Mass rallies and muzzled media: 2 months of OWS

16.11, 02:52

You could say Occupy Wall Street started with a whisper - a call by Canadian activist group Adbusters that spread on Facebook to gather on September 17, 2011.

Occupy Wall Street 16.11, 01:51

Anger and disappointment is erupting from New York City this afternoon, after a judge ruled that Occupy Wall Street protesters must discontinue camping at Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park.

Occupy Wall Street 14.11, 20:58

Nearly 60 days after the Occupy Wall Street movement began, cops across the country cracked down on encampments in Oakland, Albany and cities in-between over the weekend, in a series of events perhaps the most detrimental to the movement so far.

Occupy Wall Street 11.11, 01:12

While Republican attitudes towards Occupy Wall Street protesters have been largely negative, GOP hopeful Ron Paul aligned himself with those participating in the movement during last night’s televised presidential debate.

US Election 2012 Occupy Wall Street 08.11, 22:37

The Occupy Wall Street protests may have already spread to cities across the world, but the movement’s next major migration will be easy to see if you're on the East Coast anytime soon. Protesters are taking the movement on the road — literally.

Occupy Wall Street //

Published: 17 November, 2011, 10:37

A nearly empty Zuccotti Park November 16, 2011 as some Occupy Wall Street protesters return to the park in New York after being evicted early November 15 (AFP Photo / Stan HONDA)

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TAGS: Scandal, Protest, Politics, Human rights, Law, Mass media, USA, Cary Johnston, Economy, Lucy Kafanov

Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York have returned to the epicenter of the movement, Zuccotti Park, but without their tents and sleeping bags. Massive rallies are expected to resume throughout the United States.

­They were told they could stay, but they cannot camp, after police in riot gear evicted protesters on Tuesday night, citing health and safety issues.

It was part of a country-wide wave of raids on protesters, which activists say was a move to stifle their activities before the movement's two-month mark.

Radio host Alex Jones believes the apparent “health hazard” reasons given for the evictions was a set-up from the start, and an effort to demonize the very idea of protests in the US.

“I’ve discovered in Austin and in Detroit – as well as New York, we’ve confirmed – that when they let homeless people out, who’ve been arrested for being drunk in public or sleeping on the sidewalk, or they release people from prison or homeless shelters, or mental institutions, they tell them: ‘Go to Austin Occupy, go to New York Occupy – we won’t arrest you there’,” he told RT.

“So for the last month they’ve been sending all the homeless people and mentally ill people and prisoners there, so they can then demonize it and say: ‘Look, people are going to the bathroom on the ground, fights are breaking out, there are robberies,” Jones went on to explain. “Now, they are in the business of demonizing it, infiltrating it, to try to manufacture on dig up dirt on them as a way to generally demonize all forms of protest in the country.”

It is not yet clear whether protesters will be able to turn out in massive numbers across the country, given all the recent police raids. If they do, however, that would mean that the US authorities have to deal with a much stronger force than they might have expected.

RT’s producer Lucy Kafanov has spoken to several protesters in New York City, who said that they were prepared and even expecting to get arrested for non-violent civil disobedience. They are going to try to take over Wall Street around the New York Stock Exchange area and stage a mass sit-in.

More actions are planned throughout the day. By 5 pm local time (22:00 GMT), a massive rally with unions is expected to take place in the area, culminating in a march across the Brooklyn Bridge – the scene of last month’s dramatic events, when 700 protesters were arrested by police.

­The level of media clampdown related to the OWS protests seems to remain as high as it has been. The raid in Zuccotti Park saw several journalists arrested. Police reportedly ripped off the credentials of one NBC reporter and asked the CBS news helicopter to clear the airspace so that journalists would not capture images of the events.

RT’s Lucy Kafanov has witnessed personally or was told by fellow journalists about various incidents in which reporters were practically kicked off the scene, prevented from filming and deliberately targeted in some places in various cities throughout the country where OWS protests took place.

An RT crew has also managed to capture images of police officers using in certain instances high-power strobe lights in order to blind video-cameras and prevent journalists from fulfilling their professional duties.

Today: 07:09

Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”

Syria unrest Today: 11:43

Its hour has struck and the eurozone's second-most stable economy, the Netherlands, is beginning to feel the first hand effects of contagion, with the previous apathy among its taxpayers quickly giving way to animosity.

Eurozone crisis

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Car industry investors to be compensated for possible WTO-related losses

15.11, 17:54

Russia’s largest car producer AvtoVaz is firing on all cylinders after posting a huge increase in its net income for the first nine months of 2011.

14.11, 16:19

A new free trade agreement between most of the former Soviet republics will help Ukraine liberalize its trade with Russia and boost progress in talks on striking a similar agreement with the EU.

Russia and WTO

Published: 17 November, 2011, 01:40
Edited: 17 November, 2011, 11:23

The launch of new production line of Renault Sandero at Avtoframos factory. (RIA Novosti/Ruslan Krivobok)

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TAGS: Russian economy, WTO

Meeting WTO standards may come as a heavy burden to some industries, but the Russian government is ready to help deal with it to provide a smooth transition.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin says the government will help foreign investors in the country’s car making industry.
“We discussed for a long time during Russia’s WTO accession process how we should do this work in future in order not to let our investors down and keep all our promises, and at the same time to meet WTO car-making requirements,” he said at the meeting with German businessmen.

Putin says compromises have been reached and the government will take part of the burden to meet its obligations to investors. Foreign car makers currently enjoy tax benefits which may be revoked once Russia joins the WTO. This year the government promised tax benefits to several foreign car companies including Ford, Volkswagen and Renault. In exchange these companies agreed to assemble 300,000 cars a year in Russia using mostly locally made components. These benefits are expected to last until 2020 but may be lifted earlier because of Russia’s accession to the WTO.

Russia’s car market is a lure to investors. Car sales grew by 27 percent in the first nine months of the year.

Today: 01:12

Russia is planning to cancel fees for foreign airlines using airspace over Siberia, thus making flights from Europe to Asia cheaper.

Russia and WTO Today: 14:05

The Lake Baikal region wants to turn itself into the Alps of Central Asia with a billion dollar project to create a ski resort.

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Big powers ok watered-down IAEA Iran nuke paper

Today: 01:10

With the credibility of an IAEA report on Iran’s secretive nuclear activity being questioned, some experts say the Iranian people should ask their government why their country is still a member of the UN nuclear agency.

16.11, 10:52

America’s whipping up hysteria over the Iranian nuclear program, with the same figures that used to accuse Iraq of possessing chemical and nuclear weapons now repeating themselves with frenetic conviction.

Israel vs Iran 16.11, 08:12

Two members of the ‘axis of evil’ conspiring to make nuclear weapons? Such a nightmare scenario would be dreadful indeed. But with unnamed sources claiming North Korea is helping Iran go nuclear, something about the plot seems dreamt up.

14.11, 11:12

Despite the media buzz about a possible war between Israel and Iran, a military conflict between the two countries is unlikely, says Uri Avnery, Israeli peace activist and former parliament member.

Israel vs Iran 11.11, 16:33

While media sources warn that Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear sites is imminent, US officials says sanctions would be just as effective as bombs in stopping Iran from building nuclear arms. Other say sanctions are no solution either.

05.11, 16:30

Iran has made computer models of a nuclear warhead, says IAEA report on Tehran’s suspected nuclear activities, due to be published next week. Meanwhile, Iran is set to unveil documents accusing the US of links with terror groups.

Israel vs Iran //

Published: 17 November, 2011, 18:13

The first unit put into operation at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Iran (AFP Photo / Valeriy Melnikov)

TAGS: Arms, Military, Nuclear, UN, Politics, Iran

The UN nuclear watchdog’s latest resolution on Iran expresses "serious concerns" regarding Tehran's nuclear defiance, but stops short of overly critical language that could scare off Chinese and Russian support.

­Aimed at securing approval from all six major powers, the document expresses misgivings regarding Iran’s nuclear activities and calls on Tehran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).  

The resolution, widely viewed as a compromise by diplomats, was drafted with language moderate enough to allay concerns from China and Russia that the latest IAEA report would be used to justify economic sanctions against Iran.   

The text, agreed upon by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, has revived hopes that a negotiated settlement to the Iranian nuclear dispute can be found.  

The resolution is expected to be put before the agency’s 35-member board of governors over the next two days.

Meanwhile, IAEA Chief Yukiya Amano hopes to send a special high-level mission to Iran as the resolution highlights growing concerns over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.  

Amano, who hopes a “suitable date” for the proposed mission could be agreed upon soon, said the visit was necessary as “clarifications” were still needed regarding any potential military dimension to Iran’s atomic program.  

In a report issued last week, the Vienna-based IAEA expressed “serious concerns” regarding Tehran’s nuclear program, which it believes is more ambitious and structured than previously thought.    

Speaking at the opening session of the Agency’s board of governors Thursday, Amano said:

"The Agency believes this information is likely to be credible… it indicates that Iran is engaged in activities relating to the development of nuclear weapons," RIA-Novosti cites.  

However, nothing in the report indicated that Iran had actually undertaken the decision to build a bomb, and Tehran for its part has dismissed the intelligence information regarding its nuclear program as being fabricated.

Today: 16:35 Today: 18:14

The peaceful Occupy Wall Street protest has turned violent yet again. At least 200 people have been arrested in NYC and an RT producer attacked by police. Rallies throughout the US are marking two months since the beginning of the movement.

Occupy Wall Street

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‘Russia maintains dialogue both with Assad and Syrian opposition’

16.11, 20:00

The foreign ministers of the Arab League, consisting of 22 members, have confirmed the suspension of Syria from the group, blaming it for the violent suppression of anti-government rallies.

Arab world protests 15.11, 15:49

As violence continues unabated in this Arab Republic, members of the Syrian opposition are telling Russian diplomats they are against any foreign military intervention in the settlement of their country's conflict.

Syria unrest 15.11, 10:45

Syrian opposition leaders said that they want to prevent any military intervention in Syria and avoid a Libyan scenario. The statement comes during their visit to Moscow as pressure piles on the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Syria unrest 14.11, 23:44

Syria is becoming increasingly isolated with its neighbors turning their backs on it. Some believe that the Arab League and especially the Gulf states are doing the bidding of the West by putting more pressure on Damascus.

Syria unrest 14.11, 17:02

The “illegitimate” decision to suspend Syria from the Arab League has received wide support from the EU and the US. Russia, however, has strongly opposed the measure, which is starting to look like another step on the road to a Libya-style scenario.

Arab world protests Syria unrest 13.11, 22:23

As massive pro-Assad demonstrations continue across Syria, Damascus has called for an emergency meeting of Arab League heads of state in an apparent attempt to avert its suspension from the regional bloc.

Syria unrest //

Published: 17 November, 2011, 07:09

Syrians wave national flags as they rally in central Damascus on November 16, 2011. (AFP Photo/Louai Beshara )

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TAGS: Conflict, Military, Russia, Politics, Kevin Owen, Opposition, Syria

Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”

Kosachev told RT that the opposition has visited Russia recently.

“We had rather a good discussion in Moscow – nobody else does the same thing. People either support this or that part. We are impartial, we have dialogue with each side, and hopefully we will succeed in promoting further political process there.”

The head of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the State Duma believes that targeting Damascus is counterproductive to solving the crisis in Syria, while, he notes, the situation is getting more and more alarming.

“For me the fact that the violence is escalating is a reflection of the wrong approach taken by certain states, a unilateral approach, when they keep saying to the people of Syria that ‘You, people, are right, and the authorities are wrong’. This is a wrong approach, because that type of messages introduces an illusion that, the people of Syria can get freedom and democracy by using violence against the ruling authorities and not by negotiations.”

According to Kosachev, the message being sent to the Syrian authorities and the Syrian people by Russia is “much more appropriate.”

The sanctions by the Arab League and the West are based on the argument that Damascus is cracking down on peaceful demonstrators. But Damascus says it is fighting the Free Syrian Army, which is apparently well-armed and coordinated, and is staging a full-on assault on the regime. As for Russia’s view on the way the Free Syrian Army are conducting themselves, there are certain “questions” to them concerning this, as the Russian lawmaker points out.

“We do have questions because we can see they use heavy weapons, they are well equipped, so it is not just about throwing stones at policemen or bodyguards – this is about using heavy weapons and this is a real war. And for Russia the most important thing is to prevent further casualties and victims, and the only way to do that is to maintain the political process once again. I believe that Russia, the US and the EU, the Arab League and anybody else is to send the only message to all conflicting sides in the country – that is to try and speak to each other.”

Today: 01:10

With the credibility of an IAEA report on Iran’s secretive nuclear activity being questioned, some experts say the Iranian people should ask their government why their country is still a member of the UN nuclear agency.

Today: 10:37

Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York have returned to the epicenter of the movement, Zuccotti Park, but without their tents and sleeping bags. Massive rallies are expected to resume throughout the United States.

Occupy Wall Street

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UNICS fail to stop Barca’s unbeaten run

08.12, 12:11

It seems CSKA Moscow's basketball team have forgotten how to lose. The Armymen have clocked up an unbroken run of eight wins in the Euroleague after downing Zagreb in the Russian capital on Wednesday night.

02.12, 15:23

UNICS have Kazan progressed to the Top 16 of basketball’s Euroleague, following a 72-61 victory over Galatasaray on home court.

24.11, 13:22

Russian basketball powerhouse CSKA Moscow have increased their unbeaten Euroleague record to six games, booking their place in the tournament’s Top 16.

28.10, 16:14

Russian side UNICS Kazan have grabbed their first win in this season's Euroleague, with a late rally seeing them beat Galatasaray 68-64 in Istanbul.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 13:07

Barcelona's Victor Sada, second left, and Lynn Greer (Unics), right, during a group stage game at Europleague. (RIA Novosti / Roman Kruchinin)

TAGS: Basketball, Euroleague

UNICS Kazan basketball players were unable to stop a surging Barcelona in their away clash in the Euroleague.

­The Spaniards have prolonged their unbeaten run to eight games, but UNICS also have reason to celebrate, going through to the Top 16 despite the loss.

Barcelona shot an underwhelming 40 per cent from the field, but were still able to overtake when it mattered most.

The Russians slowed down in the fourth quarter, while the Catalan outfit turned up the heat.

American Pete Mickeal scored 10 points and made two of three from beyond the arc to help Barca collect a 63-50 win.  

Barcelona as well as CSKA Moscow remain the only two sides who have not yet lost a single game in the Euroleague this season.

08.12, 19:24

With the NBA season getting underway later this month, Russia’s best basketball player Andrey Kirilenko, who currently plays for CSKA Moscow, has a decision to make – should he stay, or should he go.

Today: 14:21

The NBA lockout appears to be over after team-owners and players ratified a new collective bargaining agreement.

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The Gagarin bus is coming!

13.04.2009, 17:34

Most Russians do not want to fly into space, and do not know contemporary cosmonauts, according to the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre (VCIOM).

03.08, 20:02

Two Russian cosmonauts have left the International Space Station for a six-hour spacewalk to mark the 50th anniversary of the first-ever manned space flight by Yuri Gagarin with the launch of the unique microsatellite.

14.07, 14:02

London has unveiled the monument to the world’s first spaceman, Russia’s pride Yury Gagarin, in front of the British Council Mall headquarters on Thursday, July 14. It is planned that the statue will be on display in London just for one year.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 14:53

The bus that delivered Gagarin safely to the door of his space ship remained in service at the cosmodrome until 1967.

TAGS: Space, Russia, Thrills&Spills, Vehicles

Ever heard of a bus that could take you to within one stop of … the moon? The only bus to perform that feat was the vehicle which whisked the first man in space, Russia’s Yury Gagarin, to the historic launch site of his “Vostok” craft back in 1961.

­He blasted off from the Baikonur spaceport complex on April 12, opening the era of manned space flight.

The bus that delivered Gagarin safely to the door of his space ship remained in service at the  cosmodrome until 1967. In the mid ‘80s, it finally retired to become a museum exhibit in the Ukrainian city of Lviv.  

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the legendary bus was transported to the town of Gagarin, named in honor of the first-ever cosmonaut who was born not far from there, in the nearby village of Klushino.

The vehicle has recently received a much-needed facelift and is now said to be fully functional.  It has been suggested that the bus could even be used to give rides to visitors to the Yury Gagarin museum.

Today: 12:33

Some women strip off for animal rights, some to support their favorite politicians, others to protest against discrimination. But Russia’s so-called “Calendar Girls”, are baring all to help some of the most stigmatized people in society.

Today: 17:01

One of the world’s most celebrated blondes, Claudia Schiffer, is no stranger to stalkers, with hordes of admirers seeking her company. But this time around her new suitor is Russian, and is even claiming to be the father of her daughter.

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Claudia Schiffer, Say it isn’t so!

14.11, 16:35

Russian runway siren, green-eyed supermodel Anne V has had to abstain from her fave food - fruit - entirely, to get her washboard stomach ready for the latest Victoria’s Secret fashion show in New York.

31.10, 23:50

With several fashion weeks hitting the Russian capital, RT managed to catch up with a bunch of fashion celebrities for expert advice on how to be stylish this season.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 17:01

Claudia Schiffer (Reuters / Pascal Rossignol)

TAGS: Celebrity, Fashion, Russia

One of the world’s most celebrated blondes, Claudia Schiffer, is no stranger to stalkers, with hordes of admirers seeking her company. But this time around her new suitor is Russian, and is even claiming to be the father of her daughter.

­The blue-eyed German fashion siren, whose image has graced over 500 magazine covers across the world, might never have heard of the Chuvash Republic, in Central Russia, where her admirer, Aleksandr Gavrilov, hails from.

He claims that several years ago he got acquainted by chance, through the Internet, with a beautiful lady who later came to meet him in Moscow. The gent from Chuvash says he even rented an apartment in the Russian capital where they spent four happy days.

The beauty went back home and Aleksandr never heard from her again. It was only when he came across media reports showing Claudia Schiffer in the family way that he finally “realized” that his lover and the pregnant supermodel were one and the same.

Having put two and two together, the Russian Romeo now considers Claudia’s second daughter, Cosima Violet, born in May 2010, his own.

He has recently filed a claim in a local court demanding a DNA test to prove his claim.

The 41-year-old supermodel has three children with her husband, British director Mattew Vaughn, to whom she has been married for nearly 10 years. Before that, Schiffer dated magician David Copperfield and was a regular star guest at his mesmerizing shows.

Back in 2002, an Italian admirer of the model who later turned out to be mentally ill was arrested after making nine visits to her home in England in the hope of meeting his enamorata in the flesh. He explained that none other than the Pope had asked him to marry the German beauty.
Several years later another fan, this time from Canada, was accused of harassing the beauty at her mansion in Suffolk, bombarding her with love letters.

Today: 14:53

Ever heard of a bus that could take you to within one stop of … the moon? The only bus to perform that feat was the vehicle which whisked the first man in space, Russia’s Yury Gagarin, to the historic launch site of his “Vostok” craft back in 1961.

Today: 19:02

A mobile phone ringing in the middle of Verdi’s Otello will outrage actors and annoy your neighbors. Several theaters in America, however, have allowed culture lovers to use their twitters during live performances.

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NATO plan to depoly ABMs in Europe 'just a waste of money'

07.12, 15:02

Russia’s Chief of General Staff says Moscow is being pushed into a new arms race, although it has repeatedly stressed that it does not want this.

30.11, 18:05

Russia is uncertain as to whether or not it will take part in the NATO-Russia summit in Chicago in May next year due to a deadlock in missile defense talks.

Russia-NATO relations 16.11, 17:40

NATO is not adjusting to a post-Cold War reality. That is according to Russia’s envoy to the bloc after the session of the Russia-NATO Council in Brussels on Wednesday.

02.11, 16:55

It is likely that NATO’s European missile defense shield will be created without the Russian participation in the project, Moscow’s envoy to the alliance, Dmitry Rogozin has said.

Russia-NATO relations

Published: 09 December, 2011, 19:33

Polish air defence unit launches a ground-to-air missile near the Baltic coast city of Ustka May 28 during joint military exercises with other membeers of the NATO military alliance from Germany, France and the Czech Republic ( Reuters / Leszek Wdowinski)

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TAGS: Arms, NATO, Kevin Owen

NATO’s plan to deploy its European missile defense system is “just a waste of money” as the allegedly dangerous countries lack the capacity to strike the US, while Russia would easily bypass the

With Russia and NATO failing to reach an agreement on NATO’s European missile defense program, a growing number of experts are questioning the rationale behind the deployment of the ABMs and radars.

Lawrence M. Krass, a physicist from Arizona State University, believes the missile defense system is a futile waste of money because the so-called rogue states the system is meant to defend against do not have the capability to strike the US or its allies with ballistic missiles, while bigger countries, such as Russia, would simply bypass the system using decoys along with actual ballistic missiles if a war were to break out.

“We cannot defend against ballistic missiles.” Krass said. “It just doesn’t work. If you look at all the tests that have gone forward, the weapons systems have failed during most of them. And none of them have been tested against the kind of weapons a country like Russia would use if it ever wanted to use them because you’d send out decoys at the same time as missiles. Any sensible rich country would do that and we can’t distinguish between decoys and missiles. So from a strategic perspective, for missile defense, they’re just useless. There may be other political reasons to create such a defense but they don’t work as advertised.”

Krass believes one of the reasons why the US is creating the system may be to pander to a hawkish electorate in the run-up to the 2012 Presidential and Congressional elections.

Meanwhile, Russia has announced plans to deploy a missile warning system in its exclave of Kaliningrad and to equip its troops with missiles that would be able to penetrate the ABMs. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov refused to back down on these plans, arguing that Moscow’s demands for the US to sign a binding agreement not to target its system against Russia had been ignored.

Today: 17:21

Central banks in eurozone countries are making contingency plans for the possible collapse of the euro.Demand for money-printing services is expected to soar as old national currencies prepare for a come-back.

Eurozone crisis

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