Germany's governing parties are bracing for elections in the state of Hesse on October 28, as polls suggest that the Christian and Social Democratic coalition could see a drop in support. Sputnik discussed the regional elections in Germany with Alastair Newton, a former career diplomat with the British Diplomatic Service. [...]

US President Donald Trump earlier announced that Washington would be withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, citing alleged violations by Moscow. Russia has firmly denied the accusations and expressed regret at the decision. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that the US is currently in talks with its EU partners over Washington's decision to withdraw from the INF Treat [...]

China’s LNG demand grew by a record 8 mt in 2017 and is set to expand by another record 12 mt this year, making up 50 percent of all global LNG demand growth, energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie said in a new report last week. The country’s spike in LNG usage comes as Beijing pushes forward with its plan to offset coal usage of both industrial and residential end users in an effort to curb rampa [...]

A backlash prompted Facebook to stop removing posts featuring a photo of an emaciated seven-year-old Yemeni girl, which accompanied a harrowing New York Times report from the war-torn country. The atrocities in Yemen don’t make poignant headlines in Western mainstream media as often as stories about chemical weapons in Syria or ‘Russian meddling,’ as the conflict usually gets sidelined in th [...]

Moscow sees the US decision to quit the historic INF accord as an “objective fact” and has started working on responses to claims of pact violations, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. [...]

Russia is preparing to defend itself against aggression while Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the INF Treaty signals that the US is readying for a war, according to Andrei Belousov, a top Russian Foreign Ministry official. Sputnik talked this over with Tony Kevin, a former Australian diplomat and author of the book "Return to Moscow." [...]

A minute-by-minute account of the Il-20 downing shows Israel's culpability and either its military bosses' lack of appreciation of relations with Moscow, or their control of commanding officers, the Russian defense ministry said. [...]

The developments came after China sold $3 billion in US Treasury bonds amid the ongoing trade row with the US, making it the third such sale in the last 14 years. [...]

All we have to do to highlight the enormous hypocrisy and double standards which are the hallmark of domestic and international politics is to switch the names around. Here are just a few examples: Horror Consulate – but damn, it’s our ally’s! Just imagine…If a Russian journalist, a vocal critic of President Putin and the Russian government, had walked into a Russian consulate in a NATO me [...]

Beijing and Tokyo sealed a multi-billion dollar currency swap arrangement on Friday, aimed at enhancing financial stability and spurring business activity in both countries. According to the Bank of Japan (BOJ), the arrangement which will last until October 25, 2021, will allow the exchange of local currencies between the two central banks for up to 200 billion yuan or 3.4 trillion yen ($30 billio [...]

The Czech prime minister has called for the return to their home countries of hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants currently in Europe, suggesting funds could be spent on a Marshall Plan to help improve African economies. [...]

On today's TRUNEWS, what really happened in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul? Rick Wiles considers the convoluted international intrigue surrounding the death of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Turkish reports through audio and video say was brutally carved up alive by supposed rogue elements from Saudi Arabia. Rick also looks at Khashoggi's past connections with the CIA and Osama Bin [...]

Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said that the US would "terminate" the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, claiming that Russia had violated the agreement, which Moscow has denied. Vladimir Putin, for his part, said that the US' potential decision to deploy its missiles in Europe would jeopardize the countries' security. [...]

By coming to Saturday’s summit in Istanbul, European leaders are admitting that Russia is now dictating the terms on Syria. But Vladimir Putin’s 3-year gambit won’t be vindicated until a resolution comes in Idlib and beyond. [...]

Crimea's largest bank will write off loans taken out by the families of the victims who died in the bloodiest school shooting in Russia’s history last week in the city of Kerch. “Russian National Commercial Bank is ready to write off all the unpaid loans to families of those who died in a polytechnic college in Kerch if the relatives apply for the procedure,” the lender, which operates mo [...]

By withdrawing from a key nuclear arms treaty, the US could be shooting itself in the foot in Europe, but Trump doesn’t care about Europeans, he cares about Russia, China and - most of all – Israel, says author John Laughland. [...]

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged that “justice will prevail” in the case involving the death of columnist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul earlier in October. [...]

The controversial White Helmets rescue group has been praised in the Western media as heroes, and derided by the Syrian government as 'al-Qaeda's civil defense' network. But is there a middle ground between such polarizing views? A Sputnik correspondent got an unprecedented inside look into the group's operations in southern Syria. [...]

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is cutting down on its holding of US Treasuries, joining many other emerging economies which have been off loading their stock of US debt amid rising rates. The country’s share of US sovereign debt saw a gradual decline from $157 billion in March to $140 billion as of the end of August, according to the latest US Treasury report. [...]

US President Donald Trump threatned Russia and China that Washington intends to build up its nuclear arsenal until “people come to their senses.” The president said his words were directed towards Moscow and Beijing, as he prepared to unilaterally leave the Intermediate Nuclear Forces in Europe (INF) treaty. [...]

In a phone call with President Donald Trump, the Turkish leader emphasized the need to disclose all circumstances of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s death. Earlier Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised to make an “important statement” soon. [...]

She promised to “Make Canada Safe Again!” and stop Toronto turning into “a sharia safe space,” and in return Faith Goldy has been censured by rivals, blacklisted by major media outlets and dismissed in court. Is she a big deal? [...]