Новости за 17.05.2024

washington — Hundreds of Syrian mercenaries have been sent by Turkey to Niger in recent months to protect Ankara's economic and military interests in the West African nation, a rights group and experts said.  The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has researchers throughout Syria, reports that recruitment of Syrian fighters for deployment to Niger has been going on for several months.  "We have confirmed that about 1,100 Syrian fighters have already been deployed to Niger... Читать дальше...

SAN FRANCISCO — The man convicted of attempting to kidnap then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and attacking her husband with a hammer was sentenced Friday to 30 years in prison.  Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence for David DePape, 44, whom jurors found guilty last November of attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official. Prosecutors had asked for a 40-year prison term.  DePape was given 20 years for one count and 30 years for another count. Читать дальше...

Tehran, Iran — Iranian police announced Friday they arrested more than 250 people including three foreigners over promoting "satanism" west of the capital, Tehran, state media reported. "The Police Information Center announced the identification, dismantling, and widespread arrest of members of the satanist network," IRNA state news agency reported, citing a police statement. Police arrested "146 men and 115 women" who "were in an undesirable and obscene condition with emblems, signs, and symbols of satanism on their clothes... Читать дальше...

islamabad — Taliban authorities in Afghanistan said Friday that unknown assailants fatally shot three Western tourists and their local translator in the central city of Bamiyan.    The late-afternoon shooting in a busy central market also injured four people, including a foreigner, a spokesman for the Taliban-led Afghan Interior Ministry said. Abdul Mateen Qani shared the details on his official account on the social media platform X, but he did not disclose the foreigners' nationalities.   ... Читать дальше...

washington — The co-founder of a local reporting initiative in California is being recognized for her work mentoring young reporters and improving community news. Tasneem Raja, who helped set up the Cityside Journalism Initiative in the San Francisco Bay Area, has a long career mentoring reporters and reaching groups typically under-covered by media outlets. The nonpartisan, nonprofit Cityside Journalism Initiative launched at a time when the news media industry was shedding jobs. Its mission statement... Читать дальше...

The effects of recent extreme weather in Southeast Asian countries are far-reaching, from school closures to drought and health advisories. While climate change is part of the problem, this year it was made worse by the cyclical weather pattern called El Nino. VOA’s Chris Casquejo explains.

GENEVA — As U.N. agencies warn of a looming famine in Sudan, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights says U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk held separate phone calls with Sudan’s rival generals this week to try to deescalate the conflict.  “The high commissioner warned both commanders that fighting in el-Fasher, where more than 1.8 million residents and internally displaced people are encircled and at imminent risk of famine, would have a catastrophic impact on civilians, and would... Читать дальше...

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — An exhaustive rescue operation to find missing construction workers trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building in South Africa ended Friday after nearly two weeks, as authorities released a major revision of their figures and said they now believe that no one else is missing.  They confirmed that 33 workers died in the collapse of the five-story apartment building that was under construction in the city of George on South Africa’s south coast.  Authorities in the... Читать дальше...

LONDON — Paul McCartney is a billionaire Beatle. According to figures released Friday, the former member of the Fab Four is the first British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion). The annual Sunday Times Rich List calculated that the wealth of the 81-year-old musician and his wife, Nancy Shevell, had grown by 50 million pounds since last year thanks to McCartney’s 2023 Got Back tour, the rising value of his back catalogue and Beyonce’s cover of the Beatles’ “Blackbird” on her “Cowboy Carter” album. Читать дальше...

BERLIN — The German parliament Friday approved plans to relax strict restrictions on family names — clearing the way, among other things, for couples to take double surnames and pass them on to their children. The reform of Germany's rigid rules is due to take effect at the beginning of May 2025 after passing parliament's upper house, which represents the country's 16 state governments. As it stands, parents are required to give their children one of their surnames. One partner in a married couple ... Читать дальше...

Johannesburg/Maputo —  Africa has long been known for its so-called “blood diamonds,” a term for mineral wealth that fuels violent conflict. In the Southern Africa country of Mozambique, a report finds “blood timber” largely fueled by market demand from China is financing an insurgency in northern Mozambique. But security analysts disagree on how much the militants are profiting from the wood sales.   An Islamic State-linked militant group has been waging an insurgency in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province since 2017... Читать дальше...

This week, President Joe Biden drastically increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum products, and semiconductors. The move follows his administration’s review of former President Donald Trump's trade policies toward China. White House bureau chief Patsy Widakuswara looks at how the two presidential candidates differ in their approach.

Gigantic metal sculptures made by Kosovo-born artist Petrit Halilaj adorn the rooftop of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in an ode to a childhood affected by war. Garentina Kraja has the story. Camera: Vladimir Badikov

Taipei, Taiwan — When Taiwan’s President-elect Lai Ching-te is sworn into office on May 20, he will be facing what is perhaps the toughest first term of any leader the democratically ruled island of 23 million has ever elected since 1996.  Analysts say that Lai will not only need to carefully manage relations with China but also need to work to maintain steady ties with Washington during an election year. Branded a secessionist by Beijing, China has beefed up the scale and frequency of military... Читать дальше...

SYDNEY — Australian scientists say they have discovered how an enzyme “hidden in nature’s blueprint” could help develop climate-resilient crops able to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  An Australian study, by researchers from Australian National University and the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, focuses on a type of bacteria researchers call “tiny carbon superheroes.”  Cyanobacteria, a type of algae-like bacteria also called blue-green algae, are found in fresh and coastal waters, as well as oceans. Читать дальше...

Goma, DR Congo — Reputed to be the coltan capital of the world, the mining town of Rubaya, in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, has fallen into the hands of rebels. The fall of Rubaya is causing a stir among local residents who fear M23 will use profits from the coltan mines to fund their war against the DRC government. Estimated to hold more than 70 percent of the planet's coltan reserves, the town of Rubaya has been under the control of the M23 rebels since April 30.  According to Mapenzi Mulume... Читать дальше...

PARIS — French police on Friday shot dead an armed man who was trying to set fire to a synagogue in the northern city of Rouen. "National police in Rouen neutralized early this morning an armed individual who clearly wanted to set fire to the city's synagogue," Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on X, formerly Twitter. Police responded at 6:45 am (0445 GMT) to reports of "fire near the synagogue," a police source said. A source close to the case told AFP the man "was armed with a knife and an iron bar... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — Trucks carrying badly needed aid for the Gaza Strip rolled across a newly built U.S. floating pier into the besieged enclave for the first time Friday as Israeli restrictions on border crossings and heavy fighting hinder food and other supplies reaching people there. The shipment is the first in an operation that American military officials anticipate could scale up to 150 truckloads a day entering the Gaza Strip as Israel presses in on the southern city of Rafah as its seven-month offensive against Hamas rages on. Читать дальше...

HOUSTON — Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 850,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. Officials urged residents to keep off roads, as many were impassable and traffic lights were expected to be out for much of the night. "Stay at home tonight, do not go to work tomorrow, unless you're an essential worker. Читать дальше...

white house — International and domestic pressure is mounting on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to establish a strategic endgame for the Israel-Hamas war that would tie Israeli military gains to a political solution for the Palestinian enclave. In his harshest public rebuke yet to Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant gave televised remarks Wednesday, urging the prime minister to make "tough decisions" on postwar Gaza at whatever political cost. Gallant warned Israelis that... Читать дальше...