APEC summit week kicks off in Russia's Vladivostok

21.08, 14:30

As final preparations are made ahead of the APEC Summit on Russky Island, off the coast of Vladivostok in the Russian Far East, members of the international staff engaged during the annual gathering might end up with nothing to wear.

29.08, 17:11

North Korea reportedly wants to participate in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Russian city of Vladivostok which kicks off on September 2.

13.11.2011, 17:10

Although the APEC summit in Honolulu is only into its first day, the Russian and American presidents have already addressed several crucial aspects of the current politico-economic landscape, outlining the major trends of the 21st century.

Eurozone crisis US debt crisis 03.08, 15:58

Seven companies are to invest over $625 million in building a gambling area in Russia’s Primorsky Territory in the Far East. The area includes the city of Vladivostok which has been undergoing a facelift ahead of the APEC summit which will be held there i

Published: 02 September, 2012, 22:44

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum under the chairmanship of the Russian Federation. APEC Senior Officials Meeting (RIA Novosti/Alexey Filippov)

TAGS: Russia, Economy, APEC 2012

This year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit has started in Russia's far east. It's Russia's first time hosting the meeting of the organization, which includes 21 nations from the Asia-Pacific region.

­On Sunday, a meeting of senior officials opened the 2012 APEC summit, which is underway on Russky Island, in the city of Vladivostok.

“I’m really pleased to welcome you to the beautiful city of Vladivostok. We are now at Russky Island, where our leaders will get together in just under one week,” Igor Morgulov, a Russian deputy foreign minister, said at the opening of the meeting.

Morgulov urged the participants to work productively during the week, so that everything would be in order for the meeting of the APEC nations' leaders on September 8-9.

The bloc's International Youth Forum also started its work on Sunday. The forum brings together participants from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Korea, Japan, Russia and other countries.

During the three-day get-together, young scientists, students, businessmen and politicians will discuss the most topical problems of Asia-Pacific region and will try to hammer out solutions for them.

Some 10,000 guests are expected to visit Vladivostok during the summit week to discuss pressing economic and political issues.

Russia, an APEC member since 1998, has been prepping hard for the event. The summit's budget is estimated at 700 billion rubles (approximately $21.75 billion), including 200 billion rubles (approximately $6 billion) from the federal budget.

A brand new complex of buildings was built on Russky Island to accommodate guests and to house summit events. The complex has the infrastructure of a luxury resort and includes tennis courts, water falls and fountains.

The island itself was connected with the mainland by two new bridges unique to Russia, where no cable bridge of such length had ever been built before.

The APEC summit begins a string of large-scale international events in Russia in coming years. In 2014 the country will host the Winter Olympics in the Black Sea resort town Sochi, and in 2018, the World Football Championship.

31.08, 20:05

Japanese electronics company Sharp has not yet started to mass produce screens for Apple’s next iPhone, even though its 12 days away from hitting the market, according to reports. The supplier’s credit rating was cut by S&P to ‘junk’.

Today: 09:23

Russian stocks are likely to begin September by posting gains, amid renewed hopes for a new round of stimulus in the US and climbing oil prices.

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Bahrain slams Iran over summit speech translation debacle

02.09, 03:09

Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters flooded a major highway in Bahrain for the first sanctioned opposition rally in months. They called on the government to release a prominent human rights activist and demanded greater freedom.

23.08, 16:18

An appellate court in Bahrain has acquitted human rights activist Nabeel Rajab of insulting Bahrainis by criticizing the prime minister via Twitter, but remains in jail on other charges, his lawyer said.

18.08, 12:40

An antigovernment rally in Bahrain on Friday resulted in the death of a 16-year-old boy, after the unarmed teenager was beaten by police, Human Rights Watch said. Police allege that the teenager attacked officers with a Molotov cocktail.

Arab world protests 31.08, 23:02

Iran has dismissed as “politically motivated” a recent IAEA report accusing it of ramping up uranium enrichment. The director of the University of Tehran's Institute for North American and European Studies told RT the report’s timing is no surprise.

Iran tension 30.08, 20:22

It’s no surprise that Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi delivered a speech calling the Syrian government an “oppressive regime,” journalist and broadcaster Neil Clark says.

Published: 03 September, 2012, 02:13

Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi ( AFP Photo / Pool)

TAGS: Scandal, Middle East, Protest, Politics, Human rights, Opposition, Syria

Bahrain has demanded an apology from Tehran after the mistranslation of a critical speech by Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi by Iranian official translators, which replaced the word "Syria" with the word "Bahrain."

­Morsi gave the speech on Thursday during at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Tehran.

It was an Egyptian head of state's first official visit to Iran since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. It was also only Morsi's second official visit abroad as president since being elected this June.

“Our solidarity with the struggle of the Syrian people against an oppressive regime that has lost its legitimacy is an ethical duty, as it is a political and strategic necessity,” he said at the meeting. His speech also included a call for the Syrian opposition to unite.

However, during his speech, the translator for Iran, where Persian is spoken, substituted the word "Syria" for "Bahrain."

“This is a violation, fabrication and unacceptable media behavior that shows how Iranian media is interfering in Bahrain’s internal affairs,” the BNA, Bahrain’s government-run news agency, said on Saturday. 

The speech was transmitted live with a Farsi (as Persian is called in Iran) translation on two Iranian channels, IRIB Channel One and IRINN, although the Bahraini statement didn’t mention which channel it said changed the words. 

The head of Iran’s state media, Ezatollah Zarghami, admitted the mistake but insisted it was mistranslated on only one of the country's channels, IRIB Channel One.

He added that while President Morsi was addressing the summit, a technical error occurred that caused the translator to make the mistake.

Zarghami added that the Western media were quick to seize upon the error. “In a verbal mistake, the translator said 'Bahrain' instead of 'Syria,' and this became a pretext for Western media,” he said. 

The scandal has become an embarrassment for Iran, which found itself in the international spotlight due to the summit, which brought representatives from 120 nations.

Iranian media activist Ameed Maqdam expressed astonishment at the error. Maqdam said he heard "Bahrain" mentioned three times in the simultaneous Persian translation broadcast on Channel One.

“For us who were listening on the radio, whenever Mursi said 'Syria' the Persian translator, who did not have the required integrity, translated it as 'Bahrain!!'” one listener complained online to the Asr-e Iran newspaper, as quoted by Reuters.

The incident is diplomatically sensitive because Iran, a Shi’ite Muslim power, is an ally of the Alawite religious minority that rules Syria. Alawite Islam is an offshoot of Shia Islam.

Iran has previously expressed sympathy with the democratic protest movement in Bahrain against the ruling al-Khalifa family, which put down a democratic rebellion in 2011 by the majority Shiite population.

Today: 01:49

Israel is once again stirring the pot with harsh rhetoric regarding Iran, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing world powers of failing to draw a “clear red line” to curb Tehran's alleged nuclear weapons program.

Israel vs Iran Iran tension Today: 06:20

The Chinese Defense Minister has arrived in Mumbai, marking the highest-level defense visit to India in eight years. Relations between the two neighbors have traditionally been tense, but have seen a thaw in recent months.

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