Новости за 28.02.2024

Yaounde, Cameroon — Chad's electoral commission made a surprise announcement Tuesday that presidential elections to end three years of military rule in the central African country will take place May 6, several months earlier than planned. In making the announcement, the commission said the elections will mark a return to constitutional order and the end of General Mahamat Idriss Deby's transitional period, now in its third year. The 37-year-old became leader of Chad's Transitional Military Council in April 2021 after his father... Читать дальше...

Artificial intelligence touches nearly every aspect of our digital lives, but there are few laws governing its use. In this episode of our web series about AI, VOA’s Tina Trinh looks at how lawmakers and tech developers are making rules for something that is changing nearly every day.

Washington — President Joe Biden on Wednesday is signing an executive order aimed at better protecting Americans' personal data on everything from biometrics and health records to finances and geolocation from foreign adversaries like China and Russia. The attorney general and other federal agencies are to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans' personal data to what the White House calls "countries of concern," while erecting safeguards around other activities that can give those countries access to people's sensitive data. Читать дальше...

London — Prince Harry was not improperly stripped of his publicly funded security detail during visits to Britain after he gave up his status as a working member of the royal family and moved to the U.S., a London judge ruled Wednesday. Justice Peter Lane said in the High Court that the decision to provide security to Harry on a case-by-case basis was not unlawful, irrational or unjustified. The Duke of Sussex claimed he and his family were endangered when visiting the U.K. because of hostility... Читать дальше...

Kuala Lumpur — A Malaysian appeal court on Wednesday reinstated charges of abuse of power against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, state news agency Bernama reported. A Kuala Lumpur high court had thrown out the four charges and acquitted Muhyiddin in August, ruling those had not detailed his alleged offences. Muhyiddin, who led Malaysia for 17 months between 2020 and 2021, had pleaded not guilty and had called the charges politically motivated. However, a three-member... Читать дальше...

NEW YORK — Leap year. It's a delight for the calendar and math nerds among us. So how did it all begin and why? Have a look at some of the numbers, history and lore behind the (not quite) every four-year phenom that adds a 29th day to February. By the numbers The math is mind-boggling in a layperson sort of way and down to fractions of days and minutes. There's even a leap second occasionally, but there's no hullabaloo when that happens. The thing to know is that leap year exists, in large part... Читать дальше...

Harare, Zimbabwe — A court in Zimbabwe has sentenced an opposition leader to six months in prison or a $300 fine for verbally assaulting a Russian businesswoman. Magistrate Vongai Guwuriro ruled that Tendai Biti, a former Zimbabwean finance minister, must pay the fine or go to prison, ending a four-year legal battle between Biti and Tatiana Aleshina, who court papers said was a Russian investor. Biti paid the fine. Alec Muchadehama, Biti’s attorney, told reporters outside the Harare magistrate's... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — The Voice of America’s acting director has denounced Iran for convicting a number of VOA Persian journalists in absentia for the alleged crime of spreading antigovernment propaganda. The convictions came to light last week, when hacking group Edaalat Ali published Iranian judiciary documents showing that a Tehran Revolutionary Court handed guilty verdicts to dozens of Persian journalists from VOA and other Western news outlets in a secret 2022 trial. In a Tuesday statement, acting... Читать дальше...

Athens, Georgia — Laken Riley was a 22-year-old nursing student out on her morning run at the University of Georgia when authorities say a stranger dragged her into a secluded area and killed her, sending shockwaves through campus as police searched for a suspect. The arrest of a Venezuelan man who entered the U.S. illegally and was allowed to stay to pursue his immigration case put the tragedy at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign. Former President Donald Trump blamed President Joe... Читать дальше...

Independent Persian chief editor Camelia Entekhabifard on why many voters in Iran were apathetic ahead of March 1 parliamentary elections. VOA Persian managing editor Arash Sigarchi on Tehran’s Revolutionary Court convicting him and 10 other VOA Persian journalists in absentia for alleged propaganda crimes after a secret trial. U.N. Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in Iran Javaid Rehman on why he is optimistic as he prepares to end his six-year mandate in a few months. Iranian... Читать дальше...

New York — Several United Nations humanitarian officials warned Tuesday that there is a high risk of conflict-induced famine in the Gaza Strip if the war does not stop soon.  "If nothing is done, we fear widespread famine in Gaza is almost inevitable, and the conflict, which since October has claimed the lives of almost 30,000 people and injured more than 70,000, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, will have many more victims," said Ramesh Rajasingham, director of the coordination division... Читать дальше...

washington — U.S. lawmakers are voicing concern about the Pacific island nation of Kirabati's use of police from China for security, just as the U.S. State Department warns that such cooperation could bring new risks to Kiribati, a neighbor of Hawaii.  On Friday, Eeri Aritiera, Kirabati's acting police commissioner, told Reuters that a Chinese police delegation will rotate through the island nation to "provide assistance" to Kiribati's Community Policing program and IT department.  Aritiera says the island nation of more than 115,000... Читать дальше...

washington — Rights advocates are urging international social media platforms to do more to prevent Chinese authorities from obtaining the personal information of users. The call comes after two popular Chinese social media influencers alleged on X and YouTube that police in China were investigating their followers and had called some in for questioning. Social media platforms such as X and YouTube and thousands of websites — from The New York Times to the BBC and VOA — are blocked in China by the country's Great Firewall. Читать дальше...

For Afghan journalist Sadiq Torabzai, the path to escaping Taliban rule led through nearly a dozen countries. Now in Canada, he waits to be reunited with his children. From Toronto, Ahmad Farshad Saleh has the story, narrated by Bezhan Hamdard.