The European Union is no longer able to tackle the economic and migrant crisis gripping the 28-nation bloc and is closer to collapse than it has ever been before, Neue Zürcher Zeitung wrote citing the European Central Bank’s former economist Jürgen Stark. “The risk of collapse is at its highest now… [...]

It has now been two years since Crimea declared independence from Ukraine, with a referendum on joining Russia approved by 96% of voters. Ex-CIA official Ray McGovern told Radio Sputnik’s Brian Becker that the reunification was predetermined, taking into account Russia’s history, events in [...]

The four remaining Republican presidential candidates clamored during their latest debate to be considered most likely to begin another massive ground war in the Middle East, this time in pursuit of an end to jihadist group Islamic State. On Thursday night, during their 12th presidential debate, GOP candidates Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and John Kasich [...]

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden’s Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, whose novel Time of the Octopus provided the basis for the upcoming movie “Snowden” shot by Oliver Stone, spoke to RT about the unexpected challenges filmmakers encountered in the US. Simply called Snowden, the biographical thriller directed by Oliver Stone tells the story of the US National Security Agency whistleblow [...]

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, fresh from his upset win in Michigan, received an unexpected endorsement from a real-life symbol of Wall Street greed. Asher Edelman, who inspired the Gordon “greed is good” Gekko character in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street films, was asked who he supported for president on CNBC’s Fast Money program. [...]

Austria’s interior minister signaled its opposition towards a mooted but not yet finalized EU-Turkey refugee deal. The minister says she is “extremely critical” of the agreement, citing the situation with freedom of speech in Turkey. "I am extremely critical. I am seriously wondering whether we are taking ourselves and our values seriously or if we are throwing them overboard," Johanna Mi [...]

Iran was ordered by a New York City judge to pay more than $10.5 billion in damages to the families of those killed in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bloomberg reported. US District Judge George Daniels ruled on Wednesday that Tehran must pay $7.5 billion to the families of people who died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. [...]

According to German politician and member of the European Parliament Angelika Niebler, Turkey is not yet ready to join the EU and European countries need to think carefully about providing the Turks with any benefits. The EU should not forget about its own interests in order to please Turkey, the politician said in an interview with Deutschlandfunk. [...]

In the post-Cold War era, US leadership has treated Russia as a "third-rate power," whose opinion on and concerns over Washington's key foreign policy initiatives in Europe were consistently disregarded as insignificant and manageable, former US Defense Secretary William James Perry told the Guardian. [...]

The European Union on Thursday announced it is extending by six months restrictive measures against 146 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and 37 companies. Three dead people have been removed from the list, according to a press release. The asset freeze and travel ban has also been prolonged [...]

The West’s lack of response to recent attacks on Russian diplomatic missions in Ukraine, particularly the embassy in Kiev, is a sign of “hypocrisy and duplicity,” Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. Amid a spate of attacks, Moscow is monitoring the situation around its embassy in Kiev and frequently communicates with the Russian ambassador and his staff [...]

Five trainable dolphins are sought by the Russian military to carry out special tasks for the country’s navy in the Black Sea, the government revealed on Wednesday. The Russian defense ministry placed a 1.75 million ruble ($24,000) contract on the government procurement website to acquire military sea mammals for the country’s navy. [...]

A cast of colorfully corrupt characters, Including former Georgian puppet leader Saakashvili, are involved in the blatant US takeover of a country on Russia’s doorstep, one geopolitical analyst told Sputnik. The US colonial experiment in Eastern Europe has taken on a new urgency this week [...]

In a troubling sign of domestic operations by the US military, the Pentagon has admitted to flying spy drones over the continental United States during the past decade. Human rights activists have long questioned the ethical implications of Washington’s drone use. [...]

Bernie Sanders’ triumph in Michigan is a huge unexpected victory as pundits predicted Hilary Clinton would defeat the ‘socialist’, investigative journalist Max Blumenthal told RT. Bernie Sanders won in Michigan despite projections it would be an easy win for Clinton. How significant is this state in the race? [...]

Several top Christian Social Union officials have said their party, an ally to Angela Merkel’s CDU, is against a visa-free regime with Turkey and the prospects for its EU bid because Ankara plays “cat and mouse” and raises demands “like at a bazaar.” [...]

Consistent disregard of Russia’s interests by the US, as well as Washington’s dismissive attitude towards Moscow in the post-Cold War era, have led to strained relations between the two, former US Defense Secretary William Perry told the Guardian. [...]

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden said that the FBI’s claim to need Apple to unlock the iPhone a San Bernardino shooter is a sham. The FBI says that only Apple has the ability to crack the work phone left behind by the San Bernardino terrorists, and last month convinced a federal judge to compel the tech giant to write a custom operating system with intentionally weakened security mechanisms. [...]

The FBI has changed its privacy rules regarding how freely agents can gain access to and search data collected by the National Security Agency that involves the communications of Americans. It just won’t say what the changes are. Additionally, there’s no word on when the changes were actually made, since that information is classified as well. [...]

Mercedes-Benz has congratulated BMW on their centenary with a friendly advertisement and a less benevolent hint. BMW received a “Happy 100th birthday!” message from its long-time domestic rival Mercedes-Benz in a cool little video posted on Facebook. /* */ The video’s opening showed the signature BMW grille, but in the next five seconds it became clear how [...]

The assembly of Russia’s Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket carrying an advanced Resurs-P Earth remote sensing satellite has been completed, Russian Roscosmos state corporation said in a statement on Wednesday. The rocket is expected to lift off on Saturday at 18:56 GMT. [...]

In accordance with the Syrian ceasefire, Russian aviation has virtually halted its air operations out of Hmeymim airbase, Canadian journalist Raymond Saint-Pierre reports. However, the Russian military mission remains active, delivering humanitarian aid, carrying out negotiations with village leaders, and urging Syrians not to leave their homeland. [...]