The US continues to “strangle” Iran’s economy by imposing sanctions on Tehran as well as other countries that attempt to trade with Iran, Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace group Code Pink, told Radio Sputnik’s Loud & Clear Friday. [...]

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. [...]

Huawei is spearheading the quantum communication technology in a bid to build "unhackable" networks. Cyber security experts have discussed whether the tech giant's efforts would make US eavesdropping techniques, once described by Edward Snowden, obsolete. [...]

Russian planes carrying components for Ankara’s recently-purchased S-400 air defence system began touching down in Turkey a week ago, with the White House announcing on Wednesday that the deliveries made the country’s continued involvement in the F-35 programme “impossible”. [...]

Russell Edward Brand is an English comedian, actor, radio host, author, and activist. After beginning his career as a stand-up comedian and later becoming an MTV presenter, Brand first achieved renown in 2004 as the host of Big Brother's Big Mouth, a Big Brother spin-off. In 2007, he had his first major film role in St Trinian's, and the following year he landed a major role in the romantic comed [...]

Earlier, the territory's head stated that Gibraltar police and customs agencies detained a vessel suspected of transporting oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump discussed the investigation into the MH17 air crash with visiting Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, the White House said in a statement. [...]

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif previously noted that the EU mechanism for bilateral transactions with Tehran bypassing US sanctions could include other interested countries, such as Russia and Turkey. [...]

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. [...]

The furious reaction in Washington to Turkey’s receipt of the Russian S-400 air defence system is motivated by several factors – all of which spell a heavy blow to US strategic interests. After two years of American bullying and threats, Turkey has finally gone ahead and taken delivery of the S-400 system this week. [...]

The Spanish frigate was part of a US-led naval group that was sent to the Persian Gulf shortly before Tehran announced the suspension of some of its obligations under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on 8 May. The move came exactly a year after the US unilaterally left the deal, also reinstating harsh anti-Iranian sanctions. [...]

The trade volume between Russia and China is expected to continue to accelerate and reach new heights, doubling the current record level of $108 billion, the Russian economy ministry says. [...]

Chinese telecom giant Huawei has secured more than 50 commercial contracts for 5G across the world, according to the company’s board member and Senior Vice President Catherine Chen, who was cited by news agency Xinhua. [...]

Police in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh arrested a cleric who allegedly raped a nine-year-old girl on mosque premises while the local imam was away on leave. The cleric later publicly admitted his guilt. [...]

Turkey has blasted the US decision to kick it out of the F-35 fighter jet program, in response to Ankara buying Russian S-400 air defense systems, as a mistake that will cause permanent damage to the US-Turkish relations. [...]

The Pentagon is actively contemplating the use of nuclear weapons to win wars that need not be fought in the first place. As expected, opposition to the US nuclear doctrine is almost non-existent in the mainstream media. [...]

In a report detailing NATO’s deterrence policy, a Canadian senator for the Defence and Security Committee of the alliance’s Parliamentary Assembly accidentally revealed several sites the US uses to store its weapons of mass destruction in Europe. The list includes bases in Turkey, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Belgium. [...]

In the West, at least, everyone has become massively aware of the extent of coercion and exploitation in sexual relations, says Slavoj Žižek. [...]

When traditionally stable institutions like Deutsche Bank find themselves in trouble, it’s a signal that the world’s financial system will face big problems down the road, legendary investor Jim Rogers has told RT. [...]

Italy’s Deputy PM Matteo Salvini has said that an investigation into a “Ukrainian group’s” plot to kill him was what led to a major seizure of weapons, including an air-to-air missile and neo-Nazi memorabilia, by police this week. [...]

Iranian forces came to the aid of an oil tanker stranded in the Persian Gulf, a foreign ministry spokesman has said. The tanker is presumed to be the same Panama-registered vessel missing from radar screens since Saturday. [...]

Iran is right. The way to save the international nuclear accord on Iran is for all parties to honor it and to implement normal trading relations. That would also permit de-escalation of dangerous war tensions in the Gulf. [...]