Новости за 09.04.2024

tehran, iran — Gunmen ambushed a police convoy in Iran's restive southeast on Tuesday, killing six police officers, media reports said. The attack on a road in Sistan and Baluchistan province also wounded two more police officers, according to Young Journalists Club, a website affiliated with the state broadcasting company. The report said the Jaish al-Adl militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. The report could not be independently verified. The militants have allegedly been... Читать дальше...

Washington — The United States Postal Service (USPS) said on Tuesday it wants to raise the price of first-class mail stamps to 73 cents from 68 cents effective July 14. The proposal, which must be approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission, would raise mailing services product prices by 7.8%. USPS in November reported a $6.5 billion net loss for the 12 months ending Sept. 30 as first-class mail fell to the lowest volume since 1968. Stamp prices are up 36% over the last four years since early 2019 when they were 50 cents. Читать дальше...

The Global Terrorism Index ranks Nigeria eighth among the ten countries most impacted by terrorism, while, according to the Global Organized Crime Index, Nigeria has the world’s sixth “highest criminality rate,” far worse than the U.S., which is ranked 67th.

Johannesburg — Former president Jacob Zuma can contest upcoming national elections in May, a South African court ruled Tuesday. Zuma had appealed a ban by the electoral commission, which said last month that Zuma couldn’t compete for a seat in parliament because the constitution bars people who have been convicted of a crime and sentenced to more than one year in prison from running for office.  Zuma, 81, was forced to resign near the end of his second term in 2018 amid numerous corruption scandals. Читать дальше...

Tehran, Iran — Iran released four conservationists who had worked to save the endangered Asiatic cheetah before they were convicted on espionage charges and spent five years in prison, local media reported on Tuesday. The Tehran newspaper Etemad said authorities released on Monday night Niloufar Bayani and Houman Jowkar, who were part of a group of five activists convicted in 2019 on espionage charges that were internationally criticized. On Tuesday, several Iranian media outlets, including the semiofficial ILNA news agency... Читать дальше...

ANNAPOLIS, Maryland — Maryland Governor Wes Moore said he plans to meet with members of Congress this week to discuss support for rebuilding the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, which has blocked the main shipping channel at Baltimore's port for nearly two weeks.  "I'm going to be spending part of this week with our delegation going down and meeting with leaders and ranking members in the Congress and letting them know that this issue is not partisan. This is a patriotic responsibility to be... Читать дальше...

White House — President Joe Biden is set to welcome Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House Tuesday evening for an official visit that will mark one of the biggest structural upgrades of the U.S.-Japan security alliance in several decades. The visit will also usher in Tokyo’s further integration into Washington’s security framework with other allies in the region, a key factor to deter Beijing. Biden and Kishida will announce steps that for the first time will allow the United... Читать дальше...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that Israel will go forward with its planned operation into Rafah to root out remaining Hamas fighters. The Iranian foreign minister visits Damascus after the embassy there was attacked. An update from Kyiv and a look at drought in Africa

Afghan poet falsely claimed that Afghanistan’s Panshir region is part of Iran.

Six months into the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, Israel is at a crossroads. Israeli forces have not been able to eradicate Hamas or free the remaining hostages, and some analysts say the war could escalate further. Linda Gradstein reports for VOA from Jerusalem.

NEW YORK — Donald Trump asked a New York appeals court on Tuesday to delay his April 15 trial on criminal charges stemming from hush money paid to a porn star while the former U.S. president appeals a gag order in the case.  The Republican presidential candidate's lawyers said in a hearing at a mid-level appeals court known as the Appellate Division that Justice Juan Merchan's order restricting his public comments should be modified to let him respond to public criticism leveled by potential witnesses in the case. Читать дальше...

A government-run school in Cameroon’s capital is teaching students how to manufacture plant-based meat, an innovation which the school’s director hopes will contribute to the fight against climate change. Anne Nzouankeu has more from Yaoundé in this report narrated by Moki Edwin Kindzeka.

Amman — Jordanian officials and observers say the Muslim Brotherhood and its offshoot, Hamas, are inciting pro-Hamas demonstrations with the aim of destabilizing Jordan, a key U.S. Arab ally. Jordan has been the scene of largely peaceful but growing protests since the start of the Gaza war. Many of the demonstrations have been near the Israeli Embassy in the capital, Amman.  Some demonstrators demand Jordan ends its 1994 peace treaty with Israel, while others voice anger against Israel as they... Читать дальше...

YAOUNDE, CAMEROON — Police in Gabon say a crime wave has hit the capital, Libreville, several days after the country’s transitional president pardoned and set free over 500 prisoners. Civil society groups on Tuesday launched a campaign asking the government to give the former prisoners more support and for freed prisoners to be law-abiding citizens.  General Jean Germain Effayong Onong, commander in chief of Gabon's Penitentiary Administration, told Gabon's state TV that former prisoners caught... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — Audrey Gray was at a national task force in New Orleans when a colorful zine caught the climate journalist’s eye. Produced by Imagine Water Works, the zine — A Queer/Trans Guide to Storms — took the form of “love notes” to the southeast Louisiana LGBTQ+ community, alongside practical storm preparation tips. As a climate change journalist from Los Angeles, Gray had been reporting on similar content, with an emphasis on how communities adapt to change and protect themselves from extreme weather. Читать дальше...

Geneva — One year since the conflict in Sudan erupted, thousands of desperate people are still fleeing the country daily "as if the emergency had started yesterday," the U.N. said Tuesday.   More than 8.5 million people have fled their homes since the fighting broke out, with nearly 1.8 million having escaped across the country's borders.   "A year on, the war in Sudan continues to rage, with the country and its neighbors experiencing one of the largest and most challenging humanitarian and displacement... Читать дальше...

NYON, Switzerland — This week's Champions League games will go ahead as scheduled despite an Islamic State terror threat, the governing body of European soccer said Tuesday.  A media outlet linked to the terror group has issued multiple posts calling for attacks at the stadiums hosting quarterfinal matches in Paris, Madrid and London on Tuesday and Wednesday.  "UEFA is aware of alleged terrorist threats made towards this week's UEFA Champions League matches and is closely liaising with the authorities... Читать дальше...

LONDON — Lawmaker Simon Harris was elected Ireland's prime minister by a vote in parliament Tuesday, becoming at 37 the country's youngest-ever leader.  Harris takes over as head of Ireland's three-party coalition government from Leo Varadkar, who announced his surprise resignation last month. Harris, who served as higher education minister in Varadkar's government, was the only candidate to replace him as head of the center-right Fine Gael party.  Lawmakers in the Dáil, the lower house of Ireland's parliament... Читать дальше...

HANOI, Vietnam — The Vatican's top diplomat began a six-day visit to Vietnam on Tuesday as a part of efforts to normalize relations with the communist nation.  Richard Gallagher, the Holy See's foreign minister, met his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son and expressed the Vatican's "gratitude" for the progress that has been made to improve ties. The visit took place after Archbishop Marek Zalewski became the first Vatican representative to live and open an office in the Southeast Asian country. Читать дальше...

In Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, inventor Newlove Kushiator is trying to make life easier for his fellow citizens by creating all kinds of machines from castoff parts. VOA’s Gildas Da has this story from Ouagadougou, and Jackson Mvunganyi narrates.