War

It appears oil traders are disappointed with Al-Naimi's comments. Suggesting hopefully (for some) that the 'freeze' is the start of a process, al-Naimi then dropped the tape-bomb:

• *SAUDI ARABIA WON'T CUT OIL PRODUCTION: NAIMI
• *HIGH-COST PRODUCERS MUST LOWER COSTS OR LIQUIDATE: NAIMI

He then added that "not all the countries will freeze; The ones that count will freeze." WTI Crude (April) front-month futures have erasd yesterday's gains.

Live Fed here (click image for link)

The recent carnage in Ankara comes at a good time for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan has been demanding that the United States and other NATO allies support him in his war against the Kurds of Syria, who are, incidentally, regarded as allies by Washington in the war against ISIS. The Turks have been bombarding Kurdish positions and staging special ops raids, warning the Kurds against the dangers of becoming too successful in their drive to occupy territory vacated by a retreating ISIS.

Russia have requested permission from the U.S. to fly a surveillance planed equipped with an electro-optical imaging sensor over America.  American officials have objected to the request but may have to grant permission nonetheless due to the Open Skies Treaty that both Russia and US signed – an agreement that allows for unarmed observation flights over 34 member nations. Engadget.com reports: The treaty was originally designed to increase the military transparency of member nations.

Transport for London, the body that oversees the London Underground, have banned a series of advertisements that are critical of Israel.  Millions of passengers were greeted by a number of ads published by the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement accusing Israel of torturing and murdering Palestinians. Transport for London promptly pulled the advertisements saying that “these are not authorized adverts”. Ynetnews.com reports: According to a report in the Jewish Chronicle, the campaign includes four ads purportedly put up in 500 trains.

A treaty loophole allows the Russian Air-force to fly surveillance missions over U.S. airspace. Russia is planning to ask the Open Skies Consultative Commission on Monday for permission to fly spy jets equipped with powerful high-tech cameras over U.S. skies. Daily Express reports: The planes have powerful digital cameras, which officials worry could be used to help Moscow gather sensitive intelligence. Russia is allowed to send surveillance jets over the US under the Open Skies Treaty, which allows 34 countries to conduct unarmed observation flights.