It may be many people’s greatest fear, but a revolutionary new study has found that dying is actually a blissful and euphoric experience that makes people not want to come back to life. People who momentarily depart their mortal coil before being revived are left with positive perceptions of what it’s like to pass away, according to a groundbreaking new study. [...]

While 2016 showed some promise that global politics in 2017 can improve, much will depend on the first steps of the US' new administration, according to the Head of the Russian Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev, who spoke to RIA Novosti about two possible models of global development in 2017. [...]

The eating habits of world leaders have long been a matter of public interest, with observers questioning whether KFC and diet Coke, or perhaps something more balanced, could have an impact on politicians’ ability to deal with the physical and psychological stresses of their office. [...]

Solving the ISIS problem must involve a whole lot less US activity in the Middle East, not a whole lot more. Just over a week into the Trump Administration, the President issued an Executive Order giving Defense Secretary James Mattis 30 days to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS. [...]

Russia signed $17 billion worth of arms contracts with foreign customers in 2019, expanding its portfolio with military deals with African countries totaling $1 billion, the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation revealed on Monday. Turkey has been named one of the five biggest importers of Russian arms for 2019, according to Dmitry Shugaev, director of the Federal Service for Military [...]

A Democratic Texas State Representative filed a bill on Friday seeking to fine men $100 for masturbating, in a protest of current state abortion laws. Democratic Representative Jessica Farrar, the author of House Bill 4260, or the “Man’s Right To Know Act,” includes "proposed satirical regulations" on men masturbating, seeking a prescription for Viagra, and for vasectomies. [...]

As of Monday, Russia had sent fourteen Il-76 military aircraft to Italy to assist in the fight against the coronavirus. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Russian military experts will engage in disinfection and COVID-19 prevention after coordinating their operations with Italian authorities. Poland's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs has confirmed via Twitter that Warsaw hadn’ [...]

A delegation of mostly European and Ukrainian politicians has arrived in Crimea for a three-day visit, Ruslan Balbek, a Russian lawmaker representing Crimea, told Sputnik on Sunday. The delegation consists of about 20 people and includes members of the European Parliament, politicians from EU member states, CIS countries and Latin America. [...]

Since Saturday, 2,186 more people in Russia have tested positive for coronavirus, bringing the nationwide total to 15,770, according to the emergency team in charge of managing the country's response to the deadly infection. The fresh figure drastically ups the curve, as only 1,667 new cases were recorded across the country the day before. [...]

On Thursday, Crimea marked the anniversary of the 2014 referendum which saw the peninsula break off from Ukraine and rejoin Russia. In an exclusive interview for Sputnik, Natalya Poklonskaya, the lawmaker who bravely served as Crimea's prosecutor during the Crimean Spring, offered Kiev and Western officials some advice about Crimea's status. [...]

Bill Gates told CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Sunday that China did a lot of things right at the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak and now is not time to discuss their mistakes. Gates called it a "distraction" to blame them and focus on the "incorrect and unfair things" said about them. ZAKARIA: You've been making this case for international cooperation very powerfully and in my mind persuasively [...]

Powerful forces are arrayed against any significant changes that President Trump may try to make in foreign policy, a dilemma made worse by his own ineptness and staffing troubles, writes Robert Parry. President Trump’s emerging foreign policy is one of contradictions and chaos, caught up in a combination of old establishment orthodoxies and some fresh recognition of reality but without any s [...]

The Australian embassy in Washington, DC will investigate an apparent assault by the US police against two Aussie journalists. The pair were roughed up live on air while covering a protest outside the White House. A crew working for the outlet 7News was targeted on Tuesday while reporting from a demonstration in the US capital against police brutality. Correspondent Amelia Brace and cameraman Tim [...]

Russia strongly backs Iranian membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), now that UN Security Council sanctions have been lifted from the country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Iran is ready to become a full-fledged member of the organization, Lavrov said Friday during an SCO Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Astana. [...]

Vladimir Putin announced on Tuesday morning that Russia has registered the world's first vaccine against coronavirus. He says the dose is effective in forming immunity against the deadly pathogen which has spread globally. As far as I know, a vaccine against the coronavirus infection has been registered this morning (in Russia) for the first time in the world,” the President told members of th [...]

Women from Eastern Europe are being smuggled into Scotland for sexual exploitation and sham marriages at the hands of human traffickers, according to a new documentary. Undercover BBC journalist Sam Poling traveled to Slovakia to expose how Eastern European criminal gangs are trafficking young women to Scotland for them to marry third-country nationals, mainly Pakistanis, seeking UK residency. [...]

While the world’s second-largest economy, China, has suffered its first contraction on record due to the Covid-19 pandemic, some experts argue the country has been preparing for a possible crisis for a long time. RT talked to economists to find out if Beijing may have foreseen the economic crash and about the Chinese government’s response to it. “Nobody, including Beijing, could have [...]

Austrian and Germany have lashed out at Washington over new sanctions against Russia that target the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Europe. [...]

Prime Minister Designate Mustapha Adib announced that he would be stepping down on Saturday, saying Lebanon’s political factions “failed to refuse to politicize the process of forming a government.” Adib was appointed in August, after Prime Minister Hassan Diab resigned in the turmoil following the Beirut explosion, which killed nearly 200 people. Prime Minister designate Adib’s s [...]