The Trump administration is preparing to publish on Thursday long-delayed proposed rule changes for the export of U.S. firearms, a State Department official said on Tuesday. The rule changes would move the oversight of commercial firearm exports from the U.S. Department of State to the Department of Commerce. The action is part of a broader Trump administration overhaul of weapons export policy that was announced in April. Domestic gun sales drop Timing for the formal publication of the rule change and the opening of the public comment period was unveiled by Mike Miller the acting secretary for the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, the State Department’s body that currently oversees the bulk of commercial firearms transfers and other foreign military sales. He was speaking at the Forum on the Arms Trade’s annual conference at the Stimson Center, a Washington think tank. Reuters first reported on the proposed rule changes in September as the Trump administration was preparing to make it easier for American gun makers to sell small arms, including assault rifles and ammunition, to foreign buyers. Domestic gun sales have fallen significantly after soaring under President Barack Obama, when gun enthusiasts stockpiled weapons and ammunition out of fear that the government would tighten gun laws. A move by the Trump administration to make it simpler to sell small arms abroad may generate business for gun makers American Outdoor Brands and Sturm, Ruger & Company in an industry experiencing a deep sales slump since the election of President Donald Trump. …
DRC Prepares for Mass Ebola Vaccinations
Preparations are under way for a mass Ebola vaccination campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the Ministry of Health and international aid agencies hold a second day of inoculations in northwestern Equateur Province. The latest World Health Organization estimates report 51 cases of Ebola, including 27 deaths. The World Health Organization said 33 people, most of them front-line health care workers, were vaccinated against Ebola on Monday in Mbandaka, a city of more than one million people. It said a few high-risk people from the community also were vaccinated during the first day of the campaign. More than 7,500 doses of the Ebola vaccine have been shipped to the Democratic Republic of Congo. WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told VOA he expects the campaign to accelerate and ultimately reach thousands of people. He said a lot of work has to be done before this complex operation can hit its stride. For example, he said transporting the vaccines and storing them in freezers in affected areas is a major challenge. “You need to have vaccination teams to be trained so they know exactly what they need to do, how to get a consent, how to define eligibility of a contact and contacts of contacts,” he added. “So, all of that has to be done in a very, very short period of time under very difficult conditions.” Jasarevic said a team from Doctors Without Borders will begin vaccinations later in the week in Bikoro, the remote rural town in northwestern Equateur …
US, China Near Rescue Deal for Chinese Telecom Firm ZTE
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday “there is no deal” yet to lift the seven-year ban on the sale of American-made components to the giant Chinese telecommunications company ZTE, but that there might be a settlement as part of ongoing trade talks between the world’s two biggest economies. Trump told reporters at the White House that he could envision a $1.3 billion fine against ZTE for violating the U.S. ban on trading with Iran and North Korea, the replacement of ZTE’s management and board of directors and imposition of “very, very strict security” to prevent the theft of U.S. intellectual and national security secrets. “We caught them doing bad things,” he said. Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping asked him to look into the fate of ZTE after the firm said it had to shut its production because the U.S. banned sale of American-made components ZTE uses to manufacture an array of technology products until 2025. Trump said he also heard protests from the U.S. companies selling goods to ZTE. Trump declared he was “not satisfied” with the state of U.S.-China trade talks after last week’s negotiations in Washington. China agreed to “substantially reduce” the $375 billion annual trade surplus it has over the U.S. by buying more American goods, but there was no mention of any specific import and export targets in the statement agreed to by the two countries. U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is headed to China next week for further trade talks. Trump commented on the …
Кличко прокоментував повідомлення про те, що фани здають квитки на фінал Ліги чемпіонів
Міський голова Києва Віталій Кличко спростував інформацію про те, що футбольні вболівальники здають квитки на фінал Ліги чемпіонів в Києві. За його словами, ця інформація є фейком. «Зараз була сенсація в тому, що вболівальники масово здають квитки, бо житло дороге чи його немає, ніхто не летить. Через те, що велика кількість людей готові придбати ці квитки, ми спеціально дали завдання, зв’язалися з клубами «Реал Мадрид», з «Ювентус», з фан-клубами. Будь ласка, дайте інформацію, хто здає квитки, ми готові їх купити. Тиша. Відповіді на це питання немає, тому я переконаний у тому, що це – фейк-ньюз, який розповсюджують. І я переконаний, що стадіон буде повний, і велика кількість вболівальників прийде», – наголосив міський голова в ефірі Радіо Свобода. Також Кличко звернув увагу на те, що міська влада не може регулювати ринок житла і вплинути на вартість оренди нерухомості. «Це вже втручання політиків у господарчу діяльність, у ринок, а це завжди погано закінчується», – сказав він. Віталій Кличко очікує, що під час фіналу Ліги чемпіонів до Києва завітають понад 50 тисяч вболівальників. Утім, скільки доходів принесе захід місту, зазначити не зміг. «Якщо ми очікуємо близько 50-60 тисяч вболівальників, то помножте це, як мінімум, на 100 чи на 150 доларів. Це мінімум», – зауважив Кличко. 26 травня на НСК «Олімпійський» у Києві відбудеться фінал Ліги чемпіонів, у якому зіграють іспанський «Реал» та англійський «Ліверпуль». Двома днями раніше, 24 травня, на київському стадіоні «Динамо» імені Валерія Лобановського, відбудеться фінал жіночої Ліги чемпіонів. Влада Києва очікує на приїзд близько 100 тисяч гостей на фінал Ліги …
New Vaccine Might Be Game-Changer in DRC’s Ebola Fight
The Ebola outbreak that has killed more than two dozen people in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo could be as devastating as the one that hit West Africa several years ago, if left unchecked. But first responders say things are different this time. That’s in large part thanks to a vaccine they couldn’t use in late 2013, when Ebola cases were first reported in Guinea. The pharmaceutical giant Merck has shipped about 8,600 doses of its experimental vaccine, V920, to the site of the outbreak in Equateur province. The drug has gone through Phase 3 trials, but has not yet received regulatory licensure in any country. It will be administered in Congo by the World Health Organization, a Merck spokesperson told VOA. ‘Ring vaccination’ Having an effective vaccine isn’t enough, the head of policy and health diplomacy at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Benjamin Djoudalbaye, told VOA by phone from Geneva. V920 isn’t designed for mass vaccination. People who have come in contact with a patient must be identified and given the drug. “But the difficult part,” Djoudalbaye said, “is to properly list down all the contacts and press them in such a way that they (understand they) can benefit from the vaccine and it will stop the spread of the disease.” The WHO will follow the “ring vaccination” approach, wherein anyone who has come into contact or may come into contact with an infected person is vaccinated to contain the threat. This could include family …
Поліція викрила 320 організаторів «договірних» футбольних матчів – Аваков
Міністр внутрішніх справ України Арсен Аваков повідомив про завершення поліцейської операції з викриття організаторів «договірних» футбольних матчів. «За інформацією слідства, в Україні роками працювало 5 організованих груп, у діяльність яких було залучено 35 футбольних клубів з 10 областей. До складу організованої злочинної групи входили президенти клубів, колишні і діючі гравці, арбітри, тренери, навколофутбольні комерційні структури. Всього задокументовано участь 320 фігурантів по 57 доведеним епізодами», – написав він у Facebook. За словами міністра, для отримання «правильного» рахунку в матчі використовувалися різні методи: від підкупу гравців, арбітрів, власників клубів до залякування та погроз. Заздалегідь знаючи результат гри, учасники злочинних груп робили ставки в букмекерських конторах, зареєстрованих в країнах Азії і отримували величезні прибутки, розповів Аваков. За його словами, оперативники Департаменту захисту економіки Нацполіціі під процесуальним керівництвом Генпрокуратури провели 40 санкціонованих обшуків у Києві та Київській, Житомирській, Дніпропетровській, Донецькій, Запорізькій, Одеській, Кіровоградській, Миколаївській та Чернігівській областях. Фігурантам справи оголосили про підозру у підкупі та протиправному впливові на результат спортивних змагань. …
Понад 3,7 мільйона гривень заплатили з бюджету через незаконні дії влади у першому кварталі – #Точно
Витрати на відшкодування збитків, завданих громадянам незаконними діями органів влади України, протягом першого кварталу 2018 року склали понад 3,7 мільйона гривень. Така інформація міститься у звіті про виконання бюджету України, опублікованому на порталі державного казначейства, повідомляє #Точно, проект Радіо Свобода. Виплачена за рішеннями судів компенсація враховує відшкодування збитків, завданих діями органів дізнання, досудового слідства, прокуратури, суду й інших органів влади. У 2017 році з бюджету на аналогічні компенсації витратили понад 27,6 мільйона гривень. В інші роки виплати були значно меншими. У 2016 році заплатили понад 18 мільйонів гривень. У 2015 році – 15 мільйонів гривень. Загалом до кінця 2018 року уряд на аналогічні витрати виділив 33 мільйони гривень. …
Mexican Truckers Travel in Fear as Highway Robberies Bleed Economy
Glancing constantly at his rear view mirror, truck driver “El Flaco” journeys the highways of Mexico haunted by the memory of when he was kidnapped with his security detail by bandits disguised as police officers two years ago. Back then, El Flaco, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, was beaten, blindfolded and taken to a house near Mexico City where his captors threatened to kill him. Three days later he managed to escape and flee. Today he travels with a machete and a satellite tracking device in his cab that can pinpoint him in emergencies. Truckers covering Mexico’s vast territory often move in convoys to reduce the risk of robberies, which in 2017 almost doubled to nearly 3,000. Some drive with armed escorts traveling alongside them. Others remove the logos from their trucks. Companies like brewer Grupo Modelo, a unit of AB InBev, and the Mexican subsidiary of South Korea’s LG Electronics have stepped up efforts to protect their drivers, deploying sophisticated geo-location technology and increasing communication with authorities. The problem is part of a wider Latin American scourge of highway robbery that acts as a further drag on a region long held back by sub-par infrastructure. “Roads are getting more and more dangerous, you try not to stop,” the 50-year-old El Flaco said, as he drove in the central state of Puebla, the epicenter of highway freight theft. “Since I was kidnapped, I’ve gotten into the habit of looking in the mirror, checking car number …
Indian Innovators Convert Diesel Exhaust Into Ink To Battle Air Pollution
Supervised by young engineers, workers at the start-up company Chakr Innovation in New Delhi cut and weld sheets of metal to make devices that will capture black plumes of smoke from diesel generators and convert it into ink. In a cabin, young engineers pore over drawings and hunch over computers as they explore more applications of the technology that they hope will aid progress in cleaning up the Indian capital’s toxic air – among the world’s dirtiest. While the millions of cars that ply Delhi’s streets are usually blamed for the city’s deadly air pollution, another big culprit is the massive diesel generators used by industries and buildings to light up homes and offices during outages when power from the grid switches off – a frequent occurrence in summer. Installed in backyards and basements, they stay away from the public eye. “Although vehicular emissions are the show stoppers, they are the ones which get the media attention, the silent polluters are the diesel generators,” says Arpit Dhupar, one of the three engineers who co-founded the start up. The idea that this polluting smoke needs attention struck Dhupar three years ago as he sipped a glass of sugarcane juice at a roadside vendor and saw a wall blackened with the fumes of a diesel generator he was using. It jolted him into joining with two others who co-founded the start-up to find a solution. Dhupar had experienced first hand the deadly impact of this pollution as he developed respiratory problems growing up …
Kagame Touts Rwanda’s Health Care Successes
The government of Rwandan President Paul Kagame — accused by some of imposing authoritarian rule on the country — received almost unanimous praise for its strides in health care. Kagame had a chance to tout his health care policy as an example to other African nations at the opening of the World Health Assembly in Geneva Monday. According to Rwandan officials, the country’s universal health care system has brought coverage to more than 90 percent of its population. Kagame, an advocate for the adoption of universal health coverage in Africa, leads a country that has a successful, widely-admired system. As chairman of the African Union, he has promoted universal coverage as the continent’s top strategic objective. The effort is receiving full support from the World Health Organization, which aims to achieve coverage for one billion more people by 2023 as part of a five-year strategic plan. Touting his own efforts as an example, Kagame says achieving universal health coverage is feasible for countries at every income.These systems, he says, avoid catastrophic out-of-pocket health expenditures, which are an increasing source of impoverishment in Africa. He says community-based, primary health systems all around Africa have shown good results. “In Rwanda,” he said, “a combination of community-based health insurance, community health workers, and good external partnerships led to the steepest reductions in child and maternal mortality ever recorded.” Kagame says more than 90 percent of Rwandans are enrolled in health insurance today. He says two-thirds of the costs are borne by the …
Impregnated Southern White Rhino Could Save Nearly Extinct Relative
A southern white rhino at the San Diego Zoo in California has become pregnant as a result of artificial insemination with sperm from a male southern white rhino. The development increases hopes that a nearly extinct close relative, the northern white rhino, can be saved. News that the female southern white rhino named Victoria is pregnant is seen as a breakthrough, and a step toward saving the northern white rhino species. The pregnancy was confirmed last week. If Victoria is able to carry the calf to term, it will be born in about a year. The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research issued a statement that said confirmation of this pregnancy through artificial insemination represented a “historic event” for the organization and was a critical step in the effort to save the northern white rhino. The world’s last male northern white rhino, Sudan, died after age-related complications in March at Kenya’s Ol Pejeta Conservancy, his home for 10 years after being transferred from a zoo in the Czech Republic. Sudan was 45 years old and had been in ailing health. Sudan’s death was seen as a tragedy, as it marked the possible end of a species. Researchers optimistic Reproductive options for producing a northern white rhino include artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, with the southern white rhinos possibly serving as surrogates for northern white rhino embryos. The statement from the institute said researchers were optimistic that a northern white rhino calf could be born from these …
Перші американські локомотиви Україна отримає до кінця року – «Укразалізниця»
Таким чином Україна компенсує втрату підприємства «Луганськтепловоз» …
Social Media Under Microscope in Emotive Irish Abortion Vote
In homes and pubs, on leaflets and lampposts, debate is raging in Ireland over whether to lift the country’s decades-old ban on abortion. Pro-repeal banners declare: “Her choice: vote yes.” Anti-abortion placards warn against a “license to kill.” Online, the argument is just as charged — and more shadowy, as unregulated ads of uncertain origin battle to sway voters before Friday’s referendum, which could give Irish women the right to end their pregnancies for the first time. The emotive campaign took a twist this month when Facebook and Google moved to restrict or remove ads relating to the abortion vote. It is the latest response to global concern about social media’s role in influencing political campaigns, from the U.S. presidential race to Brexit. “We shouldn’t be naive in thinking Ireland would be immune from all these worldwide trends,” said lawmaker James Lawless, technology spokesman for the opposition Fianna Fail party. “Because of the complete lack of any regulation on social media campaigning in Ireland, somebody at the moment can throw any amount of money, from anywhere in the world, with any message — and there’s nothing anybody can do about it.” The role of online ads in elections is under scrutiny following revelations that Russian groups bought ads on platforms such as Google and Facebook to try to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential race. Many of the ads were designed to sow confusion, anger and discord among Americans through messages on hot-button topics. Few subjects are …
WHO Chief Unveils an Ambitious Agenda to Promote Health for All
In an energetic presentation, World Health Organization director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has kicked off the agency’s annual conference in Geneva by vowing to use his position to keep the world safe and to serve the vulnerable by promoting health for all. The overflow audience at the Assembly enthusiastically marked the World Health Organization’s 70th Birthday. WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus agreed there was much to celebrate. But noted there was little joy in the Democratic Republic of Congo where health workers were risking their lives to stop the Ebola outbreak in that country. “It is concerning that we now have cases of Ebola in an urban center, but we are much better placed to deal with this outbreak than we were in 2014. I am pleased to say that vaccination is starting as we speak today,” he said. Tedros said this was only the latest of 50 emergencies in 47 countries and territories to which WHO has responded in the past year. He noted the best way to prevent future disease outbreaks and emergencies was to strengthen health systems everywhere. “That is why we established a High-Level Commission on Noncommunicable Diseases, to stop the premature and preventable deaths of millions of people,” he said. “It is why we established an initiative on climate change and health in small island developing states … It is why we are working on an aggressive new initiative to jumpstart progress against malaria, an entirely treatable disease that still kills half a million people every …
Medical Teams Sent to South India Amid Deadly Virus Outbreak
A deadly virus has killed at least three people in southern India, officials said Monday, with medical teams dispatched to the area amid reports that up to six other people could have died from the virus and others are ill. The three fatalities from the Nipah virus were all from the same family, said Kerala state health minister K.K. Shailaja. There is no vaccine for Nipah, which can cause raging fevers, convulsions and vomiting. The only treatment is supportive care to control complications and keep patients comfortable. It has a mortality rate of up to 75 percent. Media reports say five more people have died from high fevers in recent days, as well as a nurse who had treated people infected with the virus. But medical workers have not yet confirmed what killed those people. At least eight others sick with Nipah symptoms are being monitored. People who had been in contact with Nipah victims have been put into isolation, Shailaja said. Nipah, which was first identified during a late 1990s outbreak in Malaysia, can be spread by fruit bats, pigs and through human-to-human contact. A team from India’s National Center for Disease Control has been sent to the coastal region of Kerala, where the outbreak occurred. “We are closely monitoring the situation,” India’s health minister, J.P. Nadda, said in a statement. …
Trump Claims New Accord with China on Trade Negotiations
U.S. President Donald Trump says American farmers will be big beneficiaries of more trade with China. “Under our potential deal with China, they will purchase from our Great American Farmers practically as much as our Farmers can produce,” Trump said Monday on Twitter. In another comment, he said China “has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/Agricultural Products – would be one of the best things to happen to our farmers in many years!” The U.S. leader said one result of talks with China last week in Washington is barriers to U.S.-Chinese trade and tariffs on each country’s exports will “come down for (the) first time.” President Trump’s tweets come a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced the two nations have agreed to back away from imposing tough new tariffs on each other’s exports, after reaching a deal Saturday for Beijing to buy more American goods to “substantially reduce” the huge trade deficit with the United States. Mnuchin told Fox News the world’s two biggest economic powers “made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework” to resolve trade issues. “So right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework,” he said. China’s state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Vice Premier Liu He, who led Chinese negotiators in trade talks in Washington this past week, as saying, “The two sides reached a consensus, will not fight a trade war, and will stop increasing tariffs on each other.” China’s …
China Puts its Own Spin on Agreement to Reduce Trade Deficit
China’s state media are playing up what it says is a trade war truce and de-escalation in tensions after negotiators from Washington and Beijing agreed to hold off on tariffs and “substantially reduce” the U.S. trade deficit. However, economists and business leaders argue that there is more to managing the relationship than balancing imports and exports. State media in China are focusing heavily on the argument that Beijing did not give any ground and adopting their own take on the deficit question — focusing instead the country’s pledge to boost imports from the United States. An editorial in the China Daily entitled “Sino-US agreement benefits both countries and the world” said that: “For China, ‘significantly increasing’ imports of U.S. goods and services, such as agricultural and energy products, will help meet its development needs and the desires of Chinese consumers.” The editorial added that, “despite all the pressure, China didn’t “fold” as U.S. President Donald Trump observed. Instead, it stood firm and expressed its willingness to talk.” An editorial in the party-backed Global Times said that while many may have noted what the joint statement said about reducing the U.S. deficit, that does not mean that the U.S. has won the trade talks. Instead, the piece said it was more a matter of learning to right an imbalance in the two countries’ trade systems. The editorial called the now averted trade war a “historic period of difficult adjustment,” adding that “as one of the largest trade surplus countries in the world, China …
Xinhau: China Launches Satellite to Explore Dark Side of Moon
China launched a relay satellite early on Monday designed to establish a communication link between earth and a planned lunar probe that will explore the dark side of the moon, the official Xinhua news agency said. Citing the China National Space Administration, Xinhua said the satellite was launched at 5:28 a.m. (2128 GMT Sunday) on a Long March-4C rocket from the Xichang launch center in the southwest of the country. “The launch is a key step for China to realize its goal of being the first country to send a probe to soft-land on and rove the far side of the moon,” Xinhua quoted Zhang Lihua, manager of the relay satellite project, as saying. It said the satellite, known as Queqiao, or Magpie Bridge, will settle in an orbit about 455,000 km (282,555 miles) from Earth and will be the world’s first communication satellite operating there. China aims to catch up with Russia and the United States to become a major space power by 2030. It is planning to launch construction of its own manned space station next year. However, while China has insisted its ambitions are purely peaceful, the U.S. Defense Department has accused it of pursuing activities aimed at preventing other nations from using space-based assets during a crisis. …
Washington Digests US-China Trade Announcement
Washington is digesting China’s stated intention to purchase more American goods and reduce the trade imbalance between the two countries. VOA’s Michael Bowman reports, last week’s talks between U.S. and Chinese negotiators did not yield specific commitments from Beijing in dollar figures, sparking criticism from some lawmakers in Washington. …
Facebook’s Zuckerberg, EU Lawyers Locked in Negotiations
Facebook and European Union officials were locked in high-stakes negotiations Sunday over whether founder Mark Zuckerberg will appear Tuesday before EU lawmakers to discuss the site’s impact on the privacy rights of hundreds of millions of Europeans, as well as Facebook’s impact on elections on both sides of the Atlantic and the spreading of fake news. Being debated is whether the meeting would be held after EU Parliament President Antonio Tajanibe agreed to have it live-streamed on the internet and not held behind closed-doors, as previously agreed. The leaders of all eight political blocs in the parliament have insisted the format be changed. Lawmakers say it would be deeply damaging for Zuckerberg, if he pulls out simply because they want him to hold what they say is the equivalent of a “Facebook Live.” Claude Moraes, chairman of the EU parliament’s Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs panel, warned Zuckerberg will have to go into greater detail than he did in his testimony before U.S. Senate and Congressional panels last month on the “issues of algorithmic targeting, and political manipulation” and on Facebook’s relationship with Cambridge Analytica. Facebook shared with the British firm the data of millions of Americans and Europeans, which was subsequently used for election campaigning purposes. Facebook did not return calls from VOA asking about whether Zuckerberg’s meeting with EU lawmakers would still go ahead. “EU governments are absolutely aware that every election now is tainted. We want to get to the heart of this,” said Moraes. EU lawmakers say …
US, China Back Away from Tariff War
The U.S. and China said Sunday they have agreed to back away from imposing tough new tariffs on each other’s exports, a day after reaching an accord calling for Beijing to buy more American goods to “substantially reduce” the huge U.S. trade deficit with China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News the world’s two biggest economic powers “have made very meaningful progress and we agreed on a framework” to resolve trade issues. “So right now we have agreed to put the tariffs on hold while we try to execute the framework.” Watch related video by VOA’s Michael Bowman: China’s state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Vice-Premier Liu He, who led Chinese negotiators in trade talks in Washington this past week, as saying, “The two sides reached a consensus, will not fight a trade war, and will stop increasing tariffs on each other.” Liu said the agreement was a “necessity.” But he added: “At the same time it must be realized that unfreezing the ice cannot be done in a day, solving the structural problems of the economic and trade relations between the two countries will take time.” U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to impose new tariffs on $150 billion worth of Chinese imports and Beijing had responded that it would do the same on American goods. Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross would soon go to Beijing to negotiate on how China might buy more American goods to reduce the …
З 2019 року Чернівці й румунську Сучаву з’єднають поїздом – Мініфраструктури
Україна й Румунія домовилися про запровадження залізничного сполучення між Чернівцями й румунською Сучавою, повідомило Міністерство інфраструктури України. Дві пари поїздів мають почати курсувати з 1 січня 2019 року. На маршруті передбачена пересадка на українській станції Вадул-Сірет неподалік від кордону з Румунією, заявили у відомстві. Наразі від Вадул-Сірет ідуть поїзди до Сучави й столиці Румунії Бухареста. …
«Укрзалізниця»: швидкісну лінію між Києвом і «Борисполем» збудують до 1 грудня
Швидкісну лінію залізничного сполучення між Києвом та міжнародним аеропортом «Бориспіль» збудують до 1 грудня, заявив в.о. голови правління «Укрзалізниці» Євген Кравцов під час зустрічі з прем’єр-міністром України Володимиром Гройсманом. «Важкий строк, але до 1 грудня об’єкт буде зданий. Будівництво розпочали. Зараз фінально погоджуємо вигляд станції», – цитує Кравцова прес-служба уряду. У лютому Кабінет міністрів підтримав будівництво лінії швидкого залізничного сполучення між Києвом та «Борисполем». Прем’єр Володимир Гройсман стверджував, що сполучення дозволить дістатися зі столиці до аеропорту за 35 хвилин. Він зазначив, що загальна вартість проекту оцінюється в 600-800 мільйонів гривень. …
DRC Launching Ebola Vaccination Campaign to Stop New Outbreak
The Democratic Republic of Congo plans to launch an Ebola vaccination program Monday to stop another widespread outbreak of the deadly disease. More than 4,000 doses of vaccine have been shipped to the large port city of Mbandaka, where three cases of the virus have been confirmed since last week and two are suspected. More vaccine is on the way. Twenty-six Ebola-related deaths have been reported in northwestern DRC since April along with a number of suspected cases. “Previous outbreaks have demonstrated the importance of a rapid and well-resourced response in order to save lives, but also prevent an exponential increase in the economic cost of a response,” World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said Sunday. The WHO and Congolese health officials are striving to stop outbreak from moving down river from Mbandaka to Kinshasa, where 10 million people live. President Joseph Kabila and his Cabinet have increased Ebola emergency response funds to more than $4 million. The latest Ebola outbreak is the ninth in the DRC since the 1970s. A 2013 outbreak in West Africa lasted more than two years and killed more than 11,300 people. Most of the victims lived in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone with other cases scattered as far away as the United States. Ebola causes internal bleeding, vomiting, and diarrhea and is spread through direct contact with a victim’s bodily fluids. There is no specific treatment. An outbreak in a densely populated urban area could be catastrophic, experts say. …