Новости за 28.07.2023

NIAMEY, Niger — General Abdourahamane Tchiani, the chief of Niger's powerful presidential guard who took power after a military coup, is an army veteran who has foiled similar uprisings in the restive West African nation. In his 50s, Tchiani has shunned the limelight despite a stellar military career that saw him lead the elite 700-member unit from 2011 until now. "He is not well known outside military circles. He is a man in the background, powerful," said Ibrahim Yahaya Ibrahim, a researcher with the International Crisis Group think tank.

Even as their nation emerges from three years of COVID-related lockdowns, many Chinese are facing a new source of economic hardship – steep cuts in earnings for the country’s millions of civil servants. “My year-end bonus will be reduced by at least 20,000-30,000 Yuan [roughly $2,800-$4,200],” said a 38-year-old local housing authority employee in the eastern city of Nantong, who asked to be identified only as Chen for fear of retaliation by authorities. Like everyone in China, Chen and his wife... Читать дальше...

BANGKOK — Shortly after China opened its borders with the end of "zero-COVID," Zhang Chuannan lost her job as an accountant at a cosmetic firm in Shanghai and decided to explore the world. "The cosmetics business was bleak," said Zhang, 34, because everyone wore face masks during the pandemic. After being laid off, she paid $1,400 for an online Thai course, got an education visa and moved to the scenic northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. Zhang is among a growing number of young Chinese moving overseas... Читать дальше...

Pope Francis urged governments to do more to fight climate change and protect "our common home" as improving weather conditions Friday helped firefighters contain wildfires in Greece, Italy and other countries in southern Europe. Francis, who has been outspoken on environmental issues, sent a telegram of condolences to Greece, where wildfires killed five people over the past week, including the pilots of a water-dropping aircraft. The pope noted that successive heat waves have exacerbated the dangers of the summer fire season. Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — The International Monetary Fund said on Friday that it has reached a staff-level agreement with Argentina to unlock about $7.5 billion and complete the fifth and sixth reviews of the struggling country's $44 billion loan program. The agreement, which still needs IMF Executive Board approval, eases some program requirements because a devastating drought has created a "very challenging" economic environment in Argentina, causing some end-of-June financial targets to be missed. Reuters... Читать дальше...

Seven leading tech companies recently agreed to abide by a request from President Joe Biden to develop their artificial intelligence technologies in a safe and transparent way. But are their promises realistic? VOA’s Julie Taboh reports.

Here is a look at immigration-related news from around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email  ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com.  Federal Judge Blocks Biden’s Asylum Policy; What Now?  A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration's asylum rule for migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. In his Tuesday ruling, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in Oakland, California, deemed the rules unlawful, saying they imposed conditions on asylum-seekers that Congress hadn't intended. The ruling is... Читать дальше...

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe's Supreme Court confirmed Friday that a former minister and a ruling party member is disqualified from running as a presidential candidate in next month’s elections. A three-member bench of the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal from would-be presidential candidate Savior Kasukuwere, a one-time ally of former president Robert Mugabe. Kasukuwere had appealed a High Court ruling that he could not run as an independent presidential candidate in the August 23 elections. Читать дальше...

The U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, Thursday appealed to West African states not to forcibly repatriate refugees who have fled escalating insecurity and violence sparked by insurgent groups in Burkina Faso. “As of June this year, 67,000 people from Burkina Faso have sought refuge in neighboring countries, including Mali, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin and Ghana,” said Elizabeth Tan, UNHCR director of international protection, briefing journalists in Geneva on Friday. “The number of internally displaced people is enormous,” she said. Читать дальше...

This week President Joe Biden announced additional measures to protect communities from extreme heat that has hit parts of the United States. In Los Angeles, authorities are coping as best they can and trying some innovative ways to beat the heat. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian

NAIROBI, Kenya — A cyber security company says six African countries, including war-torn Sudan, enforced internet limits within their territory during the first half of 2023. Netherlands-based Surfshark said that is twice as many nations as during the same months of 2022. Surfshark recorded 42 new internet disruptions worldwide, nine of which occurred in Africa. Six countries — Ethiopia, Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal, Sudan and Tanzania — accounted for those nine shutdowns. Egle Grasys, a representative of Surfshark... Читать дальше...

A look at the best news photos from around the world.

VOA Connect Episode 289 - In the aftermath of a devastating typhoon, the village of Newtok is in urgent need of relocating its remaining residents to the new village of Mertarvik. But the pace of new construction is lagging behind the erosion, posing a significant challenge. Camera | Producer | Editor: Gabrielle Weiss

This week we explore the waterfalls and sights at Great Falls Park in Virginia. Camera | Editor: Philip Alexiou

Two leading universities on the Indian side of Kashmir have removed the poems and a memoir written by two internationally acclaimed authors from their master's program curriculum, claiming "resistance literature" in the syllabus promotes a "secessionist mindset, aspiration, and narrative" among students.  The decision to drop the literary pieces on July 21, according to local news reports, is based on a verbal order allegedly issued by the regional government, and university officials have confirmed their removal. Читать дальше...

African countries are investing heavily in trying to attract tourists from the world's biggest outbound travel market, China, as they battle to recover from losses suffered during the travel bans of the COVID-19 pandemic. "COVID wiped out large parts of tourism industries, especially in poorer parts of the world like Africa,” said Mike Fabricius, a specialist in tourism management, consulting and marketing for his Johannesburg-based company, The Journey. “Some African countries rely heavily on... Читать дальше...

Many of actor Cillian Murphy’s colleagues in the new movie Oppenheimer are real scientists. The film, which chronicles the father of America’s atomic bomb, was filmed near the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Real nuclear scientists were recruited to pose as background extras in many scenes. Scientists explained their research to the actors, including Robert Downey Jr., and were consulted on many of the details of the film. Though they weren’t trained actors, it wasn’t too hard, they say. Читать дальше...

President Joe Biden's $400 billion plan to cancel or reduce federal student loan debts for millions of Americans was effectively killed by the U.S. Supreme Court. However, there are smaller alternatives for borrowers. Some states, including some that challenged Biden's plan, offer loan forgiveness programs, and federal programs exist for public service workers, people with disabilities and many others. Chris Quintana, Medora Lee and Alia Wong of USA Today round up the options for graduates. (July... Читать дальше...

Arizona's saguaro cacti, a symbol of the U.S. West, are leaning, losing arms and in some cases falling over during the state's record streak of extreme heat, a scientist said on Tuesday. Summer monsoon rains the cacti rely on have failed to arrive, testing the desert giants' ability to survive in the wild as well as in cities after temperatures above 43 Celsius degrees (110 Fahrenheit) for 25 days in Phoenix, said Tania Hernandez. "These plants are adapted to this heat, but at some point the... Читать дальше...

A Pakistani journalist forced to flee for his own safety now runs a club for fellow exiles in France. They meet to exchange ideas and share their stories with locals. For VOA, Henry Ridgwell has the story of Taha Siddiqui. Video: Vahid Karami

From the time he spent in a Vietnamese prison to his life in exile in Los Angeles, Nguyen Van Hai, who blogged under the name Dieu Cay, has refused to be silenced in his fight for a free press. For Titi Tran in Los Angeles, Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story. Video: Paulo Martinez

A Hong Kong court has denied a Hong Kong-government request to ban the broadcast or distribution of the pro-democracy song “Glory to Hong Kong.” The requested ban was widely viewed as an attack on freedom of expression in Hong Kong. The song was written in 2019 during the pro-democracy rallies and became an anthem song of the movement. Since then, it has been mistakenly played at international sporting events, instead of China’s national anthem — something authorities in Beijing consider an insult. Читать дальше...

Typhoon Doksuri made landfall early Friday in China’s eastern province of Fujian. Friday’s landfall in China comes after Doksuri left a path of destruction in the Philippines, where it displaced thousands and caused at least 39 deaths, including 26 who were killed when a passenger ship capsized. Officials say hundreds of thousands of people in Fujian were moved to safety ahead of the typhoon’s heavy rains. China has ordered businesses and schools to close their doors and urged people to stay indoors. Читать дальше...

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM - Vietnam’s demand that international social media firms use artificial intelligence to identify and remove "toxic" online content is part of an ever expanding and alarming campaign to pressure overseas platforms to suppress freedom of speech in the country, rights groups, experts and activists say. Vietnam is a lucrative market for overseas social media platforms. Of the country’s population of nearly 100 million there are 75.6 million Facebook users, according to Singapore-based research firm Data Reportal. Читать дальше...

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - While Western democracies largely condemned Cambodia’s one-sided elections on Sunday and broader crackdown on dissent ahead of the vote, China was effusive in its support of the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s runaway victory. In remarks delivered in a speech on Monday, Beijing’s ambassador to Cambodia, Wang Wentian, said "China strongly supports the Cambodian people in choosing their own development path that suits their national conditions." According to China’s Xinhua news agency... Читать дальше...