World News Insights: Opinion Articles

The need for Arab cooperation in times of war and peace was behind the establishment of the League of Arab States in 1945, preceding the European Union and most other regional groups in the world by decades. While regional alliances were a sound option at that time, they are an obligation today, as…

In December 2014, two monkeys in outdoor cages at the Tulane National Primate Research Center, about 40 miles north of New Orleans, became ill with Burkholderia pseudomallei, a deadly bacteria in the federal government’s highest risk category, reserved for pathogens like smallpox, anthrax and Ebola…

May 16 is just a few days away. In just a few days, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh is scheduled to appear before the French judge Aude Buresi in Paris as part of the investigation into corruption and money laundering charges. Many questions about the great Lebanese theft could be answered that…

Is Bill Clinton replacing Ayatollah Ruhallah Khomeini as the “Source of Emulation” (Marja’a taqlid) of the leadership in Tehran? Posed by an Iranian satirist the question cannot be dismissed as a tongue-in-cheek quip on the new discourse developed by the Khomeinist establishment. In July 1980 the…

While they may have been minimal, US President Joe Biden’s visit last year did yield some positive results. In October, the United States brokered a landmark agreement that settled the longstanding maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon. The Biden administration has also sought to…

It has been four years since the ousting of Omar al-Bashir and his regime in one of the largest turn of events in Sudan’s history. But to this day, Khartoum is still struggling: ongoing conflicts between political powers and military leaders, restless streets, and now a war between the armed…

Syria has returned to its position as an ordinary member of the Arab League. The question, which we have been contemplating since it was expelled, of whether the decision to exclude Syria was the proper course of action, has become irrelevant. Similar cases have occurred in the past. Indeed,…

Armies and security services doubtlessly bear primary responsibility for the military coups in Sudan, as they do in the other Arab countries that have been subjected to military coups. They are also primarily responsible for the dictatorial regimes created by these coups. With that, they had…

Some developments witnessed over the two decades are more consequential and dangerous than the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union’s transformation into a museum relic. Indeed, the world has witnessed an explosion of knowledge, and successive revolutionary breakthroughs in science and…

For 45 years, a bond of trust has existed between Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper and its readers. This bond is built on absolute armament with the truth, credibility of news, in-depth analysis, objectivity, moderation, boldness in presentation, and accuracy of foresight. Asharq Al-Awsat, as the top…

That was years ago. I returned from Baghdad and published an interview with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Iraq was mired in a difficult battle, and the man’s name was a provocation to his opponents. The phone rang, and the caller asked me: “How can Ghassan Charbel have the right to tour…

The Judge Ghada Aoun saga has been defined by rage and resentment. There has been no tranquility. In one scene, surrounded by giants from “State Security” armed with guns made for world wars, she kicked down the door of an office. Judge Aoun went beyond her jurisdiction, accompanied by her group of…