Op-ed

By Hadi Elis The attack on a Greek Orthodox church in southern Jordan raises a question that cannot be answered by looking at the crime scene alone: why Jordan, and why now? According to accounts of the incident, armed assailants attacked mourners at St. George’s Greek Orthodox Church …

Pranjal Saraswat Key Features:  Israel’s 27 October election may reshape the country’s political leadership, but the strategic consensus surrounding Iran could prove far harder to change. Israel’s parliamentary election, scheduled for 27 October 2026, comes at a moment of profound uncertainty. The country is still grappling with the …

James Lunt As tensions rise between Iran, Israel and the United States, Gulf states are scrambling to prevent a regional confrontation from becoming an economic and security catastrophe. The most dangerous moment in a geopolitical crisis is not always when the first missile is launched. Sometimes it comes …

Dan Steinbock        The Ebola crisis in Central Africa has crossed another dangerous threshold. What began as an outbreak in DR Congo has spread across national borders, exposed weaknesses in international preparedness, and the management of emergency assistance. On October 20, Nigeria confirmed an imported case in Abuja. …

Ian MacDonald Turkey’s military presence in Syria and Iraq is entering a new phase. For years, Ankara has justified its cross-border deployments primarily through the fight against Kurdish armed groups and the need to prevent threats from spilling across its borders. But as political arrangements in Damascus and …

Sarah Viceroy As Israel approaches its 27 October 2026 election, Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque have become more than religious and territorial flashpoints. They are also instruments in a fierce contest for political influence, particularly within Israel’s nationalist and religious right. Politicians are competing to demonstrate who can …

 Cynthia Jacobs The Eastern Mediterranean is becoming an increasingly important arena in the contest over maritime boundaries, energy security and regional influence. Turkey’s growing naval presence and its strategic partnership with Libya have strengthened Ankara’s position in this competition, giving it additional leverage over future gas projects, undersea …

Alexis Nexus The next frontier of military competition may not be found only in hypersonic missiles, autonomous drones or artificial intelligence. It may lie within the human body itself—in the vast microbial ecosystem that helps regulate digestion, immunity and metabolism. As synthetic biology advances, researchers are exploring ways …

James Ross The history of extremism in the Arab world cannot be understood through security failures and the rise of armed groups alone. It must also be examined through the political ideas, organizational networks and historical circumstances that allowed radical movements to emerge, adapt and cross national borders. …