Новости за 11.06.2023

It was Miles Morales and the Spider-Verse versus the "Transformers" at the box office this weekend and the bots came out on top. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," the seventh entry in the series, took the No. 1 spot in its first weekend in North American theaters with $60.5 million according to studio estimates Sunday. "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" wasn't too far behind, however, with an estimated $55.4 million in its second weekend. Paramount Pictures released "Rise of the Beasts"... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden on Saruday hosted what he described as the largest-ever White House event celebrating members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, during a month dedicated to celebrating gay pride. This year’s event comes amid a rash of laws passed in U.S. states and around the world that critics say hamper the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington.

William Barr, former U.S. President Donald Trump’s top law enforcement official at the end of his presidency, said Sunday that the criminal indictment accusing Trump of illegally retaining highly classified national security documents as he left office in 2021 was “very, very damning.” Other Republicans, however, came to Trump’s defense, saying the indictment was an unwarranted political attack to keep him from winning back the White House in the 2024 presidential election. "If even half of it is true, then he's toast. Читать дальше...

Taliban leaders in Afghanistan pushed back Sunday against a new United Nations assessment that they face internal power struggles and maintain a strong link with international terrorist groups. In a statement, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denounced as baseless and "full of prejudice" the report that the U.N. Security Council's Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team released earlier this month. It said that under reclusive supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, the Taliban had "reverted to the exclusionary... Читать дальше...

Novak Djokovic won his men's-record 23rd Grand Slam title on Sunday with a 7-6 (1), 6-3, 7-5 victory over Norway’s Casper Ruud in the French Open final.  Djokovic, a 36-year-old from Serbia, broke a tie with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major singles trophies in the history of men's tennis, which dates to the 1800s.  Nadal, a 14-time champion at Roland Garros, missed this year's tournament because he is injured.  This victory goes alongside the French Open titles earned by Djokovic in 2016 and 2021... Читать дальше...

Former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was arrested and held for more than seven hours on Sunday after voluntarily attending an interview over a police probe into the fate of funds for her pro-independence Scottish National Party.   The police investigation is looking at what happened to more than $754,140 in funding which was raised by Scottish independence campaigners in 2017 and was supposed to have been ring-fenced, but may have been used for other purposes.  The arrest is deeply embarrassing for the SNP... Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden on Saturday hosted what he described as the largest-ever White House event celebrating members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, during a month dedicated to celebrating gay pride. This year’s event comes amid a flurry of laws passed in U.S. states and around the world that critics say hamper the rights of LGBTQ+ citizens. At this year’s colourful event, Biden stressed his administration’s support for the community. “You are loved,” he said to the crowd... Читать дальше...

The European Union on Sunday offered major financial support to crisis-hit Tunisia, to boost its economy and reduce the flow of irregular migrants across the Mediterranean Sea. The North African country, highly indebted and in talks for an IMF bailout loan, is a gateway for migrants and asylum-seekers attempting the dangerous voyages to Europe. The EU is ready to offer Tunisia a 900 million euro package plus 150 million euros in immediate support, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen... Читать дальше...

An employee with the World Health Organization was among those killed in the weekend siege of a beachside hotel in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, the head of the UN health agency said on Sunday.    The siege left six civilians dead and another 10 wounded, according to police.    "I'm heartbroken that we have lost a WHO staff member in the recent attack in #Mogadishu, #Somalia," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, tweeted on Sunday.    "My heartfelt condolences to their families and to everyone who lost a loved one," he said. Читать дальше...

Shelling and gunfire resumed Sunday in the Sudanese capital, witnesses said, after the end of a 24-hour ceasefire that had given civilians rare respite from nearly two months of war. Deadly fighting has raged in the northeast African country since mid-April, when army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), turned on each other. The latest in a series of ceasefire agreements enabled civilians trapped in... Читать дальше...

A rare South African earthquake shook Johannesburg early Sunday. The 5.0 magnitude tremblor hit South Africa’s largest city, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, at a depth of 10 kilometers. An Associated Press reporter said the experience was similar to being on a moving train. There have been no immediate reports of any major damage or casualties. Some information for this report came from The Associated Press and Reuters.

Ten Chinese air force planes crossed Taiwan Strait median line, Taiwan’s National Defense Ministry said Sunday. The strait is generally viewed as the unofficial border between Taiwan and China. The ministry also said four Chinese ships conducted combat patrols Sunday. Taiwan deployed its own aircraft and ships in response to China’s moves. This marks the second time in less than a week that China has stepped up military activities around Taiwan. On Thursday, Taiwan reported that 37 Chinese... Читать дальше...

Huge strides in life expectancy worldwide are bringing new challenges that come with increased longevity, the Dutch health minister told VOA this week. “If you look at it from a global perspective, we’ve seen that over the past 25 years, on average we added more than five years of global life expectancy,” Ernst Kuipers, Dutch minister of health, welfare and sport, noted during a stop in Washington. Looking at it another way, the former internist continued, “It actually means that for more than 20 years in a row... Читать дальше...

Pakistan is continuing a months-long crackdown on Afghan refugees living in the country, detaining hundreds of people accused of lacking proper documentation. Taliban leaders have asked Pakistan to stop the process "immediately." Not only has it continued, but Afghan refugees in Pakistan have told VOA that the crackdown in recent days has intensified in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjacent areas. "Unfortunately, the detentions have intensified, and it still continues," said Shukria, an Afghan refugee... Читать дальше...

A real estate deal in Jerusalem's Old City, at the epicenter of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, has sent the historic Armenian community there into a panic as residents search for answers about the feared loss of their homes to a mysterious investor.  The 99-year lease of some 25% of the Old City's Armenian Quarter has touched sensitive nerves in the Holy Land and sparked a controversy extending far beyond the Old City walls. The fallout has forced the highest authority of the Armenian Orthodox... Читать дальше...

The Pakistan Meteorological Department said Sunday that Cyclone Biparjoy, a “very severe cyclonic storm,” is over the east-central Arabian Sea. It is “maintaining its intensity” and is located about 840 kilometers south of Karachi, 830 kilometers south of Thatta and 930 kilometers southeast of Ormara. Biparjoy is traveling with maximum sustained winds of 130 to 140 kph, with maximum wave heights between 7.5 and 8.5 meters. The weather forecasters say Biparjoy could evolve into an “extremely severe... Читать дальше...

Romania has recalled its ambassador to Kenya after Dragos Tigau allegedly compared Africans to monkeys. Tigau is reported to have said, “The African group has joined us,” when a monkey appeared outside a window during a meeting in April at a United Nations building in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital. CNN reports it has obtained documents showing that African diplomats formally condemned the Romanian diplomat’s remarks during a meeting with Eastern European envoys at an April meeting. CNN reports that... Читать дальше...

Thousands of people who fled their homes in the central Philippines to escape a restive volcano must now contend with another threat that's complicating the ongoing evacuations: monsoon rains that could be unleashed by an approaching typhoon. More than 6,000 villagers have been forced to leave rural communities within a 6-kilometer radius of Mayon volcano's crater in northeastern Albay province. Thousands more need to be moved to safety from the permanent danger zone, officials said. Others living... Читать дальше...

Staying in touch with a loved one after their death is the promise of several start-ups using the powers of artificial intelligence, though not without raising ethical questions. Ryu Sun-yun sits in front of a microphone and a giant screen, where her husband, who died a few months earlier, appears. "Sweetheart, it's me," the man on the screen tells her in a video demo. In tears, she answers him, and a semblance of conversation begins. When Lee Byeong-hwal learned he had terminal cancer, the... Читать дальше...

Iraq has agreed to pay about $2.76 billion in gas and electricity debt to Iran after receiving a sanctions waiver from the United States, a senior Iraqi foreign ministry official said. Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein was given the clearance during a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the Riyadh Conference on Thursday, the foreign ministry source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters. Because of decades of conflict and sanctions... Читать дальше...

Rain is likely to help clear up smoky air in eastern Canada starting Sunday but may not reach the forest fires raging in the province of Quebec until days later, a government meteorologist said Saturday. There were 426 fires across Canada on Saturday morning, 144 of them in Quebec. Canadian forest fires regularly occur in the summer, but the scope of the current conflagration and its early arrival are unprecedented. The fires on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts have burned 4.4 million hectares so far... Читать дальше...

Whether Sudan’s warring parties stick to the latest U.S.-Saudi Arabian-brokered cease-fire agreement remains an open question. What is not in doubt is that Saturday’s 24-hour truce has capped another murderous week of intense fighting in which civilians were the main victims.  Since fighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted April 15, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health says nearly 800 people have been killed and 5,800 wounded.  The U.N. refugee agency said... Читать дальше...

The Kurdish-led authority in northeast Syria announced Saturday that hundreds of fighters with the Islamic State group held in prisons around the region will be put on trial after their home countries refused to repatriate them.  The statement by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria said it still calls for the creation of an international tribunal to put those fighters on trial. It called on the United Nations, international rights groups and local organizations to help facilitate the trials. Читать дальше...