Moscow made the final payment on the remaining foreign debt inherited from the Soviet Union. Russia took on the debt after the other former Soviet republics refused to pay. “The debt to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the amount of $125.2 million has been settled in accordance with the agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” [...]

US President Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office Monday after a two-week vacation rife with chaos -- and the dark clouds plaguing his fledgling presidency show no signs of clearing up. Seven months after taking office the real estate magnate's approval rating has plunged to a record low. [...]

The UK government has decided to put out a tender for a US$6 million contract for facial recognition software, despite the fact thousands of pictures on their system may be of innocent people. [...]

Scientists at Stanford University in California say they have found lithium – which can be used for batteries – in supervolcanoes. The lead author of the report, Tom Benson, said the discovery could be great news for "clean, green energy." [...]

While Syria and North Korea remain the focus of worldwide attention, the US continues to exert considerable pressure on "undesired regimes" in Latin America, Russian scholar Igor Pshenichnikov writes, wondering who will become Washington's next "target." [...]

Last month was the warmest July in almost 140 years since records began being compiled, NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies. According to the agency, the average global temperature was almost one degree Celsius higher than the average for July between 1951 and 1980. Radio Sputnik discussed this with Yale University ecologist Thomas Crowther. [...]

Earlier this week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that Tehran may pull out from the nuclear deal if the United States continues its policy of sanctions against Iran. Experts reached by Sputnik, however, do not believe that Tehran will go that far. [...]

The firing of Steve Bannon is in my opinion the most significant event to happen during the Trump administration thus far. Moreover, it will have massive reverberations across the U.S. political spectrum for years and years to come. I wasn’t planning on writing today, but this news is so incredibly significant I find myself with little choice. [...]

Russian scientists and local oil field services companies claim to have created a technology for thermochemical gas fracturing that could be an alternative to hydraulic fracturing and could increase oil production by between 1.7 and 6 times, Russia’s news agency RIA Novosti reports, citing the University of Tyumen’s press service. [...]

Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin said Wednesday that Russia's national currency, the ruble, should be supported because a "big trend toward the de-dollarization" of the country's economy is growing at a steady pace. [...]

The skyrocketing price of Bitcoin in recent years is likely to undergo the economic bubble like Tulip mania in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 17th century, says expert Zhou Wuying, Economic Information Daily reported on Aug. 14. [...]

The Turkish Stream gas pipeline project will be implemented on time, regardless of the new US law that expands sanctions against Moscow, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Friday. Novak explained that the contracts concerning the construction of the gas pipeline were concluded, and the construction was underway. [...]

Commenting on the recent statement of White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon that the US is at 'economic war' with China, Hong Kong-based political scientist Joseph Cheng explained to Sputnik that the US, in fact, can't do much to prevent Beijing from growing into the world's economic leader and why the two countries should avoid a trade war. [...]

The burning projectile fired by Russia’s TOS-1A heavy thermobaric flamethrower system is capable of making life a living hell for anyone within its reach. Aptly dubbed “Solntsepyok” (Sunheat), the TOS-1A heavy flamethrower system is a 220 mm 24-barrel multiple rocket launcher and thermobaric weapon mounted on a T-72 tank chassis. [...]

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that the Nord Stream-2 and Turkish Stream gas pipeline projects would be implemented on time, regardless of the new US law that expands sanctions against Moscow. Political analyst Alex Zubets told Radio Sputnik that Brussels is well aware of its own interests and is likely to back the project. [...]

On Friday, a Russian nuclear submarine successfully hit a target in Russia’s northwestern Arkhangelsk region with a Kalibr cruise missile. "Today, the Northern Fleet's multipurpose nuclear submarine Severodvinsk successfully fired a Kalibr sea-based cruise missile. The crew conducted the underwater test launch from the Northern Fleet's test site in the Barents Sea. [...]

CNN tries to brew another scandal around Russia: it has come up with a report, claiming that the Russian government is allegedly arming the Taliban militants in Afghanistan, based on an interview with a 'breakaway terrorist group in the West.' Political analyst Rahimullah Yusufzai, explained to Sputnik what is the actual purpose of this report. [...]

The Ukrainian Navy plans to open a NATO doctrine and tactical center before the end of this year, the Navy’s deputy chief of staff for Euro-Atlantic integration, said on Thursday. Expert Natalya Makeyeva told Sputnik that Ukraine is viewed by the West as an instrument in its standoff with Russia. [...]

The USS Indianapolis, a lost World War II cruiser has been located in the Philippines sea by a team of civilian researchers led by billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. Allen confirmed the discovery Saturday, revealing that the infamous wreckage was found 5,500 meters below the surface resting on the floor of the North Pacific Ocean. [...]

The relationship between Turkey and the EU are further deteriorating, Dr. Rainer Rothfuss, geopolitical analyst and consultant, told RT. Rainer Rupp, publicist and former German intelligence officer, also joins the conversation. Turkish President Recep Erdogan urged nearly 3 million German Turks not to cast their vote for Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats, Martin Schulz’s Socia [...]

US President Donald Trump hinted that decisions have been made, “including on Afghanistan,” at a meeting with top US military commanders at Camp David, pushing back on speculation that he is putting off making a decisive strategy call. “Important day spent at Camp David with our very talented Generals and military leaders. Many decisions made, including on Afghanistan,” Trump tweeted o [...]

US President Donald Trump is finding his campaign promises increasingly difficult to fulfill, but his leaning towards military interventionism could be the most fundamental breach of trust for his Rust Belt supporters. Across the globe, we see potential new Trump foreign military actions or the expansion of old ones. [...]