NATO has confirmed that Ukrainian forces have started using powerful ballistic missiles against militants in the east of the country. Kiev previously denied the fact, revealed to DW television by NATO sources in Brussels. The use of missiles starting this week was first broken by CNN’s Barbara Starr on Wednesday, who cited “three sources” in the Pentagon who said that evidence had been ob [...]

The tragedy of WWI reminds us what excessive ambitions, an unwillingness to listen to each other and violations of liberties lead to, Russia's president said. He was speaking at the opening ceremony of the memorial to the Heroes of WWI in Moscow. According to Putin, the memorial is not only “a tribute to the great deeds,” but also a warning that “this peace is fragile.” [...]

Satellite images Kiev published as "proof"™ it didn't deploy anti-aircraft batteries around the MH17 crash site carry altered time-stamps and are from days after the MH17 tragedy, the Russian Defense Ministry has revealed. The images, which Kiev claims were taken by its satellites at the same time as those taken by Russian satellites, are neither Ukrainian nor authentic, according to a Moscow [...]

The US has accused Moscow of violating a 1987 INF Treaty banning short and medium range ballistic and cruise missiles. Experts speculate whether Washington is nudging Moscow to pull out of a treaty to create a new "nuke bogey" and offer aegis to the EU. Washington says Russia has tested a prohibited ground-launched cruise missile thus breaching the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signe [...]

So Obama, Merkel, Cameron, Hollande and Renzi – let’s call them the Fab Five - got on a video conference call to muster their courage and “increase pressure” asking for a cease-fire in Gaza. Later in the day, Bibi delivers his answer, in plain language. He remains dead set on achieving his version of a Final Solution to Gaza. With or without “pressure”. [...]

Bolivia has declared Israel to be a "terrorist state" and renounced a visa exemption agreement with the country in protest over the ongoing Israeli military offense in Gaza which already killed more than 1,300 dead and left over 7,000 wounded. Canceling the 1972 agreement which allowed Israelis to travel freely to Bolivia “means, in other words, we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state,” [...]

Ukraine's GDP in the second quarter of 2014 has declined 4.7 percent compared to the same period in 2013, the Ukrainian State Statistics Service said on Wednesday. The contraction was more than four times the 1.1 percent fall in the first quarter. The gross domestic product of Ukraine has been falling every quarter since the beginning of 2012. Ukraine expects GDP to tumble by 6-6.5 percent this [...]

No sooner than the White House condemned the shelling of a United Nations-operated school in Gaza on Wednesday did news break that the Pentagon will supply the Israeli military with new ammunition to further their campaign on the war-ravaged city. [...]

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said Britain was not going to "launch a European war or send the fleet to the Black Sea" over the Ukraine crisis, applying economic pressure instead. Mr. Cameron, was addressing a Q&A session with staff at the headquarters of United Utilities in Warrington when he said that the West had to stand up to Russia. [...]

Moscow has slammed Washington's allegations that Russia breached the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, calling the claims '’s fulfillment of their obligations under the treaty. US claims that Russia violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) are “just as unsubstantiated as everything that has recently been heard by Moscow coming from Washington, including [...]

Comedian Russell Brand used his web series The Trews to blast Fox News’ Sean Hannity for “using intimidation, bullying” and overall hypocrisy during a segment in which the conservative host berates a pro-Palestinian guest about Israel’s offensive on Gaza. A recent segment on Hannity's show is prefaced with the host asking why “is America’s largest Muslim so-called civil rights group [...]

A group of journalists have lodged an official proposal to award Vladimir Putin with the honorary title Hero of Russia for his uncompromising defense of the national interest and support of ethnic Russians as well as for supporting the freedom of speech. The move has been initiated by Konstantin Pronyakin from the city of Khabarovsk, a correspondent with the popular nationwide daily Moskovsky K [...]

Moscow is disappointed by the EU's inability to act independently from Washington's dictation in the international arena, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to the new package of sanctions. “We feel ashamed for the European Union who, after long searching for a unified voice is now speaking with Washington’s voice, having practically abandoned basic European values, including the [...]

Twenty people have been killed after a shell hit the UNRWA girls' school in Jabalia refugee camp, emergency services say. The UN condemned Israeli actions in the strongest possible terms, calling them a serious violation of international law. A UN official confirmed the shelling, saying that the missile hit a bathroom and two classrooms in the school, AFP reported. [...]

The new round of American economic sanctions imposed against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis will only further worsen relations between Washington and Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “Washington will gain nothing from such decisions except for further complication of Russian-American relations and the creation of an unfavorable atmosphere in international affairs, where the cooper [...]

This is how to go about causing a traffic jam. A nude woman sunbathing in the capital Vienna caused snarl ups on a major road when she positioned her naked body out of a window to get the maximum out of the sun's rays. According to Austrian newspaper Heute, the naked woman was snapped by student Gregory Shakaki lying on her window ledge with her legs dangling out of a third floor window. [...]

Two days of shelling in Gorlovka, in the Donetsk region of Eastern Ukraine, have resulted in 31 civilians being killed there, local authorities say. Ukrainian troops and anti-government forces are blaming each other for the bloodshed. The town of Gorlovka witnessed more shelling Tuesday morning, RIA Novosti news agency reported. [...]

Both the European Union and the United States announced a new round of sanctions against Moscow on Tuesday, accusing the Kremlin of supporting anti-Kiev militias in eastern Ukraine and threatening to cripple the Russian economy. The 28-member nations tied to the EU were first to acknowledge in a statement Tuesday that they’ve agreed to impose broader sanctions to “limit access to EU capital [...]

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Kiev is finally ready for a cease-fire at the MH17 crash site after Russia's numerous calls. Kiev continued its military offensive even after the UNSC urged a halt to fighting in the area last week. Poroshenko announced a unilateral cease-fire in a 20 km radius of the crash site of the MH17 flight in a telephone conversation with the PMs of Netherlands [...]

In the past two days Kiev's forces have launched several short-range ballistic missiles into areas in east Ukraine controlled by self-defense forces, CNN reports, citing US government sources. The move “marks a major escalation” in the Ukrainian crisis, CNN said. [...]

Who was REALLY responsible for the downing of flight MH-17? Let's take a look at the facts. On July 17th, 2014 two major events took place: Malaysian flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine, presumably by a missile, and Israel began a ground invasion of Gaza. Israel's invasion was granted an almost complete media blackout. The MH17 tragedy, however, got full coverage, and was immediately pr [...]

The shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine's civil war is a terrible event. However, the American media and government grossly misrepresent the USA's role in creating the current situation, and coverage of Ukraine does credit to "Alice in Wonderland". Reporting is dominated by the usual suspects from the Brookings Institution, etc. spouting jingoistic nonsense. [...]