Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has asked governments and regulators to tighten the screws on digital companies such as his own, and slap them with sanctions if they refuse to abide by rules on privacy, political or harmful content. [...]

The Syrian chemical weapons attack last Tuesday blamed on the Assad regime was “100 percent” a “fabrication,” Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad said in an interview Wednesday with AFP. The embattled Syrian president argued he never ordered the attack on the Idlib province which left some 80 dead, and said western-backed forces were benefitting ISIS terrorists in the area. [...]

Retirees are heading out of state to these spots. It’s the land of enchantment — for retirees. Data released by United Van Lines — which tracked customers’ state-to-state migration patterns in 2018 — found that New Mexico was the No. 1 state where retirees moved. More than four in 10 (43%) moves to New Mexico were related to retirement, the moving company found, and nearly six in 10 p [...]

The S-500 Prometey isn't merely a next-generation Russian missile system; it can be seen as as a whole set of measures to turn the Russian air defense system into a single information space, according to the Russian news network Zvezda. The Russian news network Zvezda described the S-500 Prometey as a whole set of measures aimed at turning the Russian air defense system into a single inform [...]

Net gold purchases by central banks hit a six-year high in the first quarter of 2019, with Russia securing the leading position, as nations seek diversification of their assets and less dependence on the greenback. [...]

Big Picture Interview: Max Blumenthal, Senior Editor-AlterNet's Grayzone Project/ Author-The 51 Day War: Ruin and Resistance in Gaza. Iran is blaming Saudi Arabia and by proxy the United States today after ISIS killed 12 people and wounded 42 more in a brazen attack in heart of Tehran. In a statement - Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards drew a direct connection between this morning's slaughter and [...]

The Trump administration wants to redefine the poverty level, which would kick hundreds of thousands with marginal incomes off welfare, while simultaneously reducing poverty rates in America. [...]

The F-35’s dismal performance record is driving up operating costs for the fighters, according to a recent government report. The F-35’s unreliability and slow repair time contribute to its tendency to be something of a black hole for US taxpayer dollars. [...]

Facebook’s lawyer has denied the social media platform invaded American users’ privacy when it allowed their personal data to be slurped up by Cambridge Analytica, claiming they had no privacy to begin with. No crime, no victims? [...]

You are a man-of-the-people left-wing politician riding the crest of a wave of popularity. Members of the public regularly ask you to pose for photographs with them. Do you: (a) Tell them to "Bugger Off!" (b) Say, "Of course, no problems, comrade," and pose for the snap, (c) Hand the person a long questionnaire to fill in detailing their political views on foreign policy issues — includ [...]

The top US diplomat has landed in New Delhi, aiming to pressure the Indian government into rejecting Russian S-400 air defense systems and China’s Huawei mobile tech in favor of “better” military and trade deals with Washington. [...]

The German media has characterized US arms deliveries to Ukraine as a nightmare. In an interview with Sputnik, political analyst Igor Shatrov said that this opinion is shared by all Europeans who have fallen victim to Washington’s sanctions. [...]

Huawei is spearheading the quantum communication technology in a bid to build "unhackable" networks. Cyber security experts have discussed whether the tech giant's efforts would make US eavesdropping techniques, once described by Edward Snowden, obsolete. [...]

Berlin must not spend billions on militarization to appease Donald Trump, the German foreign minister said, adding that Chancellor Angela Merkel should not “kneel” to the US president. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel attacked Chancellor Merkel in a blunt op-ed for the Rheinische Post newspaper. [...]

Donald Trump made it a banner promise of his presidency to stop the US being abused as the world’s “piggybank” – but not all foreign powers seem to be cowed into submission by his assertive style of foreign economic policy. [...]

There are people in the US establishment who hate Russia so much, that they cannot live without smearing it, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister told RT in an exclusive interview. He said the fact that Russia remains strong and independent despite all their efforts makes them really mad. [...]

Sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reportedly signed a will around 48 hours before he was found dead in his cell on August 10, according to court papers obtained by the New York Post. [...]

Radio Sputnik is capable of things that you wouldn't expect from mere mortals. That's what three US lawmakers imply by saying that Sputnik's new FM station in Washington, DC influenced the recent presidential election - this despite the fact that the station started broadcasting only this summer, several months after Trump won the 2016 election. [...]

Japanese national broadcaster NHK has calculated the potential economic loss to the country from suicides at more than $4 billion a year. The calculation is based on 23,000 suicide victims in 2015, aged from 15 to 69 years, and had they lived and worked until their 70s. [...]

Speaking to participants of the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi, Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed the future technology he believes can prove to be more terrible than nuclear weapons. [...]

A missile-attack warning system that Moscow is helping Beijing put together will drastically increase China’s defense capabilities, President Vladimir Putin said, noting that only Russia and the US currently have such technology. [...]

Former adviser to US President Donald Trump Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations with then-Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Some have taken this revelation as evidence of collusion between the Trump transition team and the Israeli government - not Russia, as many mainstream outlets have claimed [...]