French presidential candidate and leader of the right-wing National Front party Marine Le Pen is gaining more support, leading with 25 to 26 percent of the vote, according to the latest Ipsos Sopra Steria survey, carried out for Cevipof and Le Monde. [...]

When former CIA Director Michael Morell suggested in his op-ed for The Cipher Brief that Edward Snowden should be presented as the “perfect inauguration gift” from Vladimir Putin to Donald Trump, Russians seemed offended by this tip. In fact, so much so, that Snowden’s asylum was extended for three more years two just after Morell made his argument. [...]

If NASA intends to continue sending astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) or the moon, the space agency has little choice but to rely on Roscosmos’ Soyuz spacecraft, at least until 2019. On Tuesday, NASA filed a "presolicitation" requesting that private firms reach out to NASA if they can transport astronauts to and from the orbital research platform. [...]

Greece's national rail company TrainOSE has been sold to Italy's state railway group Ferrovie dello Stato (FS) for €45 million ($48.1 million). The sale is part of Greece’s €86 billion bailout agreed with international creditors two years ago. [...]

The European Union should maintain a “strong” and “independent” approach in foreign and domestic policy, regardless of who the current US President is, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz told RT. The official spoke following a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in which they discussed ties between the EU and Moscow. [...]

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is legally eligible to obtain Russian citizenship, his lawyer said, after it was announced that his asylum status had been extended for 3 more years. “Essentially, he now has every reason to apply for [Russian] citizenship in the future, in a while, as the law [states] that one needs to spend no less than 5 years on the territory of Russia [to be granted c [...]

A senior Crimean official has told reporters that residents of the region would welcome a visit by French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, as well as other politicians who support Crimeans’ choice of reunification with Russia. [...]

Moscow and Ankara are carrying out their first joint military operation against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in the Syrian province of Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry has announced. [...]

Leaders and top officials from the UK, Germany, and France have “grossly interfered” in US internal affairs, “campaigned” for Hillary Clinton, and openly “demonized” Donald Trump, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. [...]

Since becoming the US Commander-in-Chief in 2008, Barack Obama charted a thinly veiled anti-Russia course that many failed to anticipate or appreciate due to the media-generated hype of “hope and change” that accompanied his rise to power. [...]

Trump advisor Anthony Scaramucci says US sanctions against Russia have, in fact, united the nation around President Putin and his government, having the opposite effect to that desired by Washington, largely due to the toughness of “Russian culture.” [...]

Slovakia’s prime minister says the EU will make it very “painful” for the UK to leave, setting an example for other countries, reports Ameera David. RT’s Peter Oliver on the latest round of German regional elections, where the right-wing AFD party made more gains. Bianca Facchinei on research showing that Volkswagen may not actually be the worst polluter in Europe. Alex Mihailovich has the [...]

A military security system, which would include Russia, should be set up instead of NATO, Sahra Wagenknecht, leader of the German Left party said in an interview, echoing Trump’s recent statements on NATO. [...]

Iran says it rejects any participation by US representatives at the scheduled Syria peace talks in Astana, Kazakhstan. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he believes US and UN representatives should be invited to the meeting. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said he has no grounds to attack or protect US President-elect Donald Trump, since he does not know him personally. He added though that those behind the recent allegations against Trump have "no moral scruples." [...]

A human rights spokesperson for Chancellor Merkel’s CDU is quitting the conservative party citing sharp discontent with the government’s “political will” to let thousands of unidentified refugees in, despite the risk of terrorists slipping through as well. [...]

While the US continues to publicly accuse Russia of numerous hacking attacks without providing any proof, it actually actively uses its own advantages in cyberspace for surveillance and intelligence purposes, Russia’s security chief has said. [...]

German intelligence has accused Russia of systematically undermining relations between Europe and the US, German Spiegel Online magazine wrote, citing a new report prepared jointly by the Federal Intelligence Service and the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. [...]

In the last week of his presidency, Barack Obama extended sanctions against Russia. Next US President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the policy of sanctions. However, experts warn that Trump is unlikely to lift the sanctions in the first months of his term. [...]

Russian singer Victoria Tsyganova has sent a parcel to the wife of newly elected US president Donald Trump containing a jacket made of fur and cashmere. It will be delivered to the US by the Russian Post. According to the Russian Post, the parcel was sent to the US on Friday from Sheremetyevo airport on a regular flight to New York. [...]

Austria needs an “effective law banning political Islam,” said Heinz-Christian Strache, the head of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPO), adding that the Alpine country should also stop accepting new migrants and refugees. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has once again "outmaneuvered" US President Barack Obama by refraining from slapping reciprocal sanctions on American government agencies and expelling US diplomats, Earl Rasmussen, Executive Vice President of the Eurasia Center, told RIA Novosti. [...]