Forty-nine Ukrainian troops were killed when their military Il-76 transport jet was taken down by local militia forces just before it started its descent toward Lugansk Airport. Some military hardware and supplies were lost as well. [...]

At least one Ukrainian armored vehicle crossed the Russian border with Ukraine Friday overnight and stopped in the Rostov Region, according to Russia'€™s Security Service. The military abandoned the vehicle and returned to Ukraine. [...]

US federal authorities have been increasingly involved with local police departments and criminal trials in an attempt to keep details of vast domestic surveillance policies under wraps, according to a new report from the Associated Press. [...]

A total of 13 aircraft suddenly vanished off radars for about 25 minutes on two occasions over Austria and neighboring countries, Austria's flight safety monitor said, calling for an EU probe into the "€œunprecedented" incidents. The flights vanished from air traffic controllers’ screens in Austria on June 5 and June 10 for 25 minutes each time, Marcus Pohanka of Austro Control – Austria’s [...]

Brazilian police have used teargas and stun grenades in San Paolo clashing with about 200 protesters angry with the govt overspending on the 2014 FIFA World Cup. This occurred hours before the tournament'€™s opening game to be held in the city. [...]

A spokesperson for the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) confirmed this week that a fleet of Russian bombers set off alarms in the United States after coming within 50 miles of California'€™s Pacific coast. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a spokesman for NORAD, told Washington Free Beacon reporter Bill Gertz that a pair of Tu-95 Bear H aircraft maintained by Russia came close to US airspac [...]

Vice President Joe Biden undoubtedly ruffled some feathers in Germany on Tuesday when he suggested the country was "€œxenophobic"€ and much less accommodating to immigrants compared to the United States. Speaking at an event held by the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, DC, Biden gave a speech in which he described three things the United States needs to do to “keep our e [...]

Gazprom will not postpone Ukraine’s gas payment deadline set for Monday, CEO Aleksey Miller said. If Kiev fails to pay and therefore causes gas transit problems to Europe, Russia will pump more through the Nord Stream and Yamal-Europe pipelines. [...]

Residents of Slavyansk and its suburbs were awoken overnight on Thursday by what they say were incendiary bombs that were dropped on their city by Kiev'€™s military. Witnesses and local media reports suggested that the bombs might be phosphorous. [...]

In a scenario that could’ve been extremely devastating, the United States narrowly averted a nuclear disaster in 1961 when an atomic bomb nearly detonated after falling out of a B-52 bomber that broke up in the sky. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine on Wednesday of forcing gas talks into a "dead end" by rejecting a price cut offer made amid a row threatening supplies to the rest of Europe. As Kiev demanded contract changes to lower the highest prices in Europe for Russian gas supplies, Moscow also dug in its heels, suggesting its proposed price cut of about one-fifth to around $385 per 1,000 cu [...]

Heavily-armed, Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants have seized the Iraqi city of Mosul, driving back government forces. Officials say the Iraqi Army'€™s soldiers are demoralized and are no match for the attacking militant forces. “The city of Mosul is outside the control of the state and at the mercy of the militants,” an Interior Ministry official told AFP on Monday. [...]

The Baltic Sea and skies are getting crowded as Russia launches military training of its assault forces in the exclave of Kaliningrad in answer to the double war-games being conducted by joint NATO forces on the territory of the three Baltic States. NATO’s decision to conduct dual war games next to Russian borders in the Baltic has not been left unaddressed by Russia’s Defense Ministry, [...]

Despite President Poroshenko intention to bring about a ceasefire, Kiev’s relentless military operation in the country's east is intensifying. Slavyansk has become one of the main targets of artillery attacks, amateur videos filmed in the area show. [...]

The US Air Force has sent more of its bombers to Europe, deploying two B-2 stealth aircraft as part of a military exercise. On Sunday they joined three B-52 StratoFortress bombers already deployed in Britain. “This deployment of strategic bombers provides an invaluable opportunity to strengthen and improve interoperability with our allies and partners,” said Adm. Cecil Haney, commander, US Str [...]

A major military exercise kicked off in Latvia, with 10 NATO member countries participating. The war games involve 4,700 troops and 800 military vehicles. Russia sees NATO's military build-up as a sign of aggression. The Saber Strike ground forces exercise is being conducted for the fourth time this year and coincides with Baltic Host 2014 and Baltops 2014 naval drills. [...]

Ukraine has chosen a new president. How is he going to deal with his country's dire problems? Is it possible to achieve the promised peace when he immediately refuses to compromise? How much latitude does President Petro Poroshenko have in his government at all? Peter Lavelle hosts CrossTalking, with Vladimir Suchan, Daniel Welch and Mark Sleboda. [...]

Elections to the European Parliament have brought groundbreaking changes in the structure of EU'€™s most powerful body: right wing parties along with Eurosceptics, an outsiders just a few years ago, have now taken the political scene. [...]

The recent presidential polls in Egypt proved once again that the West interprets similar events in the way they correspond to the US and EU interests, calling "€˜legitimate"€™ elections which have nothing in common with real democratic choice. On June 3 Egypt got official results of the presidential elections which took place on May 26-28. [...]

The world’s second-largest mobile phone company has broken its silence over its cooperation with government agencies and their efforts to eavesdrop on unsuspecting customers, but what it fails to mention speaks the loudest. [...]

Germany’s Foreign Intelligence Agency (BND), in an effort to come clean in these compromised post-Snowden times, has revealed that a number of mysterious facilities dotting Germany are in fact used as spy stations. [...]

Billionaire Petro Poroshenko has been sworn in as Ukraine'€™s new president at a ceremony in Kiev. He won the emergency election in the first round on a promise of change as the country faces a massive political and economic crisis. Poroshenko gave his presidential oath on Saturday at an event attended by delegations from 56 countries. [...]