The European Union has "quietly" agreed to lift restrictions supplying Kiev with military technology and equipment which can be used for the "repression" in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. "During a recent meeting of the Council of Europe in Brussels, leaders of EU member states agreed 'on the quiet' to remove restrictions on exports to Kiev of equipment that could be used for i [...]

Israel gets signals from the US that it can do whatever it wants, so Tel-Aviv keeps refurbishing its weapons so that it could kill more Gazans, independent researcher and writer Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich told RT. It seems that we are having incremental ceasefires for an incremental genocide. One has to understand the thinking that is behind all this as much as one does regret a single death; I do [...]

For the first time in American history, a chamber of Congress has authorized its leader to sue the President of the United States. In a 225-201 vote, the House of Representatives backed Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in his decision to file a lawsuit against President Obama over his handling of the Affordable Care Act. Boehner and other Republicans allege that Obama has flouted his constitutiona [...]

The US has accused Moscow of violating a 1987 INF Treaty banning short and medium range ballistic and cruise missiles. Experts speculate whether Washington is nudging Moscow to pull out of a treaty to create a new "nuke bogey" and offer aegis to the EU. Washington says Russia has tested a prohibited ground-launched cruise missile thus breaching the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty signe [...]

So Obama, Merkel, Cameron, Hollande and Renzi – let’s call them the Fab Five - got on a video conference call to muster their courage and “increase pressure” asking for a cease-fire in Gaza. Later in the day, Bibi delivers his answer, in plain language. He remains dead set on achieving his version of a Final Solution to Gaza. With or without “pressure”. [...]

Bolivia has declared Israel to be a "terrorist state" and renounced a visa exemption agreement with the country in protest over the ongoing Israeli military offense in Gaza which already killed more than 1,300 dead and left over 7,000 wounded. Canceling the 1972 agreement which allowed Israelis to travel freely to Bolivia “means, in other words, we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state,” [...]

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, has said Britain was not going to "launch a European war or send the fleet to the Black Sea" over the Ukraine crisis, applying economic pressure instead. Mr. Cameron, was addressing a Q&A session with staff at the headquarters of United Utilities in Warrington when he said that the West had to stand up to Russia. [...]

A group of journalists have lodged an official proposal to award Vladimir Putin with the honorary title Hero of Russia for his uncompromising defense of the national interest and support of ethnic Russians as well as for supporting the freedom of speech. The move has been initiated by Konstantin Pronyakin from the city of Khabarovsk, a correspondent with the popular nationwide daily Moskovsky K [...]

Moscow is disappointed by the EU's inability to act independently from Washington's dictation in the international arena, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to the new package of sanctions. “We feel ashamed for the European Union who, after long searching for a unified voice is now speaking with Washington’s voice, having practically abandoned basic European values, including the [...]

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said Kiev is finally ready for a cease-fire at the MH17 crash site after Russia's numerous calls. Kiev continued its military offensive even after the UNSC urged a halt to fighting in the area last week. Poroshenko announced a unilateral cease-fire in a 20 km radius of the crash site of the MH17 flight in a telephone conversation with the PMs of Netherlands [...]

In the past two days Kiev's forces have launched several short-range ballistic missiles into areas in east Ukraine controlled by self-defense forces, CNN reports, citing US government sources. The move “marks a major escalation” in the Ukrainian crisis, CNN said. [...]

The shooting down of MH17 in Ukraine's civil war is a terrible event. However, the American media and government grossly misrepresent the USA's role in creating the current situation, and coverage of Ukraine does credit to "Alice in Wonderland". Reporting is dominated by the usual suspects from the Brookings Institution, etc. spouting jingoistic nonsense. [...]

The current conflict in Ukraine provides a plethora of examples of the power of doublethink in shaping narratives in order to justify any actions, beliefs, and statements that are either untrue or so grossly distorted as to be entirely unbelievable. The novelist George Orwell coined the term doublethink in his classic dystopian novel 1984. He defined doublethink as “The power of holding two c [...]

Over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel started its military operation in Gaza, officials said. As the 12-hour ceasefire approaches its end and body recovery continues in the Strip, world leaders are calling for an extension to the truce. Despite the 12-hour cease-fire between Hamas and Israel set for Saturday, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has urged the Palestinians, who earli [...]

A proposed multinational force to further secure the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine will now include over 100 armed Australian police and soldiers. The move comes shortly after 40 unarmed Dutchmen had been deployed to "€œfurther stabilize the area."€ The additional Australian personnel were discussed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott with President Putin, and will join a contingent of 90 A [...]

A German astronaut managed to capture the Gaza war zone from space while aboard the International Space Station. He called it his "saddest photo yet." Alexander Gerst, a German flight engineer, geophysicist and volcanologist, spread the news with a short tweet on Wednesday, as the ISS was on a flyby over Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory. The image went viral. [...]

Russia has so far been the only nation to release evidence related to the MH17 crash, the Defense Ministry said, urging other countries to follow suit. Though there have been a lot of claims of Russia's involvement, none have been backed by proof. The US claims its intelligence data and satellite imagery confirm that the missile which downed MH17 was fired from rebel-controlled territory. So fa [...]

France'€™s foreign minister has accused the UK of double standards following its criticism of the Russian Mistral warship deal. Referring to Russian oligarchs in the UK, he said that Britain must tend to its own backyard before attacking French policies. Following the Malaysia Airlines plane crash in Ukraine, British Prime Minister David Cameron criticized Paris for its plan to go ahead with [...]

Moscow will respond to NATO's expansion towards Russia's borders, President Vladimir Putin said at the emergency Security Council meeting in Moscow. Here are his key quotes on Russia's defense, Western sanctions, and violence in eastern Ukraine. [...]

Russian President Vladimir Putin believes it is necessary to call on Kiev to observe the ceasefire, which should last while investigations into the MH17 crash are ongoing. Putin said that Ukrainian troops attacked self-defense units near Donetsk almost at the same time anti-government forces were handing over the black boxes from the MH17 crash to international experts. [...]

France will go ahead with the delivery of the first of two Mistral warships to Russia despite protests by the US and UK, prompted by Moscow's stance in the Ukrainian crisis. The ship is nearly completed and will be presented in October. French President Francois Hollande said the plan to deliver the two Mistral helicopter carriers was made in Paris and will go forward despite calls from the US [...]

Criminal prosecution is likely to be expanded on Americans involved in recruiting and supervising activities of German officials spying for the US intelligence, Germany's Justice Minister Heiko Maas told Welt am Sonntag. If investigators find a body of evidence that alleged double agents in Germany’s federal intelligence service and Defense Ministry have been spying to the benefit of American in [...]