Міністр оборони США підтвердив підтримку цілісності і незалежності України
Наприкінці квітня військова місія США в Європі перемістила свою штаб-квартиру з Німеччини до Польщі
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Category: Новини
усі новини
Entrepreneurs Outside US Can Attract Silicon Valley Backing
The venture fund 500 Startups has been making a splash in Southeast Asia, most recently with Khmerload, a Cambodian entertainment news website modeled after the American media giant Buzzfeed. Binh Tran, a venture partner with the firm, sat down with Sophat Soeung of VOA’s Khmer service to talk about how entrepreneurs in developing countries could attract such investors. Here’s some of his advice for them:
Remember, Silicon Valley investors are a click away
I think first is to understand the whole startup ecosystem. All this information is at your fingertips. The world’s shrunk, and for resourceful entrepreneurs, they have this incredible amount of knowledge that they can tap into, to get themselves familiarized with how to build a company, how to launch it, how to monetize, and also understand investment. All that is available.
Not everyone can be a tech entrepreneur. It’s incredibly hard, but for the ones that are resourceful … the tools are there. And we want to be the ones to provide that dry powder to help you grow. So once you have achieved some progress and some [traction], then come talk to us.
Don’t overthink — there is no ‘right’ sector
I’m pretty sector-agnostic. … If you’re building something that is obscure to me … the fact that you can make a business out of it, you’re making some money out of it, that’s great. And if it’s technology-enabled, it’s done through software, or done through some algorithm that you created, that’s where I think I can help. That’s where I think the opportunities are.
Look for a growing user base
All ecosystems around the world are somewhat new. Even China is a decade or two [old] for venture capital. … If these companies are making money and they’re growing, that’s great. You see companies who have been more focused on revenue early on. So I think Southeast Asia has a lot of opportunity, because you do have that 4 million-new-internet-users-a-month type of growth, but the business models are not quite as risky [as those seen in Silicon Valley].
Pay more attention to operational rather than business risk
I think there’s going to be a small percentage of my portfolio that’s always reserved for the crazy, one-in-a-million-chance ideas. But for the most part, these startups should be solving basic problems. Across many sectors in Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, businesses have barely adopted Web 1.0 technologies. There’s opportunities for entrepreneurs to solve basic problems such as helping business attract, serve and support customers more efficiently.
So instead of investing in a new, risky, innovative business model as you would in Silicon Valley, the innovation these companies we’re investing into is the way they’re hiring and training employees and how they’ve mastered how to operate within highly regulated environments. These companies also deeply understand their customers’ problems and have demonstrated their ability to market to and sell to locals.
So the innovation we’re seeing is less about business model or technology innovation, but I do hope that changes.
Build your reputation, and be patient
You’ve got to do what you say you’re going to do. This is one of those things where your reputation is so important. … [Also,] realize that it’s going to take a while. It’s not easy. Don’t be caught up in the buzz or the hype — just focus on the fact that this is going to be a long, hard journey. And hopefully that sets up the right expectations.
This report originated on the VOA Khmer service.
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New Oyster War: Rich Homeowners vs. Working-class Watermen
Oystermen, pirates and police clashed violently more than a century ago over who could collect the Chesapeake Bay’s tasty and lucrative oysters. As the shellfish makes a comeback, a modern-day oyster war is brewing, this time between wealthy waterfront property owners and working-class fishermen.
Over the past five years, oyster production has doubled on the East Coast, driven by new farming methods, cleaner water and Americans’ growing taste for orders on the half shell. The resurgence has led to unprecedented resistance from coastal Virginians who want to maintain picturesque views from their waterfront homes and has fueled a debate over access to public waterways.
“These people can’t have it all,” said Chris Ludford, an oysterman in Virginia Beach who sells to nearby farm-to-table restaurants.
Ludford said he faces fierce pushback along a Chesapeake Bay tributary from people with “a $2,000 painting in their house of some old bearded oysterman tonging oysters.
“But they don’t want to look out their window and see the real thing,” he said.
Views spoiled, privacy lost
Homeowners say the growing number of oystermen — dressed in waders and often tending cages of shellfish — spoil their views and invade their privacy. Residents also worry about less access to the water and the safety of boaters and swimmers.
Low tides often expose oyster cages, usually accompanied by markers or warning signs that protrude from the surface. In some places, cages float.
“All of sudden you have people working in your backyard like it was some industrial area,” said John Korte, a retired NASA aerospace engineer in Virginia Beach who’s among residents concerned about oyster farming’s proliferation. “They may be a hundred feet away from someone’s yard.”
Ben Stagg, chief engineer at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, said the state is poised to break its record of leased acreage for oyster growing. But nearly 30 percent of more than 400 new lease applications face opposition, an unprecedented number that’s led to a backlog of leases awaiting approval.
“Occasionally I can resolve those by having the parties get together and adjust the area further offshore,” Stagg said. “But oftentimes, I can’t.”
Oysters make a comeback
There hasn’t been this much interest in oysters in Virginia since the early 1960s. Since then, disease and overfishing took hold and growers started to disappear.
Over the last few decades, breeding programs have produced more disease-resistant and faster-growing oysters. The water’s cleaner. American palettes have evolved, increasing demand.
Farming techniques also changed. Traditionally, oysters are grown on the bottom of a calm and salty river or bay, then harvested with tongs or dredges that pull them onto boats.
Now, fishermen are increasingly using cages to grow oysters over a two-to-three year period. The equipment keeps predators away and produces oysters with a more uniform shape and size, which restaurants prefer.
But the cages are often placed in shallower water closer to shore — and people’s homes.
Virginia Beach is perhaps ground zero for today’s oyster war. The state’s largest city sits at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. And oysters thrive in the city’s Lynnhaven River, a network of bays and creeks flowing past expensive homes. Lynnhaven oysters are well-known for their salty taste and size.
Solution is not easy to find
A state task force was formed to find compromise. It recommended giving residents more power to block nearby oyster leases. But the idea was rejected by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, with the majority of commissioners saying state lawmakers should step in.
Proposals in the Statehouse have included raising the cost of an oyster farming lease from $1.50 an acre annually to $5,000. But legislators haven’t found a solution.
Conflicts also have flared up along Maryland’s Patuxent River, the coastal lagoons of Rhode Island and on Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
In Delaware, a group of people who mostly own vacation homes successfully blocked potential oyster farming along their part of an inland bay.
“Oftentimes, affluent and new members of the community have the point of view that they own the water in front of them, which is really not true,” said Bob Rheault, executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. “We need to win back our social license to farm.”
Rheault said he’s seen these battles “up and down the East Coast” — even before the crop began to double five years ago.
“The industry was there before the waterfront mansions were built,” Rheault added. “But it hasn’t been there for this generation.”
Ludford, who also works as a Virginia Beach firefighter, is relatively new to the business. He and other relatives started growing oysters in 2010 after leaving the crab industry.
Is zoning the answer?
On a recent morning, Ludford sorted through cages as he stood in the Lynnhaven River, hundreds of yards from the nearest home.
He dragged cages into view as grass shrimp wriggled on the shells. He and two helpers retrieved more than 500 oysters, which he sold at 75 cents apiece to three restaurants — totaling about $375.
“Really, people haven’t seen an oysterman behind their houses in 50 to 60 years,” Ludford said.
Steven Corneliussen, who owns a waterfront home in Poquoson, Virginia, said he’s among a group that successfully protested new leases along his corner of the Chesapeake. He said waterways should be subject to zoning, like land.
“That water out in front of me doesn’t belong to me,” he said. “But it doesn’t belong to them, either.”
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On May Day, Sub-Saharan Workers Still Struggle
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta spoke at the annual May Day celebrations Monday in Nairobi, a day when many countries celebrate workers. But in sub-Saharan Africa, about three-fourths of those laborers work in the informal sector, without contracts or job protections, according to the International Labor Organization.
Kenyatta pledged to tackle high unemployment during his May Day speech.
One hundred meters away, 31-year-old Christine Ndunge continued her work selling sodas and snacks. She has been a street vendor at a public park in central Nairobi for several years.
“These days getting a job is hard,” she said. “I have decided to employ myself so that I can survive. Like now, it’s a rainy season — there are not enough customers to buy drinks. I motivate myself to continue selling because there is nowhere else I can work.”
In his address Monday, Kenyatta announced that Kenya will be raising its minimum wage by 18 percent.
The crowd cheered, but analysts say policies like raising the minimum wage won’t help a majority of the workforce.
According to the Kenyan government’s 2017 economic survey, 833,000 jobs were created last year. However, less than 20 percent of those jobs were in the formal sector.
“There is that disconnect,” said Kwame Owino, CEO of the Institute of Economic Affairs in Kenya. “So on one side, we have unions, which are talking for people who are in the formal sector, raising wages. And when that happens in standard economics, one of the first things that happens is employment shrinks. So when that employment shrinks in the formal sector, most of these people fall back to the informal sector. We are solving the wrong problem.”
He said Kenya and other African countries need to improve conditions for entrepreneurs.
Entrepreneurs in Africa often struggle to raise capital. Owino said what governments can do is create new regulations making it easier for small businesses to get loans. He said policymakers can also streamline the process of registering and running a legal business and make it cheaper.
Josphat Mwendo, a trained mechanic, spent years unsuccessfully looking for a job. Finally, the 32-year-old started fixing cars for money himself. Now, he has three people he pays to help him.
“I don’t feel good because they did not speak about people like us,” he said. “I think it’s good to think about those who have employed themselves too, so that they can know their worth and also feel they are Kenyans like the rest.”
The problem is particularly acute among young people.
A recent study by the Brookings Institution found that Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 are just a third of the continent’s total working-age population, but account for nearly two-thirds of the continent’s unemployed.
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Євродепутат з Італії опублікувала фото зі святкування в окупованому Луганську
Євродепутат з Італії Елеонора Форенца, представниця «Партії комуністичного відродження», опублікувала свої фото зі святкування 1 травня в окупованому Луганську.
«Ми не знаємо, чому ви кажете до побачення, Лунін, ми кажемо – здрастуй, Володимире», – написала Форенца у Facebook під фотографією біля пам’ятника Луніну.
У Європарламенті 40-річна Форенца входить до фракції Європейські об’єднані ліві/Ліво-зелені Півночі.
Раніше у понеділок ватажок угруповання «ЛНР» Ігор Плотницькийзаявив, що «представники» понад 20 держав взяли участь у першотравневих урочистостях у контрольованому сепаратистами Луганську, серед них й Елеонора Форенца.
Угруповання «ДНР» і «ЛНР» визнані в Україні терористичними.
Бойові дії на Донбасі тривають від квітня 2014 року. За цей час, за даними ООН, тут загинули близько 10 тисяч людей.
Україна і Захід звинувачують Росію у підтримці проросійських сепаратистів на Донбасі. Москва ці звинувачення відкидає, заявляючи, що на Донбасі немає російських військових, але є «добровольці».
Західні столиці не визнають окупації Донбасу, відтак наголошують, що не посилають туди своїх представників.
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Сепаратисти обстрілюють Мар’їнку, поранені 2 цивільних – Аброськін
Керівник поліції Донецької області В’ячеслав Аброськін повідомляє про обстріл з боку підтримуваних Росією сепаратистів житлових кварталів Мар’їнки, у результаті чого поранені 2 цивільних.
«Сьогодні ввечері бойовики масовано обстрілюють приватний сектор Мар’їнки, де продовжують жити мирні мешканці. У результаті обстрілу, у районі вулиці Поліграфічної, отримали поранення двоє місцевих жителів, 1952 р.н. і 1973 р.н. Інформація про постраждалих уточнюється», – зазначив Аброськін ввечері 1 травня у Facebook.
Раніше у понеділок поліція Донеччини повідомила, що у Мар’їнці 52-річний місцевий житель отримав осколкове поранення обличчя і струс мозку внаслідок обстрілу з боку бойовиків. За повідомленням, це сталося напередодні ввечері.
У поліції заявили, що порушили кримінальну справу за статтею «теракт».
Наприкінці березня учасники Тристоронньої контактної групи домовилися про чергове перемир’я у зоні збройного конфлікту на сході України, воно мало почати діяти від 1 квітня. Проте обстріли не припинилися, а сторони конфлікту звинуватили в цьому одна одну.
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Showtime to Air Stone Interviews With Vladimir Putin
Showtime cable network is presenting four hours of director Oliver Stone interviewing Russian President Vladimir Putin on four consecutive nights in June.
The network announced Monday that “The Putin Interviews” will air first on June 12 at 9 p.m. Eastern, with three additional hour-long installments on the following nights. Showtime said Stone interviewed Putin more than a dozen times over the past two years, most recently in February.
Showtime is comparing the project to conversations held by British TV host David Frost and former U.S. president Richard Nixon in 1977.
Stone had also interviewed Putin for his documentary “Ukraine on Fire,” which was said to take a sympathetic view of Russia’s involvement in the conflict there.
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Fed Likely to Leave Rates Alone but Signals More Hikes Coming
With the U.S. economy on solid footing and unemployment at a near-decade low, the Federal Reserve remains in the midst of a campaign to gradually raise interest rates from ultra-lows. But this week, it’s all but sure to take a pause.
The Fed is widely expected to keep its key short-term rate unchanged after having raised it in March for the second time in three months. Most analysts foresee the Fed raising its key rate again at least twice more before year’s end, a testament to the durability of the U.S. economic recovery and a more stable global picture.
One reason for the Fed to stand pat this week is that even though the job market has shown steady strength, the economy itself is still growing in fits and starts. On Friday, the government estimated that the economy, as gauged by the gross domestic product, grew at a tepid 0.7 percent annual rate in the January-March quarter. It was the poorest quarterly performance in three years.
Though some temporary factors probably held back growth last quarter and may have overstated the weakness, the poor showing underscored that key pockets of the economy — consumer spending and manufacturing, for example — remain sluggish. On Monday, the government said U.S. consumer spending stalled in March for a second straight month. And the Institute for Supply Management reported a drop in factory activity.
“Given all the uncertainties they still face and especially with growth coming in so weak, the less the Fed says at this meeting, the better,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at DS Economics.
Most economists have expressed optimism that the economy is strengthening in the current April-June quarter, fueled by job growth, higher consumer confidence and stock-market records. Many think that annualized growth could accelerate to around 3 percent and that the Fed will feel more confident to resume raising rates at its June meeting.
“The Fed will probably say in their statement that they expect the economy to rebound in the second quarter,” said Sung Won Sohn, an economics professor at the Martin Smith School of Business at California State University.
It isn’t just the Fed’s short-term rate — a benchmark for other borrowing costs throughout the economy — that will likely occupy attention at this week’s meeting. Officials will also likely discuss how and when to start paring their extraordinary large $4.5 trillion portfolio of Treasurys and mortgage bonds. The Fed amassed its portfolio — commonly called its balance sheet — in the years after the financial crisis erupted in 2008, when it bought long-term bonds to help keep mortgage and other borrowing rates low and support a frail economy. At the time, the Fed had already cut its short-term rate to a record low.
The balance sheet is now about five times its size before the financial crisis hit. The Fed stopped buying new bonds in 2014 but has kept its balance sheet high by reinvesting the proceeds of maturing bonds. The Fed’s thinking has been that reducing the balance sheet could send long-term rates up and work against its goals of fortifying the economy.
Now, as the Fed becomes more watchful about inflation pressures, the time is nearing when it will need to shrink its balance sheet, a process that could have the effect of raising some borrowing rates, at least modestly. The Fed jolted investors when it released the minutes of its March meeting, which showed that most officials thought that process “would likely be appropriate later this year.” This was sooner than many investors expected.
Could the Fed clarify its timetable for paring its balance sheet in the statement it will issue when its policy meeting ends Wednesday? It may decide against doing so, given that this meeting won’t be accompanied by a news conference with Chair Janet Yellen to explain any shifts in the Fed’s policy or thinking.
Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the more likely signal the Fed could send is to reinforce the markets’ view that it intends to raise its short-term rate again next month.
“I expect two more rate hikes — one in June and then one in September,” Zandi said. “Then I expect the Fed to begin allowing its balance sheet to run off.”
Some Fed officials have suggested that they would prefer not to be raising the short-term rate at the same time that they are beginning to reduce their balance sheet. Giving investors too much to digest at once risks unsettling financial markets. In 2013, the Fed triggered a brief storm in bond markets when then-Chairman Ben Bernanke raised the possibility that the Fed would start tapering its bond purchases later that year, catching investors by surprise.
“They learned their lesson with the taper tantrum of 2013 that they need to give the markets plenty of warning of changes in their bond policies,” Sohn said.
Some analysts say they think the Fed will reveal nothing this week about its timetable for reducing its balance sheet, in part because the policy committee has yet to reach a consensus on when or how to do so.
“I have a feeling we are going to get much less information than we want,” Swonk said. “The Fed wants to move slowly, but they don’t have a consensus yet on how to proceed.”
Thousands Take Part in World May Day Protests
Protesters in the United States and around the world have marked International Workers Day, May Day, with rallies and demonstrations that, from France to Turkey, turned violent Monday. VOA Europe Correspondent Luis Ramirez reports.
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5 українських військових поранені на Донбасі за добу – штаб
Українська сторона заявляє про 5 поранених своїх солдатів на Донбасі під час обстрілів з боку підтримуваних Росією сепаратистів.
За інформацією штабу української воєнної операції, упродовж доби сепаратисти 25 разів обстрілювали позиції Збройних сил України.
«На приморському напрямку, по позиціях поблизу Повлополя, ворог гатив зі 120-міліметрових мінометів, гранатометів, кулеметів великих калібрів та стрілецької зброї. З мінометів калібру 82-мм противник бив по опорних пунктах поруч Мар’їнки. 82-міліметрові міномети, гранатомети різних систем та кулемети великих калібрів підрозділи російсько-окупаційних військ застосовували по оборонцях Красногорівки, а гранатомети різних систем, великокаліберні кулемети – по захисниках населених пунктів Гнутове, Талаківка, Широкине та Водяне. У районі Павлополя діяли ворожі снайпери», – повідомили у штабі АТО ввечері 1 травня.
На донецькому напрямку, за інформацією штабу, сепаратисти обстрілювали Луганське, Верхньоторецьке, Новгородське, Авдіївку, Зайцеве і шахти «Бутівка». На луганському – Новозванівку.
У деяких випадках, зазначають у штабі, українські військові відкривали вогонь у відповідь.
В угрупованні «ДНР» заявляють про обстріли українських військових околиць Донецька і Ясинуватої, у результаті чого був поранений цивільний.
Луганські сепаратисти кажуть про три обстріли з боку Збройних сил України упродовж нинішньої доби.
Наприкінці березня учасники Тристоронньої контактної групи домовилися про чергове перемир’я у зоні збройного конфлікту на сході України, воно мало почати діяти від 1 квітня. Проте обстріли не припинилися, а сторони конфлікту звинуватили в цьому одна одну.
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5 Things to Know as Britain’s Princess Charlotte Turns 2
It’s nearly party time for Britain’s Princess Charlotte, who celebrates her 2nd birthday on Tuesday.
Her parents marked the occasion Monday by distributing a snapshot of Charlotte taken by her mother, the Duchess of Cambridge. Here are five things to know about the family as the landmark nears:
Why haven’t we seen more of Princess Charlotte?
Prince William and his wife, Kate, want to protect their daughter’s privacy. It’s not surprising that Kate took the official photo to mark Charlotte’s second birthday on the protected grounds of the family’s country estate. The royal couple has tried to keep Charlotte mostly out of the limelight and away from the paparazzi that often follow senior royals at events in London. An important exception was an official trip to Canada in the fall. William and Kate brought Charlotte and her older brother, Prince George, on the trip and Charlotte even attended a children’s party.
What does the photo show? What impact will it have?
Don’t be surprised if there’s a run on fluffy yellow cardigans with cute sheep decorations in British stores catering to kids – that’s what Charlotte is wearing in the official photo. It’s possible the outfit was chosen by the clothes-conscious Kate, who snapped the photo. Earlier outfits worn by Prince George in public have become extremely popular with British consumers charmed by the young royals.
Charlotte looks very proper and very British, with her hair styled by a clip and her blue-grey eyes looking directly at the camera at the outdoors photo session in April.
What is the birthday girl’s full name?
She is officially named Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, in tribute to her late grandmother Diana, Princess of Wales, and her great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. She is also known as Princess Charlotte of Cambridge.
What’s next for Charlotte and her family ?
The family is expected to spend more time in London and less in the countryside as William takes up more royal duties and Prince George, 3, prepares to start school in the fall. Their London base is at Kensington Palace.
Will she ever be queen?
Charlotte is fourth in line for the throne, behind Prince Charles (her grandfather), Prince William and Prince George.
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May Day Marked by Celebrations and Demonstrations
Monday is May Day, known worldwide as the day when workers and activists march in the streets and gather in city centers to honor laborers across the globe.
The holiday is also known as International Workers Day and as Labor Day.
Workers and union members in the Philippines celebrated May Day by marching in the streets of Manila, the capital. Workers’ rights groups and unions have also scheduled rallies across Manila.
Indonesian workers took to the streets of Jakarta Monday. Thousands more workers are expected to join the rally later in the day.
France’s presidential rivals — centrist front-runner Emanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen — will hold their own dueling rallies Monday. There will also be demonstrations against both candidates.
In the U.S., May Day’s rallying point has shifted from workers to immigrants.Tens ofthousands of people are expected to mark the day from New York to Los Angeles to protest against President Donald Trump’s focus on boosting deportations.Organizations have called for immigrant strikes in some cities to show Americans what a day without immigrants would look like.
Cuba is facing its first May Day celebration without longtime President Fidel Castro, who died in November.Monday’s observance will also be the last May Day overseen by President Raul Castro, who has promised to step down from office in February.
Hundreds of thousands of people traditionally celebrate May Day in Havana’s Revolution Square with Cuban flags and portraits of Fidel Castro.
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Macron’s Startup-style Campaign Upends French Expectations
Whether or not Emmanuel Macron wins the French presidency in next Sunday’s runoff, he has already accomplished the unthinkable.
That’s thanks to an unorthodox, American-style grassroots campaign, which has harvested ideas from the left and the right, tossed them with a dose of startup culture and business school acumen and produced a political phenomenon. Without a party to back him up or any experience stumping for votes, the 39-year-old Macron came out on top of the first round of the French presidential vote, winning over 8 million voters and overturning decades of French political expectations.
An inside look by The Associated Press at Macron’s campaign found a mix of high-tech savvy, political naivete and a jarring disconnect between his multilingual, well-traveled campaign team and a mass of ordinary voters who have never left France and fear being crushed by immigration and job losses.
“It’s not a done deal,” campaign spokeswoman Laurence Haim told The AP during a campaign trip Saturday, careful to insist that, despite polls naming Macron the election favorite, risks remain. “We are extremely cautious.”
The centrist Macron is facing off against far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen in the presidential runoff.
Detractors dub Macron a bubble that, if elected, would deflate and self-destruct at the first national crisis. Le Pen labels him a puppet of the borderless financial and political elite at a time when many workers feel like globalization roadkill.
Le Pen’s campaign is unusual in its own ways. She has broadened her support base far beyond the xenophobic old guard associated with her National Front party when her father Jean-Marie was in charge. Today the people stumping for Le Pen votes at farmers’ markets and university campuses include the children of immigrants, academics, gays and former communists. She is also campaigning in her own name _ not that of her party, a clear bid to distance herself from its past stigma.
Macron’s team wants to puncture the heterogeneous image of Le Pen’s campaign, and paints her as a closed-minded nationalist with a dangerous populist vision.
“It’s a fight between two different kinds of societies, for France and for Europe,” Haim said. “We are going to show the French people – and hopefully the world – that we are fighting for something bigger than us.”
Feeling the ‘Trump effect’
Haim worked 25 years as a journalist in Washington before deciding to join politics in December – out of fear of seeing a French Donald Trump rise to power on a populist wave.
“Of course we feel the Trump effect,” Haim said. “The Marine Le Pen people watched very carefully what Donald Trump was doing.”
Since Macron won the first-round vote, Haim and other members of his team have been shuttling non-stop around France, from a factory in Macron’s northern hometown of Amiens to the site of a Nazi massacre to a farm in Usseau in central France. His campaign headquarters in southern Paris includes a nap room, though it’s used more for storing spare shoes than rest.
Macron’s team starts their day about 7 a.m. and goes until 1 a.m., huddling around laptops in a low-profile office building. A crucial part of the operation is the “riposte desk,” assigned with tracking Macron’s public statements and the social media reaction. For each hostile tweet, Macron’s team tries to counter.
National Front activists and their supporters have a head start here – they’ve been using social networks for years to build their following outside France’s traditional media.
Macron’s team is increasingly cautious about language, avoiding English words in public statements or anything that smacks of elitism. That’s especially important because his campaign team is exceptionally international – more than half have lived abroad, unlike most French voters.
Le Pen is much better at speaking the language of the people, yet her headquarters is on one of Paris’ most elite streets – the same one as the presidential Elysee Palace. In contrast to Macron’s campaign, she never envisions losing, saying “When I am president,” not
“if.”
For both campaigns, security is increasingly important, especially since an Islamic State-claimed attack in Paris earlier this month. With sniffer dogs, patdowns and layers of bodyguards, it’s tougher to enter a campaign event for either candidate now than it was to follow Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidential campaign in 2012 – and he was president at the time.
With concerns about Russian meddling a running theme in the French race, three key figures in Macron’s security team are Russian-speakers – his cybersecurity chief, his towering bodyguard and his security strategist.
The campaign team also includes a large number of political novices, coming from technical, financial or cultural backgrounds, and their campaign inexperience sometimes shows. Macron is trying to learn from recent electoral blows, such as when Le Pen upstaged him last week at a Whirlpool factory in Amiens that is threatened with closure.
Macron “is trying to understand what is happening to French society,” Haim said.
On Saturday, Macron snaked slowly through the open-air market of Poitiers, absorbing a string of complaints from farmers about European aid and competition. Macron remained somewhat stiff but patient, listening to lengthy laments then laying out his plans. He made no generous promises but defended his vision of a simplified yet stringent state and a unified Europe.
When a baker refused to shake Macron’s hand, he took it in stride, moving on to a flower seller happy to seek his autograph.
His staffers buzzed around taking names of his interlocutors, and minutes later in Macron’s convoy afterward, they shared lessons learned on the rough road of political life. They’ve come a long way since a year ago, when Macron launched a vague political movement.
“Everybody was telling him it’s going to be impossible, you’re crazy. It could not happen in France,” Haim said. “He looked at them and said, ‘Trust me, I’m going to do it.’”
And a year later, thanks in large part to a series of electoral surprises that hurt his rivals, Macron won the first round vote and is now a step away from the French presidency.
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Italy’s Renzi Easily Wins Democratic Party Primary
Former premier Matteo Renzi regained the Democratic Party leadership, handily winning a Sunday primary that he hopes will bolster the center-left’s ability to counter growing support for populist politicians in Italy ahead of national elections.
“Forward, together,” Renzi tweeted, invigorated by his comeback after a stinging defeat in a December reforms referendum aimed in part at streamlining the legislative process led him to resign as head of Italy’s government and as leader of his squabbling party.
“The alternative to populism isn’t the elite,” Renzi told supports late Sunday after unofficial results indicated he got more than 70 percent of votes cast nationwide. “It’s people who aren’t afraid of democracy.”
Some politicians predicted that the primary win would embolden Renzi to maneuver seeking to bring national elections ahead of their spring 2018 due date as part of his effort to rein in increasing popularity for the populist, anti-euro 5-Star Movement.
But a top Renzi ally sought to counter that idea.
“The government’s horizon is 2018. Starting tomorrow, we’ll work with Premier [Paolo] Gentiloni. Gentiloni’s government is our government,” said Agriculture Minister Maurizio Martina.
Renzi’s party is still the main force in Italy’s center-left coalition government, but opinion polls indicate it is no longer the country’ most popular. Overtaking the Democrats in recent soundings was the 5-Star Movement, whose leader, comic Beppe Grillo, wants a crackdown on migrants, rails against European Union-mandated austerity and opposes Italy belonging to the euro single currency group.
Throughout the day, some 2 million voters lined up at makeshift gazebos in piazzas and street corners, at ice cream parlors, cafes or local party headquarters around the country to cast ballots for a new head of the splintering Democratic Party, whose rank-and-file range from former Communists to former Christian Democrats.
Primary voting was open to anyone 16 years of age of older – the oldest voter was reported to be 105. Holding Democratic Party membership wasn’t a requirement.
Trailing far behind in the votes were Justice Minister Andrea Orlando and Puglia region Governor Michele Emiliano.
In addition to countering the challenge of 5-Star’s popularity, to regain Italy’s premiership, Renzi will have to contend with malcontents and defectors in his own party. A group of mostly former Communists split from the Democrats and formed a small, new party in resentment over both Renzi’s centrist leanings and his authoritarian style.
Renzi’s reputation in politics is one of ruthlessness. In early 2014, he promised then-premier and fellow Democrat Enrico Letta that he wouldn’t undermine the government, only to shortly afterward engineer Letta’s downfall. Renzi then became premier.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella recently insisted that electoral laws must be overhauled before new elections. Currently, there is one set of electoral rules for the lower Chamber of Deputies and a completely different one for the Senate, a consequence of the failed reform referendum.
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French Forces Kill 20 Militants in Mali
French forces said Sunday they killed more than 20 militants in Mali near the border with Burkina Faso.
French military officials and witnesses say the attack came from the air and on the ground in a forest in the Sahel region.
More than 3,500 French soldiers are spread out across Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mauritania and Niger combating Islamist extremists.
Mali has extended a state of emergency for another six months as it tries to stave off an al-Qaida-linked insurgency in the north, and extremists launching attacks from Burkina Faso in the south.
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Українці в Перемишлі показали речі, які їм вдалося зберегти під час акції «Вісла»
Об’єднання українців Польщі з 28 до 1 травня вшановує 70-ті роковини акції «Вісла» у Перемишлі. Саме з цих теренів східної Польщі у 1947 році польська комуністична влада примусово виселила українців у північно-західні регіони. Загалом рідні домівки і землю тоді змушені були покинути близько 150 тисяч людей.
У неділю, 30 квітня, українці на березі річ Сян у Перемишлі представили акцію «Збірний пункт», де були показані речі, які українські родини зберегли від часу операції «Вісла», – вишивані сорочки, рушники, предмети домашнього вжитку, картини, книжки, зокрема «Кобзар» Шевченка 1932 року видання.
«Мені було вісім років, і пам’ятаю багато. Чому пам’ятаю, бо діє не пам’ять, а травма, яка сидить у голові. При таких нагодах, вшануванні все це пригадуєш…Гута Поруби Березівського повіту, нас звідти було виселено 28 квітня раненько. Гарно світило сонечко. Мама вийшла на подвір’я, ми були в хаті, і мама нам сказала, що військо йде до села. Тоді почути це слово військо, це як струмом по тілу, бо був страх, що буде за 5–10 хвилин. Прийшов військовий і сказав усім дорослим на зібрання…» – пригадує Юліан Бак, який пережив операцію «Вісла».
«Я уже третє покоління українців. Мої тато, бабусі, дідуньо були виселені примусово зі східних теренів. Мені змалку вони розповідали про атмосферу рідного села Волоч, звідки були виселені, там мешкали українці і був український дух. Звідти вирвали всіх і виселили в Любуське воєводство на заході країни. Для мені ці спомини дуже завжди зворушливі, це була травма для рідних на все життя. Я вчитель у польській школі, і мене учні питають, чому я вважаю себе українкою, коли є полькою. Але моя душа українська», – каже Мирослава Тимечко.
Речі, які українці представили на березі Сяну, дуже дорогі для кожного, бо це їхня пам’ять про родину і про їхнє українське походження.
1 травня у Перемишлі українська спільнота продовжить заходи щодо вшанування 70-х роковин акції «Вісла». Люди обговорюватимуть питання української меншини у Польщі, співпрацю з українськими мігрантами, які масово виїжджають до Польщі.
70-ті роковини операції «Вісла» проігнорувала польська влада, провладна партія. Участь у заходах взяли кілька польських інтелектуалів, заступник мера Перемишля, депутати від опозиційної партії «Громадянська платформа».
«Ми налаштовані, що можемо почекати, що політики польські прийдуть і ми будемо розмовляти про наше спільне майбутнє. З нашого боку все робитиметься, щоб зберегти стратегічні відносини з Польщею», – наголосила співголова депутатської групи Верховної Ради України з міжпарламентських зв’язків з Польщею, народний депутат Оксана Юринець.
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Комісія з питань громадянства не розглядала припинення громадянства Артеменка – депутат Пацкан
Комісія з питань громадянства при президентові України на своєму засіданні не розглядала питання припинення громадянства позафракційного народного депутата України Андрія Артеменка. Про це в ефірі телеканалу «112 Україна» повідомив член комісії, народний депутат від фракції «Блок Петра Порошенка», член комітету з прав людини Валерій Пацкан
1Була комісія минулого тижня з питань громадянства, де не розглядали питання пана Артеменка. Він також звернувся до мене як до члена комісії з листом. Але відповіді у мене поки що немає», – сказав Пацкан.
«Коли буде винесено на розгляд комісії це питання, я зможу прокоментувати. Після цього буде прийнято рішення президента на підставі матеріалів комісії – позбавити чи ні громадянства», – додав депутат. Також Пацкан вказав на необхідність ухвалити зміни до законодавства щодо припинення українського громадянства осіб з множинним громадянством.
Депутат Андрій Артеменко назвав необґрунтованим можливе позбавлення його громадянства України і заявив, що оскаржуватиме це рішення в разі підтвердження інформації.
29 квітня лідер Радикальної партії Олег Ляшко у Facebook заявив, що президент Петро Порошенко припинив громадянство Артеменка у зв’язку з тим, що він має громадянство іншої країни – Канади, що заборонено українським законодавством.
Раніше Радикальна партія виключила народного депутата Артеменка з фракції. Це сталося після того, як стало відомо, що той передав план нормалізації відносин між Україною і Росією екс-раднику президента США Майклу Флінну незадовго до його відставки.
Серед іншого, план містить ідею проведення всеукраїнського референдуму про передачу Криму Росії в оренду, а також передбачає виведення російських військ з території України. 27 лютого 2017 року Артеменко заявив, що так званий «План примирення України з Росією» був ініціативою Радикальної партії.
21 квітня Генпрокуратура звернулася до міністра внутрішніх справ Арсена Авакова з проханням ініціювати через Державну міграційну службу процедуру втрати громадянства України народним депутатом Артеменком, посилаючись на наявність у нього паспорта громадянина Канади.
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Акторка Меріл Стріп приєдналася до кампанії за звільнення Сенцова – Найєм
Американська акторка, триразова володарка кінопремії «Оскар» Меріл Стріп приєдналася до міжнародної кампанії за звільнення українського режисера Олега Сенцова. Про це 30 квітня повідомив депутат Верховної Ради України Мустафа Найєм, який раніше цього тижня у США відвідав церемонію вручення родині Сенцова премії американського ПЕН-центру імені Барбари Голдсміт «Свобода писати».
За словами Найєма, Меріл Стріп, яка є давнім партнером ПЕН-центру, знала, що серед номінантів премії є засуджений режисер, але не була поінформована про деталі. «Під час недовгого діалогу мені вдалося досить детально розповісти їй про історію Олега Сенцова – про матеріали його справи, про його родину, про Крим, про насильно нав’язане громадянство і двох його дітей, які залишилися на анексованій території», – написав Найєм у Facebook.
Він додав, що наприкінці розмови Стріп сама запитала, «чим ми можемо йому допомогти». «Я… запропонував їй символічно підтримати Олега фотографією з табличкою #FreeSentsov. Вона погодилася без будь-яких застережень. «Тільки знаєте що, давайте разом – хто ж повірить, що я сама придумала цю табличку», – запропонувала акторка», – цитує діалог Найєм.
Американський ПЕН-центр наприкінці березня присудив кримському режисерові Олегу Сенцову щорічну премію «Свобода писати». 27 із 40 переможців премії «Свобода писати» вийшли із в’язниці впродовж 18 місяців з моменту нагородження. Щорічну нагороду Барбари Голдсміт американський ПЕН-центр вручає в’язням сумління, які опинилися в надзвичайно складних обставинах.
Олег Сенцов разом із Олександром Кольченком був затриманий представниками російських спецслужб у Криму в травні 2014 року за звинуваченням в організації терактів на півострові. У серпні 2015 року Північно-Кавказький окружний військовий суд у Ростові-на-Дону засудив Олега Сенцова до 20 років колонії суворого режиму за звинуваченням у терористичній діяльності на території Криму. Кольченко отримав 10 років колонії. Обидва свою провину не визнали.
Правозахисний центр «Меморіал» вніс Сенцова і Кольченка до списку політв’язнів.
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Merkel’s Conservatives Widen Lead 5 Months Before German Vote
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats have opened a seven-point lead over the center-left Social Democrats five months ahead of the Sept. 24 election, according to a poll on Sunday in the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
The Emnid institute survey found the Christian Democrats and their Christian Social Union allies winning 36 percent of the vote if the election were held on Sunday, unchanged from a similar Emnid poll for Bild am Sonntag taken a week ago.
But the Social Democrats (SPD), led by their chancellor candidate Martin Schulz, continued to slide and lost two percentage points in the week to 29 percent. The CDU/CSU long held a comfortable lead in polls until Schulz was nominated in early 2017 and lifted the SPD to the same levels as the CDU/CSU.
The latest poll, taken just one week before an important state election in Schleswig-Holstein, also showed the CDU/CSU’s preferred coalition partner, the Free Democrats (FDP), rising one point to 6 percent in the last week.
The center-right alliance would still be well short of winning a majority in parliament with 42 percent.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) would win 9 percent, unchanged over the week. All parties have said they will not join forces with the AfD, making it more difficult to form the next government.
The SPD’s preferred partner, the Greens, rose 1 point to 7 percent in the last week. The far-left Linke party would win an unchanged 9 percent, according to the latest Emnid poll. The so-called “red-red-green” alliance of SPD, Linke and Greens would also fall short of a majority with 45 percent.
The CDU/CSU and SPD currently lead Germany in a grand coalition government. Both parties have said they do not want to continue that arrangement after the Sept. 24 election.
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FIFA Official Sheikh Ahmad Resigning Amid Bribery Claims
FIFA Council member Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah of Kuwait is resigning from his soccer roles under pressure from allegations in an American federal court that he bribed Asian officials.
Sheikh Ahmad said Sunday in a statement he will withdraw from a May 8 election in Bahrain for the FIFA seat representing Asia, which he currently holds.
“I do not want these allegations to create divisions or distract attention from the upcoming AFC [Asian Football Confederation] and FIFA Congresses,” said the Kuwaiti royal, who denies any wrongdoing.
“Therefore, after careful consideration, I have decided it is in the best interests of FIFA and the AFC, for me to withdraw my candidacy for the FIFA Council and resign from my current football positions,” he said.
The long-time Olympic Council of Asia president contacted the ethics panels of FIFA and the IOC after the allegations were made in Brooklyn federal courthouse on Thursday.
FIFA audit committee member Richard Lai, an American citizen from Guam, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges related to taking around $1 million in bribes, including from Kuwaiti officials. The cash was to buy influence and help recruit other Asian soccer officials prepared to take bribes, Lai said in court.
Sheikh Ahmad resigned his candidacy ahead of a FIFA panel deciding whether to remove him on ethical grounds.
The FIFA Review Committee, which rules on the integrity of people seeking senior FIFA positions, has been studying the sheikh’s candidacy since the allegations emerged, The Associated Press reported on Saturday.
The FIFA ethics committee is making a separate assessment of whether to provisionally suspend the sheikh, a long-time leader of Kuwait’s soccer federation who was elected to FIFA’s ruling committee in 2015.
Resigning from his soccer positions does not necessarily put Sheikh Ahmad out of reach of FIFA ethics prosecutors and judges if any action was taken.
In 2012, former FIFA presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam of Qatar was banned for life by the ethics committee days after he resigned.
Bin Hammam was also clearly identified in Lai’s court hearing for having paid Lai a total of $100,000 in bribes to support the Qatari’s failed challenge to FIFA’s then-president Sepp Blatter in 2011. Bin Hammam was removed from that election contest in a Caribbean bribery case.
Sheikh Ahmad has also contacted the IOC’s ethics commission about the allegations against him, the IOC said on Saturday.
As president since 2012 of the global group of national Olympic bodies, known as ANOC, Sheikh Ahmad’s support has often been cited as key to winning Olympic election and hosting awards. The sheikh was widely credited for helping Thomas Bach win the IOC presidency in 2013.
Although Sheikh Ahmad was not named in Department of Justice and court documents last week, he has become one of the most significant casualties of the sprawling U.S. federal investigation of bribery and corruption in international soccer revealed two years ago.
The sheikh could be identified in a transcript of Lai’s court hearing which said “co-conspirator [hash]2 was also the president of Olympic Council of Asia.” Sheikh Ahmad has been OCA president since 1991.
Co-conspirator #3 was described as having a “high-ranking” role at OCA, and also linked to the Kuwait soccer federation.
According to the published transcript, Lai claimed he “received at least $770,000 in wire transfers from accounts associated with Co-Conspirator [hash]3 and the OCA between November of 2009 and about the fall of 2014.”
“I understood that the source of this money was ultimately Co-Conspirator #2 and on some occasion Co-Conspirator #3 told me to send him an email saying that I need funds so he could show the email to Co-Conspirator #2,” Lai said in court.
Lai admitted that he agreed to help recruit other Asian officials that voted in FIFA elections who would help Kuwait’s interests.
The Guam soccer federation leader since 2001, Lai pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy charges and failing to disclose foreign bank accounts. He agreed to pay more than $1.1 million in forfeiture and penalties, and will be sentenced at a later date.
The American federal investigation of corruption linked to FIFA has indicted or taken guilty pleas from more than 40 people and marketing agencies linked to soccer in the Americas since 2015.
Lai’s case marked the first major step into Asia, and suggests other soccer officials potentially recruited by the Kuwait faction could be targeted.
The Asian election for FIFA seats on May 8 in Manama, Bahrain, is the same day as a FIFA Council meeting which the sheik will not attend. The FIFA congress is held in the city three days later.
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Pope Calls for End to Violence, Respect for Human Rights, in Venezuela
Pope Francis called on Sunday for the respect of human rights and an end to violence in Venezuela, where nearly 30 people were killed in unrest this month.
Francis, speaking to tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square for his weekly address, decried a “grave humanitarian, social , political and economic crisis that is exhausting the population”.
Venezuela’s opposition is demanding elections, autonomy for the legislature where they have a majority, a humanitarian aid channel from abroad to alleviate an economic crisis, and freedom for more than 100 activists jailed by President Nicolas Maduro’s government.
“I make a heartfelt appeal to the government and all components of Venezuelan society to avoid any more forms of violence, respect human rights and seek a negotiated solution …,” he said.
Supporters say Leopoldo Lopez, the jailed head of the hardline opposition Popular Will party, and others are political prisoners whose arrests symbolize Maduro’s lurch into dictatorship.
Maduro says all are behind bars for legitimate crimes, and calls Lopez, 45, a violent hothead intent on promoting a coup.
Vatican-led talks between the government and the opposition have broken down.
Francis told reporters on the plane returning from Cairo on Saturday that “very clear conditions” were necessary for the talks to resume.
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Refugees Turn Skills From Home into New Business
Once they acclimate to their new environment, overcoming language, social and cultural barriers, refugees in the U.S. often thrive. Some translate their experiences into assets that are valuable to their new community, as did Parvin and Yadollah Jamalreza. VOA’s June Soh visited their popular tailoring shop in Charlottesville, Virginia.
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Growth Slows in April in China’s Manufacturing Sector
Growth in China’s manufacturing sector slowed in April, official data showed Sunday, pointing to an unsteady recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
The monthly purchasing managers’ index by the Chinese Federation of Logistics and Purchasing fell to 51.2 in April, lower than the 51.8 recorded in March.
The index is based on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 indicate expansion.
National Bureau of Statistics statistician Zhao Qinghe said in the release that April’s figure was affected by sluggish growth in market demand and supply, and slower expansion in imports and exports.
April’s index still represented a ninth consecutive month of expansion.
China saw its slowest growth in nearly three decades in 2016. China’s huge manufacturing sector is seen as an important indicator for the wider Chinese economy. It has cooled gradually over the past six years as Beijing tries to pivot it away from heavy reliance on export-based manufacturing and investment toward consumer spending.
The official full-year economic growth target for 2017 is 6.5 percent.
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ВМС України готові застосувати зброю у разі провокацій на військових об’єктах – заява
Командування Військово-морських сил України заявило про готовність застосувати зброю у разі провокацій стосовно військових об’єктів або військовослужбовців. Про це йдеться у заяві відомства на сайті Міноборони.
Згідно з даними ВМС, останнім часом почастішали випадки спроб вчинення провокацій, диверсій, терористичних актів та інших протиправних дій проти військових об’єктів, особливо баз (арсеналів), складів тощо.
«У разі будь-яких спроб провокацій, неадекватних дій з боку деструктивних елементів стосовно військових об’єктів або військовослужбовців посадові особи гарнізонів, військових частин, чергових служб, варти і нарядів вживатимуть відповідні заходи протидії, передбачені чинними нормативно-правовими актами України, у тому числі, у випадку необхідності – із застосуванням зброї», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Військові заявляють, що «антиукраїнські сили» наміри здійснити провокації «підганяють» під свята і річницю трагічних подій 2 травня 2014 року в Одесі.
«Командування Військово-морських сил Збройних сил України звертається до місцевих органів влади, громадян з проханням бути пильними, не «вестися» на провокації російських спецслужб, зберігати спокій, дотримуватися законів України, а при виявленні підозрілих осіб в місцях дислокації військових об’єктів негайно повідомляти військове командування і правоохоронні органи», – додали у відомстві.
Раніше сьогодні перший заступник міністра внутрішніх справ України Сергій Яровий повідомив, що Правоохоронні органи не допустять сутичок і провокацій під час масових заходів, запланованих на травневі свята і до річниці подій 2 травня 2014 року в Одесі.
2 травня 2014 року на марш футбольних фанатів і проукраїнських сил у центрі Одеси напали проросійські активісти з вогнепальною зброєю. Були вбиті шість людей-учасників маршу. Згодом проукраїнські демонстранти зібралися вже на нову демонстрацію і рушили на площу Куликове поле, де був розташований наметовий табір проросійських активістів.
Проросійські активісти й їхні прихильники сховалися в будівлі Будинку профспілок. Обидві сторони кидали одна в одну пляшки з займистою рідиною. Внаслідок пожежі, що виникла в будинку, при спробах вистрибнути з нього і внаслідок застосування проросійськими активістами вогнепальної зброї там загинули ще 42 людини з обох сторін конфлікту. Також у перебігу протистоянь того дня було поранено близько 200 людей.
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Turkey Fires Nearly 4,000 from Civil Service, Military, Gendarmerie
Turkey has dismissed nearly 4,000 people from its civil service, military, and gendarmerie, in what appears to be a purge related to last year’s attempted coup.
Turkey announced the move on Saturday, saying in the government’s Official Gazette that those let go include 1,127 employees of the justice ministry, made up of prison guards, academics and religious affairs ministry employees.
It appears to be one of the largest such purges since the coup attempt last July.
Since that time some 120,000 people have been suspended from their jobs in civil service and the private sector, and more than 40,000 people were arrested.
Also Saturday, Turkey announced it has banned television dating programs, and access to the Wikipedia online research tool. Ankara says Wikipedia has suggested Turkey is cooperating with terror groups.
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Дію рішення про перейменування вулиць в Одесі припинено – мерія
Напередодні суд визнав протиправним і скасував рішення Одеської міськради про перейменування раніше декомунізованих вулиць і провулків
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Russians Protest Potential Putin Presidential Bid
The Russian opposition movement founded by exiled Kremlin critic and oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky protested President Vladimir Putin in 32 cities Saturday, despite the fact that authorities have banned the movement and declared it illegal, and police have raided its Moscow offices.
The main rally in Moscow had a few hundred protesters gathering in a park before moving to an administrative building nearby, where they submitted a letter urging Putin not to run for a fourth term in 2018.
In St. Petersburg, though, police arrested a few dozen protesters after about 200 of them gathered for an unsanctioned demonstration.
The demonstrations Saturday come on the heels of a large protest in March – the largest unauthorized rally in recent years – that saw more than 1,000 people arrested, including opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Russian authorities have not simply warned opposition group Open Russia not to conduct any activities, but have blacklisted the group.
The Russian prosecutor general’s office Wednesday declared Open Russia and two other groups founded by Khodorkovsky to be “undesirable” organizations. The three organizations are the U.K.-registered Open Russia, the U.S.-based Institute of Modern Russia, and a social movement that also uses the Open Russia name.
The “undesirable” designation bans them from operating inside Russia, with any violation punishable by fines and jail time.
Police raided the group’s offices in Moscow Friday, prior to Saturday’s protest.
Maria Galitskaya, a spokeswoman for Open Russia told VOA she thinks the raid was politically motivated.
“One [of the police officers] started breaking open the doors of the rooms and desk drawers, though there was nothing illegitimate in the office,” she said. “It is difficult to talk about the real reasons of the search but we connect that with tomorrow’s action and think that this is an effort at intimidation.”
Pope Francis Delivers Message of Peace During Egypt Visit
Pope Francis concluded a 27 hour visit to Egypt Saturday, after delivering mass to a crowd of 25,000 Catholics and visiting a seminary. Preaching a message of “peace,” the pontiff tried to reach out to both Christians and Muslims, denouncing those who preach violence in the name of God.
Pope Francis said mass in Latin to a vast throng of worshipers gathered at Egypt’s Air Force Stadium Saturday, amid strict security. Egyptian media reported that 25,000 Catholic Christians from six branches of the church attended the mass, amid a festive atmosphere.
A choir of Armenian Catholics took its turn to sing during the Saturday mass, as Pope Francis made an effort to embrace Catholics from the different branches of his own church. Other choirs sang in Arabic and Latin.
Patriarch Ibrahim Ishaq, head of the Catholic branch of the Coptic Church, summed up the papal visit, saying that it was taking place under the banner of “the Pope of peace in the land of peace. Egypt,” he stressed, “is the cradle of religions and will remain a land of peace.”
Pope Francis spent the first day of his visit, Friday, meeting with the Grand Imam of al-Azhar University, at an interfaith dialogue conference, before visiting the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Tawadros, to express his condolences over the Palm Sunday suicide attacks at Coptic churches in Alexandria and the Nile Delta town of Tanta.
The pontiff told Muslim and Christian leaders at Friday’s dialogue meeting that “we must learn from the past that violence breeds more violence and evil only begets evil.” Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed Tayeb, who presided over the conference with Pope Francis, decried what he called the “unprecedented barbarity of the 21st Century, despite all the talk of human rights.” Both leaders embraced each other warmly after addressing the crowd.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sissi, who also attended the gathering, insisted that “Egypt is at the forefront of those countries fighting terrorism,” and urged the international community to “sanction countries which finance terrorism and help to recruit terrorists.”
Tourism Minister Yehia Rashed told Egyptian media that he thinks that Pope Francis’ visit demonstrates to the world that Egypt is a “safe and hospitable place” to visit.
He says that Egypt is not only the “cradle of civilizations,” but also has a major role in delivering a message of peace to the world.
Pope Francis’ final stop before heading to the airport was a visit to a seminary in the Cairo suburb of Ma’adi, where he appealed to clergy from different Christian sects to “accept the differences among us,” in the same way that we “admire the different virtues of Saint Peter and of Saint Paul.”
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З початку доби 4 військових поранені і 1 травмований на Донбасі – штаб
У прес-центрі штабу АТО повідомили, що через обстріли з боку підтримуваних Росією бойовиків від початку доби і до 18-ї години суботи четверо українських військових були поранені і ще один зазнав бойових травм на Донбасі. Про це йдеться в повідомленні прес-центру на сторінці у Facebook.
«Ситуація в районі проведення АТО залишається напруженою. Російсько-окупаційні війська продовжують обстріли позицій Збройних Сил України. З початку доби ворог 27 разів відкривав вогонь по опорних українських захисників. Епіцентром вогневого протистояння залишається приморський (маріупольський – ред.) напрямок», – повідомили у штабі.
Згідно з повідомленням, бойовики здійснювали обстріли, подекуди з використанням важкого озброєння, біля Красногорівки, Новотроїцького, Березового, Гнутова, Водяного, Широкина, Авдіївки, шахти «Бутівка», Новотошківського, Кримського, Новоолександрівки та Жовтого.
«В окремих випадках, коли виникала безпосередня загроза життю і здоров’ю військовослужбовців, командири ухвалювали рішення на адекватне відкриття вогню у відповідь», – зазначили у штабі.
В угрупованні «ДНР» не повідомляють про бойові дії сьогодні, водночас стверджують, що українська сторона за минулу добу здійснила понад півсотні обстрілів підконтрольних донецьким бойовикам територій. Повідомляється, що поранень зазнав один боєць угруповання, а також одна мирна жителька у Горлівці. Луганські сепаратисти на своїх ресурсах повідомляють, що один їхній боєць загинув і ще один був поранений через обстріли з боку ЗСУ у селищах Фрунзе та Донецькому.
Наприкінці березня учасники Тристоронньої контактної групи домовилися про чергове перемир’я у зоні збройного конфлікту на сході України, воно мало почати діяти від 1 квітня. Проте обстріли не припинилися, а сторони конфлікту звинуватили в цьому одна одну.
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IT Workers, Companies Cautious on H1B Visa Program Review
During a recent visit to Wisconsin, President Donald Trump announced he was signing an Executive Order reviewing the visa program that brings many technical workers to the United States, known as the H1B visa. About 85,000 workers come to the United States annually using an H1B visa. More from VOA’s Kane Farabaugh
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