World News Insights: Opinion Articles

A few months ago, it looked like a cascading global power crunch was about to turn back the tide of the energy transition. In China, shortages of coal drove prices of solid fuel to 1,908.20 yuan per metric ton ($299.29), leading to power cuts and industrial shutdowns as generators refused to…

A federal appeals court overseeing the consolidation of dozens of legal challenges to the Biden administration’s Covid-19 testing and vaccine mandates for businesses ruled on Friday evening that the White House’s effort can move forward. Demonstrating that common sense and a healthy regard for…

By the time Christmas Eve rolled around last year, Brits were well tired of Brexit. The trade talks were in their 11th hour, the details were mind-numbing and the big picture had been talked to death over four years. The pandemic made the tortuous divorce between the UK and European Union seem…

The Lebanese have the same relationship with the coronavirus pandemic as the other inhabitants of the planet. It is an extremely dangerous threat that the world has no intellectual or analytical control over it so far. The question about its origins remains, and the speculation it has raised about…

The issue is not just about Ukraine. It is beyond and more dangerous than that. Russia must settle its scores at the appropriate time. The appropriate time means the presence of an extraordinary leader who is fit to drive the dangerous turns. The issue is not just about Ukraine. It is also about…

Back in 2006, the British comedians David Mitchell and Robert Webb risked a sketch in which they played two Waffen-SS officers toward the end of World War II. Reflecting on the Totenkopf (death’s head) badges on their caps, Mitchell asked the immortal question: “Are we the baddies?” An…

The supply chain crunch has turned the once-staid world of manufacturing and industrials upside down. The imbalance is so severe that consumers are feeling the pain, as prices of raw materials and goods are thrown out of whack. Debates about inflationary pressures are raging. What more could go…

Omicron — the latest variant of SARS-CoV-2 — is steadily working its way through populations with high levels of immunity around the world. There are going to be many coronavirus cases in the coming days and weeks, with little to stop the spread, even if existing immunity can still prevent serious…

When President Biden met his Indonesian counterpart, Joko Widodo, last month in Glasgow, he praised Indonesia’s “essential” leadership in the Indo-Pacific and “strong commitment” to democratic values. But the reality of American engagement with the world’s third-most-populous democracy has been…

Labor shortages in the United States have led to renewed calls to increase immigration to enlarge the work force. (Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa shortage.) “Even if it’s just temporary workers, immigration is a really, really effective tool to make sure you have people in open jobs who can…

For the past several years I have been putting together a list of that year’s best nonfiction, with special attention to books that taught me things I didn’t know. This has been an exceptional year for serious books; perhaps being locked down is good for creativity. Never have I had such trouble…

Is it a good idea for Joe Biden to run for re-election in 2024? And, if he runs again and wins, would it be good for the United States to have a president who is 86 — the age Biden would be at the end of a second term? I put these questions bluntly because they need to be discussed candidly, not…