Around 500 protesters gathered outside the US embassy in Kiev to hold an anti-war and anti-US rally on Wednesday. The demonstrators held banners reading "USA - the world's evil" and "Shame - USA" as well as "Yankees, leave Ukraine." One banner also read "Blood of the children of Donbass is on Obama's hands". Several protesters held pictures of destroyed houses and children killed during the confli [...]

The Bank of England (BoE) has warned the Greek debt crisis is a threat to UK financial stability and could trigger wider problems on financial markets. In its twice-yearly Financial Stability Report published Wednesday, the BoE claimed the risks associated with Greece had “worsened” and that the situation “remains fluid.” [...]

Chancellor Angela Merkel was not the only NSA target in the German government, as WikiLeaks has released a new tranche of documents containing a list of the phone numbers of German ministers and officials whose privacy was breached by the US spy agency. Sixty-nine high-ranking members of the German government, including the economy and finance ministers, as well as Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabrie [...]

The United States now the world's second-largest Spanish-speaking community, after Mexico, according to the latest study by the Instituto Cervantes. A total of 41 million native Spanish speakers live in the US, and there are also 11.6 million other bilingual speakers. In Colombia and Spain, there are 48 and 46 million native Spanish and bilingual speakers, respectively. [...]

The head of the State Duma"s Foreign Relations Committee has proposed reciprocating Canada's latest anti-Russian move by introducing sanctions similar to embargo of agricultural products from EU introduced about a year ago. “We should not pretend that nothing is happening and we should develop a complex of reciprocal measures aimed at Canada,” MP Aleksey Pushkov (United Russia) stated at Tu [...]

The Ukrainian president has named an entirely new, wildly different figure for the number of Russian troops allegedly in Ukraine: over 20 times higher than he claimed earlier this month. In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Ukraine’s [...]

France and Germany seem to have a servile attitude towards the US and its foreign policy which has to do with their "anti-terrorism" collection capabilities. They felt they had not to upset the collection arrangements says former CIA officer Ray McGovern. The latest documents published by WikiLeaks suggest that America's snooping activities in France are far more extensive than previously thoug [...]

Pope Francis has made an unexpected request for his upcoming trip to Bolivia – he wants to chew coca leaves, the natural source of cocaine, according to a government official. Bolivia says it will “await the Holy Father” with the "sacred" leaves. Culture Minister Marko Machicao told state broadcasters that the Bolivian government “offered [the Pope] coca tea or something for the altitud [...]

Washington has resumed military aid to the Bahraini government. The move was criticized by human rights groups, which say it takes place "in the absence of any real or meaningful political reforms" and amid numerous human rights abuses. “The administration has decided to lift the holds on security assistance to the Bahrain Defense Force and National Guard that were implemented following Bahra [...]

Greece may take EU institutions to court to stop its creditors from pushing the country out of the Euro-zone. Athens' bailout expires Tuesday and a default could mean it is exiled by Brussels. “We are taking advice and will certainly consider an injunction at the European Court of Justice. [...]

As ISIS and ISIS-style terror erupts across the globe, Western governments are busy making plans to establish a rapid reaction force in Eastern Europe to ‘contain Russia’, thus qualifying them for an annual ‘you couldn’t make it up’ award. It calls to mind one of Britain’s worst military defeats, suffered at the hands of the Japanese, when 100,000 troops and sailors were marched int [...]

Austrians have launched a petition to quit the EU, arguing that the nation will be better off economically if it leaves the union. To force the national parliament to consider the initiative activists need to have gathered 100,000 signatures by July 1. The petition was started by a retired 66-year-old translator, Inge Rauscher, who has collected enough signatures to launch an official campaign. [...]

Again Athens finds itself at loggerheads with its creditors, particularly the IMF. The Greeks appear to be willing to do only enough to stay in the Eurozone, while the rest of Europe is willing to offer it just enough support to stay afloat – all awhile making the Greek economy almost impossible to grow. Is the Euro a failure? CrossTalking with Mitch Feierstein, Stephen Haseler, and Scheheraz [...]

The Catholic Church has signed its first treaty with Palestine, making official its de facto recognition of the state. Israel reiterated that it regretted the decision. The treaty first announced in May concerns the activities of the Church in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. [...]

The US can't quit buying Russian RD-180 rocket engines for heavy lifting until it produces an engine with similar capabilities, chief of the US Space Command said. This follows frantic calls by Republican Senator John McCain to terminate the contract. “Why in the world would anyone think we would want to continue dependency on Russian rocket engines, which traces up to the corrupt mafia that [...]

As an equal member of the EU, Greece does not need to ask permissions from anyone to let the Greek people speak and have their voices heard, PM Tsipras told his parliament, promising that the state's sovereignty and future will be decided via referendum. Referendums have been used all across Europe as a way for people to directly express their will and have their voices heard, and Greece is ful [...]

The number of government troops deployed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine has reached 60,000 troops, according to President Petro Poroshenko. The statement comes as the total of Ukrainian refugees has exceeded 900,000 people, according to UN. "We are doing our best to ensure the security of our state. We have brought the number of our armed forces in the ATO zone to 60,000 servicemen today. [...]

The Europgroup is now focusing on Plan B over Greece's default and possible exit from the euro, as Athens has rejected the latest creditors' proposals and is going for a referendum on the issue. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ decision to hold a referendum caused a wave of criticism and discontent from the eurozone finance ministers, who now see no sense in further bailout talks and plan to fo [...]

A Porsche 911 Turbo S sports car was torn in two and turned into scrap metal in a matter of seconds in the center of Moscow on Saturday. Two young men died in the crash after the driver lost control of the luxurious vehicle on a wet road. The horrifying crash happened around 7:20am in central Moscow. There is usually little traffic on the roads at this time of the day on weekends. [...]

Cul-de-sacs and fault lines: There is no shortage of either in today’s Ukraine. The government in Kiev appears to be losing its ability to rule as international creditors grimly await the conditions of Ukraine's financial default. As rumored, is Washington now looking for a way out? CrossTalking with Patrick Smith, Marcus Papadopoulos, and Nebojsa Malic. [...]

The right-wing Swiss People's Party (SVP) continues to receive the highest levels of support in Switzerland, according to the latest survey released ahead of autumn elections. The party is popular for its immigration restriction proposals. The SVP is the most widely-backed political force in Switzerland, with the support of over 26 percent of the voters, a survey conducted by the gfs.bern resea [...]

The latest US narrative on Russia is straight from the plot of a Hollywood fantasy: US superheroes versus a Russian villain. Sadly for the Baltic States, they are being used by Uncle Sam as bait. Here's a starter for ten question: Russia’s reunification with Crimea last year was prompted by which of the following… [...]