Новости за 26.08.2023

Popular U.S. game show host Bob Barker, a household name for a half-century as host of "Truth or Consequences" and "The Price Is Right," died at his home in Los Angeles, said a publicist. Barker — also a longtime animal rights activist — died Saturday morning, according to publicist Roger Neal. Barker was 99.  "I am so proud of the trailblazing work Barker and I did together to expose the cruelty to animals in the entertainment industry and including working to improve the plight of abused... Читать дальше...

"Relevant authorities" in Iran intervened Saturday to prevent a protest in the capital, Tehran, by judiciary lawyers in front of the parliament, according to media reports.  As reported by Lawyers Press, several judiciary lawyers had initially organized a gathering in front of the Guardian Council building and had planned to assemble in front of the parliament afterward. However, their intentions were thwarted. The report says that during their assembly in front of the Guardian Council, the... Читать дальше...

A crowd of what appeared to be several hundred protesters in the southern Druze city of Suwaida, Syria, chanted slogans targeting the Syrian government Saturday on the seventh day of a growing movement calling for economic and political reform. An economic crisis across Syria has hit the general population hard, making daily life extremely difficult and sparking protests that seemingly are causing ripples to several other parts of the country. Activists in Suwaida said they are not trying to... Читать дальше...

In a desperate measure to stop students from taking their own lives, authorities in the western Indian city of Kota — the country’s famous academic coaching hub — have directed all local hostels, guest houses and other accommodation facilities to install specially designed spring-fitted ceiling fans in rooms. The directive from the authorities came on Aug. 16, a day after an 18-year-old student at a test training school in Kota hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his room. It was the 22nd such suicide by a student in the city this year ... Читать дальше...

Fire department officials in Greece arrested two men Saturday for allegedly starting wildfires on purpose, while hundreds of firefighters battled blazes that have killed at least 21 people in the past week. One man was arrested on the Greek island of Evia for allegedly setting fire to dried grass in the Karystos area. The fire department said the man confessed to having set four other fires in the area in July and August. A second man arrested in the Larissa area of central Greece also was accused... Читать дальше...

Four astronauts from four countries rocketed toward the International Space Station on Saturday. They should reach the orbiting lab in their SpaceX capsule Sunday, replacing four astronauts who have been living up there since March. A NASA astronaut was joined on the predawn liftoff from Kennedy Space Center by fliers from Denmark, Japan and Russia. They clasped one another's gloved hands upon reaching orbit. It was the first U.S. launch in which every spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country ... Читать дальше...

Insurgents in northwest Syria attacked an army position Saturday, killing and wounding more than 30 troops, opposition activists said. The attack came days after Russian and Syrian warplanes carried out several airstrikes on the last major rebel stronghold in the northwestern province of Idlib and parts of Aleppo, killing several insurgents. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the Ansar al-Tawhid group, which is allied with al-Qaida, carried... Читать дальше...

The junta in Niger has ordered its armed forces to go on highest alert, citing an increased threat of attack, according to an internal document issued Friday by its defense chief that a security source in the country confirmed was authentic. The document, which was shared widely online Saturday, said the order to be on maximum alert would allow forces to respond adequately in case of any attack and "avoid a general surprise." "Threats of aggression to the national territory are increasingly being felt," it said. Читать дальше...

The U.S. Embassy in Harare joined other election observers Saturday in voicing deep concerns about Zimbabwe’s general election, saying it fell short of the requirements of the country's constitution and regional guidelines. Meanwhile, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government and his ruling ZANU-PF party have blasted criticism of the controversy-marred general election. Zimbabwe’s general election Wednesday did not meet many international standards, Rebecca Archer-Knepper, acting spokesperson at the U. Читать дальше...

Thailand said this week it is preparing to sue Facebook in a move that could see the platform shut down nationwide over scammers allegedly exploiting the social networking site to cheat local users out of tens of millions of dollars a year. The country’s minister of digital economy and society, Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, announced the planned lawsuit after a ministry meeting on Monday. Ministry spokesperson Wetang Phuangsup told VOA on Thursday the case would be filed in one to two weeks, possibly by the end of the month. Читать дальше...

Consumers are taking to Pakistan’s streets to protest recently increased taxes on electricity bills. In response, Pakistan’s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has called for an emergency ministers’ meeting Sunday to discuss the high electricity bills. “In the meeting, a briefing will be taken from the ministry of power and distribution companies and consultations will be held regarding giving maximum relief to consumers regarding electricity bills,” the prime minister posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. Читать дальше...

Thousands of Rohingya refugee men, women and children in Bangladesh rallied in Cox’s Bazar camps Friday to demand their rights as refugees on the sixth anniversary of International Rohingya Genocide Remembrance Day. The rallies, which took place after the weekly Muslim congregational Jumah — or Friday prayer — continued even as it rained heavily in the area. "Coincidentally, it had also been raining on the day when we were fleeing home," Mohammed Rezuwan Khan, a Rohingya community leader in Cox's Bazar, told VOA by telephone. Читать дальше...

Voters in Gabon began heading to the polls Saturday to elect a new president, lawmakers and local councils that opposition politicians hope will break the Bongo family’s grip on power for more than five decades. Incumbent President Ali Bongo is seeking a third term. He has been the leader of the country since 2009. Before that, his father led the oil-rich Central African country. “Gabon is not the property of the Bongos,” said Albert Ondo Ossa, one of Bongo’s main rivals in the 14-candidate presidential race. Читать дальше...

A U.S. envoy for Iran met Friday with the family of Iranian-German national Jamshid Sharmahd, who was sentenced to death in February in Iran after being convicted of heading a pro-monarchist group accused of a deadly 2008 bombing. Deputy Special Envoy Abram Paley posted a picture of himself with Sharmahd's son Shayan and daughter Gazelle on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter. "I welcomed the opportunity to meet with Jamshid Sharmahd’s family today. He should have never been detained in Iran... Читать дальше...

The seasonal drink that made pumpkin spice a star is turning 20. And unlike the autumn days it celebrates, there seems to be no chill in customer demand.  Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte goes on sale Thursday in the U.S. and Canada, as it does each year when the nights start getting longer and the fall winds gather. It's the coffee giant's most popular seasonal beverage, with hundreds of millions sold since its launch in 2003. And it has produced a huge — and growing — industry of imitators flecked with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Читать дальше...

When members of the marine mammal team from the International Fund for Animal Welfare rush to a Cape Cod beach to help a stranded dolphin or porpoise, they have no choice but to treat the endangered animal on site and then immediately release it. That is about to change. The organization, which protects animals worldwide, is opening a first-of-its-kind short-term dolphin hospital on Cape Cod this month that it hopes will not only improve survivability rates, but also enhance the research it has developed over 25 years. Читать дальше...

Ours is a world of older adults, living longer and doing more in their advanced years. Many politicians are staying in office well past typical retirement ages. With the United States facing two of the country’s oldest front-runners for president, VOA’s Senior Washington Correspondent Carolyn Presutti explores the ages of current world leaders.

Norway is rebuilding a dilapidated reindeer fence along its border with Russia in the Artic to stop the animals from wandering into the neighboring country — costly strolls for which Oslo has to compensate Moscow over loss of grassland. Norwegian officials said Thursday that so far this year, 42 reindeer have crossed into Russia seeking better pastures and grazing land. The reindeer barrier along the Norway-Russia border spans 150 kilometers (93 miles) and dates back to 1954. The Norwegian Agriculture... Читать дальше...

Much of Kenya awoke Saturday morning to find it's still without electricity after an unexplained power outage Friday night shut down the country's main international airport and led to a rare public apology by a government minister. "I am really sorry for what has happened," transport minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement close to midnight. "There is no excuse worth reporting and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness." This latest outage affecting much of the country comes... Читать дальше...

Hawaii officials Friday released a list of 388 people missing following the deadly fire on Maui more than two weeks ago that tore through the historic resort town of Lahaina. Hours later, more than 100 of the listed people or their relatives came forward to say that they were alive, according to the FBI, which compiled the list. "The 388 names are a subset of a larger list," Steven Merrill, the FBI's special agent in charge in Honolulu, said Friday. "I don't want to lose sight of the fact that... Читать дальше...

Taiwan’s defense ministry said Saturday that China sent dozens of aircraft and vessels toward the island, just days after the United States approved a $500 million arms sale to Taiwan. The defense ministry said in a statement that 32 aircraft from the People’s Liberation Army and nine vessels from the navy were detected in the 24 hours between 6 a.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday. Of these, 20 aircraft either crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or breached Taiwan’s air defense identification zone. Читать дальше...

Sudan's military ruler visited army bases near Khartoum on his first trip away from the capital since an internal conflict broke out in April, as the United Nations warned that the war could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan intends to leave Sudan for talks in neighboring countries after visiting regional bases and Port Sudan, the temporary government seat, two government sources said. Burhan, who is also armed forces chief, plans to chair a Cabinet meeting. Читать дальше...

Niger's junta, which seized power in a coup on July 26, said on Friday it had ordered French Ambassador Sylvain Itte to leave the country within 48 hours, as relations between the West African country and its former colonial ruler deteriorated further.  Like recent coups in neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali, the military takeover in Niger came amid a growing wave of anti-French sentiment, with some locals accusing the European country of interfering in their affairs.  In a statement, the junta-appointed... Читать дальше...

All 19 defendants in an election-fraud case in the Southeastern U.S. state of Georgia — including former President Donald Trump — reported to an Atlanta jail to be booked by police before a noon deadline on Friday. After Trump’s appearance at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday evening — in which he posed for the first-ever mug shot of a former president — seven other defendants surrendered to police on Friday. Trump’s other co-defendants reported to the jail earlier in the week. Court records... Читать дальше...

Former U.S. President Trump was booked on 41 charges of schemes to meddle in the state’s 2020 presidential election results. Who stood out in the first GOP debate leading up to the 2024 national election. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency officially announced the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin.