berlin — German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Union leaders denounced Saturday a recent spate of attacks on politicians in Germany, including one that sent a member of the European Parliament to the hospital with serious injuries. Matthias Ecke, 41, a member of Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD), was hit and kicked Friday by a group of four people while putting up posters in Dresden, capital of the eastern state of Saxony, police said. An SPD source said his injuries would require an operation. Читать дальше...
JUNA, South Sudan — Following an appeal from the United Nations, South Sudan removed recently imposed taxes and fees that had triggered suspension of U.N. food airdrops. Thousands of people in the country depend on aid from the outside. The U.N. earlier this week urged South Sudanese authorities to remove the new taxes, introduced in February. The measures applied to charges for electronic cargo tracking, security escort fees and fuel. In its announcement Friday, the government said it was... Читать дальше...
sao paulo, brazil — The death toll from rains in Brazil's southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul rose to 57, local authorities said Saturday afternoon, while dozens still have not been accounted for. Rio Grande do Sul's civil defense authority said 67 people were still missing and more than 32,000 had been displaced as storms have affected nearly two thirds of the 497 cities in the state, which borders Uruguay and Argentina. Floods destroyed roads and bridges in several regions of the state. Читать дальше...
ISLAMABAD — An Afghan diplomat in India, who was appointed before the Taliban seized power in 2021 and said she was the only woman in the country's diplomatic service, has resigned after reports emerged of her being detained for allegedly smuggling gold. Zakia Wardak, the Afghan consul-general for Mumbai, announced her resignation on her official account on the social media platform X on Saturday after Indian media reported last week that she was briefly detained at the city’s airport on allegations of smuggling 25 bricks of gold... Читать дальше...
LONDON — London Mayor Sadiq Khan has a lot of cleaning up to do. Khan, who made history Saturday by becoming the city's first mayor elected to a third term, has pledged to make the River Thames swimmable. It wasn't a top campaign issue, but it's an audacious goal considering the waterway was declared biologically dead not long before his birth in the city in 1970 and flows as an open sewer of sorts when heavy rains overwhelm London's ancient plumbing system. Taming the Thames would not be Khan’s first swim upstream. Читать дальше...
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — It was Election Day last November, and one of Georgia’s top election officials saw that reports of a voting machine problem in an eastern Pennsylvania county were gaining traction online. So Gabriel Sterling, a Republican who had defended the 2020 election in Georgia amid an onslaught of threats, posted a message to his nearly 71,000 followers on the social platform X explaining what had happened and saying that all votes would be counted correctly. He faced immediate criticism... Читать дальше...
Sulaimaniyah, Iraq — Floods caused by torrential rainstorms have killed four hikers in the Sulaimaniyah region of northern Iraq, local officials told AFP. "Four members of a hiking team drowned because of heavy rains and flooding in Awaspi village" in the Qaradah district, local official Rouf Kamal said. Civil defense spokesperson Aram Ali confirmed the toll and said eight other hikers survived the incident south of Sulaimaniyah on Friday, the autonomous Kurdistan region's second city. He said a weather warning was issued Thursday... Читать дальше...
Washington — The United States, boosted by allies and the private sector, is delivering for Pacific islands even if Washington alone cannot match China's growing footprint, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday. Blinken spoke after lawmakers in the Solomon Islands, whose warming security relationship with China has sparked alarm in the United States and Australia, choose another Beijing-friendly prime minister. "China covers a lot of ground in the Pacific Islands, maybe more ground... Читать дальше...
PARIS — France's world-leading cosmetics sector is counting on talks between Xi Jinping and Emmanuel Macron next week to help minimize the impact on French companies of tough new Chinese import rules requiring the sharing of formulas and manufacturing know-how. President Xi's first visit to Europe in five years comes amid a backdrop of tense trade relations, with the European Union threatening China's electric vehicle and green energy industries with tariffs. But progress toward an agreement... Читать дальше...
MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities said Friday they recovered three bodies in an area of Baja California near where two Australians and an American went missing last weekend during an apparent camping and surfing trip. The state prosecutor's office did not say whether the bodies were those of the three foreigners but said the bodies were discovered during the search for the missing men. It also announced that three people who were being questioned in the case of the missing men had been arrested and charged. Читать дальше...
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY — Twenty horses stampeding toward the first turn in a battle for position. A screaming crowd of 150,000 and maybe some showers that dampen the Churchill Downs dirt strip. It's the 150th Kentucky Derby. Beyond a couple early wagering favorites, it's a wide-open race. Post time is 6:57 p.m. Saturday. The forecast calls for 27 Celsius (81 Fahrenheit) with a 60% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms. That kind of weather could benefit six horses that have won in the mud or slop before... Читать дальше...
BEIJING — A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country’s mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people. Wang Xiangnan was driving Wednesday along the highway in Guangdong province, a vital economic hub in southern China. At around 2 a.m., Wang saw several vehicles moving in the opposite direction of the four-lane highway and a fellow driver soon informed him about the collapse... Читать дальше...
GENEVA — The World Meteorological Organization warns that Tropical Cyclone Hidaya, which is projected to make landfall in Tanzania and Kenya this weekend, threatens to worsen the humanitarian crisis triggered by torrential rains in these and other heavily flooded countries in East Africa. “Hidaya is the first documented system to have reached tropical cyclone status in this part of the world. We are not talking about Sudan. We are talking about lower and East Africa,” WMO spokesperson Clare Nullis told journalists in Geneva on Friday. Читать дальше...
Kolkata, India — Eighteen-year-old Jaya comes from the Munda tribe in India’s eastern state of Jharkhand. She has not seen her father in more than a decade. In 2013, Jaya’s mother — who works as a daily wage laborer in agricultural fields — took her two daughters and fled her marital home in Ranchi, the capital of the state, to settle down instead on land owned by her parents in their village, located in the interiors of Jharkhand. “My father is an extreme alcoholic and used to get drunk and badly beat up my mother... Читать дальше...
WASHINGTON — Communities to commemorate Indigenous missing and murdered Sunday, May 5, is Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day in the U.S., a date set aside to raise awareness about an epidemic of violence and violent crimes in Native and Indigenous communities. Communities across the U.S. are marking the day with gatherings, marches and workshops. Native and First Nations communities in the U.S. and Canada say authorities often fail to investigate these cases, and the lack... Читать дальше...
Washington — Accepting a cease-fire deal with Israel should be a "no-brainer" for Hamas, but the motivations of the militants' elusive Gaza-based leadership remain unclear, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late Friday. Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has announced that its delegation will return to Cairo Saturday to resume long-running talks brokered by Egypt and Qatar that would temporarily halt Israel's offensive in return for freeing hostages. "We wait to see whether, in effect... Читать дальше...
VIENTIANE, LAOS — Large numbers of Laotian workers, facing poor economic conditions, are seeking work in Thailand, South Korea and Japan, bringing Laos millions of dollars in repatriated salaries but exposing the workers to debt traps and human trafficking. Laos has the region’s lowest minimum wage, a problem exacerbated by inflation and a substantially depreciating currency, the kip. It also is increasingly dependent on China because of debt and substantial Chinese investments in Laos' energy sector. Читать дальше...
KASHAN, Iran — The historic Kashan bazaar in central Iran once sat on a major caravan route, its silk carpets known the world over. But for the weavers trying to sell their rugs under its ancient arches, their world has only unraveled since the collapse of Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and wider tensions with the West. Rug exports, which exceeded $2 billion two decades ago, have plummeted to less than $50 million in the last year in the Persian calendar that ended in March, according to government customs figures. Читать дальше...
MEXICO CITY — If a woman wins Mexico's presidency on June 2, would she rule with gender in mind? The question has been raised by academics, humans rights organizations and activists ahead of the voting that will likely elect Mexico's first female president for the term 2024-30. Out of three candidates, the frontrunner is Claudia Sheinbaum, who has promised to keep President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's legacy on track. Next comes Xóchitl Gálvez, representing several opposition parties, one of which is historically conservative. Читать дальше...
PARIS — Freshly cooked bread, select cheeses and a broad veggie offer will be among the meals to be offered to athletes and visitors during the 2024 Paris Olympics — including, of course, gourmet dishes created by renowned French chefs. About 40,000 meals are expected to be served each day during the Games to the more than 15,000 athletes from 200 different countries housed at the Olympic village. Visitors, too, will be able to enjoy some specially created snacks at the different venues. French food services company Sodexo Live!... Читать дальше...
NAIROBI, Kenya — The torrential rains and deadly floods that have hit Kenya since March have been some of the most catastrophic in the country in recent years. At least 169 people have died due to the heavy rains, with at least 91 missing, according to the latest government figures. In the most tragic single event, at least 48 people were killed on Monday after water blew through a blocked river tunnel under a railway line in southwestern Kenya, causing a flash flood. The rain has displaced more... Читать дальше...
NAIROBI, KENYA — Torrential rains that caused widespread flooding and landslides across Kenya in recent weeks, killing at least 210 people, are forecast to worsen over the rest of this month, President William Ruto said Friday. The floods have wreaked havoc, destroying homes, roads, bridges and other infrastructure across Kenya, East Africa's largest economy. The death toll exceeds that from floods triggered by the El Nino weather phenomenon late last year. "Sadly, we have not seen the last of this perilous period... Читать дальше...
Protests related to the Israel-Hamas war have boiled over on college campuses across the United States, some leading to clashes with police and confrontations between student groups. And despite the dangers, student journalists and their news organizations are leading the press coverage. VOA’s Robin Guess has the story. Camera: Keith Lane
