Новости за 25.10.2023

Zimbabwe's vice president on Wednesday said the country has lost more than $150 billion due to sanctions imposed by the European Union and countries such as the United States following reports of election rigging and human rights abuses in the early 2000s. Speaking to protesters rallying against the sanctions, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said the measures were also hurting the entire southern Africa region. He called the sanctions an “albatross” around Zimbabwe's neck, as they include... Читать дальше...

The Canadian government report exposed China’s Spamouflage campaign designed to use social media to influence public opinion and politics in target countries.

The Taliban are pushing back against persistent global criticism of their Islamic governance in Afghanistan, claiming their supreme leader's decrees, including a general amnesty, have promoted national reconciliation and put the war-torn country on the path to stability. Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief Taliban spokesman, Wednesday posted a 40-minute promotional video documentary on social media, showcasing some of the decrees and touting their "good" outcomes more than two years into their male-only government, known as the Islamic Emirate. Читать дальше...

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved the nomination of Jacob Lew to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. The Senate could vote on Lew’s confirmation as early as next week. It’s expected to move on the nomination quickly, given the critical nature of U.S.-Israeli ties amid Israel's raging conflict with Hamas. Lew was approved by the committee Wednesday on a 12-9 vote, with all Republicans except for Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky voting against him. Lew, who previously served... Читать дальше...

After a career spanning three decades and just as many continents, the Wall Street Journal’s Paul Beckett has a new assignment that he hopes will be his shortest yet: freeing his colleague Evan Gershkovich.   Since Gershkovich was detained in Russia in March, Beckett has been working on his case in an informal capacity in addition to his duties as Washington bureau chief. But in his new role as assistant editor, Gershkovich will be Beckett’s sole priority. “The longer this goes on, the harder... Читать дальше...

Pakistan's Supreme Court this week declared that trying civilians in military courts is unlawful. The ruling immediately affects more than 100 people in military custody who were arrested when supporters of former Prime Minster Imran Khan stormed military installations to protest his May 9 arrest. VOA Pakistan bureau chief Sarah Zaman spoke with the father of one of the accused, who says he is encouraged by the top court’s decision. VOA footage by Naveed Nasim.

Detained Senegalese opposition figure Ousmane Sonko, who eight days ago resumed a hunger strike, is "very weak" and in an intensive care unit, one of his attorneys told AFP on Wednesday. Sonko briefly fell into a coma on October 23, Cire Cledor Ly said, adding that he had been able to speak with the politician a day earlier. He said Sonko regained consciousness the same day, but remained frail. "The situation is alarming - the doctors are giving him treatment that he is unable to refuse," Cledor Ly said. Читать дальше...

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

India has decided to resume visa services for Canadians after suspending them in September amid recent frosty diplomatic relations, India’s High Commission in Ottawa announced Wednesday. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar earlier promised to reopen visa offerings if Canada addressed “security threats” that New Delhi claimed its diplomats were facing. In Wednesday’s press release, India’s High Commission in Ottawa promised to allow Canadians to apply for entry, business, medical and conference visas... Читать дальше...

Canada is on the brink of fulfilling its commitment to accept 40,000 Afghans before the end of this year. The pledge, made by Ottawa in August 2021 when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, was driven by concerns for the safety of Afghans who had collaborated with Canadian programs and the former Afghan government. In the past two years, Canada has successfully assisted the resettlement of at least 39,730 Afghans, as reported by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). More... Читать дальше...

Iran’s deeply rooted support for Hamas remains the main source of instability in the region. The Iranian regime celebrated the October 7 attack on Israel that triggered the most devastating crisis in decades.

The chief justice of Kenya has sent a proposal to parliament that calls for removing the death penalty for the crimes of murder, violent theft and treason, saying the proposed changes aim to put the country’s laws more in line with international human rights standards. Kenya's Chief Justice Martha Koome is seeking changes to certain laws drafted in 1930, before Kenya gained independence, that seek harsher penalties for capital offenders. Senator Samson Cherargei, a ruling party member of parliament... Читать дальше...

Billions of dollars in international economic aid will be needed to reverse decades of border closures, military operations and de-development in Gaza, according to a report published Wednesday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD. “While lifting all restrictions is a necessary condition for sustainable recovery, it is by no means sufficient,” the report said.   “Donors and the international community need to extend significant economic aid to repair the extensive... Читать дальше...

Michael Cohen returned to the witness stand Wednesday in his ex-boss Donald Trump's civil business fraud trial as the former president's defense team tried to undermine the credibility of his onetime personal attorney turned adversary.  During his first day of testimony Tuesday, Cohen said he and key executives at Trump's company worked to inflate the estimated values of their employer's holdings so documents given to banks and others would match a net worth that Trump had set "arbitrarily."  ... Читать дальше...

The removal of Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu is a sign of growing turbulence in China’s political system under the leadership of Xi Jinping, some analysts say. They also say his removal Tuesday and that of another top-level official in recent months just as Xi begins a norm-breaking third term in office may only be the beginning of an emerging trend.  “The Chinese Communist Party used to have some kind of check and balance in their system, [but since Xi began his third term,] no one can play... Читать дальше...

California Governor Gavin Newsom met Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday to discuss climate change, raising hopes that China and the United States can find common ground ahead of an APEC summit and COP28 climate meeting next month. Xi and U.S President Joe Biden are expected to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November, although the meeting has not been confirmed. Newsom told reporters after the meeting that he had an opportunity to focus more deeply... Читать дальше...

As colleges become battlegrounds for U.S. politics, and face declining enrollments, educators are worried that they have lost the American public’s trust. One way to fix this might be to expand access to online degrees. Michael D. Smith, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, argues that academics should embrace digitization as a means of saving the institutions they work for. Read his take in the Chronicle of Higher Education. (October 2023)

Hong Kong’s leader says the semi-autonomous city will pass its own internal security law next year, four years after Beijing imposed its set of draconian laws on the financial hub. Chief Executive John Lee announced the plan Wednesday during his annual policy address before the legislature. Hong Kong was engulfed by massive pro-democracy protests in 2019 that often turned into violent confrontations between demonstrators and security forces. Beijing responded the next year by imposing a sweeping... Читать дальше...

Lawmakers in Ghana last year passed a law to allow regulated mining activities in the country's forest reserves. Environmental advocates say the law threatens protected biodiversity reserves and are petitioning the government to repeal it. Senanu Tord reports from Atewa, Ghana

Life expectancy and homicide data suggests that Russia is not safer than European countries.

Talks between Sudan’s warring factions will resume Thursday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with a focus on securing access for humanitarian aid to reach beleaguered civilians, according to senior U.S. State Department officials.  The United States and Saudi Arabia have brokered multiple cease-fires between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at talks in Jeddah since May, but fighting has continued in Khartoum and elsewhere, with each side accusing the other of cease-fire violations. Читать дальше...

Zara-owner Inditex, the world's biggest clothing retailer, has agreed to buy recycled polyester from a U.S. start-up as it aims for 25% of its fibers to come from "next-generation" materials by 2030. As fast-fashion retailers face pressure to reduce waste and use recycled fabrics, Inditex is spending more than $74 million to secure supply from Los Angeles-based Ambercycle of its recycled polyester made from textile waste. Polyester, a product of the petroleum industry, is widely used in sportswear as it is quick-drying and durable. Читать дальше...

Hurricane Otis ripped through the Mexican beach resort of Acapulco as a Category 4 storm early on Wednesday, battering hotels and sending tourists running for cover as it pummeled the southern Pacific coast with torrential rain and high winds. Videos broadcast on social media showed rooms wrecked by the passing of the hurricane, ceilings and walls rent open and cars partly submerged in floodwaters as the southern state of Guerrero awoke to the disarray left in Otis' wake. Mexico's civil protection... Читать дальше...

Japan's Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that a law requiring transgender people to undergo sterilization surgery in order to officially change their gender is unconstitutional. The decision by the top court's 15-judge Grand Bench was its first on the constitutionality of Japan's 2003 law requiring the removal of sex organs for a state-recognized gender change, a practice long criticized by international rights and medical groups. The decision, which requires the government to reconsider the law... Читать дальше...

As tensions in the Middle East escalate following the Hamas terror attack on Israel – and Israel’s subsequent bombing of Hamas targets in Gaza – the future of Iran’s nuclear program remains unresolved. As Henry Ridgwell reports, the West sees Tehran as the major backer of Hamas, and the group’s attack on Israel has set back efforts to de-escalate tensions with Iran.