Opinion

With some 50,000 US and NATO troops gearing up for this week's opening of the Trident Juncture 18 joint military exercises, concerns about the massive training operation's true objective are starting to bubble up to the surface.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Berlin should take further international measures in connection with the death of Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi after delivering on its pledge to halt arms sales to Riyadh, a member of the Bundestag's Defense Committee from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Jens Kestner, told Sputnik on Tuesday.

With the US midterm elections just a short two weeks away, Americans are gearing up vote on what could turn out to be a historical referendum on Republican policies.

The migrant caravan traveling toward the US’ southern border from Central America has continued to grow after passing into Mexico, with the UN estimating its size at 7,200 Monday. An investigative journalist told Sputnik the bigger the caravans are, the safer they are and that regardless of numbers, the conditions that send people north continue.

US President Donald Trump is ready to dispatch any number of troops to the Mexican border to stop the migrant influx. According to US media reports, the caravan made up of thousands of Hondurans has crossed into Mexico en route toward the US border, where the migrants hope to gain asylum.

The US Senate has ceded its constitutionally ascribed responsibilities allowing President Trump to withdraw from treaties at his discretion, founder of "Show Up! America" Jan R. Weinberg told Sputnik, commenting on the US president's intention to quit the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty.

MOSCOW (Sputnik), Tommy Yang - US President’s statement that China should sign up to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty could signify growing military strength of the Asian country, as Beijing was not invited to be part of the agreement when it was reached in 1987, experts told Sputnik.

A Norwegian court of appeals ordered to “unban” a legal database Rettspraksis.no that “went dark” 5 months ago following a lawsuit. However, the website owners who practically won the case against semi-governmental Lovdata, were “slapped” with a $40000 legal bill that they are planning to cover through a crowdfunding campaign.

The Trump administration is pushing ahead with its withdrawal from the INF Treaty. Speaking to Sputnik, Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, former US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy under President Ronald Reagan, shared his views on the apparent motives and driving forces behind the latest US gambit.

The European Commission has rejected Italy's proposed budget for 2019, saying that Rome's overspending represents "an unprecedented breach of EU rules" and pledging sanctions in response. Sputnik looks into possible repercussions from the move.

US plans to scrap the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) have been criticized by both Moscow and Washington's European allies. Speaking to Sputnik about the US move's impact on Iran, Iranian geopolitical analysts Fuad Izadi and Seyed Zavari explained the connection between the INF Treaty decision and US policy toward Tehran.

German Economic Affairs Minister Peter Altmaier has called upon EU member states to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia over the Khashoggi case. Speaking to Radio Sputnik, Sarah Abed, an independent journalist and political commentator, shared her views on Berlin's intention to suspend the deals with Riyadh and the US-Saudi relationship.

A UK-built spacecraft BepiColombo has taken off on its seven-year mission to Mercury. BepiColombo was launched into space from the European space port in Kourou, French Guiana, on Saturday. It will send two probes to explore the hot planet, where surface temperatures reach 450 degrees Celsius.

American President Donald Trump has announced that the United States will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia. Could this decision spark a new cold war?

Former Metropolitan Police chief Bernard Hogan-Howe urged the UK government to urgently review evidence around cannabis legalization. Hogan-Howe, who always supported tough laws on the drug, reconsidered his position after Canada fully legalized marijuana.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has urged today her increasingly mutinous party to back her strategy over Brexit, insisting a deal with the EU was close even as she once again rejected the bloc's proposal for the Irish border.

October 22 has been the National Day Against Police Brutality in the United States since 1996. Protesters took to the streets in Washington, DC, Chicago, Illinois and other cities to protest the phenomenon of police killings.

DENVER (Sputnik) - Swaths of Native American youth are losing interest in tribal traditions because of their increased use of tech gadgets, in addition to limited opportunities at reservations while suffering from poverty, alcoholism and drug abuse, Native Americans told Sputnik on the sidelines of the NCAI held in Denver, Colorado.

Reports of Central Americans making their way to the US-Mexico border by forming a migrant caravan are only helping to rally up Republican supporters ahead of the US midterm elections, Juan José Gutiérrez, executive director of the Full Rights for Immigrants Coalition, told Sputnik.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – President Donald Trump's decision to scrap the 1987 Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty will be welcomed by the US nuclear weapons industry and major defense contractors, veteran Pentagon analyst Chuck Spinney told Sputnik on Monday.