Ukraine'€™s acting Interior Minister is threatening to resolve "€œin 48 hours"€ the situation in eastern regions where administrations of at least two cities are controlled by protesters demanding a nationwide referendum on the state structure. Arsen Avakov told journalists on Wednesday that the coup-imposed government is ready to use force in the mutinous eastern regions. [...]

A Senate report found that CIA officials lied to the government and public about its post-9/11 torture program, most notably by distorting intelligence gleaned from traditional interrogations as that attained by far more brutal methods. [...]

A UN report hammers the United States'€™ human rights record, denouncing vast surveillance, ongoing unaccountability for torture, deadly drone strikes, one of the world's highest death penalty counts, and mass incarceration, among other black marks. [...]

The Albuquerque Police Department in the state of New Mexico is coming under fire following the release of video footage taken from the helmet-mounted camera of an officer who shot and killed a man earlier this month for camping. James Boyd, a 38-year-old homeless man thought to be schizophrenic, was shot by the Albuquerque PD on Sunday, March 16 after he became engaged in an hours-long standoff w [...]

A bomb exploded in the major airport of Libya's capital, Tripoli, sparking further concerns about the widespread violence that has plunged the crisis-torn country into chaos. Unidentified people managed to get onto the runway at Tripoli International Airport, plant an explosive device at dawn and detonate it using a timer, said Transport Minister Abdelqader Mohammed Ahmed. [...]

€‹A United States military veteran who was critically injured by the police during an Occupy Wall Street protest in October 2011 will be awarded $4.5 million by the city of Oakland, California. Attorneys for the man, 26-year-old Scott Olsen, said on Friday this week that city officials have agreed on a multi-million dollar settlement that will resolve a federal lawsuit filed after the Oct. 25 [...]

The leader of ultranationalist group Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, has threatened to destroy Russian pipelines on Ukrainian territory if a diplomatic solution is not reached with Moscow. In a fiery address loaded warmongering rhetoric, Yarosh told his followers they should be ready to resist the Russian “occupiers.” [...]

The recognition of Kosovo independence set a precedent that gives Crimeans, as well as Basques and Catalans, a right for self-determination, German opposition leader said, lashing out against Angela Merkel'€™s support of sanctions against Russia. Gregor Gysi, a parliamentary head of the largest lower-house opposition party in Germany – the Left Party – has spoken out on Thursday against Germ [...]

The coup-imposed government in Kiev is seeking foreign aid from the US, the EU and the IMF to address its budget shortage. The east remains defiant of the new authorities, while Russia reserves the right to deploy troops in order to prevent bloodshed. Nearly 15,000 people in the Russian city of Perm in the Urals have gathered for a demonstration to support Russian speakers in the autonomous republ [...]

Mexico is signing up vigilantes in the fight against drug cartels in the western state of Michoacan as an official rural defense group. But not all of the militias are eager to be "€œinstitutionalized"€ by the government. Michoacan will initially register 400-600 militia members in the coming days, AFP reported, citing the state’s federal commissioner for security, Alfredo Castillo. [...]

"A total of 8,868 people, including 7,818 civilians, have been killed in violent attacks across Iraq in 2013, the United Nations reports "€“ the highest annual death toll in the war-torn country in five years. In December alone, at least 759 Iraqis were killed and another 1,345 wounded in terrorist attacks and violence, reports the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNIRAQ), which monitors the impa [...]

Thousands of demonstrators chanting "€˜Revolution!"€™ have flocked into 'Maidan' square in Kiev despite a court-imposed ban on rallies. The protesters have reportedly taken several government buildings. [...]