Новости за 12.08.2023

Malaysian state elections Saturday ended in a return to the political status quo, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's government and the Islamist opposition both retaining control of three states each as widely expected.  The Election Commission announced that Anwar's multicoalition government triumphed in Selangor and Penang, two of the country's richest states, as well as Negeri Sembilan. It said the opposition Perikatan Nasional bloc (PN), which includes the conservative Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)... Читать дальше...

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday in Tel Aviv in the latest protest of the hard-right government's controversial plans for a judicial overhaul that opponents see as a threat to democracy.   Since the government unveiled the changes in January, tens of thousands of Israelis have joined weekly demonstrations in what has turned out to be the biggest protest movement in the country's history — one that has split the nation.   While protests have rocked many cities including Jerusalem... Читать дальше...

An attack by jihadis with the Islamic State group on Syrian government forces in the war-torn country's east has killed 33 soldiers, a monitor said Saturday, revising an earlier toll of 26 deaths.  The attack late Thursday on an army bus was the extremist group's deadliest targeting on government forces this year, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.  Despite losing the last territory they controlled in Syria in 2019, IS has maintained hideouts in the vast Syrian desert from... Читать дальше...

Media freedom defenders have called on Afghanistan's Taliban authorities to immediately release at least nine journalists currently in prison for their work and stop their "brutal" crackdown on national press members. Operatives of the Taliban's spy agency, the General Directorate of Intelligence, or GDI, arrested five journalists during this week’s raids on offices of independent radio and television news networks in eastern and northern parts of the country, accusing them of reporting for self-exiled Afghan news outlets. Читать дальше...

At least six people died and more than 50 were rescued after a migrant boat trying to cross the Channel from France capsized early on Saturday, local authorities said. Local Mayor Franck Dhersin said a vast rescue operation was launched about 6 a.m. (0400 GMT) as dozens of migrant boats tried to make the crossing at the same time. "Several of the boats were facing serious difficulties," he told Reuters. "Near [the coastal town of] Sangatte they unfortunately found dead bodies." The maritime... Читать дальше...

Leshia Wright heard the crackle of the fast-moving inferno closing in on her home in Lahaina and decided it was time to evacuate. The 66-year-old grabbed her medication for a pulmonary disease and her passport and fled the subdivision in the historic Hawaii oceanside community just minutes before flames engulfed the neighborhood. Hours later, she called family members and told them she slept in her car. Then her phone went dead. The next 40 hours were agony for her daughter in New York and sister in Arizona. Читать дальше...

Alessia Russo fired England into the semifinals of the Women's World Cup in a 2-1 win against Colombia on Saturday. The Arsenal striker's second-half goal completed a come-from-behind win for the Lionesses after Leicy Santos had given the Colombians a first-half lead. Lauren Hemp equalized before halftime, and Russo struck the winner in the 63rd minute as England advanced to the semifinals for the third straight time. It will face co-host Australia for a spot in the final. Sarina Wiegman is... Читать дальше...

The only way to avoid conflict between mutinous soldiers that ousted the president in Niger and regional countries threatening an invasion to reinstate him is to recognize the new regime, a rights defender with ties to the junta told The Associated Press on Friday. In his first interview with Western media, Insa Garba Saidou, a local activist who supports Niger’s new military rulers in its communications and says he is in direct contact with them, said there will be no dialogue with regional countries... Читать дальше...

Education skills and employability are the pathway to a better life — that is the key takeaway expressed by 40% of young people across all age groups who participated in a survey to identify the hopes and aspirations of youth and learn what they need to enhance their prospects for a good, sustainable future. In a bid to make their voices heard by decision-makers around the world, more than 700,000 children and adolescents between the ages of 10 and 24 participated in the project that coincides... Читать дальше...

Bad weather continues to wreak havoc in China, where heavy rains have resulted in mudslides and flooding around the country. In the northwestern part of the country, at least two people were killed in mudslides in the outskirts of Xi’an and 16 people are missing, a state news agency said Saturday. Two houses were also washed away in the deluge. Roads, bridges and power supply facilities were also damaged. Search and rescue teams have been dispatched to the area. Train service was suspended... Читать дальше...

Australia edged France on penalty kicks Saturday to reach the Women's World Cup semifinals for the first time. Cortnee Vine took Australia's 10th penalty from the spot and calmly converted to give the Matildas a 7-6 win in the shootout after the quarterfinal match finished 0-0 after regulation and extra time. The Australians missed two earlier chances to clinch a dramatic shootout, but ultimately it didn't matter as they ended a long curse for tournament hosts. The Australians became the only... Читать дальше...

Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai has departed on a seven-day trip to Paraguay that includes a transit stop in New York on his way to the South American country and another in San Francisco on his return. China has condemned the stopovers, and there are concerns it will respond to the visits by launching military exercises in protest. Prior to departing on his trip, Lai posted a short message on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Departing soon for #Asuncion to attend [president-elect Santiago... Читать дальше...

The death toll for the fire that engulfed parts of the Hawaiian island of Maui has climbed to 80, officials said Friday. The fire is the deadliest catastrophe to hit Hawaii since a tsunami killed 61 people on the Big Island in 1960. Questions persist, however, about Maui’s warning systems and its apparent failure to warn residents in time. County Mayor Richard Bissen said on NBC’s “The Today Show” that the fire moved incredibly quickly.  He said, “I think this was an impossible situation.” Hawaii’s attorney general... Читать дальше...

Blackened hulks of burned-out cars, the pavement streaked with melted and then rehardened chrome. Block after block of flattened homes and businesses. Incinerated telephone poles and elevator shafts rising from ashy lots where apartment buildings once stood. A truck bed full of glass bottles, warped into surreal shapes by the furious heat. Anthony Garcia assessed the devastation as he stood under Lahaina's iconic banyan tree, now charred, and swept twisted branches into neat piles next to another heap filled with dead animals... Читать дальше...

Tuareg former rebels in northern Mali said their forces were attacked Friday by the army and Russian mercenary group Wagner. The Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA) said in a Facebook post that their forces "repulsed a complex attack by the Fama (Malian army) and Wagner" in the town of Ber, in the northern Timbuktu region. "We call the international community to witness these serious acts," said CMA spokesperson Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, denouncing the attack as a "violation of all security... Читать дальше...

It was born in the break, all those decades ago — that moment when a song's vocals dropped, instruments quieted down and the beat took the stage. It was then that hip-hop came into the world, taking the moment and reinventing it. Something new, coming out of something familiar. At the hands of the DJs playing the albums, that break moment became something more: a composition in itself, repeated in an endless loop, back and forth between the turntables. The MCs got in on it, speaking their own clever rhymes and wordplay over it. Читать дальше...

With cruise bookings seeing a resurgence after the Covid pandemic caused luxury liners to mothball, a Finnish shipyard is putting the final touches on what will be the world's largest cruise ship. Royal Caribbean's luxurious new vessel Icon of the Seas is nearing completion in the Turku shipyard on Finland's southwestern coast, its maiden voyage scheduled for January 2024. "This ship is as of today, as far as we are aware of, the biggest cruise ship in the world," said Tim Meyer, CEO of shipbuilder Meyer Turku tasked with the construction. Читать дальше...

Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat. The European climate agency Copernicus reported that July was one-third of a degree Celsius (six-tenths of a degree Fahrenheit) hotter than the old record. That’s a bump in heat that is so recent and so big, especially in the oceans and even more so in the North Atlantic, that scientists are split on whether something else could be at work. Scientists agree that by far the... Читать дальше...

Let’s talk Turkey – or shall we say Türkiye? If the capital of China is rendered as Beijing in English, should we still be ordering Peking duck? Why does Bombay chicken remain on the menu, although the city is now Mumbai? The Dutch ditched Holland in 2020 and would like English speakers to call their country the Netherlands (which they spell Nederland). Does that mean we have to tell the waiter to hold the Hollandaise sauce? The foreign minister in Istanbul (formerly known as Constantinople), Mevlut Cavusoglu... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called on Saturday for China to release jailed Australian journalist Cheng Lei, saying he was worried about her condition after three years behind bars. Cheng has described her bleak prison conditions in a note dictated a note to Australian officials from her cell, saying she misses trees and sunlight but "most of all I miss my children." The message was shared with Australian news outlets and on the social media platform X by Cheng's partner, Nick Coyle, on Thursday. Читать дальше...

The father of two of the four Indigenous children who survived a plane crash that killed their mother and two other adults, then survived 40 days on their own in the Amazon jungle was arrested Friday, Colombian authorities said. The Colombian Prosecutor's Office confirmed in a message to Associated Press journalists that officials arrested Manuel Ranoque, who is the father of the 1- and 4-year-old boys in the crash and the stepfather of the two girls, ages 9 and 13. The statement gave no details on the reason... Читать дальше...

Malaysians in six states headed to the polls on Saturday in regional elections seen as a major test of support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's 9-month-old administration.   The election in the states of Selangor, Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah will not directly impact Anwar's two-thirds majority in parliament, but any significant losses could threaten the stability of his coalition government.   Anwar's progressive, multiethnic alliance Pakatan Harapan currently holds power in three of the six states... Читать дальше...

Here are some Native American-related news stories that made headlines this week: New national monument will curb, not halt, uranium mining near Grand Canyon President Joe Biden was in Arizona on Tuesday, where he designated more than 404,000 hectares of land around the Grand Canyon as a national monument, the fifth of his presidency. America’s natural wonders are our nation’s heart and soul,” Biden said, speaking at Red Butte Airport in Williams, Arizona. “And so, today, I’m proud to use my... Читать дальше...

Burkina Faso's junta-led government has suspended one of the country's most popular radio stations after it broadcast an interview deemed "insulting" to Niger's new military leaders. Radio Omega was immediately suspended on Thursday "until further notice," Communications Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement. He said the measure was "in the higher interests of the nation." The station, part of the Omega media group owned by journalist and former Foreign Minister Alpha Barry... Читать дальше...

China's plans to build a new embassy near the Tower of London have stalled following local opposition to what would be the biggest diplomatic compound in Britain. The borough of Tower Hamlets, the local government council in London responsible for the area, blocked the project in February, citing concerns about the increased risk of terror attacks, protests and traffic in an area visited by millions of tourists each year. Chinese authorities had until Thursday to appeal the decision to the U.K. government but did not... Читать дальше...