The EU's new plan to create refugee camps in North Africa is unlikely to ever work, as it's never considered the situation on the ground – something that Europe helped create when it intervened in Libya, experts warn. Years of unending migrant influx have apparently stretched both the capacity and hospitality of some European nations to the limit. While the new Italian Euroskeptic government has [...]

The first 50 families of Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa, could soon be moving to Russia to escape rising violence against farmers. Some 15,000 Boers want to leave South Africa and become farmers in Russia. The Schlebusch family from South Africa’s Bloemfontein is going to be among first 50 Boer families to settle in Russia’s southwest. Like many other Boers, they are seek [...]

China cuts US investments by 92 percent this year amid escalating trade war. The US market saw a significant plunge in investment from China in the first five months of the year amid a growing trade row between the world's two largest economies. [...]

Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia’s Republic of Chechnya, switched his car for bicycle to check the preparations for Grozny’s upcoming 200th birthday, and said he rode 40 kilometers around “the most beautiful city in the world.” 40 kilometers on the road or more… this is what the wheels of my bicycle made in Grozny,” Kadyrov told his followers on Russian VK (VKontakte) social network. [...]

American aircraft giant Boeing will spend billions of dollars in the next 30 years on direct purchases in Russia. According to Kravchenko, Russian titanium will be mainly used for the production of the B777 and B787 Dreamliner. The Boeing 777 is a long-range wide-body twin-engine jet airliner. It is the world’s largest twinjet and has a typical seating capacity of 314 to 396 passengers. [...]

Russia has commenced work on the Soyuz-5 rocket, expected to become an ultra-heavy vehicle for future space exploration missions, Roscosmos head has announced. A number of Russia’s flagship research and development centers began working on Soyuz-5 project, Roscosmos’ Director-General Dmitry Rogozin said on Twitter. [...]

US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Israel to evacuate the members of the controversial Western-backed White Helmets group from Syria, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has revealed. "President Trump and also Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau, as well as others, requested us to help take out from Syria hundreds of White Helmets members,” Netanyahu said in a video [...]

The bodies of more than 1,200 civilians, mostly women and children, were discovered in mass graves in Raqqa, Syria. The total number of corpses still rotting there is unknown, as relatives continue searching for their loved ones. The Raqqa Reconstruction Committee has been working for more than six months to deal with and dig up the human cost of the city’s ‘liberation.’ [...]

There’s only 10 countries that will sell you citizenship. Here’s what it costs. Cheaper than a Gulfstream, nimbler than a superyacht, a second passport—or a third or fourth—has become another trophy for the ultra-wealthy. Even self-styled citizens of the world, it seems, need a Plan B. Plus, that gold Maltese coat of arms looks classy. One must keep up. [...]

US special forces have already deployed to 133 nations in the first half of 2018, signaling a sharp increase in the Pentagon’s shadowy operations when compared to previous years, according to a new report. America’s Special Operations forces (SOF) are stationed all around the world, where they participate in a wide range of missions, including special reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, co [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Netherlands de facto dropping charges against Ukraine over the latter’s failure to close airspace over the zone of military conflict in Eastern Ukraine is a "blatant fact," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. "It is a blatant fact that the Netherlands has actually cleared Kiev of charges for not closing the airspace over the area of military actions in the Easter [...]

In a historic bilateral summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin met his US counterpart Donald Trump in the Finnish capital. In an interview with Sputnik, Dr. Denis Rancourt, a civil rights advocate and social theorist, provided his insight into the importance of the meeting. [...]

The US-led coalition’s military intervention in Syria is under increasing levels of scrutiny, with critics arguing that the coalition has no mandate to conduct military operations in the Arab Republic as it doesn’t have Damascus’ approval to do so. [...]

On Monday, Israel further tightened its blockade on Gaza, preventing gas and fuel deliveries through its only commercial crossing. According to reports, no fuel will enter Gaza through the Kerem Shalom crossing until Sunday as Israel responds to "continued terror attempts" by Hamas, a Palestinian Islamist political organization and militant group, according to Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieb [...]

Mexican President-elect Andres Mannuel Lopez Obrador plans to cancel a $1.36 billion order for 8 MH-60R Seahawk helicopters for the country's Navy. The gunships, intended for use to counter the drug trade, are just too expensive, Obrador says. But are there more affordable alternatives with similar capabilities out there? [...]

Until Tuesday, the two officials could have started a war without additional authorization. Israeli members of Parliament have revised earlier legislation that allowed the prime minister and minister of defense to make a decision together to start a war, according to the press service of the Knesset, Israel's parliamentary body. [...]

Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic cemented her status as a World Cup superstar by receiving 25 percent more attention than any Croatia player despite record online interest in the country at the final. The tiny Balkan nation’s unlikely march to the final saw general online interest in Croatia soar, beginning after their dramatic quarter-final penalty shootout win over hosts Russia in S [...]

NATO has nothing to do with European defense, it is just a tool of intimidation and a money-making machine for the US' bloated and corrupt military-industrial complex, geopolitical analyst Jon Hellevig told Sputnik, arguing that the latest summit has not indicated any real rift among NATO members – they just don't want to fork out. [...]

The Western-made weapons surrendered by armed groups in Deraa are “material evidence of gross interference” in Syria, according to Russian Foreign ministry. The Syrian province was under militant control for years. "Enormous number of Western-produced modern weapons and equipment was handed over by reconciled militants to the Syrian army," spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, during her weekly n [...]

Investor confidence in Europe has surged in 2017 after three years of decline. Europe has attracted a record level of foreign direct investment (FDI), with Russia making the top five list, according to data from EY. The firm’s report showed that, despite a slowing growth in Europe, investor sentiment is more buoyant with 50 percent of more than 500 investors highlighting confidence. [...]

FIFA president Gianni Infantino has long believed the Russian-hosted 2018 World Cup would be the best ever and his stance has not changed as the tournament unfolds. “Since [a] couple of years I was saying that this would be the best World Cup ever; today I can say it with even more conviction because I lived it and you lived it. It is the best World Cup ever,” Infantino said in the opening rem [...]

Donald Trump, who “only understands strength,” wants regime change in Germany, ex-Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said, calling for tit-for-tat actions on US soil, such as influencing elites and investing in young Americans. Germany should become more assertive in dealing with the US and show strength, as there is only one language US President Donald Trump understands – the language of forc [...]