Watching Washington attack one sovereign state after another since the collapse of the Soviet Union prompts the question: Are we Americans behaving out of some inherent aggression, or is this just old-fashioned empire building by a global superpower? [...]

FBI Director James Comey has warned that absolute privacy does not exist in the US, noting that a judge can compel anyone to testify about their communications – and even their memories. There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America," Comey told a cybersecurity conference in Boston on Wednesday, while speaking about the rise of encryption since whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed Na [...]

The WikiLeaks ‘Vault 7’ data dump allegedly detailing CIA hacking tactics has again thrown the privacy of electronic devices into focus. One viral video showing an Amazon Echo refusing to confirm a link to the US spy agency is summing up people’s fears. [...]

Berlin is not accusing Russia of interfering in the electoral process in Germany and the creation of fake news, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has told a press conference in Moscow. When asked by a reporter to comment on German media allegations that Moscow was behind the creation of fake news and alleged interference in the country’s electoral process, Gabriel said the government wou [...]

Beijing has called on the US to stop its hacking practices against China and other countries, following a WikiLeaks release which reportedly exposes the CIA’s extensive hacking capabilities and lists Chinese routers as targets. [...]

German Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel, who is in Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, says that Germany fears a new arms race in Europe. “We are concerned that a new spiral of the arms race may emerge in Europe,” he said, as cited by TASS. “It’s too early to say how and in what direction we could advance to prevent this.” [...]

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has branded the claims that Russia poses a threat to Europe “a big scam.” She believes that the real danger is “carrying out a Cold War against Russia and pushing Russia into China’s arms,” she said in a CBS interview. [...]

German Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel has promised to press Washington loosen its economic restrictions on Iran, as it promised to do as part of last year’s nuclear deal. During a public speech during a landmark two-day economic cooperation visit to Tehran, Gabriel said Germany intends to "remind the United States of the commitment to get to an effective dismantling of sanctions." [...]

Russia has delivered over 6 tonnes of humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo and Damascus province. Russian servicemen have delivered over 6 tonnes (metric tons) of humanitarian aid to residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo and Damascus province, the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation informs in its daily bulletin. [...]

Montenegrin prosecutors' conclusions about Russia's alleged involvement in Montenegro's internal affairs are absurd, to say the least, Russian political analyst Vladimir Kireyev told Sputnik. In an interview with Sputnik, Russian political analyst Vladimir Kireyev slammed Montenegrin prosecutors' allegations regarding Moscow's involvement in Montenegro's domestic affairs as absurd [...]

Western irrational fear of Russia – Russophobia – is no longer a random prejudice. It has become endemic pathological thinking among Western states. Divorced from reality this mindset has become psychotic. [...]

NATO needs to change its mission and the NATO-Russian Council should be revitalized, said former Pentagon official, Michael Maloof. Defense analyst, Ivan Eland, said Russia would like to know it is not facing a hostile alliance right on its borders. [...]

Understanding the intentions of Russian leaders is easy these days, you just have to listen to what they say. This isn’t understood in the West, where policymakers and the media haven’t moved on from the Cold War and foolishly regard Russia as more mysterious than it is. [...]

As Democrats compete to become the new War Party – pushing for a dangerous confrontation with nuclear-armed Russia – some constituents are objecting, as Mike Madden did in a letter to Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Dear Senator Klobuchar, I write with concern over statements you have made recently regarding Russia. These statements have been made both at home and abroad, and they involve two issues; t [...]

Vitaly Churkin, who served as Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations since 2006, "died suddenly" in New York, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced. Churkin would have turned 65 on Tuesday. [...]

Solving the ISIS problem must involve a whole lot less US activity in the Middle East, not a whole lot more. Just over a week into the Trump Administration, the President issued an Executive Order giving Defense Secretary James Mattis 30 days to come up with a plan to defeat ISIS. [...]

Russian biologists from Moscow State University have successfully tested a medication that is capable of slowing cells aging. In particular, the researchers proved that the medication has efficiently worked on mice. During the experiment, the researchers divided the mice into two groups: the first group was fed normally, while the second one's fodder contained a SkQ1 molecule, a powerful antiox [...]

“Putin’s a killer.” This was the claim made by Fox News ‘journalist’ Bill O’Reilly during his recent interview with Donald Trump. Trump’s reply came in the form of a simple question. “What, you think our country’s so innocent?” It was a reply that succeeded in puncturing the bubble of exceptionalism in which Mr O’Reilly and those like him have long chosen to cocoon themselves [...]

With members of the CIA and NSA leaking materials on Michael Flynn’s communications with Russian officials, we are witnessing a slow boiling domestic coup that will transform American governance and the Executive Branch’s relationships with intelligence agencies. It remains to be seen whether these moves signal broader attacks on the Presidency by agencies long accustomed to taking out adminis [...]

Russia decided to validate Donbass residents' documents for humanitarian reasons and the presidential decree will remain in force until the Minsk peace deal is implemented, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday. [...]

US President Trump has yet to articulate his foreign strategy, Russian political analyst Alexei Martynov said, commenting on the White House's "mixed signals" on Crimea. Apparently therefore new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's statement on the peninsula's status was rather ambiguous. [...]

A Gallup poll has revealed that citizens of four NATO nations would sooner count on Russia to defend them rather than the United States, Bloomberg reported on Friday, reflecting the changing perceptions of the US's role in global security. Between October and December 2016, WIN/Gallup International asked around a thousand people in 66 countries who would be their go-to ally if attacked. [...]