U.S. politicians often lecture other nations about their flawed governance as if American democracy is the gold standard, but anti-democratic measures like gerrymandering belie that self-image, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. An old fear about Islamist political parties entering government is that once in power, even if they had gained their position through democratic means, they would sub [...]

Google risks falling under scrutiny again as the US Department of Justice (DOJ) gears up to investigate the IT giant after studying its ads and search policies, new reports say. [...]

It looks that the Israeli “demonstration of power” during the recent visit of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has turned into a total failure. On October 16, Shoigu arrived Israel for meetings with Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The sides were reportedly set to discuss the situation in the region, including Syria, the fight a [...]

Baghdad will not allow Washington to use its military bases to launch an attack on Iran, the country's president stressed, thrashing Donald Trump's warmongering policies towards the Islamic Republic. [...]

After Trump recognized Wednesday that Jerusalem was Israel’s capital, the situation appeared on edge all across Europe, France being no exception. Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators took to the streets in Paris on Saturday to decry the scheduled visit of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to meet President Macron on Sunday, as well as Trump’s now historic words. [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Syrian President Bashar Assad on Sunday on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and pledged to defeat terrorism in Syria by joint efforts. [...]

More and more Americans are speculating that there may be something behind the Kushner family’s deepening business ties with Israel, especially given that Jared Kushner's father-in-law made the controversial decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, provoking condemnation among the world's Muslims and violent rage among Palestinians. [...]

Germany will refuse to take part in a US-led maritime mission in the Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas announced. Maas said that there “cannot be a military solution” to the current crisis in the Persian Gulf. [...]

From the Archive: President Trump says his “tough” language on immigration, which reportedly included decrying “shithole” nations, didn’t apply to Haiti but he appears to know little of America’s debt to Haiti, which Robert Parry described in 2010. In 2010, when announcing emergency help for Haiti after a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake, President Barack Obama noted America’s [...]

The Dow Jones saw a steep drop of 700 points after a threat from Beijing to slap new tariffs on billions of dollars in American goods, and a harsh response from US President Donald Trump, but picked up before ending 621 down. [...]

Former US vice president Joe Biden boasted that he had a word to say in another state’s internal affairs, admitting to have pressured the Ukrainian government into sacking a prosecutor general in just a few hours. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the leading role of the West is coming to an end, and no serious international group makes much sense anymore without economic juggernauts like China and India. [...]

Amid protests from Beijing and Seoul over new US trade restrictions on washing machines and solar panels, Russian journalist and geopolitical analyst Viktor Marakhovsky explains why Washington's move is really part of a much broader, considerably more significant series of processes marking the decline of US global hegemony. [...]

Testing started earlier this year, the 20+ tonne flying wing design, thought to be capable of carrying up to 2.8 tonnes of precision armament, has been dubbed the Hunter (‘Okhotnik’). The Russian Ministry of Defence has released footage of the first flight of the Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik drone, showing the unmanned aerial vehicle taking off from a test airfield and conducting a 20 minute flight at [...]

Norway surprised to discover its new fleet of F-35 fighter jets relay 'sensitive data' to US-manufacturer Lockheed Martin. The Royal Norwegian Air Force recently received the first three of the 40 F-35 fighter jets it ordered from Lockheed Martin. [...]

2020 candidate Tulsi Gabbard is trending on Twitter, after the Hawaiian lawmaker scorched Hillary Clinton with a devastating put-down. Nevertheless, Hillary fans still maintain Tulsi’s popularity is the work of ‘Russian bots’. Gabbard unloaded on Clinton on Friday, after the failed 2016 presidential contender suggested that “the Russians” were “grooming” her to run as a third-party c [...]

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that Israel would not accept any restrictions in Syria. Radio Sputnik discussed the isssue with ​​​Dr Tim Anderson, Australian analyst, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney, author of the 'Dirty War on Syria'. [...]

Bolivian President Evo Morales was “ripped away from his people by greed,” former Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters said in a message of support to the exiled leader, ousted in a coup and forced to seek asylum in Mexico. [...]

It’s no coincidence the US is warning against chemical weapons use by Damascus, while the most likely source of an attack would be rebels, to trigger a response against the Syrian government, says former US diplomat Jim Jatras. Amid calls for a ceasefire in eastern Ghouta, Syria, figures in Western media are accusing President Bashar Assad of launching a chemical gas attack. [...]

Russia’s Roscongress Foundation and the Qatar Investment Promotion Agency have inked a document during the Doha Forum that sets up a joint working group for coordination of investment activities and business projects. The agreement was signed on Sunday, when a Russian delegation held a panel session titled ‘Developing the High-Tech Sector in Russia: Prospects for Venture Investment’ on the s [...]

"I don’t know anybody who thinks that trade wars are something you win." Historically, the United States has focused on staying out of trade wars. Not so under President Donald Trump, who last week announced plans to slap sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and asserted that trade wars are good and easy to win. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Trump administration’s unlawful execution of Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani is a strategic blunder of mammoth proportions that has now turned every American military official into a target, former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chas Freeman told Sputnik. [...]