Scotland's First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) is resigning from office after losing Thursday's independence referendum. Scots voted to stay in the UK following an intense campaign. The ‘No’ campaign rallied 55 percent of votes against 45 percent ‘Yes’ votes. [...]

DAVID MILLER, Co-editor of Neoliberal Scotland: Class and Society in a Stateless Nation, said... “For me the first question is what is the best outcome in terms of the power of the British state in the world. Given its historically negative role (not least in Iraq), anything that challenges its power has my support. In London they are scared that they will be ejected from the UN Security Coun [...]

Germany has long had a reputation for excellent infrastructure. But in recent years, both public and private investment has dwindled dramatically, and officials are increasingly concerned about how to solve the problem. They have good reason to be worried. Despite its shiny façade, the German economy is crumbling at its core. That, at least, is how Marcel Fratzscher sees it. With the country's [...]

The British establishment is breathing a collective sigh of relief. The people of Scotland have chosen Westminster rule over political sovereignty, and the Union remains intact. Scotland’s pro-independence campaigners, bent on separatism and self-determination, claimed they had the momentum to realize an independent Scottish state. But they were mistaken. [...]

An independent Flanders with Brussels as its capital will be best for the Flemish people who represent 60 percent of the Belgium population, and provide 80 percent of its economy, Flemish MP Tom van Grieken told RT. Following in the footsteps of Scotland, Veneto in Italy and Catalonia in Spain, and Belgium’s Flemish region may become the next to hold a referendum on independence. [...]

Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bildt - whether it is for personal self-benefit or because of general ideology -100 percent supports American policies almost without question, journalist Bryan MacDonald told RT. The Parliamentary elections in Sweden, which took place on September 14, signaled the return of a left-leaning government after eight years in opposition. [...]

Journalists and dissidents are under the microscope of intelligence agencies, Wikileaks revealed in its fourth SpyFiles series. A German software company that produces computer intrusion systems has supplied many secret agencies worldwide. The weaponized surveillance malware, popular among intelligence agencies for spying on “journalists, activists and political dissidents,” is produced by [...]

Westminster party leaders have signed a joint pledge promising “extensive new powers” for the Scottish parliament if voters reject independence in Thursday’s referendum. Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour party leader Ed Miliband offered their pledge in a letter published on the front page of Scotland’s Daily Record newspaper on Tuesday. [...]

According to top-secret documents from the NSA and the British agency GCHQ, the intelligence agencies are seeking to map the entire Internet, including end-user devices. In pursuing that goal, they have broken into networks belonging to Deutsche Telekom. When it comes to choosing code names for their secret operations, American and British agents demonstrate a flare for creativity. [...]

Finland will not drop its plans to construct a nuclear power plant with Russia’s Rosatom. The project “will not shake Finland’s reputation” and “shouldn’t be mixed with politics,” Prime Minister Alexander Strubb told Radio Suomi. There are no differences in the Finnish government over the matter, the premier said. [...]

The far-right Swedish Democrats have doubled their support in Sunday's general election because voters want to see something different as such parties provide options for people who do not favor immigration, sociology professor Mikael Hjerm told RT. The results of the September 14 Parliamentary elections in Sweden marked a shift of power, with the center-left Social Democrats achieving victory, [...]

UK airstrikes against Islamic State extremists in Syria could be illegal without the agreement of President Bashar Assad's government or a UN Security Council resolution, according to a House of Commons Library assessment. Prime Minister David Cameron will recall MPs to parliament to outline his plans for deeper military intervention in Iraq and Syria when he returns from the UN General Assembl [...]

Sterling falls sharply to lowest level since November 2013 as surge in support for pro-independence campaign rattles markets. The pound has slumped to a 10-month low after the yes campaign took the lead in the opinion polls just 10 days before the Scottish independence vote. [...]

London - Friday 19 September 2014, the morning after Scotland votes for independence from the UK. And David Cameron said to Alastair Darling, “Stretch out your hand over Scotland so that locusts swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail.” So Darling stretched out his staff over Scotland, and Cameron made an east wind blow across the land al [...]

US and UK intelligence services have secret access points for German telecom companies’ internal networks, Der Spiegel reports, citing slides created in the NSA’s ‘Treasure Map’ program used to get near-real-time visualization of the global internet. The latest scandal continues to evolve around the US’ NSA and the British GCHQ, both of which appear to be able to eavesdrop on German g [...]

Europe saw one of the largest demonstrations in recent years: at least 1.8 million people formed an 11km red-yellow line to show their support for the upcoming independence referendum. A mosaic was made in the form of a 'V' for 'vote'. At least 1.8 million Catalans, dressed in red and yellow, the colors of the Catalan flag, gathered on Gran Via and Avenida Diagonal, two of the main streets in B [...]

The BBC faces accusations of anti-independence bias after its political editor, Nick Robinson, produced a report that wrongly claimed Alex Salmond had ignored his question during a heated press conference. Calling into question the impartiality of the publicly-owned broadcaster, the veteran BBC correspondent edited out Salmond’s lengthy answer, in which the First Minister claimed the BBC had [...]

Politicians clashed over the NHS at a Scottish independence debate. “Yes” supporters say independence could save the health service from privatization, while “No” advocates say Scotland can’t afford it alone. Independence is needed to protect against a “nasty, competitive, profit-driven motive” towards the NHS, Scottish Green Party MSP Patrick Harvie said Thursday. [...]

Members from both sides of the US political spectrum say a Yes vote in Scotland's independence referendum may compromise the UK-US strategic relationship. A weakening of Washington's top military ally and the fate of the UK's nuclear arsenal are key. Representative Bradley Sherman [D-CA], who has vocally opposed the prospect of Scotland breaking away from the UK, said America’s foreign policy [...]