A coalition agreement between Likud and Kahol Lavan is expected to be signed any day now. Israeli observers have explained Benny Gantz's sudden decision to team up with Benjamin Netanyahu and whether a government will be formed at long last.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - A highly classified US Air Force base in the Nevada Desert for years was home to a secret squadron whose mission was to teach American pilots how to defeat Russian MiG fighter jets, its former commander told Sputnik in an interview.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - As European countries agree to set up another task force to tackle terrorism in the Sahel against the backdrop of the US planned troop drawdown, experts warn that a new mission will not necessarily lead to a reduction in violence, but will help the West to retain its geopolitical clout amid the rise of rival actors on the ground.

While the death toll from coronavirus is continuing to rise around the world, it has become obvious that sex and gender differences do play a role when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. British health experts Dr Bharat Pankhania and Sarah Hawkes explain why men are more likely to die from coronavirus than women.

With the US Indian Health Service (IHS) already severely unfunded at the best of times, the COVID-19 outbreak is disproportionately affecting Native American communities, Ruth Hopkins, Dakota/Lakota Sioux writer and journalist, told Radio Sputnik’s Political Misfits Friday.

While Canada has confirmed only 12,400 cases of COVID-19 and 179 deaths from the disease, its southern neighbor the US is topping the world's coronavirus tally, with more than 275,500 infections and over 7,000 fatalities registered, the count by Johns Hopkins University shows.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Serbia is ready to follow the recommendations of highly qualified Russian specialists in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic to prevent the situation from sliding into worst-case scenarios, city of Belgrade parliamentarian Draginja Vlk said.

Changes are expected to be made to British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s emergency coronavirus loan scheme, amid increasing criticism that businesses may not be able to acquire sufficient funds in time to stave off the threat of bankruptcy during the ongoing pandemic.

Millions of people around the world currently in quarantine are looking at new ways to continue exercising with the help of active video games. The games which require players to move their whole body instead of just tapping buttons on a screen have recently seen a surge in popularity for individuals self-isolating.

In addition to producing hand sanitizer for the state of New York, inmates at Rikers Island have been enlisted to dig graves for victims of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus, even as the virus spreads through the facility itself. However, according to two journalists, these human rights abuses are simply business as usual for the prison.

Iran has managed to contain its coronavirus outbreak even under crippling US trade sanctions that have limited the country’s access to medical equipment and other resources, Sayyed Mohammad Marandi, an American studies and postcolonial literature professor who teaches at the University of Tehran, told Sputnik’s Loud & Clear Thursday.

Italy remains the main victim of COVID-19 among the EU nations with more than 110,000 people infected and the country’s north suffering the most. After the outbreak Italy will likely have to deal with a steep recession. Sputnik discussed the situation with an Italian MP representing the province of Lombardy.

Recent data provided by the FBI showed that last month set an unprecedented record in the number of firearms background checks. According to Newsweek, some industry experts now see a link between a surging demand for ammunition in the United States and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Boris Johnson has stated that he thinks that increased testing for COVID-19, in particular amongst NHS staff, will help overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic. The NHS has recently been bolstered by former staffers agreeing to return, but many still fear 8 hospitals in the UK could be lacking in qualified medical professionals and equipment.

British Airways has announced that it will cut large numbers of its staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Absorbing hatred towards Israelis from an early age, Mohammed Massad joined Fatah's military group, the Black Panthers, with the goal of fighting Israel's "occupation". Little did he know that one day he would change sides, embrace the Jewish state and speak up against the leadership he was once fighting for.

An academic physician working in Washington, DC, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals from their employers, told Radio Sputnik’s Political Misfits that equipment shortages, wage and benefit cuts for staff and overcrowding at hospitals amid the US COVID-19 outbreak are a direct product of the American “health abuse” system.

According to reports, one-fifth of British businesses will not be able to survive for more than one month of the coronavirus lockdown.

The coronavirus pandemic has unexpectedly stoked up the tension that already existed between pro-choice and pro-life groups in the US. American activists, political commentators and lawyers have weighed the pros and cons of the abortion ban imposed by a number of states across the country.

Democrats have been criticising Donald Trump for what dominant party voices have perceived as a 'slow response' to the coronavirus.