Qatar has signed a deal to buy $12 billion-worth of McDonnell Douglas F-15QA Eagle air superiority fighters from the United States. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Birol Baskan, an assistant professor at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, said that the deal clears Doha's reputation as a terror state. [...]

France has found no traces of Russian hackers in a cyberattack on President Emmanuel Macron's campaign, the head of the French National Agency of Information Systems Security (ANSSI) told AP. [...]

The White House's statement regarding Damascus' alleged "preparations" for the use of chemical weapons in Syria has prompted concerns that it could be followed by a series of US strikes on Syrian government forces. Sputnik contributor Andrei Kots explained why these fears are not unfounded. [...]

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. [...]

The CNN news channel has never had any "big proof" to back their stories about the Trump campaign's alleged ties with Russia. Finally, you can hear it from a CNN employee: caught on a hidden camera CNN producer John Bonifield admitted that the news channel had been circulating the "Russia story" not because it's true but because it sells. CNN Producer 'Fesses Up: Russia Narrative 'Bullsh* [...]

Poland is drifting away from the EU, which demands that Warsaw accept refugees from the Middle East and North Africa, former Polish member of the European Parliament, Joannа Senyszyn, told Sputnik. “The EU has repeatedly warned Poland over its refusal to take in refugees and [the changes to the country’s constitutional court, which Brussels believes pose a serious challenge to the rul [...]

Over the past weekend, the Israeli military carried out several attacks on positions of the Syrian Army at the Golan Heights. On Sunday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked Syrian Army positions and an ammunition truck "in response to several Syrian projectiles" launched from Syrian territory. [...]

Russia has slammed Washington’s threats against the Syrian government following a recent White House statement alleging that President Bashar Assad’s forces are preparing to use chemical weapons. “I am not aware of any information or threat of using chemical weapons,” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday. [...]

Donald Trump’s popularity as POTUS has been in question since he took office and it appears he’s taken his country’s reputation down with him, according to a new global survey. The Pew Research Center surveyed 40,000 participants from 37 countries about their opinions of both the US president and their overall favorability towards the US. [...]

How would Western media have responded if it was reported that it was 'highly likely’ that US air strikes had killed the head of ISIS?  We’d have been told, of course, how it proved that the US was the ’greatest nation on earth.' [...]

Berlin cannot rely on an "erratic" Donald Trump, and it remains unknown whether it can rely on the US as a whole, German chancellor candidate Martin Schulz has stated. Schulz, a Social Democrat (SPD) and the main challenger to Angela Merkel in the upcoming September election, made the comments at a party convention on Sunday. [...]

Most media outlets and politicians often ignore the deadly consequences of US regime change policy, including the rise of Islamic State, according to Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii). “I think that there has been a concerted effort both on the part of some in the media, as well as many in politics, and many in our foreign policy establishment seem to have been advocating for a continua [...]

The answer is crystal clear. For years, Social Security has served as a key source of income for millions of retired Americans. In fact, these days, an estimated 61% of retirees rely on their benefits to provide at least half of their income. The problem, however, is that Social Security was never designed to cover seniors' living costs in their entirety. So when we ask whether the average America [...]

Russian Navy warships launched missiles from the Mediterranean Sea at Daesh targets in the eastern Syrian province of Hama, killing militants and destroying the group's command posts and large caches of weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday. [...]

A brief trip to Crimea in June 2017 made me understand: Crimea wants to be a part of the "bigger world," but only together with Russia. The theme of economic sanctions against Russia and especially against its region of Crimea is becoming a real bonanza for lawyers. [...]

Matteo Salivini, leader of Italian opposition Lega Nord party, told Sputnik on Friday that the extension of the European Union's anti-Russian sanctions was "absurd," since the restrictive measures were damaging for the economies of both Italy and the entire 28-member-bloc. [...]

Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has lashed out against the EU, saying that the bloc's policies had brought Ukraine "to its knees," and turned it into a raw material colony. Speaking to Sputnik, Ukrainian political analyst Alexander Okhrimenko said that it was surprising that Kiev expected anything different from the Europeans. [...]

The very fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have held negotiations after a long hiatus is a positive signal, Russian academic Vadim Trukhachev told Radio Sputnik, adding that Merkel's visit to Sochi may have become a step toward lifting sanctions on Russia. [...]

The small city close to the border with Germany was named Austria’s most inspiring place to visit in a recent report. What is it that makes it so special? According to a recent report published by TravelBird, the most inspiring city in Austria isn’t the capital, Vienna, or even it’s second city Graz - it’s the town of Salzburg. [...]

Another U.S. military strike inside Syria — this time, shooting down a Syrian bomber — has escalated tensions with Russia, even opening the possibility that Russian anti-aircraft missiles will target U.S. warplanes, reports Gilbert Doctorow. The Pentagon’s announcement that the U.S. military had shot down a Syrian warplane inside Syrian territory merited only inside-the-paper treatment at [...]

America’s neocons are back pounding the war drums, urging President Trump to escalate U.S. military attacks inside Syria even if that means hitting Russian targets and risking a new world war, reports Robert Parry. The U.S. mainstream media’s near universal demonization of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin – along with similar hatred directed toward Ira [...]

Donald Trump's presidency has descended into farce. The undignified manner in which both he and his adversaries in Washington conduct themselves sits in sharp contrast to the dignity of those countries and governments demonized as enemies of everything the Rome of our time holds dear - namely untrammeled power, greed, and domination. [...]