World News Insights: Opinion Articles

It is spreading like wildfire. Homebuyers in China are refusing to pay the mortgage on properties they’ve bought but that their financially strapped developers can’t finish. Some say that they will only resume payments when construction restarts. The protest involved more than 100 delayed…

We do not need to wait for the official statements usually issued after official US visits to look into the second stop on their trip, Bethlehem. Situated between two major stops, it is akin to a comma between two lines. The visit to Bethlehem was preceded by developments that set the stage and…

Such is the determination these days to look tough on inflation that to even risk being portrayed as dovish is a stigma, regardless of merit. The relentlessness with which many central banks are raising interest rates into a slowing global economy shows there’s little reward in modest, albeit…

By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court has held that the Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority to order reduced emissions to fight climate change. Yes, you read that right. By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court has held that the Environmental Protection Agency lacks authority to order reduced…

It was too quiet to last. A sustained and brutal destruction of capital in India’s telecom industry was only just starting to give way to a period of peace and calm. The three operators who survived out of the dozen on the scene in 2016 must have been grateful for the end to a debilitating price…

For all the controversy about bots on Twitter, stoked most recently by Elon Musk’s aborted acquisition plans, it would seem reasonable to expect the company to close access to the platform and shy away from automation. Twitter Inc. is doing just the opposite, instead encouraging people to tap into…

The Lebanese can’t stop talking about their belle epoque, and the worse their conditions become- and they are doing so on a daily basis- the more they use this term. Did Lebanon indeed have a belle epoque before the economic crisis accompanied by Hezbollah’s arms? The term was coined to…

Many are under the impression that the relationship between the US Democratic Party and Saudi Arabia differs from the one their Republican rivals enjoy with the Kingdom. It is also widely believed that Democrat Presidents or Congressmen have a principled anti-Riyadh stance. However, that is far…

By now, everyone is well aware that Russia and Ukraine are top global producers and exporters of wheat, maize, barley and sunflower oil, as well as other grains. Russia is also a basic provider for fertilizers. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing war disrupted their export. The…

US President Joe Biden wrote an op-ed to the Washington Post, called “Why I’m Going to Saudi Arabia”, explaining the reasons for his anticipated visit to the Middle East, specifically Israel, and Saudi Arabia. The first answer that comes to mind when reading the article is: because it is Saudi…

Japan’s former leader, Shinzo Abe, was always a polarizing figure. But the fissures that emerged during his return to power in 2012 were largely brushed aside as the world united in grief over his murder. At the time, a Japan specialist at the Obama-era state department said that one would need…

On the eve of US President Joe Biden’s trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, there is much speculation around this trip and the topics that will be discussed there. According to Israel, Iran is amongst the central topics of the trip. The Persian-language media, pointing to the failure of talks aimed…