The UN Security Council is set to vote on a resolution drafted by Gulf Arab states seeking to impose an arms embargo on Yemeni rebels. Russia earlier suggested an all-inclusive ban on arms sales and to push all sides to the negotiations table. The draft resolution being put to the vote on Tuesday envisions an asset freeze and a travel ban on Ahmed Saleh, the former head of Yemen’s elite Repub [...]

In a diverse field of competitors made up of pop stars, technology gurus, visionaries and politicians - and at a time when US-Russia relations have hit rock bottom - President Putin has emerged victorious in Time magazine - 2015 reader poll. Among the 100 most influential people in the world, as hand selected by the editors of TIME, the Russian leader proved his rock-star credentials by edging [...]

The NSA is implementing a huge migration to custom-designed cloud architecture it says will revolutionize internal security and protect against further leaks by data analysts with unfettered access to classified information. Put simply, the NSA hopes to keep future Edward Snowdens out by employing a cloud file storage system it built from scratch. [...]

To the befuddlement of Euro critics, Russian inspectors have arrived in the UK to oversee a mass NATO training exercise taking place in Scotland. Despite current tensions between the West and Russia, the team from the Russian National Nuclear Threat Reduction Center is permitted to visit the country to observe military activities as part of a reciprocal agreement contained in the 2011 version o [...]

For the paranoia industry, the spectre of Vladimir Putin is the gift that keeps on giving. Theres rarely a situation these days in which many media elements won't invoke the Russian president's name. Shakespeare wasn’t exactly a horror writer, but the bard was rather fond of using ghosts as plot devices. Arguably the most famous is ‘King Hamlet,’ the eponymous hero’s late father. [...]

Easter should be a time of celebration for Christians, but for those of the faith living in the Middle East, there hasn't been too much to celebrate in recent years. "Kill the Christians" is the title of a new BBC documentary, to be broadcast this week. [...]

Four men who worked for the private military contracting firm formerly known as Blackwater are scheduled to be sentenced in federal court on Monday, more than seven years after they massacred Iraqi civilians in Nisour Square, Baghdad. A sentencing hearing for the four men – Nicholas Slatten, Dustin Heard, Evan Liberty and Paul Slough – was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET in Washington, DC [...]

The British Foreign Office, as well as the US Secretary of State, have thanked Moscow for the evacuation of their citizens from war-torn Yemen, as Russian planes and ships take hundreds of Russian and foreign nationals from the conflict zone. In a phone conversation with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, US Secretary of State John Kerry “expressed gratitude for assistance in evacuati [...]

As the Saudi-led airstrikes in Yemen continue and the fighting on the ground intensifies, US citizens stuck in Yemen have lashed out at Washington for ignoring their pleas for help as they try to leave the war-torn country. Aerial bombardment and street battles have become a daily reality for people in Yemen. “We hear a few bombings a day. It’s very scary right now,” Arwa Al-Iraine, a US [...]

Rogue investors who ignored the negative hype about Russia, are smiling from ear to ear after the ruble gained about 6 percent this week. The ruble surged 6 percent this past week, opening Monday at 56.55 and closing at 53.5 on the Moscow Exchange on Friday. In the last month alone, the ruble has appreciated by more than 20 percent. [...]

Austria, Spain and South Korea have been approved as founding members of the Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), the Chinese Finance Ministry announced Saturday. A founding member of the bank has the right to help write its rules and Saturday’s additions bring the number of prospective founders to 41. The exact number of founding members will be finalized on April 15. [...]

Crimean head Sergei Aksenov said that after the establishment of Crimea as a free trade zone, businessmen from a number of European Union member states and Israel have visited the republic and expressed their interest in investing in the region. [...]

Although some lawmakers, including Democrats, believe Congress should have a say in any potential removal of Iranian sanctions, most Americans say Congress should not keep a possible a nuclear deal from being implemented. Roughly 61 percent of Americans support the framework agreement struck between Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) earlier this month, according [...]

France's intelligence chief has questioned NATO's claims of Russia preparing to attack Ukraine as their agents failed to spot any activities signaling this - either before or after the crisis began. A statement by the chief of France’s military intelligence, General Christophe Gomart, was published on the National Assembly’s website. [...]

The presence of a radioactive, cancer-causing element has increased in parts of Pennsylvania where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been on the rise in recent years, according to a new study. Researchers with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said this week they’ve discovered a correlation between radon levels and fracking across the Keystone State. [...]

South Carolina state police have released dascham footage from officer Michael Slager’s car captured moments before he shot an unarmed black man named Walter Scott. The video shows Scott running away after being pulled over. Made public Thursday by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the footage does not reveal any details about the moment unarmed man Walter Scott was ki [...]

Ukrainian MPs have passed a law banning communist and national-socialist totalitarian regimes, and all their symbols. Another bill celebrates 20th-century nationalists accused of links to Nazi Germany, granting them social benefits. A new law equating communism to Nazism by banning both regimes was passed in the Ukrainian parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, on Thursday. [...]

California lawmakers took a step forward in protecting citizens who record or photograph the actions of police - but do not obstruct their duties - from reprisals by law enforcement, passing legislation out of committee. [...]

The chief of police for North Charleston, South Carolina, told reporters on Wednesday that he was "sickened" by video that surfaced this week of a local police officer fatally shooting an unarmed man eight times from behind. “I have watched the video and I was sickened by what I saw,” Chief Eddie Driggers said at a press conference on Wednesday. “And I have not watched it since.” [...]

The US may no longer be in control of the global economy, warned former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, urging Washington to regain dominance by honoring commitments and stopping its own hypocrisy. China’s establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Washington’s failure to stop its traditional allies from joining, was a development without precedent since the [...]

The Russian ruble has hit 55.3 to the dollar Monday, its highest value this year. The currency has become the best performer during the first three months of the year, after it finished 2014 as one of the biggest losers. The ruble gained above one percent against the US dollar, standing at 55.3 and at 60.8 to the euro at the closing on Moscow Exchange on Monday. [...]

Athens is currently trying to negotiate a new bailout deal with its Troika of creditors, but if that falls "Plan B" could reportedly involve getting rid of the euro and cutting off its banking system from the European Central Bank. [...]