Politics

Afghan, US officials sign long-awaited pact to ensure troops stay past 2014
The new President of Afghanistan Ghani Ahmadzai has paved the way for US troops to stay in the country. He has signed a security deal with the US, which will see just under 10,000 American soldiers present, to help train and assist Afghan forces. National security adviser Hanif Atmar and U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham signed the bilateral security agreement in a televised ceremony at the pres [...]
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Countdown to ISIS: 7 ways that 4 US presidents failed in Iraq
Since 1990, the people of Iraq have sustained some level of US military aggression by four successive US presidential administrations. Yet they failed to find WMDs much like they failed to preclude the rise of the Islamic State. The Obama administration, while channeling weapons to anti-government Syrian rebels, many with connections to terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, [...]
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‘Modi’s India center of multipolar world – this threatens US hegemony’
Washington's hegemonic position is being threatened by a new global movement that is fast becoming reality, with the BRICS group being a very important component of creating a truly multipolar world, Don DeBar, of CPR News, told RT. On Sept. 26, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the US for his first official visit after a nine-year visa ban over allegations that he failed to stop a [...]
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ISIS+ Al-Nusra Front? Islamists reportedly join forces, new threat against West issued
Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front has issued a new threatening audio message featuring its leader warning the West "will pay the heaviest price" for its actions. The Syrian group is reportedly now joining up with the estranged Islamic State militants. The leader of Syria’s most prominent terrorist group, Abu Mohamad al-Golani, in denouncing the US-led air strike campaign, has urged Westerners ev [...]
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“Historic victory”: Far-right National Front celebrates first French Senate seats
The French National Front party has secured a historic victory, grabbing two seats in the upper house of parliament for the first time, as the center-left government coalition loses its majority in the chamber and President Hollande's popularity sinks. Half of the Senate's 348 seats were up for grabs on Sunday by an electoral college of 87,000 voters of city councilors and local officials. [...]
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Ron Paul: Obama’s bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria ‘immoral and illegal’
Ron Paul, America's most outspoken libertarian and anti-mainstream politician, has slammed US military strikes in Syria and Iraq. Not known for mincing his words or flip-flopping, Paul told RT’s Abby Martin that President Obama’s decision to use military force in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State [IS], without approval from the UN or the US Congress, was “immoral and illegal” und [...]
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Germany unable to fulfill ‘some’ NATO obligations – MoD
Berlin would not currently be able to keep its defense promises to its NATO allies, Germany's defense minister Ursula von der Leyen told Bild am Sonntag. “With our airborne systems we are currently below the target figures announced one year ago, defining what we would want to make available to NATO within 180 days in the case of an emergency,” von der Leyen stated. [...]
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Lavrov: High time to rearm, Moscow’s military upgrade long overdue
Russia's investment in its military is not a sign of a looming new arms race but rather a long-overdue modernization, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RT and the VGTRK media corporation. “I don’t think we are on the verge of a new arms race. At least, Russia definitely won’t be part of it,” the minister said. “In our case, it’s just that the time has come for [...]
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Iraq War 3.0: When will we ever learn?
As the British parliament votes for yet another catastrophic war in the Middle East, it feels like all of the lessons that were apparently never learned after the disastrous occupations of Iraq, and Afghanistan, are set to be repeated. Recalling parliament over the crisis in Iraq, Prime Minister David Cameron stated during Friday’s debate that the “mission” could be extended to include ai [...]
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Monsanto GMO wheat contamination discovered in Montana
Monsanto’s experimental genetically modified wheat has been discovered growing in the second US field in Montana, about a year after the discovery of the company’s unapproved crop growing in Oregon disrupted US wheat exports. The plants were discovered at a test site at Montana State University, where back in 2000-2003 Monsanto was conducting field trials of its wheat, genetically modified [...]
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Catalonia president orders independence referendum on Nov. 9
The president of Catalonia, Artur Mas, has signed a decree calling an independence referendum for Nov. 9. The secessionist drive of the Spanish region has been rebuked by Madrid, which vowed to block the vote. Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has called a government meeting Monday that is expected to provide a legal response to Barcelona’s announcement. Madrid plans to challenge the vote [...]
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Coalition of the Clueless
This US-engineered Coalition is in for some surprises. With few common goals, it has thrust itself into battle against the most determined players in the region and beyond. The airwaves are still heaving with spin two days after US airstrikes against Syria. Undoubtedly the attacks were timed to occur on the eve of the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations, so ‘Coalition’ p [...]
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“China won’t support sanctions against Moscow”
China will never support any sanctions against Russia and will never join them, Valentina Matviyenko, speaker of the Russian parliament's upper house said, citing Chinese President Xi Jinping, with whom she met on Tuesday. Both Russia and China believe the sanctions are illegal, ineffective and counterproductive, according to Matviyenko. They are nothing but an attempt “to exert pressure on s [...]
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War and Peace (& Economic Terror): 9 highlights from the 69th UNGA
Emotions are running high at the 69th UN General Assembly, with Islamic State, "economic terrorists" and US spying firmly in the firing line. RT has listened to all the speeches (so you don't have to) to bring you the best quotes of the week so far. The UN chief made an impassioned plea against violence, painting an alarming picture of current global crises, saying that warmongers are sabotagin [...]
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No law on special status for Ukraine’s Donetsk & Lugansk regions – Poroshenko
There is no draft law on creating a special status for the restive regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko said, adding that Ukraine is only to be decentralized. “There will be no law on the special status of the Donbass region,” Poroshenko said on Thursday, speaking at a press conference in Kiev. [...]
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Denver students stage mass walk-out over US history “censorship”
Hundreds of Denver-area high school students walked out their classrooms in a mass protest against what they call an attempt to censor their history curriculum by refocusing it on topics that promote citizenship, patriotism and obedience. Students at six Denver-area highs schools walked out their classrooms en masse, protesting a plan by the conservative-majority Jefferson County school board t [...]
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Overseas Americans continue to give up citizenship as banks refuse to deal with US tax returns
Thousands of Americans living overseas continue to give up their citizenship as foreign banks turn them away over the burden of completing increasingly expensive and complicated tax returns required by a controversial new tax law. More than 1,500 Americans have renounced their citizenship in so far 2014, the Guardian reports. [...]
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“Don’t bomb Iraq & Syria!” Stop the War to protest at Downing Street
Anti-war activists have called an emergency protest outside Downing Street on Thursday evening, as Prime Minister David Cameron says the UK is ready to "play its part" in airstrikes on ISIS targets in Iraq. Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, Cameron called Islamic State formerly known as ISIS or ISIL) an “evil against which the whole world must unite”. [...]
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Russia tops ISIS threat, Ebola worst of all? Lavrov puzzled with Obama’s UN speech
Following the US President's speech at the UN, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov was puzzled with Barack Obama's ranking of international threats: deadly Ebola virus top, followed by so-called Russian aggression and ISIS in Syria and Iraq only third? Gathered at the UN headquarters in New York, the world leaders attending the 69th General Assembly heard Barack Obama highlighting the three most significa [...]
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Thousands demand vote recount in Scottish – indyref
More than 90,000 people have signed an online petition calling for last weeks’ Scottish Independence vote to be recounted, backing accusations that the referendum was marred by vote-rigging. “We the undersigned demand a re-vote of the Scottish referendum, counted by impartial international parties,” the petition reads. [...]
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“No Muslim organization supports ISIS, but US & UK do”
It was the West that armed and financed ISIS and it is “outrageous” to blame Muslims for supporting extremists and close their bank accounts when they’ve done nothing wrong, Massoud Shadjareh from the Islamic Human Rights Commission, told RT. Earlier in September, some US banks closed dozens of accounts without any explanation. Letters were sent to business owners, nonprofits, and student [...]
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Scots were tricked into voting “No” – Salmond
London politicians gulled Scottish voters out of independence by making a false "vow" to grant Glasgow extra powers, First Minister Alex Salmond has said. He also raised the prospect of another referendum, saying the break-up is inevitable. Alex Salmond, leader of the 'Yes' campaign and the outgoing head of the Scottish National Party (SNP), told the BBC's Sunday Politics program that the UK go [...]
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