new york — Anti-war demonstrations ceased this week at a small number of U.S. universities after school leaders struck deals with pro-Palestinian protesters, fending off possible disruptions of final exams and graduation ceremonies. The agreements at schools including Brown, Northwestern and Rutgers universities stand out amid the chaotic scenes and 2,400-plus arrests on 46 campuses nationwide since April 17. Tent encampments and building takeovers have disrupted classes at some schools, including... Читать дальше...
SAO PAULO — Heavy rains in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul killed 39 people, with 68 more missing, the state civil defense agency said Friday, as record floods devastated cities and forced thousands to leave their homes. It was the fourth such environmental disaster in a year, following floods in July, September and November 2023 that killed 75 people in total. The flooding statewide has surpassed that seen during a historic 1941 deluge, according to the Brazilian Geological Service. Читать дальше...
Marking World Press Freedom Day, a media watchdog report on global press freedom paints a discouraging picture of lack of political will to defend a free press. The number of writers jailed reached a five-year high as governments looked to silence critics. Massive protests on college campuses across the U.S. are giving journalism students on-the-job-training.
Kano, Nigeria — Gunmen from criminal gangs killed 25 people when they raided four villages in northwestern Nigeria in reprisals over military offensives on their hideouts, a local security official said Friday. The attacks on Thursday took place in Katsina State, one of the regions in northwest Nigeria hit by armed gangs known locally as bandits who carry out mass kidnappings for ransom and looting raids on villages. Bandit militias stormed the villages of Unguwar Sarki, Gangara, Tafi and Kore in Sabuwa district late on Thursday... Читать дальше...
tbilisi, georgia — Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday rejected criticism from the United States and European Union of a draft "foreign agents" bill, saying opponents of it were unwilling to engage in a meaningful discussion. The draft legislation, which is winding its way through the Georgian Parliament, would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, a requirement opponents attack as authoritarian and Kremlin-inspired. Читать дальше...
WASHINGTON — Democratic U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife were indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges and taken into custody Friday in connection with a U.S. Department of Justice probe into the couple's ties to the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. From 2014 to 2021, Cuellar, 68, and his wife allegedly accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico, according to the indictment. In exchange, Cuellar is accused of agreeing... Читать дальше...
The latest global press freedom rankings from media watchdog Reporters Without Borders present a discouraging picture, including a lack of political will to defend a free press. Afghanistan, Argentina and the U.S. are among countries whose rank fell. For VOA, Cristina Caicedo Smit has the story.
new york — The World Food Program warned Friday that time is running out to prevent starvation in Sudan's Darfur region, as intensifying clashes in North Darfur's capital are preventing aid deliveries to the wider Darfur region. "The situation is dire," WFP Sudan spokesperson Leni Kinzli told reporters in a briefing from Nairobi, Kenya. "People are resorting to consuming grass and peanut shells, and if assistance doesn't reach them soon, we risk witnessing widespread starvation and death in Darfur... Читать дальше...
washington — "Is it good for the Jews?" That has been a question long asked by Jewish Americans, especially immigrants and those of the second generation, scarred by memories of the Holocaust, when assessing the policies of the U.S. government and the pledges of political candidates. Most of them, most of the time since Franklin Roosevelt first ran for president in 1932, have voted for the Democrat at the top of the ticket. Fast forward 92 years. More Jews have been voting Republican in recent elections... Читать дальше...
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Hamas does not appear poised to attack U.S. forces who are building a pier off the Gaza coast to deliver aid to the war-torn strip by sea. A mortar attack targeted the pier site earlier but caused no injuries. VOA Pentagon Correspondent Carla Babb reports.
islamabad — Pakistan on Friday witnessed the launch of its first lunar satellite aboard China’s historic mission to retrieve samples from the little explored far side of the moon in a technologically collaborative mission that signals deepening ties between the countries. China’s largest rocket, a Long March-5, blasted off from the Wencheng Space Launch Center on Hainan Island at 09:27 UTC, ferrying China’s 8-metric-ton Chang’e-6 probe. If successful, the uncrewed mission will make China the... Читать дальше...
