The United States is using energy as a political weapon and its 'golden era' of energy could turn out to be an 'era of energy colonialism' for all other market participants, Igor Sechin, the chief executive of Russia's largest oil producer Rosneft, said at a forum in Russia on Thursday.

There is no doubt that the U.S. is using energy as a political weapon on a mass scale, Sechin said at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum today, as posted on Rosneft's website.

Imposing sanctions or even the threat of sanctions have a destructive effect on the global energy ecosystem, Sechin said, criticizing America's approach to energy dominance.

"The golden era of American energy is now underway," U.S. President Donald Trump said last month, while U.S. officials have started to refer to the U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as "freedom gas."

The US has been pressuring Iran with economic sanctions since 2018 after President Trump withdrew his country from the Iran nuclear deal. The president claims that the "harshest ever" sanctions will inevitably force Tehran to start negotiating a new deal with the US.

US President Donald Trump has stated during his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron that Iran was "a true state of terror" and claimed that the Islamic Republic was failing as a country, but at the same time assured that it might change.

"They are failing as a nation, but I don't want them to fail as a nation. We can turn that around very quickly but the sanctions have been extraordinary how powerful they have been", he said.

The US Treasury Department has slapped sanctions on Iran's largest and, according to Washington, "most profitable" petrochemical holding group, for allegedly supporting terrorism.

Announced by the Treasury Department on Friday, the sanctions punish Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Company (PGPIC) for allegedly providing financial support to Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), formally designated as a "foreign terrorist organization" by Washington in April.

In addition, the sanctions target PGPIC's "vast network" of 39 subsidiary companies and foreign sales agents. Altogether, these companies hold 40 percent of Iran's total petrochemical production, and are responsible for 50 percent of the country's petrochemical exports.

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently renamed US liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports "freedom gas." But freedom for who? For Europe who already has a cheap and reliable source of natural gas, but is being forced to switch over to more expensive US gas under the threat of sanctions? Certainly not.

Or freedom for Russia who supplies Europe with much of its natural gas to compete openly and fairly with the United States? Most definitely not.

Or is it freedom from competition for the US? Yes, indeed.

It is often contradictory branding that heralds various chapters of US injustice at home (under the draconian "Patriot Act" for example) and abroad, such as during the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq carried out under the dubious name of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Not the Onion

India is set to diversify economic ties with Russia as new deals on the digital economy, nuclear energy, and space are expected to be sealed in September during Prime Minister Modi's visit, India's ambassador to Russia told RT.

The diplomat made the remarks during a major Russian economic forum, currently being held in Saint Petersburg. In an interview with RT, Bala Venkatesh Varma, who was appointed India's ambassador to Russia in August 2018, hailed "time-tested historically friendly relations" between the countries but insisted that both nations "can do more."

"Economic diversification of our relations is a priority, also in new sectors like digital economy, new areas in nuclear sector, space, energy."

Most of the agreements will relate to the development of Russia's eastern regions, the official noted. "The Far East is the priority for Russia and we take Russian priorities very seriously," said the ambassador, adding that the Indian government strives to support multilateral economic order in which the interests of all countries will be protected.

US President Donald Trump has said that a deal has been struck with Mexico to stem the flow of migrants into the US. Punitive tariffs on Mexican goods that were due to come into effect Monday have been 'suspended indefinitely.'

"I am pleased to inform you that The United States of America has reached a signed agreement with Mexico," Trump tweeted Friday.
He said that the agreement would allow to "greatly reduce, or eliminate, Illegal Immigration coming from Mexico and into the United States," without providing details.

A high-ranking Mexican delegation arrived in the US on Wednesday to thrash out an agreement after Trump threatened to impose tariffs on all Mexican goods, starting at five percent. He called Mexico an "abuser" of the US for its supposed reluctance to stop caravans of illegal migrants streaming to the US-Mexican border.

The FBI failed to document at least four interviews of witnesses in the bureau's investigation into former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's use of a private server to send classified emails, according to documents obtained by the government watchdog Judicial Watch.

Judicial Watch also discovered among the 218 pages of emails between former FBI Special Agent Peter Strzok and his paramour former FBI Attorney Lisa Page that then FBI General Counsel James Baker had instructed "FBI officials to expedite the release of FBI investigative material to Hillary Clinton's lawyer, David Kendall in August 2016. Kendall and the FBI's top lawyer discussed specifically quickly obtaining the "302" report of the FBI/DOJ interview of Mrs. Clinton."

These findings are significant, as they come at a crucial time when the Department of Justice under Attorney General William Barr is investigating the bureau's handling of both the Clinton probe and the investigation into the origination of the bureau's investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign alleged - now debunked - ties to Russia.

"These incredible documents show the leadership of the FBI rushed to give Hillary Clinton her FBI interview report shortly before the election," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "And the documents also show the FBI failed to timely document interviews in the Clinton email 'matter' - further confirming the whole investigation was a joke. AG Barr can't reopen the Clinton email investigation soon enough."

The information obtained by Judicial Watch coincides with documents obtained by Congressional investigations. For example, Rep. John Ratcliffe, a former federal prosecutor who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox New's Maria Bartiromo Sunday that Strzok's involvement in the Trump campaign's defensive briefing mired in conflict.

First, Ratcliffe noted that it was Strzok who opened the official investigation into Trump's campaign on July 31, 2016 dubbed "Crossfire Hurricane." Ratfcliffe warned that U.S. Attorney John Durham, who has been appointed by Barr to investigate the bureau, was essentially acting as a 'special counsel' in the DOJ's investigation.

"It's interesting that 18 days later on August 17, of 2016 that the FBI and CIA conducted a counterintelligence briefing for the purpose of protecting and warning Donald Trump would put in charge for coordinating that briefing Peter Strzok - the same agent who was already investigating the Trump campaign," Ratcliffe told Bartiromo. "The same agent who eight days before that defensive briefing to protect and warn Donald Trump sent a text message saying he was going to 'stop him.' Then two days before that defensive briefing sent a text message saying 'we need an insurance policy' against the Trump presidency."

"So little wonder on that day of August 17, 2016 Donald Trump isn't warned about Russian interference in his campaign and he wasn't briefed about the Steele Dossier, wasn't briefed about Carter Page," Ratcliffe added.

Currently, DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz is putting together his report on the FBI's handling of the FBI's probe into the Trump campaign. According to numerous congressional sources the investigation is expected to include the FBI's defensive briefing to Trump and the lack of information provided to the Trump campaign. Strzok, who was vehemently anti-Trump in his text messages to Page, is also expected to be a significant part of the Horowitz investigation.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo just spilled the beans on Washington's regime-change maneuver in Venezuela. The US is not supporting a popular pro-democracy movement, as the official media narrative goes.

There is no movement against incumbent President Nicolas Maduro worth talking about, admits Pompeo. It's all an orchestration by Washington. In short, a criminal plot.

The clumsy admission was reported by the Washington Post which obtained an audio recording of Pompeo's unguarded comments during a recent closed-door meeting in New York. His blundering blab is a spectacular own goal.

The meeting was held with Jewish groups apparently on a range of international topics, including the Trump administration's Middle East policy. Pompeo seemed unaware his remarks were being recorded. His comments are therefore a stark leveling of reality, dispelling the media spin put out by the Trump administration of "supporting democracy" in Venezuela.

It also vindicates Russia's steadfast support for the Venezuelan government, and Moscow's consistent condemnation of Washington's interference in the South American country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said US efforts to push Chinese tech giant Huawei out of the global market might be a sign that a new technological war is coming.

"Take the situation around the company Huawei, for example. There are attempts not even to challenge it, but to brazenly force it out of the global market," Putin told the audience at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. "In some circles it is even called the first technological war of the coming digital era."

There were nearly 7,000 gunshot wounds among Gaza's population of two million in the duration of a year.

Many of those injured have extensive and in some cases irreversible damage to their bones, neurovascular structures and soft tissue.

Among them, hundreds face amputations if they cannot access specialized tertiary treatment for their catastrophic wounds.

Three health workers have been killed and more than 700 others injured.

Thousands of elective surgeries were postponed as a health system already in crisis took in wave after wave of emergency casualties.