As though there aren’t enough surprises in the Middle East, consider these: King Salman of Saudi Arabia visits Russia, China continues to import crude oil from Iran, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meets next month, and Russia plays all sides depending on which way it wants to tilt the balance. What all these dynamics have in common is oil. Read more here

As we watched in horror the images of Las Vegas massacre, I feel sad for the families who lost their loved ones while attending a country music festival. Yet, like with every tragedy that involves mass shooting, the debate over gun control takes the center stage only to satisfy the legislators’ urge to demonstrate how concerned they are when in reality they aren’t. Read more... Here