Новости за 04.04.2024

BANGKOK — Panicked passengers jumped into the sea to escape a raging ferry fire in the Gulf of Thailand early Thursday, and all 108 people on board were safe.  The overnight ferry from Surat Thani province was about to arrive at Koh Tao, a popular tourist destination off the Thai coast, when one of the passengers suddenly heard a crackling sound and smelled smoke.  Maitree Promjampa said he saw billowing smoke and fire less than five minutes later, and that was when people started shouting and rang the alarm. Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — Migrant children who wait in makeshift camps along the U.S.-Mexico border for Customs and Border Protection officers to process them are in the agency's custody and are subject to a long-standing court-supervised agreement that set standards for their treatment, a judge ruled. The issue of when the children are officially in CPB custody is particularly important because of the 1997 court settlement on how migrant children in U.S. government custody must be treated. Those standards... Читать дальше...

ISLAMABAD — Afghanistan’s Islamist Taliban rulers Thursday sentenced two people to 15 years each for engaging in political activity, while a third person was flogged 30 times and jailed for similar charges.   The de facto government in Kabul, yet to be formally recognized by the international community, has banned all political parties and activities nationwide, deeming them as unIslamic. The Taliban Supreme Court said in a statement that Thursday’s judicial actions were carried out in the southern province of Kandahar. Читать дальше...

The 2024 New York International Auto Show kicked off in Manhattan in late March — and visitors have until April 7 to admire some of the coolest new car technology. Evgeny Maslov has the story, narrated by Anna Rice. Camera: Michael Eckels.

Joe Biden and Donald Trump won their parties' presidential primaries in the Midwestern state of Wisconsin this week. With both their nominations secured, the candidates are fighting for a general election win in Wisconsin, which is one of a handful of swing states that could decide the 2024 race. VOA's Scott Stearns reports the campaigns are working to win the support of Black voters in Wisconsin.

President Biden talks to Prime Minister Netanyahu on Thursday as the rift deepens between the two leaders after the deaths of aid workers earlier in the week. An update from Brussels as NATO celebrates 75 years while shelling continues in Kharkiv. Plus, politics in Turkey following recent elections.

Madrid — Spain’s announcement this week that it will recognize a Palestinian sovereign state by July could mark a major turning point with other European states poised to follow Madrid’s lead, analysts say. Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told Spanish media Tuesday Spain would recognize Palestine diplomatically by July. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares confirmed the plan, saying it would help an independent Palestine’s entry into the United Nations. Ignacio Molina... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — Somalia said it expelled Ethiopia’s ambassador in Mogadishu and ordered the closure of two consulates — one each in the semi-autonomous Puntland region and the breakaway Somaliland region — in a dispute over a port deal.  "The plain interference of Ethiopia's government in the internal affairs of Somalia is a violation of the independence and sovereignty of Somalia," said the office of Somalia's prime minister in a statement Thursday.  The decision followed a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Hamza Barre in Mogadishu. Читать дальше...

Washington — Banning fishing and other human activity in marine protected areas (MPAs) has long pitted environmentalists against fishing interests, but a new study shows that nearby fisheries benefit from these areas. The study comes as the United States considers establishing the world’s largest MPA in the Pacific Ocean southwest of Hawaii, waters where “fishing remains a major contributor to food security … and income generation,” according to a review by the science journal BMC Public Health. Читать дальше...

PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron believes France and its Western and African allies "could have stopped" Rwanda's 1994 genocide but did not have the will to halt the slaughter of an estimated 800,000 people, mostly ethnic Tutsis, the presidency said Thursday. In a video message to be published Sunday to mark the 30th anniversary of the genocide, Macron will emphasize that "when the phase of total extermination against the Tutsis began, the international community had the means to know and act," said a French presidential official... Читать дальше...

Johannesburg — The former speaker of South Africa’s parliament was arrested Thursday and charged with multiple counts of corruption, one day after she resigned her position. Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s arrest is yet another blow to the reputation of the governing African National Congress party, or ANC, as it gears up for what is predicted to be South Africa’s most contentious election since the end of apartheid. Mapisa-Nqakula, a 67-year-old veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle, resigned as... Читать дальше...

On Earth and in space, efforts are underway to curb emissions of the super-pollutant methane, a greenhouse gas. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the latest innovations and policies, as the International Energy Agency warns the clock is ticking to win the fight against climate change.

Discrimination dating back decades has often meant Chinese Muslims living in Indonesia have had a difficult time blending in with others of their faith. Several mosques in the country now aim to bridge that gap, as VOA's Ahadian Utama reports. VOA footage by Gregorius Giovanni.

Seoul, South Korea — A much-heralded first meeting between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and a negotiator for young doctors who walked off the job in February appeared to have made little progress on Thursday after the latter expressed pessimism on social media.   Yoon's office said his first in-person talks lasted more than two hours, after he showed the first signs of flexibility in an approach until now marked by a hard-line attitude, as crucial parliament elections approach next week. Читать дальше...

London — Britain has called for an immediate investigation into an Israeli airstrike Monday on an aid convoy that killed seven aid workers, including three British citizens, in Gaza. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rejected calls to suspend arms shipments to Israel amid mounting global anger over the attack. The bodies of six of the seven victims were taken out of Gaza on Wednesday in a convoy of ambulances through the Rafah crossing into Egypt. The body of the seventh worker, a Palestinian driver... Читать дальше...

Illegal immigration is the top issue for many voters in this year’s U.S. presidential election. VOA’s Scott Stearns looks at how candidates Donald Trump and Joe Biden differ over what to do.

washington — U.S. weapons sales to Israel are under increased scrutiny amid outrage over the deaths of 33,000 people in Gaza, including seven aid workers from Washington-based food charity World Central Kitchen who were killed Monday in an Israeli airstrike. President Joe Biden said in a statement on Tuesday that he was "outraged and heartbroken" by the deaths, his latest stern rebuke of Israel's war conduct. Israel said the strike was "unintentional" and promised an investigation. On Wednesday... Читать дальше...

PARIS — Iran has turned its prisons into sites of mass killing with at least 853 people executed in the Islamic republic in 2023, over half of them on drug-related charges, Amnesty International said on Thursday. The London-based group said in a report that stronger international action was needed to halt the rise in executions, otherwise "thousands" risked being hanged in the coming years. The Iranian authorities have "persisted with their state-sanctioned killing spree which has turned prisons into killing fields," Amnesty said. Читать дальше...