Self-defense forces in the anti-Kiev stronghold of Slavyansk are Ukrainians, not Russians, who distrust the new regime and the Western powers that support it, New York Times reporters have discovered. The forces also said they are not being paid to fight. Two New York Times reporters have spent a week in the city of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine, talking to members of the self-defense forces. [...]

[Exclusive footage] Rebirth of Fascism. U.S. warmongers along with EU/NATO politicians have installed (through violent, artificial revolution) a pro-fascist government in Ukraine and are now trying to start a civil war within the country. Ukraine Crisis - What You're Not Being Told Ukraine Crisis. Democracy Caught On Camera! This will not be shown on mainstream media and is PASSWORD [...]

Dozens of people died in flames in Odessa, when radicals set ablaze the local House of Trade Unions with anti-government protesters blocked inside. The city is now in mourning for those who died, suffocated in smoke or had to jump out of windows. [...]

"€˜Anger"€™, "€˜disenchantment" and "pride"€™ are three words that perfectly sum up the mood in southeastern Ukraine at the moment. However, there is one thing the majority of citizens in this region crave more than anything -€“ a referendum on their future. [...]

"All that glitters is not gold; all that shivers is not gold" Mythology has it that Midas, the king of Phrygia, was able to turn everything he touched into gold -- "the Midas Touch".  According to Aristotle, the legendary figure died of starvation as a result of his greed to transmute everything from its natural substance to gold. [...]

Vermont lawmakers have passed legislation that requires food made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, to be labeled as such. The law, the first of its kind in the US, must now get approval from Gov. Peter Shumlin, who has supported the bill. [...]

Britain's "€˜surveillance society"€™ increasingly functions in ways the public is unaware of. An abundance of CCTV -€“ and roadside -€“ cameras misleads the public as to the true nature and scope of government snooping, the surveillance watchdog says. [...]

The Russian Foreign Minister says the US should take responsibility for those whom they put in power instead issuing ultimatums to Moscow. "Before giving us ultimatums, demanding that we fulfill demands within two or three days with the threat of sanctions, we would urgently call on our American partners to fully accept responsibility for those who they brought to power,” said Lavrov during a pr [...]

Five people have been killed in a gunfight in Slavyansk, a city in eastern Ukraine held by anti-government protesters. The fatalities include three protesters and two attackers, who are believed to be from the Right Sector paramilitary. The deaths came after a night attack on a protester checkpoint on the outskirts of the city. [...]

The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed outrage over the deadly gun battle on Saturday night in the protester-held city of Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine. It said Kiev must deliver on its commitment to de-escalate the violence. Russia, Ukraine, the US and the EU agreed this week in Geneva on a roadmap to calm tension down in protest-gripped eastern Ukraine. [...]

Divers have recovered more than two dozen bodies from the South Korean ferry that capsized on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 61. Almost 240 people, most of them high school students, are still unaccounted for. [...]

Israeli police reportedly blocked a top UN diplomat, alongside other diplomats and Palestinians, entrance to a pre-Easter Holy Fire ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which Israeli authorities called a "€˜micro-incident."€™ Robert Serry, the UN special envoy for Middle East peace, said he and Palestinian Christians were making their way to attend the ‘Holy Fire’ cer [...]

People in eastern Ukraine fear the worst is yet to come after Kiev authorities launched a military operation in eastern regions of the country. Residents in the town of Izyum in the Kharkov region share their worries with RT. “The first military contingent began arriving at the start of this week,” Elena, a local resident from Izyum, told RT. [...]

With the government in Kiev lacking legitimacy and meaningful political resources, Washington and Brussels face a public relations disaster of epic proportions. Meanwhile, Russia watches from the sidelines. How are things playing out in Ukraine right now? CrossTalking with Mitch Feierstein, Andrew Korybko and Gilbert Mercier. [...]

A California-based surveillance vendor that sells access to license plate databases and the devices that indiscriminately collect that information has been reportedly cashing checks from the Internal Revenue Service and other federal offices. [...]

The manager of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant has admitted not having full control of the facility. Contrary to the statements of the Japanese PM, TEPCO's Akira Ono said attempts to plug the leaks of radioactive water had failed. [...]

While the Geneva framework agreement seems to be an attempt to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine, it’s a question to what degree the US and the West are really genuine in this agreement, geopolitical analyst Eric Draitser told RT. The US and the EU are still mulling more sanctions against Moscow. [...]

Is the United States a strong nation? There's a notion that it is, of course -- based mainly on the disruptive philosophical underpinnings upon which this country was established. But these are all really the fumes of nostalgia. What else is there? W... [...]

Some of Europe'€™s biggest companies like UK'€™s BP and Germany's BASF have told their governments economic sanctions against Russia would hurt them badly. The warning comes as Russia, the US, Ukraine and the EU are discussing the crisis in Geneva Thursday. [...]