World News Insights: Opinion Articles

When German voters go to the polls on Sunday, the fate of companies like SKW Piesteritz will be at the top of their minds. The chemical factory halved its annual Christmas bonus for workers last year, and it just shut down one of its two ammonia plants. Hammered by high energy costs and what they…

With the Trump administration sending conflicting signals about its intentions on dealing with Iran, the Iranian leadership is once again divided on how to respond. One faction is trying to paint a grim picture in which the US will give Israel enough support to inflict a heavy defeat on Iran to…

A few days ago, on the 20th anniversary of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri’s assassination, many of those who remember what happened reiterated that they had remained confident he would not be killed until it happened. They believed that Hariri’s extensive Arab and international ties…

From the moment a law granting the warlords of the Lebanese civil war amnesty was passed, establishing “immunities” for official and legitimizing “impunity” (all compounded by an external veto on the dissolution of Hezbollah’s militia) the coup against the Taif Agreement and the constitution began…

It has been decades from the end of the Second World War in which the United States played a key role in defeating the Axis powers, and then reinforced transatlantic relations through the establishment and rise of NATO in 1949. The alliance managed to maintain a united front and remained…

On 13 February, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted in Paris the third international meeting on Syria – the latest attempt to marshal a coordinated international response since the downfall of the Assad regime. The Summit drew together high-level representatives from 20 regional and Western…

It is not fair to compare two absences, just as two presences cannot be compared. Our inclination to draw comparisons seems intuitive, and indeed it is, as Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah’s postponed funeral coincides with the twentieth anniversary of Lebanon’s former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri…

US President Donald Trump’s engagements, as well as his statements to the media, have sparked concern in many corners of the world, including Western Europe, where most countries are NATO allies. This alliance had been established on the basis of a "military doctrine" to counter the Soviet Union,…

After Jordan’s King Abdullah II visited Washington and met with President Donald Trump, the latter remained adamant about "resettling the residents of the Gaza Strip" and turning the area into a global tourism resort. This proposal blatantly disregards the Palestinian struggle and the Palestinian's…

The diplomat is familiar with Washington and its hallways where decisions are made. He used to visit at the beginning of presidential terms and return with as many answers and expectations as possible to report to his superiors. This time, however, he found himself confronted with a difficult…

If we were to avoid skepticism of the so-called Resistance Axis’ intentions- despite the many valid reasons to be skeptical and assume that their actions genuinely reflect a perspective- we could claim that they are pushing the Lebanese to finalize their defeat in the name of the victory they claim…

I have been making this point for a while now: Saudi Arabia does not have a "zero problems" policy; rather, it has adopted a "zero severance" policy. That is, the Kingdom does not totally cut ties and boycott others, as politics is the art of the possible, and it requires communication, even with…