The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to exit the Cold War-era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty next week. The treaty, signed in 1987 by the US and the USSR, was one of the key steps in the de-escalation of the Cold War, yet US President Donald Trump plans to tell Russian authorities that the US is planning to terminate the agreement, The New York Timesreported Fr [...]

Earlier reports suggested that the deal between Moscow and Jakarta could fall under the US Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), despite attempts to secure a waiver for Indonesia. [...]

Countries around the world are turning to gold as uncertainty about the global economy rises. Trade wars and the aggressive policies of the United States are making emerging economies withdraw from dollar assets, analysts told RT. [...]

There are some early signs that the US shale industry is starting to show its age, with depletion rates on the rise. A study from Wood Mackenzie found that some wells in the Permian Wolfcamp were suffering from decline rates at or above 15 percent after five years, much higher than the 5 to 10 percent originally anticipated. “ [...]

Inconvenient thoughts on Cold War and other news. Intelligence agencies, Nikki Haley, sanctions, and public opinion. 1. National intelligence agencies have long played major roles, often not entirely visible, in international politics. [...]

The mysterious disappearance of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi has captivated the world, as accusations against Riyadh keep growing. RT unpacks allegations and gruesome details reported over the last two weeks.  Jamal Khashoggi was once close to the Saudi elites but fled the kingdom last year in fear of prosecution. [...]

Eric Schmidt says that Google will “engineer” specific algorithms to make RT and Sputnik less prominent on the search engine’s news feeds. “We are working on detecting and de-ranking those kinds of sites – it’s basically RT and Sputnik,” Schmidt said during a Q & A session at the Halifax International Security Forum in Canada on Saturday, when asked about whether Google facilit [...]

The most disaster-prone US fleet has suffered another incident after a MH-60 Seahawk helicopter crashed on the flight deck of the USS ‘Ronald Reagan’ shortly after takeoff at 9am, the Navy confirmed on Friday. According to the Navy, the injured personnel are “in stable conditions” and none of the injuries is life-threatening. Some of the servicemen were evacuated ashore. [...]

NASA managed to convince the White House to ‘temporarily’ lift the travel ban imposed on Russian space chief Dmitry Rogozin so he could pay a visit to the US, the head of NASA said on Friday. NASA “succeeded” in temporarily “removing” the head of the Russian national space agency ‘Roscosmos’ from the sanctions list, Jim Bridenstine told TASS news agency. [...]

The Arctic is becoming an arena for a fierce competition to control transportation routes & natural resources of global importance. The upcoming Trident Juncture exercise is NATO’s attempt to demonstrate dominance in the region. NATO says that Russia has nothing to worry about, because the exercise – which will be held in Norway and Iceland between October 25 and November 23 – “doesn� [...]

Senior executives of major Western corporations will still attend Saudi Arabia’s business forum despite the grizzly details of the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Goldman Sachs, Pepsi, Thales and EDF senior executives are all expected to attend Saudi Arabia’s business forum, dubbed as the 'Davos of the Desert' next week. [...]

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development said on Thursday that Moscow and Beijing are working on an inter-governmental agreement to boost the use of the ruble and yuan in mutual trade settlements. “The document is currently being prepared, the process is not easy,” said Deputy Minister of Russia’s Economic Development Sergey Gorkov, as quoted by TASS. [...]

US penalties against Saudi Arabia over the alleged murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi may never be implemented. But just in case, the oil-rich kingdom has threatened to hit back using several effective weapons. Washington pledged ‘severe punishment’ if the Saudis ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi-born journalist, who disappeared nearly two weeks ago shortly after he e [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has no plans to change its logistical support for Saudi-led military operations in Yemen, US Air Force Special Operations Command chief Lt. Gen. Brad Webb said at a press briefing. "I see nothing on the horizon that may change this focus at this point," Webb said on Wednesday, when asked about possible changes in future logistical support for Riyadh's opera [...]

In a recent cybersecurity test aimed at determining the resiliency of major weapons systems developed by the Pentagon, “testers playing the role of adversary were able to take control of systems relatively easily and operate largely undetected,” according to a government watchdog. [...]

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Department of Defense has no information regarding US nationals being taken hostage near the Syrian city of Deir Ez-Zor, Pentagon spokesperson Cmdr. Sean Robertson told Sputnik. Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Daesh* terrorists had recently begun expanding their presence on the left bank of the Euphrates river in Syria, taking nearly 700 peo [...]

A joint investigation headed by investigative journalist organization Corrective alongside French newspaper Le Monde and German broadcaster ARD uncovered a scandal involving "cum-ex" deals, which helped shareholders run off with profits at taxpayers' expense. [...]

VIENNA (Sputnik) - Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said Thursday, commenting on Italy's 2019 draft budget, that Vienna had no intention to be accountable for someone else's debts and called on Rome to respect the euro convergence criteria, or the Maastricht criteria. [...]

The board of Trump Tower Condominium has filed suit against a resident for $90,000 in unpaid fees, including late fees. What’s the problem? The man died in a fire inside the tower in April. Todd Brassner, an art collector who had lived on the 50th floor of Trump Tower in New York City since 1996, died in a fire in April that was determined to have been caused by an overloaded electrical board, [...]

Former FBI Special Agent Terry Albury received a four-year prison sentence on Thursday for leaking documents to the press that he thought exposed wrongdoing at the FBI. Albury was charged for leaking classified national defense information and retaining such information in April. He pleaded guilty. [...]

New Avangard hypersonic glider warheads are just months away from entering military service, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, adding that Russia is the first in the world to develop the breakthrough technology. A hypersonic glider is a type of projectile that can fly and maneuver in the upper atmosphere at speeds of over Mach 5. [...]

The missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi appears to be dead, US President Donald Trump has told reporters, saying there would be “severe” consequences for whoever is behind it. [...]