The current trade row between Washington and Beijing escalated in July, when the US announced 25 percent duties on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods, to which Beijing responded by imposing restrictions on the same amount of US imports. [...]

For twenty four years the Clintons have orchestrated a conjugal relationship with Wall Street, to the immense financial benefit of both parties. They have accepted from the New York banks $68.72 million in campaign contributions for their six political races, and $8.85 million more in speaking fees. [...]

Over the past few years, Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world -- except the United States. The Occupation of the American Mind takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within t [...]

The US-Chinese standoff in the South China Sea is heating up, with Washington dispatching a small armada to the area following reports that Beijing had reinforced a key island with fighters and air defenses. Much has been said and written about the dispute, with Russian analysts left pondering: if push comes to shove, what will Russia's role be? [...]

Hungarian scholar George Szamuely tells Ann Garrison that he sees a 70 percent chance of combat between NATO and Russia following the incident in the Kerch Strait and that it is being fueled by Russia-gate. George Szamuely is a Hungarian-born scholar and Senior Research Fellow at London’s Global Policy Institute. He lives in New York City. [...]

Russia has all the chances to emerge “as the de facto leader of the major oil producing nations of the world, accounting for almost 73 percent of the global oil supply”; and in fact has already taken some of the required to do so, according to US-based oil expert Rakesh Upadhyay. “Russia has played a master stroke in the current oil crisis by taking the lead in forming a new cartel, but i [...]

BEIJING (Sputnik) – Liberalization of the Chinese banking legislation provides Russian banks with an opportunity to receive full-fledged licenses for their work in China, Russia's Trade Representative in the Asian country, Sergey Iniushin, told Sputnik. [...]

A nuclear engine currently being developed in Russia by the nuclear agency Rosatom and the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) will allow a spaceship to reach Mars in an unprecedentedly short period of just 1.5 months, Rosatom’s General Director Sergei Kirienko said Wednesday. [...]

Tensions have spiked between Russia and the UK, following the doxing of personal information and pictures of state-funded media employees in both countries. So where will the escalating tensions lead? Sputnik has discussed the issue with Journalist Ollie Richardson. [...]

The Republican establishment likes to pretend that it is the responsible alternative to Donald Trump, but that self-image doesn’t match reality, as Bill Moyers and Michael Winship describe. From their “Dark Money” bagman Karl Rove to their philosophical guru David Brooks, the GOP elites are in a tizzy over saving the Republican Party from Donald Trump and the other intruders, extremists a [...]

While it has long been clear that countries under US sanctions are more than motivated to turn their backs to the iconic greenbacks, the central bank’s interim review has shed some light on which economic zone Russia is intent to place its stake instead. [...]

Following the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris in November, Brussels’ town hall was lit in the colors of the French flag. Today, sadly, the Eiffel Tower is being lit for Brussels. On Tuesday, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced that the tower would be lit in black, yellow, and red, to show solidarity after terrorist attacks of the morning left at least 31 dead and many more injured. [...]

The US has recognised Venezuelan National Assembly chief Juan Guaido as the country's "acting president", prompting President Nicolas Maduro to accuse Washington of trying to stage a coup. Sputnik looks at a few other times the US forgot about democracy and supported would-be leaders who attempted to gain power by circumventing the ballot box. [...]

An investigation into a massive global oil bribery scandal has been launched by authorities in the US, Britain, and Australia, after leaked confidential files indicated that some of the world’s most powerful corporations were part of the racket. [...]

NEW YORK (Sputnik) - Moody's Investors Service said in a statement that it upgraded Russia’s issuer and unsecured senior debt ratings from Ba1 to Baa3 and changed its outlook from positive to stable. [...]

On the face of it, Trump is Reagan on steroids. His towering size, his nativist US supremacism, his down-home talk, and his reality-show confidence make him ideal for the role of bullying and big lies from the oval office. He is America come to meet itself in larger-than-life image to rejuvenate it as its pride slips away in third-world conditions and a multi-polar world. [...]

Purchases of Venezuelan crude by US energy companies saw a five-fold weekly growth as of the middle of February, nearly reaching their pre-sanctions level, the latest data published by the International Energy Agency (IEA) shows. [...]

British Prime Minister David Cameron is facing increasing calls to resign in the wake of revelations that he had profited from offshore tax havens and personally intervened to prevent a crackdown on tax evasion in the United Kingdom. [...]

As the US pushes for regime change in Venezuela, Caracas has moved closer to Moscow. Despite US claims that Russia threatens world democracy, analysts say it’s Washington which is responsible for neglect to international law. [...]

The argument over whether Hillary Clinton is a neocon may have been settled by her hawkish debate performance on Thursday, which followed her Israel-pandering speech before AIPAC, reports Robert Parry. If there were any doubts that Hillary Clinton favors a neoconservative foreign policy, her performance at Thursday’s debate should have laid them to rest. In every meaningful sense, she is a ne [...]

This podcast explains why resistance training is so important for people 50+ Today, as part of our Fitness Friday series, we hear from returning guest Sabrena Jo, the director of science and research content for the American Council on Exercise. She shares important information on new research that answers questions about cardiovascular exercise, weight training, flexibility and how all of that im [...]

Damascus and Moscow have signed nearly a billion dollars worth of agreements to rebuild war-torn Syria, according to the Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi. The two countries intend to develop energy, trade, finance and other sectors of the economy. [...]