World News Insights: Opinion Articles

The world of logistics and manufacturing is in a state of disarray. A record number of ships are stuck outside Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif. Shortages of everything from vessels to truck drivers and raw materials abound. With freight rates soaring, the ocean-shipping industry is beginning to…

Disney+ could never play “Squid Game.” By now, many viewers have probably heard of Netflix Inc.’s creepy series out of South Korea, which has become a streaming sensation in recent weeks. A “dystopian survival story kind of like ‘Hunger Games,’” is how Netflix’s co-chief executive officer, Ted…

Bitcoin is a virtual currency with a very physical footprint in the form of the big, power-hungry facilities that have sprouted up to mine it. The size of this footprint and its impact on the environment have become a hotly contested issue: The network’s power consumption this year will likely be a…

Three times in the modern era, Japan has reacted to profound international shifts with a sweeping remake of its foreign policy — in ways that drastically altered global history. The nation is now undergoing a leadership transition, as the job of prime minister passes from Yoshihide Suga to Fumio…

Michel Aoun’s reign is a “strong reign,” as the famous slogan goes. “Strength” is almost the only word in the president’s program. “Strong Lebanon” is the name of the parliamentary bloc founded by Aoun, to whom it remains loyal. Bringing up his military past from time to time reinforces this…

In true Jupiterian style, French President Emmanuel Macron said nothing publicly when the AUKUS debacle erupted, letting his ministers and European partners do the talking after Australia scrapped a $66 billion submarine deal with Paris in favor of an American-led alliance in the Indo-Pacific. …

The current state of the global semiconductor market has been alternatively labeled by auto makers, politicians and executives as a shortage, a crisis, and even a squeeze. For the companies at the center of it all, the only word to describe what we’re seeing is a chip boom. It’s inexplicable, then,…

South Korea’s dystopian drama “Squid Game” is poised to become Netflix Inc.’s biggest hit ever. The destitute and desperate enter a bloody contest where they play a series of traditional children’s games with just two outcomes: death or a $40 million cash prize. A blend of “The Hunger Games” and…

The drubbing inflicted on Germany’s Christian Democratic Union in the country’s recent elections is a sign that, alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel’s 16-year stint in power, something larger is coming to an end. Aside from NATO, the Christian Democratic Union is the most venerable postwar…

We may be witnessing the End of the Middle East. Needless to say, the Middle East never disappears. It will continue to exist and allure us. An era, however, when the Middle East is the top priority and the biggest concern for the world powers, is almost over. New agendas from the East,…

Iran’s military exercises near border areas with Azerbaijan – some of its largest military movements since the late 1980s – indicates Tehran’s growing unease with wider developments in the region. In fact, the maneuvers reflect Tehran’s growing sense of insecurity, rather than a projection of power…

According to a recent poll by the government-affiliated Russian Public Opinion Research Center, one in two Russians fears a prospect of nuclear war to one degree or another. Anxiety associated with the possibility of a local conflict with Ukraine or the West in Syria escalating into World War III…