For customers, fintech promised the best of both worlds: The innovation, ease of use and fun of the newest apps combined with the safety of government-backed accounts held at real banks. The collapse of middleman Synapse has revealed fintech’s promise of safety as a mirage. More than 100,000 Americans with $265 million in deposits have been locked out of their accounts. [...]

In keeping with an agreement reached by Russia and Turkey to resolve the situation in Syria’s Idlib, jihadist groups have until October 10 to withdraw their heavy weapons from the demilitarized zone in the province. In an interview with Sputnik, a Syrian Army representative said that groups such as Hayati al-Sham, largely made up of al-Nusra, Huras ad-Din and the National Liberation Front milita [...]

"The Security Report 2018" has cited ordinary Germans as saying that Russia is a less serious threat to world peace than the US and apparently it's all due to Donald Trump, claim the authors of the report, which also shows a decline in confidence in the German army. [...]

Despite the increasing polarization of US society, the Democratic Party has still failed to regain the support of its original working-class base, Brown University associate professor Vladimir Golstein told Sputnik. He explained why the American public would still prefer Republicans in the long run. [...]

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has ordered the country’s state energy company PDVSA to close some of its purchase and sale deals using the national commodity-backed digital currency ‘petro.’ The country’s oil ministry tweeted the president’s directive, which also applies to Venezuelan state-run conglomerate CVG, which is charged with economic development in the Guayana region. [...]

When the SMO was launched to end the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, Putin was very clear about the direct involvement of any third parties. This has prevented the political West from taking direct action in support of the Kiev regime, but it still didn’t prevent it from doing everything else in its power to avert the complete defeat of the puppets in Kiev. In fact, they even sent former [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of Defense has no information regarding US nationals being taken hostage near the Syrian city of Deir Ez-Zor, Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Sean Robertson told Sputnik. Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Daesh* terrorists had recently begun expanding their presence on the left bank of the Euphrates river in Syria, taking nearly 700 peo [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) congratulated Italy’s Lega party on achieving great results in the election, expressing hope that both parties would succeed in closing the Brenner Pass on the Italian-Austrian border, a migrant route in the eastern Alps, Roman Haider, the FPO’s foreign policy spokesman, told Sputnik on Monday. [...]

Sources close to The BRICS nations pointed to October when they will officially announce their dollar killer, their own currency backed by gold and commodities. Congressman Ron Paul, who accurately predicted the 2008 collapse, says the demise of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency is inevitable. BRICS Confirms 159 Participants Will Adopt New Payment System BRICS BIG Decision Shocked The W [...]

US President Donald Trump threatned Russia and China that Washington intends to build up its nuclear arsenal until “people come to their senses.” The president said his words were directed towards Moscow and Beijing, as he prepared to unilaterally leave the Intermediate Nuclear Forces in Europe (INF) treaty. [...]

The recent boost in Russian agriculture has made food sales abroad much more profitable for the country than exports of military weapons, according to President Vladimir Putin. “Today, agriculture exports exceed arms sales by more than a third. $28.8 billion from agricultural sector, $15.6 billion from the defense industry," Putin told farmers in Krasnodar on Monday. [...]

John Mearsheimer & Douglas Macgregor: U.S. Secret Move Target Iran, 3 Nuclear Bomb will Israel Uses! In this analysis, John Mearsheimer and Douglas Macgregor explore the heightened tensions involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran. They delve into potential U.S. strategic moves aimed at targeting Iran, highlighting the serious implications of nuclear capabilities in the region. Mearsheimer and M [...]

Germany's governing parties are bracing for elections in the state of Hesse on October 28, as polls suggest that the Christian and Social Democratic coalition could see a drop in support. Sputnik discussed the regional elections in Germany with Alastair Newton, a former career diplomat with the British Diplomatic Service. [...]

Those colorfully-dressed workers making sure your US short-haul domestic flight is properly packed, safely inspected and flight-ready are not paid enough, frequently requiring social services to live. Although employer American Airlines posted a shareholder-pleasing $1.9 billion profit in 2017, many of its workers are scrambling at the poverty line, selling their blood and receiving food stamps [...]

Meet Jan Öberg, a social scientist and the visionary behind the Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research. He’s making bold predictions—claiming the American empire could collapse within just five years! In this video, Öberg dives deep into why Western democracy seems to be crumbling and shares his thought-provoking take on how the world might actually thrive without the U.S. as [...]

The US will adopt harsh, Israeli-style tactics and will treat migrants at the Mexican border as armed and dangerous invaders if they throw rocks at US law enforcement, Donald Trump has stressed amid a mass military deployment. [...]

Jeremy Corbyn has demanded that Russia be given a chance to verify the nerve agent used against Sergei and Yulia Skripal. The Labour leader said that, despite recent events, the UK must maintain “robust” ties with Russia. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s World At One program, Corbyn said: "I asked the Russians be given a sample so that they can say categorically one way or the other." [...]

Global economic collapse is accelerating, with debt, market volatility, and geopolitical tensions pushing us to the brink. In this video, we examine the three critical driving forces behind this crisis: unsustainable debt, market speculation, and rising global instability. Learn how these interconnected cracks threaten the entire global economy and, more importantly, how you can safeguard your wea [...]

Almost 60 percent of adult refugees who arrived in Germany in the first half of 2018 did not have any identity documents, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported, citing the German Interior Ministry. [...]

China is the world's biggest crude consumer and buys most of its oil from Russia. However, most settlements are still in US dollars. The launch of the petro-yuan now allows Moscow and Beijing to use national currencies instead. China and Russia are actively reducing dependence on the dollar in bilateral trade. In October 2017, Beijing launched a payment system for transactions in yuan and Russian [...]

Glenn Diesen joins the show today to discuss the Russia-Ukraine War, and how it ends. Where do Russia and Ukraine go from here? We then expand our conversation to discuss Trump and what his presidency means to the world. We discuss the rise of China, the great tech battle between the US and China, and the future of our multipolar world.Read moreClose "Europe is on DEATH WATCH right now and Ger [...]

On 7 November, Trident Juncture 2018, the largest collective defence exercise NATO has seen in recent decades, which was held in Norway and adjacent waters of the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea, including Iceland and airspace of Finland and Sweden, came to an end. [...]