Новости за 27.07.2023

Yalda Moaiery has traveled to some of the most dangerous countries in the world in her 23-year career. She photographed the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and has covered conflict and natural disasters from Pakistan to Somalia. But it was while photographing protests in her home country of Iran last September that Moaiery was arrested, beaten and sent to prison. The 41-year-old journalist was released on bail in December and is now awaiting a summons to start serving her sentence: a six-year prison term on anti-state charges... Читать дальше...

Economists in Zimbabwe say the government is artificially manipulating the country's sinking currency in a bid to secure victory in next month’s general elections. Inflation and the weakness of the Zimbabwean dollar have become issues in the election, with the main opposition party saying it will abandon the currency if voted into office. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe .

The World Health Organization on Thursday warned that health threats are surging as the war in Sudan escalates and millions of people, many sick and wounded, flee for safety within Sudan and across borders to neighboring countries where health services are fragile and hard to reach. The war, which erupted April 15 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, is not contained within the country but has profound regional implications. The conflict has displaced an estimated 3.4 million people... Читать дальше...

Environmental and climate activists across Nigeria are joining forces with others worldwide in the fight to combat climate change. Gibson Emeka has this story from Abuja, Nigeria. Narrated by Salem Solomon.

Donald Trump said his attorneys met on Thursday with U.S. Justice Department officials investigating the Republican former president's attempts to overturn his 2020 election defeat, in a sign that criminal charges could come soon. But the grand jury investigating the case will not hand down an indictment on Thursday, an official at the federal court in Washington said. It is not uncommon for defense attorneys to meet with federal prosecutors before an indictment, but Trump said on his Truth Social... Читать дальше...

Nigeria's Department of State Services, or DSS, has launched an investigation into the chaotic arrest of Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele. The DSS secret police agency said in a statement Wednesday the arrest of Emefiele was unfortunate, and undue overzealousness was exhibited when its own officials and officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service clashed at the Federal High Court in Lagos on Tuesday as DSS officers took Emefiele away despite a court order granting him bail. DSS vowed to... Читать дальше...

Transcript: The Inside Story: A Free Press Matters Barbie, Bloggers, and Bans Episode 102 – July 27, 2023   Show Open:   This week on the inside story: “Barbie, Bloggers, and Bans.”   A new movie is an international hit... so why is Vietnam outlawing the film?   Local newsroom closures silence critical reports... and leave audiences in the dark.   Repressive regimes ratchet-up the pressure on dissent from abroad,   and how those living in exile are helping others find their voices. Читать дальше...

Sweden's prime minister said Thursday that police have received several permit applications for the burning of religious texts in the country next week, and that he fears this may escalate tensions further with the Muslim world. In his first public comments since the start of the Quran burning crisis that has severely strained Stockholm's ties with Muslim nations, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told Swedish news agency TT he was "extremely concerned" about a new wave of desecrations.  "It's the police that make those decisions, not me. Читать дальше...

SRINAGAR, India — Thousands of Shiite Muslims were allowed to hold a religious procession marking the Muslim month of Muharram in Indian-controlled Kashmir's main city on Thursday for the first time since an anti-India rebellion broke out in the disputed region more than three decades ago. The participants, mostly wearing black clothes, beat their chests and recited elegies in the commercial heart of Srinagar. Some carried copies of the Quran to protest recent public desecrations of the Islamic holy book in Sweden and Denmark. Читать дальше...

A senior White House national security official has said the United States does not want to coerce Pakistan into choosing between Washington and Beijing. Eileen Laubacher, senior director for South Asia on the U.S. National Security Council, told VOA that Washington wants its partners to be able to choose their relationships freely. The council advises the U.S. president on national security and foreign policy. “It’s important to reiterate that the United States wants our partners to be able to make their own choices... Читать дальше...

Analysts say the apparent coup attempt in Niger was not totally surprising, given the West African nation’s history of political upheaval. There have been four successful coups and numerous attempted coups since Niger won independence from France in 1960. But analysts say because President Mohamed Bazoum comes from a minority group within Niger and was elected on a platform of pursuing many reforms, he may have encountered resistance from the more dominant ethnic groups.  In their address to the nation... Читать дальше...

The United States imposed sanctions on several top Malian officials this week, saying they facilitated activities of the Wagner Group, the Russian mercenary unit that recently staged a brief mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts say the sanctions are meant to send a message to the Malian government. Mali's military government Wednesday criticized the sanctions on high-ranking members of the army accused of facilitating Wagner Group activities in the country, as Mali continues... Читать дальше...

Russia’s serial strikes on Odesa have repeatedly hammered civilians and damaged a cathedral that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Two journalism trials taking place in Uzbekistan this month have put issues of media freedom and ethics front and center. In court are a media manager, government press officers and a blogger who regularly covered political and socioeconomic issues. If convicted, all could be handed lengthy prison terms. “Both cases involve passionate reporters and bloggers who, believing in President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s reforms, launched critical platforms, but have found themselves criminally indicted,” Sevdora Latipova, a freelance journalist, told VOA.

Afghanistan's Taliban said Thursday their forthcoming negotiations with the United States will be centered on lifting sanctions on the country, unfreezing its central bank assets, and removing Taliban leaders from a so-called U.N. blacklist. The two former adversaries are scheduled to meet in Qatar's capital, Doha, later this week. Tom West, U.S. special representative on Afghanistan, will lead his team along with Rina Amiri, special envoy for Afghan women, girls, and human rights. Foreign Minister... Читать дальше...

JERUSALEM — Israeli military fire killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian health officials said Thursday, as an ultranationalist Israeli Cabinet minister visited a sensitive Jerusalem holy site that has been a frequent flashpoint for violence between Israel and the Palestinians. Itamar Ben-Gvir's visit to the disputed hilltop compound comes as Israel and the Palestinians are locked in a year-and-a-half-long bout of fighting and could enflame already surging tensions. Читать дальше...

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Thursday that it is not too late to “stop the worst” of the climate crisis, but only with “dramatic, immediate” action. “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived,” Guterres told reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York, where the temperature outside was approaching 86 degrees Fahrenheit before 10 a.m. and set to hit 91 degrees Fahrenheit later in the day. He spoke as the World Meteorological Organization and the... Читать дальше...

U.S. News & World Report has a breakdown on the 15 U.S. colleges offering the most financial aid for international students. International students, the article notes, often face high costs: "Not only are there expenses for tuition, housing, meal plans, books and supplies, but international students also have to pay for travel costs, including airline tickets and visa applications." The average financial aid package at these schools tops $70,000. (June 2023)

Thailand's parliament said Thursday it is scheduled to meet again on August 4 to try to pick a prime minister, as a political stalemate drags on following a national election in May.  Two previous attempts by the election-winning Move Forward Party to have its leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, endorsed as premier have been blocked by conservative and military-nominated lawmakers. The Pheu Thai Party, which placed second in May and is part of an eight-party alliance with Move Forward, is expected to make the next bid for the office. Читать дальше...

An effort by New York City officials to reduce congestion and auto emissions has created tension with their neighbors in New Jersey. Nina Vishneva has more on New York’s proposed congestion pricing in this story narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Olga Terekhin and Vladimir Badikov .

Doksuri regained super typhoon strength on Thursday in its final approach to southeastern China after pummeling Taiwan and the northern Philippines with rain and strong winds that led to the capsize of a ferry in which at least 25 people died. As of 5 p.m. Beijing time (0900 GMT), the winds around the eye of the storm had reached up to 187 km per hour (116 mph), putting Doksuri back on the top rung of China's tropical storm categorization system after weakening earlier. The ferry sank near... Читать дальше...

As part of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative, or YALI, a cohort of 23 young leaders from 18 sub-Saharan African countries embarked on a visit to an agricultural farm in Maryland. VOA’s Lionel Gahima and Eric Manirakiza, who is no relation to the farm owner, met with some of them and have this story, narrated by Lionel Gahima. Video: Lionel Gahima

Papua New Guinea’s leadership is promising “cascading” benefits from growing military and security cooperation with the United States following the first visit by a sitting U.S. defense secretary, while downplaying any risk to the country’s close economic ties to China. Prime Minister James Marape Thursday praised the PNG-U.S. Defense Cooperation Agreement, signed in May, agreeing with assessments by senior U.S. defense officials that his country’s National Parliament would ratify the deal in short order. Читать дальше...

Portugal's Telma Encarnacao scored one goal and set up the other in a 2-0 win over fellow Women's World Cup debutants Vietnam, sending the Southeast Asian side out of the tournament at Waikato Stadium on Thursday. Portugal is third in Group E with three points and will face the U.S. in their final group game in Auckland while Vietnam, yet to score or pick up a point, take on the Netherlands in Dunedin. Both matches will be played Tuesday. The U.S. are level on four points with the Netherlands... Читать дальше...

Seventeen Ecuador corrections officials held hostage by prison inmates were freed Wednesday, authorities said, as they struggled to compile a death toll from the dismembered body parts left over from days of fighting between rival gangs. The 17 guards and administrative workers had been held at a prison in Esmeraldas, in the violence-hobbled country's northwest, the SNAI prison authority said. "All of the corrections officials that were held in the prisons were freed," the government said in... Читать дальше...