Новости за 08.02.2024

Two titans of space travel team up to study our planet's health. Plus, a Russian cosmonaut breaks the record for the most time in space, and sky gazers in North America will get a treat in coming months. VOA's Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.

News that American media personality Tucker Carlson was in Russia to interview President Vladimir Putin has received intense news coverage in Russia. Some have described it as a frenzy, one that’s giving insight into how the Russian state handles foreign and domestic journalists. Elizabeth Cherneff narrates this report from VOA' Moscow bureau.

Four billion people worldwide have voted or are scheduled to do so in national elections through 2024. While the candidates and issues differ in each country, one common concern is the use of generative artificial intelligence in disinformation campaigns. VOA’s Valdya Baraputri has the story.

Taipei, Taiwan — Some activists and analysts are saying Monday’s sentencing of a prominent Chinese feminist activist to more than three years in jail shows Beijing’s increasing retaliation against those closely associated with detained activists. A court in China’s eastern province of Shandong Monday sentenced Li Qiaochu to three years and eight months on the charge of “incitement to subvert state power.” In the judgment, the court accused Li of being “deeply influenced” by detained activist Xu Zhiyong... Читать дальше...

Participants of the Extreme Chainsaw Carving Show have just a few hours to turn a cedar block of wood into a beautiful work of art. VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya reports from Arlington, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest.

Brazil is set to launch a public mass vaccination campaign against dengue fever, amid a surge of cases nationwide. According to the country's Health Ministry, Brazil has seen nearly five times more cases in the first five weeks of this year than in the same period in 2023. From Sao Paulo, Yan Boechat has the story.

GRINDAVIK, Iceland — A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday for the third time since December, sending jets of lava into the sky and triggering the evacuation of the Blue Lagoon spa, one of the island nation's biggest tourist attractions.  The eruption began about 6 a.m. along a 3-kilometer (nearly 2-mile) fissure northeast of Mount Sylingarfell, the Icelandic Meteorological Office said. Several communities on the Reykjanes Peninsula were cut off from heat and hot water after a river of lava engulfed a supply pipeline. Читать дальше...

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Cameroon separatist fighters Wednesday claimed responsibility for the killing of four government workers, including a policeman abducted Tuesday in the country's restive English-speaking North-West region. Government officials say two of the hostages, including a government official the military freed, are responding to treatment in a hospital. The abduction and killing followed renewed separatist attacks that have claimed several dozen civilians within two weeks. Cameroon on... Читать дальше...

A 22-year-old Zimbabwean with cerebral palsy is hoping to compete in the 2024 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Calgary starting later this month. Meanwhile, groups in Zimbabwe advocating for disabled people's rights are hoping to turn government policy into law. Columbus Mavhunga reports from Harare. Camera: Blessing Chigwenhembe.

Taipei, Taiwan — China has replaced the head of its securities watchdog with veteran regulator Wu Qing, known as the “Broker Butcher” for his tough enforcement of trading regulations in the past. Wu’s appointment comes as policymakers in China are struggling to stabilize the country's stock markets. State-run Xinhua news agency announced the replacement on Wednesday. Wu previously served as acting vice mayor of China's major financial hub, Shanghai, and as chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Читать дальше...

Pentagon — Iraq Thursday sharply criticized a U.S. drone strike that the U.S. military said killed a leader of an Iranian-backed militant group, with an Iraqi spokesman calling the attack “a blatant assassination” that showed “no regard for civilian lives or international laws.” Yehia Rasool, a spokesman for the Iraqi prime minister, said the U.S.-led coalition that has operated in Iraq to counter the Islamic State group “consistently deviates from the reasons and objectives for its presence on... Читать дальше...

State Department  — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken returned to Washington from the Middle East on Thursday with no new deal in hand for a cease-fire in the four-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza or release of any more hostages held by the militants. Blinken and other U.S. officials said they remained optimistic a halt in the fighting can be achieved and 100 or so remaining hostages freed. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu derided a Hamas plan that would leave the militants in control... Читать дальше...

Pakistan faces significant economic and security challenges, with the outcome of Thursday’s elections pivotal in determining its future trajectory. Concerns regarding the fairness of the polls loom large, however, raising doubts about the legitimacy of the results. VOA’s Saba Shah Khan has more. Camera: Saba Shah Khan, Khalil Ahmed

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan disrupted mobile phone and internet services nationwide on election day Thursday as voters cast their ballots in the already controversial parliamentary polls. An early morning Interior Ministry announcement just before polling centers opened for some 128 million eligible voters said that the disruption in phone services was meant to “mitigate potential security threats” and “maintain law and order.” It did not discuss the internet outages. The disruptions came after two... Читать дальше...

washington — China-linked hackers targeting key sectors of the U.S. economy appear to have been hiding in key computer systems and networks for at least five years, according to a new warning from the United States and key allies, who urge companies to take urgent action to mitigate the risk.  The cybersecurity advisory issued Wednesday by multiple U.S. agencies, including the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), states that a cyberthreat group known as Volt Typhoon... Читать дальше...

The United States Supreme Court hears oral arguments Thursday to determine whether former president and likely Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is ineligible for the office and must be excluded from states' ballots because of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara brings this preview.

U.S. forces in Baghdad killed the militia leader responsible for planning attacks on American troops. Colorado’s attempt to remove Donald Trump from the election ballot goes before the U.S. Supreme Court. And, Taylor Swift’s merchandise flies off the shelves in Kansas City ahead of the Super Bowl.

WASHINGTON — A Chinese-born U.S. researcher has been arrested on charges of stealing trade secrets, including technology used to detect nuclear missile launches, the Justice Department said Wednesday.  Chenguang Gong, 57, of San Jose, California, was arrested on Tuesday, the department said in a statement. Gong, who became a US citizen in 2011, is accused of transferring more than 3,600 files from the research and development company where he briefly worked to personal storage devices. The company was not identified. Читать дальше...

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly has voted to scrap all agreements with South Korea on promoting economic cooperation, the North's official KCNA news agency reported on Thursday, as the two Koreas' ties continue to deteriorate. The assembly, which takes formal steps to adopt policy decisions of the ruling Workers' Party, also voted to abolish laws governing economic ties with Seoul, including the special law on the operation of the Mount Kumgang tourism project. The... Читать дальше...

After holding talks with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected as "delusional" a counterproposal by Hamas to a hostage deal brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt. VOA's Senior Diplomatic Correspondent Cindy Saine reports from the U.S. State Department.