The European Union has formerly adopted a fresh package of sanctions against Russia despite Moscow’s retaliation warnings. European Council President Herman Van Rompuy announced the sanctions on Monday saying that their implementation will take place over the next few days. Referring to the ceasefire deal between pro-Russian activists and the Kiev government, he said that “This will leave time... 

Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right National Front party, says the EU is to blame for the crisis in Ukraine as it forced the situation where Kiev had to choose between East and West. Now that France is joining sanctions against Russia over the alleged direct interference in the political crisis in Ukraine and Paris is considering suspending the €1.2 billion deal of two Mistral helicopter... 

Herbert E. Meyer, a nutcase who was a special assistant to the CIA director for a period during the Reagan administration, has penned an article calling for Russian President Putin’s assassination. If we have “ to get him out of the Kremlin feet-first with a bullet hole in the back of his head, that would be okay with us.” http://www.americanthinker.com/2014/08/how_to_solve_the_putin_problem.html As... 

Ukraine’s bid for closer ties with the west could come at a cost. With the IMF set to loan the country $17 billion, the deal could also see GMO crops grown in some of the most fertile lands on the continent, warns Frederic Mousseau. Very few, not least the Ukrainian population are aware of these details, but according to Mousseau, who is a Policy Director at The Oakland Institute, in return for... 

Ukraine’s Cabinet has asked the country’s parliament to consider dropping the country’s non-aligned status and seek membership of NATO. Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk’s government submitted to the parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, a draft bill that would cancel Ukraine’s non-aligned status and revive the country’s quest to join NATO, a path ditched by ousted President Viktor Yanukovich... 

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... 

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... 

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... 

Russia will reportedly consider tightening tit-for-tat sanctions against the Western states if the United States and the European Union (EU) impose more bans on Moscow. On Monday, Russia’s Vedomosti newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying that Moscow may “fully or partly” ban car imports should Washington and its EU allies adopt fresh sanctions against the country over its alleged role in... 

Ecuador doesn’t need anybody’s permission to export agricultural products to Russia, which now has a big gap that needs to be filled after it banned supplies from a number of western countries, said President Rafael Correa. “I want to immediately say that we don’t need to get anybody’s permission to sell products to friendly countries: as far as we know Latin America isn’t a part of the... 

A Russian convoy of 262 trucks packed with humanitarian aid is approaching the Ukrainian border amid fears that it might escalate the already tense situation in the war-ravaged east of the country. The aid convoy was expected on Wednesday at the volatile Ukraine’s border where pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian troops are engaged in fierce battles. Russian media say some 2,000 tons of aid, from baby... 

There is growing dissent in the EU over policies that led to a de fact trade war with Russia. Meanwhile the countries not toeing the line are reaping the benefits, irritating those who jumped on the sanctions bandwagon. Greek members of the European Parliament demanded Sunday that the EU cancel sanctions against Russia. MEPs Kostantinos Papadakis and Sotiris Zarianopoulos said in a letter to some... 

A one-year ban has been imposed on certain agricultural produce, foods and raw materials from countries that have sanctioned Russia. An order on economic measures to protect the country’s security has been signed by President Putin. The decree “on the use of specific economic measures” has been signed in response to sanctions imposed on Russia by a number of states over the Ukrainian crisis,... 

A law student from Austria has filed a class action law suit against Facebook over privacy violations, urging the social network’s 1.32 billion users around the globe to join him in his legal battle. Max Schrems, who has sued Facebook and several other top US tech companies before, filed his newest claim at the commercial court in Vienna on Friday. The legal proceeding will run as a class action... 

A recent study has shown that less than one out of two working-age Italians held a job last year, amid a decade-long employment crisis, Press TV reports. The study conducted by Bruno Trentin Association, linked to the Italian General Confederation of Labour (CGIL), found that Italy’s employment rate stood at almost 49 percent in 2013. The report also found that even though the country’s unemployment...