Showing 1 - 10 of 11
What would happen if Khamenei falls?
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 05/01/2026
» The demonstrations began again in Iran last week, only two years after the "Woman, Life, Freedom" movement convulsed the country for months. However, the current protests are potentially much broader than that episode because they are driven by the collapse in Iran's currency, the rial (now 1,420,000 to the US dollar), and the explosive rise in the cost of living.
UN assembly shadowed by clouds of chaos
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 03/09/2025
» When the new UN General Assembly session opens next Tuesday, world leaders and diplomats will commemorate the 80th anniversary of the global organisation established in the wake of World War II to "maintain international peace and security" for future generations. But at headquarters here oin New York, delegates and staff will be doing far less celebrating than previously planned.
The Houthi threat to global shipping
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 28/03/2025
» Amidst the unpredictable arc of crisis shadowing the Middle East, the systemic and sustained merchant shipping attacks in the Red Sea persist. The culprits are a shadowy but lethal Iranian proxy force, the Houthis, who use their control of mountainous parts of the Yemeni coast to launch missile, drone and speedboat attacks on vital shipping lanes connecting the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Aden.
Chronicling the crumbling of the House of Assad
Oped, Shlomo Ben-Ami, Published on 14/12/2024
» The swift collapse, after 54 years, of Syria's al-Assad dynasty has just transformed the Middle East's geopolitical landscape. The lightning offensive by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militia took all of Syria's neighbours -- and everyone else -- by surprise. The news that President Bashar al-Assad had fled to Russia confirms the one binding truth about wars: unintended consequences can extend far beyond the theatre of battle.
The reason why China won't fight the Houthis
Oped, Yun Sun, Published on 23/02/2024
» Chinese policy in the Middle East is shaped by two factors: China's threat perceptions and its strategic calculus regarding its great-power competition with the United States. And when it comes to dealing with the US, China's approach comes down to three "nos": no cooperation, no support and no confrontation. This credo underlies China's decision not to push back against the Iran-backed Houthis as they carry out drone and missile attacks on Red Sea shipping lanes.
Don't rely on last year's trends for global economy
Oped, Mohamed A El-Erian, Published on 16/01/2024
» Behavioural economists have popularised the term "recency bias" to describe our tendency to be disproportionately influenced by the latest events compared to earlier ones. Could this cognitive phenomenon explain why numerous analysts have a rather optimistic tilt for the world economy in 2024? Or are there really positive trends counterbalancing the obvious and mounting challenges to global growth?
Democracy riddle
Oped, Postbag, Published on 14/01/2024
» Re: "Déjà vu as charter court weighs MFP ban", (Opinion, Jan 12).
Predicting 2024's global challenges
Oped, John J Metzler, Published on 03/01/2024
» Looking into the snow globe, it's that time of year to predict and prognosticate what awaits this tired world in the new year. There's a certain trepidation in the air as we view the current and emerging crises, especially during a highly contested election year in so many key countries.
3 wars, 2 truces: at least some hope out there
Oped, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 07/04/2022
» Two weeks ago, the three biggest wars in the world were in Ukraine, Ethiopia and Yemen. Now truces have silenced the guns and the air strikes in two of the three. They are only temporary truces so far, but there is a reasonable chance that they could grow into something more permanent.