Новости за 17.01.2024

Abuja, Nigeria — Human rights group Amnesty International and other advocacy groups raised concerns Tuesday over British oil giant Shell's sale of its onshore businesses in Nigeria. Shell announced Tuesday it had concluded plans to sell the assets for $2.4 billion, but Amnesty said authorities should ensure the company addresses decades’ worth of oil spills before closing the deal. In a post on the social media site X, Amnesty said, "Shell should not be allowed to wash its hands of the problems... Читать дальше...

Washington — A Maine court on Wednesday ordered the state's top election official to reevaluate a decision to bar former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on a related case from Colorado.  State Superior Court Judge Michaela Murphy found that the Supreme Court's decision to take the Colorado case "changes everything about the order in which these issues should be decided and by which court."  The judge ordered Maine Secretary of State Shanna Bellows... Читать дальше...

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA — The African Union's conflict resolution body met on Wednesday amid escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia over a coastline deal and called for "restraint" between the parties.    Landlocked Ethiopia signed a surprise maritime accord with Somalia's breakaway region of Somaliland on January 1, in a move Mogadishu has rejected as violating international law.    The AU's Peace and Security Council said it had heard representatives of Ethiopia and Somalia in Addis... Читать дальше...

Abuja — Human rights organizations, including religious groups, are calling on the U.S. government to designate Nigeria as a country of concern for religious freedom.  The calls follow a spate of attacks on Christmas Eve in central Nigeria that killed nearly 200 people. But critics say previous designations by the U.S did not solve tensions between Nigeria’s Muslim and Christian communities. The latest push to designate Africa's largest country over religious freedom violations comes after U.S. Читать дальше...

Harare, Zimbabwe — The U.N. World Food Program said Wednesday that it was working with Zimbabwe's government and aid agencies to provide food to 2.7 million rural people in the country as the El Nino weather phenomenon contributes to a drought crisis in southern Africa. Food shortages putting nearly 20% of Zimbabwe's population at risk of hunger have been caused by poor harvests in drought-ravaged areas where people rely on small-scale farming to eat. El Nino is expected to compound that by causing below-average rainfall again this year... Читать дальше...

The health of the economy often plays a big role in how Americans vote in general elections, including for the next president. This year, there are early signs that other issues are equally important to people as they prepare to cast their ballots in November. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the story from Washington.

When enjoying a fine perfume, one might not be aware that one of its main ingredients comes from the remote Comoros Islands in the Indian Ocean. It is ylang-ylang oil, and the people who produce flower oil are asking for a larger share of the profits, as Ruud Elmendorp reports from the Comoros capital, Moroni.

Harare, Zimbabwe — The U.N.'s Children's Fund expressed alarm this week about a cholera outbreak in Africa that has spread to at least 10 countries, with the situation in Zambia and Zimbabwe "very serious." Dr. Paul Ngwakum, the regional health adviser for UNICEF in East and Southern Africa, said about 200,000 cases have been reported and more than 3,000 lives taken by the disease. Of the 10 countries he named as having an active outbreak, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Somalia, Zambia and Zimbabwe... Читать дальше...

Although India’s economy is growing at a fast rate, it is still not creating enough employment for its massive young population. The government is wooing global manufacturers to generate more jobs, but opportunities are not keeping pace with demand. As Anjana Pasricha reports from New Delhi, the challenge of finding good jobs is greatest for young college graduates. VOA footage by Darshan Singh.

sydney — The Australian government is considering new laws to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in “high-risk” areas such as law enforcement and self-driving vehicles. Voluntary measures also are being explored, such as asking companies to label AI-generated content. The country has outlined its plan to respond to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, or AI. Under the Canberra government's plan announced Wednesday, safeguards would be applied to technologies that predict the chances of someone again committing a crime... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — Fresh off a campaign victory in Iowa, Donald Trump sat in a New York courtroom on Tuesday to defend himself for a second time against charges that he defamed writer E. Jean Carroll after she accused him of raping her decades ago. Trump watched from the defendant's table as Carroll's lawyer told a jury that the then-U.S. president made her life miserable when she went public in 2019 with her story that he had attacked her in a department store dressing room in Manhattan. "He used the world's biggest microphone to attack Ms. Читать дальше...

washington — The White House sees national security concerns in a recent agreement giving Ethiopia leasing rights to the Red Sea coastline in Somalia's breakaway Somaliland region, administration officials said Tuesday. But experts questioned Washington's commitment and ability to quell tensions in the volatile region.  The two parties inked the deal on January 1. At the time, Ethiopian government spokesman Redwan Hussien said the deal also "paves the way for accessing a leased military base on [the] Red Sea."  John Kirby... Читать дальше...

Palestinian Territories — Al Jazeera's Gaza bureau chief, Wael al-Dahdouh, left the Palestinian territory Tuesday, he told AFP, after Israeli strikes killed his wife, multiple children and a colleague. Scenes of Dahdouh mourning his family and fleeing on foot from Gaza City have been broadcast globally over the weeks since war erupted between Hamas militants and Israel on October 7. Speaking to an AFP journalist in southern Gaza, the 53-year-old said he had crossed the Rafah border post with Egypt. Читать дальше...

Iran unleashes aerial strikes on perceived enemies in Pakistan, Iraq and Syria in a 24-hour period. Eurasia Group’s Gregory Brew on the effectiveness of U.S. and British strikes on Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran group’s Shiva Mahboubi on how four Kurdish political prisoners whose death sentences were upheld by Iran’s Supreme Court could win a reprieve. Iran International’s Maryam Sinaiee how northern Iran fishmonger Sadegh Bagheri, who charmed Instagram users with a song and dance routine... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is expected to soon announce plans to redesignate Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen as specially designated global terrorists, according to two people familiar with the White House decision and a U.S. official. The move comes as the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea. The group says it has attacked the ships in response to Israel's military operations in Gaza in the aftermath of Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel. ... Читать дальше...

The families of the 136 Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza say time is running out to bring their loved ones home alive. But any deal with Hamas would probably mean ending the war in Gaza, which Israeli leaders say is not an option now. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. Camera: Ricki Rosen

CAIRO — The Sudanese government suspended ties Tuesday with the East African regional bloc trying to mediate between the country's army and a rival powerful paramilitary force, accusing the body of violating Sudan's sovereignty by inviting the paramilitary leader to an upcoming summit. The army, headed by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces, commanded by General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, have been fighting for control of Sudan since April. Long-standing tensions erupted into... Читать дальше...

islamabad — Pakistan confirmed Tuesday that an Iranian cross-border attack had killed two "innocent children" in its southwestern Baluchistan province and warned Iran of "serious consequences."     The statement came just hours after Iran said it struck strongholds of a Sunni armed group, Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), allegedly sheltering on the Pakistani side of the nearly 900-kilometer border between the two countries.  The paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly carried... Читать дальше...

nairobi, kenya — Kenya has embarked on its biggest rhino relocation project and began the difficult work Tuesday of tracking, darting and moving 21 of the critically endangered beasts, which can each weigh over a ton, to a new home. A previous attempt at moving rhinos in the East African nation was a disaster in 2018, as all 11 of the animals died. The latest project experienced early troubles. A rhino targeted for moving was successfully hit with a tranquilizer dart shot from a helicopter but ended up in a creek. Читать дальше...

washington — The spread of slick videos that falsely depict U.S. broadcasters making misleading comments or endorsing cryptocurrency and other goods is alarming analysts.  The use of what are known as deepfakes — videos created with artificial intelligence to realistically impersonate people, including journalists — is viewed as especially troubling in a year when more than 40 countries are due to hold significant elections.  At a time of rampant disinformation and low trust in news, and as news... Читать дальше...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark's only overseas adoption agency said Tuesday that it is "winding down" its facilitation of international adoptions after a government agency raised concerns over fabricated documents and procedures that obscured children's biological origins abroad.  The privately run Danish International Adoption mediated adoptions in the Philippines, India, South Africa, Thailand, Taiwan and the Czech Republic. Last month, an appeals board suspended DIA's work in South Africa because... Читать дальше...