Russia’s second-largest city Saint Petersburg has been named this year's best destination in Europe at the World Travel Awards. The city was recognized for its exceptionally rich history, centuries-old traditions and bright future, according to the travel industry's most prestigious awards program. It's the first time a Russian city has won this category in the award’s 22-year history. [...]

The BRICS Bank marks a major step to de-dollarization, and a new monetary system. It should replace the western-dominated “predatory casino scheme” that has contributed to world wars and “economic terrorism,” says former World Bank economist Peter Koenig. “A ‘BRICS system’ would offer a healthy alternative to the highly indebted and defunct dollar system, where money is printed at [...]

The pinnacle of political power is slowly changing its homestead, moving eastwards to the Pacific, with the region becoming more and more vital within global matters; and U.S. is pushing itself actively into the regional scene, spurring rising rivalry between America and China. What future holds for the Pacific region? What is at stake between Washington and Beijing? And how’s the political g [...]

Angela Merkel's government has been accused of lying to the country's parliament after it was alleged that it knew German spies were conducting economic espionage for the NSA. Revelations show that some spooks were even spying on German companies. Germany’s interior minister, Thomas de Maiziere, who is a close ally of Chancellor Merkel denied on Wednesday that he had lied to parliament about [...]

The dialogue between Russia and the United States can only be equal and must not amount to lectures on democracy-building, says the Foreign Ministry's envoy for human rights. “If they want to lecture us on how we should build our democracy, I suggest they rather deliver such lectures in some US university,” Konstantin Dolgov told reporters on Tuesday. [...]

Russia has 1,643 nuclear missiles ready to launch – one more than the US – according to an official State Department report. Both countries have been upgrading their active nuclear arsenals since the outbreak of the Ukrainian conflict. The US report is based on official figures exchanged between the two countries as part of the New START disarmament treaty, and includes missiles deployed be [...]

The build-up of NATO forces in Eastern Europe is hostile and destabilizes the Baltic, once the safest region in Europe, a senior Russian diplomat charged. The alliance's chief accused Moscow of conducting aggressive exercises close to NATO borders. The trade of accusations between Russia and NATO continued on Monday ahead of a NATO ministerial meeting this week. [...]

Bulgaria will stage military drills near the Macedonian border as a "preventative" measure, the nation's defense ministry says. It comes as the country's neighbors face an influx of migrants trying to make their way to the EU's borderless Schengen zone. "The situation in the neighboring states of Macedonia, Greece and Serbia is quite complicated and we have to react preventively," Defense Minis [...]

The number of government troops deployed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine has reached 60,000 troops, according to President Petro Poroshenko. The statement comes as the total of Ukrainian refugees has exceeded 900,000 people, according to UN. "We are doing our best to ensure the security of our state. We have brought the number of our armed forces in the ATO zone to 60,000 servicemen today. [...]

Up to 6,000 supporters of Ukraine’s ultranationalist Right Sector movement gathered in central Kiev on Tuesday, calling on authorities to resign. The rally marks a “new stage of Ukrainian revolution,” the extremists' leader Dmitry Yarosh announced. The radicals marched through the center of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday evening, gathering on Maidan (Independence Square). [...]

The Dutch agency heading the international probe into Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine has contacted RT over the footage used in our recent documentary on the tragedy. RT's documentary discovered fragments of the plane still in Donetsk. The RT Documentary film, titled “MH17: A year without truth,” showed fragments of the crashed Boeing and pieces of luggage still scattered in [...]

The sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and the West, among other financial blunders, are mistakes that have triggered the world to de-dollarize. Russian President Putin describes this as like "cutting down the branches, upon which they are sitting." Putin said that sanctions have an overall negative effect on the entire global community, and actually motivate countries to seek financial sove [...]

There is a long list of U.S. state-sponsored and CIA-led terrorist acts against Cuba. This is a big time for celebration in Cuba. Three of the five men known in Cuba as heroes fighting United States terrorism were released from prison and returned to their families. To understand the true significance of their release means exploring the history of U.S.-backed terrorism against Cuba, a history wid [...]

Easter should be a time of celebration for Christians, but for those of the faith living in the Middle East, there hasn't been too much to celebrate in recent years. "Kill the Christians" is the title of a new BBC documentary, to be broadcast this week. [...]

You really couldn't make it up, could you? Serial warmonger and unsuccessful US Presidential candidate Senator John McCain has been offered a post as an adviser to Ukraine's "Chocolate King" President Petro Poroshenko. He was supposed to join other neocon rejects such as Georgia’s fugitive ex-President (and famous tie-eater) Mikhail Saakashvili and the ex-Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt. [...]

Germany's Bundestag has supported a third bailout package to Greece in a majority vote, paving the way for further negotiations of fresh money being provided to Athens of up to €86 billion. 439 MPs voted in favor, 119 - against, while 40 abstained. The details of the three-year aid package are now set to be thrashed out between Greece and its partners in the eurozone. The process is expect [...]

Amid the ruins of a small Lugansk Region village, elderly residents are crying as they try to rebuild their lives. The Ukrainian army “liberated” them from everything they held dear, including their homes, Raisa Repey tells RT’s Maria Finoshina. “[The Ukrainian army] call themselves liberators – they liberated me from everything I own, from my home. [...]

Dog lovers everywhere, rejoice! They really do love us on a chemical level. Dogs were found to make use of the “lovers’ hormone,” Oxytocin, to sneak their way into our hearts. That’s the first time the mechanism was observed between species. We know it as the love hormone: it spikes when we hug, kiss and make love. It also exists between a mother and infant, as they gaze into each other [...]

A delegation of French lawmakers is coming to Russia to pay a visit to the Crimea - the first such visit since the region's accession to the Russian Federation in March 2014. The head of the mission, MP Thierry Mariani said in an interview with Russian business daily Kommersant that it will consist of nine members of the French National Assembly and one senator. [...]

South Carolina state police have released dascham footage from officer Michael Slager’s car captured moments before he shot an unarmed black man named Walter Scott. The video shows Scott running away after being pulled over. Made public Thursday by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the footage does not reveal any details about the moment unarmed man Walter Scott was ki [...]

It's astounding that the EU and US don't realize that by limiting Russia's access to international capital, they're actually undermining the financial wellbeing of Ukraine, which is credited by Russian banks, Vladimir Putin told German TV channel ARD. The Russian President said that the country's banks "have currently extended a $25-billion loan to the Ukrainian economy.” [...]

Moscow may team up with Beijing to create a scientific station on the Moon. The challenge for Russia is to build its own space station by 2024 to achieve its lunar exploration goals. According to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who supervises defense-related policies, the question on "bringing China in as the main partner in creating a lunar scientific station," is currently being [...]