The German government has granted a Turkish request to allow the possible prosecution of a TV comedian who wrote a crude poem about Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, Chancellor Angela Merkel said. Ankara has demanded to have comedian Jan Boehmermann prosecuted for insulting a foreign head of state. [...]

Germany's prison system keeps convicts comfortable, costs less and has lower recidivism rates, but would Americans ever accept it? In Germany, prison isn't meant to punish, it's designed to mirror normal life as much as possible. Among the privileges enjoyed by German     G M T Detect language Afrikaans Albanian Arabic Armenian Azerbaijani B [...]

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has announced that he had resigned, local media reported Sunday. "I decided to resign from the post of Ukraine's prime minister. On Tuesday, April 12, the decision will be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada [Ukrainian parliament]", Yatsenyuk said as quoted [...]

The Obama administration plans to prevent Russia from selling its Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighters to Iran by vetoing the approval for the possible deal at the UN Security Council, but the US president could well cross his latest self-imposed "red line" like he's done in the past, Washington Times columnist L. Todd Wood asserted. "I doubt that the Kremlin will be stopped in their desire to ear [...]

The Russian companies will be given a priority in the restoration of the country following the civil war, Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi said Sunday as quoted by a Russian lawmaker. In March, Syrian President Bashar Assad said that Damascus would lean primarily on Russia, China and Iran in rebuilding the country after five years of destruction. [...]

The United States has found itself bogged down in the Middle Eastern conflicts; two questions then arise: why Washington can't win and since it has not won, why it can't get out of the Mideast quagmire, American historian Andrew J. Bacevich asks.   [...]

That integrity is a foreign land where Washington is concerned is an inarguable fact. In the latest example, the failure to complete the construction of a nuclear disposal plant agreed with Russia once again leaves Washington’s credibility in tatters. Underlying this issue is the attempt by the US federal government to alter the terms of the agreement it signed with Russia in 2000 [...]

While Putin has amazed the internet with an impromptu interpretation for a German politician in St. Petersburg, that is only one of many episodes when Russia’s president proved he could break any language barrier to convey a message or discharge tension. Thursday’s incident at a St. Petersburg forum, which saw Putin casually translating for former State Secretary of the German Defense Minis [...]

The former chief judge that presided over Saddam Hussein’s trial told RT in an exclusive interview how the tribunal, which was dependent on the US, lacking in legitimacy, and overshadowed by the killing of lawyers, sentenced the Iraqi strongman to death. In November of 2006, Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by hanging three years after a US-led “coalition of the willing” invaded Iraq [...]

British Prime Minister David Cameron is facing increasing calls to resign in the wake of revelations that he had profited from offshore tax havens and personally intervened to prevent a crackdown on tax evasion in the United Kingdom. [...]

NATO and Russia will meet for the first time since the military bloc suspended all cooperation with Moscow in 2014. Ukraine, Afghanistan, and military relations will be among the topics discussed at the meeting set to be held within the next two weeks. “Following consultations with Russia, we have agreed to hold a meeting of the NATO-Russia Council at Ambassadorial level,” the bloc said in [...]

The Russian military have given access to journalists from 11 countries to the liberated Syrian city of Palmyra. Moscow noted the absence of American journalists in the group. The group of 27 media professionals from Germany, Italy, Belgium, China, Serbia and other nations were transported from the Russian military base in Khmeimim to Palmyra on Thursday. [...]

Athens has signed a €368.5 million deal to sell the operator of Piraeus port to the Chinese shipping group COSCO, Reuters reported. This is the second major privatization for the country since last year. Under the deal, COSCO will acquire 51 percent of the listed Piraeus Port Authority for €280.5 million and the remaining 16 percent for €88 million after five years, once it concludes mand [...]

The Russian president has surprised the audience at a forum in St. Petersburg, by allowing his German language skills to shine. He stepped in as translator for the former West German Defense Secretary Willy Wimmer. Wimmer had something to say on the topic of the national idea and value system that identifies Russia. [...]

Moscow and Tehran are holding talks on digging a ship canal from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf, said Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai, speaking to students in St. Petersburg. Any canal linking the two has to go through Iran. "Yes, this issue is being discussed", said the ambassador on Thursday without specifying details, quoted by TASS. [...]

The majority of Germans believe that EU-Turkey deal is a bad idea and will not work properly, according to a recent poll. Most also don’t tend to see Ankara as a trusted partner, let alone a potential member in the union. Under a plan agreed in Brussels earlier in March, all migrants arriving in Greece from Turkey would be returned. [...]

The British government’s claim to be tackling tax evasion is about as credible as Al Capone claiming to be leading the fight against organized crime. In fact, Britain is at the heart of the global tax haven network, and continues to lead the fight against its regulation. The 11 and a half million leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca have proven, once again, [...]

French authorities plan to provide foreign prostitutes with six month residence permits in a bid to help them escape the sex trade, according to media reports. Foreign prostitutes in France will be offered six month residence permits if they agree to participate in "the exit program," something that is thought will help sex workers escape the trade, media reports said. [...]

A quadcopter-like contraption, but for humans, the "Volocopter" hopes to change urban transportation by transforming low altitudes into highways. A new vehicle, called the Volocopter, could make flying cars a reality for many people, as the design includes such ideas as creating virtual highways with speed limits for the vehicles. [...]

Lebanon cannot stand on its feet anymore. It is overwhelmed, frightened and broke. It stands at the frontline, facing Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS/ISIL) in the east and north, hostile Israel in the south and the deep blue sea in the west. One and a half million (mostly Syrian) refugees are dispersed all over its tiny territory. [...]

Beijing is ready to transfer some of its shipyards as well as chemical and steel plants to Russia’s Far East. Russia is interested, but says this can only be done in full compliance with local environmental laws. "We are ready to accept Chinese enterprises to establish joint export-oriented production in the Far East territory", said a spokesman for the Far East Development Department Rustam [...]

The Austrian President Heinz Fischer says the EU has to find a way to lift sanctions against Russia. "I always say that sanctions are disadvantageous for both sides," Fischer said at Wednesday’s meeting with Russia's State Duma Speaker Sergey Naryshkin. "It is important to find a way to lift them in the near future." [...]