Новости за 04.12.2023

The Supreme Court on Monday wrestled with a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would shield members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids.  The justices seemed by turns relucant to break up an exhaustively negotiated agreement, but also leery of somehow rewarding the Sacklers.  The agreement hammered out with state and local governments and victims would provide billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic. The Sacklers... Читать дальше...

Eight U.S. lawmakers have called on the State Department to designate American Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva as “wrongfully detained.” In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the lawmakers, led by Democrats Eleanor Holmes Norton and Adam Schiff, requested updates on Kurmasheva, who has been detained in Russia since October 18. The Prague-based editor for the Tatar-Bashkir service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, or RFE/RL, was detained while in Russia handling a family emergency. Читать дальше...

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

Stocks slipped on Wall Street Monday ahead of some key reports this week on the job market that might provide more insight into the Federal Reserve’s thinking about interest rates. The S&P 500 was off 0.9%. The index is coming off its best month in more than a year, and reached its highest level in more than a year on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 150 points, or 0.4%, to 36,097 as of 11:20 a.m. Eastern. The Nasdaq composite fell 1.5%. Treasury yields were higher, putting some pressure on stocks. Читать дальше...

In the 2022-23 academic year, more than 1 million international students were in the U.S., and they contributed more than $40 billion to the U.S. economy, Forbes reports. That figure's up 19% from the previous academic year, according to NAFSA: Association for International Educators. Read the full story here. (November 2023)

Military-ruled Burkina Faso on Saturday suspended "all distribution methods" of Le Monde daily after an article on a deadly jihadi attack in the north, in the latest measure against a French media organization. "The government has decided to suspend all distribution methods of the newspaper Le Monde in Burkina Faso starting from Saturday, December 2, 2023," Communication Minister Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo said in a statement. He criticized a "biased article," referring to a story published... Читать дальше...

Social media posts from the actual and ideological battlefields of the Israel-Hamas war have been polarizing young people in the United States, sometimes leading to threats or violence. But some groups see the growing tension as an opportunity for dialogue. VOA’s Anthony LaBruto reports. (Camera and Produced by Anthony LaBruto)

Egypt’s Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip has been a site of hope and despair in the unprecedented aftermath of Hamas’ deadly October 7 attack on southern Israel. For VOA, photojournalist Hamada Elrasam captured the Egyptian side of this crucial passageway on November 29, the last day of the weeklong “humanitarian pause” across the crisis-ravaged Strip. Written in collaboration with Elle Kurancid.

Chicago-based group COURSE latest album, “Tight Feathers” was released in October.  Tight Feathers balances a series of delicately contradictory emotions, both buoyant and foreboding. More elaborate than past COURSE releases, it’s laced with sharply written reflections on embracing the chaotic onslaught of life, savoring its complexities, while protecting your inner self. The resulting album demonstrates a particularly relatable kind of existential anxiety—hovering tone-wise between carefree and swamped... Читать дальше...

Fewer planes and helicopters will be flying tourists over Mount Rushmore and other national monuments and parks as new regulations take effect that are intended to protect the serenity of some of the most beloved natural areas in the United States. The air tours have pitted tour operators against visitors frustrated with the noise for decades, but it has come to a head as new management plans are rolled out at nearly two dozen national parks and monuments. One of the strictest yet was recently... Читать дальше...

Britain is continuing its efforts to have migrants seeking asylum in Britain sent instead to Rwanda to seek asylum there.  In the latest version, Britain would have British lawyers stationed in Rwandan courts to alleviate British concerns about the workings of the system in Rwanda.   Britain’s Supreme Court has already ruled that an earlier government plan to send asylum seekers to the East African country is illegal.  But that has not stopped some politicians from trying to devise a new way to implement the Rwanda plan. Читать дальше...

U.S. and Japanese divers have discovered wreckage and remains of crew members from a U.S. Air Force Osprey aircraft that crashed last week off southwestern Japan, the Air Force announced Monday. The CV-22 Osprey carrying eight American personnel crashed last Wednesday off Yakushima Island during a training mission. The body of one victim was recovered and identified earlier, while seven others remained missing. The Air Force Special Operations Command said the remains were being recovered and their identities have yet to be determined. Читать дальше...

India’s Chennai International Airport was closed Monday as the region braces for the impact of Cyclone Michaung, which evolved into a severe cyclonic storm.  Strong winds and rains were already pounding areas across Tamil Nadu, including Chennai, ahead of Michaung’s landfall.  Some areas of Chennai, Tamil Nadu’s capital city, were already flooded Monday and evacuation efforts were launched. The Tamil Nadu government advised people to stay indoors and declared a public holiday for some districts. Читать дальше...

Israel urged people living in part of the Gaza Strip’s second-largest city to evacuate Monday, as Israeli troops carried out ground fighting and airstrikes targeting Hamas militants. The Israeli military told people in neighborhoods on the northeastern side of Khan Younis to leave for their own safety, directing them to areas farther south. Khan Younis is in southern Gaza, where many civilians fled to as Israel began its campaign against Hamas in the northern part of the enclave. While Israel... Читать дальше...

Venezuelans on Sunday approved a referendum called by the government of President Nicolás Maduro to claim sovereignty over an oil- and mineral-rich area of neighboring Guyana it argues was stolen when the border was drawn more than a century ago.  It remains unclear how Maduro will enforce the results of the vote. But Guyana considers the referendum a step toward annexation, and the vote has its residents on edge. The National Electoral Council claimed to have counted more than 10.5 million votes... Читать дальше...

China's military on Monday said a U.S. Navy ship illegally entered waters adjacent to the Second Thomas Shoal, a disputed South China Sea atoll that has recently seen several maritime confrontations. "The U.S. seriously undermined regional peace and stability," a spokesperson for China's Southern Theater of Operations said in a statement, adding that the U.S. disrupted the South China Sea and violated China's sovereignty. China is in disputes with several of its neighbors over its extensive claims... Читать дальше...

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group claims responsibility for attacks on ships in the Red Sea. Israel says it tries to minimize civilian casualties as it continues its military offensive. About 20,000 protesters in Belgium on Sunday demand more action on global warming as COP28 continues in Dubai.

The number of people killed by floods and landslides in northern Tanzania has jumped to 47, with another 85 people injured, following torrential rain, a senior government official said. Severe flooding caused by a combination of the El Nino and Indian Ocean dipole weather phenomena has killed hundreds of people in Kenya and Somalia and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes since seasonal rains began in October. Search and rescue operations were underway in the Manyara region as authorities... Читать дальше...

At least 20 people have been killed by floods after heavy rain in the Manyara region of northern Tanzania, the ministry of health said on Sunday. Severe flooding caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon has killed hundreds of people in Kenya and Somalia in recent weeks. The rains have also left a trail of destruction, ruining infrastructure like roads and submerging towns in East Africa, displacing hundreds of thousands of people. "We are very shocked by this event," President Samia Suluhu Hassan... Читать дальше...

Trouble with playground bullies started for Maria Ishoo's daughter in elementary school. Girls ganged up, calling her "fat" and "ugly." Boys tripped and pushed her. The California mother watched her typically bubbly second-grader retreat into her bedroom and spend afternoons curled up in bed. For Valerie Aguirre's daughter in Hawaii, a spate of middle school "friend drama" escalated into violence and online bullying that left the 12-year-old feeling disconnected and lonely. Both children received help through telehealth therapy... Читать дальше...

Indonesia’s Mount Marapi in West Sumatra province erupted Sunday, spewing white-and-gray ash plumes more than 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) into the air and sending hot ash clouds several miles away. There were no immediate reports of casualties, said Ahmad Rifandi, an official with Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center at the Marapi monitoring post. The two routes for climbers were closed after the eruption and villagers living on the slopes of the mountain were advised to... Читать дальше...

The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, are being feted Sunday night at a star-studded event marking their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment. Opera singer Renee Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick also are being honored at the black-tie gala. Each will receive personalized tributes that typically include appearances and performances that are kept secret from the honorees themselves. In announcing the recipients earlier this year... Читать дальше...

The Philippines said Sunday more than 135 Chinese vessels were "swarming" a reef off its coast, describing the boats' growing presence as "alarming." The Chinese boats were "dispersed and scattered" within the boomerang-shaped Whitsun Reef, which the Philippines calls Julian Felipe Reef, around 320 kilometers (200 miles) west of Palawan Island, the coast guard said. Whitsun Reef is more than 1,000 kilometers from the nearest major Chinese landmass of Hainan island.   The Philippines said it... Читать дальше...

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Sunday called on Israel to respect the international rules of war and said he was accelerating his investigation into violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. "In Gaza, there is no justification for doctors to perform operations without light, for children to be operated upon without anesthetics. Imagine the pain," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in a video message posted online after a four-day visit... Читать дальше...

Nigeria is calling for the release of ousted Niger president Mohamed Bazoum and for the military junta to allow him to leave for a third country, its foreign minister said.   Nigeria is current chair of the regional group Economic Community of West African States or ECOWAS which has imposed sanctions on Niger following the July coup that ousted Bazoum. ECOWAS had been demanding Bazoum's immediate return to the presidency, but the military junta has kept him in detention and says it may need up to three years for a return to civilian rule. Читать дальше...