Author: RT

UFC 244: 'Shy guy' Derrick Lewis targets big win over Blagoy Ivanov at Madison Square Garden (VIDEO) UFC heavyweight star Derrick Lewis returns to the octagon at UFC 244 on Saturday night and he says he's feeling as relaxed as he's ever felt ahead of his bout at Madison Square Garden this weekend. Lewis, known to his legion of fans as "The Black Beast" takes on teak-tough Bulgarian contender Blagoy Ivanov in New York knowing that a crowd-pleasing finish could push him one big step closer to a shot at the heavyweight title sometime in 2020. And, speaking to RT Sport during media day, the Texan heavyweight says he's in great shape heading into the contest. "I'm feeling rejuvenated, I'm feeling ready to go, really," he said. "I'm very happy. I haven't ...

MI5 given slap down for suspending probe into terrorist ringleader in run-up to London Bridge attack MI5’s decision to suspend investigations into the ringleader of the 2017 London Bridge terrorist attack, which saw eight people killed, in the lead-up to the atrocity is of “legitimate public concern,” the chief coroner has said. A report published on Friday by Mark Lucraft QC singled out the suspension of key MI5 investigations into Khuram Butt for heavy criticism. Also on rt.com Armed police acted ‘lawfully’ in shooting London Bridge terrorists dead The UK’s domestic counter-intelligence security agency had been investigating Butt since 2015 over concerns that he was planning an attack, but the probe was s...

North Korea confirms firing ‘super-large multiple rocket launchers’ Two short-range projectiles fired into the Sea of Japan on Thursday were the result of a successful test of multiple rocket launchers, North Korea has revealed. The army tested “super-large multiple rocket launchers,” according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). The test’s success proved the capability of the “continuous-fire system” to “totally destroy” a group of enemy targets. Tokyo claimed on Thursday that the projectiles, launched in the afternoon local time, were most likely ballistic missiles. The test comes weeks after North Korea blamed the US for derailing the latest bilateral talks by employing an “old viewpoint and attitude” towards the country. Pyongyan...

Too expensive? Serena Williams’ ,000 smashed Wimbledon racket fails to sell at auction A tennis racket that US tennis star Serena Williams smashed in fury on the grass of the All England Club in 2005 did not sell at auction at Los Angeles auction on Thursday after buyers were put off by the $8,000 starting price. No one at the auction bid on the racket that the American tennis icon used in the first round of the 2005 Wimbledon against her compatriot Angela Haynes. READ MORE: ‘Her shorts couldn’t be any shorter’: Serena Williams’ US Open outfit sends tennis world into frenzy Williams lost her temper after dropping the first set 6-7 and mercilessly smashed her Wilson racket on the grass. She later signed it and presented to a fan in the stands.William...

US declares ‘resounding victory’ over India in WTO export subsidies dispute The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that some $7 billion in Indian export subsidies violate trade rules and should be halted, upholding an American complaint filed last year and prompting US officials to declare victory. In its decision the WTO panel “recommended that India withdraw the prohibited subsidies” and tax breaks for certain favored exporters within 90, 120 and 180 days, depending on the type of subsidy. While the panel rejected aspects of the American complaint, the Office of the US Trade Representative nonetheless called it a win, celebrating the move as a “resounding victory for the United States” which will help create a “level playing field” in global...

Weapons of mass construction? US sanctions Iran’s ‘terrorist-controlled’ building sector & ominous ‘strategic materials’ supply The US has slapped new sanctions on Iran’s construction industry, targeting a number of “strategic” materials – like steel tubes and foil – and making sure the MSM amplify their vague hints of nuclear weapons and terrorism links. The State Department announced the new penalties on Thursday, stating Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) – blatantly branded a terrorist group by Washington earlier this year – controls the country’s entire construction sector. One might think that the State Department deliberately refrained from listing those “strategic materials”  in its initial announcement, while implying heavil...

CIA-backed paramilitary ‘death squads’ guilty of war crimes in Afghanistan – HRW With aid and training from the CIA, Afghan paramilitary forces have carried out a spree of war crimes and other “grave” abuses against civilians – including torture and executions – an investigation by Human Rights Watch found. Interviewing eyewitnesses, US special operators, and personnel in the Afghan military, the NGO documented over a dozen cases of “serious abuses” by US-backed forces between late 2017 and 2019, including “extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, indiscriminate airstrikes, attacks on medical facilities, and other violations of ... the laws of war.” The bulk of the abuses occurred during nighttime “kill or capture” raids, which US milit...

US concerns over Nord Stream 2 are about fear of losing leverage, not welfare of Europe As the Nord Stream 2 pipeline looms closer to completion, its panicked critics claim it will harm Ukraine and increase the EU's energy dependence on Russia – which are, in fact, mutually exclusive arguments. After years of delays, on Wednesday Denmark finally gave the approval for building a section of the pipeline inside its exclusive economic zone off the shore of Bornholm.  With the receiving terminal in Germany well underway, this paves the way for the pipeline’s completion by next year, only slightly behind schedule. “This is a geopolitical issue, this strengthens Russia and weakens Europe,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a press conference w...

‘Americans will RESPAWN al-Baghdadi’: Assad casts doubt on ISIS leader’s death, draws parallels with Bin Laden’s killing Take any words from US politicians with a grain of salt, Syria’s Bashar Assad has urged, as he cast doubt on the story of the Islamic State leader being killed in US a raid, and compared it to the shady killing of Osama Bin Laden. The widely publicized US special forces raid that allegedly killed Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorist group, left more questions than answers and it should not be taken at the face value, the Syrian President cautioned, during a lengthy interview with state media on Thursday. READ MORE: ‘He died like a dog, like a coward!’ Trump describes GRAPHIC deat...

Starbucks fired manager ‘because she was white,’ lawsuit claims in wake of infamous Philadelphia store arrest of 2 black men A former regional manager has sued Starbucks for racial discrimination, claiming she was fired because she was white after two black men were arrested for “trespassing” at a Philadelphia location she oversaw. Shannon Phillips, a 13-year Starbucks employee, has sued the chain, alleging she was fired for being white after video of a seemingly racially-biased arrest at one of the stores she managed went viral and triggered mass outrage against the coffee behemoth. If she was not white, Phillips charged in the suit filed in the US District Court of New Jersey earlier this week, she would still have her job, having received positiv...