Russia hopes to finalize two major defense deals with India by year’s end, with first deliveries of the S-400 air defense system potentially taking place in 2020, a Russian defense official has said. India defied US demands to drop the S-400 deal in favor of US weaponry, selecting the defense system to protect its skies in June following an agreement on technical and economic specifications earl [...]

Lockheed Martin’s social media appeal to send them the best photos of its products went horribly awry, as unimpressed Twitterati responded with gruesome images of the horrors of war. The world’s largest defense contractor and one of the top defense manufacturers posted a tweet last week, asking Twitter users to send them an “amazing photo” of a Lockheed Martin item. [...]

Starting around WWI, the US has experienced at least three waves of anti-Russia sentiment. What is unique about today's Russophobia is that it's not based on ideological differences, but rather raw political brinkmanship. When viewing particular chapters of American history since the turn of the 20th century, it becomes evident that US leaders have a tendency to believe, or feign to believe, that [...]

In August, China has marked the 10th anniversary of its high-speed railway endeavors. Speaking to Sputnik, Tom McGregor, a Beijing-based CCTV commentator and editor, explained how the country's bullet trains are bringing the nation together and facilitating China's economic growth regardless of the US tariff spree. [...]

The new bridge link connecting mainland Russia and the Crimean Peninsula is proving to be a huge hit with Russian drivers. The Crimean Bridge has broken another single-day record for car traffic, with 32,000 vehicles crossing the span on Sunday. About 1.6 million cars have crossed the bridge since it opened in May. [...]

Turkey is the latest target for US trade barriers, faces sanctions against top ministers and is even having its purchasing of advanced US weapons reconsidered. The Anatolian country’s leaders have indicated they are beginning to look elsewhere, feeling like the US is trying “to make Turkey surrender in all areas, from finance to politics.” On Friday, US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs [...]

The White Helmets, officially known as Syrian Civil Defense is a non-governmental organization, formed in 2014. Both Moscow and Damascus have accused the group of helping to stage a chemical attack in the Eastern Ghouta town of Douma on April 7. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the evacu [...]

US payment systems Visa and MasterCard are no longer present on Russia's Crimean Peninsula. The republic’s largest bank has finished the procedure of switching all plastic cards to Russia’s Mir payment system. “On August 14, the process of replacing Visa and MasterCard plastic cards in favour of the Mir payment system has ended. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning to attend the wedding of Austrian Foreign Minister Karin Kneissl during his visit to the country on August 18, the Kremlin has confirmed. “Yes, he’s going to make a stop there on his way to Berlin,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists when asked if Putin would attend the wedding. [...]

Support for capitalism among younger voters has dropped drastically, a new Gallup poll reveals. The US establishment’s refusal to see this shift has resulted in Trump’s election, philosopher Slavoj Zizek tells RT. According to the poll, 57 percent of Democrats view socialism positively. Only 47 percent view capitalism positively, down from 56 percent in 2010. [...]

Ankara has given a green light to Moscow’s proposal to switch to ruble-lira trade between the countries. Turkey also has similar plans for trade with China and other countries. “We are discussing the transition to national currencies not only with Russia and China, but also with other countries. It is not just Turkey's request. [...]

At a time of increased bullying of others by the United States, the five-nation Caspian Sea deal signed earlier this week shows the importance of diplomacy for mutual benefit and security. While the Trump administration is winding up international tensions across the globe with its penchant for slapping sanctions and tariffs on other nations, the breakthrough development over the Caspian Sea point [...]

A Californian court has found chemical giant Monsanto's weedkiller caused a 46-year-old man's terminal cancer and ordered the company to pay almost US$290 million in compensation, in a landmark ruling which could open the door to thousands of similar cases being brought the world over. For the company's critics, the news is a long-time coming. [...]

American politicians provoke a slew of emotions, from tears of rage to tears of laughter. But perhaps the uppermost emotion is one of pity. With a few honorable exceptions, it is such a pity that the American people are misled by such buffoons. It is such a pity that the American and Russian people — who have so much in common as human beings — are nevertheless being driven towards a state of [...]

Italy’s ruling Northern League party predicts the dismantling of the euro unless the European Central Bank (ECB) offers a guarantee to reduce yield spreads in the eurozone. "The situation can’t be resolved and it is going to explode,” the economics spokesman of Italy’s ruling Northern League party, Claudio Borghi, told Reuters. [...]

Ahead of the US midterms in November, the MSM has talked at length about a Russian hacking threat. Meanwhile, a competition in Las Vegas shows that when it comes to interfering with a US election, even a child can do it. Hosted by technology non-profit R00tz Asylum, the competition was held on the sidelines of the annual Def Con hacking conference in Las Vegas, where children between the ages of [...]

A Raytheon Mark 82 general-purpose free-fall bomb was likely used by the Saudi-led coalition to strike a bus full of children in Yemen on Thursday, a local journalist claims, after bomb fragments from the scene were recovered. A Raytheon Mark 82 general-purpose free-fall bomb was likely used by the Saudi-led coalition to strike a bus full of children in Yemen on Thursday, a local journalist claims [...]

Nick Brana, founder and executive director of Movement for a People’s Party, talks with journalist Chris Hedges about the US’ two political party system, the need for third and fourth parties, and his experience campaigning for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election. [...]

American elites have long had it in for the Islamic Republic. They have many reasons, but high on the list is a point of honor: years after it happened, they still want payback for “the hostage crisis,” the government supported humiliation that revolutionary Iranian students inflicted upon the American Empire in the final 444 days of the Carter administration. Nearly everything disappears down [...]

Defending their illegal blockade of Gaza against what they see as infiltrators rather than activists bringing aid and making a point, Israeli soldiers physically assaulted a number of delegates and arrested them, including a USS Liberty survivor. U.S. Navy Signalman Joe Meadors was standing watch on deck of the USS Liberty off the coast of Gaza on June 8, 1967 when a 90-minute aerial and sea atta [...]

In a corporatist system of government, wherein there is no meaningful separation between corporate power and state power, corporate censorship is state censorship, argues Caitlin Johnstone in this commentary. Last year, representatives of Facebook, Twitter, and Google were instructed on the US Senate floor that it is their responsibility to “quell information rebellions” and adopt a “mi [...]

Twitter will not suspend controversial radio host and blogger Alex Jones of InfoWars. The social network's CEO, Jack Dorsey, tweeted that his posts did not violate any rules. Apple, Facebook, YouTube and Spotify have either banned or punished the conspiracy theorist. Sputnik talked about Twitter's decision not to suspend Alex Jones of InfoWars with Mark Gregory, an associate professor in network e [...]