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PACE ratifies full credentials of Russian delegation, rejecting five-nation challenge The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has once again confirmed that Russia's delegation enjoys full rights within the international body, after they were challenged by five member nations, led by Lithuania. PACE delegates overwhelmingly voted to confirm Russia's credentials on Wednesday: 96 of them supported the move, with 44 votes against it and seven abstentions. A challenge on "substantial grounds" was raised earlier this week by Lithuanian delegate Emanuelis Zingeris, who claimed that Moscow supposedly does not comply with the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. Other issues were raised as well, related to Crimea and ability of c...

WATCH: Cameras go inside Fukushima nuclear power plant to show cleanup progress since 2011 tsunami damage Cameras were invited into the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan to show the progress made since the seaside facility saw three nuclear reactors melt in 2011 due to the effects of a tsunami caused by a magnitude 9 earthquake. Video from the plant shows damage is still clearly in place and that the cleanup effort is ongoing.  //www.youtube.com/embed/vKD4k3Xv7Ns The buildup of contaminated water at the site can be seen, still a problem years after the disaster — and could be a problem for decades to come according to reports. Giant tanks are used at the site to store contaminated water.  Reuters r...

Anti-Semitism is at record low in Russia – chief rabbi The Jewish community is feeling comfortable in Russia with anti-Semitic sentiments dropping to record low, the country’s chief rabbi said, attributing the change to both government efforts and a shift in public opinion. Speaking at the 7th convention of the Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC) that kicked  off in Moscow on Tuesday, Rabbi Berel Lazar noted that the Russian the society has become more tolerant over the past two decades. Also on rt.com Newly released PHOTOS of top Nazi officer give rare glimpse of life inside Sobibor death camp “Now, thank God, anti-Semitism in Russia is at its lowest level. Recently, Holocaust has been commemorated in J...

Russia will relax tourist visa rules, allowing stays of up to 6 months & simplified applications – Izvestia Russia has long been known for having a formidable visa process, especially for Western visitors. But since the 2018 FIFA World Cup, there's been a slow liberalization. Now Moscow daily Izvestia reports cross-party parliamentary support for allowing foreigners to stay for six months on a single tourist visa, as well as making acquiring one a lot easier, by only asking for a hotel reservation. At present, vacations are capped at 30 days and require an invitation. A separate category for business travelers provides for a stay of up to 90 days, within a six month period. But these permits are often expensive and involve a cumbersome applicati...

‘To protect the movement’: Greta Thunberg wants to trademark her name, set up a foundation Teenage Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg says she’s had it with ‘impostors’ and marketers, and is moving to trademark her own name as well as that of her movement – purely for noble and altruistic purposes, of course. Thunberg announced the move to in an Instagram post on Wednesday, urging her 500,000-plus followers to be “extremely suspicious” if someone pretending to be her contacts them, as many impersonators and frauds have tried using her name “in order to communicate with high profile people, politicians, media, artists etc.” Also on rt.com Russian pranksters strike again: Fake Greta Thunberg convinces eager US ...

Trump signs USMCA trade deal predicted to create over half a million new US jobs US President Donald Trump has signed the USMCA trade deal with Mexico and Canada into law, fulfilling a campaign promise to overhaul NAFTA, which proved disastrous to American manufacturing after its passage 16 years ago. The signing on Wednesday capped off a lengthy legislative journey for a deal the three countries drafted over a year ago and sent it off to Canada for final approval. Mexico signed the deal in June. President Trump signs #USMCA Trade Agreement into law.Full video here: https://t.co/rIYosB3QjW pic.twitter.com/nBWABmZUQh— CSPAN (@cspan) January 29, 2020 https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The USMCA passed the Senate by an overwhelm...

'People are dying': UFC strawweight champ Zhang Weili fires back at Joanna Jedrzejczyk over coronavirus joke on Instagram Joanna Jedrzejczyk's decision to post a message making light of the rapidly developing Chinese coronavirus crisis was met with an angry response from her upcoming opponent, Chinese UFC strawweight champion Zhang Weili. The pair are set to face off in the co-main event of UFC 248 in Las Vegas on March 7, and it seems a poorly-chosen attempt at humor has backfired spectacularly. In a reference to the coronavirus, Jedrzejczyk posted an edited version of a UFC fight poster to her Instagram story, with herself wearing a gas mask while standing behind Zhang. After receiving some backlash from fans, she subsequently deleted the post fro...

WATCH: Man escapes high-rise LA apartment inferno by climbing onto window ledge A major blaze broke out on Wednesday morning in a high-rise building in west LA, with at least one person desperately scaling the building to escape the growing flames. Firefighters below rushed in with ladders to help him down. The fire broke out on the sixth floor of a 25-story apartment building at the Barrington Plaza complex, before spreading quickly to other floors above and below. Eyewitness footage shared to social media showed one particularly dramatic rescue, when one man scaled the side of the building as thick smoke poured out of the window he had escaped through. Firefighters quickly raised a ladder below him as he clung onto a window ledge, and carefully gu...

No Summer Olympics for Russian athletes? RUSAF faces expulsion from World Athletics The Russian athletics team may be banned from its second summer Olympics running after the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) recommended imposing severe sanctions on the Russian Athletics Federation (RUSAF). The AIU Board was not satisfied with explanations provided by RUSAF over alleged manipulation and document falsification in connection with the doping case of silver high-jumper Daniil Lysenko. READ MORE: ‘What did you do to protect us?’ High jump world champion Lasitskene lashes out at Russian sport bosses In a statement published on Wednesday, the AIU said the Federation failed to present “any material or evidence that [the board] contends answers the AIU’s case a...

Ex-president Poroshenko investigated in Ukraine over embezzlement, allegedly stealing US aid Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau has opened a probe against former president, Petro Poroshenko, who is suspected of abuse of power, embezzlement “on a grand scale” and allegedly stealing US aid funds. The case against the ex-president was opened following a complaint by a group of Ukrainian MPs and the nation’s High Anti-Corruption Court demanding the authorities investigate embezzlement and misappropriation of the foreign financial aid at the time of Poroshenko’s term in office, a Ukrainian MP Renat Kuzmin said in a Facebook post. Kuzmin, a member of the Opposition Platform – For Live party, also published the anti-corruption bu...