Новости за 27.02.2024

DAKAR, SENEGAL — Senegal's national dialogue commission will propose a delayed presidential election be held on June 2 and recommend President Macky Sall remain in office until his successor is sworn in, commission member Ndiawar Paye said on Tuesday.   The West African nation, set to become an oil and gas producer by the end of the year, was thrown into an unprecedented political crisis after Sall postponed the election initially scheduled for February 25.  The proposed date follows two days of talks organized by Sall to ease tensions. Читать дальше...

nairobi, kenya — Kenyan communities near Tsavo National Park are seeing a rise in human-wildlife conflict, impacting their lives and income. Communities near the park complain of animal attacks and crop destruction, exacerbating poverty. The group Five Talents Kenya is helping the affected communities to reduce the conflicts, in part by introducing alternative crops that animals are less likely to eat. In mid-2023, Kenya’s Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife disbursed $6.2 million as compensation to victims of human-wildlife conflict... Читать дальше...

geneva — The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has accused Israeli forces of blocking a medical evacuation of hospital patients in Gaza, preventing them from reaching another medical facility in the Rafah area bordering Egypt for several hours Sunday. OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said Tuesday that the medical convoy was transporting 24 patients, including one pregnant woman and one mother and newborn, from Al Amal Hospital in Khan Younis. “Despite prior coordination for... Читать дальше...

Amman, Jordan — Lebanon is bracing for more deadly conflict, analysts say, as Israel launches its deepest airstrikes inside the country in years. Israel’s airstrike Monday on Baalbek, in the Beka’a Valley deep inside Lebanon, is the most significant, they say, since the one that killed top Hamas official Saleh Al-Arouri in the capital, Beirut, in early January. The Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said it shot down an Israeli drone over Baalbek, a Hezbollah stronghold where it has an air defense unit. Читать дальше...

U.S. election authorities say they are confident they will be able to fend off security threats to the November presidential vote. In Alexandria, Virginia, VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias sat in on a training for election officers, one of several measures to ensure a fair and transparent vote.

New Delhi — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday toasted the four astronauts preparing for the nation's first crewed orbital mission, saying the latest advance in spacefaring would inspire the next generation. "The countdown of the rocket inspires thousands of children in India, and those making paper planes today dream of becoming scientists like you," Modi said.  The Gaganyaan — or "Skycraft" — mission is slated to launch the astronauts into Earth's orbit in 2025, an important measure... Читать дальше...

Abuja, Nigeria — Nigeria's government and union workers began a new nationwide strike Tuesday that threatened to shut down key services while people are angry about soaring inflation and growing economic pain.  Since assuming office in Africa's most populous country last year, President Bola Tinubu has enacted policies that include doing away with fuel subsidies and unifying the country's multiple exchange rates, leading to a devaluation of the naira against the dollar.  Gasoline prices have... Читать дальше...

The latest innovation in artificial intelligence is photorealistic video created from just a few words. Deana Mitchell has the story in this week’s episode of LogOn.

Agriculture and industrial farming often conflict with Indigenous communities in Indonesia, a country with hundreds of ethnic groups. VOA’s Ahadian Utama met with the Orang Rimba people of Sumatra and has this report. Hafizh Sahadeva contributed.

MOSCOW — Veteran human rights activist Oleg Orlov was sentenced on Tuesday by a Moscow court to two and a half years in prison after he was found guilty of discrediting Russian's armed forces in a trial that has been condemned by international observers as politically motivated. Orlov, 70, has served for more than two decades as one of the leaders of rights group Memorial. It won a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, a year after being banned and dissolved in Russia. Memorial said Orlov was handcuffed after the verdict... Читать дальше...

STATE DEPARTMENT — With a science and technology agreement between the United States and People’s Republic of China due to expire Tuesday, the State Department said it is negotiating to "amend, extend, and strengthen protections within" the agreement but declined to specify if the U.S. would extend the deal. “We are not able to provide information at this time on specific U.S. negotiating positions or on whether the agreement will be extended past its current expiration date,” a State Department spokesperson told VOA. Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — Chinese passenger airlines will be allowed to boost their weekly round-trip U.S. flights to 50 starting on March 31, up from the current 35, the U.S. Transportation Department said on Monday, returning the market to nearly one-third of pre-pandemic levels. The approval "is a significant step forward in further normalization of the U.S.-China market in anticipation of the Summer 2024 traffic season," the USDOT said. More than 150 weekly round-trip passenger flights were allowed by... Читать дальше...

Colombo, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka's national airline on Tuesday blamed a rat for grounding a plane for three days, sparking chaotic delays and fears it will scare off investors for the cash-strapped carrier. The stowaway rodent was spotted enjoying the SriLankan Airlines Airbus A330 flight from the Pakistani city of Lahore on Thursday, triggering an aircraft search to ensure it had not chewed through critical components. An airline official said the plane has now resumed flights, but that the grounding had an effect on the entire schedule. Читать дальше...

SHANGHAI — Two prominent Chinese bloggers in exile said that police were investigating their millions of followers on international social media platforms, in an escalation of Beijing’s attempts to clamp down on critical speech even outside of the country’s borders. Former state broadcaster CCTV journalist Wang Zhi’an and artist-turned-dissident Li Ying, both Chinese citizens known for posting uncensored Chinese news, said in separate posts Sunday that police were interrogating people who followed them on social media... Читать дальше...