from Voice of Russia, News
The Mikhaylovsky Theatre has shown a world premiere of the ballet “Nunc Dimittis” by Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato. This performance is an interpretation of his first impressions of St. Petersburg. The choreographer has been at the head of the theatre’s ballet company since January…
from Voice of Russia, News
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in Moscow on a working visit, have discussed the issues of bilateral relations. Special emphasis was laid on the economic cooperation, in particular in the fuel and power supply complex. Medvedev and Erdogan exchanged opinions about the situation in Iraq and the Middle East as a whole…
from Voice of Russia, News
The largest car makers of Russia and Belarus, Kamaz and Maz, have agreed to merge assets. The announcement was made by the Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin following his talks with the Belorussian leader Alexander Lukashenko…
from Voice of Russia, News by Isakova Yelizaveta
The recent meeting of G8’s countries’ foreign ministers produced no common decisions on whether to interfere in the Libyan events with force. The meeting turned out to be engaged in settling the details of the final statement of the G8’s chairing country – France – till the very last moment…
The American ballet theatre is expected to perform in Moscow after a 50-year pause at the Mstislav Rostropovich festival which opens on March, 27. Experts believe that the company’s world premiere of Benjamin Millepied`s ballet set to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach will make a splash…
from Voice of Russia, News by Nikitenko Eugene
The Skolkovo innovation hub near Moscow has long become the talk of the town. Analysts, economists and politicians speak about it as one of the promises of Russia’s really getting down to the business of modernization of its economy…
from Voice of Russia, News
The first planeload of humanitarian aid is due to take off for Japan from Moscow on Tuesday evening, a spokeswoman for the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry Irina Andrianova said. The plane has about 9,000 blankets aboard. The 9-magnitude earthquake hit the north-eastern Japan on the 11th of March, causing a 10-m high tsunami wave…
from RIA Novosti
A Russian sculptor known for his grandiose and controversial monuments says he has begun working on a new memorial to the victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami…
from RIA Novosti
Russia is introducing new regulations to prohibit the hunting of brown bears in their dens in winter and reduce the hunting period, the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) said on Tuesday…
from RIA Novosti
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has said he lost trust in all Western nations except Germany and that Libya will only invest in Russia, India and China…
from RIA Novosti
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday ordered an investigation into overpricing practices at 2014 Winter Olympic construction projects…
from RIA Novosti
Cuba’s only Russian Car Club marks its second anniversary, with Zhiguli and Moskvich owners driving to Marina Hemingway coastal recreational complex to put on a car show and best car contest…
I was drinking my morning cup of coffee and I was contemplating about yesterday and spending all day at my medical clinic. We found a new therapist (Medical Doctor or MD as I call them in America) and she was just fantastic. Yes a she, as always in Russia… (Link)
I have needed to get a new doctor (MD) who takes care of everything but my heart issues. Sveta and I were simply stunned at the knowledge that this woman had and I felt very comfortable in her presence. I would be happy for her to also take over my heart issues if she so desires. She asked questions and took a long time to get to know me. There was none of this, Hi then Goodbye, in 60 seconds. She even took my tests that have been run and discussed them with several specialists to back up what she already knew…
So she is checking out everything and in a few weeks, I will know what all her recommendations will be to continue living a long life. In fact this next Tuesday I have to go back and have several test run…
So we are as usual very happy with the health care system in Russia. Many times I see that the equipment is old and worn, but still usable. I see a run down building that has seen many many years of hard use. I see long queues to wait in. I see a bureaucratic overloaded system. I see a lot to complain about if I was a superficial person…
But what I really see (in my eyes), is doctors that care and a system that allows them to care…
As of right now, Visa and MasterCard type card companies transfer data oversees in order to process and approve transactions made in Russia…
This data transfer is not going over well with the Russian side. So Russia is in the works to do her own transaction approval and processing. It will cost millions of dollars to set up the system, but will stop a huge data flow leak to the West and keep billions of dollars in fees, (120 billion rubles ($4 billion) annually) in Russia…
This has not gone over well with the Western world and in fact as we read this, special interest groups in the West have made it clear that they consider the fact that Russia would want to keep her data safe is a threat to Russia’s reputation and will hurt business with the Western world (because as you know we don’t trust Russia now, much less if Russia hides all their credit card data. Hummm…) and all those fees would stay in Russia. In fact it seems that lobbyist have been poring into Russia over the last few months and wheeling and dealing is going on to try to stop Russia from severing the ties… 🙂
I have to smile at the audacity of the West…
How would you like it if your credit card transaction (with all your data, fees and information) had to be sent to Russia or China for approval before you could do a transaction…
It just makes sense in the long run for Russia to be self sufficient…
The results of Sunday’s regional elections are “more than satisfactory” for United Russia and show that voters trust the government.This comes in a statement by the party’s leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin…
Interview by RT with Russia’s Envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin expresses concern over NATO’s plans for military intervention in the country…
He tells RT that certain countries are pushing to get involved in Libya because they are reliant on its oil resources.
RT: Do you support NATO and EU backing for Libya’s rebels?
Dmitriy Rogozin: In principle, what usually happens is this: in order to start military operations, you have to ask someone to invite you. So, it’s not proper to come in uninvited. There should be a side doing the inviting. For this side to look presentable, it has to be legitimized.
What is now happening with the Libyan opposition is approximately the same thing. The problem lies elsewhere. No one knows who those people are. In reality we know just one person who formerly worked as part of Mr. Gaddafi’s entourage.
But all others are total strangers. More than that, there is no information regarding the degree of consolidation of the Libyan opposition. The case in point, quite likely, is different centers in different provinces of that country. This is why, in my view, the fact that separate European countries, like France, for example, or the UK did legitimize the opposition may lead to Europe or the West as a whole being involved, even against its own will, into someone else’s civil conflict. It’s a big problem. It must be said, incidentally, that the latest events in Libya indicate that Mr. Gaddafi is not going to surrender quickly.
There are loyalty problems in his armed forces and the police force, but as long as the Libyan army retains its positions in Libya and wins victories over the Libyan opposition, it is a mistake to say that the collapse of the Gaddafi regime is just round the corner. This is why, to my mind, the West so far has been playing games for its own consumption. They hold meetings with all sorts of people, trying to invest in their powers, but that has nothing to do with the agenda of stabilizing the situation in that North African country.
I think no one knows today what scenario is the optimal one. The problem is, we don’t have the facts or enough information. The conflict inside Libya has become protracted.
Many Arab leaders say as much. Even though the attitude to Mr. Gaddafi in the Arab world has always been highly complex, and despite the pressure that France and the UK are bringing to bear on the Arab League, we cannot say that everyone would be wildly enthusiastic to see a Western invasion in Libya. There is yet another important aspect that Arab analysts are warning about. They say that Mr. Gaddafi, if faced with foreign intervention, will immediately become a martyr, a victim in the eyes of the whole Arab world and a very popular person. And no one in fact wants this to happen.
RT: Are you concerned by France’s call for aerial bombardment of the country?
DR: It’s a big problem how to do it. From the technical military point of view, NATO doesn’t have a clear idea about the level of training and quality of Libya’s air defenses. Let’s assume that a country which begins military intervention by launching an air attack will lose several combat aircraft. Libya possesses some sufficiently modern, including portable, anti-aircraft missile systems. Who will bear responsibility for the first air casualties? No one. This is why, I believe, two processes are currently in progress.
On the one hand, aggressive rhetoric is used and political consultations are held inside the Western states and in the UN Security Council. Work is under way to identify reputable opposition figures.
On the other, military planning is in progress that considers very different options.
AWACS planes are in the air; space reconnaissance systems and naval reconnaissance are fully operational as well, trying to reveal the real situation in Libya, the organization and strength of the Libyan armed forces, and the situation within the framework of regional, provincial conflicts. The info is fed to NATO’s relevant military structures but its readiness for action is equal to zero.
RT: Libya is rich in oil. Is that why the US is so interested in the country?
DR: Everyone says so. I think if Libya were just a banana-growing country, there wouldn’t be so much interest in its domestic situation, including in the humanitarian sphere.
Of course, Libya is a big enough energy supplier to Europe. Certain countries, like Italy, for example, are heavily dependent on Libyan deliveries. Others are not so much dependent, but either way, Libya’s share is considerable. We know that NATO, for example, puts energy security matters at the top of its main agenda.
For this reason I think that this factor has a most direct bearing on the speed of the West’s decision-making regarding Libya. No one wants to let this conflict become protracted. All of them want it to be over as quickly as possible so as to be reassured about guarantees of energy supplies to Europe. I think it’s a very important problem.
Aside from that, there is yet another factor. Some major Western oil companies with an axe to grind, where their concessions and oil development projects in Libya are concerned, are quite likely to be pushing certain Western countries towards hasty decisions with regard to an intervention in Libya.
They think they’ll be able to follow the military and thus get unique access to Libya’s oil riches. So this factor is also taken into account and discussed.
RT: Would unilateral invasion by NATO be a war crime?
DR: Of course. Any invasion would, be it an initiative of NATO as a whole, or of any NATO member state. If an action is not authorized by the UN, it is an illegal intervention.
What I am saying now is not a warning. It is just a statement of fact. As a matter of fact, many people inside NATO agree with Russia. Note the position of the US on the situation in Libya – Washington is being very restrained, if not passive, here. Some are laughing at the overly-zealous France and the UK, saying that those two are running ahead of Uncle Sam. Nobody knows why this is happening and whether there is some common scenario in place.
I think that the US administration would not like to take any hasty actions against Libya now. Most likely, they are monitoring the situation closely, and preparations to possible military engagement are perhaps in progress, but a new war is dangerous for the US now. Especially now, with presidential elections looming ahead.
RT: Are there any conditions under which you would support foreign military intervention in Libya?
DR: Facts, that’s all. Only facts on the table of the UN Security Council saying that weapons were used against peaceful civilians in Libya, or heavy military machinery was used against humanitarian targets, may force the Security Council to consider measures more substantial than political sanctions against the regime.
The thing is, we don’t have any facts. We only have reports from BBC, CNN, and other media, featuring some machine gunner firing his machine gun in the air. At the same time, we don’t see any aircraft attacking; instead, we see people applauding the gunner for looking so cool. If there were a real aircraft attack in progress, they wouldn’t be applauding there.
The footage we see on American and British channels looks fake. They create an illusion of military action. Where are the aircraft? Where are the bomb raids? Where are the destruction and casualties we hear so much about? If all that it true, evidence should be now on the table of the Security Council.
Doing that requires carrying out the decisions already passed by the Council, including the creation of special committees that should establish the facts. Unless the facts are established, the Council cannot take the responsibility of judging something that doesn’t exist.
RT: How are the rebels holding out against Gaddafi’s regular army? Are they already being aided by the West?
DR: We assume that something is being done by the rebels and by the opposition and that the Special Forces that were used to evacuate citizens of Western countries from Libya have most likely remained there. There have been instances of the rebels themselves detaining members of Special Forces combat groups from the West.
We are not naïve and are well aware that some parts of special operations have long been done in Libya, on the side of the opposition.
Otherwise, Gaddafi, to whom most of the army and police forces are loyal, could long have clamped down on the opposition. Since he has not done so as yet, it is a question of secret and illegal military backing by Special Forces. This is my personal opinion. I have no facts yet, but I have experience and I can analyze the situation.
I can’t confirm this, but I think it’s true.
RT: In an ideal world, how integrated would NATO’s missile defense be integrated with Russia’s.
DR: What is missile interception? It’s to see the attack on you, to track it and then to shoot. What stage does the co-operation occur at? At the stage of exchanging information on transforming the risks into threats; then at the stage of detecting by the tracking stations of started the attack started; thirdly, at the stage of identification of the target – this attack may be across Russia towards Europe, or US bases, or across Europe on Russia.
So, tracking the identification of the targeting is the third task.
And the fourth task is to destroy the target jointly.
Some NATO skeptics tell us that, or Russo-skeptics, rather, tell us that NATO can’t be involved in the outsourcing of security for Europe. Well, it’s stupid, because Russia also means Europe. Russia is Europe and not only up to the Urals. In a political sense, it’s as far as the Far East.
Therefore, I do believe it’s our common European cause, and we should think strategy-wise about the people’s, but not our own egoistic, interests. Not to dabble in politics, but be politicians. This kind of system should be created in such a way so it could equally guarantee security both to Russia, on the one hand, and to its partners on the European continent, on the other.
And we still have time for that, let me emphasize this.
Japan has declared a nuclear power emergency after the cooling system failed at a nuclear power plant at Fukushima following the earthquake in the northeast. The area around the plant has been evacuated.
There have been recent reports of a possible radiation leak at the power plant. Radiation levels are rising at the Fukushima nuclear plant after a cooling system failed following the earthquake.
As of now, authorities say the reactor is not leaking radiation and there is no immediate danger to the public.
However, experts say there is a risk of a leak if the situation is not resolved in the next few hours.
Alarmingly, the situation bears striking similarities to the build up ahead of the worst nuclear disaster in history — at Chernobyl.
However, although these two situations may seem similar, RT’s correspondent and expert on the Chernobyl disaster, Aleksey Yaroshevsky, believes that, in reality, they are quite different.
First of all, what is happening in Japan is an aftermath of a natural disaster, and not a man-made one, like Chernobyl.
Besides, the Japanese reactor is one hundred times more powerful than the one in the fourth block of the Chernobyl power plant, which exploded in 1986. In fact, the two stations in the Fukushima region produce the world’s largest joint amount of energy.
The security systems at Japanese nuclear power plants have been designed in a way that should an incident occur, a certain dome will cover the station, preventing any leaks in the atmosphere.
Obviously, such system could not exist in the Soviet times, that’s why the whole European continent suffered from the Chernobyl disaster.
However, what happened on Friday in Japan is that the automated security systems went on after the earthquake at most of the nuclear stations except for Fukushima. At the moment it remains unknown whether the security system will work there in case of any leak.
Experts say that should any explosion or leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant occur, this may lead to a much worse contamination of the atmosphere than the one that was caused by the Chernobyl disaster.
The possibility of radiation emission in Fukushima puts in danger not only Japan, but the whole Russian Far East, large areas of China and the Korean peninsula.
However, American scientists report that, at the moment, the wind is blowing eastward from Japan, so if any accident happens in Fukushima, all of the radioactive material will be taken to the middle of the Pacific, far away from the populated areas.
Obviously, though, the wind may change any moment, and if anything happens at the station, the consequences may be much more serious than those of the Chernobyl disaster.
Kate Hudson, head of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in London, says building nuclear plants on the shore line, like Japan or Britain do, because of the need for water passing through the station for cooling purposes, may lead to a very dangerous situation in case of a natural disaster like tsunami or a rising water level.
“That situation in Japan, as I understand from nuclear activists there, is actually extremely dangerous. If they cannot cool the radioactive core of that reactor, then you run the risk of a meltdown, and then you run the risk of fire, massive radioactive release and a situation like Chernobyl or worse,” says Hudson.
However, Dr Richard Philips from the School of Earth and Environment at Britain’s University of Leeds, says Japanese nuclear facilities are very well prepared for any natural disasters and the catastrophe is unlikely to happen.
“They are very well prepared for earthquakes in terms of their nuclear facilities, and this is one of their core energy supplies.Their buildings are incredibly robust, they have done many tests, gone through lots of scenarios similar to what they are experiencing now. I’ll be surprised if we do see any serious leakage from the Fukushima plant,” said Philips.
Information provided by rt.com
http://www.rt.com
UPDATE: MSNBC—March 12, 2011– http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42044156/ns/world_news-asiapacific/ Japanese authorities confirmed Saturday that radiation had leaked from a quake-hit nuclear plant after an explosion destroyed a building at the site. The blast at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility occurred just hours after officials said they feared the reactor could melt down. Footage on Japanese TV showed that the walls of one building had crumbled, leaving only a skeletal metal frame standing. Its roof had also been blown off. Plumes of smoke spewed out of the plant, 20 miles from Iwaki…
It is real obvious after seeing the East and West news reports that a fracture has developed between the East and West over Libya. A fracture starts small but grows as added issues cause it to become a rift. Or many fractures…
China and Russia have called for talks and working together from day one. They have called for the world to work together on the Libya issue. They agreed with Venezuela about the need for talks. The East has said calm down and stay out of it with your big mouths and big guns. The East in a general sense has called it correct from the start…
The West simply open mouth and inserted foot and crossed the Rubicon River. They jumped up and down like children in a tantrum. They threatened and threatened and threatened some more. They refused to acknowledge talks. They bad mouthed Venezuela. They kissed up to the opposition in Libya. They accepted al Qaeda interfering in Libya. They underestimated Qaddafi. They ignored the two week period that Qaddafi gave for talks. They turned their backs on Qaddafi. They beat drums until the Western countries crossed the Rubicon River and then they looked around and they backpedaled at the last second (First Germany then America) but it was too late they had gone too far. They had crossed the line with all the threats and accusations. Now they look for a way to save face and not get themselves in to another war and billions and billions of dollars they do not have. They played a real bad game in Libya and lost the dice roll. Qaddafi called their bluff…
Qaddafi’s eldest most powerful son is right:
“One month ago [Western countries] were sooo nice, so nice like pussycats,” Saif says in a contemptuous sing-song tone. “Now they want to be really aggressive like tigers. [But] soon they will come back, and cut oil deals, contracts. We know this game.” (Link) From Saif al-Islam
“Now the West looks like they orchestrated all that happened?” That is what Sveta said to me this morning and you know what?
She is right…
The question now is: Will the West interfere some more trying to save face or not?
SINGAPORE, March 12 (Reuters) – An explosion blew the roof off an unstable nuclear reactor north of Tokyo on Saturday and a government official confirmed a radiation leak had occurred at the plant, operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) , following an earthquake.
The number of those who died following yesterday’s powerful earthquake and the quake-generated tidal wave has exceeded 1,000. But no foreign nationals died in the disaster, the Foreign Ministry says in a statement in Tokyo. Other almost 2,000 people have been listed as missing…
They are saying that this could be very serious. Lets hope not…
Windows to Russia!
Japan declares emergency at nuke plant (vanguardngr.com)
One thing that Russia does not like is the exceedingly high oil price that is happening lately. They like that 80 to 100 dollar range. But it seems to be happening whether we have a lack of oil or not. I hear reports of oil just sitting in tankers floating on the ocean waiting to be unloaded and the price sky rockets at the drop of a pin. But for every tanker that is full of oil, you have a rumor to make its cargo worth more. Now with a strong worded warning from a Merrill Lynch analyst. Russia cringes at the resultant repercussions of what the global economy might do…
Crude price expected to jump to 150 dollars a barrel:
The reported fire at the Libyan oil storage facility may raise the price of oil to 150 dollars a barrel, warn experts at the Merrill Lynch Investment bank. Merrill Lynch analysts fear that “If the price of crude exceeds the historic mark of 150 dollars per barrel and remains permanent, the risk of a global recession would become real”. Some experts share the prediction and they calculate that an increase of 10 dollars a barrel on the average per year, would consume 0.5 per cent of the increase in the global economy. Listen to what Yaroslav Lisovolik, Chief Economist of Deutsche bank in Russia had to say on the point. Read More >>> Source: Voice of Russia.
I hear the words, “Why can it (oil) not just stay stable in price?” That is a good question and I ask it also. It really makes no sense to me. When you have plenty it should be reasonably priced. I always thought it was “supply and demand”. But sometimes it seems that with somethings in the world that does not hold true…
![](http://english.ruvr.ru/data/2011/03/14/1262812088/2RIA-879264-Preview.jpg")
The results of Sunday’s regional elections are “more than satisfactory” for United Russia and show that voters trust the government.This comes in a statement by the party’s leader, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin…![Windows to Russia...](http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1424/4721408385_707dfb74e9_m.jpg" "Windows to Russia...")
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