Новости за 23.11.2017

Gabriele Krone-Schmalz, who worked in Russia as a correspondent during the perestroika era, is considered one of the leading German experts on Russian politics. In an interview with Sputnik, she presents her new book "Ice Age: How Russia is Demonized and Why It is So Dangerous" and shares her opinion about conflict between Moscow and the West.

The US military footprint in the Middle East has swelled some 33 percent in just the past four months, according to a new Pentagon report.

The leading Russian university, the MSU, has been ranked fifth.

In an interview to Radio Sputnik, Tim Anderson, an academic expert in economics and international politics from the University of Sydney, pondered on the US’ role in the standoff in Syria, saying that America misinterprets the Russian arms’ presence in the country.

A Chinese man clearly has some guardian angels watching over him, as he survived two consecutive near-death experiences.

A homeless veteran helped a young woman stranded on a highway near Philadelphia by buying her gas with his last $20. She repaid him with more than just a thank you.

As a result of their "endless extensions," the ties between Moscow and Brussels have reached a "historic low since the fall of the Berlin Wall," Italian political analyst Marco Gombacci told Sputnik Italy.

A US human rights activist has commented on the recent Facebook's decision on Russia-linked accounts amid a probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the US 2016 election described as a "witch hunt" by President Trump.

Hillary Clinton has once again pointed the finger of blame at Donald Trump claiming that he supported so-called "Russian hackers" in their efforts to find compromising information on her in order to disrupt her campaign. According to Clinton, the Russians "attacked the very heart of US democracy" and warned about a looming "threat" from Moscow.

Tel Aviv has recently recognized having "secret" ties with some Arab states.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his South Korean counterpart Kang Kyung-wha. Political observers told Sputnik that the meeting laid the ground for proper talks between the leaders of the two states, which will be the first after the cooling of China-South Korea relations following the deployment of the US THAAD missile defense system.

Mass data retention in European Union member states was declared unlawful in 2014 by the Court of Justice of the European Union, and had been so since the policy's adoption in 2006 - and this finding was confirmed in 2016, however the EU and its constituents alike have been reluctant to end the practice.

The Russian, Iranian and Turkish leaders held a major meeting on Syria in Sochi, and the US wasn't invited.

A British taxi driver has gone on trial after running over a student lying sleeping in the middle of the road, whom he said he mistook for a "bin bag."

A British taxi driver has gone on trial after running over a student lying sleeping in the middle of the road after mistaking him for a "bin bag."

A member of a Turkish opposition party has commented on the consequences of the recent meeting on Syria between the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran.

Iran winning a lawsuit against Britain would have a strong impact on the UK’s policies, Hoshyar Rostami, an independent Iranian economist and head of the finance department at the Canadian University of Economic Research called Finapath in Iran, told Sputnik.

Throughout the year, people from dozens of cities around the globe had reported hearing inexplicable ground-shaking sounds, with the most recent noises noticed in Manchester, UK, and Alabama, US. The mysterious phenomenon has left netizens and experts scratching their heads as they try to find a reasonable explanation.

Merkel’s “EuroLiberal” gamble in politicizing the migrant crisis as a tool of pressure against the “EuroRealist” Polish government has completely backfired as the “Frau” now struggles to remain in power amid the coalition-forming crisis, while one of her chief ideological adversaries, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, is still in control of his country.

This enormous creepy crawler only wanted to take a ride and listen to music, but the terrified driver didn’t seem to enjoy the company at all…

The incident took place in Eccles, UK, on Wednesday, while the beagle was being walked in the park.

UK Treasury chiefs are now looking at overhauling the present tax regime to force the likes of Google and Facebook to pay on sales rather than profits — a decision welcomed by Geraint Johnes, professor of economics at Lancaster University management school.

Zimbabwean Former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa will become the country's new president, with the swearing-in ceremony set to take place on Friday.

During the past week South Korean authorities have visited Apple’s HQ to ask questions about its business practices in Seoul and now the authorities have allegedly raided Apple’s offices just a day before the launch of the highly anticipated iPhone X.

Sputnik has spoken to German and US political scientists on Germany's failure to create the so-called Jamaica coalition, paving the way for either a minority government or snap election in a situation described as "unprecedented" in decades by the country's president.