The US ambassador to the United Nations has fallen victim to a phone prank perpetrated by a famous Russian duo, with whom she discussed the affairs of a fictional South China Sea island nation and the alleged harassment of the Ukrainian president by Kevin Spacey. [...]

Moscow baffled by American and French statements over US-led coalition’s 'decisive role' in defeating Islamic State in Syria. “The defeat of IS in Syria is first of all result of actions by the Syrian leadership and governmental forces,” the ministry said. [...]

Jim Jatras comments on the Washington Post report that President Donald Trump has approved providing lethal weapons to Ukraine’s armed forces. Specifically, according to the report, the decision opens the door for delivery of items like Model M107A1 sniper systems and ammunition, plus associated parts and equipment, with a value of $41.5 million [...]

Charles Shoebridge takes a look at some of the last year’s security and foreign policy developments: on Trump, Syria, Israel, "Russia meddling", terrorist attacks. While perhaps forced to do so by the reality of the battlefield, Trump did honor his pledge to stop US funding and arming of Syria’s rebels. With it largely at an end, the massive scale of the arming program was at last publicly rev [...]

The United States doesn’t let anyone see its gold reserves. Even if the Treasury has the number of billions it claims, they are not tradable, warns Singapore’s BullionStar precious metals expert Ronan Manly. [...]

Beijing has stepped up its "railway diplomacy" by boosting its infrastructural projects simultaneously on three continents. Speaking to Sputnik, analysts highlighted China's competitive advantages and shed light on the obstacles the People's Republic is facing while implementing its initiatives. [...]

The new accusations add to the string of charges of alleged US-led coalition cooperation with Daesh (ISIS), contrary to its proclained goal of fighting terrorism in Syria. [...]

On this day 12 months ago, Moscow held off from retaliating to Barack Obama's diplomatic parting shot, in hope of a new start. Instead, 2017 has been the worst year of US-Russia relations since the fall of the Berlin Wall. [...]

Russian tanker Christophe de Margerie has brought the first batch of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Yamal to the United Kingdom. London had to urgently turn to Russian gas targeted by US sanctions due to supply outages. [...]

While work on both the road and railway sections of the Crimea bridge are ahead of schedule, and construction workers have completed the installation of all supporting structures for the highway section. [...]

While the German SPD and CSU parties are struggling to form a new grand coalition during tough negotiations, Austria has already successfully formed its new government despite the fact that Vienna held its parliamentary election three weeks after Berlin. [...]

The politician is notorious for her controversial statements on the migration crisis and her critical stance toward the EU. The Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs may be run by Middle East expert Karin Kneissl, who repeatedly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies, made tough statements regarding migration and called Jean-Claude Juncker "cynical" and "arrogant," according to the A [...]

Leader of right-wing France’s National Front party Marine Le Pen said at the conference in Prague she hopes the European Union will be overthrown from within. Earlier in the day, the conference of anti-immigration parties of Europe took place in the Czech capital and was attended by Le Pen [...]

According to the Austrian government’s program, Vienna vows to end Turkey’s EU membership negotiations. Ankara has expressed strong protest over the program of the new Austrian government that has vowed to halt Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. [...]

A remarkable video has surfaced on the Russian section of YouTube, depicting a Russian Aerospace Forces Su-30SM fighter jet as it approaches and nearly flies into the cargo hold of an Il-76 delivering humanitarian supplies to Syria. [...]

The Trump White House has set a record, as US troops deploy around the world in an ever-widening net of American outreach at the end of a gun barrel. According to new data, US Special Operations troops, including Navy Seals and Army Green Berets, were deployed in 149 nations in 2017, a 150 percent jump from the administration of George W. Bush, and a modern record for shipping US military policy [...]

Thousands of people supporting Mikhail Saakashvili, the fugitive ex-Georgian president turned Ukrainian opposition figure, have once again taken to the streets of Kiev to take a local cultural center by storm. Some 2,000 people turned up for yet another protest action in support of Saakashvili in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday. The demonstrators marched through the city center to Maidan Square, [...]

This is how an EU-funded group of arms experts went to Iraq and Syria to explore Islamic State’s well-oiled manufacturing machine, only to find that the US routinely violated arms control clauses. [...]

The Chinese Ambassador has praised the Russia-China relationship as “the best in the world,” but analysts tell RT it falls short of a close economic or military alliance. This may change if Washington chooses to confront Beijing.   [...]

The White House says US intelligence services were pleased to have helped thwart a terrorist plot in Russia that "could have killed large numbers of people.” “President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia called President Donald J. Trump today to thank him for the advanced warning the United States intelligence agencies provided to Russia concerning a major terror plot in Saint Petersburg, Russia,” [...]

The US government may have misspent $21 trillion, a professor at Michigan State University has found. Papers supporting the study briefly went missing just as an audit was announced. Two departments of the US federal government may have spent as much as $21 trillion on things they can’t account for between 1998 and 2015. [...]

A new report issued by the US-based research think tank RAND Corporation has suggested that under the threat of open confrontation with Russia and China, the United States is likely to suffer sufficient losses and eventually will be defeated. [...]