Новости за 28.10.2023

An estimated 180,000 people marched through Taipei on Saturday in a riotous and noisy celebration of LGBTQ+ equality and diversity at east Asia's largest Pride march, with Vice President Lai Ching-te becoming the most senior government leader ever to attend. The event took place ahead of Taiwan's presidential and parliamentary elections in January, and Lai, leading opinion polls to be elected president, joined the ruling Democratic Progressive Party's delegation, seeking to cement its position as a defender of liberal values. Читать дальше...

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi warned Saturday against expanding the conflict in Gaza, calling the entire region a "ticking time bomb." Egypt also reported it shot down several drones Friday that it said were sent by Yemen's pro-Iranian Houthi militia. Lebanon's Hezbollah, another Iranian proxy militia, also has been firing rockets and other shells at northern Israel since the conflict began, including a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone along the two nations’ border Saturday. Читать дальше...

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday that he was encouraged by the growing international consensus for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, but that instead of a pause he was “surprised by an unprecedented escalation” of bombings in the Gaza Strip. “This situation must be reversed,” Guterres said in a statement. “I reiterate my strong appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, together with the unconditional release of hostages and a delivery of humanitarian relief at the... Читать дальше...

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators rallied in cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia on Saturday to show support for the Palestinians as Israel's military widened its air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. In one of the biggest marches, in London, aerial footage showed large crowds marching through the center of the capital to demand the government of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak call for a cease-fire. "The superpowers at play are not doing enough at the moment. This is why we're here... Читать дальше...

Editor's note: Here is a look at immigration-related news around the U.S. this week. Questions? Tips? Comments? Email the VOA immigration team: ImmigrationUnit@voanews.com. Is There a Path to Refugee Resettlement for Palestinians? Palestinians are the largest stateless community worldwide, according to the United Nations, and when they become refugees, the way to resettlement in the United States or other countries is not a straightforward journey. Immigration reporter Aline Barros reports. Canada Admits Nearly 40,000 Afghans... Читать дальше...

Palestinians are the largest stateless community worldwide, according to the United Nations, and when they become refugees, the way to resettlement is not a straightforward journey. Refugees are a product of conflict. While the roots of the Israel-Gaza war trace back decades, the recent fighting flared on October 7 when Hamas militants attacked Israelis, killing 1,400 and abducting more than 200 back to the Gaza Strip. The U.S. designated Hamas a terror organization in 1997. In response, Israel... Читать дальше...

Calls for peace are growing amid escalating violence between Israel and Hamas, putting the lives and well-being of millions of Palestinian civilians trapped and under siege in Gaza at risk. “The violence needs to end, and there need to be strong efforts to seek an alternative to this carnage,” said Volker Turk, high commissioner for human rights in a statement Friday. Turk warned that a humanitarian catastrophe was unfolding for the 2.2 million people locked inside Gaza who he said are being collectively punished. Читать дальше...

The Australian Capital Territory, which includes Canberra and surrounding areas, Saturday became Australia’s first jurisdiction to decriminalize possession of small amounts of illegal drugs. The Australian Capital Territory, or ACT, now considers illegal drug use a health, not criminal, issue. While the ACT government has promised to remain tough on dealers and traffickers, it wants low-level cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine users to receive treatment, a police caution or a fine rather than going to court. Читать дальше...

As many as 400,000 people are estimated to have suffered sexual abuse from Spain’s Catholic clergy and lay people, according to an independent commission. At least half of the victims may have been children, said the nearly 800-page report released to the speaker of the Spanish parliament’s lower house Friday and then to reporters. Conducted by Spain’s ombudsman, Angel Gabilondo, who said the Church had often minimized or denied people’s reports of abuse, Spain’s first official probe of sex abuse... Читать дальше...

Tens of thousands of books are being banned or restricted by U.S. prisons, according to a new report from PEN America. The list includes titles ranging from self-help books to an Elmore Leonard novel. "The common concept underpinning the censorship we're seeing is that certain ideas and information are a threat," said the report's lead author, Moira Marquis, senior manager in the prison and justice writing department at PEN, the literary and free expression organization. Timed to the start Wednesday of Prison Banned Books Week... Читать дальше...

Wife of Uyghur in Critical Condition in Xinjiang Prison Appeals for Medical Care Mexmutjan Memet, a Uyghur man serving a 20-year prison sentence in Xinjiang, is reportedly in critical condition due to poor prison conditions, according to his wife. Memet had returned to Xinjiang in 2016 to accompany his mother back after her visit to Turkey, only to have his passport confiscated upon arrival, leading to his arrest in 2017. He was charged with violating China's one-child policy, providing religious education to his children... Читать дальше...

Serbian police have arrested six people and seized automatic weapons after a shooting between migrants near the country's tense border with Hungary killed three people and injured one. Police said late Friday they detained four Afghan and two Turkish nationals suspected of unlawful possession of guns and explosives. It was not immediately clear whether they would be charged with the shooting as well. The suspected clash between groups of migrants happened early Friday in abandoned farming warehouses near the village of Horgos. Читать дальше...

Armita Geravand, a 16-year-old Iranian girl, has died following an alleged encounter with officers over violating the country's hijab law, the official IRNA news agency reported on Saturday.  "Unfortunately, she went into a coma for some time after suffering from brain damage. She died a few minutes ago," IRNA reported.  Geravand had been pronounced brain dead last week after she fell into a coma on October 1.    The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police last September... Читать дальше...

Good Samaritans came across the life raft on Oct. 26, 2023. A second individual who started the journey with the survivor remains missing. The incident remains under investigation.

An alliance of ethnic rebel groups on Friday launched a coordinated offensive in northeastern Myanmar to seize military targets in areas near the Chinese border, the groups and residents of the area said. The Arakan Army, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta'ang National Liberation Army — calling themselves the Three Brotherhood Alliance — said in a joint statement that they have begun "Operation 1027" in Myanmar's Shan state. The offensive could become a new major front in the strife-torn Southeast Asian nation. Читать дальше...

A mining company's search for gold is creating "extraordinary" threats to Cambodia's Prey Lang Wildlife Sanctuary, according to a new report by the Swiss international organization Bruno Manser Fonds, which focuses on human rights and the environment.   Late Cheng Mining Development Company is developing two large-scale gold mines in Kampong Thom province, around 200 kilometers from Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, according to the report. The $13 million, 15,000-hectare project is expected to last 15 years and generate 300 jobs... Читать дальше...

Protests in Mozambique over disputed local election results resulted in the deaths of a police officer and a civilian Friday, a corruption watchdog group said. Police reported a total of 70 arrests in four cities but not any fatalities.  The unrest followed Thursday's official validation of the election results, which gave the ruling Frelimo party victory in 64 out of 65 municipalities. A consortium of election observers had reported widespread ballot stuffing, voter intimidation and falsification... Читать дальше...

Robert Card, who officials believe to be responsible for the mass shooting in the northern U.S. state of Maine, has been found dead, state officials said Friday.  Michael Sauschuk, the Maine commissioner of public safety, told a news conference that Card died from an "apparent, self-inflicted gunshot wound."  Governor Janet Mills said Card's body was found in Lisbon Falls, Maine.  Authorities had been searching for Card in connection with a mass shooting Wednesday at two locations — a bowling alley and a bar and grill ... Читать дальше...

Former U.S. President Donald Trump is set to testify November 6 at his New York civil fraud trial, following his three eldest children to the witness stand in a case that threatens to disrupt their family's real estate empire, state lawyers said Friday.  It was already expected that the former president and sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump would testify. The timing became clear Friday, after Judge Arthur Engoron ruled that daughter Ivanka Trump also must appear, rejecting her bid to avoid testifying. Читать дальше...

The Islamic State group claimed on its Telegram channel Friday that it was behind a blast at a sports club that killed four people in the Afghan capital the night before. The Sunni Muslim extremist group said it had used a parcel bomb that "IS fighters placed in a room where Shiites gather." The explosion occurred Thursday evening at a commercial center in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood of Kabul, an enclave of the historically oppressed Shiite Hazara community, according to police. Police... Читать дальше...

Iran's foreign minister warned Friday that Lebanese and Palestinian militants had their "finger on the trigger" in anticipation of an Israeli ground offensive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.  Iran's clerical state backs Hamas, whose bloody assault inside Israel on October 7 triggered major retaliation, and has a close relationship with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia that frequently fires into Israel.  "What I gathered from what I heard from them and the plans that they have — they have... Читать дальше...

U.S. fighter jets launched airstrikes on targets in eastern Syria linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps. A WHO official talks about the dire condition of Gaza’s healthcare system And an examination of the impact of the Israel/Hamas conflict on international security issues.

The United States and China stopped just short of announcing an anticipated meeting between their leaders in November on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, two senior U.S. officials said. State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching reports.

Fighting the global environmental impacts of climate change unfortunately requires local impacts from mining the minerals needed for electric vehicles, wind turbines and power grids. The Biden administration aims to increase U.S. production of these critical minerals that China and other countries with weaker environmental standards have come to dominate. But local opposition is complicating the effort. VOA's Steve Baragona looks at the battle over one such mine in the northern U.S. state of Minnesota.

There has been no mystery about what comes next in Gaza. The only questions, it seems, have been how much force and for how long. Multiple times in recent days, Israeli tanks and armored vehicles penetrated the Gaza Strip, engaged Hamas militants and hit select targets in preparation for an inevitable, full-scale ground invasion. “We are preparing,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday, ominously hinting at what is to come.  “I will not elaborate.” Israel’s ally, the United States... Читать дальше...