Новости за 31.01.2024

TEHRAN, Iran — Lighting fires that brightened the night sky, followers of Iran's minority Zoroastrian religion marked the Sadeh festival in several cities Tuesday, celebrating the end of the coldest winter days. Every year on January 30, Zoroastrians gather after sunset to celebrate the 50 days and 50 nights remaining until spring. Sadah, which means "the 100," is an ancient feast from when the religion was the dominant faith in the powerful Persian empire, which collapsed after the Arab invasion in the 7th century. Читать дальше...

Abuja — A coalition of more than 40 civil society groups has petitioned Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, calling on him to address chronic insecurity that has only gotten worse since he assumed office last May. The petition follows a series of kidnappings in the capital, Abuja, and southwestern Ekiti state.     According to a report this week by the civil society coalition, at least 2,400 people have been killed and close to 1,900 others kidnapped since May last year when Tinubu assumed office.... Читать дальше...

GENEVA — Three years after Myanmar’s military junta overthrew the country’s democratically elected government, the U.N.’s top human rights official is calling on the international community to redouble efforts “to hold the military accountable” for the many crimes and abuses it has committed against the country’s civilian population. “Myanmar’s ever deteriorating human rights crisis is now in freefall, with insufficient world attention paid to the misery and pain of its people,” Volker Türk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — The United States imposed sanctions on three entities and one individual based in Turkey and Lebanon on Wednesday for giving "critical financial support" to a financial network used by Iran's Quds Force, or IRGC-QF, and Lebanon's Hezbollah. "These entities have generated hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of revenue from selling Iranian commodities, including to the Syrian government," the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement. "These commodity sales provide a key source... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — On February 21, 2023, just before the Second Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, or CCP, and the Two Sessions in Beijing, a lone protestor projected a massive red slogan on the outer wall of the Wanda Plaza in Jinan, the capital of northeastern Shandong Province. The slogan said: "Overthrow the Communist Party. Overthrow Xi Jinping." For months, little was known about who was behind the rare protest and how someone managed to stage such an audacious act in authoritarian China. Читать дальше...

Indigenous African grains such as millet and sorghum are known to be nutritious but are not popular with many, especially the Gen Zers who view the grains as food for the poor. To change this narrative, a Kenyan entrepreneur is using the grains to make snacks and breakfast cereals to promote consumption of indigenous grains and foster environmental sustainability, as Juma Majanga reports from Nairobi. Video by Amos Wangwa.

Yaounde, Cameroon — Communication ministers from the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, are meeting in Bangui, Central African Republic, this week to map out ways to stop the spread of hate speech. Officials from central African states say some influential politicians, business moguls and community leaders are using radio, television and social media to propagate information that has fueled regional crises, resulting in the displacement of millions of people. Felix Moloua, prime minister of the Central African Republic... Читать дальше...

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — The number of people uprooted by the war between rival generals in Sudan is around 8 million, the United Nations said on Wednesday. U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, who was visiting Ethiopia, rallied international donors to open their wallets to fight the crisis, describing the situation as "serious.” "The conflict has increased in intensity and in impact on civilians," Grandi told reporters in Addis Ababa. "Since April 2023, so less than a year ago... Читать дальше...

According to the latest U.S. census, in 2022 over 8 million Americans moved within the country. Dozens of thousands have left California, while Florida has become the fastest growing state population-wise, with 22 million residents and counting. Angelina Bagdasaryan took a look at the stories behind the demographics. Anna Rice narrates her story. (Camera: Vazgen Varzhabetian)

Last year, Somali farmers faced the dual threats of drought and flooding. Jamal Ahmed Osman spoke with farmers who shared their experiences of how extreme climate conditions are taking a toll, in this report narrated by VOA’s Arash Arabasadi. Camera and video edit: Abdulkadir Zubeyr

BANGKOK — Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday ordered the kingdom’s most radical party, Move Forward, to stop pressing for reform of a hard-line royal defamation law that effectively criminalizes open debate on the role of the monarchy.  The court stopped short of dissolving the popular political party, however, averting an immediate political crisis.   Move Forward stunned the royalist establishment by winning the most seats in an election in May 2023. The party, however, was forced... Читать дальше...

Israel calls for disbanding UNRWA, the United Nations agency that aids Palestinians, after Israel presented evidence that at least 12 UNRWA staffers participated in the October 7 massacre. Several major donors have suspended funding. Palestinians say that UNRWA fills a vital role in distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem. (Camera: Ricki Rosen;   Produced by:  Bakhtiyar Zamanov)

Nairobi — A polio vaccination campaign that was planned for November but postponed due to heavy rains and floods is finally taking place in three high risk counties in the northeastern part of Kenya. This comes after 13 cases of the so-called circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (CVDPV2) were discovered last year in the area.  This is the third round of polio vaccination targeting three high-risk counties of Mandera, Wajir and Garissa. The goal, according to Kenya’s ministry of health and its partners... Читать дальше...

Yangon, Myanmar — Myanmar’s ruling military junta Wednesday extended by six months a state of emergency that was about to expire. The move comes ahead of the three-year anniverary of the coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.  The military overthrew the government of de facto leader Suu Kyi on February 1, 2021, nearly three months after her National League for Democracy party won parliamentary elections in a landslide. The military cited unsubstantiated claims... Читать дальше...

SYDNEY — Australia considers itself the economic and security guardian of the Pacific region. But increasingly China has ambitions to further its interests among island nations. This week, Pat Conroy, Australia’s minister for International Development and the Pacific, who is also the Defense Industry minister, visited East Timor and Nauru.   He said in a statement that his trip was “to further strengthen our deep and longstanding partnerships with two of our closest partners”.   Monday, Conroy... Читать дальше...

Taipei, Taiwan — The liquidation of debt-ridden China Evergrande Group, ordered by a Hong Kong court on Monday, is unlikely to be enforced elsewhere in China, analysts say. “I think it’s extremely unlikely,” David Goodman, director of the China Studies Centre at the University of Sydney in Australia, told VOA in a phone interview on Tuesday. “It's not only a question of enforcement, it's a question of what the central government [in Beijing] wants to do. If it starts to get involved in this, it has to get involved in other activities... Читать дальше...

washington — South Korean kimchi exports hit a record high amid a global surge in the popularity of Korean culture, hitting 44,041 tons in 2023, a 7.1% increase from 42,544 tons exported in 2021.  Kimchi, a traditional Korean dish made by fermenting cabbage or other vegetables, was exported to 92 countries from South Korea last year, with the United States and Japan being the top customers, according to BusinessKorea, a monthly magazine.   The United States imported more than 10,000 tons of kimchi in 2023... Читать дальше...

An opposition leader in Zimbabwe who spent nearly 600 days in detention while awaiting trial on charges of inciting public violence has been released. A magistrate in Harare convicted Job Sikhala on the charges but handed down a suspended two-year sentence because Sikhala had already spent so many days in jail. Columbus Mavhunga has more from Harare.

WASHINGTON — Several prominent analysts are voicing doubts about a widely cited article concluding that North Korea has decided to wage war against South Korea, suggesting that Pyongyang’s provocative military buildup is more likely intended to win control over the South through intimidation. North Korea test-fired another round of cruise missiles off its west coast on Tuesday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. This was the third cruise missile launch since Jan. 14, when the regime... Читать дальше...