UK authorities in Gibraltar seized Iran’s Grace 1 oil tanker and detained some members of its crew on 4 July over suspicions that it was circumventing EU sanctions against Syria. Tehran denies these allegations and has slammed London for endangering freedom of navigation. [...]

Syria’s ancient city of Aleppo was filled with bustling markets and historical buildings before it was engulfed in the devastating conflict. Now, before and after photos show progress in rebuilding its war-torn sites. [...]

Pyongyang says it has no other choice but to continue developing and testing new types of deterrence weapons as long as ‘warmongers’ in the South keep buying modern arms and holding joint military drills with the US. [...]

Just one day into his premiership and it’s already clear that Britain’s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson means business. The question is: what kind? There’s wielding the knife and there’s wielding the knife, and Johnson, with his merciless cull of Theresa May’s deadwood from his new cabinet, has moved with the alacrity of the leader of a right-wing coup rather than a democracy to assembl [...]

The US has advised Turkey not to deploy Russian S-400 systems under the threat of more sanctions, even though the White House has been cautious about punishing its NATO ally which could respond by closing its bases to US troops. [...]

Deutsche’s net income also dropped by over 40 percent to €231 million in the second quarter, year-on-year - the lender is predicted to report a full-year loss for 2019. Deutsche shares fell 2.4 percent in response to the results. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US President Donald Trump in multiple letters to Congress said he rejected resolutions that call for prohibiting weapons transfers to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and several other countries. [...]

The US erodes global security and seeks “absolute superiority,” but Beijing won’t follow the “beaten track” of big powers in seeking hegemony, focusing instead on having a “world-class” army, says a new Chinese military document. [...]

Russia has unveiled its Concept of Collective Security in the Persian Gulf, outlining arms control, joint anti-terrorist efforts and giving up on foreign military presence as keys conditions for stability in the turbulent region. [...]

Malaysia can’t accept the conclusions of the Dutch-led probe into the downing of flight MH17, as the probe didn’t seem interested in establishing the truth about the tragedy, the country’s prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has said. [...]

New Delhi (Sputnik): India is likely to be subjected to US sanctions under the CAATSA (Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) legislation by the "extremely frustrated" Donald Trump administration for continuing to purchase Russian defence equipment ignoring US concerns, a top American government official has said. [...]

The New York Times’ editorial board, fresh from peddling anti-Russia conspiracies for two years, has made a remarkable about-turn. Now the paper wants closer relations with the Kremlin, all to thwart China’s ambitions. [...]

The growth rate of the Russian economy increased last year, while inflation remained low, the World Bank said in its 2019 World Economic Outlook. “Although economic sanctions tightened, Russia experienced relatively low and stable inflation and increased oil production. [...]

Huawei has laid off around 70 percent of staff at its Futurewei Technologies research arm in the US. Despite recent signals that Washington was easing pressure on the Chinese tech giant, the ban is still in force. [...]

Iranian secret services uncovered a 17-member spy ring working against the country, according to state-affiliated media. Some of the agents have been given capital punishment. [...]

A Venezuelan Su-30 fighter “aggressively shadowed” an American spy plane over the Caribbean Sea, the US military said, claiming the jet was at an “unsafe distance” and blaming Russia for its “irresponsible” support for Caracas. [...]

The US has punished Turkey for buying Russian air defense systems by cutting it from the F-35 program. The rationale behind the move is speculative, and Ankara’s example may prompt other US allies to buy Russian, experts told RT. [...]

The nosedive comes against the background of the ongoing trade row between Beijing and Washington, which, however, showed signs of nearing a resolution late last month when President Trump announced that he will not impose new tariffs on China. [...]

The leader of the world’s container port rankings, Yangshan Port, works around the clock to secure its top position and boost China’s trade connections. RTD’s new film offers a glimpse inside the massive facility. [...]

The US continues to “strangle” Iran’s economy by imposing sanctions on Tehran as well as other countries that attempt to trade with Iran, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace group Code Pink, told Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear Friday. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and pledged to defeat terrorism in Syria by joint efforts. [...]

Huawei is spearheading the quantum communication technology in a bid to build "unhackable" networks. Cyber security experts have discussed whether the tech giant's efforts would make US eavesdropping techniques, once described by Edward Snowden, obsolete. [...]