Новости за 10.10.2023

Malawi has started distributing free corn and cash to more than 4 million people facing food shortages largely because of the impact of Cyclone Freddy, which washed away thousands of hectares of crops in March. The move is in response to a recent report that said the situation is expected to worsen until the next harvesting season in March 2024. According to the report by the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, the number of people projected to face hunger this year in Malawi has increased to... Читать дальше...

Tens of millions in the Americas will have front-row seats for Saturday's rare "ring of fire" eclipse of the sun.  What's called an annular solar eclipse — better known as a ring of fire — will briefly dim the skies over parts of the western U.S. and Central and South America.  As the moon lines up precisely between Earth and the sun, it will blot out all but the sun's outer rim. A bright, blazing border will appear around the moon for as much as five minutes, wowing sky gazers along a narrow path stretching from Oregon to Brazil. Читать дальше...

Relatives of Thai workers kidnapped or killed by Hamas militants have spent the days since the attack on Israel patching together details from social media of what happened to their loved ones. Thailand is emerging as one of the nations most affected by a conflict thousands of kilometers away.  Eighteen Thais are feared dead in the violence, the Thai foreign ministry said on Tuesday, with 11 more believed held hostage by Hamas, nearly all from the poor northeastern region known as Isaan. But... Читать дальше...

October 14 is World Migratory Bird Day in the Southern Hemisphere. To better forecast bird migration, scientists are using machine learning and next-generation radar. The resulting “BirdCasts” offer new ways to help birds at risk. Shelley Schlender reports from the Rocky Mountain state of Colorado.

Utah on Tuesday became the latest U.S. state to sue TikTok, alleging the company is "baiting" children into addictive and unhealthy social media habits. TikTok lures children into hours of social media use, misrepresents the app's safety and deceptively portrays itself as independent of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, Utah claims in the lawsuit. "We will not stand by while these companies fail to take adequate, meaningful action to protect our children. We will prevail in holding social... Читать дальше...

The World Food Program called Tuesday for the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the Gaza Strip and appealed for the safe passage of its staff and essential assistance. In a statement, the WFP said it has launched an emergency operation to provide food assistance to more than 800,000 people in Gaza and the West Bank who lack access to food, water and essential supplies. The food agency said it already has distributed ready-to-eat items to 73,000 people who are in displaced-persons shelters in Gaza. Читать дальше...

Some 150 countries - many of them in Africa - have signed on to China’s 10-year-old Belt and Road Initiative also known as the BRI. And while the multibillion-dollar global infrastructure project helped bring roads, rails, infrastructure, it also left some countries saddled with debt. VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo takes a look at the impact the BRI has had in Africa and the benefits and critiques of the Chinese initiative. Camera: Amos Wangua

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

U.N. agencies are calling on Israel to lift its siege of Gaza, warning that the denial of lifesaving assistance is prohibited under international humanitarian law. "Goods that are vital for the survival of a civilian population must not be restricted," said Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, at a news briefing for reporters Tuesday in Geneva. "Civilians must be allowed to leave besieged areas if they wish to do so. Any restriction must be justified... Читать дальше...

The gate outside the Israeli Embassy compound in Azerbaijan on Sunday was festooned with flowers and teddy bears in a show of sympathy to those who died the day before in a surprise attack on Israel by Hamas militants. On X, formerly known as Twitter, the Israeli ambassador expressed his gratitude “in this dark hour of history.” "Thank you to the Azerbaijani people for this heartfelt gesture of friendship,” George Deek wrote. For a country where more than 90% of the population identifies as Muslim... Читать дальше...

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday that he made clear during talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Bejing that the United States wants equitable business relations with China, along with help in combating the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Schumer was part of a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation that met with Xi on Monday ahead of a potential meeting between Xi and President Joe Biden next month in San Francisco. An Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, summit takes place during the week of Nov. Читать дальше...

The United States has officially designated the July military takeover in Niger as a coup, a decision that limits U.S. military aid and coordination with a country the Pentagon has called a critical counter-terrorism partner in the region. “We’re taking this action because over the last two months, we’ve exhausted all available avenues to preserve constitutional order in Niger,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters Tuesday. The official said that the U.S. urged the military leaders... Читать дальше...

With easily accessible artificial intelligence programs available to write essays, and learning loss from pandemic restrictions hard to measure, some U.S. colleges are trying a new method to get to know applicants.   They are inviting potential students to campus.   Times Higher Education explains how personal interviews are being used to evaluate candidates.

The Bluegrass, The Kody Norris Show has released their latest album “Rhinestone Revival.”  The release of the new album comes with a feeling that listeners have just begun to witness The Kody Norris Show’s very own revival, as the band finds themselves sprinkling their iconic rhinestones on a few different music genres to solidify their place on the musical landscape.

The Hamas terrorist attacks and kidnappings in Israel that began Saturday appear to have at least temporarily put on hold a months-long U.S. public effort to mediate an Israeli-Saudi normalization agreement that would transform longstanding Mideast rivalries and alliances.  Asked about the U.S. mediation effort, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a series of appearances on U.S. Sunday talk shows that Biden administration is not currently focused on it.  Where does normalization process stand? Читать дальше...

Plastic pollution is one of the major environmental problems facing the world today, with less than 9% of plastic waste getting recycled. To help cut plastic pollution, a Kenyan entrepreneur is upcycling plastic bottles to build benches and create sitting areas in schools. Juma Majanga reports from Ongata Rongai, Kenya.

When Congress passed temporary funding for the U.S. government at the end of September, it left out economic assistance for two small Pacific nations that U.S. defense officials say are critical to Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy and are targets of China’s aggressive influence campaign. Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands control a large swath of the Pacific Ocean. Under a special agreement known as the Compacts of Free Association, or COFA, these three nations give Washington the right to deny access to other nations ... Читать дальше...

A Chinese dissident who was stranded in the transit area of a Taiwanese airport has arrived in Canada after Ottawa granted him asylum — but some observers say his path to safety, including stops in Laos, Thailand, and Taiwan, reflects the growing hardship that Chinese activists face when they try to leave China. “This case shows how difficult it is for Chinese human rights defenders to escape the country,” William Nee, research and advocacy coordinator at Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a U.S.-based activist network, told VOA by phone. Читать дальше...

Pausing during an early morning walk in northeastern Paris, Patrick Street assessed the fallout of the Hamas attack on Israel, thousands of miles away, which ruined the tail end of Jewish Sukkot celebrations with his family. “There’s no limit to the cruelty,” said Street, who has family in Israel, of the Hamas strikes that killed hundreds of Israelis— even as he recalled previous antisemitic attacks in France. “It’s just gratuitous hatred,” he said. “Kill just to kill.” As leaders across Europe... Читать дальше...

Israel said Tuesday it has regained control of its border with Gaza and could be poised to launch a punishing ground assault into the Hamas-controlled, densely populated strip of land along the Mediterranean Sea, even as Israeli and militant forces bombarded each other with hours of missile attacks. Four days after the Islamist Hamas group shocked Israel with a massive barrage of missile fire and broke through border barriers, Israeli Brigadier General Dan Goldfuss of the 98th Paratroopers Division... Читать дальше...

Doctors attending opposition leader and former prime minister Khaleda Zia in Bangladesh her life is in danger as the government will not allow her to leave the country for urgent medical intervention abroad. “Suffering from advanced cirrhosis of the liver, Khaleda Zia is at a high risk of dying and she urgently needs a liver transplant at a multidisciplinary advanced medical facility abroad,” Dr. Fakhruddin Mohammad Siddiqui — a member of a medical board taking care of Zia, 78 — said in a news conference in Dhaka Monday. Читать дальше...

A Kenyan court on Monday temporarily suspended a government plan to send police to Haiti on a U.N.-backed mission aiming to restore calm to the gang-infested Caribbean nation. The U.N. Security Council last week approved a Kenyan-led multinational security force for the troubled country, with Nairobi promising 1,000 police officers. But a Nairobi court granted an interim injunction on Monday in a case brought by opposition politician Ekuru Aukot, who argued the deployment was unconstitutional as it was not backed by any law or treaty. Читать дальше...

At least 29 people are dead after an artillery strike on a camp housing internally displaced persons in northern Myanmar near the Chinese border, according to sources in the region. News outlets say the attack occurred late Monday night in the town of Laiza, which is controlled by the Kachin Independence Army, the military arm of an ethnic group that has been fighting the Myanmar army for greater autonomy for decades. Local media outlets reportedly showed images of several bodies laid out along the ground... Читать дальше...

Australia is urging restraint and is expressing support for Israel and its right to defend itself after the attack by Hamas militants. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators Monday marched through Sydney, where they gathered at the steps of the Opera House.  Its famous sails have been lit up in the blue and white of the Israeli flag as a show of solidarity with Jewish communities in Australia. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had called for the pro-Palestinian march in Sydney to be abandoned. Читать дальше...

Australians go to the polls Saturday in a vote for a constitutional change that, if successful, would guarantee Indigenous people a say in parliament, after a campaign that has been widely criticized for dividing the country through racist undertones. The latest opinion polls indicate the ‘yes’ campaign is struggling to win over a majority of Australians and four of the six states required to change the constitution, a major setback for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who initially put forward the proposal in March. Читать дальше...