Новости за 10.01.2024

Blantyre, Malawi — Despite ongoing food shortages, the government of Malawi last month banned the import of unmilled maize from Kenya and Tanzania, citing concerns about the spread of maize lethal necrosis disease, or MLN. To help keep Malawians fed, the World Food Program has started milling 30,000 metric tons of relief maize. Authorities say the first consignment of the milled grain is expected next week. Ironically, the maize the WFP purchased for milling is from Tanzania. The grain was held up last week... Читать дальше...

CONCORD, New Hampshire — A major storm drenched the Northeast and slammed it with fierce winds, knocking out power to hundreds of thousands following a bout of violent weather that struck most of the U.S.  The storm, which started Tuesday night and was moving out Wednesday, washed out roads and took down trees and power lines. Wind gusts reached 72 kph to 88 kph and more windy weather was expected throughout Wednesday.  It followed a day of tornadoes and deadly accidents in the South and blizzards in the Midwest and Northwest. Читать дальше...

ATHENS, GREECE — Two migrants were killed and 30 were rescued in Greece Wednesday after a dinghy crashed into rocks in high winds on the island of Lesbos, local authorities said. The incident occurred near the resort town of Thermi on the east of the island, facing the nearby coast of Turkey. Authorities said many of those rescued were found in a remote area on land near the accident site, apparently trying to make their own way to the nearest town. A search was also launched at sea, but it remained unclear whether others were missing. Читать дальше...

Geneva — The head of the U.N. health agency said Wednesday holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month.  Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries — mostly in Europe and the Americas — that shared such trend information.  "Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this... Читать дальше...

Turkey this month has arrested dozens of people accused of spying for Israel. The highly publicized arrests are seen as a warning to Israel to desist from targeting Palestinians in Turkey, after Israel warned it would target anyone involved in the Oct. 7 attack. Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul.

Geneva — The International Labor Organization warns global unemployment is set to rise this year, putting a brake on the gradual recovery of nations from the dire economic straits brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.   Data from the ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2024 report finds global unemployment in 2023, which stood at 5.1%, was at its lowest level since the start of the pandemic in 2019. That rate is projected to increase to 5.2% in 2024. While the report finds labor... Читать дальше...

Los Angeles — Fresh from its wins at the Golden Globes, Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" on Wednesday topped the nominations for the influential Screen Actors Guild Awards, which are key to Oscars success. The SAG Awards, voted on by Hollywood actors, are likely to enjoy a profile boost of their own this year as they are broadcast globally on Netflix — an awards show first for the world's biggest streamer. "Oppenheimer," which tells the story of the inventor of the atomic bomb, earned nods for Cillian Murphy, Robert Downey Jr. Читать дальше...

Yaounde — Opposition and civil society groups are rallying in support of Gabon’s coup leader, after a bloc of Central African states refused to lift the sanctions on Gabon they imposed after the military ousted President Ali Ben Bongo at the end of August. There were demonstrations this week in the Gabonese cities of Libreville, Oyem and Franceville, as civil society groups call for an end to sanctions, including Gabon’s suspension from the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC... Читать дальше...

Islamabad — A senior representative of Afghanistan’s Taliban government told a Pakistan-hosted international health conference Wednesday that his country had recorded an increase in mosquito-borne malaria and dengue fever cases, but infections caused by highly contagious poliovirus declined significantly. Only 12 children around the world were paralyzed by wild poliovirus in 2023, all of them in Afghanistan and Pakistan — with six reported in each. The two countries, sharing a nearly 2,600-kilometer border... Читать дальше...

New Delhi — For India, the return of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League party to the helm in Bangladesh for a fourth consecutive term is a welcome development, according to analysts. While the United States and Britain have said the recent elections that extended Hasina’s rule in the South Asian country were not credible, free or fair, New Delhi considers her a close ally in a neighborhood where its military confronts both Pakistan and China along hostile, disputed borders.     That is why a friendly government in Bangladesh... Читать дальше...

London — False and misleading information supercharged with cutting-edge artificial intelligence that threatens to erode democracy and polarize society is the top immediate risk to the global economy, the World Economic Forum said in a report Wednesday. In its latest Global Risks Report, the organization also said an array of environmental risks pose the biggest threats in the longer term. The report was released ahead of the annual elite gathering of CEOs and world leaders in the Swiss ski resort... Читать дальше...

TAIPEI/BEIJING — Taiwan's de facto ambassador to the United States met on Tuesday with U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, Taiwan's foreign ministry said on Wednesday, drawing a stern rebuke from Beijing. The United States is Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties with the island, which China views as its own territory. Alexander Yui took up his new post last month, replacing Hsiao Bi-khim, who is now running to... Читать дальше...

State Department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets Wednesday with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a day after he held talks with Israeli leaders and discussed a regional approach for resolving the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Blinken said issues on the agenda Wednesday would include the need for Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to carry out reforms and improve its governance. The Palestinian Authority governs part of the West Bank, while the Hamas militant group has... Читать дальше...

Bangkok — The threat of censorship may soon be lifted from Thailand’s movie industry, as a new government pushes a "soft power” agenda to boost the kingdom’s potential as a creative hub. Thailand was run for nine years by the arch-conservative government of former army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who seized power in a 2014 coup and presided over what rights groups say was a collapse in freedoms and restrictions on creative industries.  Antigovernment rappers and singers were hit with charges of sedition and royal defamation... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — The United States and China wrapped up two days of military talks in Washington Tuesday, the Pentagon said, the latest engagement since the two countries agreed to resume military-to-military ties. Washington and Beijing are at loggerheads over everything from the future of democratically ruled Taiwan to territorial claims in the South China Sea. Ties are still recovering after the U.S. downed an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President... Читать дальше...