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Kiev says “no extreme right organizations in Ukraine”
There are no officially registered far-right organizations in Ukraine, the security service head said. Foreign observers have repeatedly pointed out that ultra-right extremists are actively participating in Kiev's military operation in the east. “We have no information available about any kind of radical far-right parties, organizations or groups,” the head of the Central Investigation Depa [...]
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TakeUsWithYouScotland: 1000s in N. England sign petition to join ‘future independent Scotland’
Over 35,000 people from northern England have signed a petition, asking to join future independent Scotland and sever from London. It says ‘the northerners’ have more bonds with Scotland than with “the ideologies of the London-centric south.” “The deliberations in Westminster are becoming increasingly irrelevant to the north of England,” says an online petition to the UK Government [...]
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Monsanto cuts 12% of its workforce to save money amid profit drop
Falling commodity prices have sowed the seeds of destruction for 2,600 employees of agricultural giant Monsanto. The world’s top seed supplier is cutting 12 percent of its workforce to save money in the face of profit losses. Monsanto Co.’s job cuts will coincide with a reorganization of its research and development activities. [...]
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‘Obama is a lame duck’: Gorbachev comments after G20
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has called the US president a 'lame duck.' Commenting on the recent G20 summit in Australia, Gorbachev said he was disappointed in Obama and that he 'thought better' of the American leader. "Obama is a lame duck. One must not finish the job in such a mediocre way. He just decided to throw accusations around. He will be of no avail any more, unfortunatel [...]
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British couple stranded in NYC with £130,000 medical bill, son born prematurely
A British couple have been left stranded in New York City for the next three months with a £130,000 ($200,000) medical bill after their son was born 11 weeks earlier than expected. Katie Amos, 30, and her fiancée Lee Johnston, 29, were not prepared for their son Dax to be born at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan during a Christmas trip to the city. The couple had planned the trip as a last ho [...]
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“Rather be in prison than work for fascists” – Crimean Prosecutor Poklonskaya
The chief prosecutor of Russia's Crimean Republic says Ukrainian law enforcers threatened her with prison and death for accepting the post, but failed to make her fear them. “Agents from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office called me and threatened me, said that they would throw me in prison, that they would kill me, tear me into pieces,” Natalya Poklonskaya told TASS in an interview [...]
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We are not alone? NASA’€™s Kepler telescope finds first planet similar to Earth
NASA scientists have found the first planet outside of the solar system that could be similar to Earth and capable of sustaining life. Unlike other similarly sized planets, the newly-discovered one lies in a “habitable zone” near a sun-like star. While looking for possibly hospitable planets outside the solar system, the Kepler telescope has recently found a planet some 1,400 light years [...]
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Native peoples’ group seeks end to ‘US occupation’ of Alaska, Hawaii
A human rights group speaking in the name of indigenous populations of Alaska and Hawaii seek UN intervention to organize self-determination referenda in the US states, saying Washington has illegally occupied it since 1959. The group is to raise the issue during next week’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, reports TASS. [...]
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Mysterious crop patterns appear near Stonehenge (VIDEO)
Drone footage has revealed two elaborate new crop patterns in the English county of Wiltshire, home of the iconic Stonehenge circle. The images were captured by MrGro, a website that publishes drone videos of the mysterious shapes. Since the 1960s, the phenomena have been cited as evidence of the existence of extra-terrestrials, but sightings of irregular crop patterns date back to as early as [...]
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Florida congressman barred from seeing classified sections of 9/11 inquiry – report
A request by US Rep. Alan Grayson to access a portion of a 2002 congressional report on the September 11, 2001 attacks was denied by the House Intelligence Committee based on political reasons, the Florida Democrat said. Grayson’s request pertains to 28 pages of Congress’ Joint Inquiry that were ordered to be redacted by then-President George W. Bush. The congressman said his search stemmed [...]
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Debt commitment or “bribe”? Moscow, Kiev in war of words over $3bn loan
Moscow is expecting Kiev to clarify whether the latter is going to honor Ukraine's international commitments made by the previous authorities, including the $3 billion debt to Russia, after President Poroshenko dubbed it a "bribe" to Viktor Yanukovich. “In the first place, we are expecting some kind of explanations on whether the current Ukrainian authorities are planning to reject their stat [...]
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Patients ‘dying of hunger & cold’: WHO raises alarm over healthcare in Ukraine
The lack of doctors and medicines in the eastern Ukrainian conflict zone is putting lives at risk says a new World Health Organization report, which describes the situation on the ground as "not just a humanitarian crisis." “No child has been vaccinated in the areas affected by conflict since September 2014, sending polio vaccine coverage down to less than 30-40 percent,” the WHO report rea [...]
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IMF loan to Ukraine is “involuntary servitude” – Central Bank ex-head
The $17.5 billion loan approved by the IMF won't save Ukraine from hopeless poverty; instead, it will inflict a blow on the country's population already living on the breadline, said the ex-head of the National Bank of Ukraine Sergei Arbuzov. None of the options proposed by the IMF would improve the economy, said Arbuzov to Izvestia, adding that the biggest mistake made by the government was wo [...]
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“Slave labor” Migrants building Guggenheim, Louvre in UAE “treated like battery hens”
An International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has slammed conditions faced by migrant workers building Abu Dhabi's $27-billion Saadiyat Island cultural hub, set to feature new branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim museums. [...]
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Russia isn’t considering fully lifting food embargo  – Deputy PM
Russia is not considering completely lifting the food embargo on products from the West, says Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich. "We do not consider lifting the embargo currently in the broadest sense of the word, there are some special orders about individual products or countries,” said Dvorkovich. “These issues are being considered, but no final position has been formed so far." [...]
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“Hold Israel accountable for occupation,” eminent former European officials urge EU
A group of prominent former European officials have called on the EU foreign chief to review the bloc's policy towards the Palestinian issue and find an effective way to hold Israel accountable for its actions in the occupied territories. In their four-page letter to Federica Mogherini, the former top brass (which includes ex-foreign and prime ministers of France, Spain and Sweden, to name just [...]
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Kiev ordered deployment of “illegal & inhumane” anti-personnel mines – ex-Ukrainian officer
Kiev has been deploying anti-personnel mines in Donbass in breach of Ukraine’s own laws as well as international treaties, claims a former high-ranking Ukrainian officer and chief of the engineering service, who refused to obey the “illegal” and “inhumane” order. In February 2014 Vadim Yatsulyak served as chief of the engineering service of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, before bei [...]
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‘The Terrorists R Us.’ The Islamic State ‘Big Lie’
Under the auspices of the UN Security Council, with president Obama chairing the session, the US has called upon the international community to adopt strong measures, at national and international levels, to curtail the recruitment of IS fighters. What is not mentioned in the media reports is that the heads of State and heads of government who have endorsed America’s campaign against the Isla [...]
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UK child abuse: It’s not the evidence, but who you are that matters
The decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to bring charges against the wealthy peer and establishment insider Lord Greville Janner in connection with allegations of child abuse has been met with outrage among the general public and police. Janner, now 86, has been investigated by the police four times in the last 25 years. More than a dozen people came forward to say that they had been [...]
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US special operations forces deployed to 135 countries in 2015 – report
The Pentagon's most elite troops have been dispatched to nearly 70% of the world's countries in 2015, according to a report. It says US soldiers are "practicing night raids or sometimes conducting them for real... sometimes actually gunning down enemies from afar." The US special operations soldiers are carrying out missions in up to 90 nations every day, TomDispatch reported, citing a spokesma [...]
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Jetpack power: Stunning 4K video of Jetmen soaring above Dubai at 120mph
A breathtaking video has been shot over Dubai, as 'Jetman' Yves Rossy and his partner soared into the skies using jet-powered wings that can accelerate up to 200kph (124mph). On Monday, the legendary aviation enthusiast Rossy introduced his protégé, 31-year-old skydiver and base jumper Vince Reffet. [...]
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Ukraine plans to seize Russian foreign property to compensate  for “lost” Crimea
Kiev will nationalize Russian overseas property as compensation for the losses over Crimea's reunification with Russia, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Justice Natalia Sevostyanova said. The decision is now up to the European Court of Human Rights. Ukraine will be able to use this effective instrument if the European Court of Human Rights rules in favor of Kiev, Sevostyanova told “Channel 5,” [...]
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