The Tolkien-inspired ‘Eye of Sauron’ eventually lit up Moscow’s sky, following public controversy and opposition from the Orthodox Church. Having taken a virtual form, the image can be seen through the lens of a smartphone or tablet. The evil eye appeared exactly where it was first planned to be installed, on top of a skyscraper in the Moscow City business area, a stone’s throw... 

A chilling report published today by the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) is warning of potentially “catastrophic unknown consequences” relating to President Putin’s issuance to the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) of orders to initiate what is commonly known within the Kremlin as the “Samson Defense” designed to crash the Russian ruble, while at the same time insuring the economic collapse... 

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. The EU foreign policy chief says Brussels has agreed to impose new sanctions against Crimea, stressing the bloc will not recognize its reunification with the Russian Federation. Federica Mogherini made the announcement on Monday after the first meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council in the EU’s de facto capital, Brussels. The new sanctions set to... 

In addition to declaring economic war on Russia, attempting to cripple the largest exporter of natural gas in the world, and arming a fanatical clique of fascists in Kiev, S.2828, dubbed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014, dusts off a Cold War relic. The final paragraph of a summary of S.2828 states: Directs the Chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors to submit to Congress a plan for... 

Ukrainian serviceman guards at hydro meteorological station tower at the airport of eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on December 11, 2014. The UN says the death toll from fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine has exceeded 4,600 in nearly eight months. The United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement on Saturday the conflict... 

US warships launch a coordinated volley of missiles. The Pentagon has threatened Russia with redeploying nuclear cruise missiles to Europe, accusing Moscow of violating two arms control treaties. “We don’t have ground-launched cruise missiles in Europe now obviously because they’re prohibited by the treaty,” said Brian McKeon, principal deputy undersecretary for policy at the Department of... 

Russian Orthodox Church has slammed plans to erect a real-life ‘Eye of Sauron’ in Moscow, saying that the art project dedicated to the premiere of the final part of the “Hobbit” movie trilogy may have bad consequences for the Russian capital. ‘Eye of Sauron’ is “in any case, a demonic symbol,” Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a senior church official in charge of relations... 

Tolkien fans rejoice! The ‘Eye of Sauron’ now is not just fiction, it will light up the skyline of Moscow-City to ominously watch down on the Russian capital as the latest “Hobbit” movie premiers in Russia on Thursday night. Fans of the British fiction novelist J. R. R. Tolkien will re-create the Eye of the Dark Lord Sauron from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy on Wednesday night, according... 

An ominous report prepared by the General Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU) circulating in the Kremlin today states that the emergency meeting held Saturday morning in Moscow between President Putin and French President François Hollande was due to the discovery of France’s General Directorate for External Security (DGSE) of a “la terreur spectaculaire” [English: terror... 

US Vice President Joseph Biden listens as US President Barack Obama announces Ashton Carter as his new secretary of defense on Friday. The United States is “fabricating all sorts of facts” about Russia as a pretext to wage a devastating war with the nuclear-armed country, an American activist and journalist says. A resolution passed recently in the US House of Representatives condemning Russia,... 

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. By imposing sanctions on Moscow, the US aims to change the political leadership, says the Russian Foreign Ministry, adding that Washington is “twisting the arms” of its allies so that they can continue an “anti-Russian front.” “Behind the formally-declared aim to make us alter our position towards Ukraine, [we] see the [US] plan to form social... 

Renewed fighting between government troops and pro-Russia forces in the violence-scarred eastern regions of Ukraine has left a total of five civilians dead. Three people were killed and ten others were injured overnight Sunday in the Donetsk region, which is considered as a stronghold of pro-Moscow activists. Explosions and gunfire were also heard in the volatile region this morning, according to... 

Russia has warned France its failure to act on a bilateral contract to deliver a warship ordered by Moscow poses risk to Paris’ reputation. France has delayed taking the vessel to Russia, citing the situation in Ukraine. Ukraine’s eastern regions have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations there in mid-April. Kiev and... 

American poultry producers exported 267,000 metric tons of chicken valued at USD 303 million to Russia in 2013. Russia has decided to impose restrictions on poultry imports from the United States because of “harmful residues.” Russia’s Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Service (VPSS) said on Thursday that the new decision would come into effect as of December 5. VPSS said it made the... 

The US Army plans to bolster US armored presence and keep rotations of American troops in Eastern Europe to provide “deterrence against Russian aggression.” Lt. Gen. Frederick “Ben” Hodges, the new Army commander in Europe, said that 100 Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles would be deployed into Eastern Europe. “We are looking at courses of action for how we could pre-position...