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. [...]

Since 3 October the Russian Embassy in the UK has been waiting for a positive response from the Financial Times on publishing a letter from Ambassador Yakovenko's as part of the debate on Ukraine. We have only heard that it is under consideration. So, we have decided to publish the text of this letter on our website for the British public to see for themselves that there is nothing subversive, [...]

Russia will make financial claims to France if the first of two Mistral helicopter carriers is not delivered by the end of November, an anonymous high-ranking source told RIA Novosti, adding that the sum of the forfeit will be revealed. "We are preparing for different scenarios. We are waiting until the end of the month [the fulfillment of Mistral deal], then we will make serious claims," the s [...]

The chief of police for North Charleston, South Carolina, told reporters on Wednesday that he was "sickened" by video that surfaced this week of a local police officer fatally shooting an unarmed man eight times from behind. “I have watched the video and I was sickened by what I saw,” Chief Eddie Driggers said at a press conference on Wednesday. “And I have not watched it since.” [...]

International Monetary Fund representatives have cut short negotiations with Greek officials in Brussels, after they failed to present a viable reform plan. The move has left Athens, due to repay €1.6 billion by the end June, on the edge of default. “The ball is very much in Greece’s court,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told the media during a specially scheduled announcement, before his te [...]

China's central bank has put the Russian ruble into circulation in Suifenhe City, Heilongjiang Province, launching a pilot two-currency (ruble and yuan) program. The ruble is being introduced in the place of US dollar. The announcement was made on Saturday by Jin Mei, deputy secretary for monetary policy at the opening ceremony of a trade exposition in Suifenhe, reported state-run Xinhua news a [...]

China's foreign minister has pledged support to Russia as it faces an economic downturn due to sanctions and a drop in oil prices. Boosting trade in yuan is a solution proposed by Beijing's commerce minister. “Russia has the capability and the wisdom to overcome the existing hardship in the economic situation," Foreign Minister Wang Yi told journalists, China Daily reported Monday. [...]

Glenn Greenwald, a US journalist who published the first reports on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, says allegations in the British press that Russian and Chinese spies accessed Snowden's documents are lies aimed at smearing the whistleblower. Greenwald, writing in the Intercept, said that reports by the BBC and the Sunday Times that claimed Chinese and Russian intelligence services had acc [...]

The recovery team looking for the crash site of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 has found a large dark object lying on the seabed that is presumed to be the plane's fuselage. The object was found in the Sea of Java off the coast of Borneo “about 30 to 50 meters under water,” confirmed Mochamad Hernanto, an Indonesian official with the National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS). [...]

On the eve of Easter Sunday, people took to the streets of Germany in support of world peace and denouncing militarization, the arms trade and NATO's role in conflicts around the globe. The main pacifist demonstration took place in center of Berlin on Saturday, where police estimated that over 1,000 people participated. Representing some 40 different organizations, activists united under the sl [...]

The Asia-Pacific region has overtaken Europe in terms of global wealth management for the first time, becoming the world's second wealthiest region with $47 trillion says a report released by BCG. It's on the way to overtaking North America next year. In 2019 private wealth in the countries in the Asia-Pacific area is expected to account for one-third of global wealth, according to the report p [...]

At least 11 people have been killed and 40 others have been injured in Donetsk, where a school and a bus stop came under fire - reportedly from Ukrainian Army positions. Two people are reported to have died at the school, and nine at the bus stop, according to Donetsk People Republic's Depity Prime Minister Andrey Purgin. [...]

US Vice-President Joe Biden has accused America's key allies in the Middle East of allowing the rise of the Islamic State (IS), saying they supported extremists with money and weapons in their eagerness to oust the Assad regime in Syria. America’s “biggest problem” in Syria is its regional allies, Biden told students at the John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum at the Institute of Politics at Harvard [...]

Police departments across California spent more than $45 million on surveillance equipment over the course of a decade with little to no legislative or public oversight - and without the public's knowledge, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU report, titled 'Making Smart Decisions about Surveillance: A Guide for Communities,' reveals how California law enforcement took adv [...]

Among the six European states participating in the poll questioning EU membership, the British appeared most certain of all that they want to leave the union with only 37 percent against breaking ties. The French OpinionWay poll showed that 42 percent of British respondents want to leave the EU, while 37 percent are for staying in the union and the rest 21 percent are not sure of the answer, Le [...]

Ukrainian National Guard troops are protesting outside the presidential administration office in Kiev as they demand demobilization. They are refusing to return to their barracks outside the capital. About 200 soldiers have surrounded the building claiming they have served six months longer than their contracts stipulated. [...]

Ron Paul, America's most outspoken libertarian and anti-mainstream politician, has slammed US military strikes in Syria and Iraq. Not known for mincing his words or flip-flopping, Paul told RT’s Abby Martin that President Obama’s decision to use military force in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State [IS], without approval from the UN or the US Congress, was “immoral and illegal” und [...]

Vladimir Putin placed the onus on Petro Poroshenko's government to follow through on the Minsk agreements to resolve the Ukrainian conflict in comments made at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Moscow. “The success of the peace initiative depends on those who hold the reins of power.   [...]

Just over a year ago, thousands of Ukrainians took to Kiev's main square, angry at oligarchs and corruption. But instead of "Europe" and prosperity, they got a coup, more oligarchy, and war. During the three-month “people power” spectacle in Kiev's Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) that began on November 21, 2013, one of the protesters' favorite chants was “Who doesn't jump is a [...]

MasterCard and Visa have suspended service for Russian banks in Crimea, saying the decision complies with US sanctions. "According to the US sanctions imposed against Crimea on December 19, 2014, Visa currently cannot provide services and offer their products in the Crimea. This means that we can no longer issue or accept bank cards in Crimea, and service them in ATMs," the company has confirme [...]

It's unlikely that Snowden will ever be removed from the US wanted list, as he told the truth about the "bastion of freedom" that lectures other states while spying on its own citizens, said Matteo Bergamini, director of Shout Out UK. It’s been two years since the publications of the NSA documents by Edward Snowden. What is the biggest achievement that came out of the revelations? [...]

A summit of all EU leaders scheduled for Sunday has been cancelled with eurozone leaders only meeting to "conclude talks on Greece" On Saturday, a meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers was adjourned without reaching any conclusion. Early on Sunday, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, tweeted that the eurozone leaders’ meeting will start at 14:00 GMT. [...]