Author: RT

‘It’s my second life’: Indian officer says coin-filled purse saved his life after protester bullet pierced body armor (PHOTO) A police constable in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh, swept by violent protests against a citizenship law, has said he narrowly escaped a certain death after a bullet passed through his bullet proof vest but was stopped by a coin. Vijender Kumar, 24, has been celebrating his "second" birthday after he came within a hair's breadth of losing her life, having been shot in the chest as protests against the citizenship law descended into violent clashes in the city of Firozabad on Friday. Also on rt.com India lashes out at Malaysia over PM’s ‘ill-informed’ remarks about citizenship bill Protest...

California homelessness ‘at crisis level’ with uptick of %16.4 percent this year – HUD The US has seen a 2.7 percent increase in homeless population this year, and California is leading the way, adding more street homeless population than all other states combined, a new government report has found. The fresh report by the Housing and Urban Development Department released Friday has laid bare the problem of rising homelessness that has been plaguing an array of US states, but none of them has experienced a crisis of such proportions as one of the wealthiest states in the country, California, is now facing. Also on rt.com San Francisco is pulling out all the stops to fight homelessness – except actually making hous...

Trump claims ‘breakthrough’ in trade talks with China, deal to be struck ‘very shortly’ US President Donald Trump has said that Beijing and Washington, locked in a bitter trade dispute, will be inking a trade deal “very shortly,” claiming a breakthrough has been achieved in the recent talks. Trump was speaking at the Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Saturday, as he made the announcement. "We just achieved a breakthrough on the trade deal and we will be signing it very shortly," he said, without providing any additional details as to the terms of the mooted agreement or the timeframe within which it is expected to be signed. Also on rt.com China suspends tariff hike on sele...

Moscow anti-doping lab’s data accessed from outside Russia, former director gave files of unknown origin to WADA – probe Moscow anti-doping lab’s files were remotely altered by its former director, Grigory Rodchenkov, and his unidentified associates from US and German IP addresses, Russian investigators confirmed. Ex-boss of Moscow lab fled to US in November 2015 becoming a star witness and main source of information for World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in its case against Moscow. Earlier in December, WADA introduced harsh sanctions against Russia over the alleged manipulations with the data handed over to it by Russian doping watchdog, RUSADA, as part of its reinstatement process. But the laboratory information management system (LIMS) was accessed ...

CIA torture is ‘snow secret’: Edward Snowden roasts CIA’s feelgood holiday tweet Every now and again the CIA does its best to appear relatable, and every time the agency gets put back in its place. Now, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden hijacked a festive tweet to slam the CIA’s torture practices. “It’s *snow secret* that we love winter,” the clandestine agency tweeted on Saturday, marking the first day of winter in the US. Snowden was acerbic in his response. “It’s *snow secret* that you tortured Gul Rahman for weeks at a black site, then chained him naked to a concrete floor until he died in the near-winter cold,” he tweeted. It's *snow secret* you tortured Gul Rahman for weeks at a black site, then chained him naked to a concrete floo...

Police find no suspicious package at Berlin Christmas market after bomb scare prompts evacuation Police in the German capital of Berlin gave all clear to a Christmas market after two suspicious looking men were arrested at the attempt to flee, sparking evacuation and a search for a "suspcious" package. The market, taking place in Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz, was evacuated on Saturday evening. The police said that visitors left “calmly and prudently,” so officers could comb through the stalls. Two people were taken into custody for acting suspiciously, police reported. The Christmas market was then evacuated out of precaution allegedly after the name of one of the suspects was recorded incorrectly during the questioning, leading police to believe that...

DRAMATIC VIDEO shows cargo train fallen off bridge near historic Harpers Ferry outside Washington, D.C A freight train has derailed as it was crossing the Potomac River near the historic town of Harpers Ferry, with cars falling into the water and damaging the popular Appalachian Trail. The aerial footage from the site of the disaster, which occurred at the iconic Winchester and Potomac Railroad Bridge early on Saturday, showed two carriages overturned in the river and several others hanging from the bridge. #Breaking Video: CSX FREIGHT TRAIN DERAILMENT in #HarpersFerry on the Winchester & Potomac Railroad Bridge @ 3:30AM, NO injuries, locomotive remained on track. Recovery crews are working to secure dangling train cars #BreakingNew...

Pakistani court sentences professor to death for blasphemy An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced a university professsor to death for insulting the Prophet Muhammed. The trial has already seen his defense lawyer shot dead, under the Muslim world’s harshest blasphemy regime. Thirty-three-year-old Junaid Hafeez was arrested in 2013 and charged with making derogatory remarks about the Islamic Prophet Muhammed on social media. Under the country’s harsh blasphemy law, he was sentenced on Saturday to death by hanging. His lawyers claim he was framed by Islamic extremists for his liberal views, and said they plan to appeal the verdict. “There can't be a fair trial in blasphemy cases in Pakistan,” defense lawyer Asad Jamal told Reuters. "We have...

'A snap-shot laser beam!' Alex Ovechkin scores stunning wrist shot as Caps beat Devils 6-3 (VIDEO) Russian hockey superstar Alex Ovechkin celebrated his 900th game played in tandem with Nicklas Backstrom with a stunning strike as the Washington Capitals blew past the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. Backstrom had a big night, netting twice and assisting with two more as he registered the 900th point of his career. But, not to be upstaged, Ovechkin found time to produce a moment of magic of his own. "Ovi" broke down the right and, after receiving the puck via a smart layoff from Backstrom, fired unerringly through the legs of his teammate and high into the top corner of the net. Through the legs, upstairs. Alex Ovechkin's (@ovi8) becom...

NSA has been ‘lying to the courts all along,’ says whistleblower, as judges give warrantless surveillance the thumbs-up The National Security Agency can gather the data of US citizens without a warrant - as long as it gathers this data by mistake, a court has ruled. However, this suits the agency just fine, whistleblower William Binney told RT. The NSA is permitted to gather data on US citizens abroad, or “foreign connected” Americans at home. The dragnet surveillance operation necessary to gather this information also sucks up data on millions of Americans with no foreign contacts, a process critics say is unconstitutional. //www.youtube.com/embed/-WgSiLkcLZs On Wednesday, the 2nd Court of Appeals in N...