Новости за 16.08.2022

Russian forces, alongside Syrian regime forces, have been intensively bombing civilian areas in northwestern Syria since 2013. Despite several ceasefire agreements signed between 2013 and 2021, the Russian military has still been dropping illegal munitions and has carried out thousands of air strikes targeting civilian areas. Our Observer, who lives near Idlib in northwestern Syria, told us about his everyday life, punctuated by bombing.

Brazil's presidential election campaign officially began Tuesday with former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva leading all polls against incumbent Jair Bolsonaro amid growing concern of political violence and threats to democracy.

The multiple forest fires that have been raging in France since the beginning of summer have released record amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, according to satellite data, and fires in Spain in mid-July also helped break records for carbon emissions. Fuelled by global warming, the blazes are reducing the number of trees available to absorb carbon, further threatening ecosystems.

More than two decades of well below average rainfall have left the river -- the lifeblood of the western United States -- at critical levels, as human-caused climate change worsens the natural drought cycle. Despite years of warnings, states that depend on the river have not managed to reduce their demands enough, and on Tuesday, the federal government said it was imposing cuts. "In order to avoid a catastrophic collapse of the Colorado River System and a future of uncertainty and conflict, water... Читать дальше...

Sjoestroem swam the fastest time in the event this year as she cruised to her second gold of the championships in 23.91 seconds. Pole Katarzyna Wasick was second at 0.29sec and Valerie van Roon of the Netherlands third at 0.73. Sjoestroem won both events at the world championships in Budapest in June. It was her 27th European long-course medal, breaking a tie with Russian Alexander Popov for most by a single swimmer. Hungarian Kristof Milak also duplicated his double at the worlds when he opened the evening by winning the 200m butterfly. Читать дальше...

The first-round defeat on pre-US Open hardcourt was the second in as many weeks for Japan's former world number one, now ranked 39th. The 24-year-old was eliminated in the Toronto first round and has won just a single match out of four on cement -- at the WTA Silicon Valley in July. World number 44 Zhang moved into the second round in 75 minutes as she won her first main draw match here since 2014. The Chinese player was on the winning Cincinnati doubles team in 2021 and claimed US Open doubles honours in 2021 with Australian Sam Stosur. Читать дальше...

On August 16, 2012, 34 people were killed and 78 injured when police opened fire on platinum mine workers who had gathered on a hill near the mine to press demands for better wages and housing. Ten years later, survivors and relatives of victims are still demanding justice. On Tuesday, some danced and sang songs while brandishing sticks on the same rocky hill that played as backdrop to the massacre, around 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, according to AFP reporters at the scene. Читать дальше...

Kenyan politician Raila Odinga rejected as a "travesty" the result of an August 9 presidential election he was declared to have lost to Deputy President William Ruto and warned on August 16 of a long legal crisis facing Kenya's democracy.

Rachid Bouanou has traded in a life at sea for a job selling second-hand books by the banks of the River Seine in Paris. The former sailor is one of 18 new ‘bouquinistes’, booksellers who ply their trade from iconic green kiosks in the French capital in a tradition that dates back centuries. He and others answered an appeal by Paris City Hall to find new recruits for a number of stalls left vacant following a tough few years for the profession.

Ranil Wickremesinghe invoked the tough laws four days after his predecessor fled the country and resigned on July 14 after months of protests over acute shortages of food, fuel and medicines. The emergency imposed by Wickremesinghe is due to lapse on Thursday and he has the power to renew it every month thereafter. "The situation in the country has stabilised, there is no need to reimpose the state of emergency when it lapses this week," Wickremesinghe's office quoted him as saying. The emergency... Читать дальше...

Speaking last week, South Africa captain Dean Elgar said he had "absolutely no interest" in England's rebooted style, which has delivered four wins out of four so far under the new leadership team of skipper Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum. "Bazball" is a reference to McCullum's nickname and Elgar also suggested he was sceptical about how successful it would be in the long term in the five-day format. Stokes, speaking on the eve of the first Test of the three-match series, noted that the issue had come up in the Proteas' camp. Читать дальше...

The 23-year-old Uruguayan, who signed from Benfica in June, was shown a straight red card in the 57th minute at Anfield for his foul on Joachim Andersen and will serve a three-match ban. Colombia's Luis Diaz scored a brilliant equaliser after Liverpool were reduced to 10 men to cancel out Wilfried Zaha's first-half opener. But the draw meant more dropped points for Jurgen Klopp's team, who have just two points after their first two matches of the Premier League season. Klopp is already short of... Читать дальше...

Kenya was calm on Tuesday, a day after Deputy President William Ruto was declared the winner of the narrow presidential election over longtime opposition figure Raila Odinga — a vote closely watched in the East African country that has been crucial to regional stability.

Positive data on BioNTech and U.S. partner Pfizer Inc’s Covid-19 vaccine is an unlikely success for the married couple behind the German biotech firm, who have devoted their lives to harnessing the immune system against cancer.

Ben Stokes, the England captain, announced the return of Surrey wicketkeeper Foakes to the XI during a media conference on Tuesday. Foakes is the only change from the team that defeated India in the postponed fifth Test at Edgbaston last month after missing the match following a case of coronavirus. That victory was England's fourth win in as many Tests under their new leadership pair of Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum. Foakes reclaims the gloves from Kent's Sam Billings. There is no place for Ollie Robinson... Читать дальше...

Michelle Bachelet spent the day meeting with residents of the sprawling and squalid relief settlements housing nearly a million ethnic Rohingya who fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar. Security in the camps came back into focus this month when two refugee community leaders were shot dead, allegedly by an insurgent group active in the camps. "She wanted to know about murders in the camps. We discussed it and also we discussed camp security," religious leader Maulvi Zafar told AFP by phone after meeting with the envoy. Читать дальше...

The East African nation has long struggled to get women into politics, with men accounting for the overwhelming majority of elected officials and female politicians largely consigned to serving as one of Kenya's 47 women representatives. But the August 9 elections marked a breakthrough for female politicians. In the populous Rift Valley town of Nakuru for instance, female candidates were elected to eight positions, including governor, senator and woman representative -- with Susan Kihika, Tabitha... Читать дальше...

Ruto's opponents cried foul Monday after he was declared winner of the August 9 election in a close race with Odinga, and the outcome also triggered divisions in the body responsible for overseeing the vote. The poll's aftermath is being keenly watched as a test of democratic maturity in the East African powerhouse where previous elections have been tarnished by claims of rigging and bloodshed. Veteran opposition leader Odinga failed in his fifth stab at the top job even after running with the support of his old foe... Читать дальше...

The fire began when lightning hit the Vall de Ebo area in the province of Alicante late Saturday and it has since spread rapidly, fuelled by strong winds, forcing the evacuation of more than 1,000 people, Valencia's regional government said. "It's been a very complicated night," regional interior minister Gabriela Bravo told Antena 3 television, saying some 300 firefighters were battling the flames, backed by 24 planes and helicopters. "At the moment we are talking about more than 9,500 hectares... Читать дальше...

On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley died at his Graceland estate in Memphis, Tennessee, at age 42.

The United States had already said Monday that it was informing EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell of its response to the text he submitted on August 8. The possibility of a deal which might lead to the lifting of US sanctions on Iran's oil output of 2.5 million barrels per day has already helped trigger a fall in prices on world markets, with US oil futures dropping nearly three percent to finish below $90 a barrel. A spokesperson for Borrell -- who coordinated talks to bring Iran and the US... Читать дальше...

China on Tuesday imposed sanctions including an entry ban on seven Taiwanese officials and lawmakers it accused of being "independence diehards", drawing condemnation from the democratically governed island.

Kenya's Raila Odinga on Tuesday rejected the results of last week's presidential election that delivered victory to his rival Deputy President William Ruto.

Temperatures in the province -- home to nearly 84 million people -- have hovered above 40-42 degrees Celsius (104-108 degrees Fahrenheit) since last week, according to data from China's Meteorological Administration, increasing the demand for air conditioning. The region relies on dams to generate 80 percent of its electricity, but rivers in the area have dried up this summer, Beijing's Water Resources Ministry said. The province in China's southwest produces half the nation's lithium, used in batteries for electric vehicles... Читать дальше...

An area of intensely warm weather -- a so-called "extreme heat belt" -- with at least one day per year in which the heat index hits 125 Fahrenheit (52C), is expected to cover a US region home to more than 100 million people by the year 2053, according to a new study.