ that will allow women back to work & resume girls' education are ‘nearly completed,’” Jon Egeland, Secretary-General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), tweeted on Wednesday after meeting Taliban officials in their stronghold in southern Afghanistan. Читать дальше...

Israel is attempting to deepen its already close ties with many African countries by providing access to technology that can help Africa deal with its growing population. Officials from six African officials visited Israel last week to discuss more cooperation. Linda Gradstein reports from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen

Four years ago, high school and college students in the class of 2023 had just entered their first year when the coronavirus pandemic hit. They were thrust into an academic world of uncertainty when in-person classes stopped and were moved to online platforms. Now recent graduates, they are the last undergraduate class with memories of what it was like to be students when the pandemic began.  "It was shocking and confusing because we didn't know what was going to happen with our studies," said Sarabeth McClain... Читать дальше...

The fighting between Sudan's military and a powerful paramilitary force has displaced more than 1.3 million people, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday. The International Organization for Migration said the clashes have forced over 1 million people to leave their homes to safer areas inside Sudan. Some 320,000 others have fled to the neighboring countries of Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic and Libya. The fighting erupted on April 15 after months of escalating tensions between the military, led by Gen. Читать дальше...

The idea of the American Dream can conjure up images of tidy suburban homes with immaculate green lawns, but achieving and maintaining that lush carpet of grass can seem like a nightmare. “Most people don't install lawns, they get them when they buy the house. They're stuck,” says Paul Robbins, author of Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are. “That's the first thing we learned in our research is that most people would prefer not to have them, but they feel that they need to have them... Читать дальше...

In the Philippines, a high number of children haven’t received routine vaccinations. So now health care workers are on a major inoculation drive. Dave Grunebaum has the story.

The global consultancy Bain and Company has released an interactive tool to measure the financial health of U.S. colleges. You can use it to see what might happen if enrollments decline, or if the U.S. enters a recession. Bain's analysis suggests many schools are not prepared for future economic shocks. (May 2023)

As the fighting in Khartoum entered its 22nd day, the remaining civilians in the city described brutal conditions. Many had nearly run out of supplies, markets remained shuttered and imports were no longer entering the country. Yousif Ahmed is a store owner and merchant in the city and described the dire situation. He said the conditions are “unstable,” that people might resort to “stealing” just to survive. “We may have to steal the day’s sustenance in the coming days, everything is gone now, we are suffering greatly from this disaster... Читать дальше...

Human Rights Watch is calling for an investigation into the death of a Lao political activist living in exile in Thailand. The group said the body of Bounsuan Kitiyano was found on May 17 in a forest in northeastern Thailand near the border with Laos. An initial police investigation indicated that Kitiyano was shot while riding alone on his motorcycle. The 56-year-old Bounsuan was a former member of the Free Laos group involved in several protests in front of the Lao embassy in Bangkok demanding... Читать дальше...

Negotiations between the administration of Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden and lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives over the government’s debt limit will resume Wednesday.  Talks between the two sides broke off Tuesday without any apparent progress towards an agreement that would give the U.S. Treasury permission to exceed the current $31 trillion ceiling and continue borrowing money to pay the government’s outstanding debt.  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned... Читать дальше...

Apple Inc on Tuesday said it has entered a multi-billion-dollar deal with chipmaker Broadcom Inc. to use chips made in the United States.  Under the multi-year deal, Broadcom will develop 5G radio frequency components with Apple that will be designed and built in several U.S. facilities, including Fort Collins, Colorado, where Broadcom has a major factory, Apple said.  Broadcom were up 2.2% after the announcement, hitting a record high. The chipmaker is already a major supplier of wireless components to Apple... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Pacific territory of Guam is under a state of emergency as Typhoon Mawar heads towards the small island as a potentially devastating storm.  The latest advisory from the National Weather Service says Mawar is headed towards Guam with maximum sustained winds of 225 kilometers an hour, making it a Category 4 storm on the five-tiered scale that measures a storm’s potential destructiveness.  Forecasters say typhoon force winds extend outward from Mawar’s center up to 80 kilometers, with tropical... Читать дальше...

Tranquil rides on the scenic Dal Lake in intricately carved wooden shikara boats. Traditional dance to the beat of local music. A performance by actor Raj [Ram] Charan to “Naatu Naatu,” this year’s Oscar-winning song featuring the Indian movie star.   All are part of New Delhi’s effort to welcome G-20 delegates to its part of Kashmir, the Himalayan territory disputed with its neighbor, Pakistan.     As India attempted to exude a sense of normalcy by hosting the third G-20 tourism working group... Читать дальше...

A deadline looms for a Washington agreement to avert what could be an unprecedented default on the nation's debt. The UN says the world is failing to protect millions of civilians caught in conflicts around the world. A Sudanese film premieres at the Cannes film festival.

Amnesty International on why international criticism has not deterred Iran from its recent execution spree. Iranian residents of Japan protest to urge G7 leaders to get tougher on Tehran. Israel’s Alma Center on why it exposed apparent location of underground Iranian drone base. US Commission on International Religious Freedom on why more Iran sanctions might curb religious freedom violations.

The cycle of violence continues in the Israeli-occupied territories, as Israel destroyed the home of a Palestinian man it says was involved in a March attack in Tel Aviv that killed one person and wounded two others. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports.

Geneva's airport was briefly closed to flights on Tuesday as climate activists stormed a private jet fair on a nearby tarmac by ripping down or scaling fences, handcuffing themselves to landing gear and other material, and scuffling with police and security before being hauled away. City police said about 80 people were detained.  The protest involved about 100 activists from 17 countries and groups, including Greenpeace, Scientist Rebellion, Stay Grounded and Extinction Rebellion, who disrupted... Читать дальше...

The Dutch government said on Tuesday it would hold U.S. industrial group 3M Co. liable for polluting the Western Scheldt river with potentially harmful substances known as PFAS, or "forever chemicals."  3M said in a statement e-mailed to Reuters that it had received a letter from the Dutch government's legal representative on Tuesday and was studying its contents.  The Netherlands said it would hold the company responsible for pollution in the Dutch part of the river, allegedly caused by its nearby Belgian plant. Читать дальше...

An art auction and New York gala have raised nearly $6 million to preserve and restore the childhood home of soul music legend and civil rights activist Nina Simone, organizers said Tuesday. The twin events brought in some $5.88 million — far more than the original $2 million organizers hoped to raise to restore the rural North Carolina abode. "The new funding will meaningfully advance our project goals to complete the full restoration of the house and landscape," said Brent Leggs, executive... Читать дальше...

A New Jersey software developer who prosecutors say once photographed landmarks in New York, Boston and Washington, D.C., for possible terrorist attacks was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison by a federal judge who said it seemed he no longer was a danger.  In fact, Judge Paul G. Gardephe noted, Alexei Saab, 46, has become a model prisoner since his 2019 arrest, helping others incarcerated at New York City's federal jails to get high school equivalency certificates, learn English and find relief from psychological problems. Читать дальше...