Thousands of people celebrate with Kosovo and Albanian flags in Pristina on February 17, 2009 (L). Sevastopol residents at a celebratory show held after the referendum on Crimea’s status (R). The West has so far refused to legitimize Crimea’s decision to secede from Ukraine. Yet Kosovo, which was a part of Serbia, also broke away from its parent country, but has been recognized by the US and... 

Turkey has blocked Twitter hours after embattled Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan threatened to close it down ahead of a key election. It comes after audio recordings purportedly demonstrating corruption among his associates were posted on the site. Just before midnight, access to Twitter was blocked, Hurriyet Daily reports. “We now have a court order. We will wipe out Twitter,” the Islamist-leaning... 

Russia’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the treaty on rejoining the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation is legal. Valery Zorkin, chairman of the Russian Constitutional Court, said on Wednesday the court had ruled in a unanimous vote that President Vladimir Putin acted legally by signing a treaty to make Crimea and Sevastopol parts of Russia. The court also... 

Slavic Union head Dmitry Demushkin takes part in the Russian March in Moscow. Dmitry Dyomushkin has been found guilty of organizing a “criminal organization” after it was established that his group, the Slavic Union was renamed and continued to operate despite a legal ban. A district communist magistrate court in Moscow sentenced the nationalist to a fine that should be then be lifted due... 

Image from NO McDonalds in The Dandenong Ranges Facebook page. The Australian state of Victoria’s parliament passed a bill giving police power to suppress protests, including ordering a rally to move on based on a suspicion that it may turn violent. Opponents call the powers excessive and undemocratic. The Summary Offences and Sentencing Amendment Bill passed through the upper house of the Victorian... 

Plans to impose a censorship and mass surveillance framework may now commence. On Friday the U.S. Commerce Department released its grasp on the internet. Oversight of ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will be passed on to the “global internet community” next year. ICANN, under a Commerce Department contract, has issued domain names since 2000. The United States has... 

A new report circulating in the Kremlin today prepared by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU) states that Aerospace Defence Forces (VKO) experts remain “puzzled” as to why the United States Navy “captured and then diverted” a Malaysia Airlines civilian aircraft from its intended flight-path to their vast and highly-secretive Indian Ocean base located... 

Yet more previously secret surveillance operations waged by the United States National Security Agency were made public Wednesday morning thanks to leaked documents supplied by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The files — published first by The Intercept this week and dissected over the course of a 3,000-word article attributed to journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ryan Gallagher — bring to... 

Former Senior Counselor at the World Bank Karen Hudes has spent the last several years of her life working closely with whistle blowers from around the world to shed light on what she calls a “global conspiracy.” While working for the World Bank as a member of their legal team Hudes uncovered so much corruption that she could no longer keep quiet. She followed the proper channels to report her... 

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin has called on the UN Security Council to launch an investigation into all events that led to the “forcible change of power” in Ukraine. Speaking in a news program on the Russian television on Saturday, Churkin said it is necessary to thoroughly probe the recent developments in Ukraine, including the use of snipers. “All events … must... 

Two South African police officers have been arrested for allegedly beating an unarmed man in Cape Town. Moses Dlamini, a spokesman for the Independent Police Directorate of South Africa, said Saturday that the two officers would appear in court on March 10 on charges of assault. The arrests came after video footage emerged on March 7 showing the two armed uniformed police officers together with security... 

Google chairman Eric Schmidt admitted on Friday that government attacks from China and the US forced his company to enhance security protocols. Speaking at the SXSW technology conference in Austin, Texas, Schmidt said governments around the world have realized that attempts to block internet access are futile and have moved on to other methods of control. “You don’t turn off the Internet: you... 

Missouri students and teachers required by law to participate in active shooter drills. Teachers in St. Francois County, Missouri, have complained after they were told part of their duties include being shot at with pellet guns during “active shooter” drills. Officials told the teachers they would be required to wear goggles to protect their eyes. After four teachers contacted the Prosecuting... 

The Central Intelligence Agency’s inspector general has asked the US Justice Department to investigate allegations that the spy agency spied on the Senate Intelligence Committee. The allegations are directly related to a closed-door battle between the CIA and its congressional overseers over a 6,300-page report which details torture techniques, including water-boarding, wall-slamming and shackling,... 

The World Bank has put off a 90-million-dollar loan to Uganda, citing a new anti-gay law in the East African country that has already drawn criticism from the US and Europe, which control the global lending institution. “We have postponed the project for further review to ensure that the development objectives would not be adversely affected by the enactment of this new law,” claimed a...