Новости за 30.01.2024

Blantyre, Malawi — The U.S. government handed over 66 secondary schools that it built for students in rural Malawi under the USAID-funded Secondary School Expansion for Development project, or SEED. The project is a partnership of the U.S. government through the United States Agency for International Development and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  Amy Diaz, deputy ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in Malawi, said the $90 million project started in 2019 with an initial plan to build 200 schools across Malawi. Читать дальше...

KAMPALA, Uganda — Only a small fraction of millions of needy people in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region are receiving food aid, according to an aid memo seen by The Associated Press, more than one month after aid agencies resumed deliveries of grain following a lengthy pause over massive theft.  Just 14% of 3.2 million people targeted for food aid by humanitarian agencies in the region this month had received it by Jan. 21, according to the memo by the Tigray Food Cluster, a group of aid agencies... Читать дальше...

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ranks Africa as the region with the lowest amount of e-commerce investment. UNCTAD says e-commerce is currently accessible to very few urban areas. An AI solution, however, aims to solve the problem. Senanu Tord reports from Accra, Ghana.

BEIJING — American and Chinese officials met Tuesday to discuss joint efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S., a sign of cooperation as the two global powers try to manage their contentious ties. The two-day meeting was the first for a new counternarcotics working group. One focus of the talks was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid that is ravaging America, and in particular ingredients for the drug that are made in China. Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to restart cooperation in a handful of areas... Читать дальше...

The Voronkov family lives in Donbas, some 20 kilometers from the front lines. In May 2023, a Russian missile destroyed their home, almost killing their teenage son who was hiding in the basement. But despite it all, the couple did not give up – instead, they started a business by opening a cafe. Anna Kosstutschenko met with them. VOA footage and video editing by Pavel Suhodolskiy.

Illegal parceling out of wetlands in Zimbabwe for residential purposes has not only damaged the biodiversity in such important sites but has also left residents vulnerable to floods and the destruction of their property. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare, where desperate home-seekers fall prey to land barons. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe

Capturing and removing carbon from our environment is one way scientists are combating climate change. A tech startup in Los Angeles is developing ways to draw carbon dioxide from the ocean. Genia Dulot has our story in this week’s episode of LogOn.

BALLYNAHINCH, Northern Ireland — The leader of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) said it had reached a deal with the British government on the operation of post-Brexit trade rules that would allow it to return to the region's power-sharing government.  Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government for almost two years after the DUP walked out in protest over the trade rules, which it said created barriers with the rest of the United Kingdom and undermined Northern Ireland's place in it. Читать дальше...

ISLAMABAD — A special court in Pakistan sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan to 10 years in prison Tuesday on charges that while in office, he made public state secrets involving the United States. Khan’s former foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, was also given a 10-year jail term in the lawsuit stemming from a classified cable, internally known as a cipher. Khan claimed the diplomatic cable had documented the U.S. role in the toppling of his government with the help of the military... Читать дальше...

The White House says it’s not seeking war with Iran, amid President Joe Biden’s vow to respond to a drone strike that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan, an act Washington blames on Iranian-backed militias. Congress is pressuring the White House to strike back, which is likely to further escalate and expand the conflict sparked by Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israeli citizens. VOA’s Anita Powell reports from Washington.

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Haiti's government on Monday announced a crackdown on a state environmental department whose heavily armed agents have grown more powerful in recent months and were blamed for violent clashes with police last week.  The government ordered all workers with the National Agency for Protected Areas to report themselves to the nearest office of the Ministry of the Environment so they can be registered.  Authorities also announced that no armed environmental agents are allowed to circulate within towns or cities... Читать дальше...

sydney — Papua New Guinea is in early talks with China on a potential security-and-policing deal, Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko told Reuters, weeks after deadly riots in the South Pacific nation's capital.  Amid jostling between Washington and Beijing for influence in the Pacific, the biggest Pacific Islands nation, Papua New Guinea (PNG), has previously said Australia and the United States are its security partners, while China is an important economic partner.  China approached PNG in September... Читать дальше...

Blantyre, Malawi — The Malawi government and the World Health Organization launched a new COVID-19 vaccination campaign on Monday in 10 of the country’s 29 districts. This is partly in response to new cases confirmed in the past three weeks in several districts across the country. Nsanje District in southern Malawi currently leads in the number of COVID-19 cases recorded this year. George Mbotwa, spokesperson for the district health office, said the district has registered 17 new cases in the past three weeks and some are health workers. Читать дальше...

new york — The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said Monday he believes war crimes have been committed by both sides in the Darfur region of Sudan since fighting erupted between rival generals in mid-April.  “Based on the work of my office, it’s my clear assessment that there are grounds to believe that presently Rome Statute crimes are being committed in Darfur by both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and affiliated groups,” Karim Khan told the U.N.... Читать дальше...

PORTLAND, Ore. — A federal judge has ordered an Oregon newspaper not to publish documents that it obtained regarding a sex discrimination lawsuit against sports behemoth Nike. The Oregonian/OregonLive reported that an attorney who represents plaintiffs in the case sent the documents to one of its reporters on January 19 and then asked for them back. When the news outlet declined, the attorney filed a court motion requesting they be returned. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie Russo approved the motion... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — N. Scott Momaday, a Pulitzer Prize-winning storyteller, poet, educator and folklorist whose debut novel "House Made of Dawn" is widely credited as the starting point for contemporary Native American literature, has died. He was 89. Momaday died Wednesday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, publisher HarperCollins announced. He had been in failing health. "Scott was an extraordinary person and an extraordinary poet and writer. He was a singular voice in American literature, and it... Читать дальше...