Новости за 21.08.2023

Authorities in Indian-controlled Kashmir have blocked access to the website and social media accounts of the independent media outlet The Kashmir Walla. As well as the block on accessing the web page from inside India, which was implemented Saturday, the news website’s team was issued an eviction notice for the outlet’s Srinagar office. The measures add to the challenges for the Kashmiri media operation, whose founder Fahad Shah has been held in police custody since February 2022 on accusations of anti-state activities. Читать дальше...

Rights activists and opposition political leaders in Bangladesh have expressed concerns over the country’s draft Cyber Security Act, saying it is as repressive as the existing controversial Digital Security Act that it is set to replace. The activists, along with journalists and opposition parties, have long demanded the scrapping of the DSA — widely criticized as a law to harass people and silence dissent. Law minister Anisul Huq said on August 7 that the government would replace the DSA with the CSA in the “better interest” of the people.

Through direct actions and via a network of proxy forces, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has engaged in global terrorism for decades.

Iran said Monday it could take up to two months to complete a prisoner swap it has agreed to with the United States.  "A specific time frame has been announced by relevant authorities, and it will take a maximum of two months for this process to take place," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani told a news conference.  Tehran and Washington reached an agreement earlier this month in which both pledged to release five of each country's citizens they have been holding. In addition... Читать дальше...

President Emmerson Mnangangwa and opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the Citizens for Coalition for Change are the main parties vying for votes among other candidates

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

Country-pop singer/songwriter from Nashville Levi Hummon has garnered over 162 million global streams due in large part to fan favorites such as “Good Riddance" and “Paying For It” featuring Walker Hayes, which has garnered viral traction and major success on TikTok.

All Together, a blog for the Society of Women Engineers, has transition tips for international students studying the U.S. Among them: Make copies of important documents. Explore interests outside the classroom. Do what you can to stay safe. Read the entire blog post here. (July 2023)

A summer heat wave is increasing the risk of wildfires in California, and state officials are considering various methods to prevent them, including using artificial intelligence and goats. Angelina Bagdasaryan has the story, narrated by Anna Rice.

Thailand's Pheu Thai Party will attempt to form a government on Tuesday after weeks of post-election deadlock, with real estate tycoon Srettha Thavisin set to be nominated as prime minister and face a vote in parliament. Who is Srettha? Srettha, 60, is an outsider and political neophyte little known beyond Thailand. He joined the populist Pheu Thai in 2022 and up until the May 14 election was president of property developer Sansiri SIRI.BK. He is not a member of parliament. The 1.92-meter tall... Читать дальше...

Public utility regulators in Iowa will begin a hearing Tuesday on a proposed carbon dioxide pipeline for transporting emissions of the climate-warming greenhouse gas for storage underground that has been met by resistant landowners who fear the taking of their land and dangers of a pipeline rupture. Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed $5.5 billion, 3,219-kilometer pipeline network would carry CO2 from 34 ethanol plants in five states to North Dakota for storage deep underground — a project involving carbon capture technology... Читать дальше...

Israeli authorities said Monday a suspected Palestinian attacker killed a woman and seriously wounded a man in the occupied West Bank.  The Israeli military said the shootings took place near the city of Hebron and that the shots were fired from a passing car.  The military said its forces were searching for suspects and had set up roadblocks in the area.  Monday’s attack follows the shooting of two Israelis on Saturday in the West Bank.  Some information for this story came from The Associated... Читать дальше...

Nearly three years after authorities foiled a bizarre plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the last defendants accused of taking part go on trial Monday.  Eric Molitor and brothers William Null and Michael Null were among 14 men, described by prosecutors as anti-government extremists, charged in the scheme weeks before the November 2020 election. They were angered by Whitmer's COVID-19 policies, which shut down schools and restricted the economy, investigators said in court filings. ... Читать дальше...

Despite some post-pandemic progress, closing global gender gaps in economic participation could take over 130 years, an APEC official says. Participants at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Women and the Economy Forum in Seattle also raised concerns about the disproportionate impact of climate change on young women. Natasha Mozgovaya has more.

Human Rights Watch alleges that Saudi border guards have killed at least hundreds of Ethiopian migrants and asylum-seekers trying to cross from Yemen into Saudi Arabia between March 2022 and June 2023, in a report released Monday. The killings would be considered crimes against humanity if they were part of a Saudi government policy, according to HRW. The rights group called on the United Nations to investigate. The report, “‘They Fired on Us Like Rain’: Saudi Arabian Mass Killings of Ethiopian... Читать дальше...

Tropical Storm Hilary brought flooding rains to southern California and Nevada as forecasters warned of life-threatening and catastrophic conditions from the rare storm as it moved inland.  The U.S. National Weather Service urged people to stay off roads in the Los Angeles area due to dangerous flooding.  Many of the areas in the path of the storm, which was expected to weaken to a tropical depression as its center moved into Nevada later Monday, are not used to seeing the type of rainfall associated with a tropical storm. Читать дальше...

Four Mexican citizens died in a climbing accident on the Pico de Orizaba, which is the highest mountain the country, authorities said Sunday.  The civil defense office in the central state of Puebla said all four deaths appeared to have been caused by a fall on the volcanic mountain, which is also known by its indigenous name Citlaltepetl. It soars to 5,675 meters (18,619 feet). The office said two of the climbers were from the neighboring state of Veracruz and at least one was from Puebla. The... Читать дальше...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observed the test-firing of strategic cruise missiles, state media reported Monday, as the U.S. and South Korean militaries kicked off major annual drills that the North views as an invasion rehearsal. The North's report on missile tests came three days after the leaders of the U.S., South Korea and Japan held their first stand-alone trilateral summit and agreed to increase their cooperation on their ballistic missile defenses to counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats. Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden travels Monday to the Pacific island state of Hawaii to meet with officials and survivors and survey damage from wildfires that devastated Maui. The White House said Biden and first lady Jill Biden will "see firsthand the impacts of the devastating wildfires as well as discuss the recovery effort. The fires earlier this month left widespread destruction in the seaside town of Lahaina, killing at least 114 people. Gov. Josh Green has said the toll is expected to rise with... Читать дальше...

The language is stark: People in torched areas of Maui should not try to filter their own drinking water because there is no "way to make it safe," Maui County posted on its Instagram account this week. The message reached Anne Rillero and her husband, Arnie in Kula, who were eating yet another meal of frozen pizza. The couple feels incredibly lucky they and their home survived the fires that raced across Maui in recent days, wiping most of Lahaina off the map. The number of confirmed fatalities was raised on Friday to 114 people. Читать дальше...

Ecuadorians put aside fears of leaving their homes amid unprecedented violence and voted for a new president Sunday in a special election that was heavily guarded by police and soldiers in part due to the assassination of a presidential candidate this month. The country's top electoral authority, Diana Atamaint, reported no violent incidents affected voting centers and characterized the election as "peaceful and safe" after polls closed. However, Atamaint, president of the National Electoral Council... Читать дальше...

An oil tanker long suspected of carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil offloaded its cargo near Texas on Sunday, tracking data showed, even as Tehran has threatened to target shipping in the Persian Gulf over it. Ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed the Marshall Islands-flagged Suez Rajan began the hourslong ship-to-ship transfer of its oil to another tanker, the MR Euphrates, near Galveston, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) southeast of Houston. The fate of the cargo aboard... Читать дальше...

Somalia’s Ministry of Communications and Technology is ordering the country’s internet service providers to turn off access for social media companies TikTok, Telegram, and the gambling site 1xBet. The Minister of Communications and Technology, Jama Hassan Khalif, gave the order in a statement issued Sunday, citing security and fighting terrorism as reasons for blocking the companies. The statement said constant violations by terror groups using social media sites affected the safety and stability of society. Читать дальше...

Armed gunmen killed at least 23 people and wounded 12 in an attack on a village in central Mali, officials said Sunday. Sidi Mohamed El Bechir, governor of the Bandiagara region where the attack took place, said unidentified men killed nearly two dozen people Friday and set fire to several homes in the village of Yarou. “The assailants stayed in the village until 7 p.m. and burned down part of the village, smashed stores and took away the villagers’ cattle,” said Amadou Lougue, president of the regional youth organization on Sunday. Читать дальше...