Новости за 04.03.2024

Aaron Bushnell’s life and suicide had no connection to the communist ideology or the Revolutionary Communist Party USA, which has existed since 1975.

BEIJING — China has scrapped one of the most widely-followed events on its economic and policy calendar, the premier’s post-parliament news conference, a move seen by some observers as a sign of the country’s increasingly inward focus and centralized control. For three decades, during a period when China was opening up, the briefing had offered foreign investors and governments insights into how Chinese policymakers regard the challenges of managing what is now the world’s second-largest economy. Читать дальше...

For decades, the ethnically mixed, working-class Paris suburb of Saint-Denis has faced a raft of negative stereotypes. But it's angling for a different image, when it welcomes part of this summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games. Many hope the Olympics construction projects now underway will go beyond an urban facelift and deliver lasting change. Lisa Bryant has the story.

NEW YORK — Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of Donald Trump's company, pleaded guilty Monday in New York to perjury in connection with testimony he gave in the ex-president's civil fraud case.  Weisselberg, 76, pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and will be sentenced to five months in jail — which would be his second stint behind bars after 100 days last year in an unrelated tax fraud case.  The pleas related to testimony he gave at a July 2020 deposition in New York... Читать дальше...

Washington — The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other senior leaders, denouncing what it said was a campaign of rights abuses and corruption.  The sanctions, which will block any U.S.-based property and block any unofficial travel to the United States, replace a broader, two-decade-old sanctions program against Zimbabwe.  "The changes we are making today are intended to make clear what has always been true: our sanctions are not intended... Читать дальше...

Nairobi, Kenya — The whereabouts of Haiti’s prime minister, Ariel Henry, were not known Monday, three days after he signed a bilateral accord in Kenya to pave the way for a possible multinational force to help restore security in the troubled Caribbean nation. A fierce battle between police and armed gangs took place in Haiti over the weekend, and a gang leader there has called for Henry’s ouster. Haiti's government declared a 72-hour state of emergency after an intense battle between the country's... Читать дальше...

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Shehbaz Sharif took the oath Monday as prime minister for a second time, almost a month after a general election that was marred by large-scale allegations of voter fraud and resulted in a split mandate. State television broadcast Sharif’s swearing-in ceremony from the presidential office in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, with top military leaders and bureaucrats in attendance, among others. The 72-year-old new prime minister will spearhead a minority coalition government... Читать дальше...

Washington / Port-au-Prince — Authorities in Haiti say they are enforcing a nighttime curfew following an eruption of weekend violence, including armed gangs fighting with police at the National Penitentiary. A 72-hour state of emergency has been declared in the wake of the violence. Thousands of prisoners fled Haiti’s National Penitentiary, located in the capital, during a Saturday night gunbattle between national police and armed gangs, an official told VOA. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry is currently overseas. Читать дальше...

The World Bank says digital entrepreneurship is paving the way for economic empowerment across Nigeria and reducing poverty through internet access. In a January report, the Bank says internet access reduced extreme poverty by 7% in the West African country. But it noted a digital gender gap where women are less likely than men to have internet access. Gibson Emeka reports from Abuja in this report narrated by Mary Alice Salinas.

The latest innovation in artificial intelligence is photo-realistic video created from just a few words. Deana Mitchell has the story.

LONDON — The estate of Sinead O’Connor asked Donald Trump Monday not to play her music at campaign rallies, saying the late singer considered the former president a “biblical devil.” Trump has played O’Connor’s biggest hit, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” at events as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination. In a joint statement, O’Connor’s estate and her record label, Chrysalis, demanded Trump “desist from using her music immediately.” It said the Irish singer, who died last year aged 56... Читать дальше...

Hong Kong — In a newsroom, editors tell reporters to not touch politically sensitive stories. Reporters are told to put stories on hold until China’s foreign ministry comes out with its statement. Terminology that the government might frown upon is banned from news copy. Such is the state of journalism, not just in China, but increasingly in Hong Kong, after a national security law was adopted by Beijing for the former British colony in 2020, according to local journalists. “Sometimes we don’t feel like we’re journalists. Читать дальше...

Hong Kong — During the Hong Kong government’s recently ended monthlong public consultation period on a controversial new security law, which wrapped up last week, the city’s two main journalist associations voiced concerns that the law will have “profound” implications for journalists’ ability to do their work. The proposed law, known locally as Article 23, will be an expansion of a national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020, outlawing secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces. Читать дальше...

London — The European Union leveled its first antitrust penalty against Apple on Monday, fining the U.S. tech giant nearly $2 billion for breaking the bloc's competition laws by unfairly favoring its own music streaming service over rivals. Apple banned app developers from "fully informing iOS users about alternative and cheaper music subscription services outside of the app," said the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc's executive arm and top antitrust enforcer. "This is illegal, and it... Читать дальше...

More states will hold primaries on Tuesday, March 5, than on any other day in this election cycle.

SYDNEY — Although Australia isn't a member of ASEAN, the country is hosting a summit of leaders from nine members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Strengthening economic and security ties will be the focus for the Canberra government, which has set aside $186.7 million to help countries in Southeast Asia and more broadly in the Indo-Pacific region boost their maritime security. Analysts say Australia will also have to negotiate the region's intricate ties to China.  The multimillion-dollar... Читать дальше...

BANGKOK — Thailand's Supreme Court on Monday cleared former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra of corruption in awarding a government contract during her time in office. Yingluck, who ruled from 2011 until she was ousted in a 2014 military coup, was charged with malfeasance in a 2013 project worth over $6.7 million. The ruling is the latest legal success for the powerful Shinawatra family after Yingluck's brother Thaksin — a two-time premier also ousted in a coup — was freed on parole in February... Читать дальше...

QUITO, Ecuador — A volcano on an uninhabited island in the Galapagos has begun erupting, lighting up the nighttime sky as lava tumbled down its sides toward the sea. The La Cumbre volcano on Fernandina island began erupting Saturday around midnight in what officials with Ecuador's Geophysical Institute said could be its largest eruption since 2017. The 1,476-meter volcano last erupted in 2020. Images shared on social media taken by visitors to the Galapagos show the volcano profiled against a crimson red sky. Читать дальше...