The controversial White Helmets rescue group has been praised in the Western media as heroes, and derided by the Syrian government as 'al-Qaeda's civil defense' network. But is there a middle ground between such polarizing views? A Sputnik correspondent got an unprecedented inside look into the group's operations in southern Syria. [...]

In a phone call with President Donald Trump, the Turkish leader emphasized the need to disclose all circumstances of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Earlier Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to make an “important statement” soon. [...]

The Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out over 40,000 missions, including over 21,000 sorties during the night time, in the course of their operation in Syria, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the fifth ASEAN and Dialogue Partners Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM-Plus) in Singapore.   [...]

The mysterious disappearance of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi has captivated the world, as accusations against Riyadh keep growing. RT unpacks allegations and gruesome details reported over the last two weeks.  Jamal Khashoggi was once close to the Saudi elites but fled the kingdom last year in fear of prosecution. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has no plans to change its logistical support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen, US Air Force Special Operations Command chief Lt. Gen. Brad Webb said at a press briefing. "I see nothing on the horizon that may change this focus at this point," Webb said on Wednesday, when asked about possible changes in future logistical support for Riyadh's opera [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of Defense has no information regarding US nationals being taken hostage near the Syrian city of Deir Ez-Zor, Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Sean Robertson told Sputnik. Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Daesh* terrorists had recently begun expanding their presence on the left bank of the Euphrates river in Syria, taking nearly 700 peo [...]

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s body was cut into pieces after his death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul two weeks ago, a Turkish source has told CNN and Al Jazeera. The source told Al Jazeera that the murder took about seven minutes and said that Saudi forensics expert Saleh al-Tubaiqi dismembered Khashoggi’s body and asked his colleagues to listen to music while he did it. [...]

During operations to clear terrorist-controlled areas across the country in recent months, Syrian forces discovered countless caches of Western and Israeli-made weapons, munitions and supplies. Authorities in the town of Yalda, about 10 kilometers south of the Syrian capital, have discovered a large stock of weapons and ammunition carefully hidden inside a plastic water tank at a local farm [...]

ANKARA (Sputnik) – The Saudi authorities are not cooperating on the investigation into the disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and in particular, are not letting Turkish prosecutors to the consulate building, Turkish Foreign Minister said on Saturday. [...]

The delivery of Russia's S-300s to Syria has prompted US media to speculate that the US Air Force may deploy its F-22 stealth fighters to take out the country's air defenses. Meanwhile, Washington also promised to supply Israel with more F-35s. But will the 5th gen planes be able to evade the Russian air defense system? Not likely, analysts say. [...]

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump promised that India will soon see his decision on punitive measures after New Delhi moved to purchase advanced S-400 air defense systems from Russia. [...]

If the pain of birth is the price of life, Syria’s birth as a truly independent nation has come at the price of eight years of brutal and merciless struggle. As with the Vietnamese people, so with the Syrians. Their struggle against imperialism and hegemony has earned them a place at history’s table that can never be relinquished. Because, if you penetrate beyond the obfuscations peddled by We [...]

The illegal US presence in Syria is one of the reasons why war there cannot end, especially since Washington is apparently trying to create a quasi-state on the eastern bank of the Euphrates, the Russian foreign minister said. [...]

The Turkish government has informed US officials it has audio and video recordings that prove that Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside Saudi Consulate in Instanbul, according to a report by the Washington Post. [...]

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been in the driver’s seat on and off since 1996 and is poised to become Israel’s longest-serving leader. The veteran politician, widely known as ‘Bibi’, is also at risk of losing his grip on power after a series of corruption scandals involving him came to light. RT America correspondent, Anya Parampil, tracks Bibi’s rise to power from a UN ambassad [...]

In keeping with an agreement reached by Russia and Turkey to resolve the situation in Syria’s Idlib, jihadist groups have until October 10 to withdraw their heavy weapons from the demilitarized zone in the province. In an interview with Sputnik, a Syrian Army representative said that groups such as Hayati al-Sham, largely made up of al-Nusra, Huras ad-Din and the National Liberation Front milita [...]

New footage of the delivery of the Russian S-300 air defense system to the Syrian military has been published by the Russian Defense Ministry’s television channel. The video from Zvezda TV shows the arrival of the Russian An-124 Ruslan transport plane to an airfield in Syria and the unloading of the system’s components by Russian troops. [...]

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Turkey does not intend to borrow loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) anymore, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday. "We have closed the chapter of the IMF credits in order not to open it anymore," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday addressing the activists of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party in the town of Kizilc [...]

As the scandals and legal trials dogging Israel’s first family continue unabated, the prime minister’s wife, Sara Netanyahu, began her own trial on Sunday for fraud and breach of trust. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife, Sara Netanyahu, on Sunday showed up in court to begin her trial for fraud and breach of trust, in a continuing saga of the multiple scandals involving her husba [...]

The Saturday evacuation is the latest in a series of airlifts coming amid the Syrian Army's ongoing offensive on jihadists who still control small pockets of Deir ez-Zor, much of them empty desert. A number of wounded Daesh* terrorists militants have been evacuated by US helicopters from Syria's eastern Deir ez-Zor province, local sources said, as quoted by the Syrian news website Arabi Today [...]

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – German WKB Systems manufacturer offers Damascus to use its aerated concrete to restore buildings destroyed during the civil war, commercial director of the distributor of WKB Systems’ products in Syria told Sputnik on Friday. [...]

At least three people, including a 12-year-old, were killed by Israeli troops as some 20,000 Palestinians rallied at the Gaza border. Amid the clashes, the IAF struck ‘terrorist targets’ in retaliation for border breach attempts. Thousands of Palestinian activists assembled near the Gazan-Israeli border, with some trying to breach the fence amid a heavy Israeli security presence, burning tires [...]