Warplanes of the Russian task force in Syria deliver 30 to 40 airstrikes daily in support of the Free Syrian Army, the General Staff reports. Some 5,000 FSA troops together with the Syrian Army are on the offensive in Hama, Homs, Aleppo and Raqqa provinces. [...]

A Russian missile cruiser and a coast guard powerboat had to intervene after a merchant vessel flying the Turkish flag blocked a convoy transporting two drill platforms to a new location in Moscow's territorial waters. The decision to relocate them closer to Crimea was caused by the complicated international situation, according to a press release from the Russian Chernomorneftegaz state compan [...]

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 [...]

The charade of the 21st United Nations climate summit will end, as past climate summits have ended, with lofty rhetoric and ineffectual cosmetic reforms. Since the first summit more than 20 years ago, carbon dioxide emissions have soared. Placing faith in our political and economic elites, who have mastered the arts of duplicity and propaganda on behalf of corporate power, is the triumph of h [...]

The global talks known as COP21 ended Saturday with nearly 200 countries agreeing to a carbon emissions-slashing deal (pdf).  But climate campaigners are saying that the agreement doesn't go far enough, and that the real work is just beginning. [...]

With Russia itching to fight after one of its jets was shot down by Turkey, we assess why Putin's war tech might be better than many people believe. Vladimir Putin is not a man to back down from provocation, especially a direct, lethal provocation like the shooting down of a Russian Su-24 aircraft by Turkey on Tuesday. [...]

"Donald Trump's racism, nativism, and bigotry are as American as apple pie," says commentator. Much has been made of how Donald Trump's racist remarks on the 2016 presidential campaign trail are "un-American," outlandish, and—incredibly to some—giving him a bump in the polls. [...]

After photographing the new, enormous and undoubtedly sinister building of the US embassy in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, I was driven by a local left-wing politician towards the mountains. We agreed to have lunch; simple, good local food. In front of the restaurant, which my friend selected, was parked an indescribable monster: a white double-decker ‘extremely stretched’ limousine wi [...]

Syria will not negotiate with terrorists to end the conflict on their terms, no matter how hard the West tries to present armed gangs as grassroots political opposition, the country’s President Bashar Assad told Spanish News Agency EFE. The problem, Assad says, lies with the fact that large portion of armed fighters and terror gangs in Syria are foreign mercenaries, which the US and their all [...]

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 [...]

Donald Trump is no moron; he just plays one on TV. He spouts vile nonsense, but even his most ardent detractors concede that he is one clever dude – diabolical, calculating and shrewd. Does he promote stupidity only to win over the dumbest and the vilest voters, the Republican base?   That would be the most likely explanation. He seems to have figured out what they want to hear, and he is f [...]

Watchdog groups are sounding the alarm after two of the oldest and largest corporations in the United States—DuPont and Dow Chemical—announced Friday plans to merge into a $130 billion giant, thereby establishing the world's biggest seed and pesticide conglomerate. The new behemoth, named DowDuPont, would then be split into "three independent, publicly traded companies through tax-free spin [...]

Millennials are disillusioned about the American dream, don't trust the government and don't think much of the current presidential candidates. They also want more boots on the ground to fight Islamic State… but they want other Americans to serve. Americans ages 18 to 29 ‒ nicknamed the millennial generation ‒ account for 23 percent of the US population, or 73 million people. As such, t [...]

The threat by an Iraqi parliamentary committee to cancel the country’s security pact with the United States reflects Baghdad’s growing fears that Washington will not rein in Turkey, so that it must seek protection from Russia and Iran, analysts told Sputnik. Last week, Turkey deployed troops to a camp in Mosul in northern Iraq. Baghdad condemned the move as a violation of sovereignty and as [...]

The deployment of Turkish tanks and troops in Iraq is a gross violation of international law, and is being carried out with the implicit blessing of the United States, according to Russian Middle East expert Boris Dolgov. In an interview with Sputnik, Boris Dolgov, a prominent Russian expert on the Middle East, said that Turkey's move to send troops to Iraq is a gross violation of international [...]

In an attempt to predict Russia’s further moves in Syria, US diplomacy expert Robert Farley has put forward what he considers “Russia’s five next big moves in Syria”, which are set to come in the nearest days or weeks; however, as it turns out, the first four are already very active on the ground. 1.The Arrival of the Su-25 Grach (NATO Reporting Name “Frogfoot”) [...]

Senior US government representatives on Wednesday and Thursday finally addressed the terrorist organization's smuggling of oil via Turkish territory. Two senior US officials have conceded to Turkey's role in the Daesh oil trade, having previously supported Ankara's denials that it enables the terrorist group to profit by selling stolen Syrian oil. [...]

New investigative reporting from McClatchy has exposed the hidden legacy—and "enormous human cost"—of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, providing "an unprecedented glimpse of the costs of war." The reporting, which comes as the nation prepares to upgrade its aging nuclear arsenal to the tune of $1 trillion over the next 30 years, reveals the abundant health and safety risks from radiation e [...]

Jihadists in Syria pose a direct threat to Russia, Putin has told a defense meeting in Moscow, adding that any targets threatening the country's military there should be destroyed. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said Islamic State’s influence in Syria continues to expand. [...]