Monstrous. Frightful. Wicked. It’s strange how the words just run out in the Middle East today. Sixty Palestinians dead. In one day. Two thousand four hundred wounded, more than half by live fire. In one day. The figures are an outrage, a turning away from morality, a disgrace for any army to create. And we are supposed to believe that the Israeli army is one of “purity of arms”? [...]

China’s state-owned energy giant CNPC is ready to replace French energy company Total’s stake in the Iranian South Pars gas project. In 2017, Total and CNPC signed a 20-year contract worth 4.8 billion dollars to develop Phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars field. Sputnik spoke with political analyst Tom McGregor about CNPC’s acquisition plan. [...]

US President Donald Trump has reportedly asked German Chancellor Angela Merkel to withdraw its support for the Nord Stream 2 project and allegedly promised to negotiate a new US-EU trade deal. CEO of the Austrian energy giant OMV Rainer Seele doesn't see a problem with dependence on the Russian gas, as, according to him, such dependence is mutual, DPA reported. At the same time, he slammed US effo [...]

According to Reuters' sources, the meeting will solely focus on the implementation issues and details of the Iran nuclear deal. Diplomats from Germany, France, Britain, led by senior EU diplomat Helga Schmid, and also from Russia and China, will be meeting in Vienna next week to discuss a new agreement with Iran similar to the 2015 deal, but one that would put curbs on Tehran's ballistic [...]

The real goal behind recent US sanctions is to isolate Russia economically from Europe and Asia, according to an analyst interviewed by RT. “The most obvious reason for sanctions is to drive a wedge into the relationship between Russia and the European Union, between Russia and China, etc.” said TeleTradeBel analyst Mikhail Grachev. [...]

France’s economy minister has suggested that the EU may compensate European companies affected by US sanctions on Iran, stressing that the bloc should not accept Washington as “the economic gendarme of the planet.” [...]

Vladimir Putin has criticized the US for failing to keep their end of the bargain in a host of international disarmament agreements. He says Moscow will not exit any existing treaties, but promised an “instant, symmetrical response” if Washington decides to quit first. [...]

In 1990, Western politicians repeatedly assured Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that NATO wouldn’t expand east of Germany’s borders, but broke that promise less than a decade later, say insider archives from both sides of negotiations following the dismantling of the Berlin Wall. [...]

Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement casts serious doubts over Washington's role in the peace process on the Korean Peninsula. It poses the question of how Washington can possibly be trusted to keep its word when it comes to guaranteeing North Korea's security if it proceeds with denuclearization and the dismantlement of its nuclear development program. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed the government to approve legislation making the ruble the main currency of exchange at all Russian seaports by next year, according to the Kremlin website. To protect the interests of stevedoring companies with foreign currency obligations, the government was instructed to set a transition period before switching to ruble settlements. [...]

Capital investment in 24 of the EU’s 28 member states has fallen dramatically over the past ten years, according to Eurostat. Countries in Europe’s east and south experienced the biggest drops in investment after the 2008 crisis. Investment decreased on average by 2.3 percent, falling to 20.1 percent of GDP last year. It stood at 22.4 percent from 2007 to 2017 period. [...]

US President Donald Trump has accused Germany of not contributing enough to the NATO budget – but will German Chancellor Angela Merkel dance to Washington’s tune? Politicians on both sides of Germany’s political spectrum shared their views with RT. [...]

The “ice age” against Moscow must be ended, the chairperson of Germany's Die Linke (Left Party) has stated, adding that sanctions against Russia hurt European companies. Speaking to Germany's Osnabrucker Zeitung newspaper on Saturday, Sahra Wagenknecht said the ice age in relation to Russia has to be ended. [...]

Since at least 1945, the United States has only fought stupid wars.  Some have been stupider than others, but, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Democrats and Republicans have supported them all.  If Trump does get an Iran War going, count on bipartisan support for it too, though, for sheer stupidity, it would rival and perhaps even exceed the Kennedy-Johnson-Nixon war against Vietnam. More [...]

The project is beneficial both for Russia and European countries and doesn't pose any threat in terms of the EU's dependence on Moscow's energy supplies, the director general of the Austrian oil and gas concern OMV, Rainer Seele, told DPA. Decisions on the issue of the remaining permits for the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline are likely to be made in late summer 2018, Rainer Seele s [...]

Sources with direct knowledge of US intelligence reports say Russia is on the brink of developing a maneuverable, hypersonic nuclear-capable glider warhead that no US system can defeat. The sources, speaking to CNBC on condition of anonymity, reported that Russia tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle (presumably the Avangard) twice in 2016, and again in 2017. [...]

The British Government has allocated hundreds of thousands of pounds to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. This is what Peter Hitchens, the Sunday Mail’s journalist, revealed in his Twitter on Sunday. Hitchens raised questions about the group's independence, given that the organization defines itself as not affiliated to any political body. [...]

In spite of US threats, the EU is all set to protect its economic interests in Iran and has started implementing a 1996 law that would prohibit European companies from complying with any sanctions the US would reintroduce against Tehran. “Europe should be grateful to President Trump, because thanks to him we have got rid of old illusions,” European Council President Donald Tusk said at the sta [...]

The US has cleared the sale of 3,200 bombs valued at about $45 million, including powerful bunker busters, to Bahrain. The Persian Gulf monarchy is hosting the US 5th Fleet and has been involved in the Saudi-led bombing of Yemen. The order would consist of 1,500 Mark-82 general purpose bombs; 600 Mark-83 bombs; 600 Mark-84 bombs; and 500 BLU-109 “bunker busters,” bombs armed with special warhe [...]

It took thousands of people and 27 months to build a 19km bridge connecting Crimea to Russia’s mainland. This is how the titanic construction project unfolded – compressed in tree minutes of stunning timelapse footage.The Crimean bridge was opened earlier this week for cars. The video clip was produced from footage taken throughout the long months of construction to commemorate the date in hon [...]

The re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran and Washington’s threat to punish European companies for doing business there provides a good opportunity for ditching the dollar, according to RT’s Keiser Report host, Max Keiser. “The US uses the dollar as a weapon to promote US dollar hegemony and the US Empire. [...]

The attacks by European leaders against US President Donald Trump are getting sharper by the day. On the day Trump announced that he was ripping up the Iran deal, and that the US would impose sanctions on European companies trading with that country, the French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said that European states refused to be treated like "vassals" of the US [...]