The UN Climate Change Conference has been on in Copenhagen since December 7.  The delegation of 193 states are taking part in it including Russia.  Earlier presidential aide Arkady Dvorkovich said that Russia is ready to cut emissions of greenhouse gases by 25% to the level of 1990-s but only if a number of conditions is met. First of all G8 countries and BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) should participate in the greenhouse gas emission agreement. Also production technologies, which enable the countries to cut hazardous emissions, should become more available, he said.

At the age of nine, Felix launched a campaign to plant 1 million trees in each country to fight climate change. 

His Plant for the Planet organization started as a school project and recently achieved its target of planting one million trees in Germany.

Now, Felix is spreading his message around the world. Plant for the Planet is running in 131 countries.

The next goal of the eco celebrity is Russia. Felix has recently spoken about his plans to come to Russia where, according to him, he’d like to meet and talk with environmental officials joined by Russian child activists, whom he claims to be plenty.

http://english.ruvr.ru/2...erhero-coming-to-Russia/

Tibbets said the storm ruptured one of tanks. Part of the spilled diesel fuel leaked into the nearby Woodbridge bay. A cleanup operation is currently underway in the area, he said.

Some 100 workers and vacuum trucks have been dispatched to the site to assist in the effort.

The incident was reported by the Shell corp., which has a share in the Motiva company, although there was no information on the spill amount. Shell says at least two tanks were damaged by the hurricane.

The cleanup operation involves the placement of containment booms and clensing the water surface off the oil film.

51 people die in Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy that hit the USA has killed 51 people.

The US super-storm battered 17 states, causing a 20 billion dollar damage to the country.

The hardest hit were New York and the adjacent states.

More than 8.5 American and Canadian citizens were left without electricity as a result.

The works to restore power supply that are currently underway in the centre of New York will possibly continue till the end of next week.

More than 18,000 flights were cancelled on the East Coast of the USA.

Limited NYC subways to reopen Thursday

New York City's subway system will resume operating on a limited basis on Thursday, four days after shutting down ahead of the arrival of Sandy, the massive storm that brought unprecedented flooding to the world's financial capital, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Limited service on suburban commuter rail lines serving Long Island to the east and Westchester County and Connecticut to the north will resume on Wednesday afternoon, Cuomo said at a press conference.

Sandy loses power, death toll keeps growing

Hurricane Sandy, which hit the US eastern coast and Canada, is losing force, but the death toll keeps growing. According to the latest reports, the hurricane has claimed some 50 lives. Over 8 million are suffering electricity outages.

The raging elements claimed more than 60 human lives in the Caribbean countries before making landfall over the US eastern coast and Canada on Monday night.

The overall damage cost is preliminarily estimated at 20 billion dollars, but Japanese economists feel the cost may well rise to 100 billion dollars and gravely affect US economic growth.

The US National Hurricane Centre believes that Sandy has become the biggest-scale tropical cyclone in the North-East Atlantic since tropical cyclones began to be recorded in 1851.

NY City takes measures against possible crime wave

Amid enormous efforts to get back to normal life, New York City authorities are taking measures against a crime wave that could spill over the city.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has promised “a very heavy police presence” in the blackout city areas.

According to reports from the crippled city, police vans and patrol cars with their roof lights on can be seen in the streets.

Though there has been little sign of a crime wave so far, police made multiple arrests in the city on Monday and Tuesday, officials said.

Charges included burglary, criminal mischief and trespassing.

Sandy hurricane spurs beefed up police patrols

New York has begun beefing up police patrols in the wake of Hurricane Sandy’s landfall, which triggered a rise of crime and violence in the city, media report.

Some hundred police troops have been deployed to Coney Island to protect the looted stores and banks, while residents of several blocks in Chelsea, Manhattan, hired private security forces.

New Yorkers fear the storm could lead to a spike in crime and sweeping outages, the media report says.

Russian air-carriers cancel flights to NY

Russian air-carriers Aeroflot and Transaero have cancelled their flights from Moscow to New York due this Wednesday, over hurricane Sandy. The US Delta Airlines has taken similar steps. The situation is extremely involved at JFK Airport in New York.

One runway is non-operational, since its navigation systems have drowned in floods.

Most of New York's alternate airports have been closed.

Sandy made landfall over the US eastern coast on Monday, killing more than 50 Americans to date. Some 8 million people are suffering from power outages.

The damage cost is estimated at 20 billion dollars.

The hurricane earlier hit some Caribbean countries, so the overall death toll makes up some 120.

The cyclone is currently moving towards Canada.

Life in NY gets back on track after Sandy’s impact

Life in New York is getting back on track after hurricane Sandy hit the US eastern coast on Monday night. The after-effects of the hurricane are unprecedented, the authorities say.

Water in the worst-hit lower Manhattan has receded, so the staff of housing and municipal services has got down to eliminating the consequences of the storm.

Groceries, cafes and restaurants have reopened in downtown New York, with the owners jacking prices up for top-selling goods.

According to the latest reports, some 50 people have died as a result of the hurricane.

The damage cost may reach 20 billion dollars, according to preliminary estimates.

50 people killed by Sandy

Officials say the death toll from Superstorm Sandy has reached 50.

More than 8 million are waiting for the power to return. There are widespread outages in lower Manhattan.

Utility officials say it could be days before power is restored and the subway system is running again.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said there was "no timeline" for when the subway would restart, but he hoped buses could begin running again on Wednesday.

All New York's major airports have been closed as their runways are flooded, but John F Kennedy airport and Newark in New Jersey are due to reopen at 11:00 GMT on Wednesday, with a reduced service.

It is likely to be two or three days before power is restored to most of the city, Bloomberg said.

The storm-caused deaths have been reported in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. A Toronto resident, a woman, has also fallen victim to the hurricane.

UN paralyzed by Sandy

The United Nations Headquarters in New York remains paralyzed for the third day, as does the city itself after being hit by hurricane Sandy last Tuesday night. According to the UN press service.

On October 31st all of the meetings of the UN were canceled and the UN’s website is also down.

According to the authorities hurricane "Sandy" killed at least 16 people in New York and over 600,000 households have been left without power.

The restoration of power and transport may take several days.

Obama pledges aid to Sandy victims

U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to do everything possible to quickly deal with the effects of hurricane "Sandy."

He stated that the difficulties were felt by the entire country and said that assistance would be provided free of red tape and bureaucracy.

Obama also called on US citizens to be generous and start donating to the victims of the hurricane through the American Red Cross.

The US President noted the courage of rescuers and authorities in New York, the city that suffered the most severe consequences of the storm.

Obama cancels campaigning due to Sandy

On Wednesday U.S. President Barack Obama canceled all campaign events due to Hurricane "Sandy" making landfall on the East Coast.

The Democratic candidate was to hold a meeting with voters in Ohio, but decided to stay in Washington to coordinate the actions of the government forces in the aftermath of the disaster.

Obama said his priority now is the early transfer of resources to local authorities.

Meanwhile, rival Mitt Romney, said that his campaign will resume on Wednesday in Florida.

According to his press office the Republican is in Ohio, where he opened an endowment fund to victims of the hurricane.

Earlier, Romney said that he considers it necessary to cut funding for the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Storm-related death toll in northeast U.S. exceeds 30

Hurricane Sandy has killed more than 30 people in seven northeast U.S. states, the Fox News television reports. New York City was the worst hit with at least ten people reported dead, according to New York Mayor Michel Bloomberg.

The total storm-related death toll in the state of New York is 17. Three people were killed in Pennsylvania and three in New Jersey.

One of the reactors at the Salem 1 nuclear power plant in New Jersey was shut down because of the storm after four of its six coolant pumps stopped working.

Earlier, Sandy claimed more than 60 lives in the Caribbean.

At least 10 storm dead in New York

At least 10 people were killed when superstorm Sandy hit New York, city mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday.

"Tragically we expect that number to go up," Bloomberg warned at a press conference. Authorities had previously said there was one fatality from the storm which hit Monday night.

More than 8.1 million homes and businesses were left without electric power across the eastern United States Tuesday with superstorm Sandy still moving across the region, the US government said.

The most extensive outages were reported in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania where millions were plunged in darkness by the storm, the US Department of Energy said.

Voice of Russia, Reuters, TASS, AP, BBC, Lenta.ru, RIA, Interfax, AFP

The blankets were then distributed to storage facilities maintained by the Red Cross, and will be handed out to Sandy victims this weekend in areas worst hit by the storm.

With tens of thousands of residents in the New York area still without heat or electricity the American Red Cross has been doing the best it could to keep victims of Hurricane Sandy warm. The mission may have gotten a little easier as Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry lent a hand by delivering 20 thousand blankets in an effort to assist in keeping Sandy survivors warm here in the US. Melanie Pipkin – the command leader at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington DC told the Voice of Russia the aid has been received.

“The American Red Cross did receive the blanket shipment today. And there have been four of our trailers in the affected area.”

Prior to being delivered to Red Cross storage facilities the representatives from FEMA – the Federal Emergency Management Agency greeted the Russian cargo that flew into John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 1 o’clock Wednesday morning. Lynn Canton – the regional administrator for FEMA – signed off on the cargo personally. She shared her thought with the Voice of Russia regarding the shipment that came from the Russian Federation.

“Bringing the whole community, whether that’s the whole community locally or internationally, is a great joy to see people come together on behalf of their fellow citizens that are really suffering in times like these.”

As report surface of public transportation being restored and bridges and tunnels opening to traffic, there are plenty of areas in the New York region that have yet to recover. Areas such as Breezy Point, Rockaway Beach and Long Beach still don’t have power restored and many don’t have heat or clean running water. With temperature’s dropping as winter approaches Pipkin of the Red Cross says people affected by Hurricane Sandy are in dire need of supplies to stay warm.

“The people in the affected areas have been living in very tough conditions for an extended period of time. And they’ve had to deal with power outages and cold temperatures. So, we are distributing blankets as a way to keep warm, on top this working with our partners to distribute coats and other cold weather gear so that people are comfortable and are taken care of.”

Power in various areas in southern portions of Long Island, Quinn’s and Brooklyn may not be restored for weeks according to New York officials. And with that comes great concern – how soon will victims of Hurricane Sandy feel the warmth. Pipkin says the American Red Cross will distribute the blanket by the end of the week.

“We are planning to distribute the blankets likely this weekend. We are working with our partners, involve at partners. They help us distribute the blankets. Our partners include Catholic Charities and Salvation Army and some more groups that will help us to distribute the blankets in the affected areas.”

In the meantime Russia’s aid mission will depart John F. Kennedy Airport Wednesday night and return to Moscow with hopes that those struggling from Sandy may get a little relief. It also isn’t the first time that Russia has supplied humanitarian aid to the US. During a natural disaster back in 2005, during the Hurricane Katrina the Russian Government delivered more than 60 tons of humanitarian aid. As the saying goes – “from Russia with love”.

In June 30 percent of fish caught within 20 km of the damaged station revealed a higher than normal presence of radioactive cesium.

Fishing off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture is currently banned.

Voice of Russia, Vesti