By trying to bring an end to the Russo-European Nord Stream 2 project, the US is pursuing its own economic interests rather than taking care of Europe's energy security. Washington is seeking to boost sales of its own expensive liquefied natural gas to Europe, thus undermining the Old Continent's competitiveness. [...]

Terrorism index shows nine-fold increase since 2000. In 2014, the number of lives lost to terrorism around the world increased by 80 percent, the highest level ever. The majority of such terrorist activity occurred in the largest refugee-producing nations, a Global Terrorism Index (GTI) showed. The GTI, developed by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), comprehensively studies the patterns [...]

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will name a settlement in the Golan Heights after Donald Trump, in a show of gratitude for the US president's decision to recognize the region as Israeli territory. [...]

As many as eight civilians were killed in the northeastern Syrian province of Hasakah in an airstrike carried out by the US-led international coalition, local media reported citing a local source. "The 'international coalition’ has committed another massacre, which killed eight members of a family in Dib-Haddadj village on the south-east of the Hasakah province," the source said, as quoted by th [...]

As President Recep Erdogan is looking for some political ground to land his feet on, media reports have spun some rather distasteful anti-Russian rhetoric, hoping to salvage Turkey’s political solvency by sullying Moscow’s efforts against terror. We live in a time where deception and misinformation have become so widely institutionalized and standardized that the very concept of propaganda [...]

Sports betting begins across the US; Joe Biden and Democrats "consultantocracy" problem; Book Review "Birth Strike" On this episode of "By Any Means Necessary" hosts Eugene Puryear and Sean Blackmon are joined by Axios Sports Editor Kendall Baker to talk about US states' implementing sports betting, the tax shortfalls in states that do not offer mobile sports betting, the efforts by casinos to blo [...]

China is stepping up cooperation with the Arab world. The recent China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) was aimed at deepening economic and security cooperation between Beijing and Arab countries of the Middle East and North Africa within the framework of the One Belt, One Road project, analysts told Sputnik. [...]

Switzerland says it will risk the legal collapse of its trade, security and free travel agreements with the EU, if Brussels cannot stop uncontrolled migration into the country. The government is preparing a law that will impose quotas for incomers, starting from 2017. "If there is really no solution, we would be ready for a suspension of a part or all of the bilateral agreements," said Foreign [...]

On Friday evening, Spiegel published a video and materials dating back to July 2017, when the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party Heinz Christian Strache and his assistant Johann Gudenus met with an alleged Russian woman in Ibiza, who declared desire to invest a large amount of money in Austria. [...]

The number of unsuccessful deportations from Germany has increased by more than 200 percent, as every second deportable migrant stayed in the country by not appearing for their expulsion appointment. An internal evaluation by the federal police found that, as of the end of May, only 11,100 scheduled deportations had been successful out of a planned 23,900, according to the report by Deutsche Wirt [...]

Following the serious violation of Iraq’s sovereignty by Turkish ground troops, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi has accused its neighbor of being a hub for the “majority” of illegal oil smuggled by ISIS terrorists. During a meeting with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Abadi stressed the importance of stopping oil smuggling from jihadi-controlled parts of Iraq and Syri [...]

In a report that views Russia through the same cracked lens as Washington’s old ideological foe, the Soviet Union, the RAND Corporation reveals that its worst enemy for gaining global dominance is not Russia but the US. [...]

A recent edition of The Current on CBC Radio One in Canada featured a panel discussion of respected, liberal journalists discussing how mainstream media should report on Donald Trump and his campaign for the U.S. presidency. Among those on the panel was Doug Saunders of the Globe and Mail daily in Canada. The panelists agreed that journalists have a duty to explain how Trump’s views are racis [...]

Although Washington already has its plate full trying to dissuade Turkey from buying S-400 air defenses, it is also “urging” India against buying the Russian missile system just ahead of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s visit. [...]

The existing US missile shield is incapable of withstanding a massive strike of Russian nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), the commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Troops said at a press conference. The analysis of Russian military experts has found that “neither the firepower potential, nor the data computing capacity of the currently deployed US missile defense” i [...]

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Russia's Sukhoi Su-57 (also known as the PAK FA and the T-50) fifth-generation jet fighter now has an export permit, and the Russian government is reportedly reviewing documents to officially rename the aircraft from its T-50 internal designation to Su-57, according to a source in the Russian aviation industry. [...]

Kiev's attempts to avoid paying back its $3 billion debt to Moscow could end in the country defaulting on its foreign debt. Why didn't Kiev's Western benefactors side with Kiev in the IMF decision on the debt? Sputnik takes a look. On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund board recognized Kiev's outstanding $3 billion debt to Moscow as sovereign, a status Kiev had fiercely contested. [...]

The US military has marketed its new $1.5 trillion fifth-generation fighter's stealth capabilities as one of its main features, along with its advanced avionics and sensor systems. [...]

On December 17, 2010, Tunisian fruit vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after the authorities confiscated his products and beat him. This gave the beginning to what later became the "Arab Spring" and all its subsequent turmoil. From the US vantage point, the event gave birth to the current set of conflicts in Syria that as a result produced a myriad of Al-Qaeda affiliated organizations [...]

A recent test of a US missile banned by the INF risks backfiring on global security, Vladimir Putin warned. The Russian president said it shows Washington was not interested in the now scrapped landmark accord for quite some time. [...]

Three months ago, on September 30, at the request of Syrian leader Bashar Assad Russia launched a military operation against terrorists of Daesh (Islamic State). The very next day, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the first results of the offensive. [...]

Why assumptions are the the mother of all fuckups! Leadership quicksand looks like solid ground that can confidently and competently be stomped on, but it’s not. In fact, it’s not like it seems at all.  When leaders walk head held high, chest puffed out, all knowing with ego leading the way, that’s the surest way to sink in deep. Leaders often make assumptions in four areas that have [...]