Russia's investment in its military is not a sign of a looming new arms race but rather a long-overdue modernization, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with RT and the VGTRK media corporation. “I don’t think we are on the verge of a new arms race. At least, Russia definitely won’t be part of it,” the minister said. “In our case, it’s just that the time has come for [...]

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, [...]

Pro-independence Scots rallied outside the BBC's Glasgow headquarters on Sunday to protest the public broadcaster's pro-union "bias" and demand the resignation of political editor Nick Robinson. Waving Scottish flags and “Yes Scotland” banners, protesters chanted, “You can stick your license fee up your a***!” while banners read “Auntie Beeb, anti-democracy, anti-truth”. [...]

Russian and Ukrainian leaders have concluded their first official face-to-face meeting in Minsk during which they discussed Ukraine's Association Agreement with EU and the crisis and humanitarian disaster in the east of the country. Russia will do everything to facilitate a peace process in Ukraine, President Putin told the press following the 2-hour talks, which he described as “positive.” [...]

A supposed US submarine was detected and “forced out” by the Russian anti-sub forces after it violated the country’s boundary waters in the Arctic, a high-ranked source within the Russian Navy’s headquarters said. “On August 7, a foreign submarine, presumably belonging to the US Navy’s Virginia class, was detected in the Barents Sea by the alert forces of the Northern Fleet,” the [...]

Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree on the full ban for imports of beef, pork, poultry meat, fish, cheese, milk, vegetables and fruit from Australia, Canada, the EU, the US and Norway. The ban will last a year, starting August 7. The Prime Minister also said Russia has stopped transit flights by Ukrainian airlines to such destinations as Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey, addin [...]

The command in Kiev has blatantly abandoned a group of more than 400 soldiers encircled by the self-defense forces, the senior Ukrainian officer who requested sanctuary in Russia with his men has revealed. Lack of ammunition, food, fuel and clear orders from the command on how to act in the condition of encirclement has made the Ukrainian troops cross the border, Major Vitaly Dubinyak, a battal [...]

The UN Security Council has condemned the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine, called for an international probe into the incident in a unanimously adopted resolution. All 15-member states voted to pass the Australia-proposed resolution, condemning “in the strongest terms” the crash of Malaysian plane on July 17 in Donetsk region of Ukraine, which resulted in 298 people dead. [...]

The Ukrainian militia have handed over to Malaysian experts the black boxes from the Malaysian Boeing-777 airliner that crashed in east Ukraine on July 17. The Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) Prime Minister Aleksandr Boroday handed over the black boxes from the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 early on Tuesday. [...]

Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, talks exclusively to Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, and reporter Ewen MacAskill in Moscow. The 31-year-old former intelligence analyst discusses whether he is a Russian spy, his likely fate if he returns to the US and the relevance of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four in the age of Google. [...]

Imposing sanctions on Russia and blaming it for destabilizing Ukraine contradicts US national interests, President Putin said at the BRICS summit in Brazil, emphasizing that declared support of Ukrainians should not be limited to the country's oligarchs. [...]

"Degeneration into genocide!" As the Ukrainian President Poroshenko calls for the murder of 'hundreds' of rebels for each of his troops killed – more than Nazi Germany ordered as punitive reprisals in World War II; eyewitnesses report Kiev death squads going 'house to house,' executing all men under 35 on the spot, 'crucifying' babies and forcing their mothers to watch – unspeakable atrociti [...]

A video filmed at Barcelona airport shows two planes almost crashing on the runway. An Airbus 340 is shown crossing the runway at El Prat Airport in Spain as a flight from Moscow is coming in to land. Seeing the Airbus in its path, the pilot of the Boeing 767 from Russia aborts the landing. The plane then lands safely on the runway shortly afterwards [...]

Parliament moves to quit Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; Nazis 'regular reconnaissance visits to nuclear power stations'; Billionaire governor, whose Privatbank is top recipient of new IMF bailout, being placed on international wanted list for 'banned methods of warfare and aggravated murder'. Seek truth from facts with intelligence expert William Engdahl; economist Professor Michael Hudson; for [...]

"Apocalypse, Man" is an intimate portrait of a man convinced of the imminent collapse of the world, but with answers to how the human spirit can survive the impending apocalypse. Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Given his tragic death, Michael was an extremely rare person - far beyond what most [...]

Residents of Slavyansk and its suburbs were awoken overnight on Thursday by what they say were incendiary bombs that were dropped on their city by Kiev'€™s military. Witnesses and local media reports suggested that the bombs might be phosphorous. [...]

Heavily-armed, Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have seized the Iraqi city of Mosul, driving back government forces. Officials say the Iraqi Army'€™s soldiers are demoralized and are no match for the attacking militant forces. “The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants,” an Interior Ministry official told AFP on Monday. [...]

The US Air Force has sent more of its bombers to Europe, deploying two B-2 stealth aircraft as part of a military exercise. On Sunday they joined three B-52 StratoFortress bombers already deployed in Britain. “This deployment of strategic bombers provides an invaluable opportunity to strengthen and improve interoperability with our allies and partners,” said Adm. Cecil Haney, commander, US Str [...]

Ukraine has chosen a new president. How is he going to deal with his country's dire problems? Is it possible to achieve the promised peace when he immediately refuses to compromise? How much latitude does President Petro Poroshenko have in his government at all? Peter Lavelle hosts CrossTalking, with Vladimir Suchan, Daniel Welch and Mark Sleboda. [...]

Vladimir Putin faced a barrage of tricky questions from French media ahead of his meeting with world leaders at the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landings. Here are his best replies on key issues: Ukraine, Crimea and relations with the US. [...]

Internet activists and rights groups have launched a massive online campaign against mass government surveillance, urging users and websites to use encryption. The campaign'€™s inspiration "“NSA whistleblower Snowden" has called to join ResetTheNet. [...]

Several buildings, including an orphanage, have been severely damaged by artillery fire in Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, where fighting between self-defense troops and Kiev'€™s army renewed over the weekend. [...]