PSAKI Salahcakap: OBAMA Belum LAGI Menandatangani Rang UNDANG-undang BARU Anti-RUSIA . . .

iLMu2lautan – Presiden Amerika Syarikat, Barack Obama belum lagi menanda-tangani rang undang-undang penjelasan cara utk lebih sekatan ekonomi terhadap Rusia. Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat mengesahkan Jen Psaki ‘misspoke’ semasa taklimat media.

Rang undang2 itu dijangka ditandatangani "pd akhir minggu ini," menurut kenya-taan Setiausaha Akhbar di White House Josh Earnest Selasa. Juru-cakap Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat Jen Psaki mendakwa pd hari Rabu bahwa rang undang-undang itu telah ditandatangani.

"Beliau menandatanganinya semalam," Psaki dinyatakan semasa taklimat itu, mengganggu Gayane Chichakyan RT ini yang bertanya soalan mengenai rang undang-undang digelar Ukraine Kebebasan Akta Sokongan 2014.

Walau bagaimanapun, menurut kepada wakil-wakil Rumah Putih "Presiden masih belum menandatangani undang-undang ini."

"Jen [Psaki] sebenarnya ‘misspoke’ semasa taklimat hari ini, jadi kami akan membetulkan ini dengan nota kaki pada transkrip dalam laman web dalam beberapa minit," jabatan ini officialconfirmed untuk Sputnik News Agency.

PSAKI Misspoke: OBAMA Not YET Signed NEW 

Anti-Russian BILL . . .

US President Barack Obama has not yet signed a bill clearing the way for more economic sanctions against Russia. The US State Department confirmed Jen Psaki misspoke during the press briefing.

The bill was expected to be signed “by the end of the week,”according to White House press secretary Josh Earnest’s statement in Tuesday. US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki claimed on Wednesday that the bill was already signed.

“He signed it yesterday,” Psaki stated during the briefing, interrupting RT’s Gayane Chichakyan who was asking a question about the bill dubbed Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014.

However, according to representatives of the White House “the President has not yet signed this legislation.”

"Jen [Psaki] actually misspoke during today’s briefing, so we will be correcting this with a footnote on the transcript found on the website in a few minutes," the department's official confirmed to Sputnik News Agency.

Rang undang-undang itu akan menyaksikan kira-kira $ 350 juta pada bantuan yang diberikan kepada Ukraine.

Selain bantuan tentera dan bukan tentera ke Ukraine, rang undang2 tambahan membolehkan pengenaan lagi sekatan bersyarat pada sektor pertahanan Rusia, seperti hukuman ke atas milik negara senjata Rosoboronexport peniaga dan orang perseorangan yang berkaitan.

Rang undang2 jg membayangkan $20 juta dana tahunan bagi menyokong "demo-krasi Rusia & masyarakat sivil organisasi" termasuk melalui peningkatan "Amerika Syarikat aktiviti penyiaran kerajaan disokong." 

Satu lagi keutamaan berkembang penyiaran di negara2 bekas Kesatuan Soviet, yang akan kos lain $ 10 juta setahun.

Walaupun rang undang-undang itu tidak membuat sekatan wajib sepenuhnya, ia membolehkan Obama untuk memutuskan bahagian mana rang undang-undang untuk menguatkuasakan.

'Pendekatan ketinggalan zaman'

Berita itu datang hari yang sama Presiden Obama membuat pengumuman yang bersejarah mengenai "perubahan dasar" ke arah Havana dan Amerika Syarikat merancang untuk mengangkat jualan dan eksport embargo dan mewujudkan hubungan diplomatik dengan Cuba.

BACA lebih lanjut: Obama mengumumkan Amerika Syarikat akan menubuhkan kedutaan di Cuba, sekatan lif READ MORE: Obama announces US will establish embassy in Cuba, lift sanctions

Dekad "pendekatan ketinggalan zaman" membawa sebarang perubahan rejim di Cuba yang "masih ditadbir oleh Castros dan parti Komunis," Presiden Amerika Syarikat mengumumkan.

"Tiada negara lain menyertai kami dalam sekatan ini. Dan ia mempunyai kesan yang kecil, "kata Obama. "Kami akan berakhir pendekatan ketinggalan zaman yang selama beberapa dekad telah gagal untuk memajukan kepentingan kami."

Bagi Rusia, ahli politik Amerika Syarikat termasuk Obama juga telah mengakui bahawa sekatan yang dikenakan setakat ini tidak adalah seperti yang berkesan seperti g diharapkan. 

Walau bagaimanapun, "setiap negara adalah sangat berbeza," Psaki berkata, nam-paknya membayangkan bahwa desakan utk "pengasingan" Rusia mungkin masih entah bagaimana mempengaruhi polisi dan proses dalam negara.

OP-EDGE: matlamat Sekatan 'adalah perubahan rejim, tidak kira Cuba atau Rusia OP-EDGE: Sanctions’ goal is regime change, no matter Cuba or Russia

Sementara itu, Kementerian Luar Rusia berharap bahawa Washington mungkin akhirnya menyedari ketidakberkesanan tekanan sekatan di negara-negara lain, kerana ia akhirnya lakukan dalam hal Cuba.

"Ia menunjukkan bahawa Presiden Amerika Syarikat yg telah mengiktirafkan yg sia-sia tahun mencuba untuk 'mengasingkan' Cuba," kata Kementerian Luar Rusia. "Kami tidak boleh tetapi berharap bahawa Washington akan cepat menyedari yang sia-sia sekatan tekanan yang sama terhadap negara lain."

The bill will see some $350 million in assistance provided to Ukraine.

Besides the military and non-military assistance to Ukraine, the bill additionally allows further imposition of conditional sanctions on the Russian defense sector, such as penalties on state-owned arms dealer Rosoboronexport as well as connected individuals.

The bill also envisions $20 million in annual funding in order to support “Russian democracy and civil society organizations” including through increasing “US government-supported broadcasting activities.”Another priority is expanded broadcasting in countries of the former Soviet Union, which will cost another $10 million per year.

Although the bill does not make sanctions fully obligatory, it allows Obama to decide which parts of the bill to enforce.

‘Outdated approach’

The news comes the very same day President Obama made a historic announcement about a “policy change” towards Havana and US plans to lift the sales and exports embargo and establish diplomatic relations with Cuba.

READ MORE: Obama announces US will establish embassy in Cuba, lift sanctions

The decades of “outdated approach” brought no regime change in Cuba which is “still governed by the Castros and the Communist party,” the US president announced.

“No other nation joins us in these sanctions. And it has had little effect,” Obama said. “We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interest.”

In the case of Russia, US politicians including Obama have also admitted that restrictions imposed so far were not as effective as expected. However, “every country is hugely different,” Psaki said, apparently implying that the push for “isolation” of Russia may still somehow influence policies and processes within the country.

OP-EDGE: Sanctions’ goal is regime change, no matter Cuba or Russia

The Russian Foreign Ministry meanwhile expressed hope that Washington might finally realize the ineffectiveness of sanction pressure on other countries, as it eventually did in the case of Cuba.

“It is indicative that the US president has recognized the futility of years of trying to ‘isolate’ Cuba," the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "We cannot but hope that Washington will be quick to realize the futility of similar sanctions pressure on other countries.”

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/i59rde

TIADA Penumpang, TIADA Kapal TERBANG: Lapangan TERBANG 'Hantu' di EROPAH . . .

V^TwentyONE – Eropah telah dicat baru landasan, Di seluruh lapangan terbang yang dilanda krisis 'hantu' pintu baru berkilat dan semua kacang dan bolt di tempatnya - tetapi tiada penumpang dan tiada kapal terbang, memberikan mereka aura2 yang ngeri.

Kos yang melambung tinggi telah melambatkan upacara memotong reben, seperti kemelesetan paling teruk di Eropah dalam tempoh 100 tahun telah membunuh projek2.

Suruhanjaya Eropah ketepikan berjuta-juta euro dlm pembiayaan utk meningkat-kan infrastruktur di lapangan terbang serantau, tetapi mereka sedang menunggu untuk pelancong dan pesawat yang tidak pernah datang, dan telah menjadi simbol perbelanjaan melulu.

"Kesukaran anda mempunyai degn Kesatuan Eropah yang akhirnya ia mempunyai semua wang ini yang ianya mahu untuk melepaskan dalam naungan melalui geran dan segala macam gaji buta yang berbeza, di seluruh negeri yang 28 negara, dan ia mahu untuk mencuba dan membuat kesan ekonomi, "Patrick Young, seorang pakar kewangan, memberitahu RT.

Orang-orang di Brussels "percaya wang tumbuh di atas pokok, iaitu masalah asas yang menolak EU ke arah titik yang pecah," kata Young.

NO Passengers, NO Planes: ‘GHOSTt’ Airports Of EUROPE . . .

Across crisis-stricken Europe ‘ghost’ airports have freshly painted tarmac, shiny new doors and all the nuts and bolts in place - but no passengers and no airplanes, giving them an eerie aura.

Soaring costs have delayed the ribbon cutting ceremonies, as Europe’s worst recession in 100 years has killed the projects.

The European Commission dispensed millions of euro in funding to boost the infrastructure at regional airports, but they are waiting for travelers and planes that never came, and have become symbols of reckless spending.

“The difficulty you have with the European Union is that ultimately it has all this money that it wants to divest in patronage through grants and all sorts of different sinecures, throughout the land of the 28 nations, and it wants to try and make an economic impact,” Patrick Young, a financial expert, told RT.

People in Brussels “believe money grows on trees, that is the fundamental problem that is pushing the EU towards breaking point,” Young said.

Lublin Airport in Poland. (Photo from wikipedia.org)

Poland yang menyertai Kesatuan Eropah pada tahun 2004, dan telah dipuji oleh Suruhanjaya bagi pembaharuan ekonomi & tanggungjawab kewangan, menerima lebih $125 juta (€ 100 juta) utk membantu membina & menaik taraf 12 lapangan terbang.

Lublin dan Rzeszow adalah di bahagian hutan dan berbukit timur negara itu dan belum dibuka. Lapangan Terbang di Lodz telah diberi wajah baru, tetapi telah gagal untuk menarik penumpang kerana ianya terletak hanya dalam jarak 50 minit pemanduan dari Warsaw, lapangan terbang terbesar di negara ini Lodz dibuka pada tahun 2012.

Poland menerima €615.7 juta dari EU untuk menyokong kewangan lubang hitam di antara 2007 dan 2013, menurut angka yang diberikan oleh Suruhanjaya Eropah untuk Reuters.

Poland, which joined the EU in 2004, and has been lauded by the Commission for its economic reforms and financial responsibility, received over $125 million (€100 million) to help build and upgrade 12 airports.

Lublin and Rzeszow are in the forested and hilly east part of the country and haven’t yet opened. Lodz airport was given a facelift, but has failed to attract passengers as it’s located just a 50 minute drive away from Warsaw, the country’s largest airport Lodz opened in 2012.

Poland received €615.7 million from the EU to support these financial black holes between 2007 and 2013, according to figures provided by the European Commission to Reuters.

Rzeszow airport in Poland (Photo from wikipedia.org)

Lapangan terbang gagal menarik syarikat penerbangan tambang murah untuk mengendalikan penerbangan di antara bandar-bandar kecil dan hab yang lebih besar.

"Hubungan antara lapangan terbang tempatan dan syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah adalah membunuh diri," Jacek Krawczyk, bekas pengerusi Poland LOT syarikat penerbangan kebangsaan kepada Reuters.

Poland bukannya satu-satunya negara di Eropah untuk menghabiskan nasib pada gajah putih.

The airports failed to attract budget airlines to operate flights in between the small cities and bigger hubs.

“The relationship between the local airports and low-cost carriers is suicidal,” Jacek Krawczyk, former chairman of Polish national airline LOT told Reuters.

Poland is not the only country in Europe to spend fortunes on white elephants.

Lodz airport south of Warsaw, Poland (Photo from wikipedia.org)

Di sebelah selatan, Sepanyol menerima elaun yang ke-2 terbesar dari SPR untuk membina lapangan terbang, yg juga gagal utk menarik penerbangan komersial. Keadaan ini begitu buruk bahawa salah satu daripadanya, lapangan terbang Ciudad Real di tengah Sepanyol, adalah untuk dijual di 10 % peratus harga kos untuk membina. 

Lapangan terbang itu dibuka pada tahun 2008 dan kos €1.1 billion untuk membina, dan ditutup pada tahun 2012, dan ia kini mempunyai tag harga sebanyak € 100 juta. Tiada penerbangan komersial telah beroperasi sejak 2011.

Di pantai timur, Castellon-Costa lapangan terbang €150 juta dalam Valencia dibina pada tahun 2011 tidak pernah menyaksikan pesawat tunggal mndarat. Landasan yg tidak cukup panjang utk mendapatkan lesen yg diperlukan utk menguruskan penerbangan komersial. Pengendali lapangan terbang itu menjangkakan ia akan menjadi 50,000 penumpang pada tahun 2015, dan 200,000 pada 2017.

Sekitar 80 lapangan terbang di Eropah menarik kurang daripada 1 juta penum-pang setahun dan kira-kira 3 suku daripada yg di dalamnya lampu merah, menurut badan industri Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa.

To the south, Spain received the second biggest allowance from the EC to build airports, which are also failing to attract commercial flights. The situation is so dire that one of them, Ciudad Real airport in central Spain, is up for sale at 10 percent the price it cost to build. The airport opened in 2008 and cost €1.1 billion to construct, and closed in 2012, and it now has a price tag of €100 million. No commercial flights have operated since 2011.

On the eastern coast, the €150 million Castellon-Costa airport in Valencia built in 2011 has never seen a single plane land. The runway isn’t long enough to get the license needed to run commercial flights. The airport’s operator anticipates it will serve 50,000 passengers in 2015, and 200,000 by 2017.

Around 80 airports in Europe attract fewer than 1 million passengers a year and about three-quarters of those are in the red, according to industry body Airports Council International.

Yet to be opened Ciudad Real airport (Photo from wikipedia.org)

Jerman mempunyai masalah perbelanjaan dan juga ketika datang ke lapangan terbang. Brandenburg lapangan terbang di Berlin mungkin perlu satu lagi €3.2 billion utk akhirnya membuka pintunya di atas €5.4 billion yg sudah dibelanjakan.

Berliners telah menunggu untuk kemudahan baru mereka untuk membuka sejak 2011, tetapi mungkin perlu menunggu sehingga 2016 atau 2017. Ia terletak di selatan Berlin di sebelah Lapangan Terbang Schonefeld yang kini beroperasi.

Germany has spending problems as well when it comes to airports. Berlin’s Brandenburg airport will likely need another €3.2 billion to finally open its doors on top of the €5.4 billion already spent.

Berliners have been waiting for their new facility to open since 2011, but will likely have to wait until 2016 or 2017. It is located south of Berlin next to Schonefeld Airport which is currently operating.

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/afkema

TENTERA Rusia MELENGKAPKAN Latihan PENEMPATAN-Cepat di KALININGRAD . . .

FILE PHOTO: Sistem peluru berpandu Iskander-M jarak dekat taktikal state-of-the-art (FILE PHOTO: A state-of-the-art Iskander-M short-range tactical missile system (RIA Novosti/Alexander Vilf)

V^TwentyONE – Tentera Rusia telah membuat kesimpulan latihan kejutan besar di rantau Kaliningrad untuk menguji kesediaan pertempuran kira-kira 9,000 tentera dan 642 kenderaan, termasuk taktikal Iskander-M sistem peluru berpandu balistik dengan cepat dikerahkan dari tanah besar.

BACA lebih lanjut: NATO ketidakstabilan Baltic dengan menempatkan pesawat nuke-mampu – Moscow READ MORE: NATO destabilizing Baltic by stationing nuke-capable aircraft – Moscow

Latih tubi berlaku 05-10 disember, ketua Direktorat utama Operasi Stuff Besar, Leftenan Jeneral Andrey Kartapolov mengumumkan pada hari Selasa. Unit tentera dan pembentukan dikerahkan di Daerah Tentera Barat telah dibawa ke tahap tertinggi kesediaan pertempuran di 19:00 masa Moscow pada 5 Disember.

BACA lebih lanjut: Estonia latihan NATO adalah anti-Rusia, tidak membuat Eropah lebih selamat – Moscow READ MORE: NATO’s Estonia drills are anti-Russian, don’t make Europe more secure – Moscow

Latihan2 yg terlibat peluru berpandu dan meriam unit, infantri berjentera, tentera udara & marin, bahagian peninjau, komunikasi, logistik, serta krew pertempuran & pesawat pengangkutan tentera dan helikopter, & kapal Armada Baltik.

Taktikal Iskander-M sistem peluru berpandu balistik peluru berpandu pasukan Daerah Barat Tentera ini telah pesat dipindahkan dari tanah besar Rusia untuk menjalankan-perarakan tugas latihan pertempuran. Dalam masa 2 hari, 2 pasukan telah dikerahkan di Kaliningrad dgn pesawat pengangkutan ketenteraan dan kapal Armada Baltik.

Russian MILITARY Completes RAPID-Deployment DRILLs 

in KALININGRAD . . .

The Russian military has concluded a massive surprise drill in the Kaliningrad region to test the combat readiness of some 9,000 troops and 642 vehicles, including tactical Iskander-M ballistic missile systems rapidly deployed from the mainland.

READ MORE: NATO destabilizing Baltic by stationing nuke-capable aircraft – Moscow

The drills took place December 5-10, the head of the main Operation Directorate of General Stuff, Lieutenant General Andrey Kartapolov announced on Tuesday. Military units and formations deployed in the Western Military District were brought to their highest level of combat readiness at 7 p.m. Moscow time on December 5.

READ MORE: NATO’s Estonia drills are anti-Russian, don’t make Europe more secure – Moscow

The exercises involved missile and artillery units, mechanized infantry, airborne troops and marines, division reconnaissance, communications, logistics, as well as the crews of combat and military transport aircraft and helicopters, and vessels of the Baltic Fleet.

Tactical Iskander-M ballistic missile systems of the Western Military District’s missile brigade were rapidly transferred from Russia’s mainland to conduct off-the-march combat training tasks. Within two days, two brigades were deployed in Kaliningrad by the military transport aircraft and vessels of the Baltic Fleet.

FILE PHOTO: sistem peluru berpandu Iskander-M (FILE PHOTO: Iskander-M missile system (RIA Novosti/Alexander Vilf)

Sementara itu, Pertahanan Tentera udara menangkis serangan simulasi musuh manuver pada pemasangan kerajaan dan tentera strategik. Latihan perlindungan sempadan taktikal juga termasuk laut dan latihan di bawah air.

Sekumpulan antar beroperasi sepenuhnya dan mampu diri tentera telah dicipta dalam "tempoh yang singkat," kata Kartapolov, sambil menambah kini semua unit yang mengambil bahagian dalam latihan taktikal telah kembali ke tempat-tempat penempatan kekal mereka.

Pada tahun 2014, tentera Rusia memegang pelbagai gerakan di beberapa daerah di Rusia, termasuk 2 acara sukan utama - Vostok-2014 dan Rusia-China Naval Inter-aksi-2014. Vostok 2014 adalah latihan ketenteraan yang paling menonjol, yang diadakan di 11 kawasan di bahagian Timur Jauh Rusia dengan kira-kira 150,000 orang yang mengambil bahagian.

BACA lebih lanjut: Surprise gerudi meletakkan lebih 100,000 tentera melalui paces mereka dalam Rusia Timur Jauh READ MORE: Surprise drill puts over 100,000 troops through their paces in Russia’s Far East

Meanwhile, the Air Defense forces repelled a simulated attack of the maneuver enemy on strategic government and military installations. The tactical border pro-tection exercises also included sea and underwater drills.

A fully operational and self-sufficient interspecific group of troops was created within a “very short period of time,” Kartapolov said, adding that currently all the units taking part in tactical exercises have returned to the places of their permanent deployment.

In 2014, the Russian military held numerous maneuvers in several districts of Russia, including two major exercise events – Vostok-2014 and Russia-China Naval Interaction-2014. Vostok 2014 was the most prominent military drill, held in 11 areas in the Far Eastern part of Russia with about 150,000 people participating.

READ MORE: Surprise drill puts over 100,000 troops through their paces in Russia’s Far East

Marines ("Black Berets") Di/in Kaliningrad (RIA Novosti/Igor Zarembo)

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/435frp

RT News - December 15, 2014

Srikandi - Breaking news: polis Australia melepaskan identiti seorang lelaki ber-senjata memegang sehingga 30 orang tebusan di sebuah kafe Sydney - dia dikata-kan menjadi pelarian Iran.

Apabila harga minyak menjunam, yang Shockwave ekonomi sedang menghantar syarikat2 tenaga di seluruh DUNIA menjadi muflis - dan bukan sahaja di negara-negara pengeksport tenaga. Apabila harga minyak menjunam, yg Shockwave ekonomi sedang menghantar syarikat-syarikat tenaga di seluruh DUNIA menjadi muflis - dan bukan sahaja di negara-negara pengeksport tenaga.

Ketua perunding Palestin memberitahu RT beliau mempunyai harapan yang tinggi untuk tawaran wilayah kerana kenegaraan di PBB, di tengah-tengah kebimbangan Washington boleh veto percubaan.

RT News - December 15, 2014 (17:00 MSK)

Breaking news this hour - Australian police release the identity of a gunman holding up to 30 people hostage in a Sydney cafe - he is said to be an Iranian refugee.

As oil prices plummet, the economic shockwave is sending energy companies across the world into bankruptcy - and not just in energy exporting nations. As oil prices plummet, the economic shockwave is sending energy companies across the world into bankruptcy - and not just in energy exporting nations.

Palestine's chief negotiator tells RT he has high hopes for the territory's bid for statehood at the UN, amid concerns Washington could veto the attempt.

Mir-2 REDUX? Negara RUSIA Baru MERENUNG Stesen ANGKASA . . .

Orbital station Mir (RIA Novosti)

V^TwentyONE - Rusia sedang mempertimbangkan penubuhan sebuah stesen ang-kasa negara, ketua agensi angkasa Roscosmos mengsahkan. Terdahulu seorang pegawai kanan Rusia berkata negara boleh menarik diri daripada projek Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa.

Kemungkinan Rusia mewujudkan sebuah kota kara ruang bebas yang dikendalikan yang disahkan Isnin oleh Oleg Ostapenko.

"Terdapat pilihan ini. Kami membuat pengiraan pada masa ini, "Ostapenko berkata ketika ditanya mengenai projek yang mungkin.

Beliau menambah bahawa stesen angkasa negara akan menjadi "satu langkah ke hadapan" untuk Rusia dan berkhidmat "beberapa tujuan yang berbeza," misalnya sebagai titik pemindahan untuk program penerokaan lunar Rusia.

Ostapenko tidak akan mengulas lanjut mengenai sama ada apa-apa projek yang akan memberi kesan negatif penyertaan Rusia di Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa - projek yang dikendalikan oleh kerjasama yang luas negara dan agensi angkasa negara - tetapi berkata Moscow setia kepada komitmen untuk ruang kerjasama.

"Tidak kira bagaimana kepimpinan negara-negara tertentu membentuk dasar mereka terhadap Rusia, kami telah mempunyai kemajuan yang baik dalam hal ini tahun ini dan mempunyai prospek yang besar," katanya.

Mir-2 REDUX? Russia CONTEMPLATES New NATIONAL 
Space STATION . . .

Russia is considering the creation of a national space station, the head of the Roscosmos space agency confirmed. Earlier a senior Russian official said the country may pull out of the International Space Station project.

The possibility of Russia creating of an independently-operated space outpost was confirmed Monday by Oleg Ostapenko.

“There is this option. We are making calculations at the moment,” Ostapenko said when asked about the possible project.

He added that a national space station would be “a step forward” for Russia and may serve “a number of different purposes,” for instance as a transfer point for the Russian lunar exploration program.

Ostapenko would not elaborate on whether such a project would negatively affect Russia’s participation in the International Space Station – a project operated by a wide collaboration of countries and national space agencies – but said Moscow is faithful to its commitments for space cooperation.

“Regardless of how the leaderships of certain nations form their policies towards Russia, we’ve had good progress in this regard this year and have big prospects,” he said.

Stesen Angkasa Antarabangsa (International Space Station (AFP/NASA)

Tetapi sebelum Dmitry Rogozin, Timbalan Perdana Menteri Rusia menyelia dasar berkaitan pertahanan, berkata Moscow boleh menghentikan segmennya daripada ISS selepas 2020. Beliau menambah bahawa "segmen Rusia [daripada ISS] wujud secara bebas daripada Amerika, tetapi segmen Amerika tidak boleh wujud tanpa Rusia."

Rusia mempunyai stesen angkasa negara dalam orbit sehingga tahun 2001, apabila stesen angkasa Mir telah deorbit, percikan ke dalam Lautan Pasifik selepas meng-habiskan masa lebih daripada 5,500 hari di angkasa. Rusia dinamakan usia stesen dan kos operasi yang tinggi sebagai sebab-sebab bagi keputusan itu.

But earlier Dmitry Rogozin, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister supervising defense-related policies, said Moscow may discontinue its segment of the ISS after 2020. He added that “the Russian segment [of the ISS] can exist independently from the American one, but the American segment cannot exist without the Russian.”

Russia had a national space station in orbit until 2001, when the Mir space station was deorbited, splashing down into the Pacific Ocean after spending more than 5,500 days in space. Russia cited the age of the station and the high operational costs as the reasons for the decision.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri Rusia Dmitry Rogozin Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin (RIA Novosti/Sergey Guneev)

Versi yang ke-2 stesen, Mir-2, telah dalam kerja-kerja sejak akhir 1980-an, tetapi akhirnya ditinggalkan kerana kos yang tinggi. Beberapa modul Rusia ISS, termasuk yang pertama diletakkan di orbit, Zarya, pada mulanya direka untuk stesen Mir-2.

Pada masa ini China adalah satu-satunya negara yang mempunyai pemasangan orbit kekal bebas yang mampu menyokong krew manusia. Beijing menahan dirinya daripada menyertai projek ISS dan memilih untuk mengikuti program angkasa yang dipandu manusia dalam negeri sahaja, walaupun ia adalah berdasarkan kepada tahap yang besar pada teknologi Rusia.

Washington telah secara dramatik megurangkan tahap kerjasama dengan Moscow selepas krisis Ukraine pada Februari membentuk semula geopolitik moden. Namun kerjasama dalam penerokaan angkasa yang dipandu manusia, satu kawasan di mana Amerika Syarikat adalah bergantung kepada Rusia untuk menyampaikan krew ke ISS dan dari stesen, selama ini tidak terjejas oleh apa yang tidak kena.

A second version of the station, Mir-2, had been in the works since the late 1980s, but was eventually abandoned due to high costs. Several Russian modules of the ISS, including the first one placed in orbit, Zarya, were initially designed for the Mir-2 station.

At the moment China is the only nation that has an independent permanent orbital installation capable of supporting human crews. Beijing refrained from participating in the ISS project and chose to pursue a purely domestic manned space program, though it is based to a large degree on Russian technology.

Washington has dramatically reduced the level of cooperation with Moscow after the Ukrainian crisis in February reshaped modern geopolitics. However coopera-tion in manned space exploration, an area in which the US is dependent on Russia for delivering ISS crews to and from the station, has been so far unaffected by the stand-off.

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PBB Menggesa EU Untuk MENGAMBIL Pelarian Walaupun PROTES Anti-ASING . . .

V^TwentyONE - Pelarian yang tiba di Eropah dari dilanda perang Syria meminta suaka meletakkan beban tambahan untuk EU, yg ekonomi dlm krisis & xenofobia disebarkan di mana semakin meningkat.

Lebih 3 juta orang, menurut organisasi kemanusiaan Migran 'Hak Rangkaian, telah meninggalkan Syria akibat perang, dan sebahagian daripada mereka menuju ke EU meminta suaka. Mereka pergi ke Eropah "untuk mempunyai kehidupan yang lebih baik, utk mempunyai kehidupan yg baik, mempunyai hidup damai," kata seorang pelarian kpd RT di Greece, yg telah menyaksikan kemasukan ketara dalam tahun-tahun kebelakangan ini.

"Kami tidak melihat had dan kita tidak mahu melihat orang yang tidur di jalanan," kata Angelos Syrigos, Menteri Dalam Negeri Yunani. Walaupun Greece bersedia untuk menerima pelarian itu tidak dapat menerima mereka semua.

"Tetapi pada masa yang sama, bilangan mereka adalah begitu luas," tambah Syrigos.

UN Urges EU to TAKE Refugees Despite ANTI-Migrant PROTESTs . . .

Refugees arriving in Europe from war-torn Syria asking for asylum are putting an additional burden for the EU, whose economy is in crisis and where xenophobia is on the rise.

Over three million people, according to humanitarian organization Migrants' Rights Network, have left Syria due to the war, and some of them headed to the EU asking for asylum. They travel to Europe “to have better life, to have good life, to have peace life,” one refugee told RT in Greece, which has seen a significant influx in recent years.

“We don’t see limits and we don’t want to see people sleeping in the streets,” says Angelos Syrigos, Greek Interior Minister. Although Greece is ready to receive refugees it cannot accept them all.

“But at the same time, their numbers are so vast,” adds Syrigos.

Pelarian Syria duduk di bawah khemah sementara kerana mereka berlindung dari hujan lebat semasa protes di Athens pada 12 Disember, 2014 (Syrian refugees sit under a makeshift tent as they take cover from the heavy rain during a protest in Athens on December 12, 2014 (AFP Photo)

Pada bulan November sehingga 200 orang Syria yang mencari perlindungan di EU mula yang duduk-dalam di dataran utama Athens 'dalam usaha untuk status suaka, permit kerja sementara dan rawatan perubatan. Kerajaan Greek kewangan diikat berkata ia tidak mempunyai sumber untuk menangani masalah pelarian yang semakin meningkat.

BACA lebih lanjut: pelarian Syria melancarkan mogok lapar di luar Parlimen Yunani READ MORE: Syrian refugees launch hunger strike outside Greek parliament

Sebahagian besar pelarian berharap untuk meninggalkan Greece untuk Eropah Utara. Berdasarkan dasar imigresen Kesatuan Eropah, pendatang tdk boleh ber-gerak ke negara-negara Kesatuan Eropah yg lain melainkan dgn visa pelancong, dan hanya boleh tinggal tidak melebihi 90 hari dalam mana-mana 6 bulan.

PBB dan pertubuhan kemanusiaan yg lain, termasuk Hak Rangkaian Pendatang', menggesa EU untuk mempercepatkan proses penerimaan pelarian. Mm berkata EU boleh dan mesti menerima sekurang-kurangnya 180,000 pendatang. Walau bagai-manapun sesetengah negara tidak sabar-sabar untuk menerima mereka.

"Kami tidak bersedia untuk menerima semua orang, kita tidak boleh menerima semua orang, kita tidak perlu semua orang," kata Kent Ekeroth dari Sweden Demokrat Parti.

Satu lagi masalah yang pendatang menghadapi berkembang tahap perkauman dan Islamofobia. Di Jerman, lawan pengislaman berkumpul rekod 15,000 orang berarak menentang "suaka menipu" di negara ini.

Pergerakan itu - "Patriotik Eropah Terhadap Islamisasi daripada negeri barat," atau PEGIDA - sedang mengumpul momentum untuk membantah rancangan untuk menambah 14 pusat untuk kira-kira 2,000 pelarian di bandar timur Dresden.

In November up to 200 Syrians seeking asylum in the EU began a sit-in in Athens’ main square in a bid for asylum status, temporary working permits and medical care. The financially strapped Greek government says it doesn’t have the resources to deal with the growing refugee problem.

READ MORE: Syrian refugees launch hunger strike outside Greek parliament

The bulk of the refugees hope to leave Greece for Northern Europe. Based on EU immigration policy, the migrants cannot move to other EU countries unless on a tourist visa, and can only stay a maximum of 90 days in any six months.

UN and other humanitarian organizations, including Migrants' Rights Network, urge the EU to speed up the process of receiving the refugees. The MRN says the EU can and must receive at least 180,000 migrants. However some countries are not eager to accept them.

"We’re not ready to accept everyone, we shouldn’t accept everyone, we don’t need everyone,” says Kent Ekeroth from Sweden Democrats Party.

Another problem that the migrants face is growing level of racism and Islamophobia. In Germany, opponents of Islamization gathered a record 15,000 people to march against "asylum cheats" in the country.

The movement – "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident," or PEGIDA – is gathering momentum to protest plans to add 14 centers for roughly 2,000 refugees in the eastern city of Dresden.

Aktivis nasionalis membawa sepanduk membaca "Keberanian untuk kebenaran" dan "Hentikan pendatang menyalahgunakan sistem kebajikan sosial kami," dan Mereka juga melaungkan "Kami kehilangan negara kami": "Jika anda tidak suka Jerman, tinggalkannya" dan "kami rakyatnya."

Protes serupa adalah mendapat momentum di Jerman sebagai pemohon suaka melonjak kepada kira-kira 200,000 tahun ini, sebahagiannya disebabkan oleh kemasukan orang-orang Aram.

Nationalist activists carried banners reading "Courage for the truth” and "Stop immigrants abusing our social welfare system," as well as "We miss our country.” They also chanted: "If you don't love Germany, leave it" and "We're the people.”

Similar protests are gaining momentum across Germany as asylum seekers surged to some 200,000 this year, due in part to an influx of Syrians.

Para peserta memegang sepanduk semasa demonstrasi yang dipanggil oleh kumpulan anti-imigresen PEGIDA, satu singkatan Jerman untuk "Eropah Patriotik terhadap pengislaman di Barat", di Dresden 15 Disember 2014 (Participants hold a banner during a demonstration called by anti-immigration group PEGIDA, a German abbrevia-tion for "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West", in Dresden December 15, 2014 (Reuters, Hannibal Hanschke)

BACA lebih lanjut: Beribu-ribu di perhimpunan Dresden terhadap pengislaman, memanggil nilai Barat READ MORE: Thousands in Dresden rally against Islamization, call for Western values

Selalunya pendatang mencari kehidupan yang baru di Eropah cuba untuk memasuki negara-negara EU secara haram.

Pada bulan Oktober pendatang bertempur dengan polis di Calais sebagai kira-kira 2,500 orang cuba untuk mencapai Great Britain yang dilihat oleh ramai sebagai tempat yg selamat, dgn ekonomi yg stabil & kuat tradisi toleransi terhadap pelarian dari perang. 

Datuk Bandar Calais Natacha Bouchart berkata pada September bahwa sistem faedah UK adalah "magnet" utk pendatang tanpa izin, yg melihat Britain sebagai "sentuhan lembut."

Pendatang haram dari Afrika Maghribi yang juga telah menemui satu cara untuk mendapatkan kehidupan yang baru di Eropah dengan melompat ke atas pagar yang dibina di sekitar kawasan penempatan Sepanyol di Afrika Utara.

BACA lebih lanjut: pelari Blade: 5 meter cukur-berwayar dinding merancang untuk menyimpan Maghribi pendatang daripada Sepanyol READ MORE: Blade runners: 5-meter razor-wired wall planned to keep Moroccan migrants out of Spain

Salah satu terlepas terbesar dalam hampir satu dekad berlaku pada bulan Mac, apabila 1,000 orang melompat pagar 3 lapisan dawai yang sedia ada dibina oleh Sepanyol, dengan kira-kira separuh daripada mereka berjaya. Satu lagi 500 orang cuba untuk melompat kepada kebebasan pada bulan Mei, dengan kira-kira 1/4  mendapatkan melalui ke Sepanyol.

READ MORE: Thousands in Dresden rally against Islamization, call for Western values

Often migrants seeking a new life in Europe try to enter EU countries illegally.

In October migrants clashed with the police in Calais as some 2,500 people tried to reach Great Britain which is seen by many as a safe haven, with a stable economy and strong tradition of tolerance toward refugees from war. The Mayor of Calais Natacha Bouchart said in September that the UK benefit system is a “magnet” for illegal immigrants, who see Britain as a “soft touch.”

Illegal African migrants from Morocco have also found a way to seek a new life in Europe by jumping over the fence built around the Spanish enclaves in North Africa.

READ MORE: Blade runners: 5-meter razor-wired wall planned to keep Moroccan migrants out of Spain

One of the biggest escapes in nearly a decade occurred in March, when 1,000 people jumped the existing triple-layer wire fence built by the Spanish, with about half of them successful. Another 500 people tried to leap to freedom in May, with about a quarter getting through into Spain.

Bakal pendatang berdiri di atas pagar pemondok memisahkan Maghribi dari utara Afrika wilayah Sepanyol Melilla pada 1 Mei 2014, berikutan serangan pagi pada pemondok dalam satu percubaan untuk menyeberang ke Sepanyol (Would-be immigrants stand atop a boarder fence separating Morocco from the north African Spanish enclave of Melilla on May 1, 2014, following a morning assault on the boarder in an attempt to cross into Spain ( AFP Photo/Blasco De Aellaneda)

Kemudian pihak berkuasa Maghribi mendedahkan rancangan untuk membina sebuah dinding 5 meter tinggi, mendahului dgn pisau & kawat berduri, di sempadan dgn wilayah Afrika Utara Sepanyol Melilla. Langkah ini akan mensasarkan pen-datang cuba untuk menyeberang ke Eropah.

Lebih 3,400 pendatang dan pelarian telah tenggelam di Laut Mediterranean pada tahun ini cuba untuk mencapai pantai Eropah. Itali telah berjaya menyelamatkan lebih daripada 150,000 orang pada tahun ini - sebilangan besar daripada mereka telah berkumpul di sekitar pulau Lampedusa berhampiran Sicily. Jumlah orang yang telah cuba lintasan ke Eropah di Laut Mediterranean pada tahun ini adalah lebih daripada 207,000.

BACA lebih lanjut: 3,400 mati di laut: UN Slam Eropah untuk snubbing keselamatan lebih halangan imigresen READ MORE: 3,400 dead at sea: UN slams Europe for snubbing safety over immigration barriers

Later Moroccan authorities revealed a plan to erect a five-meter high wall, topped with blades and barbed wire, on the border with the Spanish North African enclave of Melilla. The measure will target migrants trying to cross into Europe.

Over 3,400 migrants and refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea this year trying to reach the European coast. Italy has managed to rescue more than 150,000 people this year – a large number of whom have congregated around the island of Lampedusa near Sicily. The total number of people who have attempted the illegal crossing to Europe over the Mediterranean Sea this year is over 207,000.

READ MORE: 3,400 dead at sea: UN slams Europe for snubbing safety over immigration barriers

READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/d38qsf