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Support for NATO wanes in France, Germany & even US as alliance struggles to maintain unity Public support for NATO has seen a notable decline in France, Germany and the US, according to a new poll. The alliance has suffered from months of budgetary in-fighting and mud-slinging among member states. While the Pew Research study noted that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization still enjoys general support across member states, it pointed out that several countries "have soured on the alliance." Positive views of the transatlantic alliance fell to 52 percent in the United States last year, from 64 percent in 2018, the survey found. In France, support fell to 49 percent, from 60 percent in 2017 and 71 percent in 2009. A figure for 2018 was not avai...

Turkey strikes Syrian Army positions after ‘5 troops killed in shelling’ Five Turkish troops were killed in the shelling of an observation post in Syria’s Idlib province, Ankara has said, blaming Damascus for the attack. Turkish forces then fired on Syrian Army positions. “Five of our troops were killed and five others were injured in the shelling by the Syrian regime,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Monday, adding that “return fire was opened.” It’s not the first shelling incident between Turkish and Syrian forces in Idlib. A week ago, six Turkish troops were killed by Syrian artillery fire in an incident that Russia said was a result of miscommunication. The casualties could have been avoided if Ankara properly notified Damascus that it was ...

Six months on, Russia overturns controversial ban on its scientists cooperating with foreigners When the measure was introduced last year, it was slammed as a return to Soviet-style paranoia. On Monday, Russia's new government lifted most restrictions on contacts between Russian scientists and foreigners. Valery Falkov, who replaced Mikhail Kotyukov as science and higher education minister in January, announced the policy reversal, adding that Russia is "interested in developing cooperation on the principles of open science." Falkov added that he wants "Russia and Russian scientists [to] participate in all the largest [international] scientific projects." Also on rt.com Strings attached: Why US can’t stop using ‘t...

Russian 'anarchists' jailed for planning FIFA World Cup and presidential election terrorist attacks A court in the central Russian city of Penza has handed down prison sentences of between six and 18 years to seven anarchists convicted on terrorism charges. The men, all members of the group 'Network ('Set,' in Russian), were accused of possession of weapons and drugs, and of planning attacks during the FIFA World Cup and presidential election in 2018. They were arrested in 2017, in Penza and St. Petersburg. The Federal Security Service (FSB) claims that 'Network' also operated 'cells' in Moscow, Omsk and the capital of Belarus, Minsk. Investigators asserted that Dmitry Pchelintsev and Ilya Shakursky were the leaders of the organization, and they rec...

More than 70% of Russians support Putin's constitutional changes — pollster 'Levada' Vladimir Putin caught everyone by surprise last month when he announced planned constitutional amendments to introduce more 'checks and balances' into the Russian political system. Now, with a plebiscite planned for this spring to win public approval for the reforms, the vast majority of voters look set to support the President's proposals. That's according to a poll conducted by the independent 'Levada Centre,' which shows over 70% of respondents back the moves. Read more Russian political earthquake: Putin sets out plan for Kremlin departure & Medvedev resigns Conducted at the request of the 'Civil Society Development ...

Sticking the boot in: Tunisian footballer sent off for attacking cheeky ball boy who chucked his boot into crowd (VIDEO) We're used to seeing football rivalries brew over on the pitch or in the stands but a ball boy in the Tunisian league took partisanship to a new level recently when he lobbed a visiting team player's boot into the crowd. The incident took place in a game between rivals Hammam-Lif and CA Bizertin last weekend when, with the scores tied at 1-1 with a little over 10 minutes left on the clock, the away team's Mohamed Yeken lost one of his boots near the touchline. A quick-thinking ball boy, perhaps sensing that he could give his team a swift advantage, seized the initiative and threw the player's boot into a section of the home suppor...

‘Puzzling’ virus of UNKNOWN origin with genes scientists can’t identify discovered in Brazil Scientists in Brazil have discovered a virus which appears to be almost entirely new, consisting of unrecognizable genes that have been, until now, undocumented. The Yaravirus (Yaravirus brasiliensis), named after a water deity in Brazilian mythology and folklore, was discovered in Lake Pampulha in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte. Also on rt.com Сhina unveils mobile app that DETECTS coronavirus close contact In recent years, virologists and other researchers have discovered a variety of new viruses which challenge traditional thinking, including so-called “giant viruses” (named for their large protein shells, n...