Saudi soccer: A game of geopolitics and religion, not just sports
Saudi Arabia's soccer player buying spree is about more than sports and the diversification of the kingdom's economy.
It’s also about geopolitics and religion for...
The UAE: The Middle East’s Teflon Nation
The United Arab Emirates resembles US ‘Teflon President’ Ronald Reagan.
Congresswoman Pat Schroeder awarded Mr. Reagan the label because nothing stuck to him while he...
A Saudi Pastime: Poking the United States in the eye
In the latest incident, Saudi Arabia detained five relatives of a US resident whose family in 2020 filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania against the...
Bin Salman toys with religious reform
For Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, religious reform has long been a question of when rather than if.
Mr. Bin Salman’s potential embrace of...
Indian pundits rally in support of Europe’s anti-migrant sentiment
Indian politicians and commentators have rallied in defense of anti-migrant sentiment in Europe to forge alliances and undercut criticism of Hindu nationalism that targets...
Autocrats shift gears by exporting repression of freedoms
Increasingly, muzzling political freedoms beyond national borders is part of an autocrat’s toolkit.
Men like Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the presidents of...
Qatar: America’s best friend in the Gulf?
A recent 27-year, four million-tonne liquified natural gas (LNG) Qatari export agreement with China, the longest in gas export history, highlights different Gulf state...
French rioters and Palestinian gunmen send similar messages
At first, comparing Palestinian gunmen in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to rioting youth in France may resemble likening apples to pears.
In many ways, it...
A successful Saudi sports blitz takes more than money
For the second time in a month, Saudi Arabia has discovered that money buys a lot but not everything.
First, there was Argentinian soccer superstar...
China and others grapple with understanding what the Wagner Group revolt means
The sigh of relief in a swath of land stretching from China to Africa’s Atlantic coast was audible when Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Russian oligarch...