Новости за 26.01.2024

Groundbreaking artificial intelligence-assisted technology can help people with voice disorders speak in their natural voice, giving millions a chance to have clearer conversations. VOA’s Julie Taboh reports. Camera: Tina Trinh

abuja, nigeria — Nigerian authorities say reinforcements have been sent to a local Mangu district in central Plateau state where at least 30 people were killed in attacks this week. Authorities say some suspects also have been arrested and that operatives are responding to a surge in violence in the region known for clashes between farmers and herders. Nigerian defense authorities in Abuja told journalists during a media briefing Thursday that the killing of a local man by herders and an attempted... Читать дальше...

geneva — A senior United Nations official has warned that civil order could break down in Gaza if escalating hostilities force more and more Palestinians to flee to Rafah, an area crammed with 1.3 million people which prior to Hamas' brutal assault in Israel on October 7 accommodated fewer than 300,000. "It is packed. There is no space. People are angry. There is no food. There can be a civil disorder, a breakdown of civil order," said Ajith Sunghay, head of the U.N. Human Rights Office for the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Читать дальше...

Kinshasa, Congo — Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi has promised to use $7 billion from a renegotiated Chinese mining deal to build roads and infrastructure but his critics say the new agreement lacks transparency and is unfavorable towards Congo. In a surprise announcement last weekend, Tshisekedi said that talks between his government and a consortium of Chinese investors over rebalancing the so-called Sicomines mining agreement would bring in $7 billion to the Congolese treasury. Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — The United Nations agency that assists Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said Friday that it fired several of its employees after Israeli authorities provided the agency with information alleging their participation in the October 7 Hamas terror attack inside Israel. “To protect the agency’s ability to deliver humanitarian assistance, I have taken the decision to immediately terminate the contracts of these staff members and launch an investigation in order to establish the truth without... Читать дальше...

NATO has begun its biggest military exercises since the Cold War — with tens of thousands of troops set to move across Europe in the coming months in a show of force amid the threat from Russia. Henry Ridgwell reports from London.

Chinese-made drones dominate the global market and are used widely by government agencies inside the United States. As Matt Dibble reports, US cybersecurity watchdogs warn that using those drones come with risks.

NAIROBI, KENYA — The Nairobi High Court rejected a planned deployment of Kenyan police officers to Haiti.  The ruling on Friday by Judge Enock Chacha Mwita said Kenya could only deploy officers abroad if it had a "reciprocal arrangement" with the host government. It also ruled that only defense forces could be deployed, not security services. Last year, the Nairobi court suspended the government’s plan to send 1,000 police officers to Haiti.  Three petitioners, including opposition politician and constitutional lawyer Ekuru Aukot... Читать дальше...

Washington, DC has turned the National Building Museum into a wonderland of children's literature. Using children's books, it’s an immersive journey into architecture, engineering and design. Maxim Adams has the story. Camera and edit: Andrey Degtyarev, Andrey Degtyarev, Anna Rice

Beijing — China confirmed on Friday that it had sentenced a British national in 2022 to five years in jail for spying. It was its first official comment of a case that had gone unreported until this week. A Beijing court in 2022 "sentenced in the first instance the British defendant ... to five years in prison for the crime of illegally obtaining intelligence for overseas actors," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said. After an appeal, he added, the case was upheld in September. The... Читать дальше...

BANGKOK — Simmering tensions in the South China Sea between China and several Southeast Asian nations now regularly spark direct confrontation. Fighting in Myanmar against the military government that seized power three years ago has grown to the point that most say the country is now in a civil war. Hopes were high that Indonesia might be able to make significant inroads on both issues during its 2023 chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, using its clout as the bloc's largest country, but little progress was made. Читать дальше...

LONDON — An American scientist has sparked a trans-Atlantic tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite hot beverage. Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl says one of the keys to a perfect cup of tea is a pinch of salt. The tip is included in Francl's book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea, published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry. Not since the Boston Tea Party has mixing tea with salt water roiled the Anglo-American relationship so much. The salt... Читать дальше...

Sanaa, Yemen — Gazing smolderingly into the camera as he boards a hijacked ship, a young influencer is gaining attention as he promotes a controversial cause: Yemen's Houthi rebels and their attacks in the Red Sea. Rashed Al-Haddad, 19, has become a minor celebrity for his social media posts, some set to triumphant music and showing him brandishing the red, white and black flag of Yemen, with a large ceremonial dagger thrust into his belt. Though not a member of the Iran-backed group, the telegenic TikToker with cherubic curls... Читать дальше...

SYDNEY — Voting started Friday in the tiny Pacific island nation of Tuvalu, in a national election that could reverberate from China to Australia. With just more than 11,500 people, Tuvalu is one of the smallest nations in the world, but the election for the 16-seat parliament was being closely watched. After the vote count, parliamentary negotiations will form a new government and elect the prime minister. Polls opened at 8 a.m. and were to close at 4 p.m. Prime Minister Kausea Natano is running again... Читать дальше...

SYDNEY — Thousands of Australians protested the anniversary of British colonization of their country with large crowds Friday urging for Australia Day to be moved and for a day of mourning on the holiday some call "Invasion Day." The holiday marks the arrival of 11 British ships carrying convicts at Port Jackson in present-day Sydney on January 26, 1788. For many activists, the day marked the beginning of a sustained period of discrimination and expulsion of Indigenous people from their land without a treaty. Читать дальше...

boston, Massachusetts — A federal jury in Boston has convicted a Chinese music student on charges of stalking and harassing one of his Chinese classmates after she posted flyers in support of democracy in China around the campus of the Berklee College of Music in the fall of 2022. According to evidence presented at the trial and court documents, Xiaolei Wu, 25, sent his classmate online messages in late October of that year after she posted flyers that read: "We want democracy," "We want freedom"... Читать дальше...

As the world marks Holocaust Remembrance Day on Saturday, many in Israel are comparing the genocide of the Holocaust to the Hamas massacre of October 7. Some affected by October 7 were Holocaust survivors themselves. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Kibbutz Negba in southern Israel. Camera: Ricki Rosen.

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's federal police are investigating the country's former intelligence chief as part of a wider probe into alleged spying on political opponents under former President Jair Bolsonaro, court records showed Thursday.  The former intelligence chief, Alexandre Ramagem, was among those targeted by the 21 search warrants that the Supreme Court authorized and that police carried out early Thursday morning.  Police are investigating an "organized crime" group that operated within the intelligence agency... Читать дальше...