Новости за 08.03.2024

Groundbreaking strides minorities are making at the rodeo.

See a rodeo in El Reno, Oklahoma where LGBTQ (acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) men and women compete together to show off their talents in events like bull riding, team roping and bronc riding. The rodeo is also an opportunity to remind people that the sport is for anyone regardless of sexual orientation. Producer: Nathaly Salas Guaithero, Camera | Editor: Nelson Vignolles

WASHINGTON — The United States on Saturday marks its first U.S. Hostage and Wrongful Detainee Day to commemorate Americans being held abroad. First designated last year by bipartisan House and Senate legislation, the day marks the anniversary of the kidnapping of Robert Levinson, a former FBI agent who was considered to be the longest-held American hostage in history. The legislation also created an official flag as a symbol to recognize those Americans. Currently 56 Americans are held hostage or wrongfully detained... Читать дальше...

washington — A Pentagon study released Friday that examined reported sightings of UFOs over nearly the last century found no evidence of aliens or extraterrestrial intelligence, a conclusion consistent with past U.S. government efforts to assess the accuracy of claims that have captivated public attention for decades.  The study from the Defense Department's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office analyzed U.S. government investigations since 1945 of reported sightings of unidentified anomalous phenomena, more popularly known as UFOs. Читать дальше...

ABUJA, Nigeria — Security forces swept through large forests in Nigeria's northwest region on Friday in search of nearly 300 children abducted from their school by motorcycle-riding gunmen in the latest mass kidnapping, which analysts and activists blamed on the failure of intelligence and a slow security response.  The abduction of the 287 children in Kaduna state, near the West African nation's capital, is one of the largest school kidnappings in the decade since the kidnapping of schoolgirls... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez was convicted on Friday in New York of charges that he conspired with drug traffickers and used his military and national police force to enable tons of cocaine to make it unhindered into the United States.  The jury returned its verdict at a federal court after a two-week trial that has been closely followed in his home country.  Hernandez, 55, served two terms as the leader of the Central American nation of roughly 10 million people. Читать дальше...

Nigel Inkster speaks with VOA about China’s unprecedented removal of defense and foreign minister over the past year and party’s tightening grip on the state

President Joe Biden addressed his nation and the world Thursday night in the State of the Union: VOA has reaction from Washington, Kyiv and Jerusalem. The US Military will build a temporary pier to deliver aid to Gaza and Hindu Nationalists are growing more popular in Nepal

Washington — A U.N. report released Friday about the prevalence of female genital mutilation around the globe is drawing attention to the practice among the Dawoodi Bohra community, a Muslim minority sect based in India. India is not on the UNICEF list of 31 countries released Friday. But the extent of FGM in India, although small relative to its population and long shrouded in secrecy, is coming into the open. The ritual is mostly practiced by the Dawoodi Bohras, a subsect of the Ismaili branch... Читать дальше...

Baku, Azerbaijan — This week Azeri authorities detained several journalists at an independent media outlet and raided its office and the homes of some of its staff.   Police raided Toplum TV Wednesday in the capital, Baku, and the homes of some of its staff, and detained several people, according to its Editor-in-Chief Khadija Ismayilova.   On Friday, police made additional arrests, including Toplum TV’s co-founder Alasgar Mammadli.   As well as Mammadli, three of Toplum TV’s journalists – video editor Mushfiq Jabbar... Читать дальше...

Jerusalem — President Joe Biden announced the U.S. military will establish a temporary pier on the Gaza coast to deliver aid. Biden also pushed Israel to do more to help the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. President Joe Biden says the U.S. has plans to help solve the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The president said he is directing the U.S. military to lead an emergency mission to establish a temporary pier in the Mediterranean on the Gaza coast that can receive large ships carrying food, water, medicine and temporary shelters. Читать дальше...

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Thousands of Cameroonian women were out on the streets Friday — International Women’s Day — to press for more access to education and economic opportunity, as well as an end to harmful prejudices and practices. The Central African nation’s Ministry of Women's Empowerment said about 30,000 women came out to mark this year's International Women's Day, many wearing special green and yellow gowns bearing the slogan “Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress.” The women sang about longing... Читать дальше...

Republicans chose one of their youngest senators, Katie Britt of Alabama, to deliver the party’s scathing response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

A son of Korean immigrants last week became the interim chief of the Los Angeles Police Department. He is the first Asian American to hold this position. Genia Dulot has the story.

In three key competitive states, North Carolina, Minnesota and Michigan, tens of thousands of Americans voted “uncommitted” in primary elections rather than vote for President Joe Biden. It’s part of a movement spearheaded by Arab Americans in Michigan to protest the president’s support for Israel in the war in Gaza. VOA’s Dora Mekouar reports from Michigan, home to the largest Arab American population in the country. Camera, video edit: Adam Greenbaum

ISLAMABAD — The United Nations warned Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities Friday that their bans on women’s education and work risk pushing the country further into deeper poverty and international isolation. The head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, called again on the fundamentalist regime to reverse the restrictions as the world marked International Women’s Day to highlight the need to invest in women. “It is heartbreaking that we are seeing precisely the opposite unfolding in Afghanistan... Читать дальше...

A group of women from small hold farms in Zimbabwe have mobilized resources to build a shelter for expectant mothers who live far from the nearest clinic. It can literally save the lives of pregnant women who cannot reach a clinic in time to give birth. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Mashava, Zimbabwe, south of the capital, Harare.

HONG KONG — Hong Kong on Friday published its new national security draft law, a document that broadens the definition of crimes including sabotage, sedition and state secrets, and stipulates tougher penalties of up to life imprisonment. The bill comes on top of a 2020 security law imposed by China a year after pro-democracy protests. Lawmakers are expected to pass the draft bill within weeks, and the law could have implications for many sectors in the global financial hub including business... Читать дальше...