As a rising number of critics accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of moving political goalposts to avoid ongoing corruption charges, observers in Tel Aviv note that ‘Bibi’ and his Likud party are on track to win the April elections by a slim margin. [...]

As the death of Jamal Khashoggi continues to cause international outrage, new footage has emerged purporting to show the journalist’s killers carrying body parts in suitcases into the house of the Saudi consul general in Istanbul. [...]

Christmas celebrations have literally radiated out across Syria and western media was curiously silent in the face of such displays of unity and solidarity among Syria's diverse peoples. [...]

Tensions between Washington and Beijing have escalated in recent months amid a growing number of US Navy "freedom of navigation" missions in the South China Sea and Chinese efforts to beef up its military presence in territories over which several Asian powers have overlapping claims. [...]

Claiming ‘anti-Semitism,’ the United States and Israel have jointly quit a legacy United Nations agency designed to promote international collaboration through scientific, educational and cultural reform. [...]

KIEV (Sputnik) - Several hundreds of people participated Tuesday in marches commemorating the birthday of the Ukrainian fascist collaborator Stepan Bandera in Kiev, media reported. [...]

The US 'withdrawal' from Syria might not mean the end of all its Syria-related operations where Israel is concerned, as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed Washington’s ongoing commitment to Israel’s security on Tuesday. [...]

Businessmen from Saudi Arabia have expressed an interest in investing in Russia's Crimea, according to the region’s ministry of construction and architecture. "Representatives of the foreign [Saudi - Ed.] delegation expressed an interest in starting projects and setting up businesses in the republic," the ministry said, following a meeting with the Saudi businessmen. [...]

The country with the largest mineral reserves in the world, Russia, is the second top exporter of rare earth minerals. Its natural resources are estimated at tens of trillions of dollars. It has abundant supplies of oil, natural gas, timber and valuable minerals, such as copper, diamonds, lead, zinc, bauxite, nickel, tin, mercury, gold and silver. [...]

The Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle flies 27 times faster than the speed of sound, making it impossible to intercept, Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told Russia’s Zvezda television channel. Borisov spoke a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin oversaw what he described as the conclusive successful test of the Avangard and hailed it as a reliable guarantee of Russia’s security for de [...]

BEIJING (Sputnik) – Liberalization of the Chinese banking legislation provides Russian banks with an opportunity to receive full-fledged licenses for their work in China, Russia's Trade Representative in the Asian country, Sergey Iniushin, told Sputnik. [...]

Israel's recent airstrike against Syria, which involved the usage of civilian flights as cover for the operation, shows that the Israelis are changing their tactics against Damascus, Peter Ford, the former UK ambassador to Syria, told Sputnik. [...]

The common European currency, which was created on 1 January 1999 and became a physical currency three years later, will soon mark its 20-year anniversary, having survived major crises over the last decade. Sputnik has recalled how the euro started its path, what challenges it has faced and what prospects it has. [...]

The Iraqi military has conducted two airstrikes this month against Daesh on the territory of Syria, leaving dozens of terrorists dead. They reportedly used intelligence obtained from Damascus to locate the terrorists' positions. [...]

The Bank of Russia has revoked licenses of five out on nine foreign exchange dealers operating in the country – Alpari Forex, Forex Club, Fix Trade, Trustforex, and Teletrade Group. The decision comes into force on January 27. [...]

Worried at Russia and China’s technological edge, the US aims to have a hypersonic weapon by 2025, the US Navy said in a report. A fortnight later, Vladimir Putin was watching the test launch of Russia’s newest hypersonic missile. [...]

While certain politicians are still having difficulties getting their walls built, Russia has announced it had finished a border barrier between Ukraine and Crimea. Construction took just over a year and less than $3 million. [...]

Israeli PM and acting defense chief Benjamin Netanyahu has praised the capabilities of his air force a day after IDF jets endangered two civilian flights while carrying out Christmas Day strikes against ‘Iranian targets’ in Syria. [...]

On 26 December, the Kremlin reported that the Russian Defence Ministry had test-launched the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle, which flies 27 times faster than the speed of sound and which can carry megaton-class nuclear weapons. The US military has nothing to set against the new missile, the respected daily Die Welt stated. [...]

As Washington continues detentions of Russians across the world the plight of those, who have already fallen into the clutches of the US authorities, raises suspicion about the true colors of the US justice system. In mid-December, yet another Russian citizen was detained outside of Russia's borders – this time in Finland – at the request of the United States, marking the latest episode in wha [...]

Christmas is a time of goodwill to all men. Or at least it should be. But while the West’s Middle East ‘bad guys’ Iran and Syria, showed the Yuletide spirit, its closest allies, Saudi Arabia and Israel, failed to do so. [...]

Austria believes that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project will be successfully implemented, Russian Ambassador in Vienna Dmitry Lyubinsky told Sputnik. "Nord Stream 2 is, of course, the most promising initiative of our energy partnership with Austria… They believe here that this project will be successfully implemented," Lyubinsky said. [...]