A recent edition of The Current on CBC Radio One in Canada featured a panel discussion of respected, liberal journalists discussing how mainstream media should report on Donald Trump and his campaign for the U.S. presidency. Among those on the panel was Doug Saunders of the Globe and Mail daily in Canada. The panelists agreed that journalists have a duty to explain how Trump’s views are racis [...]

The International Monetary Fund has agreed to change its policy on lending to countries that are in arrears to other governments. With Ukraine being among the states that asks for financial aid while owing Russia, the move has angered Moscow. "The IMF's Executive Board met today and agreed to change the current policy on non-toleration of arrears to official creditors," according to the IMF's C [...]

Russia is determined to file a lawsuit against Ukraine if Kiev does not repay its state debt to Moscow by December 20, the Russian Ministry of Finance has said, adding that the US has officially refused to give financial guarantees for Ukraine’s debt. “This week, we have received an official rejection from the US government to provide guarantees for Ukraine’s obligations. [...]

Germany's foreign ministry said that it considers the blackout of Crimea by extremist groups a criminal act. The blackout in Russia's Crimea peninsula is a criminal act that must be investigated, a German Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday. The Crimean blackout began on Sunday, after Ukrainian extremist groups blew up power line pylons on the Ukrainian side of the border. [...]

Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk is responsible for numerous war crimes committed by the Ukrainian military and law enforcement and sooner or later will face a trial, the spokesman for Russia’s Investigative Committee has said. “Yatsenyuk was among many well-known persons, including top military officers, who personally issued orders to fire upon the civilian population of Donbass,” Vladim [...]

The Ukrainian government has suspended the movement of cargo between Crimea and Ukraine, citing an initiative put forward by PM Arseny Yatsenyuk. The suspension will be active until a list of goods allowed to be delivered to the peninsula is compiled. The decision was preceded by a request from Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Monday which wanted to look into the possibility of a tempora [...]

An EU panel on Ukraine has slammed Kiev’s investigation into the May 2014 violence in Ukraine’s southern city of Odessa, saying it lacks independence. It also added there's evidence that police were complicit in the disorder. [...]

The International Monetary Fund will go ahead with the promised $17.5 billion loan to Ukraine even if Kiev defaults on its $3 billion debt to Russia due in December, reports The Wall Street Journal. Current IMF policy forbids it loaning to countries that default on other governments.   [...]

On Tuesday, the Dutch Safety Board will release its final report on the fate of the crashed Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight. Ahead of the report’s publication we take a look at the key facts, theories and false trails surrounding the investigation. The crash of Malaysian flight MH17 took place on July 17, 2014, in Eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew members onboard, among them [...]

A number of facts presented by Russia regarding last year’s crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine are being ignored, Vladimir Putin's spokesman said, a day ahead of the Dutch Safety Board presenting its final technical report on the catastrophe. “There are facts delivered by the Russian side that for unclear reasons are being apparently ignored,” [...]

The defense funding bill for 2016 includes some lavish support to rebels in Syria and lethal aid to the current Ukrainian government. Although President Barack Obama is at loggerheads with lawmakers over some of the provisions, they are likely to remain. Obama has threatened to veto the $612 billion National Defense Authorization Act – also known as House Resolution 1735, or the NDAA – [...]

Three Dutch media companies have filed a joint lawsuit against the country’s Security and Justice Ministry, demanding that it disclose more documents relating to the MH17 catastrophe investigation after the ministry’s refusal to release the information. The Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation (NOS); the Dutch subsidiary of the European TV, radio and production company RTL Group; and the Dut [...]

Crimean Prosecutor Natalya Poklonskaya says the so-called "food blockade" of the peninsula launched by Ukrainian far-right movements is just a futile attempt to cause Russia additional discomfort in the interests of Western opponents. “The so-called blockade does not conform to any norms of international law. [...]

Kiev has been deploying anti-personnel mines in Donbass in breach of Ukraine’s own laws as well as international treaties, claims a former high-ranking Ukrainian officer and chief of the engineering service, who refused to obey the “illegal” and “inhumane” order. In February 2014 Vadim Yatsulyak served as chief of the engineering service of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine, before bei [...]

An Israeli ex-IDF soldier fighting alongside rebels in eastern Ukraine has told the Jerusalem Post that she is battling against “pro-Nazi activists” who torture and murder civilians and soldiers alike. Ina Levitan, 37, a Tel Aviv resident who was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, said she has been in the conflict zone near the city of Lugansk since late 2014. [...]

Ukraine ceased to function as a state once diverse power forces - oligarchs, political and criminal groups - in Kiev and beyond took control of the various regions, Bruno Drweski of the National Institute of Languages and Eastern Civilizations told RT. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov is seeking to create an alternative government in exile to “help Ukraine out of its problems.� [...]

When there is peace in Ukraine there is no point to have NATO involved militarily in Ukraine, so there is no motivation to keep peace in the country as it threatens Western military business, geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen told RT. Supporters of the Ukrainian nationalist Right Sector movement gathered in the center of Kiev on Tuesday. They called on Kiev authorities to resign. [...]

Up to 6,000 supporters of Ukraine’s ultranationalist Right Sector movement gathered in central Kiev on Tuesday, calling on authorities to resign. The rally marks a “new stage of Ukrainian revolution,” the extremists' leader Dmitry Yarosh announced. The radicals marched through the center of the Ukrainian capital on Tuesday evening, gathering on Maidan (Independence Square). [...]

We express our deepest condolences to the relatives of all 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers – victims of the dreadful tragedy, the downing of MH17 one year ago. We condemn the destruction of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 by unidentified individuals and confirm our position in favor of the inevitability of punishment for having committed this criminal act once the investigation is complet [...]

The leader of the Ukrainian far-right group Right Sector has called on the National Guard, army and security forces to stop obeying Kiev's orders amid the ongoing standoff between their armed nationalists and police in western Ukraine. “Nobody can take away our right to a last fight,” Yarosh wrote on his Facebook page, calling the Ukrainian government “traitors.” [...]

With debris of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 still covering the crash site in eastern Ukraine, the investigation of the July 17, 2014 tragedy is surrounded by secrecy. RT talked to international experts and the victims’ families, still waiting for answers. He was a good man, a good brother. He promised to take me one day on board of his plane... He wanted to take me to Europe, but instead I br [...]

Investigations into the downing of flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine are still inconclusive or incomplete a year on from the tragedy. However, this has not stopped the West and their media from apportioning blames, without facts and figures to back up their claims. The search for justice for the families of those killed on MH17 continues. CrossTalking with Ray McGovern, Alexander Mercouris, and Pa [...]