The US Treasury Department sanctions aimed at Russian-based RUSAL may have made a splash in the wrong direction, as companies from US allies in Europe have had to deal with supply disruptions. Layoffs and further difficulties are looming. [...]

WASHINGTON - The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) is allegedly involved in a series of crimes, including torture, enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions, the State Department said in its annual human rights report released on Friday. "Human rights groups and the United Nations noted significant deficiencies in investigations into human rights abuses committed by [Ukraine’s] government [...]

The US-led strike in Syria was conducted in the wake of unverified reports about an alleged chemical attack in Douma, despite the fact that the probe into the incident was only due to start. Moscow has repeatedly called on Western states to work with investigators from the chemical weapons watchdog to determine if gas had been indeed used. [...]

Perhaps the most surprising news surrounding the US, British and French strike on Syria Saturday morning was the report that the country's Air Defense Force managed to shoot down just shy of 70% of the Western cruise missiles launched. Sputnik looks at how the Syrians managed to do it. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Syrian government forces on Friday have found large amounts of militants’ weapons, including those produced in the United States, in the city of Dumayr, located north-east of the Syrian capital of Damascus, local media reported. [...]

According to lawyers of the Bundestag, the missile attack by the US-UK-France coalition, supported by the German Government, violates international law. The grounds that the strike was a retaliatory measure following an alleged chemical attack were dismissed as “not convincing.” [...]

The Central Bank of Russia keeps all its bullion at home, since only in Russia can its gold be completely safe, according to Anatoly Aksakov, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets. Answering a question about Turkey’s decision to repatriate its gold from the US Federal Reserve, Aksakov said: "We do not have a gold reserve in the US, we have only Forex (foreign exchange) re [...]

Pyongyang’s move to halt nuclear and missile tests is more the result of collective efforts, including that of Russia and China, than US threats to “wipe off the map” North Korea, a top Russian senator says. [...]

David Vaughan Icke is an English writer, public speaker, and former media personality best known for his views on what he calls "who and what is really controlling the world". Describing himself as the most controversial speaker and author in the world, he has written many books explaining his position, dubbed "New Age conspiracism", and has attracted a substantial following across the politica [...]

Russian servicemen have found another evidence of manufacturing of military poisonous substances by Jaish al-Islam terrorists in the Syrian town of Douma, where on April 7 a false-flag attack took place, serving as a pretext for the US and allies to blame the government and strike the country. [...]

More than 90 percent of Germans want better relations with Russia, while more than three-quarters think US President Donald Trump represents a greater threat to world peace than Vladimir Putin, a new poll says. Painting Russia as a boogeyman and a threat to the West has been the narrative of both the mainstream media and a number of Western states for some time. [...]

After allegations of a chemical attack in Syria, Western fighter jets were soon revving their engines, ready to unleash a “humanitarian intervention.” Chemical weapons inspectors were on their way to the Syrian town of Douma to investigate whether an attack had actually happened, but cruise missiles and tornado jets can go extremely fast, and embarrassingly arrived a whole day before the in [...]

Following the US-led bombardment of Syria last week over an alleged chemical attack by Damascus, Russia says it has no reason to not supply its S-300 missile system to Syria, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.  Moscow agreed with its international partners about 10 years ago to not deliver the S-300 to Damascus. [...]

RT Arabic has traveled to the Douma hospital shown in footage of the aftermath of the alleged chemical weapons attack. The crew talked to a boy featured in the video, who recounted the events. Hassan Diab, 11, appears to be the trembling boy seen in the video of the aftermath of the alleged chemical attack in the Eastern Ghouta city. T [...]

After being accused by the UK government of being a Russian bot, Twitter user @Partisangirl has responded with a picture of herself, declaring: “I am human. I am not a machine! I bleed red.” There is growing evidence that the British government is labelling real people as bots, based on their non-mainstream and inconvenient views. [...]

Turkey has decided to bring back all its gold stored in the US Federal Reserve, according to Turkish media. In recent years, Ankara repatriated 220 tons of gold from abroad, and 28.7 tons was brought back from the US last year. Turkey’s gold reserves are estimated at 564 tons and are worth about $20 billion, Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported. [...]

The US-led missile strike against Syria on Saturday targeted research centers and military facilities, including airfields, Russia’s Defense Ministry said, adding that none have received severe damage thanks to the air defenses. "The real targets of the attacks of the US, Britain and France on April 14 were not only Barzah and Jaramani research facilities, but also Syrian military infrastructure [...]

Russia's Crimea is hosting the 2018 Yalta Economic Forum. The event is being held just a few weeks after several European nations decided to expel Russian diplomats and to follow Washington’s lead in toughening sanctions against Moscow. Austria wasn’t among the «hardliners». Sputnik sat down with Detlef Wimmer – the deputy mayor of Austria’s Linz. [...]

Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon stocks have enjoyed the fruits of the Arab Spring. Since 2011, the shares of US defense contractors have soared by as much as 700 percent, according to RT's Keiser Report. American global aerospace and defense technology company Northrop Grumman has appreciated sevenfold since 2011, rising from $54.82 to $357.70 per share. [...]

Fox News contributor Ralph Peters suggested Tucker was like a Nazi sympathizer for wondering whether Russia and the US should work together against ISIS. Another critic mostly agrees with Peters - and Tucker takes him on. [...]

The situation in Syria is like a "terrible sci-fi film" which is guaranteed to have a bad ending "if the main character is Donald Trump," the chairperson of Germany's Die Linke party said during a discussion in the Bundestag. The Wednesday comments by Sahra Wagenknecht of Die Linke (Left Party) came on the same day that the party held a rally in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to protest a [...]

The boy portrayed as a ‘victim’ in a video of the alleged chemical attack in Douma has told a Russian TV crew that he was asked to go to hospital, where people “grabbed” him and started “pouring water” over his head. Panic, fear, screaming adults and frightened children featured in the purported footage of the aftermath following the alleged chemical attack in the Eastern Ghouta city. [...]