Window on Eurasia: Putin’s Loose Talk about Nuclear Weapons Threatens Russia and Putin Himself, Fedorov Says | Russia To Strengthen Grip On Abkhazia With New Pact

Oil price slide and sanctions 'cost Russia $140bn' - BBC News

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BBC News

Oil price slide and sanctions 'cost Russia $140bn'
BBC News
The falling oil price is costing Russia up to $100bn a year, while Western sanctions have hit the country by $40bn, its finance minister has said. Anton Siluanov made the comments on Monday at an international financial and economic forum. Reports on ... 
Finance Minister: oil slump, sanctions cost Russia $140 billion a yearFortune
Russia Is Losing Up To $140 Billion Per Year From Western Sanctions And Oil ...Business Insider

Russia can lose over $130 billion due to sanctions fall in oil prices — ministerITAR-TASS 
Reuters UK-
 Voice of America
 
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Russia to lose some $40 bn a year due to sanctions: ministerYahoo Finance UK
www.worldbulletin.net
all 36 news articles »

Russia faces recession as oil crash and sanctions cost economy £90bn 

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Anton Siluanov, Russia's finance minister, has warned that the economy could face a hit from falling oil prices, weeks after Vladimir Putin claimed that they had been manipulated by political forces








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Путин: Россия удвоит помощь Абхазии - BFM.Ru

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Вести.Ru

Путин: Россия удвоит помощь Абхазии
BFM.Ru
Российско-абхазские отношения развиваются весьма успешно, констатировал Путин. По его словам, создана хорошая нормативно-правовая база. «Вместе с тем, наши эксперты, члены парламентов пришли к выводу, что необходимо принять дополнительные акты для того, чтобы ...
Путин: Россия вдвое увеличит помощь АбхазииBBC Russian
Владимир Путин: Россия вдвое увеличит объемы помощи АбхазииКоммерсантъ
Россия в два раза увеличит помощь АбхазииГазета.Ru
Интерфакс -Взгляд
Все похожие статьи: 111 »

'ISIS have sleeper cells in the UK' claims Dimitri Bontinck

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A decorated army veteran renowned for rescuing youths from Islamic State today (mon) warned that the terrorist group is placing ?sleeper cells? in European countries including the UK. Dimitri Bontinck, who is known as the ?Jihadi Hunter?, spoke out as he prepared to support his own teenage son in a criminal trial after bringing him home from Syria.

Iran nuclear talks set to resume next month after missing deadline

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VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran and six world powers are expected to break off negotiations on Monday and meet again next month after missing a deadline to clinch a final deal to resolve their 12-year standoff over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, diplomatic sources said.
  

Iran Nuclear Talks Expected to Hit Deadline Without Deal

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Negotiations to curb Iran’s nuclear program will likely end in a stalemate on Monday, according toreports, but could resume one month after what had been called a deadline for striking a deal.
The New York Times, citing an unnamed Western diplomat, reports that Western negotiators were encouraged by “progress made this weekend” in Vienna and were likely to reconvene in December. But officials offered conflicting accounts of how far the negotiators had come toward reaching an agreement.
President Barack Obama called the differences “significant” in a Sunday television interview, but diplomats offered more optimistic assessments on Monday.
One Western diplomat told the Associated Press that the negotiators should complete a broad agreement by March 1 and settle the final details by July 1. Those comments were at odds with Secretary of State John Kerry’s insistence that the objective of the talks was to complete an outline of a final accord by Monday.
Western nations agreed to relax sanctions against Iran in July in exchange for new limits on the nation’s nuclear program and an extension of talks on a final status agreement until this Monday.
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Iran nuclear talks will extend through end of June 2015, Britain says 

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Hammond noted that during the extension period, Tehran will be able to continue to access around $700 million per month in sanctions relief.

Audacious North Korean kidnap plot foiled at Paris airport as ‘Asian men’ attempted to bundle student onto plane

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A political purge which is ravaging the North Korean elite reached out – clumsily and unsuccessfully – to the Paris suburbs early this month.

Finland feeling vulnerable amid Russian provocations - Washington Post

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Finland feeling vulnerable amid Russian provocations
Washington Post
HELSINKI — Wedged hard against Russia's northwestern border, peaceable Finland has long gone out of its way to avoid prodding the nuclear-armed bear next door. But now the bear is provoking Finland, repeatedly guiding military planes into Finnish ...

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Обама предложил Хиллари Клинтон на роль президента - Lenta.ru

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Комсомольская Правда в Украине

Обама предложил Хиллари Клинтон на роль президента
Lenta.ru
Президент США Барак Обама считает, что из бывшего госсекретаря страны Хилари Клинтон получится «замечательный президент». Об этом он заявил в интервью телеканалу ABC. По словам Обамы, он регулярно общается с ней и считает ее другом. «Она не во всем соглашается со ...
Обама: Хиллари Клинтон будет прекрасным президентомКомсомольская Правда в Украине
Обама видит Хиллари Клинтон сильным президентомПодробности
Обама: Хилари Клинтон была бы хорошим президентомКомсомольская правда
Official web-site of radio Vesti FM -ИА "Атмосфера"
Все похожие статьи: 47 »

Iran Could Turn to Russia and China If Nuclear Talks Collapse, Official Says 

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Iran and six world powers look set to miss Monday's deadline for resolving a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, though Iranian officials say they can turn to Beijing and Moscow if talks in Vienna fail.

Russia to Lose Billions Over Sanctions, Falling Oil Prices

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Russia's finance minister says Russia is on a course to lose more than $100 billion due to Western sanctions and falling oil prices. Anton Siluanov said Monday at an economic forum in Moscow that Russia could lose as much as $40 billion per year because of Western sanctions.  The United States and the European Union have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia for its role in the conflict in Ukraine. Russia denies involvement in hostilities in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian forces are frequently involved in skirmishes against Ukrainian government troops, despite a cease-fire agreement. Siluanov also said Russia could lose up to $100 billion annually because of low oil prices, which have fallen by 30 percent. The Ria Novosti news agency says the Russian ruble has fallen about 23 percent against the U.S. dollar in the past three months as a result of the falling oil prices.

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Finance Minister: Sanctions Cost Russia $40 Billion A Year

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Russia's finance minister says his country stands to lose some $40 billion per year due to Western sanctions

Минфин оценил потери России минимум в $130 млрд в год - BBC Russian

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BBC Russian

Минфин оценил потери России минимум в $130 млрд в год
BBC Russian
Российская экономика из-за западных санкций теряет около 40 млрд долларов в год, а от снижения цен на нефть - 90-100 млрд долларов, заявил министр финансов России Антон Силуанов. "Если говорить о геополитике, произошло сокращение притока капитала в страну. Кредиты ...
Предоставлять соцвыплаты будут только людям с минимальным доходомРоссийская Газета
Минфин: Россия потеряет на санкциях и дешёвой нефти 140 млрд долларовМосковский комсомолец
Силуанов: Россия теряет порядка 40 миллиардов долларов в год из-за санкцийГрани.Ру
Коммерсантъ -НТВ.ru -Мой район
Все похожие статьи: 182 »

Крымэнерго: Подстанция в Симферополе вспыхнула из-за кошки - Российская Газета

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Российская Газета

Крымэнерго: Подстанция в Симферополе вспыхнула из-за кошки
Российская Газета
Пожар на трансформаторной подстанции в Симферополе, из-за которого без света остались 26,7 тысячи потребителей, начался из-за кошки. Об этом сообщили в ДТЭК "Крымэнерго". читайте также. Фото: Мария Орлова/РГ В Симферополе из-за пожара без света остались 25 тысяч ...
Кошка оставила Симферополь без светаВести.Ru
Центр Симферополя остался без света из-за попавшего на подстанцию котаРБК
Часть Симферополя осталась без света из-за кошкиВзгляд
УНИАН -Комсомольская Правда в Украине -Дни.Ру
Все похожие статьи: 80 »

Немцы готовы признать Крым частью России - Дни.Ру

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Дни.Ру

Немцы готовы признать Крым частью России
Дни.Ру
12:58 / 24.11.2014 Крым, Общественное мнение, РоссияСогласно результатам опроса общественного мнения, около 40% немцев признают воссоединение России и Крыма. При этом подобные результаты сложно объяснить дружелюбным отношением к стране: больше половины ...
Больше трети немцев согласились считать Крым частью РоссииLenta.ru
Большинство немцев считают Крым украинским и видят угрозу в действиях Путина - опросУНИАН
Около 40 % жителей Германии готовы признать Крым в составе РоссииРусская Служба Новостей
Украинское национальное информагентство -Московский комсомолец -sovsekretno
Все похожие статьи: 68 »

Russia's Project Moldova - Bloomberg View

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Bloomberg View

Russia's Project Moldova
Bloomberg View
The 36-year-old Moldovan, who made enough money in Russia to need a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, came home in April to set up a political party, and has been running a glittering campaign for the parliamentary vote this coming Sunday. He's now drawing ...

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Window on Eurasia: Putin’s Loose Talk about Nuclear Weapons Threatens Russia and Putin Himself, Fedorov Says 

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Paul Goble

 

            Staunton, November 24 – Loose talk by Vladimir Putin and others in Moscow about using nuclear weapons not only has united the West in ways that nothing else, including Russian aggression in Ukraine, could, but it is spreading fear among those near Putin about their future prospects in such a brave new world, according to Yuri Fedorov.

 

            “The logic of the Kremlin” in making such remarks, the Russian analyst says, “is understandable: the West is weak and cowardly, it won’t stand up to a nuclear confrontation with Russia, it will retreat, and it will allow ‘little green men’ to seize let us say the Baltics and then completely capitulate” (ru.krymr.com/content/article/26701065.html).

 

            And as a result of that capitulation, those around the Kremlin calculate, “the consequences of the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century” as Putin has called the disintegration of the Soviet Union “will be corrected.”

 

            That Putin might make that calculation is hardly surprising. Indeed, he is hardly “original,” but he clearly does not understand the full dimensions of the precedents on which he is acting, Fedorov says. In the late 1940s, Stalin unleashed the Berlin crisis, and the result was the formation of NATO.

 

            In the early 1960s, Khrushchev decided to put Soviet missiles in Cuba, and the result of that was not only the Cuban missile crisis which reunified the West but led to his ouster.  And in the 1970s, Brezhnev put intermediate-range missiles in eastern Europe thinking to divide the West but that action had exactly the opposite effect.

 

            Now, “by threatening NATO with nuclear war, Putin and his entourage are committing two mistakes, each of which may cost them dearly. As long as the standoff with the US and Europe was limited to the Ukrainian problem, both in Washington and in European capitals, people could and certainly would have liked to find a compromise and détente, taking into consideration at least in part Kremlin phobias and ambitions.”

 

            “But Europe and the United States could not tolerate a nuclear threat,” Fedorov continues. “It is too dangerous,” especially when, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel has suggested, the person with his finger on the nuclear button is someone who appears to be living in “another reality.”

 

            Putin’s second mistake, Fedorov argues, may be even more immediately consequential to him.  He appears to have “ignored the instinct for self-preservation” within the Russian ruling class. The several thousand people in this group are not distinguished by moral qualities, but none of them could have entered it without a well-developed “sense of danger” and the ability to defend themselves against threats.

 

            According to Fedorov, “hardly any of the current bureaucrats wants to exchange the well- being” he now enjoys “for the doubtful satisfaction of living in conditions of a mobilized economy, a harsh military-chekist culture, and a national-patriotic miasma.” Their plans have never included “balancing on the edge of war.”

 

            What that means, of course, is that Putin’s fate may now be in the hands of the anything but sympathetic members of the entourage around him, a group whose members will want to save themselves even if they have to sacrifice him.
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U.S. Ambassador John Tefft Unfazed by 'Inevitable' Slump in Russia Relations 

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U.S. Ambassador John Tefft says the crisis between Moscow and Washington can be resolved and that Western sanctions may be rolled back if Russia implements the terms of a peace plan for Ukraine that it co-signed.

Литва собирается поставлять оружие на Украину - Вести.Ru

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Вести.Ru

Литва собирается поставлять оружие на Украину
Вести.Ru
Литва собирается поставлять оружие на Украину. Такое обещание дала президент этой страны Даля Грибаускайте. По словам украинского президента Петра Порошенко, после переговоров с литовским лидером была достигнута "договоренность о поставках конкретных элементов ...
Порошенко анонсировал референдум о вступлении Украины в НАТОРБК
Украина вынесет вопрос о вступлении в НАТО на референдумИнтерфакс
Вопрос о вступлении Украины в НАТО будет вынесен на референдумNEWSru.com
РИА Новости -Дни.Ру -BBC Russian
Все похожие статьи: 380 »

Abkhazia, inside the rebel republic – in pictures

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As Vladimir Putin meets Abkhazian leaders today to sign an ‘integration agreement’, Georgia fears that Moscow is edging closer to annexing its breakaway territory. Photographer Amos Chapple has been traveling the region and offers a glimpse inside the separatist state that depends on Russia to survive
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Russian webcam hacker uses Insecam site to look for job

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Opportunities for hackers that snoop unwanted into people’s homes seem to be few and far between. The programmer who created the Insecam website that last week was revealed to have been broadcasting feeds from CCTV cameras and baby monitors is now using the site to look for a job.

Window on Eurasia: Putin has Made the Unthinkable Almost Unnoticed, Podrabinek Says 

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Paul Goble

 

            Staunton, November 24 – One of the most dangerous developments for which Vladimir Putin is responsible is that the lies he and his regime regularly employ and the actions they take have made what would be unthinkable under normal conditions something that most people ignore what they would earlier have focused on, according to Aleksandr Podrabinek.

 

            Not only the yawning gap between what the Kremlin says and what anyone’s eyes can see but also the revelations about that gap and about the workings of the Kremlin which appear and then often disappear without a trace are creating a world in which everything seems equally possible and impossible and thus believable or incredible.

 

            The latest example of this, the Moscow analyst says, came last week when a witness in the Moscow trial of the Militant Organization of Russian Nationalists (BORN) told the court that the activities of this band were supervised and directed by officials in Putin’s Presidential Administration (grani.ru/opinion/podrabinek/m.235226.html).

 

            “In any civilized country, this would have been sensation number one and would have led to talk about the immediate retirement of senior officials or distrust in the president.” But in Russia, “this news passed almost unnoticed.” The opposition media reported it, but the controlled media carefully avoided anything which might “compromise the chief of state.”

 

            Yevgenia Khasis, the BORN activist who made this declaration, has already been convicted of the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova and sentenced to 18 years behind bars.  Two months ago, she was brought from the Mordvinian camps to give evidence against his former BORN comrades.

 

            According to Khasis, the man in the Presidential Administration supervising BORN was Leonid Simulin, who provided some funding to the group but who refused to provide the amount that its activists wanted unless they carried out the murder of an FSB officer the Kremlin apparently wanted out of the way.

 

            If they did, the Kremlin official was prepared to give the BORN people 5,000 euros. “Not all that much money for the work of a killer, but one can imagine how much money would pass into the hands of intermediaries on the path from those giving the orders and those carrying them out,” Podrabinek observes.

 

            What is especially concerning, the Moscow analyst continues, is Khasis’ assertion that Simulin was close to Vladislav Surkov and constantly told those from BORN with whom he was working that he had “consulted the leadership” and “the leadership did not recommend” this or that action. That takes the criminal world inside Putin’s closest circles.

 

            Links between the powers that be and the criminal world will appear “unbelievable only to those who believe that the authorities are really trying to defend the law.” There aren’t very many of them in Russia now, Podrabinek says, with the majority now convinced that “bureaucrats are corrupt” and that they are all thieves.”

 

            “But few believe or want to believe that the highest leadership of the country is involved with ideological maniacs and murderers.” Now they may have to, just as they may have to recognize that Putin and company were involved in the 1999 apartment bombings that reignited the Chechen war or other crimes that the Kremlin has been only too ready to exploit.

 

            Of course, such links between those in power and the criminal world “are not an exclusive aspect of the Russian authoritarian regime.” All too many other countries provide evidence of this dangerous trend.  But those other authoritarian regimes also provide another lesson which Russians need to learn:

 

            The person who orders such crimes is always the one at the top. “Executors can be sacrificed but those who do the ordering are untouchable as far as the law is concerned.” And typically they are protected from exposure by the fear of those below them. But Yegeniya Khasis showed she wasn’t afraid.  Now, Putin and company should be.

 

 
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Admiral fired from US nuclear command denies fake poker chips charge 

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  • Rear Admiral Timothy Giardina says he found chips in toilet stall
  • Statement: ‘Lapse in judgment does not make me a criminal’
An admiral linked by navy investigators to counterfeit casino chips denied on Sunday that he played any role in making them.
Investigation records say Rear Admiral Timothy M Giardina’s DNA was found on the underside of an adhesive sticker used to alter one of the phony chips, but previously undisclosed emails indicate that the presence of his DNA is not conclusive evidence that he was involved in the fakery.
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Putin Circumspect on Re-Election, but Critical of Western Sanctions - Wall Street Journal

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Wall Street Journal

Putin Circumspect on Re-Election, but Critical of Western Sanctions
Wall Street Journal
Russian President Vladimir Putin, shown here at a news conference in October, told the TASS news agency that he won't rule out running for re-election in 2018, and that Western sanctions against Moscow violate human rights. European Pressphoto Agency.

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The President Is Right on Immigration - Wall Street Journal

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Wall Street Journal

The President Is Right on Immigration
Wall Street Journal
President Obama announced Thursday a temporary reprieve from deportation, and offered temporary permission to work, for several million undocumented longtime residents with close family members in the U.S. The executive order, he said, was not an ...
Republicans Step Up Offensive on Obama's Immigration OrderBusinessweek
Obama defends moves on immigrationThe Detroit News
Obama Defends His Use of Executive Authority on ImmigrationNew York Times
Washington Times -Local 10 -The Atlantic
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Obama calls for calm after Ferguson decision, sees improved US race relations - Fox News

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Fox News

Obama calls for calm after Ferguson decision, sees improved US race relations
Fox News
President Obama on Sunday called for calm after the announcement of the pending grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo., and argued that race relations in the U.S. have significantly improved in the past 10 years. “My own experience tells me race relations ...
Obama Urges Calm Before Key Ferguson VerdictSky News
Obama calls for calm in FergusonPolitico
Obama will 'wait and see how the response comes out' in FergusonWashington Post (blog)
Mediaite-The Hill (blog)
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Portugal ex-PM Socrates still in custody, more questioning Monday

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LISBON (Reuters) - Police transferred Portugal's former Socialist prime minister Jose Socrates back to his cell at a police station late on Sunday where he will spend a third night in a row after his shocking arrest and questioning in a corruption investigation.






  

The role of genes in our sexual orientation - podcast 

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What do the latest studies into sexual orientation reveal? Plus, can we win the fight against Ebola in West Africa, and what threat does the virus really pose to people in Europe and the US? Continue reading...

Russia To Strengthen Grip On Abkhazia With New Pact

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Russia and Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region are set to sign an "Allied Relations and Strategic Partnership" treaty that Tbilisi has condemned as a step toward Russian annexation of the separatist Black Sea province. 

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Two NATO Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan Bicycle Blast

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Two foreign soldiers have been killed in an attack in the Afghan capital.

RFE/RL Reporter Faces Trial In Belarus

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A correspondent of RFE/RL is facing trial in western Belarusian city of Hrodna for allegedly violating a law on public gatherings.

Bomber targeted police commander in Afghan volleyball game attack - Reuters

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Reuters

Bomber targeted police commander in Afghan volleyball game attack
Reuters
1 of 4. Men receive treatment at a military hospital in Kabul, after being wounded during a suicide attack at a volleyball match on Sunday in the Yahya Khail district of Paktika province, November 24, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Mohammad Ishaq ...
Haqqani group blamed for Afghan suicide blastAljazeera.com
Afghan volleyball toll rises to 57Bangkok Post
Toll in Afghanistan suicide attack hits 57Business Standard
Arab News -The Independent -iAfrica.com
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Bill Cosby's comedy special project scrapped after sexual assault allegation - Times of India

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Telegraph.co.uk

Bill Cosby's comedy special project scrapped after sexual assault allegation
Times of India
NEW YORK: NBC has scrapped a Bill Cosby comedy that was under development, the second outlet within a day to put off or abandon a Cosby project after another sexual assault allegation against the comic emerged. NBC spokeswoman Rebecca Marks ...
Bill Cosby assaulted another ex-model, she allegesNew York Daily News
Cosby allegations recast decades-old view of cultural iconToronto Star
Former NBC Fixer speaks out on CosbyiAfrica.com

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Thai news website editor jailed for ‘defaming king’

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Nut Rungwong, who edited Thai E-news website, falls foul of lese-majesty law and sentenced to four and a half years in jail
A military court in Thailand has sentenced a web editor to four and a half years in jail for publishing an article five years ago that it said defamed the nation’s king.
An official in the army’s Judge Advocate General’s department said the sentence issued on Monday against Nut Rungwong was cut in half because the editor pleaded guilty to the charge.
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Jailed Azerbaijani Activist's Health Deteriorating: Lawyer

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A lawyer for jailed Azerbaijani human rights activist Leyla Yunus says her health has deteriorated drastically.
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Bill Cosby paid off women says ex-NBC employee - New York Daily News

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New York Daily News

Bill Cosby paid off women says ex-NBC employee
New York Daily News
Back when Bill Cosby was the king of network television, veteran NBC employee Frank Scotti served as the royal fixer. When Cosby invited young models into his Brooklyn dressing room, the megastar's pal stood watch outside the door. When the married ...
As a Cosby 'fixer' comes out of the shadows, so does an explanationWashington Post
Bill Cosby's comedy special project scrapped after sexual assault allegationTimes of India
Jennifer O'Connell: Bill Cosby story highlights troubling societal attitudes to ...Irish Times
The Daily Star
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Bill Cosby paid off women says ex-NBC employee - New York Daily News

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New York Daily News

Bill Cosby paid off women says ex-NBC employee
New York Daily News
Back when Bill Cosby was the king of network television, veteran NBC employee Frank Scotti served as the royal fixer. When Cosby invited young models into his Brooklyn dressing room, the megastar's pal stood watch outside the door. When the married ...
Another Cosby Accuser Comes Out; Ex-NBC Employee Claims He Covered Up ...International Business Times
NY Daily News, Washington Post; USA Today, Chicago TribuneTelevision Week
Former NBC Fixer speaks out on CosbyiAfrica.com

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As a Cosby 'fixer' comes out of the shadows, so does an explanation - Washington Post

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New York Times

As a Cosby 'fixer' comes out of the shadows, so does an explanation
Washington Post
More women, including actresses Michelle Hurd and Angela Leslie, have come forward accusing comedian Bill Cosby of sexual impropriety, and with them, one question looms large: How did this allegedly happen over the course of four decades, largely ...
Bill Cosby paid off women says ex-NBC employeeNew York Daily News
Bill Cosby's Long List of Accusers (So Far): 17 Alleged Sexual Assault Victims ...Daily Beast
Bill Cosby breaks silence following sex assault allegationsAl-Arabiya
iAfrica.com
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Russian Official Says Oil Slump and Sanctions Cost $140 Billion a Year 

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Russia’s Finance Minister said the combined cost of western sanctions and the recent fall in world oil prices to Russia’s economy this year would be a massive $140 billion.
“We will lose around $40 billion a year because of sanctions, and around $90-100 billion a year, if we assume a 30% drop in the price of oil,” Anton Siluanov told a conference in Moscow Monday, according to news agency reports.
Siluanov’s comments go against the grain of bravado from President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov, both of whom have repeatedly tried to play down the impact of U.S. and E.U. sanctions in the wake of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its sponsoring of an armed rebellion in the eastern provinces of Ukraine.
They are, however, consistent with Siluanov’s own earlier warnings about the need for Russia to tighten its belt and make big cutbacks in the light of the new economic reality. Siluanov has already warned that the big increase in defense spending earmarked for the next three years is unaffordable.
“If you’re talking about the consequences of geopolitics, they are, of course, substantial,” Siluanov said. “But it’s not as critical for the exchange rate and even for the budget as the oil price.”
Siluanov’s comments come on the eve of a crucial meeting of oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna, which will focus on the alarming slide in oil prices since the summer. In a weekend interview with ITAR-TASS, Putin insinuated that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia had conspired to drive up global supply well beyond actual levels of demand, in order to weaken the Russian economy. Somewhat confusingly, he later added that “maybe the Saudis want to ‘kill off’ their competitors” in the U.S. shale oil sector.”
Russia isn’t a member of OPEC, but depends on taxes from oil and gas companies for some two-thirds of its budget revenue. A draft for next year’s budget, approved in September, assumes an average oil price of $100 a barrel, while banks such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase & Co. think it will be nearer $80.
Barred from western financial markets, the government will either have to cut spending or raise taxes to keep the deficit down to its projected 0.6% of gross domestic product, or borrow at increasingly expensive rates from domestic savers and institutions. The yield on the government’s 10-year bonds has risen to 10.12% as of Monday from 7.71% at the start of the year, as the ruble has depreciated by 30% against the dollar.
Russia’s central bank earlier this month cut its forecast for growth next year to zero, after having to raise interest rates sharply to stop the ruble’s fall. GDP rose by only 0.8% on the year in the third quarter, although that was above economists’ expectations.
The ruble has rebounded sharply against the dollar in recent days as the central bank’s actions have started to gain traction and stem a wave of speculation. By mid-day in Moscow, the ruble was at its highest in more than two weeks against the dollar as oil and gas companies converted their export earnings back into rubles ahead of a routine tax payment deadline.

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UK faces biggest threat to its security since 9/11: Interior Minister

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LONDON (Reuters) - Britain faces a bigger threat to its security from terrorism than at any time before or since the Sept. 11 2001 attacks on the United States, Home Secretary Theresa May said on Monday.
  

State, Religion, And Radicalism In Central Asia

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RFE/RL's Turkmen Service hosted a roundtable to discuss the credibility of an Islamic threat in Central Asia, the chances of the region moving from secular governments to Islamic governments or the possible relationships between secular governments and the region's traditional religion, and the extent to which it is possible to foster radical religious sentiment in a region still reacquainting itself with Islam after decades of separation.

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Page 8

What should you do with all your old spices?

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A recent survey suggests that there are millions of pounds’ worth of unused spices sitting on our shelves. What should you do with those dusty jars of cumin, coriander and cayenne?
We called it the “Ottolenghi effect”. Where once our spice cupboard was really just half a shelf housing dried basil and mild curry powder, suddenly that forgotten corner of the kitchen was playing host to harissa and sumac and saffron. Bart Spices reported an 82% increase in sales of za’atar. Supermarkets stocked szechuan pepper like it was no big thing. We learned to pronounce asafoetida.
And then we forgot all about them. Or so a recent report by the kitchen gadget company Kenwood would lead us to believe. According to the survey, there are £240m worth of unused herbs and spices languishing in this country’s kitchens. And 13% of us confess to owning jars of spices more than four years out of date. (Last time I was at my parents’ house, I found a jar of dried basil older than Justin Bieber.) My mother-in-law’s spice drawer looks like the Schwartz history museum.
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Russia Reveals Heavy Price Of Western Sanctions

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The West's reaction to Russia's actions in Ukraine is costing $40bn a year, but the impact of the price of oil is much greater.

Ukrainian Campaigners Cry Foul As Ex-Minister's Palace Revealed

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An RFE/RL investigation has revealed an opulent palace belonging to Ukraine's former minister for the environment and natural resources, Mikola Zlochevskiy, who served under ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. Anticorruption campaigners in Kyiv are demanding an investigation into Zlochevskiy, whose business links include the son of the U.S. vice president. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)

GOP hopefuls avoid specifics in response to Obama

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The rhetoric is barbed, but Republican presidential hopefuls generally fell in line behind the voices of restraint in the wake of President Barack Obama's order blocking deportation for millions of immigrants in the country unlawfully....

Poroshenko: Lithuania to Supply Ukraine With Military Aid

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Lithuania is to provide Ukraine with some military aid to help in its fight against pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Monday. It was not clear, however, if Lithuania was following fellow NATO member the United States in providing non-lethal military equipment, or supplying weaponry. NATO countries are reluctant to risk being drawn into conflict with Russia by arming a non-member. “We have agreed on supplies of concrete...

Two U.S. soldiers killed in bomb attack in Afghan capital: sources

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KABUL (Reuters) - Two U.S. soldiers were killed when their vehicle was hit by a bomb in the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, officials and sources said.






  
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Page 9

Vladimir Putin: I don’t want to rule Russia for life

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President says he will step down by 2024, and accuses the west of trying to punish Russia for being strong and assertive
Vladimir Putin does not want to rule Russia for life, but may well run for another six-year term in 2018, he has said.
In an interview with a Russian state news agency, Putin, who has ruled as either president or prime minister since 2000, said he would base any decision to run again on the mood of the country and his personal feelings.
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Obama ramps up defense of immigration action; conservatives urge tough ... - Washington Post

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The New Yorker

Obama ramps up defense of immigration action; conservatives urge tough ...
Washington Post
President Obama on Sunday responded to Republican critics who have accused him of acting like an emperor with his recent immigration actions, repeating his challenge for Congress to “pass a bill.” Meanwhile, Republican leaders spent the weekend trying ... 
Is President Obama legalizing millions of unauthorized immigrants?Vox
Fact-Checking the Sunday ShowsDaily Beast

The President Is Right on ImmigrationWall Street Journal 
The Fiscal
 
Republicans Step Up Offensive on Obama's Immigration OrderBusinessweek
Obama Defends His Executive Action on ImmigrationThe Fiscal Times
New York Times-Los Angeles Times- Kansas City Star
all 14,224 
news articles »

Ekho Moskvy Plans Social Media Rules For Journalists, Sparking Outcry 

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Russia's Ekho Moskvy radio station says it is drafting rules for its employees’ behavior on social media after its state-controlled owner pressured the broadcaster over a journalist's controversial message on Twitter.

They question sexuality Winnie the Pooh

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The Authorities of the Polish town of Tuszyn, in Central Poland vetoed the popular children's character, Winnie the Pooh, Understand That It is a bad example for children Because it has a "dubious sexuality, Not Properly dressed, half naked and going hermaphrodite".
According To Infobae website, controversy Arose When a citizen Recently Proposed giving the name "Winnie the Pooh" ("Kubus Puchatek" in Polish) for a playground and meth With opposition from several councilors, treats including the bulk of the town. "The Problem with That Is That bear no clothes, "Said Ryszard Cichy, more of the town.
The greatest added That the popular character "is half naked and That Makes it totally Inappropriate for children". Cichy Also Proposed another bear in the Polish popular children's stories, "a Polish bear is dressed from head to toe, and not just with a T (as Winnie the Pooh), "I Said.
The conversation was Recorded by one of the council of the town acerca With 7,000 inhabitants, lowest later leaked to the press locally.

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