Новости за 27.06.2023

Dozens of Burkinabe soldiers and allied volunteer militiamen have been killed in attacks carried out by suspected jihadists, security sources said Tuesday. One of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world, Burkina is struggling with a jihadist insurgency that swept in from neighboring Mali in 2015. Nearly a third of the country lies outside state control, according to the government, which in response to the spiraling security crisis formed the Volunteers for the Defense of the Fatherland (VDP) ... Читать дальше...

A portrait of an unnamed woman by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt sold for 85.3 million pounds ($108.4 million) on Tuesday, setting a record price for any work of art sold at an auction in Europe, London-based auction house Sotheby's said.   The painting, which had been given a guide price of 65 million pounds ($82.9 million), was sold after a tense 10-minute bidding war as auctioneer Helena Newman, Sotheby's head of impressionist and modern art, eked out the final bids in half-million pound increments. Читать дальше...

The Israeli government said Tuesday that it seized millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from accounts that had sent or received funds in alleged financing schemes for a powerful arm of the Iranian military and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he issued an order to seize the cryptocurrency wallets and turn over the funds to the Israeli government. He described the "extensive" operation as Israel's first to target the Hezbollah militant... Читать дальше...

Top Indian government officials are pressing their state-level counterparts in northeastern Manipur state to engage warring ethnic factions in talks as they try to defuse weeks of deadly violence between majority Hindu Meiteis and Christian tribal Kukis. The move comes shortly after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting in Manipur, which the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) controls and where violence has left at least 115 dead and 300 injured in nearly two months. Modi, who has been... Читать дальше...

The United States is India’s largest trading partner, with trade between the two countries currently around $191 billion, in 2022. With the two forging a closer relationship, VOA’s Chris Casquejo looks at the prospects for boosting U.S.-India trade.

Zimbabwe officials say the country’s annual inflation rate more than doubled from May to June, to more than 175%.  Economists say multiple devaluations of Zimbabwe's struggling dollar led prices to surge.  Average Zimbabweans are feeling the effects of the country’s weak currency, known as bond notes or ZWL, which has been losing value against the U.S. dollar.  Forty-year-old Kathleen Maswera said her salary in local currency has lost about 70% of its value since the beginning of the year. She... Читать дальше...

Sierra Leone's President Julius Maada Bio was reelected with 56.17% of the vote to serve a second term, the head of the electoral commission said on Tuesday following a process disputed by the opposition. His main challenger Samura Kamara came second with 41.16%, according to final results announced in Freetown by commission chief Mohamed Kenewui Konneh. Vote tallying had already been disputed by the opposition All People's Congress (APC), which condemned in a statement Monday an alleged lack of inclusiveness... Читать дальше...

Fleeing drought and conflict in Somalia, refugees have been pouring into the Dadaab refugee camps in neighboring Kenya. Humanitarian agencies say the influx of people has strained services in the already overcrowded camps and are warning of health risks. Juma Majanga reports from the Dadaab camps.

Authorities in Zambia have arrested former President Edgar Lungu's son and daughter-in-law on charges of money laundering and possessing property believed to be proceeds of crime worth more than $5 million. Lungu's Patriotic Front Party has described the move as continued persecution of Lungu's family by the government. Police spokesperson Rae Hamoonga told VOA on Tuesday that Dalitso Lungu and his wife, Matildah, have been arrested in their capacity as directors of Saloid Traders Limited. ... Читать дальше...

The number of different electronic cigarette devices sold in the U.S. has nearly tripled to over 9,000 since 2020, driven almost entirely by a wave of unauthorized disposable vapes from China, according to tightly controlled sales data obtained by The Associated Press. The numbers demonstrate the Food and Drug Administration's inability to control the tumultuous vaping market more than three years after declaring a crackdown on kid-friendly flavors. Most disposables e-cigarettes, which are thrown away when they're used up... Читать дальше...

The leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces announced a brief cease-fire starting Wednesday for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo also said he would hold his forces accountable for violations against civilians since the current conflict broke out with Sudan's military.  But analysts are skeptical after numerous failed cease-fires and note Dagalo's poor record on rights violations.  Dagalo, known also as Hemedti, announced the 48-hour cease-fire for al-Adha festivities... Читать дальше...

South Africa's worst ever energy crisis has the country reeling amid daily blackouts, but  new Minister for Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is hoping China can provide a light in the darkness.  Ramokgopa said earlier this month that he’d soon be announcing details of a “major grant” from China of equipment like solar panels and generators, following Beijing’s offer to help South Africa with its energy woes by providing renewable energy equipment and expertise. Following Ramokgopa’s one-week visit to China... Читать дальше...

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled against a bid by North Carolina Republican lawmakers to amplify the power of state-level politicians over federal elections by limiting the ability of state courts to review their actions in a ruling with major implications for the American democratic process. The decision upheld a 2022 ruling by the North Carolina Supreme Court, as the justices declined to embrace a once-marginal legal theory called the "independent state legislature" doctrine favored by... Читать дальше...

The Justice Department's watchdog said Tuesday that a "combination of negligence and misconduct" enabled financier Jeffrey Epstein to take his own life at a federal jail in New York City while he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Inspector General Michael Horowitz cited the federal Bureau of Prisons' failure to assign Epstein a cellmate after his previous one left and problems with surveillance cameras as factors in Epstein's death. Horowitz also said that Epstein was left in his cell with too many bed linens... Читать дальше...

After fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan, Mina Akbari is again working as a journalist, reporting for diaspora media from her new home in Pakistan. For VOA, Muska Safi has more from Islamabad. Cristina Caicedo Smit narrates the story.

Robot makers who want to explore the oceans are looking to one of Earth's most successful sea creatures for design inspiration. Steve Baragona reports.

In New York City’s Chinatown, creeping gentrification means some small businesses are thriving while others are struggling to regain their pre-pandemic footing. VOA’s Tina Trinh has our story. Camera: Tina Trinh, Mostafa Bassim, Alexander Barash

Olivia Chow became the first Chinese-born mayor of Toronto Monday.  Voting tallies show Chow winning 37% of the vote, with former deputy mayor Ana Bailoa taking 32%.    She is the second woman elected to lead Canada’s largest city.  She will succeed John Tory, who was re-elected to a third term just last October but resigned just four months later after he admitted to an extramarital affair with a staffer.    “If you ever questioned your faith in a better future and what we can do with each other... Читать дальше...

More frequent and intense heat waves are extracting a health and economic toll in India and pose a risk to its development, according to a recent study. Anjana Pasricha in New Delhi reports that low-income workers are among the worst hit by searing temperatures during summer.

The United Nations said Tuesday that bombings and other militant violence in Afghanistan had killed more than 1,000 civilians since the Taliban regained control of the country nearly two years ago. The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan recorded 3,774 civilian casualties, including 1,095 deaths, between August 15, 2021, and May of this year. The report said 92 women and 287 children are among the dead. Most of the deaths, 701, were caused by "indiscriminate" improvised explosive devices, or IEDs... Читать дальше...

A German court gave Rupert Stadler, the former head of Audi, a suspended sentence along with a fine Tuesday as he became the highest-ranking executive to be convicted in connection with an emissions cheating scandal.  As part of a plea deal, the court gave Stadler a 21-month suspended sentence and ordered him to pay $1.2 million.  Prosecutors did not accuse Stadler of orchestrating the system in which Audi's parent company, Volkswagen, admitted it used software to rig emissions tests in 11... Читать дальше...

The front runner to become Thailand's next prime minister, Pita Limjaroenra, said on Tuesday he had secured enough support from the Senate to take the top job. Pita's progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats at last month's election as voters delivered a crushing rejection of military-linked parties that have run the kingdom for nearly a decade. To become PM, Pita has to muster a majority across both houses, including the Senate, whose 250 members were handpicked by the last junta. Читать дальше...

A new for-profit entity will oversee the commercial interests of the proposed merger between the U.S. and European men's professional golf leagues and their Saudi-backed rival.    The entity is part of the framework agreement between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and LIV Golf signed on May 30 and announced on June 6.  The PGA Tour will control the entity, while Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, the financial backer of LIV Golf, will invest in a subsidiary that will boost the joint venture's... Читать дальше...

Turkish police have ramped up a crackdown on LGBTQ activists as dozens of people were detained Sunday at Pride marches in Turkey's metropolitan Istanbul and Izmir provinces.   Istanbul's governor said police detained 113 people attending the 31st LGBTQ Pride March there on Sunday (June 25).   "Our national future depends on keeping the family institution alive with our national and moral values," Davut Gul, the governor of Istanbul, said on Twitter Monday as he announced the number of detentions. Читать дальше...

New York has received a critical federal approval for its first-in-the-nation plan to charge big tolls to drive into the most visited parts of Manhattan, part of an effort to reduce traffic, improve air quality, and raise funds for the city's public transit system.  The program could begin as soon as the spring of 2024, bringing New York City into line with places like London, Singapore, and Stockholm that have implemented similar tolling programs for highly congested business districts.  ... Читать дальше...