Nord Stream 2 AG, a Swiss-based firm behind the construction of Gazprom’s gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea, has laid about 250 kilometers (155 miles) of pipes, company spokesman Jens Mueller told Sputnik. [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel backed the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and called for international efforts to tackle the migration crisis after a number of countries, including the United States, have refused to sign the accord. [...]

Although officially condemning the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Washington is unwilling to antagonise Riyadh, which it sees as an important business partner and a “great ally” in the region. [...]

Germany adopted an "open doors" policy in 2015, when a vast migrant wave flooded Europe. The ratings of Merkel's ruling party have since plummeted due to growing crime rates, for which some of the German chancellor's critics blame migrants. [...]

Earlier, Reuters reported that certain members of the Saudi royal family are considering changing the line of succession to prevent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from becoming the next king amid the Khgashoggi scandal. [...]

US President Donald Trump has stated that he has been briefed on the recording but he didn’t have to listen to the actual tape of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder. The Washington Post reported, citing CIA findings, that the Saudi Crown Prince had ordered journalist’s assassination in Istanbul last month. [...]

In September, China’s share of US Treasuries holdings had the highest decline since January as ongoing trade tensions with Washington forced the world’s biggest economy to take measures to stabilize its national currency. Still the biggest foreign holder of the US foreign debt, China slashed it’s share by nearly $14 billion, with the country's holdings falling to $1.15 trillion from nearly $ [...]

Assuming the position of Defense Minister after several high-profile resignations, Israeli Pime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, for the sake of national security, warned remaining ministers against pushing for an early election. [...]

French President Emmanuel Macron has embarked on a charm offensive at the German parliament, hailing cooperation between Paris and Berlin as a protective force against global chaos and foes beyond Europe’s borders. [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the United States on Sunday for voting against the UN resolution condemning Israel for occupying the Golan Heights area located at the Israeli-Syrian border. "On Thursday, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman informed me on the US decision to vote against the regular resolution slamming us for our presence in the Golan Heights. [...]

The US has said it will join Australia in the development of a naval base on Papua New Guinea’s Manus Island to “protect the freedom of the seas,” in a move apparently aimed at curbing China’s presence in the Pacific. Australia, a staunch US ally in the Pacific, had already set its sights on Papua New Guinea’s Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island earlier in November, seeking to build a de [...]

Donald Trump’s turbulent European visit started with an “acrimonious” conversation with British Prime Minister Theresa May, who called to celebrate the Republican wins in the midterm elections, a Washington Post report claims. The conversation, which was never officially reported by either side, came on Friday as Trump was travelling to Paris aboard Air Force One, the newspaper claims citin [...]

For the first time, leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific economies have failed to issue a joint communique, as tensions between the US and China over trade and investment poisoned their annual summit. Pointing to the “two big giants in the room,” the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation’s (APEC) chair, Papua New Guinea (PNG) Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, informed Sunday’s closing news conference [...]

"CIA doesn't just contradict the Saudis, but also the Trump WH." All the circumspection, laughter, and Trump administration statements that even at the time seemed bizarre and gullible, say critics, appear even more damning on Friday night after the Washington Post reported that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency believes the evidence shows that Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi [...]

Earlier, Moscow rejected US Navy complaints about a Russian Su-27 intercepting a US Navy EP-3 spy plane in an "unsafe manner." US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert has accused Russia of acting "recklessly in international airspace" over the Black Sea and called on Moscow to "cease its unsafe, irresponsible, and aggressive behavior" in a tweet Thursday morning. [...]

At least 13 countries have expressed their interest in purchasing the Russian S-400 Triumph surface-to-air missile systems instead of US equipment despite the likelihood of provoking Washington’s sanctions, media reported citing people with first-hand knowledge of a US intelligence assessment. [...]

Amid growing disagreements between Washington and Berlin, ranging from the tariff dispute to the row over the NATO spending and US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, Gerhard Schroeder has demanded convergence with China. [...]

Scientists from the Siberian Federal University (SFU) and Biophysics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian branch have recently discovered record levels of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in boganida char, fish endemic to Siberia’s Arctic region. [...]

The cooling system, which is the most important element of the Russian space transport and energy unit developed on the basis of megawatt-class nuclear electric propulsion, has been successfully tested in Russia, materials published on the government procurement website on Monday stated. [...]

Following years of floating within the bloc, the idea of Europe creating joint military forces is on the agenda after the French President and German Chancellor called on their EU allies to unite. While the EU leadership backed the initiative, it got a mixed response among European politicians. [...]

Residents of the Syrian province of Suwayda, grateful for their liberation from the captivity of Daesh* terrorists, lifted Syrian President Bashar Assad onto their shoulders during an official reception. [...]

Trump opted not to speculate about the role which CIA claims the Saudi prince played in the Khashoggi case, saying that he first needs to confer with the intelligence officials and hear what they have to say. [...]