http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight.html RT : Spotlight en RT 523681 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-24/523681.html Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:46:00 +0300 Muhammed Yunus, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and Founder of the Grameen Bank 1940 – Born in Bengal, British India (now Bangladesh)1960 – Graduates, Dhaka University1961 – Receives MA in economics, Dhaka University1962 – Lecturer of economics, Chittagong College, Bangladesh1969 – Assistant professor of economics, MTSU, Tennessee, U.S.1970 – Receives Ph.D. in economics, Vanderbilt University, U.S.1972 – Deputy chief, general economics division, planning commission , government of Bangladesh1972 – Associate professor of economics and head of the department o f economics, Chittagong University, Bangladesh1975 – Professor of economics, chittagong university and director, r ural economics programme, Chittagong, Bangladesh1976 – Project director, Grameen Bank project, Bangladesh1983 – Managing director, Grameen Bank, Bangladesh1996 – Cabinet minister (advisor) in the caretaker government of Bangladesh2006 – Awarded Nobel Peace prize2009 – Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, U.S. Today we will talk about banking for the poor. In 1974, during the terrible famine in his native country of Bangladesh, young economist Muhammad Yunus discovered that very small loans could be of huge importance for a poor person, not only saving them from hunger, but helping them to get richer. Now the total amount of borrowers at the Grameen bank is several million people around the world. In 2006, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to create economic and social development from below. Today Muhammad Yunus is our guest at Spotlight. 523498 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-20/523498.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0300 Vice Mayor of Riga, Ainars Slesers 1970 – Born in Riga1989 – Graduates, Riga Industrial College1991 – Moves to Norway1991 – Norwegian Christian Higher School1992 – President, joint Latvian Norwegian enterprise, Latvian Information and Trade centre1993 – President, Skandi Ltd.1994 – General director, Varner Baltija Ltd.1996 – General director, Varner Hakon Invest Ltd.1996 – General director, Rimi Baltija Ltd.1998 – Latvian Economics Minister2002 – Co-founder, Latvia’s first party2002 – Deputy head of Latvian government2004 – Latvian Communications Minister2009 – Vice mayor of Riga Today we will talk about Latvia. Russia’s relations with this country have been rather tense, mostly due to the condition of its Russian-speaking minority. But something is changing. Ethnic Russian Nil Ushakov has been elected mayor of Riga, and the vice-mayor of this city is on his visit to Moscow. Today Ainars Slesers is our guest in the studio. 523243 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-19/523243.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0300 Vice Mayor of Riga, Ainars Slesers Today we will talk about Latvia. Russia’s relations with this country have been rather tense, mostly due to the condition of its Russian-speaking minority. But something is changing. Ethnic Russian Nil Ushakov has been elected mayor of Riga, and the vice-mayor of this city is on his visit to Moscow. Today Ainars Slesers is our guest in the studio. 522829 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-17/522829.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0300 Head of the European Commission's Delegation to Moscow, Fernando Valenzuela Today we will try to speculate about the EU. The European Union is about to elect its first-ever President. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is attending the EU summit in Stockholm to discuss energy security and a new cooperation pact. Summit participants are gathering amid fears that last winter’s gas row between Russia and Ukraine, which badly hit many European consumers, could happen again. To talk about the issues on the agenda in Stockholm, our guest today is the newly appointed Head of the European Commission's Delegation to Moscow, Fernando Valenzuela. 522499 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-17/522499.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:46:00 +0300 Frans Timmermans, Dutch Minister for European Affairs 1961 – Born in Maastricht1985 – Graduates, Radboud University, Nijmegen1986 – Postgraduate course in European law and politics and French literature, University of Nancy, France1987 – Completes military service, military intelligence service1988 – Policy officer, european integration department, dutch foreign ministry1990 – Embassy Secretary, Dutch embassy, Moscow1993 – Deputy Minister for Development Co-operation EEC affairs section1994 – Works for EU commissioner, Hans Van Den Broek1995 – Advisor and private secretary to the High Commissioner on National Minorities, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe1998 – Member, house of representatives of the States General for the Labour Party2007 – Dutch minister for European affairs in the Fourth Balkenende Government After the last obstacles have been removed and the Czech Republic has finally ratified it, the EU’s Lisbon Treaty, which creates the posts of president and foreign policy director, is expected to come into force on December 1. National leaders are currently debating who should get the two top jobs in the EU, which are the Union President and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. To talk about the Lisbon Treaty and its consequences, our guest is Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans. 522043 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-13/522043.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:45:00 +0300 Boris Makarenko, Chairman of the Board at the Center for Political Technologies and Director for Social Political Programmes at the Institute of Contemporary Development 1959 – Born in Moscow1981 – Graduates, Institute of Asian and African Studies, Moscow State University1992 – Studies at Princeton University1993 – Consultant, Ethnic Relations project, Princeton, New Jersey1993 – Project leader, Centre for Political Technologies1994 – Deputy general director, Centre for Political Technologies2004 – First deputy general director, Centre for Political Technologies2007 – Chairman of the board, Centre for Political Technologies2008 – Director for social political programmes, Institute of Contemporary Development On November 12, President Medvedev delivered his annual address to Russia’s parliament, the Federal Assembly, in which he laid out the main tasks for the country’s mid-term development. Political analyst Boris Makarenko is in our studio today to discuss the presidential address. 521872 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-12/521872.html Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:45:00 +0300 Egor Prokhorchuk, Scientist, Group leader, Centre of Bioengineering, Russian Academy of Sciences, Laboratory Head, Kurchatov Scientific Centre 1971 – Born in Moscow1993 – Graduates, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology1996 – Receives PhD in molecular biology, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences1998 – Moves to the UK1998 – Researcher, Edinburgh University2002 – Returns to Moscow2002 – Group leader, Institute of Gene Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences2005 – Group leader, Centre of Bioengineering, Russian Academy of Sciences2009 – Laboratory head, Kurchatov Scientific Centre The brain drain has been a major problem for Russia’s scientific community, threatening its survival ever since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Deprived of sufficient funding, more and more Russian scientists chose to go abroad. Now, there are some of them which have already come back home and are pursuing a successful scientific career. Has the tide finally turned? One of these few, Yegor Prokhorchuk, Group Leader at the Center of Bioengineering and Laboratory Head at the Kurchatov Scientific Centre, is the guest in our studio today. 521488 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-10/521488.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0300 Father of Europanto, Diego Marani Europanto is a mixture of words and grammatical rules borrowed from a number of European languages which anyone with a basic knowledge of English can understand. It was born in Brussels, the capital of the European Union. Could this language become an alternative to English as an international language? To talk about it, the father of Europanto, Diego Marani is our guest today. 520369 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-10/520369.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:45:00 +0300 Egon Krenz – Former GDR communist politician and Leader of the German Democratic Republic, 1989 We will talk about the historic autumn of 1989. On the 9th of November, 1989, the Berlin Wall, the symbol of the Cold War and the Iron Curtain across Europe, finally fell. The communist regime in East Germany collapsed soon after. The last Communist leader of East Germany, and the man who gave the order to open the Berlin Wall exactly 20 years ago, Egon Krenz, is our guest in the studio. 521386 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-10/521386.html Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:46:00 +0300 Father of Europanto, Diego Marani Europanto is a mixture of words and grammatical rules borrowed from a number of European languages, which anyone of average culture with a basic knowledge of English can understand. It was born in Brussels, the capital of the European Union. Could this language become an alternative to English as an international language? To talk about this, the father of Europanto, Diego Marani is our guest today. 520165 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-07/520165.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:45:00 +0300 Sergey Yastrzhembsky, a former aide to the Russian President who has recently become a photographer and who also directed the “Beyond the Passage of Time” documentary series Today we will talk about the art of film... Sergey Yastrzhembsky is a career diplomat, who was known for many years as spokesman for the Kremlin. Today he finds his new vocation in making documentaries and doing aerial photography. To talk about things which are stronger than power, Sergey Yastrzhembsky is my guest in our studio today. 519943 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-06/519943.html Fri, 06 Nov 2009 03:45:00 +0300 Russian representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin Today we will talk again about the NATO-Russia relations. Relations between NATO and Russia have warmed steadily since they were frozen in the aftermath of the Russo-Georgian war in August 2008. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is to make his first trip to Moscow in his new job later this year. Is a new strategic partnership between Russia and the US achievable? We’ll be talking about it with the Russian representative to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin 519529 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-04/519529.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 03:45:00 +0300 Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Bekele Geleta The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world's largest humanitarian organization. Founded in 1919, it sees its mission as “improving the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity.” The International Federation comprises 186 Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, including the Russian one. The Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies Bekele Geleta is Spotlight’s guest today. 519424 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-11-03/519424.html Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:45:00 +0300 Marat Shterin – Sociologist of Religion and Lecturer on the subject at King's College in London, and author of the book “Dying for Faith 1956 – Born in Moscow1979 – Graduates, Moscow State Pedagogical University1979 – Teaches history in Secondary School of Arts, Moscow1987 – Research fellow, Russian Academy of Education1991 – Executive director, research centre, Moscow School of Social and Economic Sciences1994 – Religious literature department head, Moscow State Library of Foreign Literature2001 – PhD in sociology, London School of Economics and Political Science2002 – Research fellow, london school of economics and political science2005 – Lecturer, Sociology of Religion, King’s College, LondonThe fear of Islam has never been as strong and as widespread as in the fist decade of the XXI century, which started with a terrorist attack on New York’s World Trade Center. Russia entered the new century facing an Islamic terror campaign in the North Caucasus. Can this violence be blamed on the Muslim religion? What is the relationship between religion and violence? We’ll be talking about with author of the book “Dying for Faith” Marat Shterin, Sociologist of Religion and Lecturer on the subject at King's College in London. 518833 http://www.russiatoday.com/About_Us/Programmes/Spotlight/2009-10-31/518833.html Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:46:00 +0300 Joe Vitale – Bestselling author, Metaphysical Practitioner, Hypnotherapist Today’s show is about the power of wishful thinking and hypnotic marketing secrets. Our guest Dr. Joe Vitale has worked out a special technique, which he calls the Attractor Factor, that has made him one of the world's most powerful copywriters and marketing minds. He is the author of international bestsellers, and also one of the stars of the hit movie “The Secret”.