Новости за 27.12.2023

ABUJA, NIGERIA — The death toll in Nigeria’s Christmas Eve attacked by armed gangs has risen to 150, Plateau state officials said Wednesday, while survivors and observers expressed outrage at the government’s reaction. Plateau authorities say the unknown gunmen overran more than 17 local villages across Bokkos and two other districts, burning down houses in the attack. A local district head in Bokkos said search teams were still combing nearby bushes for missing people. Thousands have been displaced from their homes. Читать дальше...

Every December 31, New Yorkers and tourists alike flock to the Big Apple’s Times Square for the New Year's Eve celebration. Elena Wolf had a look at how the city prepares for the big event in this story narrated by Anna Rice. VOA footage by Max Avloshenko and Elena Matusovsky.

An Israeli general says defeating Hamas will still take “many months” and we look at what a post-war Gaza government could be. We get an update from Kyiv and a look at the climate crisis in the Himalayas and flooding in Australia.

As U.S. and Mexican officials were set to meet Wednesday to discuss immigration and other issues, thousands of migrants from Central and South America are making their way through Mexico in a caravan heading to the United States. Veronica Villafañe narrates this report by Javier Hegar in Mexico City. Camera: Juan Gallegos

NEW YORK — The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft on Wednesday, accusing them of using millions of the newspaper's articles without permission to help train artificial intelligence technologies.  The Times said it is the first major U.S. media organization to sue OpenAI and Microsoft, which created ChatGPT and other AI platforms, over copyright issues.  "Defendants seek to free-ride on The Times’s massive investment in its journalism by using it to build substitutive products without permission... Читать дальше...

The COVID-19 pandemic affected students around the world, disrupting their studies and weakening their social skills. But the pandemic did generate some positive outcomes, say college counselors and international students who are back to in-person learning in the United States. VOA’s Laurel Bowman explores. Camera: Adam Greenbaum and Saqib Ul Islam.

Academics used their information gathering and organizing skills as weapons against the Nazis

Kinshasa, congo — Several people were wounded in the Democratic Republic of Congo's capital on Wednesday as riot police forcibly dispersed a banned protest by the opposition who are calling for a re-run of last week's chaotic national elections. The disputed vote threatens to further destabilize poverty-stricken Congo, which is already grappling with a security crisis in the east that has hampered development in the world's top producer of cobalt and other industrial minerals and metals. Police surrounded the headquarters of Martin Fayulu... Читать дальше...

Jakarta, Indonesia — Hundreds of Indonesian workers protested Wednesday against conditions at a Chinese-funded nickel-processing plant where an explosion killed at least 18 people and injured dozens more over the weekend. The accident occurred on Saturday morning as workers repaired a furnace at a plant owned by PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) in the Morowali Industrial Park on Sulawesi island. Sulawesi is a hub for the mineral-rich country's production of nickel, a base metal used... Читать дальше...

TAIPEI, Taiwan — As Taiwan's election approaches next month, it is not only fraught ties with China competing for electors' attention. The candidates are exchanging blows over everything from property disputes to whether drinking whisky is out of touch, in a raucous and freewheeling display of the island's democracy. Taiwan's Jan. 13 presidential and parliamentary election will define how the Chinese-claimed island deals with Beijing and the subject is indeed a major bone of contention. But... Читать дальше...

Beijing — China's foreign ministry said it had sanctioned Kharon, a U.S. firm founded by former Treasury Department officials that provides data to companies on alleged forced labor in the Xinjiang region to help them comply with U.S. laws. The foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would take "countermeasures" against Kharon and its director of investigations for providing "so-called evidence for America's illegal sanctions related to Xinjiang." In response, Los-Angeles based Kharon said it had no presence in China... Читать дальше...

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On Dec. 28, 1973, President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act. “Nothing,” he said, “is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.”  The powerful new law charged the federal government with saving every endangered plant and animal in America and enjoyed nearly unanimous bipartisan support. The Act was so sweeping that, in retrospect, it was bound to become controversial, especially... Читать дальше...

Yaounde, Cameroon — Chad's Supreme Court will on Thursday declare definitive results of the country's constitutional referendum that paves the way for a return to civilian rule. Chad's military leader said he will respect the verdict, which is likely not going to be different from provisional results published on Sunday indicating the central African state’s new constitution was approved by 86% of voters. Some opposition leaders challenge the figures, saying the constitution approved in a referendum... Читать дальше...

BEIJING — Two cities in northwestern China, Xian and Yinchuan, advised residents to stay indoors, limited heavy industrial production and halted coal processing, warning of heavy pollution over the coming days with thick fog expected. China's Central Meteorological Observatory also predicted dense haze for the country's north and east from early Thursday to Saturday before a cold wave arrives Saturday afternoon to dissipate the heavy fog. In Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province, authorities... Читать дальше...

New Delhi — Lila Devi’s family built a new home after their house in Khanyara village in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh collapsed when intense rains lashed the Himalayan mountains this summer. They moved to lower slopes where they own a patch of land – they had to sell a part of it to fund the new home. They hope they will be safer if a flash flood inundates their village again, but memory of the torrent of water and debris that coursed down the hill still haunts them. “We keep praying to God that this never happens again. Читать дальше...

MEXICO CITY — Mexico launched its army-run airline Tuesday, when the first Mexicana airlines flight took off from Mexico City bound for the Caribbean resort of Tulum. It was another sign of the outsized role that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has given to Mexico's armed forces. The airline's military-run holding company now also operates about a dozen airports, hotels, trains, the country's customs service and tourist parks. General Luís Cresencio Sandoval, Mexico's defense secretary... Читать дальше...

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea imposed sanctions on eight North Koreans linked to nuclear and missile development through arms trade, cyberattacks and other illicit activities, Seoul's foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The sanctions came days after North Korea fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile, which South Korea and the United States strongly condemned as a grave violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. The newly blacklisted people include Ri Chang Ho, head of the Reconnaissance... Читать дальше...

DENVER — Police said Tuesday they are investigating incidents directed at Colorado Supreme Court justices and providing extra patrols around their homes in Denver following the court's decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot. The Denver Police Department declined in an email to provide details about its investigations, citing safety and privacy considerations and because they are ongoing. The department "is currently investigating incidents... Читать дальше...