It’s been a week now since Donald Trump once again became our president.Here’s how it happened.After he unleashed missiles on a Syrian airfield, members of Washington’s national security establishment and elite pundits swooned. Top Democrats and Republicans led the way. Good soldiers all in the military-industrial-political complex, they stood smartly at attention and saluted the commander-i [...]

Lebanon's government stepped down on Monday night in the aftermath of a deadly blast that shattered the country's capital on 4 August and claimed the lives of more than 200 people. International observers have discussed whether the Diab cabinet’s resignation will help fix the situation and what forces could take the reins. The tragedy reignited nationwide anti-government protests, with [...]

Barrett Brown, the journalist and “hacktivist” who is on parole after serving a four-year prison term over reporting on corporate espionage against Americans, has been arrested again. He had been speaking to the media and was set to appear on PBS.   [...]

The Arctic Palladium project which involves development of several platinum-group metal deposits on Russia’s Taimyr Peninsula is nearing completion. It is expected to turn Russia into the world’s top producer of platinum metals. The platinum-group metals (PGMs) is a group of six metals: ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum. They have similar physical and chemical p [...]

Russia considers the US-led coalition airstrike against pro-Damascus fighters in Syria an act of aggression and rejects the justification for the attack issued by the Pentagon, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. [...]

According to reports, 2019 was big on UFO sightings across the United States, with New York reportedly registering a 52 per cent surge in reports, triggering heightened media attention focused on the controversial and fascinating phenomenon. Skygazers have reported a huge increase in sightings of alleged unidentified flying objects in New York State, according to the National UFO Reportin [...]

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 [...]

The US State Department has warned the Turkish government of “potential serious consequences” to the two nations’ security relationship should reports of Ankara testing the Russian S-400 air defense systems prove true. “If confirmed, we would condemn in the strongest terms the S-400 test missile launch as incompatible with Turkey’s responsibilities as a NATO ally and strategic partn [...]

It appears that Brussels is about to pin its hopes on Libyan National Army Gen. Khalifa Haftar, who has recently liberated Benghazi from Islamists, Radio Sputnik contributor Vladimir Bychkov noted. In contrast to other Libyan "leaders" Haftar has real power, he added. [...]

Given the uncertainties of Donald Trump's actions as he faces a White House exit, the possible declassification of certain documents has the former CIA director sweating. Former CIA Director John Brennan is apparently so worried that Donald Trump might release certain classified intelligence that he suggested this week that Vice President Mike Pence and the cabinet remove Trump via the 25th ame [...]

Washington's relentless efforts to fence off and punish countries which protect their own national interests and maintain sovereignty will result in the isolation of the US, geopolitical analyst Gilbert Mercier predicted in his interview with Sputnik. [...]

The US Department of Justice has expanded rules governing executions to permit a wider rage of methods, including firing squads and electrocution, as five federal inmates are set to face the death penalty before Inauguration Day. The amended rule was entered into the Federal Register on Friday, permitting the government “greater flexibility” to carry out capital punishment using any metho [...]

The perennial American lack of foresight and the chaos its Middle Eastern wars have wreaked means Osama bin Laden and forces for extremism have essentially won the war on terror, a former CIA analyst tells Radio Sputnik’s Loud and Clear program. Loud and Clear host Brian Becker was joined by John Kiriakou, a former CIA analyst who gained celebrity for confirming to the press that the Cent [...]

VIENNA - The experience of administration of Russian vaccines against COVID-19 is raising a great interest in Austria even though the countries are not currently engaged in specific negotiations, Russian ambassador Dmitry Lyubinsky said, praising the efficacy of the Russian vaccines. "There are currently no negotiations on exact plans related to the potential use of the Sputnik V vaccine in [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin lamented the poor level of diplomatic competence demonstrated by Washington lately, saying Moscow found it difficult to work with people who cannot tell Austria and Australia apart. [...]

Austria launched its vaccination effort in December, offering citizens inoculations with Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, or AstraZeneca. Certain Austrian firms are also negotiating with Russia on Sputnik V production, according to the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, one of the vaccine's promoters abroad. Austria's top infectologist, Professor Florian Thalhammer, believes that the ef [...]

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged Spain to observe the rights of Catalans amid reports on detentions and searches in numerous public agencies, including the local government ahead of the region's independence referendum. [...]

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is investigating reports of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine causing Guillain-Barre syndrome, as the pharmaceutical company remains embroiled in controversy over the jab’s link to blood clotting. In a meeting this week, the European Medicines Agency’s Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee (PRAC) revealed that it was “assessing reports” of [...]

Austria's 31-year old Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz is expected to become one of the youngest world leaders in modern history. In an interview with Sputnik, political analysts have described him as a very hard-working and charismatic person and shared their opinion on his personality. [...]

As the US runs out of concrete resources to sell, bankers have had to get clever - whether this means repackaging assets already sold six times over or inventing new ways to cash in on items once considered intangible. By the time Americans realized that the promised ‘trickle-down’ theory of neoliberal economics was in fact more of a speedy trickle-up, the government had all but destroyed [...]

After threatening Pyongyang with a military option US President Donald Trump turned to Russia and China calling upon them to join his efforts to solve the North Korean dilemma, analysts told Sputnik, explaining what is behind the new US sanction policy targeting the world's financial institutions that work with North Korea. [...]

Do we really think “it can’t happen here” in America? Could we quarantine the constitution? Are we doing it already? Panics from pandemics unleash unchecked governmental power. The very premise of popular films like V for Vendetta reveal this: a group uses a virus to seize power and create a totalitarian society. Anyone could witness this from far-off lands, watching the news about Chin [...]