At least five people have been killed in an attack against a church in Ukraine’s eastern town of Kirovske as fierce fighting continues between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russian forces. The artillery attack against the Ukrainian Orthodox Church claimed five lives on Saturday, the church said on Sunday. Three of the dead were attending a religious service when the shell blasted through the roof of... 

Having closed several McDonald’s restaurants in Moscow, Russia’s Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection (Rospotrebnadzor) launched unscheduled inspections of the restaurants of the chain in the Sverdlovsk region of Russia. According to representative of the agency, their actions are connected to complaints from local residents about the quality of products sold and insanitary conditions. On... 

A political analyst says the tightening of sanctions by the United States and the European Union (EU) against Russia is “counterproductive,” Press TV reports. In an interview with Press TV, Jan Oberg said the US-EU move to impose sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian tension is “self-defeating” as it harms the economy of the West as well. “I think it is utterly counter-productive and... 

Investigations into the activity of McDonald’s restaurants are underway across Russia. Three restaurants including the first one to open in Russia were temporarily closed in Moscow over sanitary issues. Checks in Moscow are currently being conducted in five McDonald’s restaurants. The Moscow department of Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian consumer watchdog, said that during the checks breaches of sanitary... 

Russian aid convoy trucks have crossed back over the border after delivering humanitarian supplies to eastern Ukraine. Russian Deputy Emergency Minister Eduard Chizhikov said on Saturday that all the trucks that had departed for Ukraine have returned to Russia. “There were 227 trucks in the humanitarian operation participating in the operation, and they have all returned. All those vehicles have... 

Bardarbunga: Iceland’s largest volcano is seen from afar on a webcam positioned on Grimsfjoll mountain. Tourists were evacuated from around Iceland’s Bardarbunga volcano, as seismic activity has increased in the area. The possibility of the volcano waking up has evoked memories of the 2010 aviation chaos, caused by another eruption in Iceland. Seismic activity in the Bardarbunga vicinity... 

Britain’s right-wing party UKIP have formally called for the British government to block the return of UK nationals who left British shores to fight alongside Islamic State militants in the Middle East. In a formal statement issued on Wednesday, the party emphasized the UK government can and should strip all militants who hold dual nationality of their official UK citizenship. The coalition could... 

The European Union has blamed Moscow for the “clear violation” of Ukraine’s border after a Russian aid convoy crossed into the Ukrainian territory. “We deplore Russia’s decision to enter the humanitarian consignment into Ukrainian territory, without the ICRC’s [International Committee of the Red Cross] escort or the consent of the Ukrainian authorities,” Sebastien Brabant, spokesman... 

Several dozen trucks in the Russian humanitarian convoy have crossed the Ukrainian border and started moving in the direction of Lugansk, after Moscow ordered the convoy to proceed, without waiting for further permission from Kiev. Moscow has accused Kiev of deliberately holding up the delivery of Russian humanitarian aid to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in eastern Ukraine, according to a new statement... 

Ukrainian people sit inside a makeshift shelter in the town of Makiyivka on August 19, 2014. The UN refugee agency says over 400,000 people have fled their homes due to the fighting in eastern Ukraine. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday that some 190,000 Ukrainians have been displaced within the country and 225,883 others have fled to Russia, Poland and Belarus. It... 

The Russian cabinet has approved the bill introducing heavy fines for businessmen who violate the rules on obligatory marking of foodstuffs containing genetically-modified products. The bill has been drafted by the state consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor and concerns all food and beverage products containing genetically-modified organisms or their parts, or which are made using such organisms.... 

At least 34 civilians have been killed in clashes between the Ukrainian army troops and pro-Russia forces in the country’s restive eastern Donetsk Province over the past 24 hours, local officials say. “Over the past day as a result of military hostilities, 34 residents of the region died and another 29 were wounded,” the Donetsk regional administration said in a statement on Wednesday. The development... 

Russian humanitarian aid trucks will cross the Ukrainian border in small batches of several dozen vehicles and only after a thorough examination by border guards, Kiev says, following an official acknowledgment of 280 trucks carrying crisis-relief cargo. “The cargo, in agreement with the mission of the Red Cross, will be delivered to the international crossing point of Izvarino-Donetsk in batches... 

A nationalist party MP is suggesting the Russian government introduce more restrictions on food imports, covering nations that have an association agreement with the EU, including Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. Roman Khudyakov of the Liberal Democratic Party caucus of the State Duma has said that, since the association agreement with the European Union prepares the conditions for a free trade zone... 

The Western media have proved for all to see that the Western media comprises either a collection of ignorant and incompetent fools or a whorehouse that sells war for money. The Western media fell in step with Washington and blamed the downed Malaysian airliner on Russia. No evidence was provided. In its place the media used constant repetition. Washington withheld the evidence that proved that Kiev...