Washington’s intention to re-impose the "toughest" sanctions on Iran appears to be playing into the hands of Chinese investors and oil futures traders, analysts have come to believe. Shanghai crude oil futures ISCc1 have recently seen a significant uptick in their trade volumes, which hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, a day after Trump announced the US was withdrawing from the 2015 Iran [...]

According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the country's military vessels will be on permanent standby in the Mediterranean Sea due to a terrorist threat in Syria. "Due to the remaining threat of incursions by international terrorists in Syria, our ships carrying Kalibr cruise missiles will be constantly deployed in the Mediterranean Sea," Putin said at a military meeting. [...]

President of the European Council Donald Tusk has lashed out at US President Donald Trump amid the recent decision of the latter to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal as well as a trade dispute between the US and a number of countries, including the European Union. The senior official said that EU should be grateful to Trump as he helped the bloc get rid of its illusions. [...]

The European Union is planning to switch payments to the euro for its oil purchases from Iran, eliminating US dollar transactions, a diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. Brussels has been at odds with Washington over the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, which was reached during the administration of Barack Obama. President Donald Trump has pledged to re-impose sanctions against the Islamic [...]

Norman Finkelstein says that while Palestinian protesters in Gaza have bravely resisted their ghettoization under merciless Israeli fire. At least 43 Palestinians have been killed and 2,200 wounded by Israeli troops, Palestinian officials say, on the deadliest day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war. The violence came as the US opened its embassy in Jerusalem, a move that has infuriated Palesti [...]

The experimental new treatment, being developed by researchers from the Moscow-based Russian National Research Medical University, has been successfully tested on cancer-afflicted lab mice, showing a nearly 70% increase in the animals' lifespan. The drug consists of magnetite nanoparticles laced with a toxic cytostatic agent, which attacks and destroys tumor cells. [...]

Turkey has told Israel's ambassador to Ankara to leave the country over the killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces, according to media reports. Eitan Naeh was summoned to the foreign ministry in Ankara on Tuesday and asked to leave over the deaths at the Gaza border, Haaretz reported. He was told to leave "for some time," a source told Reuters. [...]

A damning UN Security Council draft statement on Israel’s use of force against protesters at the Gaza border was blocked by the US. Nearly 60 people were killed as the new US Embassy opened in Jerusalem. Monday was the bloodiest day in six weeks of protesting by Palestinians at Israel’s border wall, during which hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli soldiers. [...]

Less than a year after Donald Trump's notorious "fire and fury" threat against North Korea, the US is now offering aid and investment if Pyongyang ditches its nukes. The progress seems remarkable… if you have a short memory. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says North Korea only has to give up its nuclear weapons program to become America's next best friend. Aid, investment and diplomacy will t [...]

Ireland's foreign minister is being accused of hypocrisy for failing to expel Israel’s ambassador over the IDF killing 60 Palestinians on Monday, despite sending a Russian diplomat home over the Skripal case without evidence. Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Simon Coveney expelled a Russian diplomat in March following Britain’s claim that Russia was behind the poisoning of double age [...]

A new 19km bridge connecting the mainland with the Crimean Peninsula has been officially opened, making Russia the host of Europe’s longest bridge. President Vladimir Putin personally drove a truck across it to mark the occasion. The opening of the bridge was all about the people, who created the massive construction in record time. [...]

Israel Defense Forces have enough bullets for everyone, a senior lawmaker party said, according to local media. At least 60 Palestinians, including children, were killed by Israeli gunfire on Monday during protests. Avi Dichter, a senior member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling Likud Party, made the controversial comment when speaking to Hadashot TV news on Monday afternoon. [...]

'Jared Kushner’s speech at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem claims both sides of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could gain more than they give, as Israeli forces shot dead 41 protesters on Monday. Kushner, whom President Donald Trump tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East, said the US administration had almost completed a peace plan, but is undecided about when to reveal [...]

In response to the violence in Gaza, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recalled the country's ambassadors to both the US and Israel, accusing Israel of "state terror" and "genocide." According to reports, Erdogan is recalling the ambassadors for consultations over the ongoing situation in the Gaza Strip. [...]

While Jared Kushner, Donald Trump’s son-in-law and a White House policy adviser, took the floor at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem, Twitter most naturally turned ablaze, with many resorting to increasingly demonstrated skepticism and even outrage over the Kushner family's involvement in yet another Middle Eastern issue. [...]

As American officials smiled and clapped at the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, Palestinian protesters were gunned down by Israeli bullets at the Gaza border. Twitter users were quick to point out the competing visuals and bad optics on a day when US officials were touting the opening of the new embassy as a “magnificent tribute to peace.” [...]

Russia’s Mriya Resort & Spa in the Crimea has been named the best holiday hotel and resort by the World Travel Awards. The hotel won the award in the world’s leading leisure resort category. Russia’s Aeroflot airline was named the best brand and the city of St. Petersburg best tourist destination. [...]

The bridge across the Kerch Strait, which will connect Russia's Crimean Peninsula and Krasnodar Region is set to open to traffic on Tuesday. Construction of the bridge, the longest in Russia with a span of 19 kilometers, has been carried out since February 2016, and it is opening for cars more than half a year ahead of schedule. [...]

Jared Kushner’s speech at the US Embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem claims both sides of an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could gain more than they give, as Israeli forces shot dead 55 protesters on Monday. Kushner, whom President Donald Trump tasked with bringing peace to the Middle East, said the US administration had almost completed a peace plan, but is undecided about when to reveal its [...]

Forty-one Palestinian protesters have been killed by Israeli fire during demonstrations ahead of the US embassy inauguration in Jerusalem, the Palestinian health ministry said Monday.  More than 1,700 protesters have been injured in Gaza so far on what has been the most violent day of the six week long Great March of Return. Those wounded on Monday include 74 children and 23 women, according to t [...]

In 2016 the United States established a training program for Free Syrian Army militants at its military base in al-Tanf to fight Daesh terrorists in the region. According to The Washington Post, the United States has been concerned over the possibility of Iranian forces, fighting in support of the Syrian government, seizing the US outpost in al-Tanf. [...]

The preparations have been launched just over a month after Berlin gave its go-ahead to the project. Engineers have started to prepare the construction site for the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline by the shore of Germany's coastal resort of Lubmin, a representative of Nord Stream 2 AG told Sputnik. [...]