Новости за 30.12.2023

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA — Nicaraguan police detained four more priests early Saturday, bringing the total number to 12 over the past three days, according to local media and a high-ranking member of the Catholic Church with knowledge of the matter.  Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, who has governed the Central American country since 2007, has started a crackdown on the Catholic Church and political opponents.  Priests Mikel Monterrey, Gerardo Rodriguez and Raul Zamora, along with Monsignor Miguel Mantica... Читать дальше...

TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Taiwan’s presidential candidates expressed desire for peaceful relations with Beijing, which has described the January 13 elections on the self-ruled island as a choice between war and peace and stepped up harassment of the territory it claims as its own. Lai Ching-te, the front-runner and currently Taiwan's vice president from the ruling Democratic People’s Party, said in a televised debate Saturday that he was open to communicating with the government in Beijing, which has refused to talk with him or President Tsai Ing-wen.

AMSTERDAM — Climate activists blocked part of the main highway around Amsterdam near the former headquarters of ING bank Saturday to protest its financing of fossil fuels. Amsterdam Municipality said in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that traffic authorities closed part of the road and diverted traffic “to prevent a life-threatening situation." Hundreds of activists walked onto the road in the latest road blockade organized by the Dutch branch of Extinction Rebellion. Earlier this year, the... Читать дальше...

BAGHDAD — Three overnight airstrikes on eastern Syria Saturday near a strategic border crossing with Iraq killed six Iran-backed militants, two members of Iraqi militia groups told The Associated Press. The strikes on the border region of Boukamal came hours after an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militants — known as the Islamic Resistance — claimed an attack on a U.S. military base in the city of Irbil in northern Iraq. The group has conducted over a hundred attacks on U.S. positions in... Читать дальше...

LONDON — Eurostar services to and from London were canceled Saturday after a tunnel under the River Thames became flooded due to heavy rain, disrupting festive travel plans. Hundreds of travelers trying to get across the English Channel were stranded at London’s St. Pancras International station and the Gare du Nord station in Paris. Eurostar, which runs services from London to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam, said it would be running no high-speed train services throughout Saturday because of the flooding. Читать дальше...

JOHANNESBURG — Flash floods killed over a dozen people in the small town of Ladysmith in KwaZulu-Natal province, South African officials said Saturday. “As of Friday, 29 December 2023, a total of 21 bodies have been recovered,” said police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda. The floods hit the town on Christmas Day, destroying about 1,400 homes, with the death toll expected to rise as an unconfirmed number of people are still missing, he said. Search and rescue teams have been scouring rivers to recover bodies, Netshiunda said. Читать дальше...

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s military said Saturday its forces had raided a “terrorist” hideout in a volatile region bordering Afghanistan and killed five militants in the ensuing shootout. The “intelligence-based” overnight raid in the militancy-hit North Waziristan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province also killed a key militant commander involved in attacks on security forces, the army's media wing said in a statement. The army did not name the group, but the anti-state Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan... Читать дальше...

The reelection of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2023 allowed him to further his plans to place Turkey as a leader in the region and in the Islamic world while engaging in rapprochement efforts with historic foes. Domestically, critics accuse Erdogan of using his mandate to silence domestic dissent. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

PARIS — The Tour d'Argent already boasts a 320,000-bottle wine cellar, a world-famous duck recipe and a storied 441-year history. Now, the legendary Paris restaurant is about to serve up its "plat de résistance": a front-row view of two of the biggest events of 2024 — the renaissance of Notre Dame Cathedral and the 2024 Summer Olympics. A city landmark unto itself — and an inspiration for the restaurant in the movie Ratatouille — the Tour d'Argent recently reopened after its own renovation, which... Читать дальше...

While geopolitical tensions between Beijing and Washington were high this year, Chinese students and migrants are still coming to the United States, with more crossing the border than ever before. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has more on what the environment in the U.S. was like in 2023 for the Chinese who are living here.

A turbulent year in U.S. and China relations culminated in talks between the country’s two leaders on the sidelines of the APEC summit in San Francisco in November. There, Xi Jinping told President Joe Biden that Taiwan is the most sensitive issue in their bilateral ties. VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching reports on how the island factors into relations between the superpowers.

BILLINGS, Mont. — Since passage of the Endangered Species Act 50 years ago, more than 1,700 plants, mammals, fish, insects and other species in the U.S. have been listed as threatened or endangered with extinction. Yet federal government data reveals striking disparities in how much money is allocated to save various biological kingdoms. Of the roughly $1.2 billion a year spent on endangered and threatened species, about half goes toward recovery of just two types of fish: salmon and steelhead trout along the West Coast. Читать дальше...

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilians paid several tributes to soccer legend Pelé on Friday, one year after the three-time World Cup winner's death at age 82 due to a colon cancer. A ceremony held at Rio de Janeiro's Christ the redeemer, one of the South American nation's most famous postcard locations, featured a projection of a Brazil shirt with Pelé's name and number 10 on the statue and a message from Pope Francis. Pelé was a devout Catholic throughout his life. "Pelé, as Mr. Edson Arantes do Nascimento became globally known... Читать дальше...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than 700,000 immigrants living illegally in California will gain access to free health care starting Monday under one of the state's most ambitious coverage expansions in a decade. It's an effort that will eventually cost the state about $3.1 billion per year and inches California closer to Democrats' goal of providing universal health care to its roughly 39 million residents. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers agreed in 2022 to provide health care access to... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — A chaotic year for the House is coming to a close with more Democrats than Republicans deciding to leave the chamber, a disparity that could have major ramifications in next year's elections. About two dozen Democrats have indicated they won't seek reelection, with half running for another elected office. Meanwhile, only 14 Republicans have said they are not seeking another term, with three seeking elected office elsewhere. More retirements can be expected after the holidays, when... Читать дальше...

COMANESTI, Romania — Centuries ago, people in what is now northeastern Romania donned bearskins and danced to fend off evil spirits. That custom is today known as the Dancing Bears Festival, drawing crowds of tourists every December. Hundreds of people of all ages, clad in bear costumes, dance every year around Christmas to the deafening beat of drums and roam villages and towns. The highlight of this year's festival falls on December 30, with bear-clad dancers descending on the town of Comanesti, in eastern Romania, for the finale. Читать дальше...

new orleans, louisiana — The sweet sensation of fried shrimp egg rolls dipped in duck sauce. Steam rising from dumplings stuffed with chicken, ginger and cabbage. Smells wafting from a plate of General Tso's chicken on a bed of beef fried rice.  These are just some of the dishes coming from the kitchen of Miss Shirley's Chinese Restaurant on a packed Christmas Day in New Orleans, Louisiana.  On a holiday when most restaurants are closed so customers and employees can celebrate with their families... Читать дальше...

Washington — A prominent Iranian diaspora journalist has spoken exclusively to VOA about her horrified and defiant reaction to learning last week that she was the target of an alleged Iranian assassination plot in London a year ago. Sima Sabet, a London-based former TV presenter for Persian news network Iran International who left the channel in August, was one of two Iran International presenters targeted in the foiled plot whose details were published by Britain’s ITV News on December 21. ITV... Читать дальше...

san francisco, california — Google has agreed to settle a consumer privacy lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion in damages over allegations it tracked the data of users who thought they were browsing the internet privately.  The object of the lawsuit was the "incognito mode" on Google's Chrome browser that the plaintiffs said gave users a false sense that what they were surfing online was not being tracked by the Silicon Valley tech firm.  But internal Google emails brought forward in the lawsuit... Читать дальше...

Panama City — Nicaragua has become a hot spot for migrants from around the world seeking to avoid a brutal trek through the Darien Gap jungle. Migrants from South American and Caribbean countries, Africa and Asia, have long had to brave the lawless, virtually impassable rainforest that straddles Panama and Colombia, in a bid to reach the United States. However, analysts say that the government of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, a longtime nemesis of the United States, has deliberately made... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — A U.S. citizen living in Egypt sought to join the al-Shabab terrorist organization and wage jihad against America and its allies in the wake of Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, federal prosecutors said Friday. Karrem Nasr, 23, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, was arrested December 14 after flying from Egypt to Nairobi, Kenya, where prosecutors say he was planning to meet with al-Shabab members before traveling to train in Somalia, where the terror group is based. Nasr was returned... Читать дальше...

NAIROBI, Kenya — Burundi's president on Friday accused Rwanda of funding and training rebels behind an attack last week on the village of Gatumba, close to Burundi's border with Congo, that killed at least 20 people. A Burundian armed rebel group known as RED-Tabara and based in South Kivu, eastern Congo, took responsibility for the attack in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The group, which denied having targeted civilians, claimed to have killed nine soldiers and a police officer. Burundian... Читать дальше...

MEXICO CITY — Mexico's president inaugurated a huge "super pharmacy" Friday in a bid to help patients throughout the country who are told they need a specific medicine, but their hospital doesn't have it. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's solution was to outfit a big warehouse on the outskirts of Mexico City to centralize a supply and send it to hospitals throughout the country. "The pharmacy is going to be big, big, big, and it is going to have all the medications that are used in the health system," López Obrador said Friday. Читать дальше...

Jerusalem — The Israeli army said early Saturday that it was carrying out strikes in Syria after two rockets fired from Syria fell into territory under Israel's control.   "Following the report regarding sirens sounding in northern Israel, a short while ago two launches that were identified crossing from Syria fell in an open area," the army said. "The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is striking the sources of fire."  The Israeli army confirmed to Agence France-Presse that the projectiles were rockets but did not say exactly where they fell. Читать дальше...