People in the US, like ex-CIA chief Michael Hayden, are trying to put Berlin back in place dissatisfied that the Germans are acting like adults but not like subservient servants from of the “five eyes” alliance, says Ray McGovern, a former CIA officer. Speaking at a Washington-based think tank, the New America Foundation, on Tuesday former NSA and CIA director, General Michael Hayden, said [...]

Austria’s decision to wind down Heta Asset Resolution AG sent ripples through the financial system, causing credit rating downgrades in Austria and bank losses in Germany: "It’s a mini-Greece going off in the heartlands of Europe." Here are some [...]

The number of Americans aged 16 and older not participating in the labor force hit 92,898,000 in February, tying December's record, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Over the longer trend, the labor force participation rate was between 62.9 percent and 62.7 percent from April 2014 through February, and has been hovering around 62.9 percent or lower in 13 of the [...]

A top NATO European commander’s exaggerated comments on the Ukrainian conflict are ‘dangerous propaganda,’ and put the West at risk of losing credibility, sources in the German Chancellor’s Office told Der Spiegel. General Philip Breedlove made [...]

Despite President Obama’s claim on Monday that he has not yet made a decision about supplying defensive weapons to the Ukrainian army, which is battling Russia-backed separatists who want an independent region within that country, the Russian media is full of predictions. They’re warning of the terrible impact further U.S. involvement in the conflict might have. [...]

A mother who has taken flight with her son to prevent his circumcision could face a prison sentence if she fails have the boy undergo the procedure, a judge ruled, in a case that has become a rallying cry for ‘intactivists.’ The case, which began as a domestic dispute between Heather Hironimus and her husband, Dennis Nebus, over whether or not to circumcise their four-year-old son, has caug [...]

The West, particularly NATO states, have launched an aggressive and sophisticated propaganda war accusing Russia for the Ukraine crisis in order to get public support, Patrick Heningson of 21 Century Wire.com, told RT's In the Now. Why don’t facts seem to go anywhere in this Ukraine crisis? [...]

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. [...]

The US perceives the Ukrainian crisis as an opportunity to damage Russia and bring Ukraine into NATO, says Srdja Trifkovic Foreign Affairs Editor of Chronicles Magazine. He says a decision to ship lethal weapons to the Kiev regime has already been made. Despite an improving situation in Ukraine, we are still witnessing aggressive rhetoric from some US officials. Why is that? [...]

The continuing economic pressure will never affect Moscow’s foreign policy, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary has said. “No sanctions would force Russia to make changes to the persistent line it follows in international affairs,” TASS quoted Dmitry Peskov as saying on Wednesday. [...]

This week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu broke with American protocol and delivered a speech before the US Congress without consulting the White House first. Many Democrats viewed the speech as an attempt by a foreign leader to chastise and change Washington’s foreign policy efforts, specifically with regards to Iran over its alleged efforts to obtain nuclear weapons. [...]

Maintaining tension and making boldfaced accusations for decades has suited the US’ purpose to try to divide and rule in Europe and to put a split between Eastern and Western Europe, investigative journalist Tony Gosling, told RT. The murder of Russian opposition activist Boris Nemtsov provoked a vast amount of comment in the West, some of which according to the Russian envoy to the EU Vladim [...]

Victoria Nuland's anti-Russian rhetoric comes from the neocon camp of US politics, seeking to stir the Ukraine crisis, thrilled by the prospect of defense industry expansion and more arms sales, Daniel McAdams of the Ron Paul Peace Institute told RT. World leaders and international monitors agree the situation in Ukraine is generally improving. Why are we still witnessing aggressive rhetoric fr [...]

The European Central Bank will kick off its monthly €60 billion purchases of government bonds and private sector assets next Monday, said the head of the ECB Mario Draghi. "We will on 9 March 2015 start purchasing euro-dominated public sector securities in the secondary market. We will also continue to purchase asset-backed securities and covered bonds which we started last year,"Draghi told [...]

A Polish government spokesperson has criticized the deputy prime minister's remark on Ukraine‘s disintegrating economy, calling it “unfair.” Janusz Piechocinski painted a black scenario for the country gripped by hyperinflation and currency plunge. [...]

Washington and its NATO allies have already spent over $110 million on “security assistance” to Ukraine and are considering increasing the “lethality” of the aid, a top US diplomat told a Congressional committee in an accusatory anti-Russia speech. [...]

NATO is using the situation in Ukraine to push closer to Russia's border, according to the Russian deputy defense minister. He says the Alliance's activities have expanded considerably over the past years. In their push, Anatoly Antonov says Allied forces are ignoring diplomacy. [...]

Ukrainian media in unison are misquoting Dutch investigators as accusing Russia of shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July last year. The concert of reports by Ukrainian media on Thursday claimed that the Dutch team had established that it was a Russian Buk surface-to-air missile that shot down the Boeing airliner, killing almost 300 on board. The fact is they [...]

A curious thing happened today. To quiet protests over food, president Petro Poroshenko ordered the minister of the food reserve to fill the shelves of stores with flour, sugar, canned meat, and buckwheat from the reserve. Well guess what? There was no food in the reserve. It has either been looted (like the vanishing gold), or it was fed to the army. [...]

Security forces in Kiev are blocking entry to Ukraine’s eastern regions, the parliamentary speaker of Donetsk People’s Republic said on Tuesday. "Ukraine has completely blocked Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. No one can leave without a pass," Andrey Purgin told Rossiya-24 television news channel, noting that even with a pass people are not allowed to leave eastern territories. [...]

India has proposed creating a free trade zone with the Eurasian Economic Union of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia, said Alexey Pushkov, head of the International Committee of Russian State Duma. "The question was raised by India, which is now considering a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union. [...]

Western nations should heed Russia's legitimate security concerns over the volatile situation in Ukraine, a top Chinese diplomat has said in a rare public statement on the crisis that has damaged relations between Russia and the West. Qu Xing, China's ambassador to Belgium, said the Ukrainian crisis came about due to the ongoing “game”– a metaphor similar to that used by US geopolitical s [...]