United States

There was cheering among the libertarian community when, in the last months of his administration, Barack Obama decided to halt some arms sales to Saudi Arabia, following "allegations" of war crimes perpetrated by the kingdom in Yemen. However, it appears that Saudi Arabia - despite its clear predisposition toward Hillary Clinton in the presidential race - has made even deeper inroads into the White House than many suspected because according to the Washington Times, the Trump Administration is poised to "quickly approve" not only the deal rejected by Obama.

With Trump's first angry tweet of the day, it is becoming very clear that the president's diplomatic approach vis-a-vis the judicial system can be described quite simply as "scorched earth." Following last night's Appeals Court hearing, Trump had the following response: "If the U.S. does not win this case as it so obviously should, we can never have the security and safety to which we are entitled. Politics!"

Gold Buying Russia To Increase Diversification On Trump ‘Unpredictability’?

Russia's massive and increasing gold bullion reserves are kept in tightly-guarded locations across Russia due to the fear of sanctions and the ‘unpredictability’ of Donald Trump according to The Sun and Russia Beyond The Headlines.

In a mostly quiet Wednesday session, Asian stocks rose overnight along with European bourses, which were led higher by miners after Rio Tinto posted higher profits for the first time in three years and a bigger-than-expected dividend, while India’s Sensex extended declines after the central bank unexpectedly left rates unchanged. US futures were little changed as oil continued to fall after API reported a huge inventory build in the last week.

Submitted by Eric Zuesse via The Strategic Culture Foundation,

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