The critical "€œHeartbleed"€ bug reported earlier this week to have affected the security of most of the internet was discovered by researchers at the United States National Security Agency two years earlier, according to a new report. On Friday afternoon, Bloomberg News journalist Michael Riley reported that the NSA knew about the monstrous flaw for at least two years ahead of this week’s [...]

Europe should switch from promises to real action to help Ukraine out of the economic chaos, says Russia'€™s President Putin. “What’s the problem for the near future? It’s that Russia can’t bear the brunt [of helping Ukraine] in a one-way fashion,” Vladimir Putin told the Security Council meeting on Friday. [...]

President Vladimir Putin says it was "€œstrange"€ to learn of the US reaction on a Russian letter to the leaders of EU'€™s top gas-consuming nations, as it was in no way designed for Washington'€™s eyes. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki has accused Russia of reneging on an agreement that offered reduced gas prices to Kiev and using “energy as a tool of coercion against Ukraine. [...]

A new bill introduced in Congress looks to ban states from implementing their own labeling laws when it comes to food containing genetically engineered ingredients. According to Reuters, US Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) introduced the legislation on Wednesday, which is intended to head off bills in about 24 states that would require companies to inform customers when their food is produced using genet [...]

The United States Air Force commander in charge of the NATO alliance'€™s military presence in Europe said on Wednesday this week that US troops may soon be deployed to the region as tensions continue to worsen near the border between Ukraine and Russia. In an interview with the Associated Press, US Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove said that forthcoming plans intended to ensure stability in Europe [...]

Russia says it will not reconsider its principles and foreign policy after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) passed a resolution that puts all the blame for the Ukrainian crisis on Moscow. The newly-adopted resolution “does not mean that Russia will rush to reconsider its foreign policy and principles,” MP Aleksey Pushkov, the head of the Russian delegation to PACE, to [...]

The United States National Security Agency was well aware that Edward Snowden was troubled by the spy office’s activities, the intelligence contractor-turned-leaker tells Vanity Fair, and that evidence exists to confirm that claim. Ahead of a 20,000-word article on the former NSA analyst expected to be published later this week, [...]

In an interview, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière, 60, warns that American spying has become "boundless" and expresses sorrow that approval ratings for the United States have plummeted in Germany. The following is an excerpt from a longer interview conducted with German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière. [...]

According to a new report, more than $2 trillion worth of profit generated by some of the biggest United States-baseds corporation is being held overseas where it's not subject to US income tax law. The report — published earlier this month by the Audit Analytics online intelligence service — has even this week managed to capture the attention of the head of the US Senate’s Finance Committee [...]

Being the head of state in Germany should bring undoubted benefits and influence. However, it wasn't enough for Angela Merkel, whose request to see her secret service file, compiled by the US National Security Agency, was denied. The request by Germany’s Interior Ministry to the NSA was made six months ago, after the American security organization had compiled over 300 reports on the chancellor, [...]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has slammed the West for "€œaggravating internal differences"€ in Ukraine. His ministry says Kiev should stop "€œblaming Moscow for all of your problems." Writing in the UK’s Guardian newspaper, the Russian official said that Western powers “have been trying to compel Ukraine to make a painful choice between east and west, further aggravating inter [...]

Sergei Lavrov: The west has been needlessly whipping up tension - if we don't co-operate soon, chaos may take hold, The profound and pervasive crisis in Ukraine is a matter of grave concern for Russia. [...]

Russia's barrage of sarcastic comments to the Obama administration, which is seeking to impose sanctions to change Moscow'€™s stance on Ukraine, has been enriched with a piece of advice to relax and look for inner tranquility. The comments came from Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, who was speaking with Interfax news agency about the worst period of tension between Russia and the US over [...]

Serious issues regarding constitutional law rose to the surface on Friday as a US federal judge dismissed a court case against the US government by families of three Americans killed in US drone strikes in Yemen. [...]

At least 1,000 protesters have gathered in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the industrial capital of the region, demanding that authorities respect their right for self-determination by allowing them to stage a Crimea-style referendum. [...]

US officials on Friday slammed plans to construct an EU-centric communication system, designed to prevent emails and phone calls from being swept up by the NSA, warning that such a move is a violation of trade laws. Calling Europe’s proposal to build its own integrated communication system “draconian,” the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said American tech companies, which are w [...]

A Senate report found that CIA officials lied to the government and public about its post-9/11 torture program, most notably by distorting intelligence gleaned from traditional interrogations as that attained by far more brutal methods. [...]

The United States government is investing tens of millions of dollars each year on offensive hacking operations in order to exploit vulnerabilities in the computers of its adversaries, Reuters reports. According to an in-depth article published Friday by journalist Joseph Menn, the US and its Department of Defense contractors are increasingly pursuing efforts to hack the computers of foreign compe [...]

The United States has suspended contact between NASA and its Russian counterpart over the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Only ongoing International Space Station cooperation will continue through the freeze in relations. NASA associate administrator Michael O’Brien said in a memo sent Wednesday that all missions with Russia’s Roscosmos are on hold indefinitely, UPI reports. [...]

US and European sanctions against Russia are designed to "€œpunish'€ its actions in Crimea. However, instead of forcing Russia into economic and political submission, the sanctions will spur the country to greater political and economic independence. [...]

Imperial soldiers cannot be judged. In Italy it'€™s almost impossible. In the last 15 months, the Italian Judiciary have asked to proceed against 113 American soldiers for various crimes, but the Italian minister of justice denied authorization in 91 cases. t works like this: when the US Army wants to judge a soldier in the USA who committed a crime in Italy, they have to ask the relevant Italia [...]

Following Congress'€™ decision to approve a $1 billion aid package to Ukraine last week, former libertarian Congressman Ron Paul has published an op-ed strongly criticizing it as a bad deal for both American taxpayers and Ukrainian citizens. In the column, published by Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, the iconic libertarian said the bill effectively puts the International Monetary Fu [...]