World News Insights: Opinion Articles

As Australians head to the polls this month, China’s role in domestic politics is becoming increasingly important. Yet many politicians, journalists and voters seem to be unable to distinguish between China the nation, the Communist Party that governs it, and people of Chinese ancestry. This is…

The only thing that the Lebanese can agree on is that a state of chaos and confusion defines all aspects of life, from politics and security, to the economy and society. That state manifested itself in the absurdity of the electoral campaigns preceding the day of the vote on Sunday. The absence…

At the polling station at the Lebanese Embassy, I had mixed feelings. I was happy to see the Lebanese still willing to vote despite the success of the ruling system in killing the essence of this practice. The previous elections did not contribute to stopping the decline that marked the past…

The stirrings of springtime show nature awakening. Coaxed by warming air and stronger sunlight, flowers unfurl on cherry trees and eager green buds burst forth from horse chestnuts. A little hope returns, as bees buzz and birds build nests. This year, it’s been happening a little earlier — and the…

You might not notice it from the way that inflation, conflict and pandemic have driven up the cost of food in recent years, but the specter of hunger that has haunted humanity for millennia is moving closer to being vanquished. In middle-income countries, the number of people undernourished fell…

The future of US-made electric-vehicle batteries might be found in a modest white shed in Tamarack, Minnesota, population 104. Beneath bright fluorescent lights, foot-long cylindrical pieces of rock are laid out in cardboard boxes, where they sparkle with grains found in the millions of pounds…

In the late sixties, two competing strategies for dealing with the Palestinian cause and the Israeli question collided. The first initially emerged from the milieu of the Palestinian resistance and was formulated by one of Fatah’s senior leaders at the time, Khalil al-Wazir (Abu Jihad), who dubbed…

The recent Russian-Israeli escalation over statements by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who accused Israel of supporting neo-Nazis in Ukraine, and claimed that Adolf Hitler was of Jewish origin, is a bad indicator for our region. Despite the fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin…

California and Florida have a lot in common: Large populations, nice weather, beautiful beaches, celebrities, Disney theme parks, hundreds of thousands of acres of citrus orchards. When Covid-19 came to the US in early 2020, the two states reacted similarly, shutting down in-person schooling and…

The coronavirus outbreak brought back the plastic waste dilemma to the forefront. Although the overall amount of waste decreased during the past two years due to lockdowns and the decline in economic activity, the consumption of single-use medical equipment and utensils, such as face masks and…

Lots of people predicted that Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s administration would be a bin fire, but I don’t think anyone expected it to be quite so surreal. The voters, at least, have noticed, and they have punished him. In Thursday’s local elections Mr. Johnson and his Conservative Party lost…

On the surface, the tiny Ukrainian navy, just 5,000 active-duty sailors and a handful of small coastal boats, appears to be significantly overmatched by Russian maritime forces. The Kremlin’s Black Sea fleet consists of over 40 frontline warships. The Russians seem poised to cut off the…