The Phase 3 trial of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca has been paused, reportedly due to a suspected ‘serious adverse reaction’ by one of the participants in the UK. AstraZeneca only said that its “standard review process triggered a pause to vaccination to allow review of safety data,” according to a statement by a company spokesperson on Tue [...]

As soon as Russia’s 'Sputnik V' coronavirus vaccine arrives in Venezuela for clinical trials, it may be used to immunize around 14,400 candidates in the upcoming parliamentary election, the country’s president said on Tuesday. A batch of the world's first registered Covid-19 vaccine will arrive in the Latin American nation later this month, Nicolas Maduro stated in a televised address. He [...]

The Arctic Palladium project which involves development of several platinum-group metal deposits on Russia’s Taimyr Peninsula is nearing completion. It is expected to turn Russia into the world’s top producer of platinum metals. The platinum-group metals (PGMs) is a group of six metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum. They have similar physical and chemical p [...]

While the world’s second-largest economy, China, has suffered its first contraction on record due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some experts argue the country has been preparing for a possible crisis for a long time. RT talked to economists to find out if Beijing may have foreseen the economic crash and about the Chinese government’s response to it. “Nobody, including Beijing, could have [...]

Since the launch on August 11 of the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Gamaleya Center scientists, Russia has seen immense interest and expressions of hope from many countries and has received requests for 1 billion doses of the vaccine. However, it has also faced criticism and questions from some Western countries and companies, especially those developing their own vaccines—oft [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is warning India against purchasing significant Russian weapons like advanced anti-aircraft systems or fighter jets as they may impede its defense cooperation with the West, US Assistant Secretary of State Clarke Cooper told reporters on Thursday. “The key point that has been shared with Indian counterparts... is: ‘Don’t put at risk future opportuniti [...]

The first batch of Russia’s pioneering coronavirus formula Sputnik V has been approved for public use and has already been placed into circulation, the Ministry of Health in Moscow has announced. The world's first Covid-19 vaccine, developed by Moscow’s Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, “has undergone necessary quality tests” and “has entered civilian circulat [...]

Israeli authorities escalated demolitions in occupied East Jerusalem in August, knocking 51 Palestinian buildings and displacing 85 people, many of whom were children, a Palestinian rights group said. The demolition of homes, which Israel says were built without proper permits, have been conducted in an "unprecedented manner" in the past month, Palestinian rights group, Wadi Hilweh Information [...]

The US assassination of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in early January exacerbated the already tense relations between Tehran and Washington in place since the Trump administration's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in 2018. Deputy director-general of the Russian research centre Rezonans Alexander Stuchilin has argued that a radar system produced by his company [...]

Russia has unveiled a device said to be capable of detecting and analyzing airborne pathogens like bacteria, toxins and viruses – including Covid-19. It alerts of potential danger within seconds, and then pinpoints its source. Dubbed “Detector Bio,” the device was showcased by the KMZ factory – best known as the manufacturer of Zenit cameras – during the military-industrial forum ‘Army [...]

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis has rejected US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s push to limit his country’s contacts with Russian and Chinese firms and grant a nuclear power plant construction contract to an American firm. Russia and China pose a threat to Czech energy independence, Pompeo said during his visit to Prague on Wednesday. The top US diplomat warned of what he described as [...]

Beijing has cautioned against further US naval operations in the South China Sea, claiming that recent activities by the American side create conditions for an unintentional military confrontation. A spokesman for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) said on Friday that a US warship entered Chinese territorial waters without permission. [...]

The new US policy of trying to force internal change in China and confronting Beijing with a US-backed alliance in Asia is generating distrust of Washington, former US Assistant Defense Secretary Chas Freeman, who accompanied President Richard Nixon to Beijing in 1972, said. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spelled out the new policy in a speech at the Nixon Library in California on 23 July [...]

During a recent meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi US President Donald Trump suggested that most American servicemen will be "leaving [the country] shortly" but failed to give a definitive timeline. Several groups within Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU) have threatened to attack US positions in the country should its leadership not negotiate a withdrawal of its tr [...]

On 4 August, a massive explosion took place in Beirut, killing over 200 people and decimating the city's infrastructure. The massive blast was caused by improper storage of explosive ammonium nitrate in the Beirut port. Sputnik is live from Beirut as the Lebanese capital, devastated by an explosion in early August, has re-imposed a lockdown amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. The new measu [...]

The US ambassador to the United Nations has described the lack of support from Washington’s allies in Europe as “disappointing,” after the US attempted to restore UN sanctions against Tehran. “This matter is so important that we cannot wait until the arms embargo [against Iran] runs out on October 18,” Kelly Craft, US envoy to the UN, told German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung in an intervi [...]

Beijing has warned the US against deploying its ground-based missiles in the Asia Pacific region, promising to take "countermeasures" and threatening any states that host such weaponry with consequences. "The US attempt to deploy land-based, medium-range missiles is consistent with its increasing military presence in the Asia Pacific and so-called 'Indo-Pacific strategy' over the past years, a typ [...]

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said he will be the first person in the country to take Russia’s recently announced Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine when it arrives.“I am pleased that Russia will be the first country in the world to vaccinate its population,” Maduro said in a televised address on Sunday. [...]

The emergence of the first vaccine against the coronavirus infection has sparked interest across the globe, as the drug promises not only an end to COVID-19-related deaths, but also a path to restoring a country's economy. After almost half a year of the battle against the coronavirus, a real ray of hope has appeared with the announcement of the first COVID-19 vaccine being registered in [...]

Lebanon's government stepped down on Monday night in the aftermath of a deadly blast that shattered the country's capital on 4 August and claimed the lives of more than 200 people. International observers have discussed whether the Diab cabinet’s resignation will help fix the situation and what forces could take the reins. The tragedy reignited nationwide anti-government protests, with [...]

Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday morning that Russia has registered the world's first vaccine against coronavirus. He says the dose is effective in forming immunity against the deadly pathogen which has spread globally. As far as I know, a vaccine against the coronavirus infection has been registered this morning (in Russia) for the first time in the world,” the President told members of th [...]

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has warned the United States not to interfere with the completion of the Russian-led Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, stressing that Europe has the right to choose its own energy sources. “Sanctions between partners are definitely the wrong way to go,” Maas said during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, addi [...]