RussiaToday-Video-News-World:Polar Rivalry: States crave slice of Arctic oil & gas pie

The untouched beauty of the Arctic may soon be a thing of the past. Many nations are craving to get their hands on the vast resources hidden beneath the ice, which is rapidly melting away. Russia's convened the third international Arctic forum, hoping to draw attention to the region's ecological security.



US President Barack Obama criticized the UN Security Council for inaction on Syria, and called for a diplomatic solution to the standoff with Iran, in a General Assembly speech that robustly defended America's "exceptional" role in the world.


Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York, Barack Obama has defended America's foreign military interventions, and stressed that Washington must remain heavily engaged in the Middle East. That's after his Brazilian counterpart took the chance to criticise the US for the recent global spy scandal.


Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff lambasted US spying on her country at Tuesday's UN summit, calling it a "breach of international law." She further warned that the NSA surveillance, revealed since June, threatened freedom of speech and democracy.


30 Greenpeace activists are accused of piracy after trying to board a Russian oil platform in protest against drilling in the Arctic. Russian and foreign activists are among those being investigated.


Fresh gunfire has erupted at the shopping mall in Nairobi where government troops are clearing out the remaining Al-Shabaab militants holed up there. Earlier the the country's interior ministry announced the three-day siege had come to an end with security forces taking control of the center and releasing the captives. Meanwhile Kenya's foreign minister says up to three Americans and a British citizen are among the Al-Qaeda linked militants that attacked the building.