Putin Makes His First Move in Race to Control the Arctic - Newsweek | В чем состоит план Владимира Путина - inoСМИ.Ru: "С точки зрения его противников за рубежом и сторонников внутри России, президент Путин неуклонно следует стратегии, направленной на укрепление позиций России в ущерб Западу."
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В чем состоит план Владимира Путина
inoСМИ.Ru С точки зрения его противников за рубежом и сторонников внутри России, президент Путиннеуклонно следует стратегии, направленной на укрепление позиций России в ущерб Западу. В 2012 году, когда тогдашний госсекретарь Хиллари Клинтон обвинила Путина в попытках ... Как Путин похоронит доллар и возродит рубльРоссийский Диалог Путин станет главной угрозой для США, - "Forbes"Centrasia.ru Путин станет главной угрозой для США в 2015 году - СМИbigmir)net ИА REGNUM-Свободная пресса Все похожие статьи: 55 » |
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Putins Washington
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 Российский Диалог |
Как Путин похоронит доллар и возродит рубль
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Путин внес раскол в ЕС приглашением на Парад Победы. Обама его отклонил, а Ким Чен Ын рассматривает возможность посещения
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In the news
Daily Mail - 16 hours ago
BBC News - 2 hours ago
6 January 2015 Last updated at 11:01 ET
Elliott Spencer has yet to comment on the proposed marriage to Stephen Fry
A photo of the couple had been posted on Elliott Spencer's Twitter profile
Stephen Fry appeared alongside Orlando Bloom in the recent Hobbit films
Stephen Fry said on Twitter that he had hoped for a private wedding
The notification of Stephen Fry and Elliott Spencer's intention to be married was issued on 23 December
Stephen Fry gave formal notice to wed Elliott Spencer at a register office in Dereham
Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry starred in TV shows including Blackadder
Elliott Spencer has yet to comment on the proposed marriage to Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry has confirmed he is to marry his partner, Elliott Spencer.
Comedian and writer Fry, 57, has given formal notice to wed Mr Spencer, 27, at a register office in Dereham, Norfolk, near where he grew up.
Writing on Twitter after The Sun newspaper revealed the marriage plans, Fry said: "Oh. It looks as though a certain cat is out of a certain bag.
"I'm very very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!"
A photo of the couple had been posted on Elliott Spencer's Twitter profileStephen Fry appeared alongside Orlando Bloom in the recent Hobbit films
The pair are thought to have started their relationship last year.
Fry, a director of Norwich City Football Club, has been a familiar face on television since the 1980s and is most recently known for presenting the comedy quiz show QI, as well as for acting roles in The Hobbit and the latest series of 24.
His personal assistant said: "Stephen Fry is very happy and proud to say that he has set the wheels in motion for a wedding sometime in the future but no date has been set due to a busy work schedule."
According to documents on display in Norwich, the wedding will take place in Breckland Business Centre, which houses the register office.
The ceremony room is the "outstanding feature" of the building, according to the Norfolk County Council website.
It says: "Decorated in a modern style, in shades of turquoise, lilac and purple, there is seating for 40 people."
On the paperwork, Fry gives his occupation as an actor, while Mr Spencer is listed as a writer.
Stephen Fry said on Twitter that he had hoped for a private weddingThe notification of Stephen Fry and Elliott Spencer's intention to be married was issued on 23 DecemberStephen Fry gave formal notice to wed Elliott Spencer at a register office in Dereham
Fry, who has spoken openly about his struggles with drug abuse and depression, has largely kept his love life private, although he reportedly separated from a long-term partner five years ago.
He has also spoken about a suicide attempt in 2012 which saw him take "a huge number of pills and a huge (amount) of vodka" while filming a documentary about homophobia around the world.
Stephen Fry
- Born in London in 1957 and grew up in Booton, Norfolk
- Attended Cambridge University, where he began a long-running partnership with Hugh Laurie
- The two appeared together in programmes including Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster and A Bit of Fry and Laurie
- His film roles include playing his idol Oscar Wilde and he also directed a film, Bright Young Things, in 2003
- Lent his voice to audiobook versions of the Harry Potter series, Roald Dahl adaptations and a number of video games
- Technology is one of his passions and he was an early adopter of Twitter, where he is followed by 8 million users
Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry starred in TV shows including Blackadder
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- The actor is planning to marry Elliott Spencer, 27, in the next year
- Couple first seen in November last year but became close over summer
- Star said: 'I'm very very happy of course. Thank you all SO much for your kind congratulations. Deeply touched xxx'.
- Mr Spencer's parents are 'over the moon' their son is getting married
- Friends say Spencer, a stand-up comic, has put a smile back on Fry's face
- In 2012 Fry tried to kill himself after downing pills and vodka in a hotel
- Actor struggled when he split with partner of 14 years Daniel Cohen in 2010
- One friend said: 'We've got the old Stephen back. He has found new hope in Elliott and they thrive off each other'
- Pair gave notice at registry office in Norfolk, near where the actor grew up
Published: 20:37 EST, 5 January 2015 | Updated: 11:31 EST, 6 January 2015
Stephen Fry's future in-laws said today they are 'over the moon' after the star revealed he will marry their stand-up comedian son, who is 30 years his junior.
Elliott Spencer's parents Robert and Miranda, from Southampton, admitted they are delighted about the couple's decision to wed after their whirlwind romance.
The 57-year-old QI presenter and his partner were today wearing matching engagement rings as they left Fry's central London home in a Bentley and told reporters: 'We're both very happy'.
The couple were first seen together last November, but the pair are understood to have become serious over the summer.
Mr Spencer's parents have given them their blessing and Mr Fry said this afternoon: 'I have met them and they are very nice'.
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Overjoyed: Stephen Fry and his new fiancé Elliott Spencer, 27 outside the star's London home today
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Official: Mr Fry, wore an engagement ring today, and said he and his partner have not set a date for their wedding
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Exit: The couple left central London in the actor's Bentley, which Mr Spencer scraped by accident, and they look likely to get married in Fry's native Norfolk
Public record: This is the declaration to marry posted in the Registry Office in Dereham shortly before Christmas
Mr Spencer's father Robert, who at 57 is the same age as Fry, said he and his his wife Melanie, 52, are 'over the moon'.
Speaking at his large, detached property near Southampton he said: 'We are obviously very happy. We are over the moon, that is all I want to say.'
Today it was revealed they registered to marry in Norfolk, where Fry grew up, just before Christmas.
Even his future husband pranging his prized Bentley Continental GT could not wipe a smile off the Mr Fry's face.
Elliott Spencer tried to manoeuvre the £150,000 motor out of a tight garage and scraped the side, which his partner said was 'nothing'.
A beaming Mr Fry and his partner Mr Spencer emerged from the QI star's plush Piccadilly home arm in arm this afternoon and announced the wedding was planned sometime this year.
The QI star, wearing a green blazer and red cardigan, said: 'We are off now to celebrate our engagement. We won't be going abroad until after the Baftas.' Mr Fry will host the awards for the tenth time next month.
The pair could been seen engagement rings on their wedding fingers and Mr Fry added: 'They are very similar, both are made of Rhodium and are almost matching.'
When asked about the wedding date he said: 'Now, we won't be giving that away. And I'm sorry to say you won't be invited. It will be some time this year, as you have to give a year's notice.'
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Overjoyed: The actor said today he was 'very very happy' that he and his partner Elliott, together in September, will marry in the coming year
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Wedding bells: Stephen Fry has revealed he will marry Elliott Spencer, who he was first spotted with in November, after a whirlwind romance
Earlier today Mr Fry tweeted: 'Oh. It looks as though a certain cat is out of a certain bag. I'm very very happy of course but had hoped for a private wedding. Fat chance!.
'Thank you all SO much for your kind congratulations. Deeply touched xxx'.
The engagement came less than three years after he tried to kill himself during an unhappy spell in his life where he struggled to cope with fame, loneliness and the break-up of his previous relationship.
Mr Fry, who suffers from bipolar disorder, revealed that in 2012 he tried to kill himself with a cocktail of vodka and pills, and was only saved by a producer who discovered him.
Friends have credited the young stand-up comic, who is 30 years Fry's junior, with putting a smile back on the actor's face following a crippling battle with depression.
It appears they may have become engaged just before Christmas as they have given formal notice at a registry office in Dereham, Norfolk, on December 23.
They have a year to marry before it expires.
Friends have spoken of the joy that the young man has brought to Fry's life, with one telling The Sun: 'Since Stephen met Elliott, it is like he has a new lust for life.
'We've got the old Stephen back. He has found new hope in Elliott and they thrive off each other.'
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Happy: Stephen, left today, wrote on his blog last year about feeling lonely after splitting with his partner but Elliott, right, has been praised by friends for putting a smile on his face
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Break: Over the summer Stephen and his husband-to-be spent time in Italy and met with actress Emma Thompson and her children in Florence
Starstruck: Mr Spencer, a stand-up comedian, has tweeted pictures of him meeting 'heroes' Jimmy Carr and David Mitchell in the past year
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Red carpet: Elliott Spencer was seen here at the premiere of The Hobbit in Leicester Square last month stood behind Orlando Bloom and Sir Ian McKellen
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Spring in his step: Friends say they're happy to have 'the old Stephen back' after meeting Elliott
The 27-year-old writer and comedian is the son of a property developer, who is believed be a millionaire.
Robert Spencer set up Hood House Limited with a business partner and the firm has built a series of new homes in Hampshire, West Sussex and on the Isle of Wight.
He has just sold the last property at his new development - consisting of two, three and four bedroom homes - near Waterlooville, Hampshire.
His son went to Park Gate Primary School which is just 300 yards away from their £500,000 home.
The family's neighbour Marina Worthy, 79, said: 'When I came to live here 20 years ago the ball would come over the back of my garden.
FRY'S WHIRLWIND ENGAGEMENT IN SHARP CONTRAST WITH HIS LONG RELATIONSHIP WITH VITAMIN SALESMAN WHO 'SAVED' HIM
Stephen Fry's whirlwind engagement to Elliott Spencer is in stark contrast with his previous long-term relationship.
The star spent 14 years with former make-up and vitamin salesman Daniel Cohen, right, before they split in 2010.
Mr Cohen was credited with rescuing Mr Fry from celibacy and helped him through spates of depression.
But he was left devastated over the break-up of their long-time relationship.
At the time he told friends he was finding it difficult to cope without Fry.
For 11 years, they shared a £2million North London house, which boasted a tree growing through the kitchen.
But they split and Fry formed a new friendship with aspiring young actor Stephen Webb, 26.
Mr Cohen said he was heartbroken when he learned that Fry wanted to leave him for a considerably younger man.
There were also claimed he was given a seven-figure sum by the actor, but he denied this.
He told the Mail at the time: 'People say I got £1million from Stephen — it was nothing like that. I've got to find a job.
'What really upset me is that Stephen is going out with a 26-year-old, for God's sake.
'I've got a new look and I've had my nipple pierced. But nothing can bring Stephen back.'
'I'm determined to go one better and date someone even younger. Joking apart, I am finding it hard to adjust'.
'I would always go and give it back to Elliott. I've not seen him since he was young but he was a nice little boy.
'I'm pleased for him. The age gap isn't a problem, if him and Stephen are happy, they're happy.
'Life is different now, you have got to get with the times. I wish them all the best.'
Another neighbour, who asked not to be named, said: 'Elliott is a lovely man. He had a dog, a beagle, which he loved so much.
'He went to the local school and he is a very happy person. He loved his dog but I don't see him too often as he has moved up to London.'.
After the pair were seen eating at a restaurant together in November - Fry looking carefree and smiling - they were also reportedly pictured hanging out at his West London home.
They were also been reportedly seen together at Ascot racecourse in Berkshire, UK, and London's Savoy Hotel.
A source told The Sunday Mirror: 'Stephen and Elliott get on brilliantly together. It's fantastic to see Stephen with a smile on his face again.
'He has been very, very open about his battles with drugs and depression,' the source continued.
'Elliott seems to have given him the confidence to live his life again. It's great to have the old Stephen back.'
Fry separated from his partner of the past 14 years Daniel Cohen in 2010, a man who he credits with 'saving' him.
The salesman, who was 12 years Fry's junior, claimed in the aftermath of the split that he was finding it increasingly hard to come to terms with the actor's new relationship with Steven Webb; 27 years younger than Fry.
Following the QI host's announcement today that he is due to marry partner Elliott Spencer, Mr Cohen said: 'I have nothing to say.'
However, Fry appeared to be single again by June 2013 when he opened up in a bold and honest blog post about loneliness.
The broadcaster said: 'Loneliness is the most terrible and contradictory of my problems. I hate having only myself to come home to.'
He went on to say: 'It's not that I want a sexual partner, a long-term partner, someone to share a bed and a snuggle on the sofa with – although perhaps I do and in the past I have had and it has been joyful.
'But the fact is I value my privacy too. It's a lose-lose matter.'
As a public figure, the actor has spoken openly about suicidal depression, having admitted to two failed suicide attempts.
In the post, Fry said that while he may be luckier than most that he was 'lonely in a crowd of people who are mostly very nice to me,' he reassured readers that 'you are not alone in your being alone.'
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Boost: The 27-year-old, from Southampton, is said to have been Fry 'the confidence to live his life again'
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Background: Mr Spencer's parents were at their large detached home near Southampton today, where their son grew up, and said they were 'over the moon' for Elliott and Stephen
Last year he also spoke openly about his battle with drugs and claimed he took cocaine at Buckingham Palace.
Opening up about a 15-year addiction to the Class A drug, the comedian details dozens of respected institutions where he says he took it. The list included the House of Lords, the House of Commons and BBC Television Centre.
In his latest autobiography, More Fool Me, published in September, Fry wrote: 'I take this opportunity to apologise unreservedly, to the owners, managers or representatives of the noble and ignoble premises and to the hundreds of private homes, offices, car dashboards, tables, mantelpieces and available polished surfaces that could so easily have been added to this list of shame'.
Following on from 2010's The Fry Chronicles, which touched on his drug use in its closing pages, his new book sees the presenter speak in detail about the habit that cost him hundreds of thousands of pounds.
It also reveals his brushes with the law and how he narrowly escaped drug charges after being stopped by police while in possession of cocaine.
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Official: The couple have announced their intention to marry by posting a formal notice to wed at Dereham Registry Office in Norfolk
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All by himself: Stephen once said that 'Loneliness is the most terrible and contradictory of his problems'
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Secret pain: The actor has been a figurehead for fighting suicidal depression, having spoken in the past about two failed suicide attempts
This third instalment of his autobiography follows Fry through the 1980s and 90s after he had found fame through shows such as A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster.
He recalls the 'momentous night' in 1986 when he first took cocaine with an unnamed actor friend and admits that he never saw himself as an addict as his dependency spiralled out of control.
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Stephen Fry's engagement: what's wrong with age-gap relationships? by Hannah Jane Parkinson
You can bet Stephen Fry’s engagement to Eliot Spencer would never have been criticised had this been a case of an older man with a young trophy wife
News has broken that actor, QI host, and probable pub quiz supremo Stephen Fry, 57, has become engaged to Elliot Spencer, a comedian 30 years his junior.
It is thought the couple have been dating since at least November last year (or as Mail Online had it: “November of this year”), and on 23 December made a formal application to marry.
I didn't even know Stephen Fry had a son-I mean boyfriend.
I find Stephen Fry's engagement a bit ! He looks like his son...
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Lithuania's media watchdog may halt broadcasting of two Russian television stations within the country for allegedly running biased content that incites hatred toward other nations, Delfi news agency reported.
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Chinese Moviegoers React to 'The Interview'by webdesk@voanews.com (William Ide)
Controversial American comedy film, The Interview, may never be screened in theaters in China, but that is stopping few from watching it. Pirated DVDs, complete with Chinese subtitles are available at stores in the capital. And both Chinese and Korean subtitled versions can be watched online through websites offering pirated content. DVD store clerks in Beijing say the film is a hot item. But eyeing a thick pile of copies on a shelf in one store, it was hard to tell whether that was just a sales pitch. Foreign movies and television shows have long been available online in China, despite the censors, which have made many Chinese sophisticated media consumers. So there are no shortage of opinions on the American comedy that depicts that assassination of the North Korean leader. Just a comedy Zhang, a business student and his girlfriend say they both saw the film and thought it was hilarious. His girlfriend adds that even her father thought it was incredibly funny. When asked about the more serious international reaction to the film and the cyber confrontation it has stirred up, Zhang said, “It’s no big deal. It’s a comedy.” Song, a worker in his 20s has yet to see the film, but says he will soon. He says that by just looking at the title it is hard to tell what the film is really about. “The United States is a country that has a good sense of humor, so really there is no reason to take this so seriously,” Song said. But, he says that given that “North Korea is such a mysterious place, I am curious to see how the [two assassins] carry out their ‘mission impossible.’” Most of those interviewed who had seen or planned to see the film were workers or students in their 20s. Almost all were male. One young Beijing resident, dressed in black from head to toe and sporting a silver bracelet, necklace and safety pin earring says a friend of his saw the movie. He says his friend says it was funny, but not as funny as he had hoped. “My friend says that he had hoped Kim Jung Un would’ve been even more vicious,” he said. In the film, North Korea’s strongman is portrayed as having a softer sensitive side and secret adoration for American pop star Katy Perry. Far cry from first blood Some were obviously expecting much more from the film. One Beijing resident surnamed He, who claims he is a director of short films, says he was hoping it would be more of an action thriller like First Blood, starring Sylvester Stallone. “In the end, it was just a comedy and really nothing much to get excited about,” He said. A former Air Force communications officer surnamed Zhang, who now works in the IT industry, says the film was a big let-down because the plot was so unbelievable. “There is no way they could've gotten past his bodyguards and into the country so easily,” he said. "When I started watching the film, I thought I had downloaded the wrong movie. It was nothing like a film about an assassination," said Zhang, who added the film never should’ve been made. “If you have something to say about North Korea then say it directly, don’t make a film to insult another country. I think the film was insulting,” Zhang said. Toll for activists In South Korea, the film is also not being shown in theaters, but it is widely available for downloading online. Activists such as North Korean defector Park Sang Hak are planning to use the satirical movie as a tool in their efforts to free the North. Park, who heads a group called the Fighters for North Korea, says he plans to send 10,000 DVDs to North Korea by balloon by the end of this month and another 50,000 DVDs and 50,000 memory sticks with the movie by the spring. Park tells VOA’s Korean service that while some are urging him to send more copies of the film sooner, it will have to wait as the wind blows from north to south during the winter months, which would make it even more difficult to send them beyond the demilitarized zone to the North. North Korea & China For many in China though, the film was a chance to get a different - albeit satirical -perspective on their isolated neighbor. One man surnamed Zhang who has yet to see the film, but was interested, says he was curious about how the film portrays the North. “I am interested in seeing how Americans view North Korea and its political system,” Zhang said. He also says he’s interested in anything about the life of Comrade Kim. Ma, a student in Beijing says that it is North Korea’s very nature that attracts interest in the country. “North Korea is very different. It is so isolated. But it is that isolation and the way the country is run that makes it seem more mysterious and attracts more interest in it,” Ma said. He, the short film director, says he would like to visit North Korea if he could do so and get out alive. “North Korea is a mysterious place, it’s isolated and authoritarian. I would really like to go there. It’s much like China in the 1970s and 80s,” He said.
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 CNBC |
Russia tensions rise as France urges end to sanctions
CNBC French President Francois Hollande has called on the West to end sanctions against Russia but as the streets of Moscow sees an increase in angry protests, there is no sign that tensions are calming down any time soon. Hollande said in an interview ... Ex-Soviet countries on front line of Russia's media war with the westThe Guardian Russia to hire more foreign troops in forces shake-upBBC News The Russian Who Claims Credit For Fanning The Flames In UkraineNPR (blog) Forbes |
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Republicans Officially Take Full Control of US Congressby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
The new U.S. Congress convenes Tuesday with Republicans controlling both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Conservatives are determined to reverse some of President Barack Obama's policies. The opposition party is beginning the new two-year legislative session with its strongest numbers in several years after last November's sweeping midterm election victories. Republicans hold an overwhelming 246 seats in the 435-seat House -- the party's biggest majority in 70 years -- and a comfortable 55 seats in the 100-seat Senate. Incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, speaking on CNN television Sunday, said the Senate's first major task will be approving the Keystone oil pipeline. Supporters say it will create jobs and lead to energy independence for the U.S. But Democratic opponents call it an environmental disaster waiting to happen, and that all but a few of those jobs would be temporary. Republicans in both chambers also will seek to overturn President Obama's signature health care program and block his executive order on immigration. Vetoes likely Obama has said he will veto Republican bills he does not like. Even with majorities in both bodies, Republicans may not have enough votes to overturn vetoes. The president has said he looks forward to working with the new Congress and believes there is common ground on many issues, including tax reform and international trade deals. House Speaker John Boehner is expected to be easily re-elected to his third term in the powerful post on Tuesday, but is facing a small revolt by members of his party's ultraconservative Tea Party faction. House Republicans are also dealing with revelations that Louisiana Congressman Steve Scalise, the third-ranking member of the party's leadership team, spoke before a white supremacist group in 2002, when he was a state lawmaker. White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Monday that the decision by Boehner and other Republicans to support Scalise despite the controversy "says a lot" about the party's values. Material for this report came from AP and Reuters.
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Russian authorities deny censoring Peter Greenaway's Eisenstein script by Ben Child and Shaun Walker
Official from the state film fund denies requesting that references to the famed Russian director’s sexuality should be removed from the British director’s script
Russia has denied refusing to back a new Sergei Eisenstein biopic from British director Peter Greenaway unless all references to the legendary film-maker’s homosexuality are excised from the screenplay.
In an interview with the BBC Russian service published on 6 January, Nikolai Bordachev of the Gosfilmofond, or state film foundation, admitted there were issues with the script for The Eisenstein Handshakes, but denied asking Greenaway to remove references to Eisenstein’s sexuality.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a decree enabling foreign nationals to serve in the Russian military.
Oil prices keep falling as fears of supply glut growby Heidi Moore and agencies
Saudi Arabia gives little sign it will cut production despite Brent crude falling close to $51 a barrel
Oil prices sank to hit their lowest point in five and a half years on Tuesday as worries over a global supply glut intensified.
Brent crude fell by 3% to below $52 a barrel, as cuts to monthly oil selling prices for European buyers by Saudi Arabia heightened worries about oversupply. US crude was at $48.54, down $1.50, after falling to $48.47, its lowest since April 2009.
Continue reading...Moscow Police Say Another Retired Russian General Commits Suicide by noreply@rferl.org (RFE/RL's Russian Service)
Russian authorities say a former Russian air force general committed suicide in Moscow on January 6 by hanging himself.
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To Save Money, Moscow Putting Lives of People in Chernobyl Zone at Risk by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Paul Goble
Staunton, January 6 – In order to save money, Moscow is using scientifically dubious measures to justify cutting assistance to 31,700 people living in what had been designated as an area of heightened radioactive contamination from the Chernobyl nuclear accident, an action especially cynical given Russian media suggestions that another Ukrainian plant may be at risk.
The Russian government has posted a decree that would cut the number of villages in the radiation exclusion zone within the Russian Federation from 4413 to 2252, an action that has already prompted 11,000 residents in the Usman district of Lipetsk oblast to sign a petition it (regulation.gov.ru/project/20371.html?point=view_project&stage=2&stage_id=14256 and
When the Chernobyl accident happened in 1986, a radioactive cloud covered nine of the 18 districts of Lietsk oblast. The Usman, Gryzin and Dankov districts suffered the most heavily, and officials in Soviet times even removed the top layer of asphalt on roads because of the level of radioactive contamination.
Until 1993, Vladimir Mazo, the head of the Usman district, says, officials monitors the level of radiation, but they have not done so for the last two decades. Instead, they are using mathematical models to predict how much radiation is left, models that are problematic at best given the lack of experience with accidents of this kind.
But what is worse is that Moscow now is making decisions on the basis of supposed declines which are within the margin of error. Thus, Mazo says, according to this method, “the level of contamination of Cesium 137 in Usman district is equal to 1.0 curies per square meter.” If it were 1.001, his region would remain in the zone and its residents would get benefits.
Experts say that one can’t make distinctions that fine, especially on the basis of projections based on data gathered 21 years ago and concerning the long-term impact of radiation which in many cases is only incompletely understood. Mazo has made that case to Russian officials all the way up to Vladimir Putin – without success.
Local people say that children in the area have seriously compromised immune systems, and hospitals report that cancer rates went up 6.4 percent last year alone, a figure that may in part be a reflection of presence there of better diagnostic equipment but that many fear reflects the continuing impact of the 1986 accident.
Marina Boyeva, the chief doctor of the central hospital in the Usman district, says that she is “certain” that “the loss of ‘Chernobyl zone’ status will have a negative impact on the health of children” because they will lose the opportunities for special medical treatment they have had as well as the chance to go to summer camps in the .
District officials say that the government will save no more than 300 million rubles (five million US dollars) but that will mean a decline in the average pay villagers now receive from 15 to 18,000 rubles to 12 to 15,000, a decline that will affect the foods they will be able to afford at the very least.
The officials thought they had a winning argument when they told Moscow that the Chernobyl benefits had boosted the birthrate in their district. Last year, unlike in many Russian regions, “the number of births [in the Usman district] exceeded the number of deaths by 13 percent.”
But despite the Kremlin’s regular statements that it wants to boost the country’s birthrate, especially in Russian areas, and despite its pose as the defender of “the Russian world,” in Usman district of Lipetsk oblast, it is now taking a step which will undercut the first and seriously hurt the latter.
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Turkish PM Denies Bid to Stifle Graft Probeby webdesk@voanews.com (Reuters)
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said graft allegations against four former ministers were part of a "coup attempt," denying on Tuesday accusations the government had put pressure on a parliamentary commission not to send them to trial. The head of the commission, dominated by the ruling AKParty, said some police phone taps of the ex-ministers would be destroyed, a move which would make it more difficult for any subsequent prosecutor to revive the case. "Normally the prosecutor should have done this but becausethey haven't, an investigation is being launched into them. We will be the ones destroying these tapes," commission head Hakki Koylu told Reuters. The commission voted on Monday not to commit the four ex-ministers for trial, a decision the opposition decried as a cover-up. Davutoglu followed the lead of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indismissing the corruption scandal, which erupted in December 2013, as a plot by political enemies. Davutoglu told a weekly parliamentary meeting of the AK Party that it would be against the law for the government to impose a decision on the commission, and cast anti-government protests in 2013 and the graft scandal as part of a wider plot. "It was all, without doubt, a coup attempt and we have stood tall against this," he said. ‘Protector of thieves’ Erdogan blames the scandal on supporters of his former ally, U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The government reacted with a purge of the state apparatus, reassigning thousands of police and hundreds of judges and prosecutors in what the authorities said was a cleansing of the cleric's influence. The scandal swirled around the inner circle of then-prime minister Erdogan and led to the resignation of the ministers of economy, interior and urbanization. European Union Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis lost his post in a subsequent reshuffle. All four have denied wrongdoing. The parliamentary commission was set up last May to decide whether the men's ministerial immunity should be lifted. All nine AK Party MPs were against, and all five opposition members in favor. A final decision will be taken in a full session of parliament, where the AK holds a large majority. "It does not bode well for parliament to be the protector of thieves... We will be mocked by the whole world," said Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the main opposition party. Turkey's Western allies have voiced alarm at creeping authoritarianism. Erdogan has responded by telling European partners to "keep their wisdom to themselves."
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