Новости за 21.03.2024

LONDON — As the United Nations observes World Water Day on Friday, there is a growing risk of conflict over water resources as climate change takes hold, the international body said. Meanwhile, nongovernmental aid agency Oxfam accused global corporations of "grabbing" water from poorer countries to boost profits. Declaring this year's theme Water for Peace, the U.N. warned that "when water is scarce or polluted, or when people have unequal or no access, tensions can rise between communities and... Читать дальше...

washington — Despite spending nearly one year in a Russian jail on spying charges widely viewed as bogus, American journalist Evan Gershkovich is still doing all right, the U.S. Embassy said after Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited him on Thursday. “Next week marks a year since his unlawful detention by the Russian authorities,” the embassy said in a post in Russian on its Telegram channel. “Evan remains strong and resilient, but it is a tragedy that he is awaiting trial for a crime he did not commit.”... Читать дальше...

United Nations — The U.N. General Assembly adopted by consensus Thursday a first-of-its-kind resolution addressing the potential of artificial intelligence to accelerate progress toward sustainable development, while emphasizing the need for safe, secure and trustworthy AI systems. The initiative, led by the United States, seeks to manage AI’s risks while utilizing its benefits. “Today as the U.N. and AI finally intersect, we have the opportunity and the responsibility to choose as one united... Читать дальше...

A high-tech solution for tackling space clutter, photography tips for the upcoming solar eclipse, and we remember a spaceflight pioneer. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi brings us The Week in Space.

Paris — Representatives of 30 nations meeting in Brussels vowed to beef up nuclear energy Thursday as one solution to meet climate-fighting targets and guarantee reliable energy supplies. But the issue of nuclear power is divisive, and critics say it shouldn’t be part of the world’s approach to energy challenges. The summit was the first of its kind, drawing leaders and delegates from the United States, Brazil, China and France, among others. The International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, co-hosted... Читать дальше...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to senate republicans amid controversy over entering Rafah, while Secretary Blinken negotiates for a possible ceasefire. Kyiv is targeted by Russian missiles during an EU summit and Kenya is still debating helping Haiti.

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM — Experts and activists are voicing concern over a purported internal Vietnamese Politburo directive, which they say could worsen already deteriorating human rights and the toll on the economy caused by increased scrutiny of foreign companies.  The 88 Project, a U.S.-based nonprofit focusing on human rights in Vietnam, disclosed the document, entitled Directive 24, which it said orders government agencies to increase media censorship, crack down on civil society, increase surveillance of Vietnamese citizens... Читать дальше...

Madrid — “Down with communism, down with Díaz-Canel,” a Cuban woman chants defiantly.  The unidentified woman appears in a video of the latest wave of protests in Cuba this week against the island’s communist government and its president, Miguel Díaz-Canel.  It’s one of several posted on Facebook and passed to VOA as demonstrations broke out in at least five locations across the country.     The protests, prompted by prolonged blackouts and food and medicine shortages, were the largest... Читать дальше...

A China-funded international airport in Nepal opened more than a year ago but still hasn’t received international flights. With loan repayments for the Pokhara airport due to start soon, many worry Nepal has fallen into a debt trap. Henry Wilkins reports.

Washington — The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday sued Apple, the first major antitrust effort against the iPhone maker by the Biden administration, alleging it monopolized smartphone markets.   Apple joins a list of major tech companies sued by U.S. regulators, including Alphabet's  Google, Meta Platforms and Amazon.com across the administrations of both former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. "Consumers should not have to pay higher prices because companies violate the... Читать дальше...

Following the Hollywood success of Christopher Nolan’s biopic of Robert Oppenheimer, a more obscure but no less interesting memory from the atomic age can be found in Manhattan, not too far from one of Oppenheimer’s boyhood homes. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Videographer: Max Avloshenko

GENEVA — A report by the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights accuses the government of Belarus of running a campaign of violence and repression to crush political dissent and maintain its grip on power. “Considering the range of human rights violations committed against the population of real or perceived political opponents in discriminatory fashion, the office’s report describes reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of persecution may have been committed,” said Christian Salazar Volkmann... Читать дальше...

While some Kenyans support President William Ruto's insistence on sending a police mission in Haiti, many others still wonder why their country wants to lead a multinational force aimed at helping quell violence and restore security given that other nations that are more powerful and better equipped have not stepped forward. For more, let's go to VOA Nairobi Bureau Chief Mariama Diallo. (Camera and Produced by: Amos Wangua)

UNITED NATIONS — Television viewers across the globe will get a special weather report Thursday as children take to the small screen to deliver special forecasts about their future -- threatened by the climate crisis. From CNN to France 2, and in languages ranging from Spanish to Arabic to Hindi, the children are part of an effort conceived by the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and The Weather Channel. "I'm Kaylee with a very special weather report. Читать дальше...

ISLAMABAD — A rare suicide bombing in Afghanistan’s southern city of Kandahar, known as the Taliban’s political headquarters, killed at least three people and injured more than a dozen early Thursday. Taliban authorities said the victims had gathered outside the officially run New Kabul Bank to receive their salaries when a suicide bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body. Witnesses and local officials reported that the wounded were taken to a local hospital, with some sustaining serious injuries. Читать дальше...

Manzini, Eswatini — Traditional medicine, or "muti," is an important part of Eswatini's culture. However, an increasing demand for muti has placed some of the southern African kingdom’s animal species at risk of extinction. That’s something conservationists and molecular biologists want to change. Molecular biologist Zamekile Bhembe, who works for the USAID-funded EWild Laboratory at the University of Eswatini, is fighting poachers and trying to get them convicted for their crimes. She said poaching... Читать дальше...

Johannesburg — South Africa’s governing party has gone to court to try stop a newly created rival party from contesting May elections. National elections on May 29 are widely expected to be the most fiercely contested ever, with surveys suggesting the African National Congress party will win less than 50 percent of the vote for the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994. Now, a new opposition party named uMkhonto weSizwe, or MK for short, has infuriated the ANC by naming itself after the ANC’s disbanded armed wing... Читать дальше...

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s government will take final steps to suspend the licenses of striking junior doctors next week as they refuse to end their weekslong walkouts that have burdened the country’s medical services, officials said Thursday. More than 90% of the country’s 13,000 medical interns and residents have been on strike for about a month to protest the government’s plan to sharply increase medical school admissions. Their strikes have caused hundreds of canceled surgeries and other treatments at hospitals. Читать дальше...