Новости за 05.10.2023

More than a dozen Ugandan journalists were reportedly assaulted and had their equipment vandalized Thursday by security agents deployed to control anti-government protests called by the leader of Uganda's opposition National Unity Platform Party. Police said the journalists were disrupting their operations at Entebbe International Airport, where opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi was arriving from the U.S.  Before his return, Kyagulanyi, who goes by the stage name Bobi Wine, had called on Ugandans... Читать дальше...

AT&T and Gallaudet University have developed a football helmet for players who are deaf or hard of hearing and communicate using American Sign Language.  The company and the Washington-based school for students who are deaf or hard of hearing unveiled the new technology Thursday.  It allows a coach to call a play on a tablet from the sideline that then shows up visually on a small display screen inside the quarterback's helmet. Gallaudet, which competes in Division III, was cleared by the... Читать дальше...

Human Rights Watch has called on governments working the facilitate peace in the Nagorno-Karabakh region to ensure the right of ethnic Armenians to return to the region. The military offensive taken by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh region caused many Armenians to leave in late September.  Nearly 100,000 ethnic Armenians have fled the region they once controlled following hostilities enacted by the Azerbaijani military and in fear that aggressive action could continue from Azerbaijan's forces. Читать дальше...

An Iranian rights group says authorities have detained the mother of a teenage girl who remains hospitalized following what activists call a confrontation with police for not wearing a hijab. Rights group Hengaw reported the arrest Thursday of the mother of Armita Geravand. Geravand was on her way to school with friends on Sunday morning without wearing the mandatory hijab. Activists say she entered Line 4 of the Tehran subway, and at Shohada Square Station, following an altercation with authorities... Читать дальше...

Scores of Syrians were killed or wounded Thursday when drones struck a graduation ceremony for army officers in Homs, according to reports by a war monitoring organization and a statement from Syria’s defense ministry. It was unclear who was responsible for the carnage. The army confirmed that drones strapped with explosives wreaked havoc on the graduation ceremony as it was ending. Army officials did not provide an official tally of the casualties but did say that women and children were among those in critical condition. Читать дальше...

Zimbabwean author Tsitsi Dangarembga received the Africa Freedom Prize in Johannesburg on Thursday, which is awarded to individuals who “have shown remarkable courage and dedication to advancing the cause of freedom, democracy and human rights on the African continent.” Tsitsi Dangarembga has long been one of Zimbabwe’s most highly regarded and beloved fiction writers — from her lauded first novel “Nervous Conditions” in 1988 to “This Mournable Body,” which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2020. Читать дальше...

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan is accusing the government of suppressing opposition voices, restricting media freedom, and interfering with civil society. The commission says these violations weaken the country's accountability and democratic process. The commission blamed South Sudan's intelligence agency for violating human rights and meddling with people's lives, employing tactics reminiscent of the methods used by Sudan's security agencies against the South prior to its secession. Читать дальше...

Lebanon is pushing back on the European Union’s calls for the country to assist migrants and refugees from Syria.  There are growing concerns that Lebanon’s collapsing economy is fueling anti-immigrant sentiment and putting the country on a dangerous course. Lebanon’s caretaker interior minister, Bassam Mawlawi, has accused Syrian refugees and migrants of committing crimes, taking away jobs from Lebanese and potentially creating a demographic imbalance along sectarian lines, saying their numbers... Читать дальше...

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

The future of a $100 billion development on Malaysia’s coast is in doubt due to growing concerns over the financial stability of its largest backer, China’s Country Garden. The property giant has reported billions of dollars in losses — but insists that its showpiece Forest City project in Malaysia is safe. Adam Hancock has this story from Johor, Malaysia. Camera — Wen Yi Chen.

Colleges often require letters of recommendation, especially from a teacher who knows your academic work well. Ilana Kowarski and Cole Claybourn review what makes a good letter stand out in U.S. News & World Report. (August 2023) [[ ]]

After years of enduring conferences about China whose panels primarily featured men — dubbed “manels” — and reading articles on China that mainly cited men, Joanna Chiu was fed up. Years before foreign correspondents were being forced to leave China in droves, and even before headlines documented the widespread online harassment that female reporters face over their China coverage, the more obvious issue, according to Chiu, was the sidelining of female experts on China. The excuse that there... Читать дальше...

In less than a year, ChatGPT — the AI-powered chatbot — has altered the way people use and abuse artificial intelligence. And while some educators are working to keep it out of the classroom, some say it’s welcome. Karina Bafradzhian has the story. Camera — David Gogokhia.

In late July, Ghana’s parliament voted to make it a crime to accuse a person of witchcraft. If the president signs the bill into law, it will also force the closure of camps where hundreds of accused witches live in exile. Hamza Adams has the report, Narrated by Grace Oyenubi. Video edits: Betty Ayoub, Marcus Harton

The University of Texas system, one of the largest in the U.S., is “betting big” on microcredentials, or academic certifications short of a degree. UT is partnering with Coursera to do so, as well as big tech firms like IBM and Google. The goal for the 30,000 students expected to participate is to help them build skills employers want. Lauren Coffey of Inside Higher Ed reviews the new program. (September 2023)

All About America explores American culture, politics, trends, history, ideals and places of interest. Money may not buy happiness, but a new analysis of the happiest and unhappiest U.S. states suggests the lack of cash can contribute to a person’s misery. “The thing about money and happiness is that being increasingly and increasingly wealthy doesn't make you more and more happy, but experiencing poverty definitely can make you unhappy,” says Miriam Liss, professor of psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg... Читать дальше...

As is the case in Italy, Greece is facing new wave of illegal immigration, and as it boosts measures to contain the influx, the government is now pressing its European Union partners to join forces in deporting migrants back to their countries. Greece is expected to raise the proposal at a meeting of national leaders in Spain this week but mustering an agreement among the EU's 27 members may be difficult. Greek migration minister Dimitris Keridis revealed the proposal as the government in Athens grows “wary and concerned,” as he put it... Читать дальше...

U.S. President Joe Biden’s dog Commander has been removed from the White House after a series of biting incidents. "Commander is not presently on the White House campus while next steps are evaluated,” Elizabeth Alexander, communications director for first lady Jill Biden, said in a statement Wednesday. Commander was last seen at the White House on Saturday when photographers spotted the two-year-old German shepherd on an upper balcony. Alexander did not say where the dog was sent, and it was not clear if the move was permanent. Читать дальше...

The Israeli military said its troops killed two Palestinians during a clash Thursday in the occupied West Bank. An Israel Defense Forces statement said the exchange of gunfire happened after soldiers pursued a car, following reports of shots being fired at an Israeli vehicle near the town of Tulkarm in the northern part of the West Bank. The Israeli military said an M-16 rifle and ammunition magazines were found in the car. The Palestinian health ministry said the men killed were 23 and 27 years old. Читать дальше...

Australia says it will combat rampant visa fraud that has left human trafficking unchecked after a government review found "grotesque abuses" of temporary migrants, including sexual exploitation and human smuggling. Australia’s government said Thursday that the country’s immigration control apparatus is broken. Home Affairs minister Clare O’Neil told reporters deficiencies in the immigration system, including a lack of staff, have allowed international criminal gangs to transport trafficking... Читать дальше...

It's been 15 years since the world's elite gas balloon pilots have gathered in the United States for a race with roots that stretch back more than a century. The pilots will be launching for this year's Gordon Bennett competition during an international balloon fiesta that draws hundreds of thousands of spectators to the heart of New Mexico each fall. The race has been held in the United States only 13 times before, and this will be the fifth time the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta has played host. Читать дальше...

Japan's wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant said it began releasing a second batch of treated radioactive wastewater into the sea on Thursday after the first round of discharges ended smoothly. Plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings said workers activated a pump to dilute the treated water with large amounts of seawater, slowly sending the mixture into the ocean through an underground tunnel. The wastewater discharges, which are expected to continue for decades, have been strongly... Читать дальше...

After a summer of record-smashing heat, warming somehow got even worse in September as Earth set a new mark for how far above normal temperatures were, the European climate agency reported Thursday. Last month's average temperature was 0.93 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average for September. That's the warmest margin above average for a month in 83 years of records kept by the European Space Agency's Copernicus Climate Change Service. "It's just mind-blowing really," said Copernicus Director Carlo Buontempo. Читать дальше...

The increasingly urgent threat posed by climate change is pushing ASEAN nations to start cooperating on a 20-year-old plan to develop a regional power-sharing grid. The goal is to speed the transition to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and hydroelectric power by facilitating the transfer of energy from countries where there is a surplus to countries that need it. In August, utility companies in Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding to study 18 potential locations... Читать дальше...

Senior U.S. officials including Secretary of State Antony Blinken were in Mexico on Wednesday for talks with Mexican officials on the drug trade and a humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border.  Blinken will be joined by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The U.S. delegation is set to meet with Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Rosa Icela Rodriguez, secretary for Security and Citizen Protection.  The meeting comes at a time of rising tension between the two nations. Читать дальше...