"Putinophobia" has reached new heights making it impossible to speak well of Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday.

On Sunday, Germany's Suddeutsche Zeitung published alleged documents from the Panamanian Mossack Fonseca company in which the newspaper confirms ties to a number of world leaders and their circles to off-shore schemes.

The German publication specifically notes Chinese President Xi Jinping, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Azeri President Ilham Aliev, Moroccan King Mohammed VI, Saudi King Alman ibn Abdul-Aziz al Saud, the late father of British Prime Minister David Cameron, and a number of individuals allegedly close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"It's obvious that [information hoaxes] have reached new heights in 'Putinophobia' that make it practically impossible to speak well of Russia or any type of actions Russia does, or any success Russia enjoys. You need to speak poorly, and you need to say lots of bad things, in an abundance, and if there's nothing to say, then you need to whip something up. This is also obvious for us," Peskov told journalists.

Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS/ISIL) militants have reportedly used poisonous gas in an attack on a Syrian military airbase located in Deir Ez-zor, the largest city in the eastern part of the country, RIA Novosti cited a military source as saying.

UPDATE: RT sources in the Syrian military have denied Islamic State used poisonous mustard gas in the attack on Deir Ez-zor airbase. The son of General Issam Zahreddine, who is in charge of the Deir Ez-zor division, has said no chemical weapons were used in the attack.

"The Daesh [derogatory Arabic name for IS] militants attacked the military airfield in Deir Ez-zor with shells containing a poisonous chemical substance. The defenders of the airbase have reported that a number of soldiers were choking," the source said. This latest report adds weight to previous evidence implicating IS in using various forms of poisonous gas to attack targets.

Kurdish deputies in the Turkish parliament have previously accused Turkey of supplying Islamic State and other jihadist groups inside Syria with chemical weapons to fight the Syrian government. In an interview with RT, a spokesman for the Kurdish YPG militia said that Turkey had provided a clear transit route for the chemical weapons that were deployed against them near the city of Aleppo in early March.

Anti-government militants "took advantage of the ceasefire" to launch attacks against a Kurdish-controlled area near Aleppo in northern Syria, Redur Xelil told RT. "Our sources inside the rebel groups have confirmed that toxic substances were used."

We recently brought you a story by Rachel Maddow regarding the infamous D.C. Madam and her list of clientele — hundreds of Washington D.C. insiders who partook of her "services" by hiring prostitutes from her. Rachel had broken the story that the Madam's lawyer, who still has the original list, is now threatening to release the entire thing despite a gag order requiring him to keep it secret.

Now, s*%t just got real.

The lawyer has guaranteed that the list will come out, it will have information in it that will upset the 2016 election in a severe way by potentially swaying the entire nation away from one candidate — and he intends to make the information public even if he is arrested or otherwise detained. Even if he is dead or incapacitated the list will be released via a "dead man switch."

The way it was explained is that if the lawyer is somehow incapacitated for more than 72 hours, the list will automatically start being distributed to journalists around the world from one of 4 different secret locations in which it's currently stored. Every day he does a process to reset the 72-hour timer, as of now, to prevent it from mailing out before he is ready.

This is seriously starting to read, like some kind of spy novel. We have a list of names, one of which will completely rewrite the 2016 election if made known, and it's now on a timer that the owner is using to safeguard himself from potential harm. Things like this are going to make the 2016 presidential election go down in history as one of the most unusual ones of the modern age, and this is only a small portion of what's been happening.

Watch Rachel's full report on this new development below:

In the immediate aftermath of Russia's announcement of a partial withdrawal from Syria upon accomplishing its initial objectives, pundits, politicians, and analysts in the West attempted to capitalize on it by portraying Russia in retreat, broke economically, and attempting to avoid a quagmire it had entangled itself in.

However, more honest and thoughtful analysis noted that Russia's partial withdrawal was more diplomatic than strategic - a grand gesture by Moscow to the West that it was able and willing to give the perpetrators of this proxy war a graceful exit out - and that enough Russian assets would remain in theater to ensure all gains made by Russian and Syrian forces were not only maintained, but expanded upon further in the near and intermediate future.

Since the announcement, this analysis has proven to be accurate, with Russia continuing to conduct effective military operations in Syria, and most notably, helping the Syrian Arab Army liberate the ancient city of Palmyra - which was overrun by the so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) ironically at the height of the United States-led coalition's alleged battle against the internationally listed terrorist organization.

Despite the fact that Russia is assisting the Syrian government in eradicating an internationally listed terrorist organization from Syrian territory, Western analysts are now crying foul over Russia's continued military activity in Syria despite its announcement of a partial draw down.

Iranian officials have reiterated their complaints that the US is violating the recently agreed-upon Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal by sabotaging Tehran's attempts to conduct business internationally.

"The Americans are now acting in violation of the nuclear agreement," Iran's Judiciary Chief Sadeq Amoli Larijani told high-ranking officials on Monday, referring to the agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 nations, including the US, UK, China, Russia, France, and Germany.

"The Americans should know that the Islamic Republic of Iran would never compromise its interests and would never agree with investment of foreign firms in the country at any price, while it enjoys rich resources and abundant talents," he said, according to Fars News.

On March 24th US Secretary of State John Kerry stepped off a plane at Moscow's Airport carrying a valise in his right hand. Arriving for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the familiar tall statesman looked a bit out of character carrying such a large briefcase, but few took notice. On sitting down across a table from the Russian president though, it soon became clear at least one Russian was paying attention. The scene, with Putin seemingly poking fun at the American dignitary, it became the newsreel of the day. Speculation still reverberates on what was in that briefcase, but the real signs point to one big win for Putin, and a last ditch battle over Europe for the Americans.

"Today, when I saw you coming down from the plane and carrying your effects, I got a little upset. On the one hand, it is very democratic; on the other, I think: things are really bad in the U.S., there is no one even to help the secretary of state carry his briefcase." - President Vladimir Putin

Thinking like a true Russian, at least doing my best impression of one, I can decipher what Vladimir Putin conveyed in those few seconds we all saw via RT. First of all, he was delighted. Seldom has the Russian president [been] seen in such a jovial mode of late, so whatever he and Kerry were really meeting about was a very positively charged subject, the meet-up was on the subject of another win for Putin, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Compromise from the United States of America was the sparkle in Vladimir's eye, and in Sergey Lavrov's honest grin as he sat next to his boss. Even Kerry seemed to have lost a monkey off his square shoulders, all this was so readily apparent. So what was the big secret, what kind of state treasure could have been carried in that satchel? We saw it lying open and empty later on, via a press photo...


"I think you'll be surprised, pleasantly," Kerry said.

Here's what I believe was in the briefcase. A big fat dossier that was too sensitive to be sent digitally, too important for anybody but Kerry to touch, too valuable for anything but a hand-to-hand pass-off, between America and Russia.

The Syrian "civil war" was supposed to create another Libya: A destabilized, lawless nation that could be used as a safe haven for terrorists, arms smugglers and human traffickers -- another ripe target for endless US military intervention. (And, according to Hillary Clinton's e-mails, a destroyed Syria was in the "interests" of Israel.) But things didn't go quite according to plan.

Because Obama stopped short of direct military intervention, much of Washington's strategy in Syria was carried out covertly by the CIA. And now that the plan has (largely) failed, the CIA has decided to throw Obama under the bus:

The CIA in 2012 proposed a detailed covert action plan designed to remove Syrian President Bashar Assad from power, but President Obama declined to approve it, current and former U.S. officials tell NBC News.

International Military Review - Syria & Iraq (Apr. 4)

Among the pile of jihadi documents recovered from a town liberated by Syrian Kurds, an RT Documentary crew found several foreign passports. A Russian one has led RT to the home city of the man, who brought his entire family to an apparent death at the hands of terrorists.

Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) recruits its followers and potential fighters from across the entire world, with many of them bringing their whole families to Syria or Iraq, only to find their final resting place there.


After the liberation of the town of Shaddadi, located in the Syrian province Hasakah from IS jihadists, an RT Documentary team traveled to the area and had the chance to examine piles of documents that had been left behind.

Some 600 Israeli companies and 850 Israeli shareholders are listed in the leaked documents of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, a leader in creating shell companies that often serve to conceal ownership of assets.

The leaked files, which were obtained by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with Haaretz and other media organizations, provide a glimpse of the economy that until now had been hidden from the Israeli public.

There is a number of prominent names among the shareholders. It is important to note that as long as holdings in the companies and their revenues — if any — are reported as required to Israeli tax authorities, owning the company is not against the law.

Mossack Fonseca's branch in Israel is headed by attorney Amir Maor. Callers to the branch are informed by a voicemail message that they have reached the offices of "The Company for Establishing Companies."