by Ahmed Souaiaia Since the start of the protest movement popularly known as the Arab Spring in 2011, all countries in Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA) have been impacted and the level of change in each of these countries depended on domestic, regional and global factors. However, there is one variable that established itself Read more
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by Latifa Ferial Naili When reflecting on the rise of monopolies and the manipulation of public opinion for business advantage, the story of John D. Rockefeller and his involvement in the Prohibition movement of the 1920s stands out. In a recent conversation. Rockefeller, often regarded as the epitome of ruthless capitalism, used his considerable resources Read more
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by Hatem Najjar In 2022, Josep Borell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, triggered a controversy by saying that Europe was a garden of prosperity and “most of the rest of the world” was a jungle. Some accused him of tone-deafness and racism. He defended his statement saying that his “reference Read more
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By Ali Awad * Journalism (mass communication) is the fourth branch of government. As to how much power this fourth branch of government has, that depends on the circumstances and events being covered. During war times, this fourth branch of government is as powerful as the armed forces, the most potent state instrument in the Read more
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By Ahmed E. Souaiaia * By January 1, BRICS will become the GS-11, perhaps on the way to just the GS—the Global South. After meeting for two days in South Africa, leaders (or their representatives) of five developing nations, known until now as BRICS, invited six nation-states to join the group. Should they accept the Read more
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by MK Bhadrakumar * A curious thing happened in Vienna on Sunday just as the 35th Ministerial Meeting of OPEC+ was about to start at its headquarters. Three princely western news organizations – Bloomberg, Reuters, and the Wall Street Journal – were barred from entering the OPEC premises. When asked about it, pat came the Read more
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According to exclusive media reports, US and Syria are holding secret talks in Oman. A senior diplomatic source in the Arab League revealed to some media outlets that US officials are holding direct talks with a Syrian delegation, which comes in the wake of a regional push to restore relations with the war-torn country. The Read more
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by Kit Klarenberg * Yemen’s civil war, considered the world’s gravest humanitarian crisis, appears to be nearing its end due to a China-brokered detente between Iran and Saudi Arabia, who support opposing sides in the bitter conflict. Early signs suggest that the rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh may not only end hostilities in Yemen, but Read more
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When you isolate the noise and posturing from the facts that are governing the course of the war in Ukraine, which, at this point, is more than a special military operation given the involvement of NATO (though Russian leaders do not think that that line was crossed), two positions have been clearly stated. The first Read more
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The public statement that announced the deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia contains only the contours of a detailed deal whose terms are guaranteed by China and whose terms will be revealed gradually in the next few weeks. One such details concern the long terms security agreement as well as the immediate action to be Read more
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