Scientists in the first study of its kind have found microplastic contamination at the bottom of Sydney Harbor, which may pose a threat to the food chain, Australian media reported. The research by the Sydney Institute of Marine Science tested 27 sites across the harbor, with researchers finding up to 60 microplastics per 100 milligrams of sediment. This was a higher volume than expected even in the... 

At least five people have been killed in an attack against a church in Ukraine’s eastern town of Kirovske as fierce fighting continues between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian forces. The artillery attack against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church claimed five lives on Saturday, the church said on Sunday. Three of the dead were attending a religious service when the shell blasted through the roof of... 

Having closed several McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow, Russia’s Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection (Rospotrebnadzor) launched unscheduled inspections of the restaurants of the chain in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia. According to representative of the agency, their actions are connected to complaints from local residents about the quality of products sold and insanitary conditions. On... 

A political analyst says the tightening of sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU) against Russia is “counterproductive,” Press TV reports. In an interview with Press TV, Jan Oberg said the US-EU move to impose sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian tension is “self-defeating” as it harms the economy of the West as well. “I think it is utterly counter-productive and... 

Investigations into the activity of McDonald’s restaurants are underway across Russia. Three restaurants including the first one to open in Russia were temporarily closed in Moscow over sanitary issues. Checks in Moscow are currently being conducted in five McDonald’s restaurants. The Moscow department of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer watchdog, said that during the checks breaches of sanitary... 

US Defense Secretary said on Thursday that Islamic State militants could possibly pose an even bigger threat to the United States than Al-Qaeda, and pledged efforts to weaken the group would continue. Speaking at a press conference at the Pentagon, Hagel also said that potential airstrikes in Syria are on the table, and defended the unsuccessful attempt by American Special Forces to rescue murdered... 

Russian aid convoy trucks have crossed back over the border after delivering humanitarian supplies to eastern Ukraine. Russian Deputy Emergency Minister Eduard Chizhikov said on Saturday that all the trucks that had departed for Ukraine have returned to Russia. “There were 227 trucks in the humanitarian operation participating in the operation, and they have all returned. All those vehicles have... 

One of the real divisions of the contemporary world is now made ​​between Pro-Putin and Anti-Putin. The National Front in France is the rising alternative force aimed to resist imposed European austerity and integration and NATO-run lunatic diplomacy. More Frenchmen are also sensitized by the sound of boots and Russophobia that grows here following American commandments. And the same ones who... 

Australia and Singapore agree to enhance intelligence sharing. Australia and Singapore have agreed to enhance intelligence sharing amid concerns about the threat posed by Takfiri militants returning home from Syria and Iraq. The agreement was reached during a meeting between Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen and visiting Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on Friday. “In this context of... 

Bardarbunga: Iceland’s largest volcano is seen from afar on a webcam positioned on Grimsfjoll mountain. Tourists were evacuated from around Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano, as seismic activity has increased in the area. The possibility of the volcano waking up has evoked memories of the 2010 aviation chaos, caused by another eruption in Iceland. Seismic activity in the Bardarbunga vicinity... 

Britain’s right-wing party UKIP have formally called for the British government to block the return of UK nationals who left British shores to fight alongside Islamic State militants in the Middle East. In a formal statement issued on Wednesday, the party emphasized the UK government can and should strip all militants who hold dual nationality of their official UK citizenship. The coalition could... 

The European Union has blamed Moscow for the “clear violation” of Ukraine’s border after a Russian aid convoy crossed into the Ukrainian territory. “We deplore Russia’s decision to enter the humanitarian consignment into Ukrainian territory, without the ICRC’s [International Committee of the Red Cross] escort or the consent of the Ukrainian authorities,” Sebastien Brabant, spokesman... 

A Salt Lake City police officer shot and killed 20-year-old Dillon Taylor outside a convenience store Aug. 11, 2014. While national news media continue to focus on race in Ferguson, Missouri, where a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed black teenager, they apparently don’t think a similar case in Utah with the races reversed is that newsworthy. Police in Salt Lake City are continuing... 

Texas Governor Rick Perry has raised the alarm that terrorists from the ISIL Takfiri group and other extremist militants may have already entered the US soil via the Mexican border. On Thursday, Perry stressed the need for Washington to take immediate action to prevent Takfiri terrorists from sneaking into the United States via Mexico, saying the militants could have already taken advantage of the... 

Several dozen trucks in the Russian humanitarian convoy have crossed the Ukrainian border and started moving in the direction of Lugansk, after Moscow ordered the convoy to proceed, without waiting for further permission from Kiev. Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately holding up the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, according to a new statement...