Japan is now considering future weapon transfers to other Asian countries as it builds alliances for a potential war with China. Earlier today in Okinawa, Japanese officials met with representatives from the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to expand technological and defensive cooperation between the countries. Although Japan and ASEAN discussed joint cooperation in... 

Switzerland has refused to sign a protracted deal with Croatia, initially agreed over a year ago, which would have given Croatians unrestricted access to the Swiss employment market. The Swiss say it’s not viable “in its current form”. Simultaneously, the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) has called on Switzerland’s government to quickly limit immigration to the country from Eastern Europe.... 

Vice Chair’s statement represents the very danger that George Washington warned us about. The Vice Chairperson of the Democratic National Committee encouraged President Obama to “move forward” and practically act as a dictator today while Congress is in recess. In her tweet this morning, Donna Brazile undoubtedly suggested that the president use his “pen and his phone” to sign executive... 

Brussels has frozen research grants for Swiss universities worth hundreds of millions of euros in retaliation after Switzerland voted to cap the number of immigrants entering the country in a nationwide referendum. The retaliatory move by the EU comes just one day after Switzerland refused to sign a ‘freedom of movement’ agreement with Croatia, which would have given Croatians unrestricted access... 

Scotland has accused the British government ministers of “bullying” Edinburgh over a planned independence referendum later this year. In a letter to UK Prime Minister David Cameron on Saturday, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond urged him to distance himself from recent “astonishing” claims reportedly made by a coalition colleague. This came after a senior coalition source said... 

Martial law training? 300 acre town includes sports stadium, school, underground subway. The U.S. Army has built a 300 acre ‘fake city’ complete with a sports stadium, bank, school, and an underground subway in order to train for unspecified future combat scenarios. The recently opened site is located in Virginia and was built at a cost of $96 million dollars, taking just two years to complete. While... 

France has said it is planning to reinforce its troops in the Central African Republic (CAR) by sending 400 more soldiers to the former French colony. French President Francois Hollande’s office said on Friday in a statement that the additional troops would join the 1,600 French soldiers already stationed in the CAR. The decision was made after a meeting of a top defense committee in the Élysée... 

The European Commission has said it is determined to “redraw the global map of internet governance” as massive US surveillance has damaged public trust in the web, and said it is ready to negotiate with Washington for control of web architecture. The commission, the EU’s top executive body, on Wednesday proposed a key reform to the way the internet is managed and run, saying that Europe will... 

A group of lawmakers in Maryland has introduced a bill that would deny state support to the National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters in Ft. Meade, Md., which might see electricity and water supplies cut to the intelligence nerve center. Eight Republicans from the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates introduced the legislation that would deny the NSA “material support, participation or assistance... 

Scotland has oil, it’s small and can adopt the same regulatory measures as Singapore or Switzerland. That’s everything it needs to eventually join the list of the richest nations of the world, Dominic Frisby, author of ‘Life After the State’, told RT. “Scotland has the oil, it’s small, its population is less than 5 million and it has the same record. It has the opportunity to install the... 

Top officials from North Korea and the neighboring South have held the highest-level government talks in years, ahead of the planned reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Talks between the two sides were held on Wednesday at the border truce village of Panmunjom on the southern side of the border. The last official high-level meetings between North and South Korea were held in December... 

Properly mobilized people can become a massive online force capable of blocking ‘dangerous bills’ and changing government policies, Josh Levy of the Free Press told RT. The participants of The Day We Fight Back campaign say their call to action is simple. RT: What are the protesters trying to achieve? How exactly are they supposed to ‘fight back’? Josh Levy: This day of action [Wednesday,... 

A senior political analyst has suggested British Prime Minister David Cameron should resign if he really plans to retain Scotland in the UK. In an interview with Press TV on Saturday, Ian Williams, Foreign Policy in Focus, London said Cameron’s resignation “would do wonders to get pro-union sentiment in the north.” “The best thing he could do would be to resign and call another election and... 

The ‘Brest Hero-Fortress’ memorial complex in Belarus. The main sculptural composition ‘Courage’. A CNN list compiling the ‘world’s ugliest monuments’ has been decried as ‘sacrilege’ in Belarus for including the country’s most important World War II monument. CNN apologized for the offense caused by the list, which it ascribed to a “contributor.” The... 

In his weekly address, Obama repeated previous comments about circumventing Congressional process. “I want to work with Congress on this agenda where I can,” Mr. Obama said. “But in this year of action, whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, I will.”  Read More »