Russia

The more details that emerge about Russia’s “sophisticated” efforts to sway the November election in favor of President Donald Trump, the more ridiculous Sen. Mark Warner’s aggressive rhetoric sounds. But instead of fading away, upcoming testimony from Facebook, Twitter and maybe Google will likely keep the story on life support for the foreseeable future, especially now that Congress has succeeded in browbeating all three of the tech giants mentioned above to admit that Russian agents were buying advertising or otherwise disseminating targeted propaganda on their platforms.

Authored by Irina Slav via OilPrice.com,

Saudi’s headlines keep rolling in.

Saudi Arabia is deepening its ties with Russia, with billions of investments planned for the future. Saudi Arabia is going to allow women to drive. Saudi Arabia booked a second quarterly GDP contraction in a row, with non-oil revenues particularly worrying. Saudi Arabia is also going ahead with the Aramco listing in the second half of 2017, despite reports of a possible delay.

Another Trump-Russia collusion narrative has bitten the dust.

Authored by Cyril Widdershoven via OilPrice.com,

The geopolitical reality in the Middle East is changing dramatically.

The impact of the Arab Spring, the retraction of the U.S. military, and diminishing economic influence on the Arab world - as displayed during the Obama Administration - are facts.

Authored by Andrew Korybko via Oriental Review,

Even in this era of global paradigmatic changes, Saudi Arabia’s shifting grand strategy is perhaps one of the most surprising developments to occur thus far, but the fast-moving Russian-Saudi rapprochement is likely to provoke an Iranian “zero-sum” reaction which could complicate Moscow’s multipolar efforts in managing the “New Middle East”.

Vladimir Putin with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the official greeting ceremony, Moscow, October 5, 2017 (Photo: kremlin.ru)