In a special report, RT America examines the origins, power and expansion of the terrorist group known as the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS). RT’s Ben Swann delves into the roots of the organization while Ameera David explains how the group amasses the millions of dollars it requires to operate. Finally, Manuel Rapalo explores how the Iraqi army fell apart despite benefiting [...]

The US’ Northern Command has sent teams of essential staff deep underground to wait out the Covid-19 pandemic. On the surface, more than a million grunts won’t be quite as cocooned. Air Force General Terrence O’Shaughnessy heads up the US’ Northern Command, as well as the North American Aerospace Defense Command – a joint US/Canadian operation that monitors the skies over North Amer [...]

Four Western coalition warplanes were spotted over the Deir az-Zor area in Syria on December 6, when a Syrian Army camp came under attack. No Russian warplanes were in the region, says the Russian Defense Ministry. “Russian aircraft were not on a mission in that area. [...]

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allied oil exporters led by Russia are reportedly set to hold an urgent meeting on Sunday to clinch a last-minute agreement to save the oil market from further tumbling. The virtual meeting is scheduled for 4pm GMT, the Azerbaijan Energy Ministry confirmed to Russian media. The same time frame was reported earlier by Bloomberg. [...]

It was certainly not because the SU-24 posed any threat. The plane is old and slow, and the Russians were careful not to arm it with anti-aircraft missiles. And it wasn’t because the Turks are quick on the trigger, either. Three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphatically declared that a “short-term violation of airspace can never be a pretext for an attack.” There are [...]

Beijing has called on Washington to address the concerns of its own citizens about the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic, while condemning American politicians for shifting blame for the crisis squarely onto China’s shoulders. Asked to comment on a series of American media reports on the US government’s slow and often inept response to the health crisis on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman [...]

Martin Shkreli ‒ the pharmaceutical CEO infamous for jacking up drug prices 5,500 percent ‒ has been charged with securities fraud. The arrest is unrelated to his raising the price of life-saving pills exponentially, but to his time at a hedge fund. [...]

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has warned the US’ European allies against using Huawei tech, insisting privacy-loving Germans shouldn’t stand for such (alleged) spying. Never mind that time the NSA wiretapped Merkel. Pompeo pleaded with European governments on Fox News on Sunday that “the right thing to do for their people” was to kick Huawei’s cheaper and arguably more advanced techn [...]

In a message to the Libyan people, the US President said the 2011 Libyan revolution liberated them from “42 years of dictatorship.” Now there are “profound challenges,” which the Libyan people “have demonstrated the commitment to resolve.” [...]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki were acts of premeditated mass murder unleashing a weapon of intrinsic criminality. It was justified by lies that form the bedrock of 21st century U.S. war propaganda, casting a new enemy, and target - China. When I first went to Hiroshima in 1967, the shadow on the steps was still there. It was an almost perfect impression of a human being at ease: legs splayed, back bent, [...]

Despite the US and EU’s efforts, the Ukrainian "project" is in danger. If the Ukrainian government falls it will be a deep embarrassment for Washington, Brussels and the IMF which sacrificed relations with Russia to support it. The political feuding in Ukraine poses a risk not only to the country’s future but also to US President Barack Obama’s reputation, journalists Alessandra Prentice [...]

Most US citizens believe their government, legislators and courts are corrupt and unaccountable to the public, according to a new poll. Strikingly, both Democrats and Republicans share this opinion. Seventy-three percent of Americans say that elected officials do not face “serious consequences” for misconduct, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. A closer look reveals that a mere 21 pe [...]

Russia and China have achieved remarkable success in their efforts to develop advanced navies, which presents a challenge to America's naval supremacy at a time when the US Navy is trying to adapt to the changing security environment, US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said. [...]

Speaking at the UN General Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a top-level conference on joint global development of a Covid-19 vaccine. He also offered UN staff a dose of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for free. The UN General Assembly, held in a coronavirus-appropriate virtual format, kicked off on Tuesday. Putin delivered a speech during its morning session, largely focusing o [...]

Last week, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban met for six hours with Polish political patriarch Jaroslaw Kaczynski at Niedzica Castle in southern Poland. With virtually no details available on the meeting, journalists were quick to speculate, some suggesting that the two political outsiders were hatching a conspiracy. In his analysis, recently published on the website of independent Russian [...]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that the European Union had adopted the US style of threatening and punishing states with sanctions. "People who are responsible for the Western foreign policy and do not understand the need for mutually respectful dialogue, we probably have to suspend dialogue with them for a while. Especially since [President of the European Commissio [...]

By considering Ron Paul's words on the petrodollar, we will know when the dollar collapse is imminent. The chaos that one day will ensue from our 35-year experiment with worldwide fiat money will require a return to money of real value. We will know that day is approaching when oil-producing countries demand gold, or its equivalent, for their oil rather than dollars or euros. The sooner the bet [...]

The research team of Credit Suisse, one of Switzerland’s leading banks, has commended the frank discussion that the developers of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine recently had on its efficacy. "We were encouraged by the frank discussion of the human viral vector technology used and we view the 92 percent efficacy as a positive incremental readacross for the AstraZeneca data expected soon ( [...]

The Kremlin has found a new ally in the Kurds during its anti-terrorist campaign in Syria. They are effective in pushing Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) and other terrorist groups out of key areas in Syria, French political journalist Olivier d’Auzon wrote for Le Huffington Post. Turkey's decision to shoot down a Russian Su-24 bomber in November made Moscow furious; in turn, the Kremlin decided to support [...]

While Pennsylvania officials announced Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential race in the state on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump has sought to overturn the results, accusing Democrats of election fraud and irregularities. Pennsylvania Judge Patricia McCullough has ruled that the state must halt "further action" on certification of the 2020 election results and set a he [...]

Hillary Clinton represents 'status quo,' says Justin Bamberg, who is representing the family of Walter Scott, a black man shot and killed last year by a police officer. In what political observers are describing as a "big get" for the presidential campaign of Bernie Sanders, a prominent South Carolina lawmaker and lawyer said Monday he is switching his support from Hillary Clinton and endorsing [...]

Donald Trump’s demand to repeal an old rule shielding tech giants from liability for things users publish has been endorsed by maverick Democrat Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, prompting speculation that her party will disown her again. Gabbard, whose term representing Hawaii expires in January, voiced her support for President Trump on Twitter. “Please don’t back down. The freedom and future of ou [...]