World News Insights: Opinion Articles

US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s phone call about Ukraine has sparked controversy, with approval and condemnation both widespread. This is largely due to Trump’s persona and the radical, unprecedented shifts he has introduced to US policy, reshaping the balance of…

It was a pleasant night in Beirut. The seaside cafes were full late into the night. The city has a habit of concealing its wounds and disappointments, to challenges death and the rubble, and to convince the visitor that bright days are ahead despite the challenges. We used to count the losses and…

As the adoption of electric vehicles accelerates, governments face a growing fiscal challenge: how to fund roads without fuel taxes while maintaining momentum towards cleaner transport. Electric vehicles (EVs) are the future of sustainable road transport; yet they also pose a fiscal conundrum: how…

Military chaos, so to speak, has taken hold in our region since the October 7 operation in Gaza and the subsequent wars in Lebanon: Israeli-Iranian military skirmishes, the fall of Assad, US strikes in Yemen, and then Israel’s rampage in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon. Nonetheless, one remarkable…

Sectarianism is the blind championing of one faction at the expense of the others, whether they are in agreement or dispute. Only those who share the same proclivities and interests see the faction’s triumph, which brings them comfort and reassurance. Like several other countries, Iraq has…

As Elon Musk pursues his “draining the marshland” in Washington D.C., his plan to reduce the size of the US federal government may have a number of unintended consequences. To be sure, few people might disagree with ending monthly payment to sole 20 million former civil servants who continue…

In reaction to the tragedy on the Syrian coast, many voices have mixed regret and apology lately: We had not anticipated the force of sectarianism that was just exhibited. Where did this disregard that defies infinite past episodes come from? It would be unwise to ignore a lousy human tendency…

Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer just a prime minister waging war against Gaza. His war is against the world. He has resumed this war of relentless brutality without even pretending to target Hamas. Children, women, and innocent civilians are his victims today. He has starved them throughout the…

The Iranian program file has returned to the forefront of developments in the Middle East, as direct political confrontation between the United States and Iran escalates and the two sides clash by proxy. Several factors are fueling this rise in tensions, which has a variety of implications for the…

The relationship between "the Arab Levant" and "the world," in modern times, has not been a friendly one. “The world," here, refers the West and its states- that is, the Atlantic World, while "the Arab Levant" primarily refers to the Palestinian cause as it was manufactured by military and security…

The new chapter in Syria, which began after it turned the page on 54 years of Assadist rule, could be undermined by the painful developments earlier this month. The new leadership in Damascus, as far as I can tell, was aware that former regime remnants had been present in the region, and of the…

The veteran politician said the latest American strikes against Houthi positions may be the last from the Donald Trump administration to Iran before the decisive moment arrives for its nuclear program. He said the region may be headed towards a major crisis should the Iranian supreme leader fail in…