The Salafis, along with Gulf States like Saudi Arabia, consider the Shias as a greater threat to Islam than Zionism.
Month: October 2024
She is no longer President of Taiwan, which allows her to travel to countries that recognize Beijing, not Taipei. France Inter met Tsai Ing-wen in Paris , where she defended Taiwan’s democracy, in the face of China’s appetite for power and territory.
Updated Oct. 17, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Raqqa was declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria on this day in 2017. Why was Raqqa so important in the Syrian Civil War? Raqqa was of strategic importance because it served as the self-proclaimed capital of ISIS and was a center for the […]
Climate change, accelerating conflicts and altering operational conditions, will not spare the armed forces. These factors combined will alter the conditions under which armies around the world have to operate. Paris-based daily Les Echos looks at how France’s armed forces are working to adapt as well as reduce their carbon footprint.
Israel is keeping the Tehran regime and outside observers guessing on the scope and timing of its threatened strikes on Iranian territory. Some say it is seeking to win itself time to “finish up” in Lebanon and Gaza, others say a massive attack on Iran could help reorder the whole region.
The German Parliament has taken up discussion on a bill for an outright ban on the AfD, the country’s increasingly popular far-right party. Here’s the case to remove a political force that wants to dismantle the institutions of democracy from within. Germany, of course, has its own history on the question.
The decision is yet another example of how Iran’s laws since the 1979 revolution have restricted women’s rights both inside and outside the home.
According to the Washington Post, Benjamin Netanyahu promised Joe Biden that he would not attack Iranian oil so as not to jeopardize the global economy — which could have an impact on the U.S. elections. It’s a deal that says a lot about the ambiguity of U.S. power and Netanyahu’s poker skills.
With up to two million displaced, United Nations designated more than 50 sites and shelters as the most vulnerable areas for floods and rainfall across Gaza. But as some people have been displaced multiple times, and humanitarian aid is being blocked, refugees have few options to shelter themselves ahead of the upcoming winter.
Honoring the research of Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James Robinson marks a comeback for the importance of public institutions in economics.
Updated Oct. 16, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their fists in the Black Power Salute during the 200-meter medal ceremony at the Olympics on this day in 1968. What was the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympics? During the medal ceremony for the 200-meter sprint at the […]
Millions of people could die from antibiotic-resistant germs in the near future. But there are very few new antibiotics in the research pipelines of the big pharmaceutical companies, which are focused on developing more profitable drugs. What is behind this blatant injustice — and what can be done about it?
Israel is on the hunt in Lebanon one more time, with apparent early successes. But it has again ignored the fact that something always rises from the ashes.
Founded in the United States in 1971, Heartbeat International has grown into one of the largest anti-abortion networks in the world, with more than 3,250 affiliated centers in 89 countries, including 288 in Latin America. But it uses misleading advertisements, inaccurate information and sketchy data collection to achieve its goals.
Since the end of the 20th century, the idea has spread that there’s a fundamental link between energy prices and Moscow’s ability to carry out military aggression. After all, low energy prices were one of the factors behind the economic collapse of the USSR.
Tensions have suddenly escalated after North Korea accused South Korea of sending drones over its capital. Threats from Pyongyang are common, but amid an uncertain international context, experts are taking these latest ones more seriously.
Israel’s war on Gaza has turned into a bloodbath, as ultimately demanded by the country’s ultra-religious rulers to remain in power as long as possible.
Updated Oct. 15, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. The execution of Dutch exotic dancer Mara Hari, a World War I spy, happened on this day in 1917. Who was Mata Hari? Mata Hari, whose real name was Margaretha Geertruida Zelle, was a Dutch dancer and courtesan born on August 7, 1876, in Leeuwarden, Netherlands. She became […]
Germany is trying to avoid tariffs on Chinese electric cars because it is interested in selling its own cars to China — and wants to avoid direct confrontation. But the European Union has decided to impose new tariffs. All of this may wind up as a full-fledged new trade war between China and Germany.
The offspring of Russia’s elite were used to luxury loft apartments, expensive cars and carefree living. So how did Putin’s successive drafts of new troops impact them? As independent Russian news platform Vazhnyye Istorii found out, life essentially continues as normal.
In the next few days, the first migrants to land in Italy will be transferred to the controversial new overseas migrant detention centers on Albanian soil. Human rights organizations warn of the way migrants to be treated fairly in them.
Never since it became the “great protector” of the Jewish state has the United States shown so much weakness towards Israel, as the Israeli prime minister stays one step ahead of his adversaries in a cunning maneuver to help Trump return to the White House.
Setting mountaineering speed records is a way for trail runners to add their names to history books to stay in the spotlight now that almost all the world’s mountains have already been climbed. But this desire to push limits is not ecological — even for a man who recycles or foregoes airplane travel.
The Israeli Prime Minister is demanding that UN peacekeepers leave the combat zones in southern Lebanon, in yet another crisis in the difficult relations between Israel and the United Nations. But this could be the point of no return.
Updated Oct. 14, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. Thirty years ago on this day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Why were Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in […]
Benjamin Netanyahu escaped the growing calls to stop the war in Gaza and bring the hostages back, by launching another war on Hezbollah. It’s a taste of what’s to come.
Many people want to sleep better, but available solutions either have little effect or severe side effects. Ultimately, there’s really only one approach that seems to work.
Traditional irrigation canals could help balance the water supply during droughts — but only if they are protected.
Initially presented as “limited,” Israeli operations have escalated sharply in Lebanon, and the Israeli Prime Minister has called on the country’s citizens to rise up against Hezbollah. What is Benjamin Netanyahu’s aim in this war?
As the People’s Republic of China turns 75, journalist Jens Mühling attempts to visit Tiananmen Square, where the country’s great dramas have always taken place.
When Mexico’s new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, chose not to invite King Felipe VI to her inauguration, Spain could have reacted differently. It could have taken the opportunity to evaluate its colonial past and apologize to the native peoples of the Americas. But imperial nostalgia and a conflictual relationship with diversity are leaving Spain in the past.
As Israel’s air strikes on Lebanon intensify, following the unprecedented exploding pagers attack, the severely injured get care inside Geitawi General Hospital that aims to salvage their forever altered lives.
Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly urged the Lebanese to turn on Hezbollah, as he drops bombs that kill thousands of civilians. But every citizen knows what an occupier looks like.
The nation’ deputy health minister, concerned about declining birth rates, wants more young brides, and expects them to start procreating as soon as possible.
Updated Oct. 10, 2024 at 12:00 a.m. Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council on this day in 1962. What was Pope John XXIII’s significance in the Roman Catholic Church’s history? Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was the 261st Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, serving from 1958 until his death in […]
October 14 – October 20, 2024
It’s called Active Non-Alignment. The end of a bipolar world and of Western supremacy has created a more fluid, and threatening, geopolitical map. For smaller powers, especially in Latin America, this is the time to “get the best deal” for themselves with the superpowers.
The Lebanese coastal metropolis has long been a source of inspiration and freedom for Baghdad native poet Aya Mansour. As Israel sends ground troops into Lebanon, she asks how the world can watch as fire and smoke covers the beauty of Beirut without saying a word.
The “titan” of Indian business, Ratan Tata, has died at 86. Under his leadership, the Tata Group evolved into a global powerhouse, renowned for its integrity and expansive reach.
Nowhere is loneliness celebrated as much as in literature and music. For centuries, this celebration of proud or penitent solitude was an artistic luxury, but it has also inspired a powerful political concept.