The proposed enlargement of BRICS (BRICS Plus) with the inclusion of powerful emerging economies would help fill the void created by US trade protectionism, international analyst Adrian Zelaia told Sputnik. Having analyzed Beijing’s idea to bring Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam into the BRICS group, consisting of Braz [...]

Award-winning journalist Glenn Greenwald has criticized the US media for its deafening silence on the ongoing persecution of Julian Assange, despite the years it has spent railing against the Trump administration. Founder of The Intercept and a long-time Assange supporter, Greenwald despaired at the apparent double standards and performative hyperbole of the US media establishment, which has long [...]

Accusations that Russia interfered in last year's U.S. elections are "lies" used for "domestic American politics," Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday. "We said on numerous occasions and I reiterate that we are confident … and know for sure that opinion polls in the United States show that very many people are … friendly towards the Russian Federation, and I'd like to tell these [...]

The longest river in Europe, the Volga begins in the Valdai Hills northwest of Moscow, Russia and carries its waters south until it drains into the Caspian Sea, covering a distance of 3,530 kilometres. The Volga River is widely regarded as the national river of Russia as it flows past cities like Tver, Dubna, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan, as well as Tolyatti, Samara, and Volgograd, [...]

Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage has criticized his ally US President Donald Trump for ordering a missile strike against an airbase in Syria in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack. The MEP warned that many Trump voters will be confused by his retaliation. [...]

Donald Trump is withdrawing US troops from Germany to ‘punish’ Berlin for buying Russian gas and for not contributing enough to NATO, but a fresh survey shows that people in that country are actually glad that’s he doing so. Around 47 percent of participants in research conducted by pollster YouGov on behalf of DPA news agency, said they were in favor of the Pentagon’s decision to pull out [...]

Make no mistake: “Netflix and chill” is now the modern mating call. The art of Netflix and chill is simple and unsubtle. To the uninitiated, the idea is that you hook up in front of an film and perhaps order takeout if you’re lucky. On the surface being young and fun never seemed so easy. Netflix and chill promised to consign excruciating dates and awkward silences to the past. [...]

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and other Democratic Party leaders claim that US President Donald Trump will appear to win on election night only to lose once millions of mail-in votes are counted. They say he is already laying the ground to claim ballot fraud and refuse to concede defeat. US Democratic Party Senate leader Chuck Schumer has backed Bernie Sanders' call for a plan for the "nightmaris [...]

Russia is ready to sell its S-400 air defense systems to Turkey, President Vladimir Putin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). He added the issue was discussed earlier with his Turkish counterpart. [...]

As part of this Republican outsourcing push, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is now trying to cut Pentagon spending in the one place where it's actually needed—the Military Health System (MHS). Esper wants to trim $2 billion allocated for direct care for 9.5 million active-duty personnel, military retirees, and dependents over the next five years. This will force more service members and their f [...]

Matteo Salivini, leader of Italian opposition Lega Nord party, told Sputnik on Friday that the extension of the European Union's anti-Russian sanctions was "absurd," since the restrictive measures were damaging for the economies of both Italy and the entire 28-member-bloc. [...]

The US Federal Reserve’s balance sheet could skyrocket to more than $9 trillion by the end of this year, amid massive interventions to shield the economy from the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Financial Times. RT’s Keiser Report looks at the chart, showing that in 2007 there was “barely anything” on the Fed’s balance sheet. “The crisis hit in 2008 and you see the injustice [...]

Deputies in the Czech Republic voted overwhelmingly in favor of a constitutional amendment allowing ordinary citizens to carry arms and use them in case of a public emergency such as terrorism. The Czech parliament has approved a constitutional amendment on security that allows ordinary citizens to take up arms against terrorists. [...]

From stealing research to hacking #virus vaccine trials, Russia has been accused by the West of playing fast and loose in the race to contain the pandemic. Our correspondents see how the #vaccine works and volunteer to test subjects. See their experiences after the Sputnik 5 vaccine injection.  What do you know about the Russian Sputnik-V Russia's Sputnik V vaccine: What the experts say [...]

North Korea's submarine capabilities are being exaggerated by the Pentagon in its eagerness to impose more sanctions against Pyongyang, and even neighboring China. The US military has declared it has evidence that North Korea followed up its recent intercontinental ballistic missile tests with a missile launch from a submarine. [...]

Russia's space agency Roscosmos may be hit with US sanctions for the first time ever, as a draft document reveals the Russian Ministry of Defense might become the subject of economic penalties from Washington. As well as Roscosmos, the proposed sanctions would also target Rosatom, the federal nuclear energy agency, as one of 28 organizations in the aviation, rocket, space, nuclear, instrument [...]

Senior Crimean officials have said that despite the attempts of Ukrainian authorities to isolate the peninsular and damage its tourist-oriented economy, the flow of visitors has remained constant with many of them coming from Ukraine. “An attempt to impose a ‘tourist blockade’ of Crimea has drowned in the thousands-strong torrent of Ukrainian citizens who, despite of all propaganda and lengt [...]

The city suffered a billion euros in damages during high tides last year, with floods rocking the landmark Italian city at least three times in November and December 2019. Venice has been flooded with water, with extremely heavy rain and strong winds causing the tide to surge. The flood waters reached as high as 122 cm on Wednesday morning, before further climbing to a 145 cm peak. The Ve [...]

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. [...]

MOSCOW - European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen's recent remark on the possible approval of Russia's Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine smacks of an attempt to save face and her position, Roman Haider, an EU lawmaker from the Freedom Party of Austria, told Sputnik on Thursday. Haider's comments follow the EU authorities' attempts to grapple with criticism over the slowdown in vaccination [...]

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if Pyongyang does not stop its nuclear and missile tests. In fact, the US missile defense system is incapable of shooting down North Korean missiles, according to American expert on nuclear weapons Joe Cirincione. [...]

Edward Snowden completely derailed an online investment seminar where he was invited to speak about his NSA whistleblower days. He called out the organizer instead, humiliating him in front of his own audience. Snowden was booked as a keynote speaker at last Saturday’s get-rich-quick online conference hosted by the Canadian-based Private Investment Club (PIC), which promotes itself as “t [...]