Countries

EU making Russia into “phantom enemy” for geopolitical reasons, shouldn’t lecture others about democracy – Irish MEP
Hand-wringing over Alexey Navalny is but an excuse to target Russia, and the EU should not lecture anyone about human rights when it turns its back on Julian Assange and other cases closer to home, Irish MEP Clare Daly told RT. “We have this narrative of supposedly European values, whatever they are, that we’re supposed to bring them to the rest of the world and that Russia isn’t playin [...]
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Austrian Chancellor Says Ready to Get Vaccinated With Sputnik V If It Gets EU Approval
MOSCOW - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz says he is ready to get vaccinated with the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine or the Chinese vaccine, if they are approved by the EU. "Yes [I am ready to get vaccinated], if the vaccines [Russia’s and China’s] are approved in Europe," Kurz said in an interview with the German Welt am Sonntag newspaper. The chancellor said that Austria [...]
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Sputnik V prepares for EU launch: Russian Covid-19 vaccine clears 1st hurdle for roll-out as regulator EMA accepts application
Brussels’ beleaguered coronavirus vaccination program could be poised to get a shot in the arm as the EU’s central regulator completes its initial stage in appraising Sputnik V, the vaccine developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Center. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) told Russian media on Tuesday that the scientific consultation process was now finalized. “As a next step, the company ca [...]
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US Troops Not Involved in Guarding Syria’s Stolen Oil, Pentagon Says
In 2019, the US redeployed troops from the Syrian-Turkish border into the war-torn country’s interior, with President Donald Trump admitting freely that the forces were assigned to “take the oil.” Russia estimates that the Pentagon, the CIA, contractors and Kurdish militias make over $30 million a month smuggling the stolen oil out of the country. The US military presence in northea [...]
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Lancet Analysis of Sputnik V Puts It Among World’s Top Vaccines, Medical Scientist Says
GENOA, Italy - The report in the medical journal The Lancet on the safety and efficacy of the Russian vaccine against the novel coronavirus has put Sputnik V among the world's top vaccines, David Livermore, a member of the scientific advisory board on Sputnik V, said in an interview with Sputnik. On Tuesday, peer-reviewed medical journal The Lancet published an interim analysis from the [...]
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Von der Leyen’s Engagement With Russia on Vaccine Attempt to ‘Save Face’, EU Lawmaker Says
MOSCOW - European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's recent remark on the possible approval of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine smacks of an attempt to save face and her position, Roman Haider, an EU lawmaker from the Freedom Party of Austria, told Sputnik on Thursday. Haider's comments follow the EU authorities' attempts to grapple with criticism over the slowdown in vaccination [...]
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As Wuhan returns to normal a year after lockdown, it’s a bitter pill to swallow for US media
Wuhan, where the Covid-19 pandemic began, has now returned to a life resembling that before the virus swept in, after China was able to control the outbreak of the disease with strict but necessary lockdown measures. Seeing Wuhan’s success ought to bring a ray of hope to those around the world facing the worst of their country’s outbreaks; yet, in their annual retrospectives, American med [...]
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Russia’s Sputnik V Vaccine Rollout To Expand Globally Despite Western Media Claims, RDIF Chief Says
The Russian vaccine created at the Gamaleya Research Centre in Moscow is being rolled out internationally in the race to control the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the chief executive of Russia's sovereign wealth fund said on Thursday. The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) plans to expand its operations and increase the rollout of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine across the globe amid the ong [...]
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European Union Stops Referring to Juan Guaido as President of Venezuela
Since 2019, the United States and the European Union have formally recognized former National Assembly leader Juan Guaido as the acting president of Venezuela. However, with the government of Nicolas Maduro holding onto power and sweeping the legislative body's elections last month, support for Guiado from the western powers is waning. The European Union has stopped referring to the Vene [...]
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NYT Dubs Russia’s Sputnik V ‘More Rugged’ Than Vaccines by Moderna, Pfizer in Detailed Exposé
Created by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Sputnik V was the first SARS-CoV-2 vaccine to be registered anywhere in the world, with dozens of countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America expressing interest in obtaining it. Russia began a coroanvirus vaccination campaign using Sputnik V last month. The New York Times has published a comprehensive arti [...]
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‘Sanctions Not Designed to Harm Friends’, but India Will Have to Make Choice on S-400, US Envoy Says
Since America considers India a major defence partner, the Narendra Modi government was hoping to receive an exemption from US sanctions over the acquisition of five S-400 units. India signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia in 2018 in an attempt to secure its borders from enemies. US law which gives the administration authority to slap strict sanctions on countries which have done deals [...]
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Germany’s Maas Blames Trump for Inciting Capitol Chaos
BERLIN (Sputnik) - German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on Thursday piled blame on US President Donald Trump for inciting his supporters to storm the seat of the American parliament, which left four people dead and a dozen injured. "Who, like Trump, spends years on incendiary rhetoric and constantly incites their supporters bears responsibility for this attack at the heart of the American d [...]
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Physician in Mexico Admitted to Intensive Care Unit After Receiving Pfizer Vaccine
BUENOS AIRES - A physician in Mexico who received the Pfizer vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus, was admitted to an intensive care unit with seizures, breathing difficulties and possible encephalomyelitis, the country's Health Ministry said on Saturday. "The 32-year-old doctor who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine was admitted to the intensive care unit [...] after developing rashes, [...]
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China’s Foreign Minister Hails Prospects of Strategic Cooperation With Russia as Limitless
MOSCOW - China and Russia are determined to continue the exemplar neighborly relationship in the new year, with Beijing seeing no limits as to how far the bilateral strategic cooperation can reach, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Chinese media. "The year 2021 is a year of special importance for China-Russia relations, as both countries will enter a new development stage. In developi [...]
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Hundreds of Israelis get infected with Covid-19 after receiving Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine – reports
With the vaccine not providing immediate immunity to the coronavirus, over two hundred Israeli citizens have been diagnosed with the disease days after getting the Pfizer/BioNTech jabs, local media reported. The number of those who got Covid-19 despite being vaccinated was at around 240 people, according to data from Channel 13 News. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which the Israeli health au [...]
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Russian Ambassador Notes Austria’s Great Interest in Russian Coronavirus Vaccines Use
VIENNA - The experience of administration of Russian vaccines against COVID-19 is raising a great interest in Austria even though the countries are not currently engaged in specific negotiations, Russian ambassador Dmitry Lyubinsky said, praising the efficacy of the Russian vaccines. "There are currently no negotiations on exact plans related to the potential use of the Sputnik V vaccine in [...]
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EU, China Strike ‘In Principle’ Trade Agreement Amid Backlash From Incoming Biden Gov’t, Reports Say
Seven years of negotiations have concluded just days after Brussels and London agreed on a post-Brexit trade deal and ahead of tensions with the incoming Biden administration, according to reports. China and the European Union announced a long-awaited investment deal confirmed by Chinese president Xi Jinping and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, media reported on Wednesd [...]
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The end of Ostpolitik: Dream of Europe ‘whole & free’ over as Russian-German friendship fades & Moscow pivots to Asia
This Monday marked 50 years since one of the 20th century’s most iconic moments, when German Chancellor Willy Brandt fell to his knees in Warsaw, emotionally apologizing for the horrors the Nazis had unleashed on Eastern Europe. It was one of the milestones of the Neue Ostpolitik – Bonn’s policy aimed at normalizing relations with the USSR and its East European satellites. On the day of [...]
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US & NATO preparing for ‘invasion’ of Crimea, warns local parliamentarian, as US-Russia tensions in Black Sea region soar
The deputy speaker of the Crimean parliament has sounded the alarm on escalating military activity on Russia’s borders, insisting that those living on the disputed peninsula just want to be left alone. In comments reported by RIA Novosti, Efim Fiks warned that an aggressive US-led campaign against the stationing of Russian troops in Crimea, which was reabsorbed into the country in 2014, is [...]
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China’s latest sanctions are a bid to permanently end America’s interference in Hong Kong
By ending visa-free access to Hong Kong for US officials, China is trying to curb their links with protesters. It’s another example of how Beijing is keen to barricade the city from what it sees as corrosive foreign influence. Earlier this week, the United States slapped a series of sanctions on 14 members of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee. [...]
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Venice Hit by Heavy Floods for Second Year in a Row
The city suffered a billion euros in damages during high tides last year, with floods rocking the landmark Italian city at least three times in November and December 2019. Venice has been flooded with water, with extremely heavy rain and strong winds causing the tide to surge. The flood waters reached as high as 122 cm on Wednesday morning, before further climbing to a 145 cm peak. The Ve [...]
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Sputnik V launched to public: Large-scale Covid-19 vaccination campaign kicks off in Moscow, as hopes rise of end to pandemic
A wide-ranging anti-coronavirus vaccination campaign began in Moscow on Saturday, with thousands signing up for shots online, in the Russian capital. Frontline workers were given first priority, as previous indicated. Those wishing to participate have to sign up online before receiving their initial dose of Sputnik V at one of the city’s 70 specialist clinics. The vaccine consists of two se [...]
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