The pilot's death, preliminarily ruled a suicide, has reopened claims about his possible role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in the summer of 2014. Vladislav Voloshin, the Ukrainian combat pilot which some Russian investigative journalists have accused of responsibility for the MH17 disaster, allegedly shot himself Sunday at his home. [...]

A bitterly-fought political campaign to address the rapidly-growing homeless population in a wealthy southern California county points to the yawning inequality gap in the US. A wide-ranging plan in southern California's Orange County that was intended to relocate hundreds of homeless — including children, women and the elderly who had been forcefully kicked out of long-term camps by placing the [...]

The new trade war announced by US President Donald Trump is seeing some immediate and effective blowback in the form of a refusal by Beijing to lift its ban on the import of foreign garbage. Amid fears of a potentially devastating trade war between the US and China, Washington has urged Beijing not to implement the ban on US garbage and recyclable materials that Asia’s giant threatened to impose [...]

A former pilot with the Ukrainian military, who was once accused of shooting down MH17 plane in 2014, has died in an apparent suicide. He was flying his Su-25 on a combat mission on the day of the tragedy. Vladislav Voloshin, the 29-year former pilot, died in his apartment in the city of Nikolayev on Sunday from a gunshot wound. [...]

After accusing the Kremlin of being behind the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal, the UK government expelled 23 Russian diplomats from the country. Moscow, in turn, has strongly denied the "baseless" claims and responded with tit-for-tat measures. "Therefore, the British Government has violated its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by denying consular access for the Em [...]

Poisoned double-agent Sergei Skripal was of zero value to Moscow after he was handed over by Russia to Britain, Dmitry Peskov, President Putin’s press-secretary, said in an exclusive interview with RT. The press-secretary also pointed out that Russia had no motive to target Skripal, who was found unconscious with his daughter in Salisbury earlier in March. [...]

From the MH17 case to chemical attacks in Syria to the Skripal poisoning, the West only throws accusations against Russia without giving any proof, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, adding that such an approach “will not work.” [...]

If you were running for the presidency of a country, and about to host a major international event – would you poison a defector, who many years earlier was in your possession, with a toxic substance that leads right back to you? It seems the Russian cookie monster always leaves a convenient cookie crumb trail – or so the Western audience is led to believe. All symptoms of a provocation are [...]

We are currently witnessing truly remarkable developments in Syria, as the country’s army and allies liberate more districts of Eastern Ghouta. Almost 80,000 people have been evacuated, with more still streaming out. [...]

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that Russia be given a chance to verify the nerve agent used against Sergei and Yulia Skripal. The Labour leader said that, despite recent events, the UK must maintain “robust” ties with Russia. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World At One program, Corbyn said: "I asked the Russians be given a sample so that they can say categorically one way or the other." [...]

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s extremely polite letter of congratulations to Vladimir Putin on his election win has enraged Britain’s Twitterati and other senior EU officials. Jean-Claude Juncker’s call for positive relations and a security deal proved too much to swallow for many commentators who want to see Russia punished over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skrip [...]

Chemical weapon production facilities have been discovered in the areas liberated from militants in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry says. More than 40 tons of chemical weapons were abandoned by retreating militants in the war-ravaged country, the ministry said on Wednesday. [...]

Vietjet, a Vietnamese low-cost carrier commonly known as "bikini airline" has given its team of hot flight attendants a new way of providing its passengers with a pleasant journey. Vietjet, a low-cost carrier first launched in 2011, has unveiled a new route from Vietnam to India, despite causing controversy in 2012 when its five stewardesses all dressed in swimwear and danced for passengers midwa [...]

US Strategic Command's apprehensions were reportedly shared by President Donald Trump, who reportedly expressed concerns over Russia's new 'invincible' intercontinental cruise missile and nuclear torpedo during a telephone call with President Vladimir Putin. [...]

The 2003 US invasion of Iraq had devastating consequences not only Iraq itself, but for the region as a whole. Speaking to Sputnik, Iranian political scientist and diplomat Seyed Hadi Afghani recalled how the US invasion undermined the security of Iraq's eastern neighbor, and set the stage for the rise of Daesh.* [...]

This is not the first episode involving the attaché, who has been summoned by Austria's Foreign Ministry, as he had previously posted a photo of his grandfather in a Nazi uniform with a swastika on social media. Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl has summoned Juergen-Michael Kleppich, an attaché from the country's embassy in Israel, "to clarify the circumstances and to submit to a legal pr [...]

The Russian Foreign Ministry and Russian Defense Ministry have jointly delivered a statement after a meeting with foreign envoys amid the scandal surrounding the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal. According to Vladimir Ermakov, head of the non-proliferation and arms control department at the Russian Defense Ministry, "either the British authorities are unable to protect from a terrorist attack o [...]

With scores of Syrians still leaving the Damascus suburbs of Eastern Ghouta via humanitarian corridors, the mainstream media continues to issue allegations about the fate of all those who fled the area. Eastern Ghouta resident Abdel Rahman Awad has rejected reports by many world and regional media outlets claiming that those civilians who flee Eastern Ghouta are then killed or bombed by the Syr [...]

If Russian natural gas exports to Italy stop, the country will have only 15 days before the emergency situation, according to La Stampa. What is the scale of European dependence on the Russian gas? Can the US replace it? In Italy, the share of Russian gas imports is about 37 percent. [...]

The announcement came as Petro Poroshenko visited Ukrainian military personnel in Kramatorsk. In his speech he stressed that now the country will be ready for war with Russia. Some users, commenting his post on Facebook, expressed skepticism concerning his promises. [...]

Twitter lit up with sarcastic remarks and genuinely concerned commentary over Boris Johnson's latest allegations against Moscow in the Sergei Skripal poisoning case. Johnson lashed out against Moscow on Monday, calling Russia's increasingly adamant denials that it anything to do with the Skripal case "increasingly absurd." [...]

The new economy and energy minister Peter Altmaier made it clear before a meeting between German and US officials in Washington that the EU would take a strong stand against the new steel and aluminum tariffs proposed by US President Donald Trump. The economy and energy minister of Germany’s new grand coalition government Peter Altmaier has warned the US government that if a trade war with th [...]