Asia Pacific

Tamara Berro When Chinese President Xi Jinping met Donald Trump in May, Taiwan was at the centre of the most difficult question in the relationship between the world’s two largest powers. Xi described the island as the most important and sensitive issue in Sino-American relations. He also warned …

Dr. Shehab Al-Makahleh George Orwell’s 1984 is often read as a warning about dictatorship. It is also a study of something subtler: how institutions and ordinary people can gradually adapt themselves to a political system they once regarded as unacceptable. The machinery of Orwell’s Oceania does not depend …

In just five months, Syria’s Banyas port has been transformed into a new outlet for Iraqi energy. In April 2026, Baghdad began moving fuel oil through Syria for export from the Mediterranean. By September, it was using the same route in reverse — importing gasoline through Baniyas and …

Dr. Sanaa Al-Husseini Foreign policy is not usually the main factor determining how Americans vote in midterm elections. But the 2026 cycle looks different, with the fallout of foreign crises now intersecting with domestic concerns. The issues raised by candidates in both parties, the results of the primaries, …

By Dan Steinbock  Following October 7, 2023, the Hamas-led offensive has been portrayed as “Israel’s 9/11,” which came out of the blue. That’s not supported by facts. The Netanyahu cabinet knew about the attack, in advance. In his fiery speech to the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister …

James Lee Palestine is no longer a distant foreign-policy issue in Britain, confined to diplomatic statements or parliamentary debates about the Middle East. Over the past several years—and especially since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023—the Palestinian question has moved into Britain’s streets, universities, trade …

By Dr. Shehab Al Makahleh The most consequential question surrounding Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington is not whether Donald Trump and Xi can announce another trade arrangement. It is whether the two leaders can prevent two separate geopolitical crises—one unfolding in the Middle East and the …

In the corridors of the United Nations General Assembly, a quiet but consequential shift is underway in how Washington approaches one of the Middle East’s most intractable security dilemmas: the disarmament of Iraq’s armed factions. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi on …

By Dan Steinbock              The global AI race has entered a new, existential stage. Anthropic CEO’s idea for international cooperation is the step toward right direction. But it is unipolar and thus vulnerable to potential weaponization. What’s urgently needed is multipolar AI cooperation. On September 14, AI-linked stocks …