A coalition of cyber activists and advocacy groups from 42 countries on Monday released a letter defending encryption and calling on governments to end efforts at undermining such digital privacy tools. A coalition of cyber activists and advocacy groups from 42 countries on Monday released a letter defending encryption and calling on governments to end efforts at undermining such digital privac [...]

The US-backed ‘interim president’ of Venezuela Juan Guaido isn’t violating the 30-day constitutional limit because the legislature backing him voted to make it not apply, ‘explained’ the US special envoy Elliott Abrams. [...]

In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio admitted that he would love to play Vladimir Putin onscreen if provided with such an opportunity. Dicaprio said that for him bringing the image of the Russian president onscreen would be a ‘very, very interesting task.’ [...]

A group of Russian military personnel arrived in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on 23 March to participate in consultations with government officials on bilateral defence industry cooperation as the ongoing political crisis in the Latin American country has heated up. [...]

When Sunday’s Democratic presidential debate turned to world affairs, the NBC correspondents and both Sen. Sanders and ex-Secretary Clinton fell in line behind “group thinks” about Syria, Iran and Russia that lack evidentiary support, writes Robert Parry. A curious reality about Official Washington is that to have “credibility” you must accept the dominant “group thinks” whether t [...]

Even as Washington is wooing New Delhi, India is seeking to buy Russian-made military hardware. The most recent deal would see the purchase of more than 450 tanks from Moscow for $1.93 billion, and it's not even the biggest one. [...]

See his pieces covering the situation in Oregon for The Raw Story, which reports: “Arun Gupta was on his way to cover the community meeting when he was told the road was closed due to a crash — and law enforcement officers told him alternate routes might take hours to reach the meeting in Grant County. Gupta soon learned rumors of what happened — here’s his account from Harney County:” [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US government is ending sanctions waivers for Iranian oil importers to provoke a violent insurrection or establish a casus belli for an external invasion, former UK Ambassador Peter Ford told Sputnik. [...]

EU sanctions against Russia have made no political progress and brought negative effects to Austria’s economy, said Austrian Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner during a visit to Moscow. We have over a thousand companies doing business with Russia from Austria, and another 500 Austrian firms working in Russia. 40,000 employees are being affected,” said Mitterlehner. [...]

The United States on Monday announced its decision to halt shipments of F-35-related equipment due to Ankara's plans to purchase Russia's S-400 missile defence system. Turkey, a US-NATO ally, has been planning to purchase 100 F-35 fighter jets from the US. Sputnik discussed this with Oliver Steward, a political strategist from the UK. [...]

The US European Command published its revamped military doctrine which places emphasis on deterring the "Russian threat." According to military political analyst Andrei Koshkin, the US seeks to draw Europeans’ attention from the migrant crisis and make them obedient once more. [...]

A US federal judge declined Wednesday to preliminarily enjoin a congressional subpoena for US President Donald Trump's financial records, ruling that Deutsche Bank was free to comply with the demand. [...]

NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels have agreed to form an “enhanced” rotational force in Eastern Europe and step up military exercises there. The move comes despite multiple Russian appeals to the alliance to avoid provocative steps. “NATO Defense Ministers agreed on an enhanced forward presence in the eastern part of our Alliance,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said [...]

US citizens are weary of endless wars, Virginia State Senator Richard Black believes. He warned President Donald Trump against dragging the country into another one with Iran, and blamed John Bolton for being the top warmonger. [...]

Perhaps proving Egypt is “ruled by lunatics,” as the child’s defense lawyer put it, a four-year-old boy has been sentenced to life in prison on multiple counts of murder for crimes allegedly committed when he was just two years old.   [...]

Washington has unleashed a fresh barrage of threats against Tehran, with US President Donald Trump warning it against “playing with fire” and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo branding it a “top sponsor of terrorism.” Fresh from rekindling his strange bromance with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, Trump has returned to his war-mongering ways, leveling a vague new warning at Iran. [...]

Over 50 companies from 20 countries, including Turkey, US and the Netherlands, have produced, sold or received hundreds of components, such as detonators, cables and wires, used by Islamic State terrorists to build improvised explosive devices (IEDs), a major study has found. [...]

Huawei has laid off around 70 percent of staff at its Futurewei Technologies research arm in the US. Despite recent signals that Washington was easing pressure on the Chinese tech giant, the ban is still in force. [...]

If western banks respond to Russia's bond offering, which will become an additional source of revenue for its economy, it will be a fatal signal for the West and a political fiasco for the US and EU, according to western media. Russia has announced plans to issue sovereign bonds worth $3 billion and has invited European, Chinese and US banks to bid for the issue. [...]

Beijing has blasted US President Donald Trump’s claims that China is a “currency manipulator,” and promised to halt the import of US agricultural goods after the White House announced plans to slap 10 percent tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports from September. [...]

The Russian task force in Syria has demonstrated remarkable efficiency and professionalism, according to a German magazine citing confidential NATO analysis. The limited Russian contingent operating in Syria is outperforming the more widespread groupings of the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition, according to Germany’s FOCUS media outlet who came by the classified NATO document, which was pr [...]

Washington ending the INF arms control treaty has raised fears of a new “arms race.” This time it will be about more than just missiles, with China presenting strong competition to the US and Russia, a military expert tells RT. [...]