American benchmark WTI crude briefly slipped below $40 per barrel for the first time since 2009, showing an eighth straight weekly decline , the longest streak in almost 30 years. During the intraday trading in New York, the benchmark WTI crude price dropped as low as $39.86 per barrel before settling at $40.45 – some 2.1% drop in one day. [...]

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 [...]

It's almost eighteen months since the people of Crimea voted overwhelmingly in a democratic referendum to join the Russian Federation. President Putin visited Crimea, an event that was greeted with an unexpected Western media reaction. Think back to March 2014, when the Crimean referendum took place. [...]

Calls are increasing for the prosecution of George W. Bush administration officials tied to the CIA torture program. On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch called on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor who would investigate the crimes detailed in the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the program. On Monday, The New York Times editori [...]

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. [...]

The Global Economy Is Imploding, Bankrupt Greece & China! 3 New Incredible Marc Faber Warnings: Global Economy is "weakening" Greece should default Are Chinese markets an "accident to happen?" [...]

How should we assess the behavior of Samantha Power, Washington’s top diplomat at the United Nations? Called by some a “foremost scholar on genocide,” Power is quick to back the use of military power in the service of so-called humanitarian goals. She is also fond of using the word ‘outrage’ – what does this tell us about her? CrossTalking with Daniel McAdams, Scott Rickard, and Patri [...]

Athens has approved a deal to hand over the operation of 14 airports to a German company. The 40-year contract worth €1.23 billion was awarded to Fraport AG, which currently runs Frankfurt Airport. The airports are not the only things on sale in Greece right now. Other travel hubs like ports and railways, the national lottery, water utilities and even the islands are to be sold off. [...]

US President Barack Obama has given an extraordinary ultimatum to the Republican-controlled Congress, arguing that they must not block the nuclear accord with Iran. It’s either “deal or war,” he says. In a televised nationwide address on August 5, Obama said: “Congressional rejection of this deal leaves any US administration that is absolutely committed to preventing Iran from getting a [...]

The global economy is in for a "catastrophe of historic proportions," says investor Doug Casey. "With these stupid governments printing trillions and trillions of new currency units," says investor Doug Casey, "it's building up to a catastrophe of historic proportions." [...]

The leader of the Polish coalition of Euroskeptic and right-wing parties has approved the recent visit to Crimea by French MPs, and said that he and his allies could soon also pay a visit to the Russian republic. Founder of the Coalition for the Renewal of the Republic Janusz Korwin-Mikke told Russian daily Izvestia that when the French MPs visited Crimea they practically recognized the current [...]

The US didn’t interfere with the rise of anti-government jihadist groups in Syria that finally degenerated into Islamic State, claims the former head of America’s Defense Intelligence Agency, backing a secret 2012 memo predicting their rise. An interview with retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), given to Al Jazeera’s Mehdi Hasan, [...]

The US and its allies should cooperate with Syrian President Bashar Assad in fighting Islamic State, “a common enemy” of the international community, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview on Sunday. “Our American partners and some countries in the region persistently refuse to recognize Assad as a partner, which is rather strange,” Lavrov said in an interview with [...]

Scotland says it will ban genetically modified crops on its soil. According to officials, the move will protect the environment. They are also taking advantage of new EU laws, allowing member states to decide whether they want to grow the crops or not. Although the EU imports large quantities of GM crops from abroad, it is less sure about growing them on their own soil. [...]

China's central bank has put the Russian ruble into circulation in Suifenhe City, Heilongjiang Province, launching a pilot two-currency (ruble and yuan) program. The ruble is being introduced in the place of US dollar. The announcement was made on Saturday by Jin Mei, deputy secretary for monetary policy at the opening ceremony of a trade exposition in Suifenhe, reported state-run Xinhua news a [...]

The US and Turkey have come to a tentative agreement in Syria, whereby Ankara is opening its territories to American troops in an attempt to defeat terror. Or is it that terror needs military backing to depose Syrian President Bashar Assad? It is difficult to tell these days. America's neocons simply will not tolerate peace to drive the global narrative! [...]

Deputy head of the Federation Council’s committee for foreign affairs has said an international court must look into all US wars, in particular the Vietnam campaign that killed thousands of civilians and caused significant damage to many innocent people. Russian senator urges international tribunal into US-Vietnam war Deputy head of the Federation Council’s committee for foreign affairs ha [...]

Following an inquiry, the media authority of Thuringia (TLM) has found no breach of legislation pertaining to the broadcast of RT’s show The Missing Part (Der Fehlende Part) by regional German TV channel Salve.TV. TLM, broadcast regulator of the federal state of Thuringia, stated that it had no objections to Salve.TV airing RT’s The Missing Part. [...]

Sukhoi PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter jet is finalizing tests of its versatile arsenal before deployment next year. Russia's Air Force chief says there will be no such target on the scene of operations that the fighter would not be able to engage. When compared to American F-22 or F-35 5G fighter jets, Sukhoi PAK-FA (T-50) is going to “outperform them in all technical aspects,” the command [...]

It's been a bad month for the angst-ridden US ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power. Last week, she was "outraged" by Russia's veto at the UN Security Council of an international criminal court into the downing of Malaysian airliner MH17 over eastern Ukraine. Three weeks prior, Power was again “outraged” by Russia’s veto of a draft resolution to declare the mass killing at Srebrenica durin [...]

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.� [...]

MPs from the German parliamentary party "The Left" have positively assessed the recent visit to Crimea by French lawmakers and said that they'd also consider the possibility of personal trip to the republic and assessment of the situation there. “I think that the French parliamentarian’s trip was a right thing to do. Being elected by the people it was their duty to tell and show the officia [...]