To varying degrees, Angela Merkel has now managed to alienate the USA, Russia and the rest of Europe. Germany urgently needs to tackle negative perceptions of the country. Oscar Wilde was fond of citing the philosopher George Berkeley. Whether it was because he enjoyed his fellow Irishman’s writings or because Berkeley was a Trinity College Dublin grandee is moot. When I lived in Berlin, almo [...]

European aviation consortium Airbus said it would file criminal charges over industrial espionage, following reports that US and German foreign intelligence spied on the industry giant. "We are aware that as a large company in the sector, we are a target and subject of espionage," the company said in a statement to AFP on Thursday. [...]

As Royal Navy whistleblower William McNeilly remains in military custody for criticizing Trident nuclear safety procedures, an ex-Navy sailor who backs many of his allegations has spoken at length to RT. Euan Bryson, 25, served in Britain’s Royal Navy for 4 1/2 years as a communications and IT specialist. Among his leading roles were positions onboard the UK’s ex-Royal Navy flagships HMS Ar [...]

The most successful female presidential candidate in US history is making another White House bid. Dr. Jill Stein announced she would seek the Green Party nomination, joining sixteen other contenders in the 2016 presidential race so far. The third woman to join the campaign, Stein made the official announcement on Tuesday, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. [...]

By the end of next year, Washington plans to station about 150 tanks and armored vehicles in Europe, according to a US military commander, who said the decision was made before the Ukrainian crisis strained Russia-US relations. Although no official announcement has been made as to where the armored tanks and vehicles will be stationed, possible locations include Poland, Romania or the Baltic St [...]

Despite US policy banning federal officials from doing business with kidnappers, particularly terrorists, a government source told the Associated Press the FBI has for years negotiated and paid ransoms to kidnappers both domestically and internationally. The government source said the FBI used a secret exemption begun under the Bush Administration which allowed the bureau to use money to engage [...]

There is much the ancient world can still teach us, and one of the key lessons today is that mass migration - motivated by war, societal collapse, and poverty - is capable of destroying even the mightiest of empires. At the height of its power, the Roman Empire was so vast and omnipotent that it was run on the basis of the dictum: "Roma locuta est. Causa finita est" (Rome has spoken. The cause [...]

So the EU “defeated” Putin by forcing him to cancel the South Stream pipeline. Thus ruled Western corporate media.  Nonsense. Facts on the ground spell otherwise. This “Pipelineistan” gambit will continue to send massive geopolitical shock waves all [...]

Russia's Investigative Committee has confirmed the claims by a Ukrainian, who said he witnessed the deployment of a Ukrainian warplane armed with air-to-air missiles on the day the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down. [...]

From Ferguson, Missouri to the deserts of Afghanistan the specter of US aggression is fueling the flames of civil strife and military conflict around an increasingly volatile planet. Much of the problem may be connected to the breakdown of the American psyche. Before attempting to shed some light on America’s mental condition, let’s open with a pop quiz question: What is the top-selling pre [...]

As Yemen sinks further into the pyre of war, Saudi Arabia has used its billions to whitewash intolerable war crimes and human rights abuses against civilian populations. From cluster bombs to chemical attacks, is there an end to Al Saud's spiral? As Saudi Arabia continues to make the headlines, might it be the kingdom's alleged ambition to preside over the UN Human Rights Council coming in Janu [...]

Washington's refusal to declassify documents that could inform the UK probe into the 2003 invasion of Iraq is a major scandal in London. Yet the State Department spokesman says he has never heard of the Chilcot Inquiry. Convened in 2009, the British probe into the Iraq War was named after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot. [...]

Pope Francis wished courage and warmth for the world in his Christmas Eve mass homily, as God is stronger than "darkness and corruption." He also made a phone call to Iraqi refugees who fled ISIS violence, saying that they are "like Jesus" on this night. “Through the course of history, the light that shatters the darkness reveals to us that God is Father and that his patient fidelity is stron [...]

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that it will soon sign an agreement on flight safety over Syria with Pentagon after the sides agreed on all the necessary technical issues. "All technical matters have already been agreed upon, with Russian and US lawyers now cross checking the text of the document," Colonel-General Andrey Kartapolov told a media briefing on Friday. [...]

The election of Barack Obama in 2008 brought hope and optimism to Americans and non-Americans alike. But after one and a half terms, the reality is sinking in that for all the promised change, it’s the “same old, same old.” The big question is why, writes Australian Greg Maybury. For folks who were fans of the late, great comedian Bill Hicks, they likely will be familiar with one of his m [...]

Ukraine's anti-government CyberBerkut hacker group published documents allegedly showing Kiev's detailed demands for money from the US military, and Washington agreeing to giving them support. According to hacktivists, who made the documents public on Tuesday, the Ukrainian military have recently been asking for and being promised financial support from the United States, worth hundreds of thou [...]

The IMF moving away from supporting Greece while remaining eager to underwrite bankrupt Ukraine underlines the dramatic collapse in EU power. It’s probably because it rolls off the tongue more easily. The phrase ‘poker face,’ I mean. The serious exponents of the art of never giving away the slightest facial tic must surely be synchronized swimmers. [...]

The flow of immigrants to Europe stems from the Western states’ military interventions in Iraq, Libya and Syria, which have contributed to the emergence of terrorist groups in the Middle East, Czech President Milosh Zeman told local media. “The current wave of migration [to Europe] is rooted in the crazy [US] idea to launch an intervention in Iraq, which allegedly had weapons of mass destru [...]

It has been a year since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragically crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers on board. Probes into disaster have been sluggish and secretive, fueling speculation concerning who brought down the plane and why. The Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 left Amsterdam at 12:14 local time and was heading to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on [...]

As stock markets continue their slide into negative territory, economists debate whether the problems lie in monetary mismanagement by the US Federal Reserve or with China’s domestic concerns “exporting pain” to others via its yuan devaluation. Speaking to RT, economist Peter Schiff of Euro Pacific Capital Inc. said that there is a lot of “scapegoating” surrounding China and the yua [...]

The Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) is an enigma: most of what we know about it comes from the brutal media apparatus of the IS itself. It lets everyone see executions and war the terrorists are waging – but still, how does life go under jihadist rule? One man decided to find out for himself, spending 10 days in the ‘capital city’ of the IS and coming back alive. Today, investigative jo [...]

The Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization is gaining more weight with a dozen new nations showing interest in cooperation, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with foreign ministers of the bloc. “Other countries would like to strengthen their contacts with our organization. [...]