Never has a leader so catastrophically misjudged the character of an enemy as Hitler misjudged the Soviet Union and its people prior to launching his invasion of the country on June 22, 1941. Hitler and other top Nazis were convinced that the Soviet Union would crumble under the weight of the largest military operation ever mounted, codenamed Operation Barbarossa. [...]

In between Russia's military intervention in Syria and Iran's challenging of Saudi Arabia's hegemonic power in the Middle East, the region is witnessing unprecedented political frictions. Those growing pains will ultimately see manifest a new order - which one remains to be determined.   [...]

Finland has struck a blow for genuine exceptionalism in Europe. Anti-NATO parties dominated polls while Euroskeptic cred was championed not only by the longstanding anti-EU party, but also, uniquely within the eurozone, by the Social Democratic party. Depending on your perspective, Finland may conjure recollections anywhere from Sibelius’ exquisitely lyrical Karelia Suite to the speedy monosy [...]

The Obama administration appears to be spinning the Ukraine crisis out of control and doing serious damage to trans-Atlantic relations all at once. Tensions between Europe and the U.S. over how to address the year-old crisis in Ukraine have simmered just out of sight since the elected president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last February 22. [...]

Warsaw has paid €230,000 to two former inmates of CIA "black site" prisons, which used to be on Poland's territory - a move that has raised questions in the country. "Poland has fulfilled the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights," Deputy Foreign Minister Rafał Trzaskowski said on Thursday, RIA Novosti reports. [...]

A man claiming to be a Ukrainian major general and former assistant to the country's defense minister has announced he is now working with the forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. "I am Ukrainian Armed Forces Major General Aleksandr Kolomiyets. [...]

Take a look at what it takes to perform aerobatics with awesome Russian pilot Svetlana Kapanina, the Pilot of the Century and most honored aeronaut ever. Cockpit cam footage was taken during her flight in Sochi, on Extra 330LC RA-1568. The video shows the Black Sea coastline and Sochi Winter Olympics infrastructure, such as the stadiums and the Olympic village. [...]

Udo Ulfkotte, a former editor of Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, one of the largest newspapers in Germany, admits he worked for the CIA. “I’ve been a journalist for about 25 years, and I’ve been educated to lie, to betray, and not to tell the truth to the public,” Ulfkotte told Russia Today. “I was supported by the Central Intelligence Agency, the CIA. Why? Because I am pro-American.� [...]

Although Russian President Putin has worked to form a strong and lasting partnership with Washington - in fields as diverse as fighting terrorism and exploring outer space - the spirit of goodwill and bilateral relations has not been reciprocated. [...]

A new audit by the US Department of Defense has reportedly revealed that Pentagon employees have been using their government credit cards to gamble and pay for other adult activities, including escort services. The 'Government Travel Charge Transactions' audit, conducted by the Office of the Inspector General, found that civilian and military employees have been using their cards at casinos and [...]

The Catholic Church has signed its first treaty with Palestine, making official its de facto recognition of the state. Israel reiterated that it regretted the decision. The treaty first announced in May concerns the activities of the Church in areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority. [...]

As cash withdrawals from Greek banks reach €100 million a day the country’s banking system will end up bankrupt on Monday if no deal with creditors is reached over the weekend, some senior bank executives told the Financial Times (FT) on Friday. Cash withdrawals are at a high rate despite capital controls imposed by the Greek government. [...]

MEPs have defeated a European Commission proposal to prevent member states from banning genetically modified crops on health and/or environmental grounds. [...]

The National Security Agency's infamous XKEYSCORE program, revealed by leaker Edward Snowden, makes searching the world's private communications as easy to use as Google, according to training documents published by the Intercept. XKEYSCORE was one of the first programs that the Guardian wrote about when Snowden began leaking NSA documents in 2013. [...]

Ukraine ceased to function as a state once diverse power forces - oligarchs, political and criminal groups - in Kiev and beyond took control of the various regions, Bruno Drweski of the National Institute of Languages and Eastern Civilizations told RT. Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolay Azarov is seeking to create an alternative government in exile to “help Ukraine out of its problems.� [...]

A petition calling on the UK government to arrest Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza when he arrives in London has garnered more than 80,000 signatures. But David Cameron's government says no way: Netanyahu has diplomatic immunity. The petition, posted on the UK government’s website, has already been signed by some 81,000 Brits. [...]

Along with many other censored researchers. “If I had the choice, I certainly wouldn’t eat it,” said scientist Arpad Pustazai in an interview conducted after his study of GMOs. Have you heard his name before? Likely not, since biotech made an example of him in 1998, launching an attack against any scientist that exposed just how toxic GM crops truly are. What did Pustazai find when he co [...]

Mikhail Gorbachev has said that western government officials who refused to attend the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow were showing disrespect to nations that had defeated Nazism and to all the people who perished in this fight. Ignoring the opportunity to demonstrate one’s attitude towards the war against Nazism is also disrespectful to the boundless courage shown by all people who fought [...]

Ukraine's government has submitted to parliament a bill allowing the introduction of a moratorium on foreign debt payments. This is to protect state assets in case of an "attack" from dishonest lenders, and to help the ailing economy out of crisis. "To protect the interests of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian government today has introduced to the Rada a bill that would give the government t [...]

Two police officers who shot and killed 17-year-old Jessica Hernandez in January, were "legally justified," Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey found. There will be no criminal charges in the case, ruled a defensive shooting. Hernandez was killed on January 26, while attempting to drive away from an alley in a green Honda Civic that was reported stolen the night before. [...]

Europe could not host all refugees, the Dalai Lama has said, adding that the real solution to the current refugee crisis lies in the Middle East. The Tibetan Buddhist leader has called for the ending violence in the refugees’ home countries. The Dalai Lama addressed the issue of the ongoing refugee crisis in his speech at the opening of the Dalai Lama Centre for Compassion in Oxford, which is [...]

Doing away with the US dollar and switching to ruble and yuan payments will significantly increase Russia and China's say in energy and financial markets, Vladimir Putin has said, adding that the first deals are already underway. In short the President said the US dollar has no future, and that the ruble and the yuan have better long-term prospects. [...]