Around 50 vessels from 17 countries, involving overall 5,600 troops, will be taking part in US-led exercise BALTOPS in the Baltic Sea starting June 5. In 15 days, NATO allies will show their eagerness and ability to protect the region. Featuring anti-submarine warfare, air defense, interception of suspect vessels and amphibious landings, the annual BALTOPS will run through June 20. [...]

The US and its Western allies are well aware of all the ceasefire violations in eastern Ukraine but, deliberately turn a blind eye to Kiev's actions, hackers said after obtaining the emails of top Ukrainian official overseeing the truce. The anti-Kiev hacktivist group, CyberBerkut, claims to have hacked the emails of Major-General Andrey Taran, Chief of the Joint Centre for Ceasefire Control an [...]

The US 6th Fleet has made public a video which is described as showing the Russian jet interaction with the USS Ross warship in the Black Sea on May 30. The video was shot aboard the sea vessel. “[USS] Ross continued on her mission after observing the aircraft return to base. [...]

Kiev will nationalize Russian overseas property as compensation for the losses over Crimea's reunification with Russia, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Justice Natalia Sevostyanova said. The decision is now up to the European Court of Human Rights. Ukraine will be able to use this effective instrument if the European Court of Human Rights rules in favor of Kiev, Sevostyanova told “Channel 5,” [...]

The United States Senate on Tuesday will decide which direction to go next with regard to the USA Freedom Act, the supposed surveillance reform bill that already has passed the House and been endorsed by the president. According to its backers, passage of the Freedom Act would ensure that critical counterterrorism tools remain at the disposal of federal investigators but also rein in the Nation [...]

The Russian military has put together nearly 100 units and organizations in the Crimea last year as part of the program of deploying a self-sufficient group of forces at the peninsula, Sergey Shoigu, Russia's Defense minister, said. "In accordance with the presidential order, we were instructed to deploy a self-sufficient combined group of forces in the Crimean Peninsula capable of effectively [...]

Over 1400 individuals are under investigation by British police as part of an inquiry into a historic VIP sex abuse network believed to include celebrities and politicians. Information released by Operation Hydrant, the group of police officers tackling the alleged ring, said that the 1,433 suspected offenders included 76 politicians, 43 musicians, and 135 from film, television and radio. [...]

Russia will appeal to the International Court of Justice if Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signs a moratorium on the payment of Ukraine's external debt into law and fails to pay its debt to Russia, said Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov. Siluanov said Ukraine was virtually defaulting on its debt, adding that Russia doesn’t yet have grounds to lodge any claims. [...]

Tokyo has signaled it would like Vladimir Putin to finally resolve a territorial dispute and sign a peace treaty 70 years after the end of World War II. The Kremlin said it would welcome dialogue. Moscow is willing to restart peaceful dialogue with Tokyo to finally sign a WWII peace treaty, but Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said that claiming sovereignty over Kuril Islands makes Japan the only count [...]

Let's consider for a moment what the response would be from Washington if Russia announced the start of international war games near American borders. Impossible you say? Yet that is almost exactly what the Pentagon has announced near Russia. “The Russian Ministry of Defense has announced that over 350 Russian soldiers and 80 armored vehicles with Air Force cover will begin a 300-mile march a [...]

The death of Sergeant James Brown in a Texas jail was an outrageous "torture operation," author and US Army veteran Rory Fanning told RT. But the odds that police officers involved get indicted are very low, unless there are massive protests, he added. A video obtained by KFOX14 has revealed aggressive force being used by officers during Brown’s time in custody in 2012. [...]

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 euro fell to a two-week low on Wednesday following a Greek government warning that it will miss the June 5 IMF payment deadline without a deal with the Troika by then. The single currency traded at $1.1115, down 0.4 percent at 11:36am MSK on Wednesday. It declined 0.71630 against the British pound and 134.34 against the Japanese yen. [...]

Victoria Nuland arrived in Moscow last weekend and declared that Ukraine's government doesn't intend to resume the civil war. Either Nuland was being mendacious or President Poroshenko is on a dangerous solo-run. It’s all gone Lethal Weapon. Not in the sense of munitions, although some of those are definitely in play, but rather the movie series. [...]

Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev has revoked a decree that allowed delivery of NATO military equipment to Afghanistan through Russian territory. According to the official document, signed by Medvedev and published on Monday, all previous decisions on NATO cargo transit to Afghanistan have now been revoked. This includes an act allowing delivery of military hardware and equipment via rail, motor vehic [...]

RT’s Anissa Naouai has launched a crowdfunding campaign urging viewers to send a symbolic message to the US State Department and Washington’s media empire, donating money to fight autism. The GoFundMe project was launched by the host of RT’s 'In the Now' program, Anissa Naouai, after the US Secretary of State asked for more money from the government for propaganda and “democracy promoti [...]

After it was revealed that Bill and Hillary Clinton have earned $30 million in the last 16 months, the House Oversight panel backed a measure that would limit taxpayer dollars on expenses incurred by ex-presidents earning more than $400,000 a year. The measure, passed by a voice vote, would set presidential pensions at $200,000 a year, with another $200,000 set aside for office space and other [...]

Government regulators have cracked down on four cancer charities, accusing the Cancer Fund of America, Cancer Support Services, the Children's Cancer Fund of America, and the Breast Cancer Society of cheating donors out of $187 million. [...]

Two Senate Democrats have sponsored a bill demanding the White House reveal the terms of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) to the public at least two months before Congress could give President Obama fast-track authority. Joe Manchin of West Virginia joined Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts in proposing the two-page Trade Transparency Act, reports The Hill. If adopted, the bill would require [...]

The Russian embassy in the Syrian capital of Damascus was shelled on Tuesday, with Moscow stating that it considers the attack on its diplomatic mission an act of terror. Two mortar rounds landed on the premises of the Russian Embassy in the afternoon, “one of them fell near the main entrance, the other hit an administrative building," Asiya Turuchiyeva embassy's spokeswoman, told RIA Novosti [...]

Britain has been labeled the "European capital of inequality" after a report found it is the most unequal country in the EU. As part of a progressive study, the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound) analyzed wages across the EU. [...]

The US has bought the Kiev government, trained its troops and has been sending equipment to Ukraine, said Daniel McAdams, executive director of the Ron Paul Institute.It would be naïve to assume that the US has backed off on the situation. At least one civilian has been killed in the shelling of Donetsk which is an apparent violation of the ceasefire reached under the Minsk agreement. [...]