Новости за 17.03.2024

U.S. lawmakers reacted to a series of controversial remarks made by Republican presidential Candidate Donald Trump on Saturday. And while Democratic President Joe Biden wasn’t on the campaign trail over the weekend, his reelection bid also made headlines. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias explains.

An outpouring of international protests marked the third and final day of voting in Russia's presidential elections, as supporters of the late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny heeded on of his last calls to action. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi has more.

Tehran — Iran on Sunday sealed contracts worth billions of dollars with domestic companies to boost its oil production in the face of Western sanctions. In a ceremony broadcast on state TV, the oil ministry and Iranian businesses signed deals worth $13 billion to increase daily oil production in six major fields. Shana, the official news agency for the oil industry, labelled the deals as Iran's "biggest oil contracts in the past decade" and said they aimed to add 350,000 barrels per day to the country's daily production. Читать дальше...

Geneva — April marks the one-year anniversary of the war in Sudan, sparked by a power struggle between two rival generals. Aid organizations say the war is having catastrophic consequences for the population of nearly 49 million people — more than half of whom need life-saving humanitarian assistance. Since the conflict began April 15, 2023, tens of thousands of people have been killed and injured, millions have been forcibly uprooted from their homes and among the 18 million people suffering from acute hunger... Читать дальше...

DAKAR, Senegal — The United States scrambled on Sunday to assess the future of its counterterrorism operations in the Sahel after Niger's junta said it was ending its yearslong military cooperation with Washington following a visit by top U.S. officials. The U.S. military has hundreds of troops stationed at a major airbase in northern Niger that deploys flights over the vast Sahel region — south of the Sahara Desert — where jihadi groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group operate. ... Читать дальше...

Athens — Greece is facing increasing illegal immigration as the Gaza crisis continues. The trend has Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and senior European Union officials heading to Egypt Sunday to sign an aid package worth just over $8 billion intended to help ease migration. A surge in illegal migration has seen numbers entering Greece swell by more than 400% in the last month alone. Palestinians rank high in these flows but Egyptians are increasingly following suit. “There is no doubt,... Читать дальше...

JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan's government is closing down all schools starting Monday as the country prepares for a wave of extreme heat expected to last two weeks.    The health and education ministries advised parents to keep all children indoors as temperatures are expected to soar to 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit), in a statement late Saturday. They warned that any school found open during that time would have its registration withdrawn, but didn't specify how long the schools would remain shuttered. Читать дальше...

Lakeview, Ohio — Residents in a swath of the central United States hit by deadly tornadoes were cleaning up, assessing damage and helping neighbors on Saturday. But it will be a long recovery from the storms that ripped through parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and Arkansas.  Thursday night's storms claimed three lives in the Indian Lake area of Ohio's Logan County, one of the hardest-hit regions, and about 40 people were injured and dozens of homes damaged in one Indiana community. Tornadoes were also reported in Illinois and Missouri. Читать дальше...

CAPE TOWN, South Africa — Mice accidentally introduced to a remote island near Antarctica 200 years ago are breeding out of control because of climate change, and they are eating seabirds and causing major harm in a special nature reserve with “unique biodiversity.” Now conservationists are planning a mass extermination using helicopters and hundreds of tons of rodent poison, which needs to be dropped over every part of Marion Island's 297 square kilometers (115 square miles) to ensure success. Читать дальше...

beirut — Airstrikes hit several sites in southern Syria early Sunday wounding a soldier, Syrian state media reported.  State news agency SANA, citing an unnamed military official, said air defenses shot down some of the missiles, which came from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights around 12:42 a.m. local time. The strikes led to "material losses" and the wounding of a soldier, the statement said.  The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor... Читать дальше...

rio de janeiro — Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said Saturday he was "not afraid of any trial," a day after documents released by the Supreme Court revealed that two top military leaders said the populist plotted to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.  Bolsonaro avoided commenting on the content of any of several investigations targeting him, but claimed he was a victim of "persecution" for causing trouble for the country's political left. Authorities in February confiscated Bolsonaro's passport. Читать дальше...

ALMATY, KAZAKHSTAN — Uzbek law enforcement officials this month confirmed to VOA that an Uzbek extradition request was behind the February 15 arrest in Kazakhstan of Karakalpak activist Akylbek Muratov, known as Aqylbek Muratbai on X and other social media. Karakalpaks are indigenous Turkic people of Karakalpakstan, since 1993 a sovereign republic within Uzbekistan with its own parliament, national symbols and language. This status has been a source of friction with the Uzbek government because it often stirs discussions of secession. Читать дальше...

COPENHAGEN — A volcano in Iceland on Saturday erupted for the fourth time since December, the country's meteorological office said, spewing bright orange lava into the air in sharp contrast against the dark night sky. Livestreams from the area showed fountains of molten rock soaring from fissures in the ground after authorities had warned for weeks that an eruption was imminent on the Reykjanes peninsula just south of Iceland's capital, Reykjavik. "Warning: An eruption began in Reykjanes," the... Читать дальше...

CARACAS — Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro will run for reelection to secure another six-year term in voting planned for July 28, the ruling Socialist party said Saturday. Maduro, a 61-year-old former union leader, was proclaimed as the Socialist party's candidate by Vice President Diosdado Cabello and took the stage at a large sports arena to address supporters. "There's just one outcome, the people's victory on July 28," Maduro said, wearing a bright red zippered jacket. "They haven't been able to stop us... Читать дальше...

Niamey, Niger — Niger's government announced Saturday that it was breaking off "with immediate effect" its military cooperation agreement with the United States.   The declaration came a day after a senior U.S. delegation left Niger, following a three-day visit to renew contact with the military junta that ousted the president and moved closer to Russia.  The statement said the government had decided to "denounce with immediate effect" the agreement relating to U.S. military and civilian employees... Читать дальше...

Washington — The Indian navy has freed the hijacked MV Ruen cargo ship in Somalia's Puntland region Saturday after a 24-hour standoff and shootout, and it has detained 35 pirates, according to Puntland Ports Minister Ahmed Yasin Salah. The crew is reported to be unharmed. The pirates — who allegedly hijacked the Maltese-flagged bulk cargo vessel on December 14 — exchanged heavy gunfire with the Indian navy Friday. "The Indian navy successfully conducted the operation, which has been going on since last night. Читать дальше...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — A crowd of about 100 people tried to shove through a metal gate in Haiti's capital as a guard with a baton pushed them back, threatening to hit them. Undeterred, children and adults alike, some of them carrying babies, kept elbowing each other trying to enter. "Let us in! We're hungry!" they shouted on a recent afternoon. They were trying to get into a makeshift shelter in an abandoned school. Inside, workers dipped ladles into buckets filled with soup that they poured... Читать дальше...