Новости за 16.11.2023

Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera has suspended his foreign trips and those of government officials as part of austerity measures to cushion the impact of the recent 44% devaluation of local currency on the country's economy. In his televised address to the nation Wednesday night, Chakwera ordered a cut by half on fuel allowances allocated to top government officials, including cabinet ministers. The Reserve Bank of Malawi this month announced the devaluation of local currency to align it with... Читать дальше...

The assassination of US President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas, on November 22nd sixty years ago, put the Texas School Book Depository building on the map of history. As VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, despite several efforts to tear down the structure over the decades, the old warehouse is now both a museum about the tragedy, and a memorial to President Kennedy. Camera: Adam Greenbaum

Five years ago, Soledad Gallego-Diaz challenged Spain's last great taboo: sexual abuse inside the Roman Catholic Church. The newly appointed editor of the left-leaning daily El Pais launched an investigation into allegations of abuse by clergy and lay people against children. Unlike in the United States, Ireland and France, the Spanish Church had not sought to address this issue. Echoing The Boston Globe's 2002 investigation of child abuse in the Catholic Church, El Pais' probe sought justice for survivors of abuse. Читать дальше...

Journalists from India, Togo, Georgia and Mexico are honored with International Press Freedom Awards this week. The legal threats and harassment all four confront reflect a wider downward trend in civil liberties, they say.  For Liam Scott, VOA’s Jessica Jerreat has more. VOA footage by Hoshang Fahim and Cristina Caicedo Smit.

Nigerian experts are hopeful that deals reached last week with Saudi Arabia will boost local oil production and help grow the economy. The deals included a pledge by Saudi officials to fix Nigeria’s four broken oil refineries, which haven’t worked in years, forcing Africa’s second-largest oil producer to import all of its fuel.  The agreements between Nigerian authorities and their Saudi Arabian counterparts were made on the sidelines of the first ever Saudi-Africa summit held in Riyadh last week. Читать дальше...

Gaza’s main telecommunications companies say there is no fuel

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

Afghanistan’s neighbors, along with Russia, are sustaining ties with its Taliban government under an “understanding” that they will grant it formal recognition simultaneously if certain conditions are met, a regional diplomat said Thursday.  Asif Durrani, Pakistan’s special representative on Afghanistan, told an international seminar that the regionally developed approach has helped sustain the crisis-hit country economically. “There is an understanding among the immediate neighbors of Afghanistan... Читать дальше...

Family members of some of the hostages taken by Hamas are marching to Jerusalem to pressure the government to do more. We examine the plight of hostages, particularly women and the prospects with a former ambassador. Plus, Biden and Xi meet in California, and the latest from Kyiv.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi said his country has carried a huge burden in hosting Afghans for nearly four decades.     In an exclusive interview with VOA Urdu, Alvi defended Islamabad's decision to expel Afghans living in Pakistan without proper documents. He said giving refuge to citizens of the neighboring country had deeply affected his own country's economy and culture.   “I think that it’s a huge burden for Pakistan. We have given refuge to 3.5 million people for 30, 40 years. They are our Afghan... Читать дальше...

More than half of the estimated 5,000 refugees who had fled the heavy fighting in Myanmar's western Chin state and had entered northeastern India have begun returning home, Indian officials said Thursday. Sunday and Monday saw heavy fighting between the rebels and the Myanmar military in the Chin state across the border from Zokhawthar, a village of around 600 households, in India's Mizoram state. The military junta lost control of some areas after rebels, largely belonging to the Chin National Front, seized two military posts. Читать дальше...

Startup Hopes to Address Nursing Shortage With International Students   Boston startup InSpring wants to help alleviate the nursing shortage in the United States by training hundreds of international students, according to a report published by Axios.   The first cohort could take exams in 2025, although they could work in health care positions earlier as they study for licensure. (September 2023)

Chinese President Xi Jinping signaled that China will send new pandas to the United States, calling them "envoys of friendship between the Chinese and American peoples." "We are ready to continue our cooperation with the United States on panda conservation, and do our best to meet the wishes of the Californians so as to deepen the friendly ties between our two peoples," Xi said Wednesday during a dinner speech with business leaders. The gesture came at the end of a day in which Xi and President... Читать дальше...

The Afghan owners of textile mills in Pakistan say that they are facing multiple problems running their businesses because of Pakistan’s ongoing deportations of undocumented Afghan refugees. Muska Safi has the story from Munda refugee camp in Pakistan, narrated by Elizabeth Cherneff. Roshan Noorzai contributed to this report.

As casualties mount from fighting between Israel and Hamas, the U.S. relatives of those affected by the violence are grieving the loss of friends and loved ones. In New York, Aron Ranen talks with people who have family ties to the conflict.

Following the meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in San Francisco on Wednesday, analysts say Beijing is hoping to de-escalate tension with the U.S. by easing its stance and projecting a less confrontational tone. “In the official readout, Xi states China has no plan to surpass or supplant America and he also notes that China doesn’t export its ideology, showing a markedly narrower scope of geopolitical ambition,” Wen-ti Sung, a political scientist at the Australian National University (ANU)... Читать дальше...

Britain’s highest court ruled Wednesday that the government’s migrant policy of sending asylum-seekers to Rwanda for processing is illegal — a big political blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.

US President Joe Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday outside of San Francisco, where leaders of Asia-Pacific economies are gathering. Biden – who said he still sees the Chinese leader as a “dictator” – said the two agreed to re-establish military communications, work together to assess the threats posed by artificial intelligence, and take meaningful steps to combat the scourge of fentanyl. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Woodside, California.

Jewish Australian lawmakers say antisemitism there is at an all-time high, as the war in Gaza intensifies.   At the same time, Muslim leaders cite increased Islamophobia. While Australia prides itself on being one of the world’s most multicultural nations, the war between Israel and Hamas has created friction.   Islamophobia Register Australia, which documents hate crimes, has logged 133 incidents in the past month, but the community organization has told local media that the true figure was... Читать дальше...

German police raided 54 locations across the country on Thursday in an investigation of a Hamburg-based center suspected of promoting Iranian ideology and supporting the activities of Hezbollah, the government said. The Interior Ministry said the Islamic Center Hamburg, or IZH, has long been under observation by Germany's domestic intelligence agency. It said the activities of the group are aimed at spreading the "revolutionary concept" of Iran's supreme leader. Authorities are also looking into... Читать дальше...

On a recent morning, Normah Tambi, age 58, was in her neighborhood garden picking chilis. “I love this,” she said. “It’s great working in the garden. It’s exercise that helps improve my health and I get to spend time with friends here.” This community garden, just under half a hectare in size, is growing fruits and vegetables including coconuts, mangos, jack fruit and durian. “There’s a lot of healthy and delicious food here,” Tambi said with a smile. It’s quite a turnaround for this piece of... Читать дальше...

A controversial section of federal law that gives U.S. intelligence agencies the ability to conduct warrantless surveillance of the communications of non-U.S. persons abroad will expire at the end of the year, creating pressure on Congress to renew it, even as privacy activists demand that it be reformed.   Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) allows electronic surveillance of non-U.S. persons overseas and outside the United States for purposes of national security. It... Читать дальше...

Latest developments: Israeli forces continue operations around Shifa Hospital in Gaza. U.S. President Joe Biden accused Hamas of operating a command center at Shifa Hospital. He called it a “war crime.” Hamas and hospital officials deny that the medical center -- Gaza's largest -- is being used for that purpose. Hamas said in a statement that the Biden administration essentially gave the IDF a "green light" to carry out the raid. The White House rejects the claim. The head of the World Health... Читать дальше...

Advances in childhood cancer are a success story in modern medicine. But in the past decade, those strides have stalled for Black and Hispanic youth, opening a gap in death rates, according to a new report published Thursday. Childhood cancers are rare and treatments have improved drastically in recent decades, saving lives. Death rates were about the same for Black, Hispanic and white children in 2001, and all went lower during the next decade. But over the next 10 years, only the rate for white children dipped a little lower. Читать дальше...

Eleven people have died and 51 have been sent to hospital after a fire tore through a building in northern China's Shanxi province on Thursday, state media said. The fire started at a four-floor building belonging to the Yongju coal company in Lishi District, Luliang City, Shanxi Province at around 6:50 a.m., state media said, citing local authorities. "Eleven people have been confirmed dead and the specific number of casualties is still being counted," state broadcaster CCTV said. "A total of 63 people have been evacuated so far... Читать дальше...