Uruguay has become the first country in the world to legalize both the sale and production of marijuana. President Jose Mujica has championed the measure as a way of combatting the illegal drug industry that has decimated parts of Uruguay. [...]

There is more to the Russian economy besides oil and mineral exports, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday. He also promised productivity will grow 50 percent in the next five years, which followed a severe bout of stagnation in industrial output. [...]

As the world remembers Nelson Mandela'€™s legacy as South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon, he was also deeply skeptical of American power, the Iraq invasion, and was a key supporter of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. [...]

As tensions mount over China'€™s declaration of a new air defense zone, the United States Navy has deployed next-generation surveillance aircraft to Japan. [...]

Thousands of demonstrators chanting "€˜Revolution!"€™ have flocked into 'Maidan' square in Kiev despite a court-imposed ban on rallies. The protesters have reportedly taken several government buildings. [...]

A four nation poll has revealed a widening gap between the UK and rest of the EU, with attitudes on both sides of the channel hardening as UK public opinion becomes increasingly hostile towards Europe. [...]

Energy companies are giving people a very unhealthy choice: Whether to have cheap gas, which is unlikely to happen, or fresh water, former oil executive Ian Crane, now a campaigner against fracking, tells RT. [...]

The Cayman Islands has signed an agreement with the United States to combat offshore tax evasion pursuant to a controversial 2010 law that has caused some notable US expatriates to revoke their US citizenship. [...]

Pope Francis has taken aim at capitalism as "a new tyranny" and is urging world leaders to step up their efforts against poverty and inequality, saying "thou shall not kill" the economy. Francis calls on rich people to share their wealth. [...]

Joining an old European geopolitical and ideological project would have been catastrophic for the Ukrainian economy, political expert John Laughland told RT, noting that it was actually the EU, not Russia, blackmailing Ukraine into signing a suicide note. The European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says Ukraine's U-turn is indeed a major disappointment. [...]

Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of several Ukrainian cities in protest at Kiev’s decision to suspend the EU trade agreement. A major rally for Euro integration with sporadic clashes is taking place in Kiev. Ukrainian police had to use teargas after a group of protesters tried storming government buildings in Kiev. [...]

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has slammed the international deal over Iran's nuclear program, branding it a "€œhistoric mistake."€ He accused the P5+1 of allowing Tehran a step further "towards obtaining the world's most dangerous weapon." Netanyahu condemned the deal at a cabinet meeting on Sunday and said the world has become a more dangerous place. [...]

The P5+1 world powers and Iran have struck a historic deal on Tehran’s nuclear program at talks in Geneva on Sunday. Ministers overcame the last remaining hurdles to reach agreement, despite strong pressure from Israel and lobby groups. [...]

The inventor of the World Wide Web, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, has said the US and UK must do more to protect internet users’ privacy as the US has fallen to fourth place in a survey ranking countries in terms of their internet freedom. [...]

Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden has been awarded the biennial "whistleblower prize"€ in Germany, in recognition of his "€œbold efforts"€ to expose the monitoring of communications data by his former employer. In Snowden’s address on the presentation of the 2013 Whistleblower Award - channeled by internet activist and journalist Jacob Appelbaum [...]

In order to keep Amsterdam clean, the city now hires chronic alcoholics. For five cans of beer, tobacco and about $13 in cash per day they have to sweep the city's streets. The new project aims at tackling anti-social behavior by keeping addicts busy. [...]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has demanded that Washington give Germany clarity over the future of the NSA in the country, stating that the practice had put transatlantic ties "€œto the test.-€œThe allegations are grave,"€ she said. Merkel kicked off the session by tackling the controversial issue of the US tapping her personal phone calls and the “millions” of associated NSA data int [...]

An anti-nuclear lawmaker broke a taboo, drawing heavy criticism in Japan, by handing the Emperor a letter of concern over the issue of the growing Fukushima radiation and the impact on children’s health. [...]

Chinese Politburo member Yu Zhengsheng said reforms to be discussed at a Communist Party meeting next month will be unprecedented, adding to signs that leaders are resolved to spur far-reaching policy changes. [...]

Debates about mass surveillance and calls for "€œreforms to politics, supervision and laws"€ mean leaks about US secret service were justified, a former NSA contractor, Edward Snowden wrote in his "€œManifesto for the Truth." In his opinion piece, published in German Der Spiegel news magazine on Sunday, Snowden writes that his revelations have in fact been useful and society will benefit fr [...]

This past Monday the government-controlled Chinese media aired a detailed nuclear attack plan on major U.S. cities and military bases.  Outlets on which it appeared included China Central TV, the Peoples Daily, the Global Times, the PLA Daily, the China Youth Daily and the Guangmin Daily. [...]

Whistleblower Edward Snowden has met with a German MP in Moscow. He passed a letter addressed to the German government and federal public prosecutor where he allegedly said he is ready to testify over Washington's probable wiretapping of Merkel'€™s phone. During the meeting, Snowden made it “clear that he knows a lot,” Greens lawmaker Hans-Christian Stroebele told ARD channel. [...]