World News Insights: Opinion Articles

President Joe Biden is right that American democracy is under threat. Unfortunately, he seems not to know why, or what to do about it. The president’s prime-time speech on Thursday was a typical Biden performance — rambling repetition, theatrical intensity, all soul-baring emphasis and next to…

The number of Israeli attacks targeting Iran and its militias in Syria is difficult to count. There may be a strike between the time of writing and the day this article is published; beyond a doubt, however, that Israel is continuing and escalating its attacks, and there is no indication that it…

Much has made eulogizing Mikhail Gorbachev tempting over the past few years, a noble man who died politically the day he left the Kremlin though his biological death only followed later. The few times he made public appearances over the past few years, he seemed ill. His body was extremely frail…

US-based airlines canceled more than 100,000 flights between January and July, surpassing the number of cancellations that took place during the same period in pre-Covid 2019. The impact on passengers is significant. Not only must they find alternative transportation; they must also obtain a refund…

Backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., China’s biggest electric-vehicle maker BYD Co. posted stellar first-half earnings on Monday. But it’s struggling with battery-production costs. It isn’t just about raw materials or other components, about which many manufacturers are…

One of the many unfortunate consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is the collateral damage to international scientific cooperation. The past two decades may have been the apex of this cooperation. Now it appears to be coming to at least a pause, if not an end. In the years immediately…

You might not have heard of “forever chemicals,” but you’ve certainly been exposed to them. This large family of molecules can be found in everything from the wrapper on your take-out burger to the stain-resistant fabric on your couch. You might unwittingly encounter them when you floss your teeth,…

Everywhere the US looks, its geopolitical rivals are making common cause. Russia and China proclaimed a strategic partnership “without limits” just before the former’s invasion of Ukraine. Iran is helping Russian President Vladimir Putin fight that war by providing him with military assistance…

Most articles on the death of Mikhail Gorbachev dwell on the political failure of his reform project. The Russian Federation, the main successor state to the Soviet Union, has not, to say the least, become a democratic, open society. Ukraine may finally have gotten there, but that very success is…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi stood last month atop India’s nearly completed new Parliament building, built to mark the country’s 75 years of independence, and pulled a lever. A sprawling red curtain fell back to reveal the structure’s crowning statue. Many across India gasped. The 21-foot-tall…

At that moment, the state, its military and security institutions in particular, did the minimum and stood by. It did not intervene in the battle over power and wealth waged by the belligerents, and according to eyewitnesses, a state that fails to monopolize violence becomes hostage to the factions…

It’s no surprise that for US allies in Asia, “Top Gun: Maverick” is the year’s most-watched American movie, topping the box office in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. The simple tale of US might and gumption against an evil faceless opponent certainly resonates in a region that’s facing intensifying…