Kerry's trip to Sochi to meet FM Lavrov and President Putin demonstrates that the US is now aware that sanctions they imposed on Russia have failed and they are looking for a way out of the row, says Marcus Papadopoulos, editor of Politics First Magazine. In the past US Secretary of State John Kerry used harsh words to describe Russia's stance on Ukraine. How does he feel now meeting President [...]

A massive march took place in the streets of Kiev to protest against the policies of the current Ukrainian government, calling for its resignation and economic reforms. According to TASS news agency, up to 3,000 people took to the streets in Kiev on Saturday to protest against lack of reform and economic instability. [...]

Russia and China have signed a number of energy, trade and finance deals on Friday aimed at strengthening economic ties. The two countries have multiple mutual projects which "achieved a unity of views on a wide range of issues." Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have signed a decree on cooperation in tying the development of the Eurasian Economic Union with the "Si [...]

Since 1990, the people of Iraq have sustained some level of US military aggression by four successive US presidential administrations. Yet they failed to find WMDs much like they failed to preclude the rise of the Islamic State. The Obama administration, while channeling weapons to anti-government Syrian rebels, many with connections to terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, [...]

The international participation in Russia's Victory Day commemorations proves that the US policy of maximum political isolation for Moscow has failed, claims State Duma's Foreign Relations chief. “After the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory [in WWII] it has become evident that the policy of maximum political isolation of Russia is not yielding the expected results,” Aleksey Pushkov said [...]

The NSA has reportedly sought the help of Germany's intelligence agency in spying on Munich-based Siemens over the company's suspected business with Russian intelligence, Bild am Sonntag newspaper revealed. Siemens has denied any connection with Russia. The revelation came from an unknown US intelligence source speaking to Germany’s Bild am Sonntag, and is the latest report in a spy scandal i [...]

France and Germany seem to have a servile attitude towards the US and its foreign policy which has to do with their "anti-terrorism" collection capabilities. They felt they had not to upset the collection arrangements says former CIA officer Ray McGovern. The latest documents published by WikiLeaks suggest that America's snooping activities in France are far more extensive than previously thoug [...]

US President Barack Obama will urge EU leaders to keep sanctions in place against Russia at the G7 summit in Germany, US officials said. The US says it needs to "maintain the pressure" on Moscow. The G7 nations will meet in Bavaria, Germany for a two-day summit beginning Sunday. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the sanctions imposed on Russia will be on the agenda. [...]

Since the anti-war protests on Vietnam, the U.S. government has made “perception management” of the American people a high priority, feeding them a steady diet of propaganda about foreign crises, even getting “peace groups” to buy into “pro-democracy” wars, write Margaret Sarfehjooy and Coleen Rowley. “War is peace” double-speak has become commonplace these days. And, the more a [...]

The US and its allies should cooperate with Syrian President Bashar Assad in fighting Islamic State, “a common enemy” of the international community, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview on Sunday. “Our American partners and some countries in the region persistently refuse to recognize Assad as a partner, which is rather strange,” Lavrov said in an interview with [...]

The CIA's torture program had explicit guidelines on human experimentation from 1987, according to a report. But their regular practices, including participation of medical staff in torture sessions, may have violated those guidelines. A document obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and published on Monday by the Guardian reveals the Central Intelligence Agency was prohibited f [...]

Early video of Sanders gives nice background on his political beliefs. As Independent Senator Bernie Sanders ramps up his campaign for the presidency, his focus has been on issues like economic inequality, the corrupting influence of money in [...]

Three Dutch media companies have filed a joint lawsuit against the country’s Security and Justice Ministry, demanding that it disclose more documents relating to the MH17 catastrophe investigation after the ministry’s refusal to release the information. The Netherlands Broadcasting Foundation (NOS); the Dutch subsidiary of the European TV, radio and production company RTL Group; and the Dut [...]

Vladimir Putin lashed out at the United States and the West for destabilizing the world order of checks and balances for its own gains. He also accused the West of inflaming the situation in Ukraine and said Russia is not interested in building an empire. The Russian President delivered a fierce broadside aimed at the United States in a speech for the Valdai Club in Sochi, which is an informal [...]

One need do nothing more than take a look around to see that the situation in the world is dire. A dire situation, however, does not mean there is no possibility of change; a dire situation means that the timing is ripe for change. Exactly the transformational change that is the subject for contemplation today. [...]

Sukhoi PAK-FA fifth-generation fighter jet is finalizing tests of its versatile arsenal before deployment next year. Russia's Air Force chief says there will be no such target on the scene of operations that the fighter would not be able to engage. When compared to American F-22 or F-35 5G fighter jets, Sukhoi PAK-FA (T-50) is going to “outperform them in all technical aspects,” the command [...]

Amnesty International has slammed Saudi Arabia in a report for its flagrant use of the death penalty, which has seen 175 people executed in the space of 12 months, while adding that a number of crimes did not warrant the use of capital punishment. The report entitled ‘Killing in the Name of Justice: The Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia’ stated that between August 2014 and June 2015, at least [...]

Ukraine's GDP shrank by 7.5 percent from January till November 2014, as foreign exchange reserves fell to their lowest level since 2009, and inflation jumped to 21 percent by November, admits the head of the Ukraine's National Bank, Valeriya Gontareva. The country’s foreign exchange reserves shrank to $9.9 billion, as Kiev gave Naftogaz an estimated $8.6 billion to buy gas and settle state gu [...]

The EU is resisting calls from hotheads to supply arms to Ukraine, saying it won’t be pulled into a confrontation with Russia. Europeans cite the progress in implementing a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine between Kiev and local rebels. The idea of providing lethal aid to Kiev is popular among many NATO officials and American politicians. [...]

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. [...]

An official bid for Palestinian statehood has been submitted to the UN Security Council, a diplomatic source told RT on Tuesday. Earlier, the chief Palestinian negotiator there said a vote was expected by Dec. 31. “A bid for Palestinian statehood has been submitted to the UN Security Council,” a diplomatic source told RT on Tuesday. The source did not elaborate further. [...]

Results from two new polls found the majority of Americans support making cannabis legal, with the large majority of young adults crossing party lines and states to support the idea. Nationally, 53 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. [...]