The chairman of the Russian Lower House, Sergey Naryshkin, has backed the idea of a future merger between the Russian Federation and the European Union, and suggested immediately starting consultations on the matter. Naryshkin expressed his position in a column published in the Tuesday issue of the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper. [...]

Smoke from burning forests in the Chernobyl exclusion zone is capable of spreading contaminants across great distances, even after the fire has been stopped, ecology experts told RT. The forest fire near the crippled Chernobyl nuclear power plant started on Tuesday and triggered an emergency alert, with police and National Guard mobilized to bring the flames under control. [...]

An owner of a patisserie in Vienna has shown his dissatisfaction with the Austrian governing coalition by creating a sugary sculpture representing the 9/11 terror attacks, infuriating Austrians. Thomas Kienbauer, the owner of the Alexander patisserie in Vienna, created an unusual cake that depicts the New York twin towers in the colors of the Social Democrats (SPÖ) and the conservative People� [...]

The Department of Defense has asked Congress to allow Russian rocket engines to be used until 2022, in order to keep the country's space program going. The US is partly dependent on the Russian technology for launching its satellites into orbit. General John Hyten, head of the US Air Force Space Command, spoke about extending the use of Russian engines to journalists on Tuesday, TASS reported. [...]

The evidence is mounting... While broadly-speaking, both 'hard' and 'soft' macro data has disappointed, as we noted previously, the scale of those 'missed expectations' is stunning - worst since Lehman. While this is blamed on weather, the fact is that America had 30% less snow this year than last and still, as the following charts strongly suggest, the YoY drops are on a scale that screams "reces [...]

Amnesty International has accused Washington of "sweeping under the carpet" a December Senate report that the CIA tortured militants using the so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" during the post 9/11 War on Terror. Naureen Shah, a researcher for Amnesty, accused the Obama administration of ignoring the painstaking five year investigation, which culminated in the Senate Report. [...]

It is impossible for Canadian military personnel in Ukraine to weed out far-right militants when training, as some of the groups have been absorbed into the military, James Bissett, former Canadian ambassador to Yugoslavia, Albania and Bulgaria told RT. The Canadian government seems confident that it can weed out far right extremists from the troops they will be training. Do you share that opti [...]

The drowning of hundreds of refugees in the Mediterranean is a crime against humanity, the ultimate responsibility lies with Western governments that have proved themselves the enemy of everything good in the world and a friend to everything bad. Not only does the West destroy countries, such as Libya, it allows those trying to flee the destruction it has wrought to perish in the most cruel and [...]

There are no officially registered far-right organizations in Ukraine, the security service head said. Foreign observers have repeatedly pointed out that ultra-right extremists are actively participating in Kiev's military operation in the east. “We have no information available about any kind of radical far-right parties, organizations or groups,” the head of the Central Investigation Depa [...]

Finland has struck a blow for genuine exceptionalism in Europe. Anti-NATO parties dominated polls while Euroskeptic cred was championed not only by the longstanding anti-EU party, but also, uniquely within the eurozone, by the Social Democratic party. Depending on your perspective, Finland may conjure recollections anywhere from Sibelius’ exquisitely lyrical Karelia Suite to the speedy monosy [...]

A "game changer" protein that promotes the body's immunity to cancer has been discovered by scientists, offering fresh hope the often deadly disease will be conquered in years to come. Researchers at Imperial College London discovered a “completely unknown” molecule, proven to improve the body’s immune system to fight off chronic illnesses. [...]

Iran's supreme leader says the United States has created the “myth” of nuclear weapons to paint Tehran as a “source of threat.” The tough rhetoric comes days before nuclear talks are set to resume in Vienna. "They created the myth of nuclear weapons so they could say the Islamic Republic is a source of threat,” Khamenei said in a televised address to a hall of several hundred military [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that a free trade zone with Russia is possible in the future, despite the current political tensions with the West. “In the long view it is possible to create a large free trade zone, including with Russia,” Merkel said at Friday’s economic forum in Stralsund. [...]

US President Barack Obama has admitted he was "surprised" that Moscow held back resumption of S-300 supplies to Iran for so long. Some Israeli officials are reportedly saying the prospect of derailing the Iran nuclear talks is now zero. After President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on S-300 supply to Iran last Monday, Obama made his first official comment on Friday. [...]

People across Europe have kicked off a day of action against an emerging free trade pact with the US. They fear it could see corporate interests undermine worker's rights and consumer protection. Crowds have gathered in London, Munich, Brussels and other major European cities to march against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and similar secretive international trade dea [...]

Retired General Waldemar Skrzypczak, an influential figure in the Polish military, says he withdraws all words of support for Ukraine due to the country's sliding towards nationalism. Earlier he advocated supplying heavy weapons to Kiev. The angry U-turn in attitudes towards the Ukrainian government was published on Friday in the Gazeta Prawna newspaper. [...]

The decision by the Crown Prosecution Service not to bring charges against the wealthy peer and establishment insider Lord Greville Janner in connection with allegations of child abuse has been met with outrage among the general public and police. Janner, now 86, has been investigated by the police four times in the last 25 years. More than a dozen people came forward to say that they had been [...]

Some European central banks have reportedly called on Greek bank subsidiaries operating in their jurisdiction to cut their exposure to Greek assets to avoid fallout should the country go into default. The central banks of Albania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Romania, Serbia, Turkey and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia have demanded Greek banks’ subsidiaries minimize their exposure to Greek bon [...]

The recent killings in Ukraine are reported in Western media in a completely distorted way says investigative journalist Tony Gosling. It's a dangerous situation that may provoke further killings and less reporting of certain points of view, he told RT. Opposition journalist Oles Buzina was killed near his home in Kiev on Thursday. Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has ordered a full investi [...]

Much commentary about Russia is hyperbolic and infused with emotive exaggeration. By contrast, Vladimir Putin's 13th annual Q&A was an extremely calm and assured affair. So that’s a baker’s dozen for Putin: Thirteen years of a unique question and answer marathon which has no comparison that I know of in the rest of the world.   [...]

The laws of the global economy should be written by the United States and not by the likes of China according to President Obama, as concern over China's influence is growing. Washington hopes a Pacific free trade pact will curb Beijing's investment bank. "When 95 percent of our potential customers live abroad, we must be sure that we are writing the rules for the global economy, not a country [...]

Major American media organizations diligently parrot what US officials want the public to know about global affairs, historian Noam Chomsky told RT. To US leaders, any news outlet that “does not repeat the US propaganda system is intolerable,” he said. The culpability of the West – namely the United States – for world affairs, such as the Ukrainian conflict or tensions with Iran, is ano [...]