World News Insights: Opinion Articles

Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Patricia Espinosa, sent a letter of thanks to the governments that have reported on their Nationally Determined Commitment (NDC). These are the voluntary commitments to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, as…

In the wake of President Joe Biden’s announcement on Thursday of new, more aggressive tactics against the Covid-19 pandemic, including expanded vaccine mandates, some of those who support vaccination are worried that it could all backfire. National Journal’s Josh Kraushaar put it this way: …

Twenty years ago, on September 11, 2001, on a warm summer afternoon, the people of the Middle East learned that the Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda had attacked the twin buildings of World Trade Center in New York City. The world had witnessed one of the largest terrorist attacks in contemporary…

Throughout six rounds of nuclear talks in Vienna between the United States and Iran, the French seemed the most eager to reach an agreement that would restore matters to their ordinary course. This would allow French companies and interests to benefit again from Iranian contracts, which they had…

For good reason, many people will not like the fact that Facebook Inc. is literally getting closer to their faces with the new smart glasses it unveiled on Thursday. Many more will not care and buy them in droves. Hear me out, because yes, it is tempting to write off the $299 Ray-Ban Stories as…

Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe has a coffee mug in his office inscribed with the words “half full.” Lowe says he's an optimist about next year, as do many of his peers. They’ll have to make it through 2021 first. The global economy is in for a choppy future that may provide few…

In the span of one month, we saw a victory in Afghanistan and a defeat in Tunisia. Frustrated by repeated failures, the Taliban's takeover of power has awakened the hopes of political Islam groups and armed extremist organizations across our region. Its victory plastered over the defeat and…

Good policy can be bad economics. The US would be better off if as many adults as possible are vaccinated. But while President Joe Biden's mandate will lessen risk for Americans, it won't eliminate it, and the benefits must be weighed against the costs that will be borne by the most economically…

“Return to the nuclear talks!” This is the advice that China, France and Russia have been publicly giving to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s new team in Tehran since they assumed power last month. Other powers, notably Germany, have echoed that advice in private. There are signs that the new…

The Lebanese ruling system has seized an opportunity, clamoring towards the Syrian regime with the belief that it could play a role in re-normalizing it through the Egyptian gas pipelines and the Jordanian electricity network. This political class adhered to the first part of the US message, in…

As Washington ponders how the US lost its longest war in Afghanistan, it’s worth considering another question: Who won the war? There is the Taliban, of course, the fanatics who have formed an interim government featuring several wanted terrorists. But an even bigger winner may be the Taliban’s…

As the November climate conference in Glasgow approaches, debate over the value of carbon “border adjustment” mechanisms in many countries is picking up. Most puzzling is a US approach proposed in Congress. A border adjustment is a fee that a country would impose on the quantity of carbon…