Like millions of Canadians, I allowed myself to bask in the warm after-glow of our recent federal election - one that saw the triumph of 43 year-old Justin Trudeau and the end of the Harper era. Who could have resisted the image of the telegenic and triumphant young Trudeau, radiating warmth and humanity – qualities sorely lacking in ex-Prime Minister Stephen Harper- as he strode on-stage to [...]

BRICS states should support their IT-companies and open their markets to each other in order to challenge the US monopoly in the sphere, Russia’s minister of Communications and Mass Media said at the first meeting of the BRICS Communications Ministers. [...]

Israel wanted to send commandos to break into the Fordo nuclear facility in Iran and sabotage it from the inside, WSJ reports. The US considered it a suicide mission and refused to sell Israel military hardware that could be used in such a raid. [...]

By holding military exercises NATO is sending a message to Russia and preparing public opinion in the West that Russia constitutes an existential threat to the US and, therefore, there must be a new arms race, says Brian Becker from the anti-war ANSWER Coalition. [...]

Russia’s intervention in Syria amid the EU migrant crisis has possibly prevented a NATO induced crisis similar to the one in Kosovo, where refuges where used as an excuse for bombing, suggests international affairs commentator Marco Gasic. [...]

The Middle East’s biggest economy, Saudi Arabia may run out of financial assets within the next five years if the government maintains its current policies, warns the International Monetary Fund. The conflicts have given rise to large numbers of displaced people and refugees, on a scale not seen since the early 1990s, according to the report. [...]

Russia and Jordan agreed to create a coordination center in Amman, which will be used by the two countries to share information on the counter-terrorism operations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Russia is already in touch with Iran, Iraq and Syria through a Baghdad-based center used for the same purpose. [...]

Anxiety is growing in the bond market as the US gets closer to a potentially catastrophic default if Congress does not raise the $18.1 trillion debt ceiling by November 3. Neither the House of Representatives nor the Senate have offered a bill which would allow Washington to escape disaster. [...]

There can be no "moderate" terrorists, President Putin said, speaking about the situation in the Middle East at the Valdai discussion forum. "Why play with words dividing terrorists into moderate and not moderate. What's the difference?" Putin told the forum. [...]

The whistleblower organization WikiLeaks has published a second set of documents obtained from CIA Director John Brennan’s personal email account. The first set of documents published on Wednesday contained reports on Afghanistan and torture, and ideas for US policy towards Iran. [...]

A surveillance bill that is the third attempt by lawmakers to institute controversial internet security reforms has cleared a crucial vote in the Senate. A vote of 83-14 to end debate on a bundle of amendments to the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) went through the Senate on Thursday. [...]

President Barack Obama has vetoed the military funding bill passed by Congress, envisioning almost $1 billion in aid to Syrian rebels and the Ukrainian government. As the primary reason for vetoing the House Resolution 1735, as the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act is known, Obama cited the allocation of $38 billion into a war fund not subject to budget caps, [...]

Turkey is pressuring Germany to create “safe zones” inside Syria as a “price” for alleviating the EU’s refugee crisis. It’s a Faustian bargain that could escalate the Syrian conflict, where NATO forces could end up pitted against Russia’s military. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hot-footing to Istanbul last weekend was capped with a U-turn regarding Turkey’s much sought-aft [...]

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified before the 17-month-old House Select Committee on Benghazi for the first time. The daylong hearing often turned into shouting matches between lawmakers, while Clinton looked on bored or amused. [...]

The approval rating of President Vladimir Putin is now higher than ever at 89.9 percent and pollsters say the fresh surge in the Russian leader’s popularity is due to the successful anti-terrorist operation in Syria. “Vladimir Putin’s approval rating has set a new record at 89.9 percent refreshing the previous maximum set in June 2015 [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin plays a key role in fighting global terrorism, his Argentinian counterpart Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner told RT, after speaking with the Russian leader on Wednesday. The two presidents held a video conference to mark 130 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and discussed Russian-Argentinian partnership in a number of fields. [...]

Another certified moron bites the dust! JOHN SIMPSON, BBC: Western countries almost universally now believe that there’s a new Cold War and that you, frankly, have decided to create that. We see, almost daily, Russian aircraft taking sometimes quite dangerous man oeuvres towards western airspace. That must be done on your orders; you’re the Commander-in-Chief. It must have bee [...]

Iraq's ruling alliance has written to the country’s prime minister, requesting Russian help in the fight against ISIS terrorists. An Iraqi politician told RT that the public wants Russian involvement and there is breakdown in trust with the Americans. [...]

Human rights groups have condemned Saudi Arabia after the beheading of five foreigners this week. Experts warn 2015 will mark a dramatic increase in public executions, as 80 people have already been killed, compared to 88 in the whole of 2014. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar Assad held talks in Moscow on Tuesday. The Syrian leader said Russia’s actions have prevented the terrorists from seizing larger areas in his country. “Yesterday evening Syrian President Bashar Assad arrived in Moscow for a working visit,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday. [...]

The whole Global South is now informed about how the Russian campaign in Syria has swiftly smashed all of ‘Exceptionalistan’s’ elaborate plans for a “Greater Middle East.” These plans span everything from the Wolfowitz Doctrine to Dr. Zbig “Grand Chessboard” Brzezinski’s categorical imperative of preventing the emergence of a strategic competitor across Eurasia. [...]

The Liberal party’s victory in the Canadian general election is raising questions about the new government’s commitment to the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Keystone XL pipeline, projects of interest to the US championed by the outgoing cabinet. [...]