World News Insights: Opinion Articles

Idlib, in northwestern Syria, has witnessed large demonstrations in recent days, following a series of protests in cities and villages surrounding it, extending to some of the countryside of its sister city, Aleppo. These movements brought to mind scenes and chants of the first anti-regime…

Even a year ago some Russia-watchers believed that President Vladimir Putin might end his war on Ukraine with something like a victory in time before what could be his last re-election campaign. However, now as Russians go to the polls no victory is even remotely in sight. Putin is almost certain…

When it began "distracting" the enemy "in support of Gaza" on October 8th, Hezbollah was confident that the home front would acquiesce. Indeed, Hezbollah has imposed its decisions on the country. It was assured that the majority opposed its decision to drag Lebanon into a destructive war that would…

Tragedy has hit one country of the Arab Levant after another, and yet a foundational tragedy has been deliberately neglected, despite the fact that many of the others were either linked to it or caused by it. The prominent position that Arab nationalists and socialists have occupied in Arab…

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made this appeal on X: “Today marks the start of Ramadan, yet the bloodshed continues in Gaza. My appeal is to honor the spirit of the holy month by silencing the guns & removing all obstacles to the delivery of lifesaving aid. I also repeat my call…

About 18 months ago, Donald Trump suffered one of his worst political defeats, when many of his loyalists and handpicked candidates were defeated in a midterm landscape that clearly favored the Republicans. A lot of people — I was one of them — thought that this might be the beginning of the end…

The chasm separating Israel and Hezbollah’s assessments regarding the future of warfare in the region is widening in an alarming manner. Hezbollah has tied the cessation of hostilities in South Lebanon to a ceasefire in Gaza, reflecting the "unity of arenas" approach that the axis of Iran and…

Have the Super Tuesday results presented us with any new insights? In terms of the detailed results that commentators and analysts enjoy noting, most of them did not defy expectations... But they are worth mentioning nonetheless. However, that is not the case for a deep reading of a battle…

First it was France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, who angered his NATO allies by suggesting that soon the West could be forced to send troops to Ukraine, portending a direct confrontation with Russian forces that the rest of the alliance has long rejected. Then Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany…

Reading the extensive interview (published in three episodes by this newspaper) that my colleague Ghassan Charbel conducted with Yasser Abed Rabbo, the former Secretary-General of the executive committee of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), is the sort of exercise that could make a…

Benjamin Netanyahu has taken his place in history. He is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, outlasting “founding father” David Ben-Gurion. He has killed more Palestinians than all generals of his army combined. It has been quite rare for an oppressor to kill such a massive number of children…

Joe Biden is one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history. In Gallup polling, his approval ratings are lower than those of any president embarking on a re-election campaign, from Dwight Eisenhower to Donald Trump. Yet an air of mystery hangs around his lousy polling numbers. As…