Новости за 05.12.2023

A pretrial hearing for former U.S. diplomat Manuel Rocha is set for Wednesday. Rocha, a former U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, is accused of spying for Cuba since 1981. He was arrested Friday in Miami and charged with federal crimes, including acting as an illegal foreign agent and using a fraudulently obtained passport. The U.S. government said it will bring additional charges this week. Rocha on Monday had his initial court appearance, where he was represented by Jacqueline Arango, the co-chair... Читать дальше...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is visiting Greece on Thursday for a summit with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The meeting comes after years of tensions that brought them to the brink of war. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville announced on Tuesday that he's ending his blockade of hundreds of military promotions, following heavy criticism from many of his colleagues in the Senate and clearing the way for hundreds to be approved. Tuberville maintained that his blockade of military promotions was over a dispute about a Pentagon abortion policy. The Alabama Republican said Tuesday he’s “not going to hold the promotions of these people any longer.” Almost 400 military nominations have been... Читать дальше...

Pakistani officials said Tuesday that the United States did not object to Islamabad’s deportation of Afghan nationals who are illegally residing in the country but requested the process be slowed down during winter. The crackdown on undocumented foreigners, including 1.7 million Afghans, came under discussion at a meeting with a visiting U.S. delegation led by Julieta Valls Noyes, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration. A Pakistani official... Читать дальше...

Countries need to increase their taxes on alcohol and sugar-sweetened beverages, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, saying too few states were using tax to incentivize healthier behaviors. After studying taxation rates, the WHO said the average global tax rate on such "unhealthy products" was low, and hiking taxes could result in healthier populations. "WHO recommends that excise tax should apply to all sugar-sweetened beverages [SSBs] and alcoholic beverages," the U.N. health agency said in a statement. Читать дальше...

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

Strikes have resumed in full force in the Gaza Strip as the war between Israel and Hamas approaches its third month. United Nations officials say more than 5,300 Palestinian children have reportedly been killed in the conflict. In the desert outside Gaza, VOA’s Heather Murdock meets a Bedouin family mourning the loss of their children, killed by bombs aimed at the warring parties. Camera: Yan Boechat

In the hourslong run-up to a massive home explosion caught on amateur video Monday night, a suburban Washington, D.C., man discharged a flare gun into his neighborhood dozens of times, police said. By the time the blast occurred during a standoff around 8:30 p.m., reportedly scattering debris throughout the area, police had been on the scene for hours, having received reports of shots fired around 4:45 p.m. Arlington County, Virginia, police had obtained a search warrant and were attempting to... Читать дальше...

Countries at the COP28 climate conference are considering calling for a formal phase-out of fossil fuels as part of the U.N. summit's final deal to tackle global warming, a draft negotiating text seen on Tuesday shows. The proposal is set to spark heated debate among the nearly 200 countries at the two-week conference in Dubai, with some Western and climate-vulnerable states pushing for the language to be used and many oil and gas producers keen to leave it out. Research published on Tuesday... Читать дальше...

China, India and South Korea sent the most students to the U.S. in 2023, according to Open Doors 2023 Report on International Educational Exchange. Open Doors is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Among other things, the report broke down the schools with the largest number of international students. New York University took the top spot, with Northeastern University, Columbia University, Arizona State University and the University of Southern California rounding out the top five. Get the stats here. Читать дальше...

A man in Bosnia-Herzegovina killed his wife and streamed the murder live on Instagram. In neighboring Serbia, 27 women were killed in gender-based attacks this year, despite efforts to raise awareness and reverse the trend. Activists in Kosovo say violence against women there is a “national emergency.” Throughout the western Balkans, women are harassed, raped, beaten and killed, often by their partners and after repeatedly reporting the violence to the authorities. The region is staunchly conservative... Читать дальше...

British interior minister James Cleverly signed a new treaty with Rwanda on Tuesday in an attempt to overcome a court decision to block the government's controversial policy of sending asylum seekers to the East African country. The Rwanda plan is at the centre of the government's strategy to cut migration and is being watched closely by other countries considering similar policies. The United Kingdom's Supreme Court last month ruled that such a move would violate international human rights laws enshrined in domestic legislation. Читать дальше...

In 2021, Maryland residents Georgia Dodson and Jade Conner started a nonprofit that rescues aging dogs. So far, Miri's Haven Senior Dog Rescue says it has helped more than 280 dogs, all of which are over 7 years old, many with medical issues. Masha Morton has the story. VOA footage by Alexey Zonov.

With warming ocean waters threatening much of the world’s coral reefs, some ecologists are using simple technology to help restore them. VOA’s Julie Taboh has more. Camera: Adam Greenbaum

A roadside blast using a remote-controlled improvised explosive device, or IED, wounded seven people Tuesday, including four children in Peshawar, the capital of Pakistan’s northern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. According to area police, a preliminary investigation of the site found that 4 kilograms of explosives were concealed in a concrete block. Images from the site show the blast shattered windows of a nearby building. Authorities said the wounded children, aged between six and 17, have been identified as Afghan nationals. Читать дальше...

The Netherlands returned six artifacts including a cannon, a ceremonial sword and two guns taken from Sri Lanka more than 250 years ago on Tuesday, as part of efforts by the former colonial power to redress historical wrongs, officials said. Sri Lanka asked the Netherlands to return the artifacts after the Dutch government approved the restitution of historic objects in 2021. The artifacts were taken in 1765 from Kandy, the last kingdom of ancient Sri Lanka, when the Dutch besieged the palace, a statement from the Netherlands embassy said. Читать дальше...

The death toll from a volcano eruption in Indonesia has risen to 22 after nine more bodies were found, a local search and rescue agency official said Tuesday.  "9 of 10 missing victims were found dead this afternoon and at the moment, they are being evacuated. There is one remaining victim currently in search," Abdul Malik, head of Padang Search and Rescue Agency told AFP. Mount Marapi on the island of Sumatra erupted on Sunday, belching a tower of ash three kilometers (1.8 miles) into the sky as 75 people were hiking in the area. Читать дальше...

An estimated 400 Rohingya Muslims believed to be aboard two boats adrift in the Andaman Sea without adequate supplies could die if more is not done to rescue them, according to the U.N. refugee agency and aid workers. The number of Rohingya Muslims fleeing by boats in a seasonal exodus — usually from squalid, overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh — has been rising since last year due to cuts to food rations and a spike in gang violence. “There are about 400 children, women and men looking death... Читать дальше...

Ratings agency Moody's cut its outlook on China's government credit ratings to negative from stable on Tuesday, in the latest sign of mounting global concern over the impact of surging local government debt and a deepening property crisis on the world's second-largest economy. The downgrade reflects growing evidence that authorities will have to provide more financial support for debt-laden local governments and state firms, posing broad risks to China's fiscal, economic and institutional strength, Moody's said in a statement. Читать дальше...

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu is calling for an investigation into a weekend military drone attack that killed 85 people. The deadly attack occurred in the village of Tudun Biri in northern Kaduna state Sunday during a celebration of a Muslim holiday.   Dozens of villagers were also wounded in the attack.   President Tinubu’s office issued a statement expressing his grief over the incident, which he called “very unfortunate, disturbing and painful.” The Nigerian air force has denied any involvement in Sunday's attack. Читать дальше...

Israeli forces battled Hamas militants Tuesday in the Gaza Strip with an increasing focus on southern Gaza as international aid organizations expressed concern that civilians do not have a safe escape from the conflict. Israeli tanks and troops moved near Khan Younis, a southern city that is the second-largest in the Gaza Strip, while Israeli aerial attacks hit southern Gaza.  Warnings from the Israeli military in recent days urged people in multiple Khan Younis neighborhoods to evacuate for their safety, directing them areas further south.

Thousands of demonstrators in New Zealand are protesting the new government's policies towards indigenous Māori communities. The new center-right coalition government in Wellington plans to limit the use of Māori language, review affirmative action policies and reassess how the country's founding document - the Treaty of Waitangi of 1840 - is interpreted in modern legislation. The treaty was a 19th-century agreement between the British monarchy and about 540 Māori rangatira, or chiefs. It pledged... Читать дальше...

Nelson Mandela was a global icon who inspired the world, spending 27 years in prison for his fight against the South African apartheid regime and going on to become the country’s first black president. Former comrades, family and analysts say Mandela, who died 10 years ago, would have been disappointed in the state of South Africa today. Mandela, arguably the world’s best-known and most beloved South African, died on Dec. 5, 2013, at the age of 95. His greatest achievement was bringing freedom... Читать дальше...

The leader of a Pakistan ethnic group has been detained after authorities said armed men in his vehicle opened fire on police. Raja Athar Abbas, the deputy commissioner of the northcentral city of Chaman, which sits on the border with Afghanistan, said that Manzoor Pashteen was arrested in connection with the shooting incident, as well as for violating a ban on entering Balochistan province.  Pashteen is the head and co-founder of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, a loose network of Pashtun activists... Читать дальше...