The United States and Europe last week announced the imposition of stronger sanctions against Russia in response to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. German industry may be among the losers. It wasn't that long ago that Kremlin officials could hardly avoid laughing when asked about the economic sanctions imposed on Russia by the West. As long as every NATO member state jealously sought to protect [...]

After 20 years living in Switzerland, Scott Schmith renounced his American citizenship, to escape the obligation to report his income and assets to the US government. “I have nothing to hide. But I don’t want to be punished because I chose to live outside the United States,” said the new Swiss passport holder, a photographer who lives near Zurich. [...]

Russian-made firearms are reportedly flying off the shelves of American gun stores after the United States Treasury Department announced sanctions last week against the maker of the popular AK-47 rifle. Kalashnikov Concern, the company responsible for the eponymous gas-operated 7.62 caliber assault rifle known largely around the world as the AK-47, is among the latest Russian-owned entities to [...]

The United States military'€™s top commander said during a security summit this week that the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine has prompted the Pentagon to revisit old contingency plans unused since the days of the Cold War. [...]

The White House is tracking visitors to its website, despite proudly promising that WhiteHouse.gov complies with federal privacy laws and does not use cookies. The AddThis tracker is present on every page on the site, according to EFF. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) studied the White House site for the new type of online tracking system after a new report by ProPublica found that the [...]

Russia has so far been the only nation to release evidence related to the MH17 crash, the Defense Ministry said, urging other countries to follow suit. Though there have been a lot of claims of Russia's involvement, none have been backed by proof. The US claims its intelligence data and satellite imagery confirm that the missile which downed MH17 was fired from rebel-controlled territory. So fa [...]

A never-before-published document released by The Intercept on Wednesday reveals the flexibility with which United States officials may place individuals on watchlists and deem them terrorists without obtaining concrete proof. [...]

Officials in Berlin were long in denial that their closest allies were spying on Germany. Now, ministries are undertaking measures to improve security and counterintelligence. They're anticipating frosty relations with the US for some time to come. [...]

Unnamed US officials are telling Associated Press that their intelligence suggests Malaysia plane shot down by separatist, no link to Russia found. Officials believe that the passenger aircraft was intercepted by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile, which was fired by Ukrainian militia members. One official said the likeliest explanation was the aircraft was shot down in error, an assertion that se [...]

The Russian military detected a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet gaining height towards the MH17 Boeing on the day of the catastrophe. Kiev must explain why the military jet was tracking the passenger airplane, the Russian Defense Ministry said. [...]

Here's the spin war verdict: the current Malaysian Airlines tragedy "the second in four months" is "terrorism" perpetrated by "pro-Russian separatists" armed by Russia and Putin is the main culprit. End of story. Anyone who believes otherwise, shut up. Why? Because the CIA said so. Because Hillary ‘We came, we saw, he died’ Clinton said so. [...]

Criminal prosecution is likely to be expanded on Americans involved in recruiting and supervising activities of German officials spying for the US intelligence, Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Welt am Sonntag. If investigators find a body of evidence that alleged double agents in Germany’s federal intelligence service and Defense Ministry have been spying to the benefit of American in [...]

Referring to the tragic downing of a Malaysian Airlines plane over eastern Ukraine, former Texas congressman Ron Paul warned against jumping to conclusions over the culprits. Drawing parallels between the potential for a Russian-made missile system’s connection to the attack of the passenger jet on Thursday over the restive Donetsk region of Ukraine and the capture of US-made weapons by Islamist [...]

Plotting to stage downing of an airliner & start a war is insane, except when 'Murica does it! Who in their right mind would risk provoking a war by staging the shoot down of an airliner? If you guessed Russia, then guess again. In 2005, a memo was leaked from a January 2003 meeting between President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair during which Bush, “considered provokin [...]

Revelations of the National Security Agency's global spy program, together with civil strife in Ukraine has severely damaged Barack Obama's popularity among Brazilians, Germans and Russians, a major US polling agency reported. Thanks to a series of global scandals, the United States in general, and its commander-in-chief in particular, [...]

The Association of European Businesses (AEB), a Moscow-based business lobby, said that new US sanctions against Russia have a more severe effect on European than on American business. The AEB says it “regrets” the US sanctions, and warns that they will stunt economic growth “not only in Russia”. [...]

Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, talks exclusively to Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian, and reporter Ewen MacAskill in Moscow. The 31-year-old former intelligence analyst discusses whether he is a Russian spy, his likely fate if he returns to the US and the relevance of George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four in the age of Google. [...]

Russia considers the latest package of sanctions against it issued by the US as revenge for the failure of Washington's schemes in Ukraine and blackmail. Moscow reserves the right to retaliate. [...]

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights believes the world owes a "great dea" to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, saying he should not face trial for his revelations of sweeping state surveillance as they have served the public interest. “Those who disclose human rights violations should be protected: we need them,” Commissioner Navi Pillay told reporters on Wednesday. [...]

A live interview with former Vice-President Dick Cheney and his family was marred by protesters accusing him of war crimes and torture. One protester tried to "arrest" the politician, but was taken away, as live video of the event went black. Cheney made a rare appearance, together with his wife Lynne and daughter Liz, on Monday to be interviewed by Politico's Mike Allen in Washington. [...]

President Barack Obama delivered a statement on the crisis in Ukraine Wednesday, announcing that the U.S. would impose new sanctions against Russia. Obama said the U.S. would level "significant but targeted" sanctions due to Russia's failure to deescalate in Ukraine.   [...]

A Navy nurse is making waves for refusing to force-feed inmates participating in hunger strikes at the prison complex in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The unidentified nurse – described by one inmate as a 40-year-old Latino – is believed to be the first conscientious objector to Guantanamo’s controversial tube feeding policy. [...]