Новости за 24.10.2023

As the world seeks strong leadership to find solutions to its many social, political and economic crises, Africa is celebrating 50 young people who are making a difference on the continent. They have been named “Global Changemakers” at an African Youth Summit in Rawsonville, South Africa. Vicky Stark was there and filed this report. Camera — Shadley Lombard.

Video footage, witness testimony and recovered documents prove Hamas planned to kill civilians as part of its October 7 operation.

Thirty-three U.S. states are suing Meta Platforms Inc., accusing it of damaging young people's mental health through the addictive nature of their social media platforms. The suit filed Tuesday in federal court in Oakland, California, alleges Meta knowingly installed addictive features on its social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook, and has collected data on children younger than 13, without their parents' consent, violating federal law. "Research has shown that young people's use of Meta's... Читать дальше...

Fears of a new conflict are growing as Turkey and Azerbaijan demand a corridor through Armenian territory after last month's forced exodus of ethnic Armenians from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, the demands come as Iran hosts peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Some Islamic organizations, Jewish temples of worship and even schools in the United States have received threats of violence as the war between Israel and Hamas continues. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks into what is driving the anger and how those communities are trying to remain safe.

Violence among the Eritrean diaspora has broken out in Europe, the Middle East and North America in recent weeks. Hundreds have been arrested in clashes between supporters and opponents of the Eritrean government. In this report from Stuttgart, Germany, Henry Wilkins speaks with members of the Eritrean diaspora about what has triggered these new clashes.

Donald Trump arbitrarily inflated the value of his real estate assets in order to secure favorable insurance premiums, Trump's former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen testified at the former president's civil fraud case.  Cohen, who cut ties with the former U.S. president five years ago, is now a key witness in a case brought by Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James. In the suit, James alleges Trump inflated the value of his family companies' properties. The case threatens to break up Trump's business empire. Читать дальше...

The Pakistani government approved the creation of several deportation centers for hundreds of thousands of illegally residing Afghan nationals they plan to arrest and repatriate to Afghanistan starting next month, VOA learned Tuesday. Approval of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan comes ahead of the November 1 deadline the government set for all “illegal/unregistered foreigners" and those "overstaying their visa validity periods” to return to their countries of origin or face deportation for breaching Pakistan’s immigration laws. Читать дальше...

Jenna Ellis, a lawyer who supported former U.S. President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that he was cheated out of winning reelection in 2020, tearfully pleaded guilty Tuesday to illegally working to overturn his loss in the southern state of Georgia and agreed to testify against him and others in upcoming trials. Ellis, 38, became the fourth of Trump’s 18 co-defendants in the sprawling criminal racketeering case to plead guilty. As with the other cases, her plea deal with Fulton County District... Читать дальше...

Republican Representative Tom Emmer became his party’s third nominee for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives in three weeks Tuesday, as lawmakers struggle to fill one of the top leadership roles in the U.S. government. The role of Speaker of the House has been vacant since October 3 when Rep. Kevin McCarthy became the first-ever speaker to be removed from his position. Eight Republicans joined with all 212 House Democrats for that vote. A right-wing faction of the Republican party was... Читать дальше...

An Afghan-French journalist who spent 284 days imprisoned in Afghanistan has recalled how he was beaten, nearly choked, and interrogated.  Speaking at a news conference in the French capital, Paris, on Monday, the newly released Mortaza Behboudi said he didn’t think he would make it out of custody alive.  The Taliban arrested Behboudi outside Kabul University in January while the reporter was working on a story about how female students are banned from higher education. He was held on charges... Читать дальше...

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

The International Monetary Fund is cautioning African nations about the possibility of a regional economic downturn and the ripple effects that China's slowing economy could bring. Africa and China have forged economic ties over the past 20 years, making the Asian giant the continent's largest trading partner. Africa exports metals, minerals and fuel to China, while importing manufactured goods and machinery from that country. The IMF says the partnership is threatened by China's economic slowdown and aging population... Читать дальше...

Africa is facing a shortage of teachers in many schools due to an increase in the number of students seeking education and a lack of resources in the education sector, according to UNESCO. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says despite some gains in the past five years in teacher recruitment, progress has been slow, and many countries need to increase the number of teachers they recruit yearly.  Patrick Nkengne, a senior education analyst at UNESCO... Читать дальше...

U.N. agencies are urgently appealing for Israel’s siege on Gaza to be lifted and for the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory. Gaza was placed under a complete siege following the October 7 attack in southern Israel by Hamas militants. No food, water or medical supplies were allowed into the enclave for two weeks. Aid started to come in on Saturday through the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt. “Since October 21, three convoys of humanitarian supplies have gone into the strip... Читать дальше...

Phoenix, Arizona, in America’s Southwest, is the site of a Taiwanese semiconductor chip making facility. One part of President Joe Biden’s cornerstone agenda is to rely less on manufacturing from overseas and boost domestic production of chips that run everything from phones to cars. Many Taiwanese workers who moved to the U.S. to work at the facility — face the challenges of living in a new land. VOA’s Stella Hsu, Enming Liu and Elizabeth Lee have the story.

A Hong Kong court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that grants equal inheritance rights to same-sex couples. The Court of Appeal rejected the government’s motion to block the ruling, which said same-sex couples can enjoy such rights under the city’s two inheritance laws. The rulings came out of a lawsuit filed in 2019 by Edgar Ng, who was concerned that if he died without a will, his properties would not be passed on to his partner, Henri Li. The two married in London in 2017. Ng died in 2020. A... Читать дальше...

South Africa is hosting a summit for participants in the U.S. government's duty-free Africa Growth and Opportunity Act from November 2 to 4 as the act comes up for renewal. Kate Bartlett spoke to the owners of one South African company about how the trade initiative — which benefits more than 30 countries on the continent — helped them grow their business and enter the U.S. market. VOA footage by Zaheer Cassim.

Ghana's coastline is home to dozens of historic forts, castles and other UNESCO World Heritage sites, which are threatened by coastal erosion and frequent tidal waves. Illegal sand mining is making the problem worse. A photographer whose ancestral home has been submerged about three kilometers into the ocean is using photo exhibitions to raise awareness about the situation. Senanu Tord reports from Ada, Ghana.

Katalina Karikó won the award for helping pioneer mRNA technology, which was used to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. Before that, she fled authoritarian Hungary, failed to earn tenure and toiled as an underpaid research assistant for years, with few taking her ideas seriously. Yet she never gave up on her research. In this op-ed for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Dr. Priya E. Mammen insists that Karikó’s accomplishment is "nothing short of heroic."

Suspected Islamist militants killed at least 26 people in an attack in the town of Oicha in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Monday night, the mayor said on Tuesday. He attributed the killings to the Allied Democratic Forces, or ADF, a Ugandan armed group based in eastern Congo that has pledged allegiance to Islamic State and launches frequent attacks. The attack took place around 11 p.m., said Nicolas Kikuku, the mayor of Oicha, which is in North Kivu province. Four people were wounded and taken to hospital, he said. Читать дальше...

Three separate armed attacks in Mexico on Monday left at least 24 people dead, including a dozen police officers, authorities said about the latest violence to hit regions plagued by drug trafficking. In the deadliest incident, unidentified attackers targeted a security patrol in Guerrero state's municipality of Coyuca de Benitez, prosecutor Alejandro Hernandez said. At least 13 people were killed and two others wounded in that attack, the state prosecutor's office said in a statement, with Hernandez... Читать дальше...

A Kenyan court extended on Tuesday a temporary order barring the government from deploying hundreds of police officers to Haiti in a U.N.-approved mission aimed at helping the Caribbean nation tackle gang violence, a lawyer who filed the case said. Following an appeal for assistance from Haiti, Kenya in July offered to send 1,000 officers to help restore security amid a worsening crisis in which gangs have forced around 200,000 people to flee their homes. But the plan was temporarily put on hold... Читать дальше...

Artificial intelligence is giving people new ways to remember loved ones who have died. But does is it going too far? VOA’s Maxim Moskalkov has the story. Camera and editing: Andrey Degtyarev, Anna Rice, Adam Greenbaum

China removed its defense minister on Tuesday, the second ousting of a senior leader in three months, raising questions about the stability of the leadership team around Chinese President Xi Jinping.   General Li Shangfu, who has been absent from public view for two months, was dismissed as defense minister and state councilor, according to state media.   China also announced that Qin Gang, who was removed as foreign minister in July, was stripped of his state councilor position.  China's top legislators... Читать дальше...