Новости за 15.12.2023

GENEVA — As Sudan marks eight months of a horrific war that has killed more than 12,000 people and displaced 6.6 million, United Nations food agencies are warning of a looming hunger catastrophe by next year’s lean season, when food stocks will be at their lowest. A new analysis released Friday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification — a scientific evaluation of food security — warns that nearly 18 million people across Sudan face acute hunger. "These figures are the highest ever... Читать дальше...

Taipei, Taiwan — With less than a month until voters head to the polls across Taiwan, presidential and legislative candidates are gearing up for the final weeks of campaigning. They are engaging with voters at local markets, waving at busy commuters at major intersections in the morning, and going live on social media platforms to interact with supporters. While hundreds of candidates are vying for a chance to become legislators, a growing number of young candidates under the age of 40 are standing out in this year’s election. Читать дальше...

Palestinian prisoners' rights organizations are calling for Red Cross access to almost 4,000 Palestinians arrested since the Israel-Hamas war began October 7, amid claims that Israel is holding prisoners in inhumane conditions without charge. From Ramallah, West Bank, Henry Wilkins speaks to recently released prisoners and the family of a child held in captivity.

Yaounde, Cameroon — Chad's military government says a majority of about 8 million voters are not ready to vote in the December 17 constitutional referendum that would pave the way for a return to civilian rule. A campaign for voter participation is taking place amid opposition and civil society calls for a total boycott of what they call Sunday's sham referendum. The National Commission Charged with the Organization of Chad's December 17 Constitutional Referendum, or CONOREC, says several million... Читать дальше...

The Israel-Hamas war has upended the lives of foreign health workers at medical facilities in Gaza, among them Indonesians at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza. VOA’s Yuni Salim has more. Camera: Gregorius Giovanni, Hafizh Sahadeva

LONDON — Prince Harry won his historic phone hacking lawsuit Friday against the publisher of the Daily Mirror and was awarded more than $180,000 in the first of several lawsuits against British tabloids to go to trial in his battles with the press. Justice Timothy Fancourt in the High Court found that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at Mirror Group Newspapers over many years and that private investigators “were an integral part of the system” to gather information unlawfully on Harry and his associates. Читать дальше...

washington — Foreign policy experts are casting a skeptical eye on this week's highly publicized upgrade of relations between China and Vietnam, saying Hanoi is unlikely to shift from a carefully balanced foreign policy that includes recently strengthened ties with the U.S. and Japan. Vietnam agreed to join Beijing's "community of shared future" during a two-day visit to Hanoi by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The community is ostensibly an upgrade from the already top-level "comprehensive strategic partnership" binding the two nations... Читать дальше...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Faith and education leaders are denouncing plans for an After School Satan Club at a Tennessee elementary school but said they would follow the law and allow the organization hosting the club to meet. Around 40 members of the faith community in Memphis stood united with leaders at Memphis-Shelby County Schools on Wednesday to criticize the planned club and to question The Satanic Temple's intentions in offering it, according to the Commercial Appeal newspaper. The faith community... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — The United States has struck hundreds of deals worth $14.2 billion with African nations over the past year as Washington tries to counter growing influence on the continent by China. The 547 new trade and investment agreements represent a 67% increase from 2022 in the number and value of closed deals, according to British Robinson, coordinator for the Prosper Africa trade and business initiative, a program that connects U.S. and African businesses. Robinson said the presidential... Читать дальше...

Israel vows to fight on in Gaza despite a deadly ambush and rising international pressure. White House’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan met with Israeli leaders on Thursday to discuss a more precise strategy.

seattle — The U.S. government said Thursday it plans to spend more than $1 billion over the next decade to help recover depleted populations of salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and that it will help figure out how to offset the hydropower, transportation and other benefits provided by four controversial dams on the Snake River, should Congress ever agree to breach them. President Joe Biden's administration stopped short of calling for the removal of the dams to save the fish, but Northwest tribes... Читать дальше...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A missile fired from territory controlled by Yemen's Houthi rebels missed a container ship traveling through the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, a U.S. defense official said, the latest attack threatening shipping in the crucial maritime chokepoint. The seaborne assaults attributed to the Iran-backed Houthis have been part of their pressure campaign over the Israel-Hamas war raging in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis have attacked vessels in the Red Sea and launched drones and missiles targeting Israel. Читать дальше...

taipei — Shu Min, a resident of China's eastern city of Nanjing, thinks the nation's public hospitals are running out of money and are doing everything they can to increase the co-pays charged directly to patients. "A doctor told me, the more problems a patient has, the better. So the hospital could benefit more by taking whatever highest insurance amount that the patient can claim," she told VOA Mandarin in an interview. "This is so ridiculous!" Shu Min's father has been diagnosed with mild... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — Jurors began deliberating Thursday to decide how much Rudy Giuliani must pay two former Georgia election workers for spreading lies about them that led to a barrage of racist threats and upended their lives. The jury left for the day without announcing a decision and were expected to resume deliberations at Washington's federal courthouse Friday morning. Wandrea "Shaye" Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, are seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages over Giuliani's false claims... Читать дальше...

washington — Tokyo has been expanding its security ties with multiple Southeast Asian countries ahead of a Japan-ASEAN summit that analysts see as a forum to offset China's aggressive behavior in the region. Japan is scheduled to host the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit in Tokyo from Saturday to Monday, marking the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan friendship and cooperation. Japan and 10 ASEAN countries seek to expand ties at a time when "the free and open international order based on the rule... Читать дальше...