Новости за 29.08.2024

Bangkok — In the shadow of Myanmar's brutal and bloody civil war, a rebel army with close ties to China and the illicit drug trade is spreading out and bulking up without a fight. Since the start of the year, the United Wa State Army, the largest and most powerful of Myanmar's many ethnic armed groups, has been moving hundreds of its soldiers into new positions across the central part of Shan State, in the country's east next to China, Laos and Thailand. Officially, the UWSA says it is only trying... Читать дальше...

Bangkok — A Hong Kong court on Thursday convicted two independent journalists of sedition for coverage of the island state’s pro-democracy demonstrations of 2019. The sedition trial is the first that has focused on journalists and editors since Hong Kong’s handover to China from Britain in 1997. The former editor-in-chief of Stand News, Chung Pui-Kuen, and the former acting-editor-in-chief, Patrick Lam, were found guilty of conspiracy to publish and reproduce seditious information, Judge Kwok Wai Kin announced Thursday afternoon. Читать дальше...

LONDON — Britain has revived its attempt to give police wider powers to impose conditions on street protests, a decision that a civil rights group said showed a worrying disregard for the rule of law. The group, Liberty, successfully challenged the changes to public order laws made by the country's previous Conservative government. London's High Court ruled in May that the government exceeded its powers by lowering the threshold for police to impose conditions. The interior ministry's appeal... Читать дальше...

Beijing — Top White House aide Jake Sullivan held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, after a senior military official warned the United States to stop "collusion" with Taiwan in a rare one-on-one meeting. Sullivan, the first U.S national security adviser to visit China since 2016, stressed the importance of stability in the tense Taiwan Strait as he met with senior Chinese army chief Zhang Youxia at the Beijing headquarters of the Central Military Commission. The White House adviser met Xi on Thursday afternoon... Читать дальше...

Fukuoka, Japan — One of the strongest typhoons to hit Japan in decades dumped torrential rain across southern regions on Thursday, with authorities warning of life-threatening flooding and landslides. Typhoon Shanshan packed gusts of up to 252 kph as it smashed into Japan's main southern island of Kyushu early Thursday, making it the most powerful storm this year and one of the strongest at landfall since 1960. After making landfall gusts eased to 198 kph. Three people were killed in a landslide... Читать дальше...

Magelang, Indonesia — Indonesia and Australia signed a new defense agreement Thursday, pledging closer cooperation to counter security threats in the Asia-Pacific region. The pact, announced this month, was signed during Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles' visit to Indonesia this week and includes provisions for joint drills and deployments to each country. The two countries have sought to boost security ties in the face of increased flashpoints in the region including the South China Sea... Читать дальше...

TOKYO — Millions of people were told to evacuate from their homes as Typhoon Shanshan lashed southwest Japan with strong winds and heavy rain on Thursday, knocking out power, snarling air traffic and forcing major factories to close. At least three people have been killed so far and scores injured in what authorities have warned could be one of the strongest ever storms to hit the region. Major automaker Toyota suspended operations in all of its domestic plants due to the storm, while Nissan... Читать дальше...

PARIS — A lawyer for Telegram boss Pavel Durov, who is being investigated in France, said it was "totally absurd" to suggest the head of a social network was responsible for any criminal acts committed on the platform, French media said. A French judge put Durov under formal investigation on Wednesday, saying he was suspected of complicity in running an online platform that allows illicit transactions, images of child sex abuse and drug trafficking. He is also being investigated for alleged money... Читать дальше...

washington — The hardships and heartbreak of three years of Taliban rule are reflected in the shining brown eyes of schoolgirl Parwana Malik. And on the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, advocates say Washington should take a harder look at the plight of countless young girls who have suffered under the hard-line regime. In 2021, as the last U.S. troops were leaving after two decades in the country, Malik’s father sold her into marriage to a much older man. She was 9 years old ... Читать дальше...

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — In a small auditorium in the seaside capital of Trinidad and Tobago, Christopher Columbus and other colonial-era figures came under scrutiny late Wednesday in a lengthy debate punctuated by snickers, applause and outbursts. The government had asked residents of the diverse, twin-island nation in the eastern Caribbean if they supported the removal of statues, signs and monuments with colonial ties and how those spaces should be used instead. One by one, people of African... Читать дальше...

TOKYO — The intrusion of a Chinese spy plane into Japanese airspace is a "wake-up call" for Tokyo about the aggressive nature of China's leadership, U.S. lawmaker John Moolenaar, who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said Wednesday. The incident on Monday involving a Y-9 reconnaissance aircraft flying near the southern Kyushu island was the first time a Chinese military aircraft had breached Japan's airspace, according to Tokyo, which told Beijing it was "utterly unacceptable." The... Читать дальше...

Three years of Taliban rule in Afghanistan has brought misery upon that nation’s girls and women, say critics of the hard-line regime. Both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris this week marked the third anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal – but advocates want to see Washington push harder against the egregious human rights situation. VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell reports from Washington.

WASHINGTON — Movie ticket sales in China have generated more than $1.5 billion so far this summer, a little more than half of last year's record total of $2.89 billion, according to China’s Film Data Information Network, an institution directly under the Central Propaganda Department.  Summer is usually one of three lucrative periods for China's movie industry, but industry analysts, observers and customers say a slower economy and a lack of creative domestic films are to blame for the decline. Читать дальше...

tokyo — Southwestern Japan was hit on Thursday by heavy rain and very strong winds as Typhoon Shanshan made landfall in Kagoshima prefecture, knocking out power supply for over a quarter million households and injuring dozens of people. The typhoon, categorized as 'strong' with gusts of up to 216 kph, made landfall near Satsumasendai city located in the country's southwestern island of Kyushu on Thursday morning, the weather agency said. Authorities warned the storm could be one of the strongest ever to hit the region... Читать дальше...

Israel launched a large-scale operation Wednesday in the occupied West Bank, where the army said it killed Palestinian fighters. We talk to Michael DiMino with Defense Priorities about what this may mean for the cease-fire talks. Scientists studying the new mpox strain that has spread out of the Democratic Republic of Congo say the virus is changing faster than expected making it harder to fight. And children of war getting the chance to build a more secure future and make friends with the “enemy.”

In this close US presidential race, the Southern state of Georgia is one of a handful of states that may decide the outcome. VOA Correspondent Scott Stearns reports on what the campaigns are doing in Georgia and how they hope to carry this key swing state.

FRESNO, Calif. — The second elephant calf in two weeks has been born at a California zoo. African elephant Amahle gave birth early Monday morning, according to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The event came 10 days after Amahle's mother, Nolwazi, gave birth to another male calf. The new additions are the first elephants born at the zoo, about 240 kilometers southeast of San Francisco, which has embarked on a program to breed elephants in the hope that they can be seen by zoogoers in years to come. ... Читать дальше...

WASHINGTON — China pledged support for Pakistan’s anti-terrorism campaign after Baloch insurgents, with a history of opposing Chinese investments in the region, carried out a series of attacks in the southwestern Baluchistan province Sunday. More than 40 civilians and military personnel were killed. The military reported killing more than 20 attackers. The province is home to China-funded mega projects, including the strategic deep-water port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea. Lin Jian, a spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry... Читать дальше...

STATE DEPARTMENT — The White House says U.S. officials continue to raise concerns about what they describe as unfair trade policies and non-market economic practices by the People’s Republic of China. Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is expected to unveil its final implementation plans for substantial tariff increases on selected Chinese imports in the coming days. Some U.S. manufacturers, however, including those in the electric vehicle and utility equipment sectors, have... Читать дальше...

Following more than nine months of unjust detention, American-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva is adjusting to life in freedom with her family in Prague. While in Washington this week to receive an award, she tells VOA’s Liam Scott the fate of other political prisoners is on her mind. Camera: Cristina Caicedo Smit, Hoshang Fahim, Adam Greenbaum, Krystof Maixner, Martin Bubenik

Washington — China says it is ready to engage with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, after the U.N. body called this week for a comprehensive review of Beijing’s laws and policies in Xinjiang. Speaking at a regular briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, "China is willing to engage in constructive exchanges and cooperation” with OHCHR but added that a review should be conducted “on the basis of mutual respect.” China and its policies... Читать дальше...

In an interview with VOA, U.N. experts say terror groups in Africa are increasing their use of drones to carry out operations previously only possible for nation-states. Reporter Henry Wilkins looks at how this makes the work of African states fighting insurgencies even more difficult.