Новости за 22.01.2024

Jerusalem — Iran is “very directly involved” in ship attacks that Yemen's Houthi rebels have carried out during Israel's war against Hamas, the U.S. Navy's top Mideast commander told The Associated Press on Monday.  Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy's 5th Fleet, stopped short of saying Tehran directed individual attacks by the Houthis in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.  However, Cooper acknowledged that attacks associated with Iran have expanded from previously threatening just... Читать дальше...

Tehran, Iran — Hundreds of mourners gathered Monday in Tehran for the funerals of Revolutionary Guards commanders killed in Syria, in what Iran called an Israeli strike.   It was the latest incident adding to regional tensions and fears of wider conflagration during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.  The strike in Damascus on Saturday killed five members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military force said. Iranian media later reported the victims included the group's intelligence chief for Syria, and his deputy. Читать дальше...

Atlanta, Georgia — Dexter Scott King, the younger son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, died Monday after battling prostate cancer. The King Center in Atlanta, which Dexter King served as chairman, said the 62-year-old son of the civil rights icon died at his home in Malibu, California. His wife, Leah Weber King, said in a statement that he died "peacefully in his sleep." The third of the Kings' four children, Dexter King was named for the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery... Читать дальше...

In Taiwan, authorities say public art demonstrates their commitment to free expression. For VOA, Shelley Schlender takes us to a thought-provoking sculpture of a snarling red monster and a warrior with a mop.

Washington — The US Supreme Court Monday agreed to hear the case of an Oklahoma man convicted of murder, whose story has sparked appeals for clemency from Pope Francis and Hollywood stars. Richard Glossip, 60, had been scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection on May 18, but the nation's highest court put his execution on hold. The stay came after the Oklahoma attorney general, a Republican, asked the court, in an unusual move, to halt the execution, citing questions about the fairness of his trial. Читать дальше...

Islamabad — Envoys of Pakistan and Iran will return to their posts by the end of this week, Pakistan and Iran announced Monday.    The latest sign of de-escalation comes almost a week after Iran struck alleged terror targets inside Pakistan and Islamabad responded with counterstrikes against purported terror hideouts across the border. The strikes killed at least 11 civilians, 9 in Iran and 2 in Pakistan.   Amid unprecedented tensions Islamabad recalled its ambassador from Tehran last Wednesday and told the Iranian envoy... Читать дальше...

MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — As New Hampshire voters prepared to cast their votes in the state's first-in-the nation primary Tuesday, a robo-call is circulating in the state urging Democrats to stay home - using a fake audio of U.S. President Joe Biden.   "It’s important that you save your vote for the November election….voting this Tuesday only enables the Republicans in their quest to elect Donald Trump again," the call says. The New Hampshire attorney general, John Formella, announced he is... Читать дальше...

Monrovia — Liberia's new president Joseph Boakai pledged to fight corruption in the West African country as he was sworn into office on Monday following his election victory over former football star George Weah. The 79-year-old narrowly beat former Ballon d'Or winner Weah in November's run-off poll, with 50.64 percent of the vote to 49.36 percent. "We see hard times, we see dysfunctioning... we see corruption in high and low places. And (it's) in these and similar conditions that we have come... Читать дальше...

Nairobi, Kenya — Kenya says it wants to promote peace in East Africa and has no problems with neighboring countries. At the same time, there are undeniable signs of diplomatic strains with at least four neighbors, including two that recently recalled their ambassadors from Nairobi. Kenya's effort to assert itself as a regional political force and economic hub in eastern Africa is not going over well with some of its neighbors.   The Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan recalled their ambassadors... Читать дальше...

Russian immigrants in many countries hit the streets Sunday, protesting on the three-year anniversary of the imprisonment of Russia’s best-known opposition leader, Alexey Navalny. Richard Green narrates VOA’s report from Los Angeles.

The small northeastern U.S. state of New Hampshire holds its presidential primary Tuesday. The state, which prides itself on independence and creating havoc, takes on added interest with Sunday’s news that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ended his campaign, making it a two-person Republican contest. VOA’s Carolyn Presutti is there and explains how the Granite State could turn politics upside-down on Tuesday. VOA footage and video editing by Adam Greenbaum.

STANFORD, Calif. — Tara VanDerveer's face shined in every corner of Maples Pavilion with that very message. Yes, the Stanford Hall of Famer now stands atop major college basketball as the winningest coach of all time. "Today was just so wonderful," VanDerveer said. Even though she had to text her 96-year-old mother, Rita, they'd need to cancel a scheduled bridge game because of all the postgame festivities to celebrate her. "It is a big number and I'm very appreciative of the great players I've... Читать дальше...

St. LOUIS — The nation's rivers and streams remain stubbornly polluted with nutrients that contaminate drinking water and fuel a gigantic dead zone for aquatic life in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a recently released Environmental Protection Agency assessment. It's a difficult problem that's concentrated in agricultural regions that drain into the Mississippi River. More than half of the basin's miles of rivers and streams were in poor condition for nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer that drains into waterways, the agency found. Читать дальше...

Mbemba’s Instagram account was targeted by many users who replied to his latest posts with monkey or gorilla emojis, or wrote racist comments.

Baghdad, Iraq — The U.S. ambassador to Iraq met Sunday with former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, the Iraqi politician's office said, a day after pro-Iran militants struck U.S. forces in the country. The meeting in Baghdad with Ambassador Alina Romanowski comes amid soaring regional tensions, the fallout from more than three months of war between U.S. ally Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, supported by Tehran. Ballistic missiles were launched Saturday at a base hosting U.S. forces in western Iraq... Читать дальше...

Yanshanpu, China — Authorities in central China's Henan province were looking Sunday into the cause of a night-time fire that killed 13 schoolchildren as they slept in a dormitory. The inferno, which took place at the Yingcai School in Yanshanpu village, was reported to the local fire department at 11:00 p.m. (1500 GMT) Friday and was put out around 40 minutes later, official news agency Xinhua said. Thirteen students died in the accident, while one other person suffered injuries. Dozens of... Читать дальше...

New York — On a quiet weekend in movie theaters, "Mean Girls" repeated atop the box office with $11.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday, while a handful of awards contenders sought to make an impact ahead of Oscar nominations Tuesday. With a dearth of new releases in cinemas, Paramount Pictures' Tina Fey-scripted musical "Mean Girls" pushed its two-week total past $50 million, along with $16.2 million internationally. So far, it's outpacing the tally for the 2004 original... Читать дальше...