Global News Post: Europe

Friends of Syria Group ‘Encourages Extremists’ - Moscow

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></span></st1:city><span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) -
A resolution adopted by the Friends of Syria Group in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city></st1:place> on Thursday encourages extremists there to
seize power by force, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich
said on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">US, EU and Arab
officials who met in Rome on Thursday pledged more assistance to the Syrian
opposition fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, recognizing the
National Coalition as the sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“There is a
general understanding within the international community that there is no
military solution to the Syrian crisis,” Lukashevich said in a statement posted
on the ministry’s website.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“Meanwhile,
judging by incoming reports, the decisions made in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city></st1:place>, as well as the statements that were
made there, both in letter and in spirit encourage extremists to seize power by
force, regardless of the inevitable suffering of ordinary Syrians.” He did not
elaborate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Rome</st1:city></st1:place> statement praised the
opposition National Coalition for its reform efforts, urged Assad's regime to
end “indiscriminate bombardments against populated areas,” and deplored “the
unabated arms supply to the regime by third countries.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place>
pledged $60 million in “non-lethal” assistance for the Syrian political
opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Secretary of
State John Kerry said on Thursday the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region></st1:place> would send the Syrian opposition
an additional $60 million in non-lethal aid, but still refuses to supply the
weapons and sophisticated military supplies the rebels have said they need.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday <st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city>’s
position on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>
stems from its concern for the Syrian people, and not the fate of President
Bashar al-Assad.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The <st1:country-region w:st="on">United States</st1:country-region> has called for Assad to step down,
but <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>
says it is concerned that the Syrian president’s forced departure would make
the conflict worse.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Russian Deputy
Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said last Tuesday foreign military supplies to
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s
armed opposition have been growing. He reiterated <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>’s
official position that <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city>
will not carry out fresh arms deliveries to the Syrian government, but is only
supplying arms and military equipment under contracts signed before the civil
war, which has claimed some 70,000 lives according to the latest UN estimates.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-style-span"><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Last Monday,
Lavrov denied <st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city> had tried to smuggle arms
components into <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region> via <st1:country-region w:st="on">Finland</st1:country-region>, and said there are no Russian troops in
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>
apart from several dozen technical staff at the Tartus naval support facility. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>’s state-run arms dealer Rosoboronexport
said on Wednesday it is supplying air-defense missile systems and maintenance
and servicing equipment to <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>,
but not combat aircraft. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Friends of Syria Group ‘Encourages Extremists’ - Moscow

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - A resolution adopted by the Friends of Syria Group in Rome on Thursday encourages extremists there to seize po...

Russia Invites Syrian Opposition for Talks

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-QNA) -- <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region> has sent an invitation for talks to the
head of the opposition Syrian National <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Coalition</st1:city>,
 <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s Deputy
Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov said on Friday. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"<st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>
is ready to hold talks over the 21-month-old Syrian conflict with National
Coalition head Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib either in <st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city>
or any foreign location like <st1:city w:st="on">Geneva</st1:city> or <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Cairo</st1:place></st1:city>," Bogdanov
said. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The invitation has been passed on.
Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib has received it," Bogdanov said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The UN-Arab League envoy for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region>, Lakhdar Brahimi, is scheduled to arrive
in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city> on
Saturday to discuss the Syrian crisis with top Russian officials. -- NNN-QNA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Russia Invites Syrian Opposition for Talks

MOSCOW (NNN-QNA) -- Russia has sent an invitation for talks to the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition , Russia ’s Depu...

Putin Signs US Adoption Ban

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) - President
Vladimir Putin signed into law on Friday a controversial bill that imposes a
ban on adoption of Russian children by Americans and other retaliatory measures
targeting the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Despite protests from liberal-minded
bloggers and civic groups, as well as some top officials in the Russian
government, the ban on American adoptions will come into force on January 1,
2013.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The ban is part of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>’s tit-for-tat response to
the US Magnitsky Act, which was signed into law by US President Barack Obama
earlier this month. The act introduces sanctions against Russian officials
suspected of human rights abuses and is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a
whistleblowing lawyer who died in a Moscow pre-trial detention center in 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The adoption ban is the most debated aspect
of the proposed legislation, which also sets a visa ban on alleged <st1:country-region w:st="on">US</st1:country-region> abusers of Russian citizens’ rights and
freezes any assets they may have in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>;
bans political non-governmental organizations that receive US funding and bars
US citizens from working for politically active NGOs in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>. The legislation would also
bar Russian organizations from facilitating adoptions by US citizens.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RIA
Novosti that the list of banned officials has been drafted already, but won’t
be published.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“I have not seen any reason why I should not
sign it, although I have to consider the final version and think everything
over,” Putin said Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Critics of the bill have insisted that the
measure is politically motivated and would strand tens of thousands of
children, especially those with disabilities, in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s dilapidated orphanage
system.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Since 1999, families in the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">United States</st1:place></st1:country-region>
have adopted more than 45,000 Russian children, including 962 last year,
according to the US State Department.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Russian officials blame US adoptive parents
for the deaths of at least 19 of these children.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The law will come into force on January 1,
2013, halting the adoption of 46 Russian children by US families whose cases
are currently being processed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Putin Signs US Adoption Ban

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin signed into law on Friday a controversial bill that imposes a ban on adoption of Russi...

No Criminal Charges over Anti-Putin Activist ‘Torture’

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<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city></st1:place><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) – Russian
investigators refused on Thursday to open a criminal investigation into
allegations by a leftist political activist that he was tortured into
confessing to a plot to overthrow President Vladimir Putin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Leonid Razvozzhayev, a member of the Left Front political
movement, made international headlines in mid-October when he said he had been
abducted by "masked men" after applying for political asylum in the
Ukrainian capital of <st1:city w:st="on">Kiev</st1:city> and spirited away to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city> by his kidnappers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Razvozzhayev also told human rights workers who visited him in
a <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Moscow</st1:place></st1:city>
pre-trial detention center that his abductors had threatened to kill him and
his children if he did not sign a detailed confession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“A number of witnesses were questioned and their testimony
indicated the unreliability of Razvozzhayev’s claims about his abduction and
torture,” said Vladimir Markin, spokesperson for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Russia</st1:place></st1:country-region>’s Investigation Committee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The charges against Razvozzhayev, an aide to opposition
lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, stem from grainy footage aired by the pro-Kremlin
television channel NTV in early October.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The channel said the footage also showed Left Front leader
Sergei Udaltsov, one of the leaders of the anti-Putin street movement,
Razvozzhayev, and another activist from the socialist group, Konstantin
Lebedev, discussing the plot with an influential Georgian politician.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">All three men have been charged and deny the accusations. Lebedev
has been in custody since early last month, while Udaltsov has been ordered not
to leave <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“The Investigation Committee investigated itself, so it’s
hardly surprising that they declined to bring charges,” Ponomaryov, a
co-founder of the Left Front, told RIA Novosti.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Investigators also said Razvozzhayev refused to take a lie
detector test over his claims that he was forced to sign the confession, which
he has since retracted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The development comes a day after investigators brought
additional charges of armed robbery against the 39-year-old left-wing activist.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Razvozzhayev was charged on Wednesday with robbing a
businessman of 500 fur hats and video cameras in the East Siberian city of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Angarsk</st1:city></st1:place> in 1997. He faces
up to 12 years behind bars if found guilty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Investigators said Razvozzhayev and his alleged accomplices in
the robbery brandished a hunting rifle and two handguns. He said the charges
had been brought after the victim’s wife complained that the crime had still
not been solved.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">“This is simply another attempt to blacken his name and the
name of the Left Front,” Ponomaryov, the opposition lawmaker, said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Opposition figurehead Alexei Navalny is also facing ten years
behind bars after being charged this summer with large-scale embezzlement.
Navalny has called the charges “absurd.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Putin has denied a clampdown is underway against opposition to
his rule, saying “everyone must comply with Russian law.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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No Criminal Charges over Anti-Putin Activist ‘Torture’

MOSCOW (Marc Bennetts, RIA Novosti) – Russian investigators refused on Thursday to open a criminal investigation into allegations by...

Russia Warns Against NATO Missiles on Syrian Border

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) - <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>'s
Foreign Ministry cautioned Thursday against <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>'s
intention to deploy NATO Patriot missiles on its border with <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Syria</st1:place></st1:country-region>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"The militarization of the Turkish-Syrian border would be
an alarming signal," said ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.
"It would do nothing to foster stability in the region."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Our advice to our Turkish colleagues is to use their
influence on the Syrian opposition to draw them closer to dialogue, instead of
flexing their muscles and taking the situation down a dangerous path," he
added.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday
that <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place>'s
request to deploy the missiles would be considered soon. <st1:city w:st="on">Ankara</st1:city>
says the missile system is necessary to protect its border with conflict-torn <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">US Patriot surface-to-air missiles were last deployed to <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region></st1:place>
in 1991 and 2003, during the two Gulf Wars.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkey</span></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> has opened fire several times in recent
weeks across its border with <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>
in retaliation for Syrian shelling, which killed five Turkish civilians in
October. It has also provided shelter to refugees fleeing the violence in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>
and has been one of President Bashar al-Assad’s harshest critics during the
almost 17-month revolt against his rule.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Tensions between <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
and <st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region> flared dangerously
this summer after <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Damascus</st1:city></st1:place>
shot down a Turkish fighter that had violated its airspace. <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region> threatened retaliation if there was any
repeat of the incident, although it admitted the plane had mistakenly strayed
slightly into <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Syria</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Lukashevich also denied Russian media reports that Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov was planning to meet on November 26 with the Syrian
opposition.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The Syrian conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives
since the start of an uprising against Assad in March 2011, according to
various Syrian opposition groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Russia</span></st1:country-region><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> - along with <st1:country-region w:st="on">China</st1:country-region>
- has drawn heavy Western criticism for its refusal to sanction UN sanctions
against Assad's regime, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city></st1:place>
sole remaining ally in the Arab world. <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city></st1:place>
said the proposed UN resolutions betrayed a pro-rebel bias and would do nothing
to bring peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Putin vowed earlier this year not to allow a repeat of the “<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Libya</st1:country-region></st1:place>
scenario,” which saw the ouster and murder of long-time Libyan dictator Muammar
Gaddafi after a NATO military campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Moscow</st1:city></st1:place>
has denied it is supporting Assad in the conflict and says it will respect the
will of the "Syrian people."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

Russia Warns Against NATO Missiles on Syrian Border

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russia 's Foreign Ministry cautioned Thursday against Turkey 's intention to deploy NATO Patriot miss...

Turkey Starts Trial Against Israelis Involved in 2010 Raid

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">By
Dorian Jones<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A
trial began in Turkey on Tuesday against four Israeli military commanders accused
of leading a raid on the high seas against a Gaza-bound aid ship - a raid that
resulted in the death of nine activists.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Hundreds
of protesters chanting anti-Israeli slogans gathered outside <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Istanbul</st1:place></st1:city>'s main courthouse as the trial
opened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"People
from every nation and every religion with a conscience are here to hold <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
accountable for 1,000 years-old history," one woman said. "May God
help us succeed in our case."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">With
citizens from 37 countries due to participate in the trial, but not the Israeli
commanders, the Turkish media is describing it as the world's largest
international trial. <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
has dismissed the proceedings as politically motivated, calling it a "show
trial."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The boat Mavi Marmara was leading an
international flotilla of ships c</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">arrying
pro-Palestinian activists seeking to break <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s economic blockade of the
Gaza Strip, when it was intercepted by Israeli forces in May 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> claims its forces acted in self-defense. But
Turkish prosecutors are demanding life sentences for four of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s most
senior retired commanders, including the former head of the army.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Turkish-Israeli
relations have collapsed since the raid. Semih Idiz, a writer for the Turkish
newspaper Milliyet, warned the case can still further strain relations.  <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Any
court situation that provides a platform for what <st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region>
sees as enemies of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
is not welcome," he said. "<st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> is not a negligible country
in this part of the world. And to have a Turkish court highlighting Israeli
crimes, quote unquote, is not a comfortable thing and this court is attracting
a lot of attention in the <st1:place w:st="on">Middle East</st1:place>. So
there is a gallery for <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
in going through this and that is what is bothering <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Observers
said there is widespread anger in <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>
at <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>
over the deaths, in particular among the grassroots supporters of the prime
minister's Islamic rooted party. Turkish presidential elections are expected in
2014.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">International
relations expert Cengiz Aktar of <st1:placename w:st="on">Bahcesehir</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> said "with such a
nationalist and actually nationalist rhetoric, the prime minister of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Turkey</st1:place></st1:country-region> will
never dare, for a second, [to] re-establish relations and especially now right
before the Israeli elections in January. I think he has made out of the anti-Israeli
policy a permanent agenda item out of his future presidency. So he will want
yield on that."<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
trial is predicted to further hamper efforts - in particular by <st1:state w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Washington</st1:place></st1:state> - to rebuild
relations between its two key allies in the region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has made recent overtures to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Turkey</st1:country-region>, indicating it maybe moving closer to <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ankara</st1:place></st1:city>'s demands for an
apology and compensation to families of those killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">But
last month, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeated his demand for
<st1:country-region w:st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> to end its embargo
against <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Gaza</st1:place></st1:city> in
return for a normalization of relations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Diplomatic
columnist Idiz said <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Ankara</st1:place></st1:city>
has little interest in a rapprochement.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"There
is an asymmetrical situation here. Netanyahu needs improved relations and
Erdogan doesn't, and he can't really afford to be aiming for improved relations
when the public has not felt there is enough atonement on <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Israel</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s side
for the killings," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Ankara</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> is expected to pursue the extradition of
the commanders through Interpol, but observers say such attempts are unlikely
to succeed and will only further worsen tensions between the countries. ---VOA
News<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>

Turkey Starts Trial Against Israelis Involved in 2010 Raid

By Dorian Jones A trial began in Turkey on Tuesday against four Israeli military commanders accused of leading a raid on the high sea...

Google, YouTube to Get Russian Site Blacklist Updates

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) – Google and YouTube will
receive updates regarding information banned within <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>, the country's
communications oversight agency said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
agency’s press release confirmed that Google Inc and YouTube LLC had formally
agreed “to receive information from the register regarding content banned in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
register detailing ‘blacklisted’ sites and content that is banned in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region></st1:place>
was launched by the agency on Thursday. The zapret-info.gov.ru site will
consider complaints lodged by members of the public, who can submit screenshots
and URLs of the offending sites.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Cooperation
between the agency and international companies had already been sketched out
before the law came into force. “The company’s email address is included in the
mail-out regarding links added to the register,” the press release said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">In
the first 24 hours of its existence, the site logged over 5,000 complaints
regarding offensive content, 96 percent of which were rejected after
consideration.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Of
the initial complaints, 10 sites were kept on the list as they contained child
pornography, 40 complaints were passed to the drugs control authorities, and 23
to the consumer affairs watchdog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>

Google, YouTube to Get Russian Site Blacklist Updates

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) – Google and YouTube will receive updates regarding information banned within Russia , the country's communicat...

Italian Scientists Convicted of Not Warning of Earthquake

Italian Scientists Convicted of Not Warning of Earthquake

An Italian court on Monday convicted seven scientists and experts of manslaughter for underestimating the risks of a killer earthquak...

Greece Cannot Pay Back Debts by 2020 - Troika

Greece Cannot Pay Back Debts by 2020 - Troika

BERLIN, September (RIA Novosti) - Greece will be unable to pay back its debts to international creditors by 2020 according to the so-called...

British Royal Couple Sue French Magazine over Topless Photos

British Royal Couple Sue French Magazine over Topless Photos

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) --- British Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton have launched a legal action against French gossip magazine Clo...

American Car Makers Bet Billions on Russia’s Car Boom

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">By James Brooke<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><iframe frameborder="0" height="429" scrolling="no" src="http://www.voanews.com/flashembed.aspx?t=vid&id=1502033&w=640&h=429&skin=embeded" width="640"></iframe><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">MOSCOW (VOA News) — Russian-made cars used to conjure up images of boxy, broken down Ladas. Now car sales are jumping and foreign car makers are investing billions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">This week, Moscow’s International Motor Show is supplying plenty of glitz. But behind the hoopla, the real excitement is that Russia is on its way to become one of the world’s top five car markets.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">With sales jumping in Russia, and slumping in Europe this year, Russia is projected to displace Germany in 2014 as Europe’s largest car market. That would make Russia the world’s fourth largest car market - after China, the United States and Japan, according to the research group Euromonitor.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Russia finally joined the World Trade Organization last month. Now car companies are racing to boost production before import tariffs start dropping.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Each of the American big three automakers - Ford, GM and Chrysler - plans to invest $1 billion in car factories in Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">“We were the first ones in here 10 years ago, and we’ve built over 500,000 vehicles here,” says Ted Cannis, president of the Ford Sollers joint venture in Russia. “This is a key, core place in Russia. And we see a huge potential for Ford.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">A few stands away, James Bovenzi, GM’s president for Russia, says GM’s plan is to double its Russia production over the next five years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">“GM values the Russian market,” Bovenzi says. “We see it as one of the big growing markets in the world.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">To generate buzz in Russia, GM invited Henry Kissinger to their plant expansion ceremony last June in St. Petersburg.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">With car sales up 14 percent in Russia so far this year, dealers are struggling to meet demand.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">At a brand new Chrysler dealership on Moscow’s beltway, John Stech, Chrysler Russia CEO, talks about the demand.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">“We've brought completely refreshed vehicles, all new vehicles, onto the Russian market,” he said, while visiting the dealership for the first time. “And they really resonate with the Russian customers. For a while we couldn't get enough. Now we have a better supply, and we see this really in the activity in our dealers."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">And there is room for growth. There is about one car for every four Russians - about half the average for Western Europe and the United States.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Chris Weafer, strategist for Troika Dialog, says Russian consumers have money in their pockets.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">"It is one of the fastest growing consumer markets in the world,” he says. “And that’s coming on the back of very strong disposable income growth - about $8,000 this year, rising to a projected $12,000 in about 4 or 5 years time. So people have more money to spend on consumer goods."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Bernard Sucher, a long-term American investor and sometime Russia critic, comes from Detroit, home of the Big Three American manufacturers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The Motor City native is impressed by what is happening in Russia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">“They`ve done a pretty good job in encouraging global producers and suppliers of addressing Russian markets in terms favorable for foreign players, but at the same time promising that Russia will retain substantial manufacturing capacities itself,” Sucher says. “It`s a good story. It’s a win-win story. And we would like to see more of that.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Now, with all the new cars hitting the streets, Russia’s challenge is to build parking - and roads.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

American Car Makers Bet Billions on Russia’s Car Boom

By James Brooke MOSCOW (VOA News) — Russian-made cars used to conjure up images of boxy, broken down Ladas. Now car sales are jumping and ...

Putin: Moscow Won't Change Position on Syria

Putin: Moscow Won't Change Position on Syria

MOSCOW (VOA News) ---Russian President Vladimir Putin has signaled that Moscow is not ready to shift its stance on supporting Syria, and su...

Putin Ready to Work with Next U.S. President

Putin Ready to Work with Next U.S. President

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)---Russia is ready to work with the next U.S. president regardless of who wins in the November elections, so long as th...

Breivik Sentenced to 21 Years For Norway Terror Attacks

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">OSLO (RIA Novosti) ---A court in Oslo sentenced Anders Breivik to the maximum 21 years prison on Friday for terrorism and the murder of 77 people, after declaring him sane.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prosecutors had asked the Oslo district court judges to sentence the confessed killer to the maximum penalty of 21 years in prison, which can be extended for as long as he is considered a danger to society.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On 22 July 2011, Breivik bombed government buildings in Oslo, which resulted in eight deaths. He then opened fire at a youth camp of the ruling Labour party on Uteyya Island, killing 69 people. Breivik has admitted carrying out the killings, but the judges only pronounced him sane on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Breivik, who was charged with "acts of terror," has told the court what he did was "cruel but necessary" to protect Norway from a wave of multiculturalism and a "Muslim invasion." Norwegians calmly sat through his trial, which finished in June, and many took to the streets to condemn his crimes, while celebrating the open society he said he was trying to destroy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, Norway’s Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, came under pressure to resign earlier this month after a report criticized police for failing to prevent or interrupt Breivik’s killing spree. Lawyers for victims of the massacre have also directed their anger at the police, calling for heads to roll. Mette Yvonne Larsen, one of the lawyers representing Breivik' victims, said lives were lost because of police incompetence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Prosecutors had called for him to be declared insane, but public opinion overwhelmingly favors that he be deemed sane. During his trial, Breivik has fought to avoid psychiatric incarceration, which he has called "a fate worse than death." His intent on being found sane is to ensure his Islamophobic ideology is not written off as crazy raving, Al Jazeera reported.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A member of his defense team told a Norwegian Verdens Gang newspaper last week that the acclaimed mass murderer is planning to write an autobiography, in which he would talk about two Norwegian cell organizations to which he belonged, a claim prosecutors say is a proof of his insanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In court, Breivik claims to be part of a militant anti-Islamist network founded in London in 2002 called Knights Templar. He further claimed that he went to Liberia and London in 2002 to meet three other "militant nationalists" to form the network, which borrowed the methodology of al-Qaida. Breivik said he intends to say more about those trips in his books. Investigators said however that there was "overwhelming evidence" that the far-right nationalist network, the Knights Templar, did not exist.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Breivik Sentenced to 21 Years For Norway Terror Attacks

OSLO (RIA Novosti) ---A court in Oslo sentenced Anders Breivik to the maximum 21 years prison on Friday for terrorism and the murder of 77 ...

Moscow Court Acquits Opposition Activist Kasparov

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti)--- A Moscow court acquitted Russian chess grandmaster and opposition activist Garry Kasparov accused of violating peaceful gathering by shouting out slogans last week during the trial over Pussy Riot punk band.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasparov claimed police arrested him for no reason as he was giving an interview, twisting his arms and kicking him in the crotch on the way to the police van, according to Rusnovosti.ru.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The judge said that policemen gave contradictory evidence during the trial and she was more inclined to believe photo- and video-evidence as well as witnesses’ testimonies given by journalists and other people.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The judge’s verdict was met with applause at the court house and Kasparov later thanked all those, who supported him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Police also said earlier that Kasparov bit on the finger one of several officers dragging him away from a Moscow court where three Pussy Riot members were convicted on August 17 over an anti-Kremlin “punk prayer” at an Orthodox Christian cathedral.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Russian Investigative Committee, Russia’s analogue of the FBI, is currently checking into the matter of an attack on a policeman by Kasparov. The accusation can land him in jail for five years on charges of attacking a police officer on duty.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kasparov also denied biting anyone during his detention and said the officer in question, Denis Ratnikov, could have run afoul of a police dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">More than 50 people were held on August 17 by the Khamovnichesky district court, where Pussy Riot members were given jail terms of two years for hooliganism and inciting religious hatred.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div></div>

Moscow Court Acquits Opposition Activist Kasparov

MOSCOW, (RIA Novosti)--- A Moscow court acquitted Russian chess grandmaster and opposition activist Garry Kasparov accused of violating pe...

Russia Joins World Trade Club as 156th Member

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)--- Russia officially joined the World Trade Organization on Wednesday as the protocol on its accession to the Marrakesh Agreement, the foundation document for the world trade club, entered into force.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The document, which was signed in Geneva on December 16, 2011 after 18 years of negotiations, makes Russia the global trade body’s 156th member.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law that authorizes the protocol on July 21.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Economic Development Ministry said WTO membership will lower prices for both imported and domestically-produced goods. The World Bank calculates Russia's membership will boost GDP by 3.3 percent annually for the first three years, with that figure likely to increase later.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Critics have claimed Russia’s WTO accession is detrimental to the country’s national sovereignty and security and could ruin entire sectors of the domestic economy such as agriculture and the motor industry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">London business circles welcomed Russia’s accession to the world trade club and said the move would help create an International Financial Center in Moscow and liberalize Russia’s trade with other countries.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“TheCityUK greatly welcomes Russian accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO),” TheCityUK, an independent membership body of the UK financial services industry, said in a statement.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">“As part of its accession, Russia has initiated a number of measures designed to open up its economy, including tariff reductions on a range of industrial goods and measures to liberalise the Russian services sector, including phased liberalization of the Russian financial and professional services sectors.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">WTO rules will not apply to Russia’s trade relations with the United States however, until the Jackson-Vanik amendment is repealed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The amendment, named after Congressmen Henry M. Jackson and Charles Vanik, was introduced in 1974 to restrict trade with the Soviet Union and other non-market economies until they allowed free emigration.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The restrictions imposed by Jackson-Vanik are often waived, but remain in place and are a thorn in the side of Russia-U.S. trade relations.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Russia Joins World Trade Club as 156th Member

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)--- Russia officially joined the World Trade Organization on Wednesday as the protocol on its accession to the Marrakes...

London Olympic: Joy for Ugandans as Marathon Win Ends Gold Drought

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">LONDON/KAMPALA (NNN-NEW VISION) -- Crowded around television sets, cheering Ugandans celebrated as compatriot Stephen Kiprotich claimed an unexpected gold medal in the Olympic Games men's marathon.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Outsider Kiprotich stunned a heavily fancied Kenyan team to grab victory, leaving two-time defending world champion Abel Kirui to claim silver and long-time leader Wilson Kipsang taking bronze.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kiprotich's gold was only Uganda's second, the last coming 40 years ago when 400m hurdler John Akii-Bua struck gold at the 1972 Munich Games, with the east African country's only other medal a bronze from 400m runner Davis Kamonga in 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I am very happy to win a medal for my country," beamed Kiprotich. "I love my people. Ugandans are very happy because we hadn't won a medal in marathon races.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The pace was too fast and I knew I could not run away from them so I just had to keep up with them (Kipsang and kirui).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I tried to settle and then I had to break away because I wanted to win this medal."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I thought before the race that either Kenya or Ethiopia would win," said Kiprotich, adding: "I really didn't think I could win it, but when it came to three miles to go, I decided to go for it. I'd stayed in touch and made my move.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"It was only when I crossed the line that I really believed I had done it. I've moved on from being an unknown. I'm happy now that I'm a known athlete."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kiprotich said he was delighted to have snared Uganda's second ever gold.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"It's for my family, my people, my coaches. I'm very, very happy," he said. "I haven't seen John Akii-Bua personally but the memories are there. I dreamt that I could be like him.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">John Akii-Bua stunned the world at the 1972 Munich games to win gold in the 400m Hurdles<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I told myself to relax and be patient, and today I have joined the champions and I'm very happy with that."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kiprotich, however, took aim at sporting authorities in Uganda for not providing athletes there with the back-up needed to succeed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I'll take this opportunity to send a message to the Ugandan athletics federation and minister of sports," he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The problem is that we have no facilities. That's what pushed me to Kenya. They've been promising facilities but there are none.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"When I go home, it's just to visit family."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Silver medallist Kiprui, who said he would now target next year's London marathon before competing in the world championships in Moscow, said he and Kipsang had been taken aback by Kiprotich's performance, having thought their rival out of the running.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the leading trio went through the gilded, covered Leadenhall Market for the final time with 7km to go, the Kenyans upped the pace to shake off Kiprotich.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But the Kenyan duo were caught napping as Kiprotich showed a dramatic change of pace to surge to the front in an audacious ambush at 36km.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"When I was with Kipsang, we saw Kiprotich fading away," Kirui said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"But then he surprised us by coming back. He went and it's very hard to control that type of move.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"He's our brother. I appreciate Kiprotich because he's a very determined runner."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kipsang rued the early slow pace, but also praised the gold medallist.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"In every competition, the best athlete always wins. Kiprotich was the best today. I don't feel bad he won. Everybody came here for gold, and the best always wins," said Kipsang.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The Olympics are very competitive. Today you win, tomorrow you don't, life continues."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The marathon was billed as a battle between Kenya and Ethiopia. But the Ethiopian team's tactics were dealt an early blow with Dino Sefir falling well off the pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kipsang, the 2012 London Marathon winner then built up a lead on the peloton, going through the halfway mark in 1:03.15, 16sec ahead of the chasing pack.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Kenyan built that lead up to 30sec on the stunning course, designed to take in as many of the British capital's main sights as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By the 23km mark in sweltering conditions, a second Ethiopian, Getu Feleke, was beginning to flag and had fallen off the chasing pack's pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In front of thousands of spectators packed 10-deep in some places, Kiprotich set off in pursuit of Kipsang, splintering the pack in the hunt for a podium place.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kirui and Ethiopia's Dubai marathon winner Ayele Abshero followed, and the trio cut Kipsang's lead to just 11sec, and then pulled level at 25km.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Abshero struggled to stay level and dropped 36sec by the 30km stage, Brazilian Marilson Dos Santos overtaking him into fourth.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the leading trio went through the gilded, covered Leadenhall Market for the final time with 7km to go, the Kenyans upped the pace to shake off Kiprotich.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Japan's Kentaro Nakamoto and the sole American left in the field, Eritrean-born Meb Keflezighi, were in position to challenge for a podium should anyone hit the wall in the final few miles.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But up front, the two Kenyans were caught napping as Kiprotich showed a dramatic change of pace to surge to the front in an audacious ambush at 32km, and was quickly 200m ahead.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kiprotich, who has moved to the famed Eldoret region of the Kenya's Rift Valley to train with former world 5000m champion Eliud Kipchoge, accelerated away, a brief look back over his shoulder confirming his position at the head of the field.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Going into the final 2km, the 23-year-old Ugandan was 20sec ahead of Kirui, and he had enough time to grab a Ugandan flag on his last time entering the Mall, in the shadow of Buckingham Palace, draping it around his shoulders as he crossed the line for a convincing victory.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the race reached its climax and it became increasingly clear that Kiprotich would win, disbelief turned to jubilation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hampered by poor facilities and lack of funding, Ugandan runners have typically faced an uphill struggle as they try to compete with athletes from regional powerhouses Kenya and Ethiopia.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kiprotich himself has had to move to the famed Eldoret region of the Kenya's Rift Valley to train and spends much of his time outside Uganda.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The next time he returns, however, he should be in for a rapturous welcome from his proud homeland. -- NNN-NEW VISION<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

London Olympic: Joy for Ugandans as Marathon Win Ends Gold Drought

LONDON/KAMPALA (NNN-NEW VISION) -- Crowded around television sets, cheering Ugandans celebrated as compatriot Stephen Kiprotich claimed...