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A file photo of the US Congress in Washington, DC. A growing number of US senators from both major political parties plan to increase sanctions against Russia and give Congress the authority to prevent President Donald Trump from lifting sanctions on Moscow unilaterally. On Wednesday, a group six Republican and Democratic senators, plan to introduce legislation that would impose strict new congressional oversight and veto power over the Trump administration if it decided to lift sanctions on Russia. The Russia Sanctions Review Act is the latest warning from Congress to the new administration over Trump's desire to improve relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and one of the co-sponsors of the bill said Russia has done nothing to be rewarded with sanctions relief. Senator Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, who also co-sponsored the bill, said the bill gives Congress the opportunity to act if it disagrees w

US Bradley fighting vehicles that will be deployed in Latvia for NATO's Operation Atlantic Resolve wait for an unload in Garklane, Latvia February 8, 2017. (Photo by Reuters) The United States has deployed a number of tanks and other weaponry in the Baltic state of Latvia, part of the NATO military alliance's  expansion towards Russia’s border. Accompanied by the US Army's 3rd Brigade, 225 soldiers, 15 M1 Abrams tanks, six Bradley fighting vehicles and other military equipment arrived in Latvia’s northern municipality of Garkalne, Vidzeme, on Wednesday. The soldiers, who will be replacing those from 173rd Brigade, will operate in Latvia as part of NATO’s Atlantic Resolve operation, which is aimed at deterring what the US-led alliance calls “Russian aggression.” Earlier this week, over 50 units of US military equipment, including four battle tanks and 15 infantry fighting vehicles were deployed to Tapa, a city in northern Estonia, another Baltic state. “The movement of

Vladimir Putin wants to extend his influence beyond the ballot box and into the very fabric of our public life. We must take action before it’s too late  Illustration by Sébastien Thibault The Russian  hacking of the Democratic National Committee  (DNC) and members of Hillary Clinton’s campaign is being treated too much like a novelty and not enough as a serious and persistent security threat. The problem becomes more urgent as we see it spread to other countries. WikiLeaks, which disseminated stolen DNC documents, announced last week that it would turn its attention to France, and has released material relating to presidential candidates  François Fillon  and Emmanuel Macron, opponents of Marine Le Pen. US intelligence agencies found  clear linkge between Wikileaks and the Russian state; we have to assume Russia will use these to undermine Vladimir Putin’s arch-nemesis, Angela Merkel, when she faces the far-right Alternative für Deutschland at the polls in September. But there’s

Saudi Arabia has pounded the port of Hudaydah in Yemen to stop the shipping of humanitarian aids into the war-ravaged country. Saudi forces have also prevented ships from entering the Yemeni port for over 20 days. The United Nations has voiced concern about the severe consequences of a long-term Saudi-imposed blockade on Yemen, which is facing a humanitarian crisis. Senior editor of Veterans Today from Ohio, Gordon Duff, believes that Russia is the power that can stand against the US-Saudi agenda in Yemen and stop the crippling war against the impoverished Arab state. “This is the war that is never going to end” unless the United Nations Security Council and one of its five permanent members, especially Russia, steps in to open the ports in Yemen, control humanitarian aid and bring about a reasonable ceasefire, Duff told Press TV. “There is a huge amount of silent complicity in the war on Yemen, which has been fought as a war against the people,” but Moscow has the capability to interv

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, January 17, 2017. The Kremlin said on Monday it did not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump's assessment of Iran as "the number one terrorist state" and wanted to deepen what it described as already good ties with Tehran. The Kremlin was responding to comments Trump made to Fox News in an interview aired at the weekend in which he complained that Iran had "total disregard" for the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters that Moscow saw things differently. "Russia has friendly partner-like relations with Iran, we cooperate on a wide range of issues, value our trade ties, and hope to develop them further," said Peskov. Trump and Putin say they want to try to rebuild U.S.-Russia ties, that were badly damaged by Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and by Western sanctions i

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a news conference after a meeting with his Moldovan counterpart Igor Dodon at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, January 17, 2017. The Kremlin said on Monday it wanted an apology from Fox News over what it said were "unacceptable" comments one of the channel's presenters made about Russian President Vladimir Putin in an interview with U.S. counterpart Donald Trump. Fox News host Bill O'Reilly described Putin as "a killer" in the interview with Trump as he tried to press the U.S. president to explain more fully why he respected his Russian counterpart. O'Reilly did not say who he thought Putin had killed. "We consider such words from the Fox TV company to be unacceptable and insulting, and honestly speaking, we would prefer to get an apology from such a respected TV company," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. Fox News and O'Reilly did not immediately respond

Chinese Ambassador to Syria Qi Qianjin (R) shakes hands with Imad Sabuni, the head of the Syrian Planning and International Cooperation Commission, after signing two agreements in the Syrian capital Damascus, February 5, 2017. (Photo by Xinhua) China is set to provide Syria with some 16 million dollars worth of humanitarian aid under cooperation agreements with the Damascus government. On Sunday, the Chinese Embassy and the Syrian Planning and International Cooperation Commission (ICC) signed two agreements, under which Beijing will send two batches of humanitarian aid worth 16 million dollars to the Arab country. China’s envoy to Syria Qi Qianjin said the aid delivery will begin soon, adding that his country has been committed to providing crisis-hit Syria with aid over the past years. “We sympathize with the Syrian people for what has befallen their country, and we are signing this agreement with the aim of bolstering friendship between the Chinese and Syrian peoples and to fulf