Submitted by Rakesh Upadhyay via OilPrice.com,
Saudi Arabia single-handedly scuttled the Doha meeting, knowing all along that Iran would not participate, with a valid reason. The Russians and others agreed to proceed without Iran, planning to include them at a later date. So if everything was known beforehand, why did the Saudi’s pour cold water on the aspirations of the remaining members, risking its alienation from Russia and the OPEC community?
World War III Has Begun
Paul Craig Roberts
The Third World War is currently being fought. How long before it moves into its hot stage?
Last week’s confrontation between Russian fighter jets and a U.S. destroyer in the Baltic Sea has taken the shine off the U.S. Navy’s aura of invincibility. Russia Insider reports: Russia Warns US Military: ‘We Will Take All Necessary Measures’ If you were wondering what the immediate U.S. response would be to the embarrassing incident that took place in the Baltic Sea last week between Russian fighter jets and a U.S. destroyer, the answer is absolutely nothing.
Kurdish endurance and success in the fight against ISIS terrorism in Iraq and Syria is putting the U.S., an old ally of the stateless Kurds in the Middle East, in a pickle. Moscow’s influence in the region and the Kurdish desire for self governance could pivot the alliance from the U.S. toward Russia.
A fire has broken out on a Russian oil tanker in the Caspian Sea. The Russian Emergency Ministry is preparing an amphibious firefighting aircraft to extinguish the fire as the ship drifts in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters. Russia Today reports: A source told RIA Novosti that the ignition source is believed to be on the deck of the vessel. The Palflot-2 vessel in distress is currently drifting in Turkmenistan’s territorial waters some 800 kilometers from Russia’s nearest port, Astrakhan.