The humanitarian plight of war-torn Mosul has “escalated to the limit,” with the Iraqi president comparing it to a “full-on catastrophe,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. “It’s time to toll the alarm bells,” the official added.   [...]

At a news conference in the Turkish capital, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appeared to suggest the end of Bashar Assad’s presidency was no longer a prerequisite for a way out of the Syrian crisis, in a U-turn from Washington’s long-held policy. “I think the ... longer term status of President Assad will be decided by the Syrian people,” said Tillerson at a joint conference with Tu [...]

Accusations that Russia interfered in last year's U.S. elections are "lies" used for "domestic American politics," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. "We said on numerous occasions and I reiterate that we are confident … and know for sure that opinion polls in the United States show that very many people are … friendly towards the Russian Federation, and I'd like to tell these [...]

Analysts in the US have called on the government to invest more in the Arctic in order to rival Russia's economic development there, but such a comparison is misplaced, Heather Exner-Pirot, Managing Editor of the Arctic Yearbook, told Radio Sputnik. [...]

Afghanistan has long been called the “graveyard of empires,” the site of failed invasions. But the U.S. – in its 15-plus-year endeavor – seems determined to dig its own grave there, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar describes. Fifteen years and counting. America’s longest war keeps getting longer. The very duration of the expedition, with an end no more in sight now than it had been [...]

How does the latest US decision to impose sanctions against eight more Russian companies play into the Trump administration’s promise to improve relations with Moscow? RT spoke with experts. The restrictive measures were introduced against such companies as Russia’s main weapons exporter Rosobornexport and Aviaexport over their alleged violation of US non-proliferation law concerning Iran, [...]

A recent deadly airstrike on a boat in the Red Sea carrying Somali refugees was likely a war crime, Human Rights Watch said. The strike off the Yemeni coast is believed to have been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition. [...]

Wheelchair-bound Russian singer Yulia Samoylova said she can’t comprehend what scared the Ukrainian authorities so much that they slapped her with a three-year ban. Samoylova said she still hopes to perform at Eurovision in Kiev. [...]

On Thursday, Crimea marked the anniversary of the 2014 referendum which saw the peninsula break off from Ukraine and rejoin Russia. In an exclusive interview for Sputnik, Natalya Poklonskaya, the lawmaker who bravely served as Crimea's prosecutor during the Crimean Spring, offered Kiev and Western officials some advice about Crimea's status. [...]

The months leading up to the war in Iraq, unleashed on 20 March 2003, saw the very best of humanity engaged in a struggle with the very worst for the right to shape the future. When it comes to the very best of humanity, we are talking an anti-war movement that for a brief moment grew so large, powerful and determined that the New York Times described it as a second superpower on its front page [...]

The Western-sponsored project of Kosovo has failed to build its own sovereignty and national identity. According to journalist and publicist Zivojin Rakovevic, Kosovo was never an autonomous state and now its dependence is unprecedented. [...]

A study of hundreds of human genomes has revealed humans in different regions of the world have evolved for diets with differing amounts of meat and vegetables - Europeans, particularly southerners, are optimized for a high-plant diet, while Greenland's Inuits are better able to process fatty meats. [...]

The cyber firm investigating allegations of a Moscow-sponsored attack on US Democratic Party servers has a history of linking "Russian hacking" with imaginary events. But just days ago, FBI Director James Comey heralded CrowdStrike as a "highly respected private company" before the Senate. [...]

People in Europe won’t be able to “walk safely” and freely on the streets if they don’t change their current attitudes, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has warned, amid a deepening diplomatic row over the cancellation of Turkish rallies in the EU. [...]

Exact motivations behind the vehicle and knife attacks outside Parliament in London remain unclear, but observers have noted that the incident occurred on the anniversary of the multiple Islamist attacks on the Belgian capital on March 22, 2016. [...]

The Pentagon is asking Congress for an extra $30 billion for 2017, mostly to address pressing readiness issues and the fight against Islamic State – yet Russia and President Trump’s budget proposal dominated the Senate appropriations hearing. [...]

Citing her "duty not to conceal a clear crime," the head of a Beirut-based U.N. agency has resigned after the withdrawal of a scathing UN-commissioned report that for the first time charges Israel is "a racist state that has established an apartheid system that persecutes the Palestinian people." While furious Israeli leaders likened the report to Nazi propaganda, Rima Khalaf said she rejected the [...]

But in U.S., happiness is falling and Republican priorities stand to make it worse. Norway now holds the title of the world's happiest country, according to a new report that also outlines how Republican proposals to gut safety nets, enact tax windfalls for the rich, and attack public education—as well as bipartisan failures in terms of the global war on terror and campaign finance—are making [...]

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko blamed Ukrainian radicals for Kiev having lost control over the situation in the eastern regions of Donbass. According to the Ukrainian leader, the blockade of Donbass by radicals risks plunging Ukraine into "anarchy" and violence. [...]

The dream fueling the Russia frenzy is that it will eventually create a dark enough cloud of suspicion around Trump that Congress will find the will and the grounds to impeach him. More likely, the Russia allegations will not bring down Trump. Meanwhile, while Russia continues to dominate the front pages, Trump will continue waging war on immigrants, cutting funding for everything that’s not the [...]

According to Mexican Secretary of Agriculture Jose Calzada Rovirosa, Mexico plans to strengthen trade ties with Russia and the EU. Mexico plans to strengthen trade ties with Russia and the European Union against the backdrop of bilateral relation issues with the United States, Secretary of Agriculture Jose Calzada Rovirosa said on Tuesday. [...]

Ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome, which established the European Economic Community, calls within the EU for a so-called "two-speed Europe" are becoming more vocal. Sputnik Italy spoke with Italian economist Pasquale Lucio Scandizzo about who stands to benefit from such a model. [...]