The Bank of Russia took another step towards a free float ruble by abolishing the dual currency soft peg, as well as automatic interventions. Before, the bank propped up the ruble when the exchange rate against the euro and dollar exceeded its boundaries. "Instead, we will intervene in the currency market at whichever moment and amount needed to decrease the speculative demand,” the bank’s [...]

The internet browser Mozilla is teaming up with Tor to give internet users greater security online. The new Polaris project is designed to combat internet censorship and make NSA like intrusion's a thing of the past. Edward Snowden’s revelations concerning the extent of the National Security Agency’s spying on the general public, hit computer and internet enthusiasts hard. A poll conducted [...]

Twenty-five years after that embodiment of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, was torn down by ecstatic Germans, the world observes the anniversary as it rushes headlong towards a new confrontation. As the celebration unfolds in Berlin to rejoice in a unified country – and to some extent a unified world – some of the people who shaped the events two-and-a-half decades ago approach the date in a [...]

25 years ago, Hungary was being toasted in the West for opening its border with Austria to East Germans, in a move which led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. Now the Western elites are not happy with Budapest which they consider far too independent. The refusal of Prime Minister Viktor Orban and his ruling Fidesz party to join the new US and EU Cold War against Russia, which has seen the Hungari [...]

Living longer and healthier lives may be more under our control than we think. Contrary to media hype and the posturing of politicians, Ebola and ISIS are very unlikely to cause our early deaths. More likely to shorten American lives are some unhealthy behaviors that are actually somewhat under our control, like overeating to the point of obesity and overdosing on drugs. [...]

From Spider Man protesting in Hong Kong to Darth Vader running for parliament in Ukraine's elections; a world search for North Korea's 'missing' leader and Sweden's hunt for a mysterious 'Russian submarine' - RT offers you October headlines, made visual. The ongoing epidemic of the deadly Ebola virus has shown no sign of abating, being dubbed a "worse threat to humanity than HIV or SARS." [...]

A top US political consultant, dubbed "Dr. Evil", has been caught on tape at an industry conference, advising oil and gas execs to regard public policy as "endless war" and to play on people's fear and greed to lobby their interests. Richard Berman's speech, which he gave in June in Colorado Springs, was leaked to The New York Times by one of the participant's at the conference who said: "It ju [...]

Israel has said it's shutting the only two operating Gaza border crossings indefinitely. This comes a day after a projectile hit Israel from the strip, but caused no damage. Border closures threaten to isolate already devastated Gaza completely. The move will affect both the Kerem Shalom and Erez border crossings, Haartez reported, quoting Israel’s defense establishment. [...]

The self-proclaimed people'€™s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk are electing their leaders and MPs. The Kiev government has started criminal proceedings against elections in the southeast despite them being sanctioned by the Minsk peace deal. As soon as the polling stations opened at 8 am on Sunday morning, high voter activity was noted in both the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. [...]

Thousands of people demonstrated against the Greek government's austerity policies in the center of Athens on Saturday. They also called for political and economic reforms, pay rises, and other social benefits. The protesters gathered at the landmark Syntagma Square, located just outside Greek parliament, and marched through the center of the city carrying anti-EU and anti-austerity banners. [...]

A representative of the populist LDPR nationalist party claims in an official letter that the US President should be blamed for thousands of innocent people's deaths and therefore cannot keep his 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. “More and more international experts are calling Obama’s presidency dark times. The reason for that is the brutal policy that he is conducting all over the world, like Napol [...]

Former mayor of London Ken Livingstone believes that since as far back as the First World War, the United States, with Britain's help, has intervened on numerous occasions all over the Middle East just to control the flow of oil. If you follow Middle East history since this period, then the West has propped up corrupt regimes and overthrown democratically elected ones, Ken Livingstone told RT. [...]

Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst-turned-antiwar activist, shared details with RT on Friday about an incident the night before in New York City during which he was arrested for trying to enter a public event. McGovern, 75, says he had ticket to see former CIA director David Petraeus speak Thursday night at the 92nd Street Y, a “world-class cultural and community center,” according to its w [...]

NASA heavily relies on private companies for space-related travel, but recent accidents show that such firms cannot yet be fully trusted for the mission. The crashes hint at an increasing number of glitches that need to be fixed to ensure safety. Here are the top five crashes involving the aircrafts or rockets of NASA's private contractors. [...]

The EU won't provide any new funds for Ukraine to pay off its gas debt to Russia, and Moscow has no guarantees should Kiev use agreed funding elsewhere, said the EU Energy Commissioner's spokeswoman Marlene Holzner. The European Commission is allocating €760 million ($954 million) of financial aid to Ukraine earlier than scheduled to help it pay for gas deliveries, said Mrs. Holzner on Friday [...]

The beleaguered Albuquerque Police Department in New Mexico has reached a deal with the Department of Justice to overhaul many of its practices. The reforms come amid protests fueled by the department fatally shooting nearly 30 people in four years. Sweeping in scope, the reforms involve new training and recruitment procedures and field supervision of officers, and will require the department t [...]

Hope is a strange beast. Without it life becomes devoid of meaning. Without meaning, existence becomes a chore. Europe's youth lack hope, as an entire generation become victims of political ineptitude and older leaders who simply don't seem to care. Generational struggles have always existed, and angry kids decorated them. From James Dean’s red-jacketed firebrand in ‘Rebel Without a Cause� [...]

The vote taking place this weekend in Kiev-controlled territories is part of the Maidan junta's desperate quest for legitimacy. Nazis still dominate Ukrainian politics, while Kiev dreams of a military "final solution" for the east. In 2001, the Austrian economist Hans-Hermann Hoppe wrote a book titled ‘Democracy: The God that Failed’, in which he – among other things – compared the proc [...]

Senior EU officials insist that Britain must pay a €2.1 billion surcharge by December, and have the backing of France and Germany, despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s insistence that he won’t pay. Cameron stated flatly on Friday that Brussels “had another thing coming” if they thought they were going to get the €2.1 billion (US$2.7 billion) demand by the deadline. [...]