Author: RT

Jon Jones to defend UFC light heavyweight title against unbeaten Dominick Reyes The greatest light heavyweight mixed martial artist in history, Jon Jones, will defend his crown against the undefeated American Dominick Reyes in February, according to UFC boss Dana White. Jones has been hinting on social media that his next fight would be announced shortly and, good to his word, UFC boss White told ESPN that he will be challenged by the unbeaten Reyes as the headliner of the UFC's as-yet-untitled card on February 8 in Houston, Texas. Also on rt.com Jon Jones ‘puts beef aside’ in message of sympathy to UFC rival Cormier after father’s death The fight marks the 15th title fight of Jones' career and his first si...

Trade war escalates? Beijing points finger at IMF as US berates Chinese megaproject in Pakistan for debt-trapping A senior US diplomat launched a verbal barrage at Beijing’s economic presence in Pakistan, claiming the massive investment brought nothing but corruption and a legacy of debt. China hit back saying IMF loans were a worse burden. The US and China may be interlocked economically and financially, but it doesn’t make them friends. A power struggle against the rising superpower is a major part of Donald Trump’s foreign policy, and one of its latest verbal battles could be heard this week over Pakistan. A senior American diplomat in South and Central Asia mounted harsh criticism of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, an ambiti...

Big in Japan: Russian teen Alena Kostornaia wins figure skating Grand Prix in Sapporo Russian figure skater Alena Kostornaia picked up her second ISU Grand Prix win of the season as the teenager claimed top spot in Japan, while countrywoman Alina Zagitova finished third. Sitting first after the short program, Kostornaia, 16, topped the free program rankings with a score of 154.96 – giving her a combined total of 240.00. That was enough to finish comfortably ahead of 17-year-old local favorite Rika Kihira, who scored 151.95 for her free program and 231.84 overall. Olympic champion Zagitova finished third in Sapporo with a total score of 217.99. ?‍? A little bit of rock and dance to brighten up your day, courtesy of Alena Kostornaia ??#GP...

Pope Francis to deliver anti-nuclear message as he visits Japanese cities where US dropped atomic bombs Pope Francis is expected to deliver a staunch anti-nuclear message on his visit to Japan, the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. Francis touched down in Tokyo on Saturday, becoming the first pope to visit the East Asian country in 38 years. His four-day trip will include visits to Nagasaki and Hiroshima, cities where over 210,000 people were killed when the United States dropped nuclear bombs on them at the end of the Second World War. The nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. © Global Look Press ...

‘Unbiased’ look for cops? Indian police ax order for Muslim officers to SHAVE OFF BEARDS after backlash A police station in India stepped into controversy after it told some of its Muslim officers to get rid of their beards, prompting outrage among the local Muslim community. Police in the town of Alwar, around 150km from New Delhi, issued the now-revoked beard-shaving order on Thursday. Superintendent of Police Anil Paris Deshmukh told reporters that 32 Muslim officers were initially given permission to grow beards but later nine of them were stripped of their ‘beard privileges.’ Deshmukh did not go into details of why some of the officers were effectively told to shave off facial hair, aside from saying that police should be impartial in carrying ...

‘We’re in America’: Latin American group up in arms after Texas teacher tells student to ‘speak English’ in class A substitute teacher temping at a school in a Texas border town has come under fire for telling a Hispanic student to “speak English,” prompting a heated response from a civil rights group calling for the teacher’s dismissal. A video of the incident posted online by a local news outlet on Thursday shows the teacher – then subbing at the predominantly Latino Socorro High School, located just a few miles from the border with Mexico – arguing with a student about his phone. “Speak English, we’re in America. Give me your phone,” the teacher, who has not been named in press reports, is heard saying in the clip. //ww...

Chinese ambassador warns Canada of ‘VERY BAD damage’ to relations if it takes up US line on HK protests Beijing’s new ambassador to Canada has urged Ottawa not to echo American support for ongoing protests in Hong Kong, warning that such a move would be ruinous to relations for the two countries. While lawmakers have frequently voiced concern about the 300,000 Canadian citizens residing in Hong Kong amid the unrest, Ottawa has yet to formally endorse the territory’s protest movement. In a press conference on Friday, China’s freshly appointed envoy, Cong Peiwu, insisted it should refrain from doing so. “If somebody here really tries to… have this kind of law like that in the United States, it’s very dangerous,” the ambassador told reporters at the Ch...

‘Greta phenomenon’: EasyJet joins corporate trend of pretending to go green to seem like they care, analysts tell RT EasyJet’s plan to offset emissions clearly falls in line with now trendy environmentalism, but unfortunately it has little to do with really improving the climate situation on the planet, aviation industry experts have told RT. Earlier this week, the UK airline vowed to become the first major carrier to operate net-zero carbon flights by planting trees and investing in green projects. The idea is not actually new. Other large airlines like British Airways and Lufthansa offered passengers the chance to pay a little extra to compensate for their carbon footprint, according to independent international affairs and aerospace industry anal...

From the brightest lights, to the eeriest sounds and finally LIFE on Mars: What we learned about space this week… Scientists around the world are constantly striving to learn more about our universe. Discoveries from the utterly minute to the absolutely massive are made every day and this past week has seen some truly breathtaking highlights. Here, RT details what we learned about space in the past week. Sugar is the origin of life? NASA, in collaboration with three Japanese universities, discovered extraterrestrial sugar molecules on two different meteorites which struck the Earth, leading some scientists to believe that the RNA component within the sugar may have been the early catalyst for life on our planet.  Also on ...