Don’t Fear Putin’s Demise: Victory for Ukraine, Democracy for Russia
The regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin is living on borrowed time. The tide of…
Browsing: Headlines
A Harried Hezbollah
The party is facing challenges in Lebanon and the region, but has limited options for…
Ukraine’s top Catholic frowns on banning Orthodox church loyal to Moscow
(Ukrainian Greek Catholic Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk) ROME – Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head…
Iran Imam Says Less Rain Result Of Women Without Hijab
The Supreme Leader’s representative in the city of Karaj says the reason for low precipitation…
Think tank simulation predicts ‘heavy’ losses on all sides, including US, if China invades Taiwan
BY BRAD DRESS A war games simulation of a full-scale Chinese invasion of the self-governing island…
Beirut-Palermo
Sicily’s onetime mafia order reached its highest state of perfection in Lebanon. All too…
SFRC Ranking Member Risch, Chairman Menendez Call for Accountability of Lebanese Elite Undermining Democracy, Rule of Law
DECEMBER 16, 2022 “For too long, Hezbollah and others in Lebanon’s political class have…
How important is the Dome of the Rock in Islam?
(First published on May 12, 2021) After its history was manipulated, shrine rarely attracted Islamic…
Abdullah’s Throne Is Solid, but Does Nothing to Console Broke Jordanians
Jordanians protesting soaring fuel prices don’t distinguish between the severe economic crisis and the widespread…
Iran Occupies Lebanon via Proxy, But the Lebanese Still Have Agency
Although not much can be done about disarming Hezbollah at the moment, any serious Western…
Playing Solitaire
Gebran Bassil has just been humiliated by Hezbollah, but that will likely not end his…
“Misunderstanding” or ” manoeuvring”?: Doubts about dissolution of Iran’s morality police!
Has Khamenei’s regime really disbanded the morality police, as reported by the AFP on Sunday?…
Warm Peace in the Making- Examining P2P Relations Two Years to the Abraham Accords
The Abraham Accords, now past their second anniversary, have offered a new and different model…
The Fans Screamed for Qatar. Their Passion Hid a Secret.
A heaving mass of flesh and energy has brought life to the host nation’s matches…
A farewell to arms. By year end Russia will be left almost without shells, artillery and armored vehicles
31 August 2022 For Russia, six months of war have led not only to colossal…
At 9-month mark of war, Pope tells Ukrainians ‘your pain is my pain’
ROME – Nine months after the eruption of the war in Ukraine, Pope Francis Friday…
Time for the West to think about how to engage with defeated Russia
INTRODUCTION The Ukraine war is most certainly not going according to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s…
Headache of State
The path out of Lebanon’s presidential impasse remains unclear, highlighting the boundaries of Hezbollah’s influence.…
Why Ukraine’s Remarkable Attack On Sevastopol Will Go Down In History
(Artist’s impression of the maritime drone (USV) attack on Sevastopol. Although the Russian Navy was…
After Putin – What?
Before February 24, 2022, many observers in Europe and North America considered Russian President Vladimir…
Beiruti dilemma of a Turkish Photojournalist in 1985: Taking Photo, or Saving a Life?
Istanbul- Shaffaf After nearly 40 years, a veteran photojournalist, Coşkun Aral, who had followed Civil…
From Torch to Tunis to El Alamein: Events 80 years ago made the modern Middle East
The second week of November 1942 has much to tell us about the region’s geopolitical…
Zaporizhia, prisoner exchanges: the discreet mediation of the Emirates between Moscow and kyiv
President of the United Arab Emirates Federation, the Ruler of Abu Dhabi created a surprise…
Iranian Drones in Ukraine Contain Western Brand Components
By David Albright, Sarah Burkhard, and Spencer Faragasso Download PDF Background The Institute for…
Why Is Iran’s Secular Shift So Hard to Believe?
How two researchers got to the heart of a polling problem: the skewing effect of…
When there’s good news about the Middle East, we should take note
Rarely is there good news to write about in the Middle East. The same seems…
Defeating the Deadlock?
We may be nearing the stage where Lebanon can have any president it wants, as…
Turkish Secularist Opposition Leader visits Neo-ikhwanist DAWN organisation on US tour
Istanbul- On his 4-day tour to the United States, CHP Leader visited DAWN, one of…
Ghajar: The Israeli-Lebanese town, once closed, is now open for tourists
https://www.instagram.com/tv/Cjr9FrIsZ73/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D NORTHERN AFFAIRS: Ghajar has long been a closed military zone, but 22…
Democrats call to punish Saudi Arabia over OPEC’s oil cutbacks
Lawmakers are demanding that the US withdraw its military from the cartel leader over its…
Behind the scenes of the Lebanon maritime border deal’s implosion
Israel preparing for potential escalation in north as Lebanon talks derail Defense Minister Benny…
What the West should learn from the protests in Iran
The Iranian regime’s brutal killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini — who was reportedly brutally beaten…
Can the Iranian System Survive?
In an interview, Ali Fathollah-Nejad discusses the recent protests in Iran, and long-term prospects for…
What a Cold War crisis over Taiwan could tell us about China-Russia relations today
Russia’s top leader visits Beijing, meets with his Chinese counterpart, issues a joint communiqué condemning…
Kuwait Information ministry gears up for coverage of upcoming election
KUWAIT: Minister of Information Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi meets senior officials of the ministry. KUWAIT: The information…
The Most Stinging Resignation Letter Ever Written
When Iraq’s finance minister stepped down last month, he didn’t go quietly. By Robert F. Worth…
Ukraine will win the war
The below is an edited transcript of David Petraeus’s interview with CNN’s Jim Sciutto. …
To bank depositors in Lebanon (Confronting Banks, Banque du Liban and Government)
Executive Summary To Bank Depositors in Lebanon (Confronting Banks, Banque du Liban, and Government)…
In Nuclear Talks, Iran Is Walking a Very Fine Line
With all the headlines announcing possible replacements for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran – which claims…
Conman or Madman: Curious Case of Alexander Dugin, unsolved riddle on his daughter’s killing
Istanbul- Despite having no organic ties, he managed to convince everyone in the world…
After Guantanamo Bay Testimony, Khaled Shaikh Mohammed Enigma still intact
(Originally published by Shaffaf and the Beirut Daily Star on March 17, 2007. A news…
A nuclear safety expert’s view on the crisis at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant
(Undated picture of Enzo Ferrari posing with faulty parts in his “error museum” displayed at…
Russia’s Sberbank Switzerland changes hands to new Swiss (Lebanese) owner
The Swiss branch of Russia’s Sberbank has been sold to the Geneva-based m3 Groupe Holding…
Vatican envoy says Syria is ‘losing hope,’ asks that it not be forgotten
(Giampaolo Silvestri, secretary general of the AVSI Foundation (L), Cardinal Mario Zenari, Vatican envoy in…
Making the Druze Choose
A lot is happening in Syria’s Suwayda Governorate, but Damascus still remains the dominant outside…
Last Battle for Independence
The Iranian occupation of Lebanon will recede and disappear, no doubt, and Lebanon will regain…
Russian Military Expert Felgengauer Punctures The Hope That Tension Between China And Taiwan Could Open Up A Second Front To Distract The US
The Russian leadership, while refraining from mass mobilization has sought to portray the war in…
Salman Rushdie’s unknown support to Palestinians and adoration of Edward Said
Istanbul- Salman Rushdie, the writer of Satanic Verses, a novel that ignited outrage among some…
The Rushdie Attack and Iran’s Deceptive “Fatwas”
Whether or not Tehran is proven to be involved, the incident holds significant implications for…
Former Head of AKP Davutoğlu on Erdogan’s Syria U-turn: “Putin is coercing Turkey”
Istanbul-Shaffaf As Ankara signaled new dialogue with Assad regime following the Sochi summit of Erdogan…