New Zealand, Australia, and surrounding Pacific Islands were among the first places to ring in 2018 with fireworks displays, parties, and other festivities. Nearly 1.5 million people gathered to watch a rainbow fireworks display above Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and opera house.
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Month: December 2017
У головному соборі Чехії ялинку прикрасили написами із назвами окупованих міст Донбасу — посол
У Соборі святого Віта у Празі ялинку прикрасили у кольорах українського прапора — листівками із написами окупованих міст на Донбасі, повідомив посол України в Чехії Євген Перебийніс.
«Прага. Головний собор Чехії — Собор святого Віта. Новорічна ялинка в кольорах українського прапора. Замість прикрас — назви українських міст на Донбасі, окупованих Росією. Дякуємо за підтримку! Вони обов’язково будуть звільнені. Слава Україні! З Новим роком!», — написав посол у Facebook і опублікував фото.
Частина населених пунктів Донецької і Луганської областей України перебуває під контролем підтримуваних Росією бойовиків внаслідок збройного конфлікту, що почався на Донбасі у квітні 2014 року.
Понад 10 тисяч правоохоронців в Україні охоронятимуть порядок у Новорічну ніч — поліція
Безпеку і порядок у Новорічну ніч по всій Україні гарантуватимуть понад десять тисяч правоохоронців, поліцейських і нацгвардійців, повідомляє прес-служба Нацполіції.
«Особовий склад поліції в державі переведено на посилений варіант несення служби», — йдеться в повідомленні.
За даними правоохоронців, масові заходи з нагоди святкування Нового року відбудуться на території 722 населених пунктів. Орієнтовано участь у заходах візьмуть понад 1,6 мільйона громадян.
У Києві на службу заступили близько 1500 правоохоронців, серед них – вибухотехніки та кінологи, додали в поліції.
2018 Starts With a Bang as Fireworks Around the World Greet New Year
Thousands braved a frigid New York night to celebrate the start of 2018 in Times Square, an annual celebration that dates back to 1904.
Tarana Burke, a social activist who started the #MeToo movement to draw attention to sexual abuse, pushed the button that started the famed ball drop – a hallmark of the New York celebration for 110 years.2017 saw a sea change in attitudes and awareness of sexual assault and sexual harassment, as millions of people used the hashtag to show how pervasive abuse is in the wake of accusations made against dozens of high profile men, including celebrities, members of Congress and business leaders.
“We need to go into the new year as a new beginning, with a new set of commitments to a better world,” Burke told the New York Daily News.
As they do each year, the crowd counted down as the crystal ball slid down a pole, arriving at the bottom as 2018 began, accompanied by confetti and fireworks.
Hundreds of thousands of people – watched over by thousands of police and other security personnel – crowded the square, despite temperatures around -12 C (10 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Our toes are frozen, so we’re just dealing with it by dancing,” Remle Scott told the Associated Press. She traveled to New York with her boyfriend from San Diego to ring in the new year.
The frosty festivities in Times Square included performances by Mariah Carey, Sugarland and Nick Jonas.
Fireworks around the world
In London, fireworks and the sound of Big Ben – the massive bell in the Elizabeth Tower clock – welcomed the start of 2018 for about 100,000 revelers near the River Thames.Big Ben has been silent since August, when a renovation project on the clock began.It’s not scheduled to return to regular service for about four years.
Fireworks were also part of the celebrations in Paris and Moscow.In the Russian capitol, fireworks lit up the sky over the Kremlin, while in Paris the display was held at the Arc de Triomphe.
Thousands gathered around Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor to watch a 10-minute musical firework display, which included “shooting stars” fired from rooftops and revelers dancing to “Auld Lang Syne.”
In the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, over 400 couples participated in a New Year’s mass wedding provided for free by authorities.
Nearly 1.5 million people gathered to watch a rainbow fireworks display above Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge and the opera house, as the country celebrated legalizing gay marriage.
Security tight
In preparation for celebrations in cities around the world, hundreds of thousands of law enforcement, military and security officials are being deployed to keep New Year’s Eve revelers safe.
In Australia, officials were out in full force on the ground, air and sea as part of the largest security operation in the country. Police in Melbourne last month arrested a man for planning to shoot revelers on New Year’s Eve.
In the United States, New York City officials used two-step screening, snipers, street closures and specially trained dogs to secure Times Square.
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Library of Congress Will No Longer Collect Every Tweet Created
The U.S. Library of Congress says it will no longer collect every single tweet published on Twitter as it has been doing for the past 12 years.
The library said this week that it can no longer collect everything across the entire social media platform because of recent changes Twitter has made, including allowing longer tweets, photos and videos.
It said in a blog post this week that its first objective with collecting and archiving tweets was “to document the emergence of online social media for future generations.” The library says it has fulfilled that objective and no longer needs to be a “comprehensive” collector of tweets.
The Library of Congress said it will still collect and archive tweets in the future, but will do so on a more selective basis. It said going forward “the tweets collected and archived will be thematic and event-based, including events such as elections, or themes of ongoing national interest, e.g. public policy.”
The library said it generally does not collect media comprehensively, but said it made an exception for public tweets when the social media platform was first developed.
The library said it will keep its previous archive of tweets from 2006-2017 to help people understand the rise of social media and to offer insight into the public mood during that time. “Throughout its history, the Library has seized opportunities to collect snapshots of unique moments in human history and preserve them for future generations,” it said.
“The Twitter Archive may prove to be one of this generation’s most significant legacies to future generations. Future generations will learn much about this rich period in our history, the information flows, and social and political forces that help define the current generation,” it said.
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Журнал Ring назвав Ломаченка найкращим боксером, а бій Кличко-Джошуа – поєдинком року
«За 89-річну історію нагороди «Боєць року» жоден боксер ніколи її не отримував, маючи таку невелику кількість боїв, як Василь Ломаченко»
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Fugitive Catalonian Leader Seeks Talks With Spain
Catalonia’s fugitive former president has called for Spanish authorities to open negotiations regarding the restitution of what he calls his “legitimate government.”
Carles Puigdemont said via social media channels from Brussels on Saturday that Spain should “recognize the election results of Dec. 21 and start negotiating politically with the legitimate government of Catalonia.”
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy deposed Puigdemont and his Cabinet after Catalonia’s regional parliament voted in favor of a declaration of independence from the rest of the country in October.
But pro-secession parties, including one led by Puigdemont, won the most seats in elections last week.
Puigdemont fled to Belgium to avoid a judicial investigation into suspicions of rebellion by him and his government. He did not say Saturday if he plans to return to Spain, where an arrest warrants awaits him.
Rajoy said Friday that he plans to convene Catalonia’s newly elected parliament Jan. 17.
In-house rules of Catalonia’s parliament require that a candidate to form a government be present.
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Polish Climbers Attempt Record Winter Ascent of K2
A group of Polish mountaineers set off for northern Pakistan on Sunday to attempt to be the first to scale K2, the world’s second highest peak, in wintertime.
K2, in the Karakorum mountains along the border between China and Pakistan, is notorious for high winds, steep and icy slopes — and high fatality rates for climbers. In winter months, scant snowfall means the summit approach can turn into bare ice.
More than 70 people have died climbing the peak, many of them at the Bottleneck, where a wrong step can send a climber hurtling off the South Face, where bodies are unlikely to be recovered.
Team member Adam Bielecki, 34, told Reuters that the chance to make history is a “strong motivation” for the Polish group.
Polish climbers have written a “beautiful chapter” of exploring peaks of more than 8,000 meters (26,247 feet), and scaling K2 in winter would “the last chapter of this book.”
The Polish team includes 13 mountaineers led by Krzysztof Wielicki, 67, who in 2003 headed a winter expedition of K2 that was unable to clear the 8,000 meter threshold.
K2, slightly shorter than Mount Everest, is 8,611 meters (28,251 feet) high.
Wielicki told Reuters that his team would begin their ascent on Jan. 8 or 9 and, if successful, expect to return to base camp by mid-March.
Pakistan is a hot destination for climbers. It rivals Nepal for the number of peaks higher 7,000 meters (22,966 feet) and it has five of the world’s 14 summits higher than 8,000 meters.
Bielecki said the group expects to be away from home for around three months.
“If you ask me what’s the hardest part of the expedition or what I fear the most, it’s actually the separation from my family,” he said.
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A 19th-century Arcade Game Is Hot in 21st Century
It’s not an Olympic sport, at least not yet, but pinball has a growing body of top-level athletes, and a growing number of international competitions. Faith Lapidus reports.
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May Says 2018 Brexit Progress Will Renew British Pride
Prime Minister Theresa May said 2018 would be a year of “renewed confidence and pride” for Britain as it confronts the challenges of negotiating Brexit, in her New Year’s message out Sunday.
Divorce talks between London and Brussels are set to move on to transition arrangements, trade and security next year as Britain prepares to leave the European Union in March 2019.
May said 2017 had been a year of progress for Britain as it struck agreements on its departure bill, Northern Ireland and the rights of EU citizens, in the first phase of Brexit negotiations.
“I believe 2018 can be a year of renewed confidence and pride in our country,” the premier said, “a year in which we continue to make good progress towards a successful Brexit deal, an economy that’s fit for the future, and a stronger and fairer society for everyone.
“And whatever challenges we may face, I know we will overcome them by standing united as one proud union of nations and people.”
However, the British Chambers of Commerce, which represents thousands of firms across the country, warned that business was losing patience while waiting for clarity on what will happen once Britain leaves the EU.
“Businesses want answers,” director general Adam Marshall told The Observer newspaper. “Getting the twin challenges of Brexit and the economic fundamentals right will require leadership, consistency and clarity — after a year in which business has been dismayed by what it sees as division and disorganization.”
Vow on harassment, prejudice
May said 2017 had been a year of progress in which her Brexit objectives had been pursued with a steady purpose.
“Making a success of Brexit is crucial, but it will not be the limit of our ambitions,” she said.
The prime minister said she wanted a “balanced approach” to public spending, reducing Britain’s debt pile while investing in schools, hospitals and state health care.
May also said she wanted to sweep harassment from the workplace and “eliminate all prejudice and discrimination from our society.”
Internationally, she said Britain would work to tackle extremism, climate change and plastic waste in the oceans.
Meanwhile, opposition Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn said the prospect of a “new Britain” was “closer than ever before.”
“We are a government in waiting, while the Conservatives are weak and divided and stuck in an outdated rut,” the veteran leftist said.
Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable used his New Year’s message to push for a second referendum on EU membership.
“There’s still time to offer people the choice of an exit from Brexit,” he said.
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Media Group: 81 Reporters Died, Threats Soared in 2017
At least 81 reporters were killed doing their jobs this year, while violence and harassment against media staff has skyrocketed, the world’s biggest journalists’ organization says.
In its annual “Kill Report,” seen by The Associated Press, the International Federation of Journalists said the reporters lost their lives in targeted killings, car bomb attacks and crossfire incidents around the world.
More than 250 journalists were in prison in 2017.
The number of deaths as of December 29 was the lowest in a decade, down from 93 in 2016. The largest number were killed in Mexico, but many also died in conflict zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
The IFJ suspected but could not officially confirm that at least one other journalist was killed Thursday in an attack by an Islamic State suicide bomber on a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, in which at least 41 people died.
IFJ President Philippe Leruth said that while the drop in deaths “represents a downward trend, the levels of violence in journalism remain unacceptably high.”
He said the IFJ finds it “most disturbing that this decrease cannot be linked to any measure by governments to tackle the impunity for these crimes.”
Eight women journalists were killed, two in European democracies – Kim Wall in Denmark, who died on the submarine of an inventor she was writing about, and Maltese investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia who was blown up by a bomb placed in her car.
Beyond the deaths, the IFJ warned that “unprecedented numbers of journalists were jailed, forced to flee, that self-censorship was widespread and that impunity for the killings, harassment, attacks and threats against independent journalism was running at epidemic levels.”
Turkey, where official pressure on the media has been ramped up since a failed coup attempt in July 2016, is becoming notorious for putting reporters behind bars. Some 160 journalists are jailed in Turkey – two-thirds of the global total – the report said.
The organization also expressed concern about India, the world’s largest democracy, where it said that attacks on journalists are being motivated by violent populism.
Countries with the highest numbers of media killings:
Mexico: 13
Afghanistan: 11
Iraq: 11
Syria: 10
India: 6
Philippines: 4
Pakistan: 4
Nigeria: 3
Somalia: 3
Honduras: 3
Report: Suspect Detained in St. Petersburg Supermarket Blast
Russian news outlet Interfax is reporting that a suspect in Wednesday’s St. Petersburg bombing was arrested on Saturday.
Interfax reported that “the organizer and direct perpetrator who triggered an improvised explosive device on December 27 in a supermarket in St. Petersburg was arrested during a special operation by the FSB,” the Russian security service.
The report said the suspect was handed over to the Russian Investigative Committee for further action. No other details were given.
Wednesday’s blast from a homemade bomb injured at least 13 people. Militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the blast, according to the SITE intelligence group, which monitors IS statements.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the attack was an act of terrorism.
Putin made the assertion at the Kremlin during an awards ceremony for Russian servicemen who served in Syria. He did not provide any further details.
Investigators initially said they were treating the case as an act of attempted murder.
Health officials said none of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
У Запоріжжі активісти в жартівливій формі вимагали відставки заступника мера
Під стінами Запорізької мерії 30 грудня відбулася жартівлива акція «на підтримку» заступника міського голови Анатолія Пустоварова, який є одним з фігурантів справи про фіктивні тендери. Учасники акації принесли під стіни мерії медичні ходунки, ліжко-каталку, медичне судно та картату ковдру. Активісти також тримали у руках плакати з написами «Політв’язням – ні!», «Свободу! Толіку Пустоварову», «Дякуємо рідному Толіку за щасливе дитинство» та інші.
«Ми взяли пледи, медичні речі тому, що у нас в Україні завжди, коли посадовця беруть за грати, намагаються посадити, то одразу він хворіє. До цього моменту ми бачили, що він бігав на марафоні. Тобто здоров’я в людини є. Він каже, що травма спини побутова, але ми знаємо, що Юрій Луценко писав, що він стрибнув з другого поверху чи з першого, не важливо, і скоріш за все, якщо травма і була, то вона не побутова: коли він тікав від СБУ, то, найімовірніше, впав і пошкодив собі спину», – розповів ініціатор акції Денис Нечепоренко.
Також організатор акції повідомив, що активісти домагатимуться відставки заступника міського голови.
«Вимоги у нас такі, щоб Пустоварова зняли з займаної посади тому, що людину знайти на цю посаду дуже просто», – заявив Нечепоренко.
21 грудня силовики провели в Запоріжжі 30 обшуків у справі заступника голови Запорізької обласної ради Владислава Марченка. За даними ГПУ, Марченко, його рідний брат та директор одного з комунальних підприємств міста Мелітополь підозрюються у привласненні бюджетних коштів шляхом проведення фіктивних тендерів на суму 87 мільйонів гривень.
Крім того, у справі проходить і четвертий фігурант – прокуратура оголосила про підозру 30-річному заступнику міського голови Запоріжжя Анатолію Пустоварову, який буцімто днями травмував хребет. 29 грудня суд відпустив його під заставу у 1,5 мільйона гривень, яка має бути сплачена протягом 5 днів.
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Court Upholds Ban on Navalny Running for Russian Presidency
Russia’s highest court has upheld election officials’ decision to bar opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running for president in March’s election.
The Supreme Court on Saturday turned down Navalny’s appeal against the Central Election Commission’s move, saying that the decision to bar him from the race fully conforms to law.
President Vladimir Putin, whose approval ratings top 80 percent, is set to easily win a fourth term in the March 18 vote.
Navalny has campaigned for the presidency all year despite an implicit ban on his candidacy due to a fraud conviction seen by many as politically driven. Election officials formally barred him from the ballot Monday.
Navalny responded to the ban by calling for a boycott of the vote. The Kremlin said authorities will look into whether such a call violates the law.
Annual NYC Taxi Driver Calendar Is Out: Meet Mr. December!
Readying for his first television interview, Alex Wang gazes at his reflection in the back window of his yellow cab. Wiping his windswept mane behind the ear, he adjusts his red Shanghai Tang jacket and takes a swig of steaming tea.
“Ahh,” he pauses emphatically, “warms your whole body.”
Wang opens the front door and reaches deep inside, revealing a glossy 2018 calendar. On the cover is a shirtless male model, sprawled on his belly atop a yellow taxicab trunk, licking a spiral rainbow-colored lollipop the size of his face.
“It’s me!” he laughs, self-deprecatingly, pointing to his photo. “So ugly, you are!”
The 68-year-old Wang, an 18-year taxicab veteran, self-proclaimed “karaoke king” and “bit of a comedian” from China, flips through the months, each featuring a New York taxi driver. Most are foreign-born, representing seven different countries, and many are middle-aged, reflecting the key demographics of the city’s yellow cab fleet: 96 percent immigrant, median age 46.
WATCH: Is It Hot in Here, or Is It New York’s 2018 Taxicab Models?
The NYC Taxi Drivers Calendar’s co-creators, Philip and Shannon Kirkman, came up with the idea five years ago as a tongue-in-cheek alternative to the famous chisel-chested firefighter pin-up — a steamy parody with the dual-function of celebrating the city’s diversity, while also giving back.
To date, the couple has donated more than $60,000 worth of proceeds to University Settlement, a nonprofit that serves immigrant and low-income families with education, housing, and health services.
Turning taxi drivers into models
Shannon, the calendar’s photographer, describes the end product’s humor as uniting.
“Particularly when the news is tough, it’s something that you can kind of take a step back, and relax and celebrate with,” Shannon said. “We laugh a lot during the shoots.”
Philip, the calendar’s creative director, explains that the process of turning a taxi driver into a model, during a two-hour shoot, can prove challenging.
“I always think about how courageous it is for these drivers, because it is an open set,” Philip said. “We literally park the cab in front of a fire hydrant in most cases, and there’s people walking by and looking and taking pictures.”
Among the fearless models are pucker-lipped Dan — who sports a bow-tie, cuffs, and not much else before a vintage late 60s-era checker taxicab — and Hassan, who seductively watches you as he eats a messy slice of birthday cake decorated with his own smiling portrait.
Of the year’s 12 participants, only one is a woman, indicative of a male-dominated industry in which 99 percent of New York City yellow cab drivers are men.
Bangladeshi-native Nipa, featured in both the inside cover and October, is the third woman ever to be included in the calendar. Her depiction as a strongwoman was intentional.
“It’s been a tough year for women,” Shannon said. “We felt like we really wanted to put Nipa in a position of power, in a position of strength.”
‘A little’ fame
Come winter, cover model Wang can be seen enthusiastically squirting a bottle of baby oil across the hood of his vehicle, in his official December photo.
Wang, who started his life in the U.S. as a restaurant deliveryman 37 years ago, says being a taxi driver has been the most rewarding job and career for him.
“Every [time a] passenger comes in … I practice my English,” Wang says. “I see lots of beautiful places, lots of landmarks of New York.”
Everywhere he drives, Wang proudly displays his roots, but there is no place he would rather call home. And now that he has found “a little” fame, he plans to make sure everyone knows about it.
“I will show all the passengers,” he says. “I was in a taxi calendar, and [I was] the cover man. Alex Wang!”
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Is It Hot in Here, or Is It New York’s 2018 Taxicab Models?
The New York City Taxi Drivers Calendar began as a tongue-in-cheek alternative to the famous chisel-chested firefighter pin-up, while benefiting a nonprofit that serves immigrant and low-income families. Now in its fifth year, the creators of the parody calendar are out with their 2018 edition, and it may be their sauciest one yet. Ramon Taylor reports.
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Beatles’ Ringo Starr Knighted in UK Honors List
Ex-Beatles drummer Ringo Starr has been knighted in Queen Elizabeth’s New Year’s honors list, along with Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb and author Michael Morpurgo, while ballet dancer Darcey Bussell becomes a dame.
Ringo, 77, real name Richard Starkey, joined the Beatles as a replacement drummer for Pete Best in 1962 and occasionally sang lead vocals, notably in “Yellow Submarine” and “With a Little Help from my Friends.”
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a Beatle in 1988 and again in 2015 for his solo career after the group split up.
Gibb, 71, is the British musician who co-founded the Bee Gees with his brothers Robin and Maurice, and went on to record a string of pop classics including “Stayin’ Alive” and “Night Fever” from the film Saturday Night Fever.
English author Morpurgo, 74, is best known for children’s novels like War Horse and was Children’s Laureate from 2003 to 2005.
Bussell, 48, is a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet and currently one of the four judges in the long-running BBC TV ballroom contest Strictly Come Dancing.
The New Year’s honors have been awarded since Queen Victoria’s reign in the 19th century and aim to recognize not just well-known figures but those who have contributed to national life through often selfless and unsung contributions over many years.
In that category, Margaret Jamieson, of the Blue Door charity shop on the Scottish island of Orkney, is recognized, along with Geoffrey Evans, a local councilor in Falmouth, Cornwall, for over 40 years.
Actor Hugh Laurie receives the CBE medal, as does author Jilly Cooper and the former editor of British Vogue magazine Alexandra Shulman.
England women’s cricket captain Heather Knight is made an OBE while hip hop artist Richard Cowie, aka Wiley, is made an MBE, along with Paralympian athlete Stefanie Reid.
The biannual honors list is released on the Queen’s official birthday in June and at the end of each year.
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Russia Reports Virulent H5N2 Bird Flu at 660,000-bird Farm
Russia has reported an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N2 bird flu on a farm in the central region of Kostromskaya Oblast that led to the deaths of more than 660,000 birds, the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said Friday.
The virus killed more than 44,000 birds in an outbreak first detected on December 17, the OIE said, citing a report from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture.
The rest of the 663,500 birds on the farm were slaughtered, it said in the report. It did not specify the type of birds that were infected.
It is the first outbreak of the H5N2 strain in Russia this year, but the country has been facing regular outbreaks of H5N8 since early December last year, with the last one reported to the OIE detected late November.
Bird flu has led to the deaths or culling of more than 2.6 million birds on farms between December last year and November this year, a report posted on the OIE website showed.
Neither the H5N2 or H5N8 strains has been found in humans.
The virulence of highly pathogenic bird flu viruses has prompted countries to bar poultry imports from infected countries in earlier outbreaks.
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Ukraine Kidnappers Free Bitcoin Analyst After $1 Million Ransom Paid
Kidnappers in Ukraine have released an employee at a United Kingdom-registered cryptocurrency exchange after getting more than $1 million in bitcoins as ransom, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister told Reuters on Friday.
Pavel Lerner, a leading analyst and expert in blockchains, or decentralized public ledgers, was abducted by unknown masked people on December 26, according to a statement by his company, EXMO Finance, on its website.
“This is the first such case in Ukraine linked to bitcoins,” Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, said in a phone text message.
It was unclear who paid the ransom. Lerner’s work at EXMO did not involve access to the financial assets of its users, the company said, adding that the platform was operating normally.
“At the moment, he is safe, and there was no physical harm inflicted on him,” the statement said. “Nevertheless, Pavel is currently in a state of major stress. Therefore, he will not provide any official comments in the coming days.”
News of the release came as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rebounded after two days of losses partly related to regulators toughening rules on digital currencies in an effort to curb excessive speculation. Many digital currencies surged in value this year.
Balaclavas
Strana.ua, a local news website, had earlier reported that six gun-toting men in dark clothing and balaclavas had snatched Lerner and pushed him into a minibus with stolen number plates.
Police have begun a criminal investigation after a man was kidnapped in the Obolon district of Kyiv, Oksana Blyshchyk, the Kyiv police spokeswoman, said by phone without revealing the name of the victim.
EXMO has 900,000 users as of December 2017, according to its website.
“We would like to note that the story of Pavel’s abduction has overgrown with rumors that might tamper with the official investigation,” EXMO said in its statement. “That said, EXMO currently refrains from any comments or suggestions of own versions of the possible scenario, in the nearest future.”
Separately, the company announced Thursday that it had been hit by a denial-of-service attack.
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Putin Signs Law Allowing Expansion of Russian Naval Facility in Syria
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law ratifying an agreement enabling Russia to expand operations at its naval facility in the Syrian port of Tartus.
The document was posted on the official website for Russian legislation after Putin signed it Friday.
It could help cement what Putin has said would be a “permanent” Russian presence at the Tartus facility and the Hmeimim air base, key platforms for Russia’s campaign backing Syria’s government in the nearly seven-year war in the Middle Eastern country.
The agreement, signed in Damascus in January 2017, allows for the Russian navy to expand the technical support and logistics facility at Tartus, which is Moscow’s only naval foothold in the Mediterranean.
It allows Russia to keep up to 11 warships, including nuclear-powered vessels, at Tartus at any time for the next 49 years. The deal is to be prolonged automatically for 25-year periods upon its expiration.
It also allows Russian ships to enter Syria’s territorial waters, internal waters and ports, to use the Tartus facility free of charge.
The agreement also provides Russian military personnel at the facility with immunity and regulates the status of the military personnel and members of their families there.
Critical Russian support
Russia has given President Bashar al-Assad’s government crucial support throughout the war, which began with a crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2011 and has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people killed and millions driven from their homes.
Moscow helped Assad avoid possible defeat by starting a campaign of airstrikes in September 2015, in many cases using Hmeimim as a base. It has also launched strikes from warships in the Mediterranean.
During a visit to the air base on December 11, Putin declared victory over “the most combat-capable international terrorist group” — a reference to the extremist group Islamic State — and announced a partial withdrawal of Russian troops.
Western officials say that the Russian campaign, particularly in its earlier stages, has focused heavily on targeting rebels seeking Assad’s ouster rather than IS militants.
Putin said on Thursday that more than 48,000 Russian military personnel have served in the operation in Syria, and that the facilities at Hmeimim and Tartus would continue to operate “on a permanent basis.”
With IS in retreat and diplomats pressing ahead with efforts to forge a political solution, analysts say Russia is eager to make its position in Syria as strong as possible in order to wield influence on future developments.
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Mystery Writer Grafton Dies in California
Mystery writer Sue Grafton has died in Santa Barbara, California. She was 77.
Her daughter, Jamie Clark, posted news of her mother’s death on Grafton’s web page Friday.
She says her mother passed away Thursday night after a two-year battle with cancer and was surrounded by family, including Grafton’s husband, Steve.
Grafton was the author of the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet Series, in which each book title begins with a letter from the alphabet. The last was Y Is for Yesterday.
Her daughter concluded her posting by saying, “The alphabet now ends at Y.”
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Cambodia Filmmakers Face ‘Taxing’ Times
The launch of Angelina’s Jolie’s Khmer language feature “First They Killed My Father” promised to deliver a much needed shot of exposure and enthusiasm into the arm of Cambodia’s emergent film industry.
Instead of using the spotlight to springboard their productions though, leading Cambodian filmmakers are fearing a proposed tax enforcement drive could kill the industry entirely.
Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture called filmmakers to a meeting in October to discuss the planned imposition of taxes on filmmakers.
The clampdown echoes a broader push by the country’s General Department of Taxation to transition from an opaque and dysfunctional system of negotiated tax to a more sustainable government revenue base.
But the idea an industry struggling to stay afloat can shoulder the implementation of full tax compliance is unrealistic, said Motion Picture Association of Cambodia president Chhay Bora.
“If the taxes are to be implemented [now],risk in the film industry will occur,” he said. “I think not less than 80 percent of production houses will close down because it is a heavy burden to them.
“All the artists will lose their job,” he added. ‘The technical team will no longer be in the film industry. Perhaps it will be the same as what happened in the 2000s.”
Cambodia’s film industry experienced a brief resurgence in the early 2000s fuelled by surging nationalist tensions with Thailand but with little support or direction interest soon fell away.
About seven years into a second boom, filmmakers have now been informed of just under a dozen taxes they are obligated to pay from pre-production to screening that cover monthly production incomes, cast and crew salaries.
They are also in the firing line for taxes on equipment rental, studio rental, full time staff, revenue from screening, annual VAT and withholding tax.
Bora, the director of feature films 3.50, which delved into the deplorable world of the virginity trade, and Lost Loves, the story of a mother fighting for her family’s survival under the Khmer Rouge, believes good cinema has a critical role to play in Cambodian society .
“It has influence in promoting culture, literature, and sending other educational messages,” he said, adding the art-form also brings national prestige.
In recent years Cambodian films have garnered some notable attention on the world stage with features such as Davy Chou’s Diamond Island and Rithy Panh’s The Missing Picture gracing Cannes and the Oscars.
Their success has helped inspire a new generation of filmmakers and slowly the quality of productions is lifting.
International distribution remains extremely rare though, confining most Cambodian filmmakers to a handful of theaters across the country that screen films on average just 26 times — or for about two weeks.
Filmmakers and distributors have told VOA cinemas commonly take a cut of 55 percent from these limited ticket sales.
Rampant copyright violation has made web based sales effectively pointless with most filmmakers outright refusing to do it or exhausting every other possible alternative first before risking illegal downloads.
As a result the production of serious feature films is far from a lucrative enterprise with local Cambodian attempts rarely managing to break even. Instead the filmmakers work largely for exposure.
Salaries are low and work scarce forcing freelance crew members to rely on a few jobs a year while supplementing their incomes through menial jobs, such as driving Tuk Tuks.
Huy Yaleng, 38, rode the wave of the first cinema resurgence in the early nineties at the start of his career and felt the pain of having to turn to TV execs as cinemas shut their doors, reopening as pubs and restaurants.
“The industry has just recovered in the past few years, as we all can see that we are not strong enough to make profit yet,” he said.
Huy said his latest thriller “Psychotic” had once again failed to turn a profit and vowed to throw in the towel if his upcoming feature “The Witch” brought no return again.
“I am worried. I have put my love into film for my entire life, and now it has problems,” Huy said. “I haven’t made any profit yet, but in my mind I told myself to continue because I love it and vow to serve this industry till the end. We will try until the end.”
The proposal to apply 10 percent salary tax to crew members along with taxes on other subcontractors such as those providing transportation or catering is particularly onerous, Chhay said, because their inability to pay left the burden with the production house.
Worse, such taxes would be backdated to the time each production house registered itself — leaving filmmakers struggling to break even with huge retrospective tax bills.
So he is leading the push for a 10-year tax holiday for the entire industry.
Pok Bora, Acting Director of the Film and Cultural Diffusion Department, said that request had been forwarded to higher authorities in the government but no decision had been made.
“The immediate solution by the Ministry of Economy [and Finance], is to offer a tax break until the end of 2018 for the Withholding Tax on cinema screening,” he said.
The government had also created a National Arts Support and Development Fund in June 2016 — only available to registered productions that fulfilled tax obligations.
“Therefore, there is a need to emphasize on tax reforms to make sure that the funds go to the right production,” he said.
Chea Sopheap, executive director of the Bophana Audio Visual Resource Center, said solutions to the industry’s financial woes hinged on research and clear understanding.
“So the best way is to have a good discussion, good study in order to find a balance between cinemas, film productions and the government,” he said.
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Шахістка Анна Музичук стала «чемпіонкою» українського сегмента Facebook
Українська шахістка Анна Музичук, яка 23 грудня написала про бойкот чемпіонату світу з шахів у Саудівській Аравії, стала «чемпіонкою» українського сегмента Facebook. Станом на вечір 29 грудня пост української шахістки набрав понад 140 тисяч лайків, 18 тисяч коментарів та понад 65 тисяч поширень.
Як пише Watcher, профільне видання про інтернет-бізнес в Україні, це найпопулярніший пост в українському сегменті Facebook за весь час його існування.
28 грудня німецька газета Bild у традиційній рубриці назвала українську шахістку Анну Музичук «переможцем дня».
Музичук майже тиждень тому оголосила про бойкот чемпіонату світу з шахів у Саудівській Аравії і пояснила причини свого рішення.
«Через кілька днів я втрачу обидва свої чемпіонські титули – один за іншим. Просто тому, що вирішила не їхати до Саудівської Аравії. Не грати за чиїмись правилами, не носити абайю, не ходити з супроводом на вулицю і взагалі не відчувати себе вторинною істотою. Рівно рік тому я виграла обидва ці титули і була найщасливішою людиною в шаховому світі, а тепер я відчуваю себе дуже погано. Я готова боротися за свої принципи і пропустити турнір, який міг би принести більше грошей, ніж десяток турнірів, разом узятих», – написала Музичук.
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ФФУ довічно відсторонила 18 футболістів за гру під егідою угруповання «ДНР»
Контрольно-дисциплінарний комітет Федерації футболу України довічно відсторонив 18 футболістів, які брали участь у змаганнях на території, контрольованій угрупованням «ДНР».
«КДК ФФУ розглянув справу про заяву Служби безпеки України щодо футболістів, які брали участь в футбольних матчах у складі так званого «ДНР», і вирішив заборонити довічно здійснювати будь-яку діяльність, пов’язану з футболом», – повідомляє 29 грудня прес-служба ФФУ.
Це вже не перший випадок санкцій Федерації футболу України, пов’язаних із особами, які втратили лояльність щодо українського футбольного «громадянства». В середині 2017 року перестали обслуговувати матчі української футбольної прем’єр-ліги кримські арбітри Юрій Вакс та Анатолій Жабченко, які, серед іншого, використовували закриті Україною пункти пропуску. Зокрема, ці судді літали на матчі чемпіонату України з Сімферополя транзитом через Москву та Мінськ. Обидва арбітри були включені до бази «Миротворець».
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Метеорологи зафіксували третій температурний рекорд грудня в Києві
За даними спостережень метеостанції Центральної геофізичної обсерваторії імені Бориса Срезневського, 29 грудня у Києві спостерігалась найтепліша ніч з 1881 року.
Стовпчик термометра не опустився нижче за +4,8°С, що на 2°С вище від попереднього історичного значення температури для цієї дати, зареєстрованого у 1974 році, повідомили в обсерваторії.
Це вже третій температурний рекорд грудня у столиці Україні, повідомили метеорологи.
«Зважаючи на високий температурний фон п’ятниці, існує велика ймовірність перевищення середньодобового найвищого значення температури для 29 грудня та максимуму температури повітря», – йдеться в повідомленні.
Раніше в Центральній геофізичній обсерваторії імені Бориса Срезневського повідомляли, що 26 грудня в Києві спостерігалась найтепліша ніч з 1881 року.
25 грудня синоптики прогнозували переважно плюсову температуру повітря в Україні впродовж передноворічного тижня.
Teen from Ghana Becomes First Black Woman on US Olympic Speedskating Team
Maame Biney, a 17-year-old from Ghana, will be the first African-American woman to represent the U.S. on the speedskating short track team at the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in February. VOA’s Salem Solomon visited her where she first started skating in a local ice rink in Reston, Virginia, and has this story.
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