The EPA is using a shady study to carve out a massive pollution exemption for dirty glider trucks. The Environmental Protection Agency is trying to protect a loophole that allows vastly more pollution than is typically permitted from heavy-duty commercial vehicles — all in the name of helping out a Trump supporter. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - Turkey's upcoming purchase of S-400 air defense missiles systems from Russia could trigger US secondary sanctions against Ankara, a new report on Washington’s relations with Ankara from the Turkish Heritage Organization said. [...]

Recent changes to the US’ tax rates coupled with its current-account shortfall are creating stormy waters for the greenback and there is already evidence that the ship is letting in water. Bloomberg financial journalists have stated the greenback “is under the siege”, citing what they call “twin deficits”. So what’s the evidence? [...]

NATO’s rapid expansion has not necessarily strengthened the alliance and the US should rethink its hostility towards Russia, former US Secretary of Defense William Perry said on RT’s SophieCo program. [...]

In this episode, we speak to Professor Mohammad Marandi from the University of Tehran ahead of the Iran-Turkey-Russia trilateral in Istanbul, which seeks to defeat British-backed atrocities in the Middle East. Britain’s former ambassador in Damascus on whether the US and the UK are using chemical attack allegations to justify breaches of the UN Charter. Plus, rock guitar legend Brian May on how [...]

Commenting on the claim made by the Iranian military that the US has provided direct assistance to Daesh in Afghanistan, political analyst Ahmad Wahid Mozhda told Sputnik that many Afghan politicians and ordinary Afghans are saying the same thing. According to the observer, the US's likely goal is to cause problems for the country's neighbors. [...]

Permanent Syrian envoy to the UN Bashar al-Jaafari has emphasized that the US presence in his country runs counter to a UN Security Council resolution which stipulates preserving Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. [...]

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel would not accept any restrictions in Syria. Radio Sputnik discussed the isssue with ​​​Dr Tim Anderson, Australian analyst, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, author of the 'Dirty War on Syria'. [...]

"The Security Report 2018" has cited ordinary Germans as saying that Russia is a less serious threat to world peace than the US and apparently it's all due to Donald Trump, claim the authors of the report, which also shows a decline in confidence in the German army. [...]

Responding to NATO’s muscle flexing in Eastern Europe and the Baltics, which Moscow sees as a threat, Russia is upgrading its missile defenses with new and more accurate interceptors. The Russian military has successfully tested a new interceptor missile of for its A-135 Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) system at a testing range in in Kazakhstan. [...]

On his five-day Mideast trip US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is travelling through states dissatisfied with Donald Trump's foreign policy which makes his tour a "mission impossible," Joseph Camilleri, Emeritus Professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, and fellow of the Australian Academy of Social Sciences, has told Radio Sputnik. [...]

Syrian government forces discovered warehouses stocked with weapons and ammunition, including arms produced in Israel, in Deir Ez-Zor, which had been liberated from the terrorist group Daesh (ISIS) on February 14. A day later, the Syrian state news agency released footage of the weapons. [...]

Lori Robinson, head of US North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), said during Senate testimony that the US military is concerned about the new generation of Russian cruise missiles. Russia has prioritized the development of advanced cruise missiles capable of holding targets within North America at risk from distances not previously seen," Robinson said before the Senate Armed Serv [...]

The director of national intelligence warned Congress that climate change could cause "upheaval" this year. The top US intelligence official warned Congress this week about the threat of “abrupt” climate change, contradicting the Trump administration’s efforts to drive climate out of national security discussions. [...]

Controversial former New York Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik has accused the FBI of “wasting resources chasing Russian collusion,” instead of pursuing tips about potential criminals, such as the Florida school shooter. [...]

The battle against Islamic State in Syria may be nearing its end, but the conflict in this war-torn country seems far from over. Competing factions and old rivalries have created a complicated, uncertain future for Syria. With so many different warring parties wrestling for control of Syria’s fate, it seems prudent to review the conflict’s major actors – and where their allegiances lie. [...]

During a press conference, Fayssal Mikdad, Syria's Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister, asserted that the USA aimed to prolong the war in the country. The diplomat called on Arabs and Kurds in northern Syria to “unite and fight back at Turkish forces,” warning the Western countries against carrying out airstrikes on Syria. [...]

It is an age-old statecraft technique to seek unity within a state by depicting an external enemy or threat. Russia is the bête noire again, as it was during the Cold War as part of the Soviet Union. But the truth is Western states are challenged by internal problems. Ironically, by denying their own internal democratic challenges, Western authorities are only hastening their institutional demis [...]

With Qatar now getting in line to buy Russian S-400 missile systems, the list interested customers keeps growing. The system’s superior capabilities have been catching eyes even in markets that traditionally look Westward. Five nations have now been confirmed to be in various stages of negotiation to buy the S-400 Triumf, or the SA-21 Growler as it is known by NATO. [...]

Europeans are becoming increasingly discontent over the issue of anti-Russian sanctions and distorted Crimea narrative, Vadim Kolesnichenko, the chairman of the presidium of the Internal Council of Russian Compatriots, has told Sputnik, commenting on the ongoing visit of German delegation to the peninsula. [...]

On February 20, 2014, unknown snipers shot at people gathered on Kiev’s central Maidan square killing 49 protesters and four police officers. Local opposition leaders, as well as US and EU representatives, were quick to point a finger at the "regime of Viktor Yanukovych." [...]

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump released his “efficient, effective and accountable” budget for fiscal year 2019 and, to no surprise, social programs are on the chopping block. Aside from wanting to privatize the International Space Station and eliminate the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, Trump is also looking to cut food assistance programs by $214 billion. [...]