Новости за 20.12.2023

tehran, iran — Iran's foreign ministry summoned on Wednesday Sweden's charge d'affaires to protest the life sentence handed down to a former Iranian prison official over mass executions in 1988. On Tuesday, a Swedish appeals court upheld the jail term handed down against Hamid Noury, 62, in July last year "for grave breaches of international humanitarian law and murder." "It is regrettable that the Swedish court, without considering the standards of a fair trial, decided to issue such a destructive... Читать дальше...

LONDON — An Austrian national was found guilty in a U.K. court Wednesday of spying for a group that may have been preparing to attack an independent Iranian TV station in London. Magomed-Husejn Dovtaev, who is originally from Chechnya, was convicted by a jury at the Old Bailey court in central London following a short trial. The 31-year-old had pleaded not guilty to possession of records containing information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism. He was... Читать дальше...

Madrid — The man nominated by Spain’s Socialist prime minister to lead one of the world’s largest news agencies is due to appear Thursday before a parliamentary commission that will determine his suitability to head the EFE. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s pick of his former communications spokesperson to head the broadcaster was met with criticism. Opposition parties and some media say the choice could undermine the EFE’s credibility by making it seem as if the state-funded agency is close to the government. Читать дальше...

The trial of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai is underway in Hong Kong. Henry Ridgwell spoke to Lai’s international legal team and his son about the harassment and attacks they faced in the run-up to the trial. VOA footage by Jon Spier.

The aggressive behavior by Russia and Belarus in Eastern Europe has pushed neighboring countries such as Estonia to bolster their border security significantly. From the Estonian border with Russia, VOA Eastern Europe chief Myroslava Gongadze has this report. Camera: Daniil Batushchak

Injecting billions of dollars into green solutions to fight climate change has been a top priority of the Biden administration in 2023. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at this year’s achievements and setbacks in the president’s environmental agenda.

Nairobi, Kenya — According to the British charity Save the Children, some 30,000 children will be born in war-torn Sudan over the next three months without access to proper medical care, such as through doctors, hospitals and medicines. The group says the lack of basic health care endangers both mothers and unborn children, heightening the risk of long-term and deadly complications.  That’s out of a total of some 45,000 children that are expected to be born in Sudan in the next quarter amid conflict... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — At least a dozen journalists faced arrest or charges related to their newsgathering across the U.S. in 2023, with most working for local media outlets. The incidents and their impact on the ability of journalists to cover the news are detailed in a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker. Based in New York, the Tracker has documented what it sees as press freedom violations inside the U.S. since 2017. According to the Tracker, many of the cases this year involved... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — A U.S. court on Wednesday unsealed an indictment charging an alleged senior Hezbollah operative with terrorism charges, in part for coordinating a 1994 bombing of a Jewish community center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.  Federal prosecutors in Manhattan said Samuel Salman El Reda, 58, had coordinated Hezbollah's activities in South America, Asia and Lebanon since 1993. The Iran-backed, heavily armed Shiite group is part of Lebanon's coalition government.   Prosecutors said El Reda is based in Lebanon and remains at large.

TOKYO — A Japanese court on Wednesday ordered the governor of Okinawa to approve the central government's modified plan for landfill work at the planned relocation site of a key U.S. military base on the southern island despite persistent opposition and protests by residents.  The decision will move forward the suspended construction at a time Okinawa's strategic importance is becoming key for the Japan-U.S. military alliance in the face of growing tensions with China. Japan also rapidly seeks... Читать дальше...

BEIJING — China and Nicaragua upgraded their bilateral ties on Wednesday, setting the stage for the Asian giant to provide more economic support to the sanctioned Central American state and furthering Beijing's strategic ambitions in the United States' backyard. Beijing and Managua re-established diplomatic ties in 2021 after Nicaragua broke off relations with Chinese-claimed Taiwan, which U.S. officials attributed to the allure of the prospect of fresh investment from China after Western countries... Читать дальше...

KINSHASA, Congo — Congo headed to the polls Wednesday to vote for president as authorities scrambled to finalize preparations in an election facing steep logistical and security challenges, with voting starting nearly 2 1/2 hours late in the capital. Some 44 million people — almost half the population — were expected to vote, but many, including several million who were displaced by conflict in the vast country's east, could struggle to cast their ballots. The fighting has prevented 1.5 million people from registering to vote. Читать дальше...

BANGKOK — Thailand is trying to drum up investment for a "landbridge" across its southern neck, which would cut cargo transit times from the Pacific to Indian oceans and boost the kingdom’s strategic importance by providing an alternative route for Chinese trade that could bypass Singapore and the Straits of Malacca. Critics, though, are questioning the wisdom of the $28 billion plan, which so far has received no formal comment from China. Beijing has historically preferred the idea of a deep-water... Читать дальше...

ISLAMABAD — The United States has again denied leaving any weapons in Afghanistan during the American military’s withdrawal from the country in August 2021, dismissing such allegations as “farce." John Kirby, U.S. National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, made the comments Tuesday just days after Pakistan urged the United Nations to investigate how Afghan-based militants are acquiring “sophisticated weapons” to carry out terrorist attacks in the country. “This is a fallacy, this is a farce. Читать дальше...

TOKYO — Toyota Motor's Daihatsu unit will halt shipments of all of its vehicles, Japan's biggest automaker said on Wednesday, after an investigation into a safety scandal found issues at 64 models, including almost two dozen sold under Toyota's brand. An independent panel has been investigating Daihatsu after it said in April it had rigged side-collision safety tests carried out for 88,000 small cars, most of those sold as Toyotas. But the latest revelations suggest the scope of the scandal is... Читать дальше...

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan will "handle" Chinese balloons flying nearby based on threat assessments, though officials believe the current wave is for weather purposes, driven by the prevailing winds at this time of year, the defense ministry in Taipei said on Wednesday. The potential for China to use balloons for spying became a global issue in February when the United States shot down what it said was a Chinese surveillance balloon. China said the balloon was a civilian craft that accidentally drifted astray. Читать дальше...

HAIDONG, China — Braving below-freezing conditions, rescuers pulled to safety victims of an earthquake that rocked a remote area in China's northwestern Gansu province more than a day ago, while survivors faced months of uncertainty ahead without permanent shelter. The magnitude-6.2 earthquake jolted Jishishan county near the border straddling Gansu and Qinghai provinces a minute before midnight on Monday, sending frightened residents out of homes into the cold in the dead of the night, damaging roads... Читать дальше...