Новости за 02.09.2023

Central African merchants and Gabon's civilians who were stranded in Kye-Ossi, a southern Cameroon city, are pleased that Gabon's military is reopening the borders that were sealed after a coup removed Gabon President Ali Bongo Ondimba from power this week. On Saturday, Gabon's military junta said it was reopening the borders, three days after closing them during a military coup in which President Ali Bongo Ondimba was ousted. Twenty-six-year-old Gabonese truck driver Nguea Rene, who has been stranded in Cameroon... Читать дальше...

Bill Richardson, a two-term Democratic governor of New Mexico and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who dedicated his post-political career to working to free Americans detained overseas, has died. He was 75. The Richardson Center for Global Engagement, which he founded and led, said in a statement Saturday that he died in his sleep at his home in Chatham, Massachusetts. “He lived his entire life in the service of others — including both his time in government and his subsequent career... Читать дальше...

Even on a blisteringly hot day in Marion, Kansas, Margaret Harris was not deterred from her task of tending to flowers memorializing her friend, Joan Meyer. At 98 years old, Meyer was a stalwart in this small Midwestern town, where she was co-owner of the local newspaper, the Marion County Record. Her friend, Harris, has lived in the area for more than 80 years and says she knew Meyer for decades. Meyer’s death one day after police raided the paper’s newsroom and her home was a shock both to Harris and the community of under 2,000 people. Читать дальше...

The separatist head of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh has resigned amid widespread food and fuel shortages resulting from an almost yearlong blockade of the territory by Azerbaijan. Arayik Haratyunyan, who is an ethnic Armenian, said in a statement on Thursday: "Tomorrow I will present to the people of the Artsakh Republic and the national assembly of Artsakh my resignation from the post of president of the republic." Artsakh is the Armenian name for the breakaway region. Haratyunyan... Читать дальше...

Hundreds of Eritrean government supporters and opponents clashed with each other and with Israeli police Saturday, leaving dozens injured in one of the most violent street confrontations among African asylum seekers and migrants in Tel Aviv in recent memory. Among those hurt were 30 police officers and three protesters hit by police fire. Eritreans from both sides faced off with construction lumber, pieces of metal, rocks and at least one axe, tearing through a neighborhood of south Tel Aviv where many asylum seekers live. Читать дальше...

After consulting with several doctors in the main city in Indian-controlled Kashmir, Aayat Hameed was advised to seek help from a mental health expert for her bouts of unspecified anxiety, random palpitation attacks and occasional but strong suicidal thoughts. A psychiatrist diagnosed her with acute depression. On a recent hot summer day, Hameed was among scores of other patients visiting a mental health clinic in Srinagar, where she had been undergoing rounds of counselling along with prescription medication. Читать дальше...

Human rights activists in Iran say protester Javad Rouhi, who died in custody, has been buried in his home region while questions remain about the cause of his death. Rouhi was buried in the village of Kalikan in Amol, reportedly with the presence of officials from the Islamic Republic. Human Rights Watch said Rouhi died Thursday under suspicious circumstances that raise concerns about his treatment. The Iran Human Rights Organization said Saturday the official medical report lists Rouhi's cause of death as "cardiac arrest." However... Читать дальше...

Typhoon Saola made landfall in southern China before dawn Saturday after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and parts of the coastal mainland suspended business, transport and classes. Damage appeared to be minimal, however, and some services were returning to normal by afternoon. Meanwhile, Taiwan issued a warning Saturday for a second typhoon, Haikui, which was expected to pass over the island Sunday before traveling onward to the central Chinese coast. Guangdong... Читать дальше...

Gabon reopened its borders on Saturday, an army spokesman said, three days after closing them during a military coup in which President Ali Bongo was ousted. Military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power Wednesday, placed Bongo under house arrest and installed Nguema as head of state, ending the Bongo family's 56-year hold on power. The coup — the ninth in the continent in three years — has raised concerns about a contagion of military takeovers across the region that have... Читать дальше...

A U.S. special envoy visited Lebanon this week in a bid to de-escalate border tensions between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s military and political powerbroker. Amos Hochstein, the U.S. special presidential coordinator for global infrastructure and energy security, brokered an historic maritime boundary agreement between warring Lebanon and Israel last October. Now, a war of words has escalated in recent months between Hezbollah and Israel over the land border while they prepare for possible conflict... Читать дальше...

Merchants throughout Pakistan closed their shops Saturday to protest the country’s steep electricity bills and mounting inflation. The general public has already mounted protests about Pakistan’s soaring cost of living.  "Everyone is participating” in the shutdown, Lahore's Township Traders Union president, Ajmal Hashmi, told AFP, “because the situation has become unbearable.” A deal with the International Monetary Fund has forced Pakistan to cut popular subsidies that helped cushion true costs. Читать дальше...

Gushiken Takamatsu balances his spectacles on the tip of his nose before switching on his headlight, revealing the blackened fragments on the floor of the cave. Using an old plasterer’s tool, he gently combs through the debris before picking out a jagged, triangular piece of bone. “Zugaikotsu,” he says, in a gentle Okinawan accent. “Skull.” He points to the patterns created by blood vessels on the inside of the skull, clearly visible after nearly 80 years. The 69-year-old speaks quietly to himself... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden heads to Florida on Saturday to survey damage caused by Hurricane Idalia and comfort people affected by the storm, but he will not be meeting Ron DeSantis, the state's Republican governor and a potential presidential rival. Biden, a Democrat, told reporters on Friday he would see the governor during the trip, but DeSantis's spokesman Jeremy Redfern said later that no meeting was planned and that "the security preparations alone that would go into setting up such a meeting... Читать дальше...

A road accident killed 16 people, mostly Iranian pilgrims, north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad overnight, the state news agency INA reported Saturday. The "horrible accident" between Dujail and Samarra also injured 13 people, INA said, citing the toll from Khaled Burhan, director of health services in Salaheddine province. He did not detail the circumstances of the crash but said most of the dead were Shiite Muslim pilgrims from Iran. Almost exactly a year ago, on Sept. 11, 11 Iranian Shiite... Читать дальше...

A little over a week after India became the first country to land on the moon’s south pole, it launched a rocket to study the sun, marking another milestone in its space exploration program that is growing in ambition. The rocket blasted off shortly before noon on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, in southern India, for a 1.5 million-kilometer, four-month journey toward the sun. “Mission accomplished,” the India Space Research Organization’s control room announced as... Читать дальше...

September 16 marks one year since Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran’s “morality” police. The 22-year-old Kurd was detained for allegedly violating the country’s Islamic dress code requiring that she cover her hair. Amini’s death sparked months of nationwide protests. Last November, Iranian officials acknowledged that more than 300 people died in those demonstrations. But human rights organizations say the death toll was much higher. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group and the U.S.-based... Читать дальше...

More than a dozen people nationally have been charged with threatening election workers by a Justice Department unit trying to stem the tide of violent and graphic threats against people who count and secure the vote. Government employees are being bombarded with threats even in normally quiet periods between elections, secretaries of state and experts warn. Some point to former President Donald Trump and his allies repeatedly and falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen and spreading conspiracy theories about election workers. Читать дальше...

UN Reveals China's Enforced Disappearances in Xinjiang The U.N.'s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has exposed further evidence of China's enforced disappearance practices in Xinjiang, particularly focusing on the plight of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in the region. Recent findings from the working group highlight the arbitrary nature of detentions, unfair trials and secrecy surrounding those who have disappeared, pointing toward China's potential breach of international human rights... Читать дальше...

The leader of a coup that this week overthrew Gabon's President Ali Bongo said Friday that he wanted to avoid rushing into elections that "repeat past mistakes," as pressure mounted on the junta to hand back power to a civilian government. Military officers led by General Brice Oligui Nguema seized power Wednesday, minutes after an announcement that Bongo had secured a third term in an election. The officers placed Bongo under house arrest and installed Nguema as head of state, ending the Bongo family's 56-year hold on power. Читать дальше...

Representatives from top African political and financial institutions are in Kenya preparing for the Africa Climate Summit. They’ve started meeting ahead of Monday’s summit to discuss possible responses to the climate change wreaking havoc in parts of Africa through increased droughts and food insecurity, triggering conflict and humanitarian crises. In the past few years, countries in Eastern Africa have been ravaged by drought, putting more than 20 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Читать дальше...

The elephant population in southern Africa has increased by 5% since 2016 to nearly 228,000, according to results of a first ever aerial census conducted last year. However, there are concerns over the animals’ mortality rate. The elephants are mostly found in a large conservation area, the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area, or KAZA. KAZA covers 520,000 square kilometers across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe and contains the world’s largest elephant population. Presenting the census results Thursday... Читать дальше...

On Friday, Texas became the most populous state with a ban in effect against gender-affirming care for minors. The law was allowed to kick in after a court ruling Thursday, part of a flurry of action across the country on policies aimed at transgender people and their rights. A separate Texas ruling blocked a law that drag show performers feared would shut them down. Here's a look at the latest developments and what's next. Texas gender-affirming care ban takes effect In its ruling Thursday... Читать дальше...

Typhoon Saola made landfall in southern China before dawn Saturday after nearly 900,000 people were moved to safety and most of Hong Kong and other parts of coastal southern China suspended business, transport and classes. Guangdong province's meteorological bureau said the powerful storm churned into an outlying district of the city of Zhuhai, just south of Hong Kong at 3:30 a.m. It was forecast to move in a southwesterly direction along the Guangdong coast at a speed of around 17 kph, gradually weakening before heading out to sea. Читать дальше...

Western leaders face a dilemma in dealing with Cambodia's new leader Hun Manet, eager to try to forge ties based on his education in the United States and Britain but hesitant to be seen as endorsing the undemocratic way in which he came to office weeks ago. "The fact that Hun Manet came to power in a non-democratic way will make it difficult for the United States to consider deepening ties with him," Charles Dunst, a non-resident fellow in the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)... Читать дальше...

Ecuadorian authorities announced Friday the release of 50 guards and seven police officers who were taken hostage for more than a day in what the government described as a response by criminal groups to its efforts to regain control of several correctional facilities in the South American country.  The country's corrections system, the National Service for Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty, said in a statement that the 57 law enforcement officers — who were held in six different prisons ... Читать дальше...