VIDEO — ‘Foreign pressure on Ukraine will only make matters worse’
RT
Jan 23, 2014
The center of Kiev has become something of a battlefield over the past few days. This is Independence Square, known as Maidan, which is the main hub of the protests – that’s where the opposition camp is. But some of the most-fierce clashes on Wednesday broke out on this nearby street. Tires were set alight there – and you just heard RT’s Peter Oliver reporting from the scene. Two people were killed – both reportedly with bullet wounds. The authorities, however, say police on the streets do not have live ammunition. And there do appear to have been vigilantes with firearms among the protesters, as you can see in this picture. Let’s talk more on what’s happening in Ukraine, with Daniel McAdams – head of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
[related video: Ukraine govt ready to resign, protests spread across country]
All shrines of Ma’loula either destroyed or desecrated
Ma’loula, January 13, 2014
A radical Jabhat al-Nusra “opposition” group, which occupied the small Christian town of Ma’loula in Syria in the last months of 2013, desecrated absolutely all shrines of the town, reports al Hadas portal with the reference to materials of the al Akhbar Lebanese newspaper.
According to evidence of eyewitnesses who fled from Ma’loula during the latest warfare in the region, members of al Nusra tried to change the religious and architectural-historical look of the ancient Christian town entirely: completely destroying some churches, the militants brought down all bells from other ones. The fate of two other world-famous monuments of Ma’loula was no less tragic: extremists blew up the statue of Christ the Savior, which had stood at the entrance of St. Thecla Convent, as well as the statue of the Most Holy Virgin Mary, which had stood close to the Safir hotel, the latter of which served as the main shelter for Takfirists for many months.
Nevertheless, many artifacts that were stolen from the town have survived, becoming smuggled goods. According to the information received by al Akhbar from reliable sources, the al Nusra militants are currently the most active dealers of black market antiques of the Middle East. Local smugglers are helping with “exporting” of the Ma’loula’s antiquities abroad, transporting Christian monuments to many European countries—mainly to Italy and Turkey. It was reported that a great number of ancient icons, (icon) settings, crosses, reliquaries, and statues have already been taken out from Syria and sent abroad.
Syria and the Geneva 2 charade
Pepe Escobar is the roving correspondent for Asia Times/Hong Kong, an analyst for RT and TomDispatch, and a frequent contributor to websites and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia.
RT
Jan 22, 2014
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon (C) opens the so-called Geneva II peace talks next to UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi (L) on January 22, 2014 in Montreux. (AFP Photo)
In the summertime, people flock to Montreux, Switzerland, to follow the jazz festival. This week, though, the ‘performance’ is by a positively un-swinging lot, part of the (in theory) very serious Geneva 2 conference on Syria.
What is Geneva 2 for? It has nothing to do with ‘peace’. It won’t yield an international deal to end the Syrian tragedy. The horrible war facts on the ground will remain facts, and horrible; many perpetrators won’t be gathering in Montreux. Syrian civil society has not even been invited.
And then the whole charade degenerated into pitiful parody even before it started.
This past Sunday, it seemed that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had decided to spring out of his trademark vegetable slumber, inviting Iran to Geneva 2. The invitation lasted less than 24 hours; after the requisite ‘pressure’ by Washington – instigated by those sterling democrats of the House of Saud – it was duly rescinded.
Thus we had Ban Ki-moon parroting the US State Department, according to which Tehran had not agreed to the principles of the Geneva 1 communiqué, which called for a sustained cessation of armed violence. Iranian diplomats strongly begged to differ, stressing how Tehran understands that the basis of the talks is the full implementation of the previous, June 2012 conference, even if Iran was not part of it.
Ban Ki-moon also invited the Holy See, as well as Australia, Luxembourg, Mexico and the Republic of Korea, among others, to Montreux; as if these actors had any clue about what’s going on in Syria.
But the apex of the farce is that Iran cannot go, while Saudi Arabia and Qatar – who continue to weaponize every Syrian ‘rebel’ in sight, from young adrenaline seekers to Western-supported Takfiris and beheaders – can. And will.
VIDEO — Angry Riots: Ukrainians set up catapult to fire at police
RT
Jan 20, 2014
Anti-government protesters in Kiev have set up an improvised catapult, looking to fire stones and firecrackers at police cordons. Ukraine’s Interior Ministry has accused the opposition of arming aggressive protesters with dangerous weapons. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/8rkxg6
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
[related video: War zone Kiev: City center ravaged as anti-govt standoff continues]
VIDEO — Ukraine Pandemonium: Kiev ablaze as protest rages through night
RT
Jan 19, 2014
COURTESY: RT’s RUPTLY video agency, NO RE-UPLOAD, NO REUSE – FOR LICENSING, PLEASE, CONTACT http://ruptly.tv
Tens of thousands of protesters armed with sticks, flares and Molotov cocktails clashed with security forces in Kiev on Sunday, with protesters setting fire to the ticket booth at local football team Dynamo Kiev’s iconic Olimpiiskiy National Sports Complex. Fires also raged close to the stadium, including a bus set alight by the entrance. READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/60azcj
VIDEO — Chemical Claims: MIT study finds Syrian regime not behind rocket attacks
RT
Jan 18, 2014
The U.S. conclusion that a chemical attack near Damascus in August was carried out by the government has been challenged by a team of highly respected experts. Washington immediately blamed President Assad, but a new report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the rocket couldn’t have been fired from government-controlled areas. RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky looked into the MIT study, let’s get more details from him.
Clashes in Kiev as thousands rally to defy new protest laws
RT
Jan 19, 2014
Ukrainian protesters clashed with police in central Kiev after at least 10,000 people took to Independence Square for an anti-government demonstration. Police retaliation was prompted by an attempt to storm the government quarter.
What started as a peaceful demonstration on the city’s Independence Square, or Maidan, with heated anti-government slogans being shouted and the announcement that the opposition was creating a “people’s assembly,” turned into violent clashes with the police later Sunday.
Protesters wearing orange helmets and wielding sticks and flares clashed with cordons of security forces surrounding government buildings and attempted to turn over a police bus.
Live feeds showed riot police retaliating by throwing flash grenades from behind the cordon, as Twitter exploded with reports of Berkut special police forces readying to forcefully disperse the crowd and water cannon approaching the area. While such reports are not uncommon during mass protests in Kiev, they often prove to be a part of false flag alarms.
Some Twitter users and Ukrainian opposition figures decried the most aggressive protesters as “provocateurs” and called them to stop provoking the police.
16:05 Продолжение атаки: в Беркут кидают фаера #євромайдан pic.twitter.com/W8iSaAcMQX
— Майнейм Изфокус (@F0kusTw) January 19, 2014
Удары с двух сторон. pic.twitter.com/fsAlXxqNZA
— ЄВРОМАЙДАН (@euromaidan) January 19, 2014
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