Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Khaled Abu Toameh • May 19, 2025 at 5:00 am
In the eyes of Iran and the Houthis, Trump's separate peace deal that excluded Israel is a captivating green light to continue their attacks on "The Little Satan", while obligingly halting their assaults on vessels in the Red Sea. Trump's deal with the Houthis sent everyone in the Middle East the message that the Trump administration has finally thrown Israel under the bus. Worse, Trump's agreement does not require the Houthis to abandon their jihad (holy war) against either the US or Israel. "[The Palestinians are] ecstatic that their employer, Qatar, just "purchased" the US presidency with a $400 million 747 jet and a Golf Course...." — Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, Palestinian political analyst, X, May 11, 2025. Qatar wanted the American-Israeli hostage released as a gesture to Trump on the eve of his visit to the Gulf state. Hamas leaders were not able to say no to Qatar, and immediately complied. This event shows that Qatar has enough influence over Hamas to instruct it to release all the hostages. Qatar could have used its influence from the beginning to force Hamas to release all of them; but it did not. Qatar wants to make sure that its long-standing allies, Iran and Hamas, remain strong and in power after the current war. Trump and his Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are being played and appear not even to know it. If they do know it, personal friendships and financial rescues have apparently taken priority over hard-nosed negotiating. Their only priority seems to have been raking in trillions of dollars from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, a Trump golf resort in Saudi Arabia, a $400 million "flying palace" from Qatar, a Trump hotel in Dubai and the promise of a Trump Tower in Damascus. "Donald Trump may go down in history as the American President who empowered Islamism around the globe [by funding Syria's al-Sharaa], more than any other president in the history of the USA." — Nervana Mahmoud, Egyptian political analyst, X, May 13, 2025. Trump and his advisors undoubtedly have good intentions, but... trying to strike deals with Iran and its Hamas and Houthi terror proxies, instead emboldens these terrorists and enemies of the US. After Trump returns to Washington, he will quickly discover that the Islamists and their sponsors in the Middle East have not changed. Iran, Hamas and the Houthis will continue to call for death to Israel and America. Qatar will continue to provide political and financial support to anti-American Islamists and other Jihadis. As for Syria's jihadist president, the belief that he will transform himself into a moderate pro-Western Arab leader and a democrat is, unfortunately, nothing but a joke. Saudi Arabia, under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also appears to be moving in that direction, though at a much slower pace. MBS will not join the Abraham Accords. Trump's wish that he would sign onto them "in your own time" is a sweet, naïve dream. If Trump were to use military force against Iran's nuclear weapons program, it would not only be a blow to Tehran and its terror proxies, it would enormously empower the moderate Arabs and Muslims who correctly view the mullahs as a threat to their national security and stability. If Trump wants real peace and prosperity, he must, unfortunately, act against Iran and its terror proxies, and distance himself from jihadists and their sponsors, especially Qatar. Such a move would be the best way to expand the Abraham Accords and encourage other Arabs to seize hold of Trump's great promise.
President Donald Trump's visit to Qatar -- Hamas's major sponsor and funder -- is seen by many Palestinians and Arabs as a victory for the Palestinian terror group. If Trump wants real peace and prosperity, he must, unfortunately, act against Iran and its terror proxies, and distance himself from jihadists and their sponsors, especially Qatar. Pictured: Trump speaks with Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al Thani as he departs the Al Udeid Air Base on May 15, 2025, in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
As US President Donald J. Trump was being hosted in Saudi Arabia by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler of the kingdom, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen fired another ballistic missile at Israel. The missile, which flew over Saudi Arabia on its way to Israel, was fortunately intercepted by the Israel Defense Forces before reaching its intended target. The Houthis, in fact, fired three ballistic missiles at Israel, right over the Crown Prince's head. The missile attacks came less than a week after Trump announced that he had reached a separate ceasefire deal with the Houthis to end their attacks on American-flagged vessels in the Red Sea. "They just don't want to fight, and we will honor that," Trump said. "We will stop the bombings, and they have capitulated. But more importantly, we will take their word. They said they will not be blowing up any ships anymore."
Continue Reading Article
by Con Coughlin • May 18, 2025 at 5:00 am
[Trump's] soft approach, however, to the Saudi Crown Prince -- that he was welcome to join the Abraham Accords "in your own time" -- could easily be a "never".... "This is Qatar's classic game: support the Islamist terrorists and then present itself as a mediator, liaison, and even peacemaker – the arsonist playing firefighter. As in Afghanistan, as in Egypt in 2010, and as in every Muslim country." — Yigal Carmon, a former Israeli intelligence officer and founder and president of the Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI), May 15, 2025. "Mr. Trump revealed the essential philosophy behind his foreign-policy decisions: He hates war and loves gold. That's it. To hear it fully, to get near its meaning and debate its sufficiency, you had to step over so much broken glass. 'Flying Palace' Violates Emoluments Clause. Sons Enjoy Steep Profits From Trump Presidency." — Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal, May 15, 2025. If Trump is really serious about achieving his goal of bringing peace to Gaza, then his first course of action should be to persuade the Qataris to end their funding of Hamas, which has allowed it to maintain its murderous war against Israel. Trump should also once again demand that Qatar's client, Hamas, release all remaining hostages by the end of the week. "The President is offering a foreign-policy realism built on commerce, but shorn of American idealism." — Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, May 16, 2025. Also, what precedent is being set? Would the first gesture toward all future administrations be to bestow lavish tributes on the president and his family members to gain preferential treatment from the US? Trump's political rivals may well be hoping that their chance has finally come to impeach him again -- this time with $400 million dollars' worth of evidence. "Sorry," the New York Post noted, "this 'gift' is far from free; Qatar will surely expect something in return." Trump would be well-advised to reconsider their gift of a luxury jet and reject this highly questionable offer.
Given the Qataris' history of double-dealing with the West, negotiating lucrative contracts with Western firms while at the same time funding Islamist terror groups, US President Donald Trump would be well-advised to reconsider their gift of a $400 million luxury jet and reject this highly questionable offer. Pictured: The Boeing 747 that Qatar intends to give as a gift to Trump sits in Palm Beach International Airport on February 15, 2025. (Photo by Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images)
If US President Donald Trump is really serious about bringing peace to the Middle East, then he should rethink again accepting the gift of a luxury $400 million aircraft from the rulers of Qatar. The country is renowned for its continuing support for Islamist terror groups, for continuing to fan the flames that would reignite the fundamentalist Arab Spring, for anti-US terrorist activity and for attacks on the US. Far from being allies of the US, the Qataris have, in recent years, done their level best to undermine American efforts to bring peace to and stability to the Middle East, not to mention radicalising US higher education. The Middle East Forum's Benjamin Baird has detailed how, since 2012, "Qatar's $40 Billion Spending Spree Buys Influence and Control of Elite Institutions."
Continue Reading Article
by Amir Taheri • May 18, 2025 at 4:00 am
Since we are now used to a new kind of journalism, let's call that the journalism of what might be, as opposed to what has actually happened. In it, projection, not to say fantasy, often replaces the reporting of facts. [W]e were immediately told that Leo XIV will continue the path traced by Pope Francis by supporting the Palestinian cause, showing an understanding of "alternative lifestyles", becoming a defender of the poor and illegal immigrants and an anti-Trump activist, in short a very woke pope. The first Pope Leo, who headed the Catholic Church from 440-461, was canonized a saint because, according to lore or legend, he met Attila the Hun and persuaded the ruthless invader of Europe to spare Rome. Today, Leo XIV may be facing another Attila in the shape of the woke movement that tries to re-write history, redefine faith and remold the world by championing fake noble causes.
Pictured: Pope Leo XIV arrives in St Peter's Square on May 18, 2025, in Vatican City. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
He had hardly finished addressing the crowd in front of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City that Robert Provost, as the newly minted Pope Leo XIV, was transformed into a blank face on which interest groups and lobbies of all kind could draw the image they would like him to become. Since we are now used to a new kind of journalism, let's call that the journalism of what might be, as opposed to what has actually happened. In it, projection, not to say fantasy, often replaces the reporting of facts. So, we were immediately told that Leo XIV will continue the path traced by Pope Francis by supporting the Palestinian cause, showing an understanding of "alternative lifestyles", becoming a defender of the poor and illegal immigrants and an anti-Trump activist, in short a very woke pope. One of Trump's most prominent Catholic allies, Steve Bannon, called Leo the "worst pick for MAGA Catholics," casting him as the "anti-Trump pope."
Continue Reading Article
by Majid Rafizadeh • May 17, 2025 at 5:00 am
Iran appears to be using diplomacy to stall, deceive and advance its nuclear capabilities behind closed doors, while securing financial and geopolitical concessions from the West. The disturbing part is not that Iran's mullahs are following their usual tactics. The horror is that American officials and Western leaders appear to be falling for this shell-game all over again. The problem with enriching hostile regimes to "buy quiet" is that this is the money they use to build nuclear weapons with which to attack us. An additional problem, unfortunately, is that the Iranian regime has a well-documented history of lying. No deal that permits any level of enrichment or allows Iran to keep its centrifuges intact will prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. We are trying to "deal" with theocrats who believe it is their divine duty to destroy Israel and America, and take over the oil-rich states in the Persian Gulf. What makes the current situation even more exasperating is that despite decades of talks, deals and diplomatic theater with North Korea, Russia, China and Iran, we have watched them exploit Western weakness and lack of resolve time and again right under our noses. Yet, like Charlie Brown and the football, the West insists on accepting the same failed, bogus guarantees. We do not need another Swiss-cheese agreement filled with loopholes. We do not need photo-ops and press conferences proclaiming bogus triumphs.
Iran appears to be using diplomacy to stall, deceive and advance its nuclear capabilities behind closed doors, while securing financial and geopolitical concessions from the West. Pictured: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks to the media during the signing ceremony for his book, The Power of Negotiation, in Muscat, Oman on April 25, 2025. (Photo by Haitham Al-Shukairi/AFP via Getty Images)
As the United States continues negotiations with Iran to prevent it from acquiring nuclear weapons, if it does not already have them, it has become clear that the Islamic Republic's regime is not pursuing these talks in good faith. Far from viewing negotiations as a means toward a peaceful resolution, the Iranian regime appears to see them as a tool that has proven successful before, not only for itself but also for its authoritarian ally, North Korea. Iran appears to be using diplomacy to stall, deceive and advance its nuclear capabilities behind closed doors, while securing financial and geopolitical concessions from the West. The disturbing part is not that Iran's mullahs are following their usual tactics. The horror is that American officials and Western leaders appear to be falling for this shell-game all over again.
Continue Reading Article
by Gordon G. Chang • May 16, 2025 at 5:00 am
[T]he arrangement is a win for China. The main barrier to American goods in China, however, is not Chinese tariffs but China's many non-tariff barriers, which are untouched by the new deal. Therefore, the tariff rollbacks benefit Chinese exporters far more than America's. The Chinese promise is unlikely to be worth anything. The only way Xi Jinping can honor his pledge is to give up most elements of communism, because non-tariff barriers, predatory trade practices, and even theft are inherent in that system. Trump is still hoping for robust relations with the Communist Party, but unfortunately that is not possible. Xi cannot now admit that China needs the United States, and he certainly cannot be seen as giving in to American coercion. In fact, the Chinese regime since the tariff announcement has been crowing about its win over Trump. On May 12, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking to CNBC's "Squawk Box," urged a "decoupling for strategic necessities." Yes. And "a complete decoupling," which as Trump tweeted in 2020 would remain "a policy option," would be even better. Why should Americans shovel any cash to Communist Party's coffers?
The White House has termed the new trade arrangement with China "a historic trade win for the United States." No, the arrangement is a win for China. President Donald Trump effectively traded tangible relief from American tariffs for China's vague promise to open up its economy. Pictured: U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (R) and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer hold a news conference in Geneva on May 12, 2025, to give details of trade talks between American and Chinese officials. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
On May 12, President Donald Trump announced a "total reset with China." "The best part of the deal," he said, was that "China agreed to open itself up to American business." Beijing, Trump proclaimed, will "suspend and remove all of its non-monetary barriers." In the meantime, both the U.S. and China agreed to drop tariffs by 115 percentage points. The general American tariff rate on China's goods is now 30%. The general Chinese rate is 10%. Both reductions will be in effect for 90 days. China also agreed to reverse "all the non-tariff countermeasures taken against the United States since April 2, 2025." American tariffs in place before April 2, such as the Section 232 and Section 301 levies, remain in effect. These moves, in sum, undo American and Chinese measures that were put in place from April 2, what Trump has called "Liberation Day." The White House termed the arrangement "a historic trade win for the United States."
Continue Reading Article
by Lawrence Kadish • May 15, 2025 at 3:00 pm
Pictured: President Donald Trump signs an executive order on prescription drug prices, in the White House, on May 12, 2025. (Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
The first 115 days of the Trump Administration have been filled more remedial action than we have seen from most presidents in their entire terms. Invariably, the forecasters focus on the next 12 short months while failing to appreciate the sweep of history that has brought us to this next chapter of American history. The pessimistic "bears" among us have warned that there are systematic threats to our economy, our nation, and the stability of the world. The optimistic "bulls" will tout the enormous advances in reducing the former administration's inflation and out-of-control illegal border crossings, the brimming new technology, foreign investments in the trillions that will bring many new jobs, Wall Street confidence, and a resilient American economy that continues to set the pace for the rest of the world. In truth, they are both right, and the reality of America in the first half of 2025 is far more nuanced than any one side would have you believe.
Continue Reading Article
by Nils A. Haug • May 15, 2025 at 5:00 am
The future of Israel and its people will therefore rest on Israel's own ability to defend its nation... Israelis will live, and thrive, in their homeland despite ill-intent by their enemies. After all, the Jews are sacred custodians of eternal truths and morality – as the Torah makes clear. The world needs them. "Instead of demonizing and vilifying Israel, the world should be thanking Israel for being on the front lines in saving Western civilization and the free world." — Elon Gold, reported by David Suissa, The Jewish Journal, April 29, 2025. As for England and all of Great Britain, the greatest empire of its time is no more -- long gone. Rule Britannia no longer rules anything, not even the streets of London.
Since 1650, after a relatively undisturbed period in England of nearly 400 years, publicly expressed animosity toward the Jews is escalating. Islamist influence in Britain is growing exponentially. The UK's weak leadership falls into a category of cognitive dissonance from reality, as does its cowardly display against vociferous and dangerous Jew-hatred on the streets of London. Pictured: Anti-Israel protesters in London, on March 15, 2025. (Photo by Henry Nicholls/AFP via Getty Images)
Jews have a long history of residence in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, under King Edward I in 1290 CE, England was one of the first countries to expel Jews from its borders -- an event which Oliver Cromwell remedied in 1650, after nearly 400 years. Since 1650, after a relatively undisturbed period in the UK of nearly another 400 years, publicly expressed animosity toward the Jews is escalating. Towards the end of April 2025, a British journalist who frequently appeared on the BBC's Arabic channel commenting on Gaza events, reportedly called for "Jews to be burned 'as Hitler did.'" The BBC lamely explained that the person was not "a member of staff nor part of the BBC's reporting team." Even so, the BBC – Britain's official broadcaster – has frequently allowed pro-Palestinian content and, by implication, anti-Jewish sentiment to be promoted.
Continue Reading Article
by Uzay Bulut • May 14, 2025 at 5:00 am
Ever since the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered the Syrian capital Damascus with Turkey's help in December of 2024, HTS fighters and their affiliated militias -- often offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda -- have been massacring religious minorities throughout the country. The internet has been flooded with images... of Alawite men, women and children being barbarically shot at close range. Most recently, after slaughtering Alawites, HTS and Syria's new Islamic regime, under the self-proclaimed "presidency" of former jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, are massacring other religious minorities in the country, including Christians and Druze. HTS is still designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, EU, US and UK. Qatar and Turkey are apparently the powers behind the new regime in Damascus. Sunnis in Inkhil, Daraa, were filmed running buses for those who want to go after the Druze. HTS supporters in Idlib waved ISIS flags and incited against the Druze and Jews. Endless footage from Syria signals that HTS and its supporters have a genocidal intent towards all religious minorities in the region. "The targeted areas were the places of Alawites and Christians. Many innocent Christian victims were also killed. Residents of some of those places were forced to leave their homes. Then they were shot and killed. Then their houses, property, and cars were stolen." — John X, Patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, March 9, 2025. The fate of these communities should not be left to al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists in Syria. Moreover, Syria should not be left to the savagery of al-Sharaa and his HTS offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda, or to Turkey's terrorist mastermind, Erdogan. For years, Erdogan has repeatedly vowed to "liberate Jerusalem," as he seems to be attempting to rebuild the Ottoman Empire and install himself as Sultan. Now, with HTS and his other proxy militias in Syria, Erdogan finally has the unimpeded path he has been waiting for to do it.
The fate of Syria's Druze, Alawite and Christian communities should not be left to al-Qaeda and ISIS terrorists. Moreover, Syria should not be left to the savagery of its President Ahmed al-Sharaa and his HTS offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda, or to terrorist mastermind Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Pictured: Al-Sharaa shakes hands with Erdogan during a press conference in Ankara, Turkey on February 4, 2025. (Photo by Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images)
Ever since the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) conquered the Syrian capital Damascus with Turkey's help in December of 2024, HTS fighters and their affiliated militias -- often offshoots of ISIS and al-Qaeda -- have been massacring religious minorities throughout the country. The internet has been flooded with images -- some discredited as old or manipulated, but many not -- of Alawite men, women and children being barbarically shot at close range. Most recently, after slaughtering Alawites, HTS and Syria's new Islamic regime, under the self-proclaimed "presidency" of former jihadist commander Ahmed al-Sharaa, are massacring other religious minorities in the country, including Christians and Druze. HTS is still designated as a terrorist organization by the UN, EU, US and UK.
Continue Reading Article
by Robert Williams • May 13, 2025 at 5:00 am
"Animal-based foods, especially red meat, dairy, and farmed shrimp, are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions," according to the UN. What to eat instead? The WEF has for years aggressively been advocating insects to be approved as a food ingredient for human consumption. European Union member states have happily complied with the WEF's wishes... As a special treat, EU member states, in 2021, approved the introduction of mealworms, migratory locusts and house crickets as so-called "novel food" that can legally be sold in foodstuffs. The "climate change" movement is huge business; the billionaires pushing this scrofulous narrative have it all figured out. They have been investing in plant-based fake meat foodstuffs to reap the profits once the war on farmers has been won... If these highly processed foods are not healthy, too bad. The earnings will line the WEF elites' pockets. "Alternative proteins" would have to replace meat, Bill Gates said in a 2021 interview; the climate crisis "is much worse than the pandemic." For that reason, he is also betting on Nature's Fynd, a company that makes food that sounds irresistible. "This company, Nature's Fynd, is using fungi. And then they turn them into sausages and yogurt. Pretty amazing," Gates said. The elites know what they are doing. Shutting down farms and killing livestock means that prices will skyrocket, even more than they are today, forcing "ordinary" people without the financial means of Gates, Bezos and Klaus Schwab to stop eating meat, and eventually live off plants and insects to "save the planet," all while the citizenry's elected and unelected overlords continue living their billionaire lifestyles. Costs will continue to rise for as long as people permit those "leaders" to determine how we should live and what we should eat. The time to put a stop to their warmhearted "protection" is now.
"Animal-based foods, especially red meat, dairy, and farmed shrimp, are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions," according to the UN. What to eat instead? The World Economic Forum has for years aggressively been advocating insects to be approved as a food ingredient for human consumption. Pictured: A dish of basil pesto tagliatelle, made with ground fly larvae and garnished with mealworms, at Gourmet Grubb, a food stand run by chef Mario Barnard in Cape Town, South Africa, on July 17, 2019. (Photo by Rodger Bosch/AFP via Getty Images)
The United Nations, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and other international organizations trying to implement fanciful agendas on "climate change" are waging a war on food. "About a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is linked to food," the UN posits. "The largest chunk of food-related greenhouse gases comes from agriculture and land use. This includes, for instance, methane from cattle's digestive process, nitrous oxide from fertilizers used for crop production, carbon dioxide from cutting down forests for the expansion of farmland, other agricultural emissions from manure management, rice cultivation, burning of crop residues, and the use of fuel on farms."
To get to "net zero," apparently, we are supposed to greatly reduce, or entirely stop, eating meat. "Animal-based foods, especially red meat, dairy, and farmed shrimp, are generally associated with the highest greenhouse gas emissions," according to the UN.
Continue Reading Article
by Bassam Tawil • May 12, 2025 at 5:00 am
Palestinians who are saying that they are unaware of Hamas's October 7 atrocities against Israelis are either engaged in self-deception or influenced by Hamas's venomous propaganda machine, including the Qatar-owned Al-Jazeera TV network, which has long been serving as the terror group's unofficial mouthpiece. Notably, according to several polls, Al-Jazeera is the most watched TV station in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. If, according to the polls, most Palestinians are saying that they want Hamas to keep its weapons and remain in power in the Gaza Strip, it means they want the terror group to carry out more atrocities against Israel and Jews. If the Palestinians are saying that they prefer Hamas over any other Palestinian party, it means that they do not support any peaceful settlement with Israel. It means that the Palestinians want to see Israel obliterated and replaced by an Islamist state, armed and funded by Iran and its other terror proxies, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. One can only hope that the Trump administration and other international parties will read the results of the Palestinian polls to get a better understanding of what many Palestinians really want: to murder as many Jews as possible and displace Israel.
A few weeks after October 7, 2023, a poll published by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research showed that 72% of the Palestinian public believe that Hamas's decision to launch the attack was "correct." The center's latest poll, conducted this month, shows that an overwhelming majority of the Palestinians (85% in the West Bank and 64% in the Gaza Strip) oppose disarming Hamas to stop the war with Israel. Pictured: Palestinians rally in support of Hamas on December 15, 2023 in Nablus. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
An overwhelming majority of the Palestinians (87%) believe that the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas did not commit atrocities against Israeli civilians, including women and children, on October 7, 2023, according to a public opinion poll conducted in early May by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. When asked if Hamas had committed the atrocities seen in the videos shown by international media displaying the acts committed by Hamas members against Israelis in their homes on that day, these Palestinians said the group did not commit such atrocities, while only 9% said it did. The poll, conducted in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, shows that many Palestinians are living in denial, and trying to protect themselves from a truth that is apparently too painful for them to accept: that many Palestinians support terrorism and that most of the victims of the October 7 massacre were innocent civilians.
Continue Reading Article
by Raymond Ibrahim • May 11, 2025 at 5:00 am
The top 13 of the 50 nations on the World Watch List 2025 are characterized by the worst form of persecution: "extreme." They are: 1) North Korea, 2) Somalia, 3) Yemen, 4) Libya, 5) Sudan, 6) Eritrea, 7) Nigeria, 8) Pakistan, 9) Iran, 10) Afghanistan, 11) India, 12) Saudi Arabia, and 13) Myanmar. [M]ost of the "extreme persecution" meted out to Christians in nine of these 13 worst nations continues to come either from Islamic oppression, or occurs in nations with large Muslim populations. Significantly, this means that approximately 70% of the absolute worst ("extreme") persecution around the globe takes place under the aegis, or in the name, of Islam. [T]he persecution of Christians by Muslims is perennial, existential, and far transcends this or that ruler or regime. Persecution of the "other" in Islam is part of its history, doctrines and socio-political makeup — hence its tenacity and ubiquity "More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world." — World Watch List 2025. "[R]oughly a quarter of all blasphemy accusations [in Pakistan] target Christians, who make up just 1.8 percent of the population. Blasphemy laws carry a death sentence." — World Watch List 2025. "In Afghanistan, leaving Islam... and conversion is punishable by death under Islamic law. This has been increasingly enforced since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021." — World Watch List 2025. Even in nations that would appear to be friendly or at least neutral to Christianity, such as Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua, Christians are being abused for their faith...
"More believers are killed for their faith in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world," according to World Watch List 2025. Pictured: The Church of Christ in Nations building in Mangu, Nigeria, photographed on February 2, 2024, after it was torched by Islamic terrorists. (Photo by Kola Sulaimon/AFP via Getty Images)
In 2024, around the world, 4,476 Christians — more than 12 a day on average — were "killed for faith related reasons." Another 4,744 Christians were arrested or illegally detained, and 7,679 churches and other Christian institutions were attacked, often destroyed. Overall, the global persecution of Christians has reached unprecedented levels. "More than 380m Christians suffer high levels of persecution and discrimination for their faith," according to the World Watch List 2025 (WWL) published earlier this year by the international human rights organization, Open Doors. Every year, the WWL ranks the top 50 nations in which Christians are the most persecuted for their faith. The data is compiled by thousands of grassroots workers and external experts. The latest edition of the WWL covers October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024.
Continue Reading Article
by Amir Taheri • May 11, 2025 at 4:00 am
Ukraine has tried to compensate for a manpower shortage, which it shares with Russia, not by hiring North Korean or African mercenaries, but by developing a major industry manufacturing attack drones. The current year may still witness history repeating itself with new Ukrainian guerrilla attacks on key Russian infrastructure, starting with the bridge Putin built, at a cost of billions of dollars, to connect Crimea to the Russian mainland. [A]n increase in Ukraine's ability to defend itself should be seen as an argument in favor of a negotiated peace rather than a prolonged war. Trump should revive his peacemaking bid this time by admitting that while Putin still has more cards to play in this deadly game, Zelenskiy is not as empty-handed as some thought.
An increase in Ukraine's ability to defend itself should be seen as an argument in favor of a negotiated peace rather than a prolonged war. Pictured: Soldiers of Ukraine's 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade take part in a tactical field training exercise in the Donetsk Region, on May 1, 2025. (Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images)
Students of history know that starting a war is always easy; what is difficult is ending it. The current war in Ukraine is no exception. The trouble is that Russian President Vladimir Putin, the man who started this war, also believed he knew how to end it. More than three years later, it is clear that he is as clueless on that score as anyone. That anyone also includes US President Donald Trump, who sincerely believed he could end the war with a few phone calls to the two Vladimirs who spell their names differently. With the global public opinion more interested in what may come next rather than what is actually happening, the real story, which in this case means the latest twists and turns in the war, go largely unnoticed.
Continue Reading Article
by Majid Rafizadeh • May 10, 2025 at 5:00 am
Any deal that permits Iran to keep centrifuges spinning, continue uranium enrichment, or store nuclear material is a deal that guarantees a future nuclear-armed Iran. We cannot afford a disastrous "JCPOA, the Sequel." Now, after President Trump's return, the world is watching to see whether the United States really has the backbone to compel Iran completely to dismantle its nuclear weapons infrastructure – or actually to deliver the alternative. The Iranian regime is not to be trusted. Its so-called "civilian" nuclear program is a Trojan horse, a fraud designed to keep the West paralyzed. There have to be no more talks, no more half-measures, no more inspectors playing cat and mouse with a regime that lies to their faces with impunity. The only acceptable outcome is either full dismantlement -- no centrifuges and enriched uranium for "civilian use", no secret sites -- or unfortunately, the less pretty "Plan B," if Trump and his administration are to have any credibility.
Any deal that permits Iran to keep centrifuges spinning, continue uranium enrichment, or store nuclear material is a deal that guarantees a future nuclear-armed Iran. We cannot afford a disastrous "JCPOA, the Sequel." Pictured: A Fattah hypersonic ballistic missile is displayed during the annual military parade in Tehran, on September 22, 2023. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
For more than two decades, the Iranian regime has played a dangerous and calculated game of deception with the West by skillfully masking its nuclear ambitions under the pretense of "civilian use." This is not a new tactic — it's a time-tested playbook used by rogue regimes to buy time, mislead international watchdogs, and continue marching in the shadows toward nuclear weapons and the missiles to them. Tehran has manipulated global diplomacy by leveraging Western naivety and its obsession with appeasement and the search for "peace" to keep all the core elements of its nuclear program intact. While negotiations and deals were struck in the name of "peace," Iran preserved and advanced the infrastructure necessary to build nuclear bombs. Preserving its nuclear programs by proliferating secret sites under the deceitful banner of civilian energy has allowed the regime to reap the benefits of economic deals while continuing to lie and manipulate.
Continue Reading Article
by Karys Rhea • May 9, 2025 at 5:00 am
The international community continues to conspire against the reality of Israel's existence by testing the limits of its sovereignty and threatening the Jewish right to self-determination and self-defense. The EU would never allow an external entity to abridge the sovereignty of one of its own member states in this way, nor would it endorse such behavior anywhere else. "To think that the Palestinians are only enraged about settlements is also fatuous nonsense. Talk to the 15-year-olds. Their grievance is not just with Israeli settlements, but with Israel. Most Palestinians simply do not accept that the Jews have any authentic right to be here." —Thomas Friedman, New York Times, October 31, 2000. The progressive international public has fervently bought into the red herring of Jewish settlements while hypocritically remaining silent regarding settlement activity in Western Sahara, northern Cyprus, Ceuta and Melilla, Tibet, Kashmir and the Falkland Islands. The mainstream media and cultural apparatus conveniently ignore the history of these Jewish "settlers," many of whom are indigenous to the region but whose parents or grandparents were forcibly expelled from the West Bank or parts of Jerusalem in 1948 when Jordan seized and occupied territory. Instead of acknowledging them as descendants of refugees merely returning home... Those who understand the scope of this have witnessed how the plan of former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is part of a much bigger strategy of illegal land use that extends to the Negev Desert in the south and to the Galilee in the north, all driven by a European-supported narrative that replaces Jewish history with the 20th-century fiction of Palestinian-Arab nationalism.
Those who understand the scope of this have witnessed how the plan of former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is part of a much bigger strategy of illegal land use that extends to the Negev Desert in the south and to the Galilee in the north, all driven by a European-supported narrative that replaces Jewish history with the 20th-century fiction of Palestinian-Arab nationalism. Pictured: Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas President Mahmoud Abbas (R) meets with Fayyad during a meeting on April 13, 2013 in Ramallah. (Photo by Thaer Ganaim/Palestinian Press Office via Getty Images)
The international community continues to conspire against the reality of Israel's existence by testing the limits of its sovereignty and threatening the Jewish right to self-determination and self-defense. Palestinian-Arab society, among the most antisemitic in the world (long before Jewish communities in the West Bank were part of the picture), in which Palestinian Authority government-controlled television, media, textbooks and mosques encourage violence against Jews, praise Adolf Hitler, characterize Jews as "apes and pigs," and deny the Holocaust, use Jewish "settlements" as a smokescreen to distract from their real agenda based on a single belief held for centuries: Jews do not belong.
Continue Reading Article
by Khaled Abu Toameh • May 8, 2025 at 5:00 am
Palestinians... say that if anyone is stealing the humanitarian aid and food, it is Hamas. Videos posted on social media have shown Hamas thugs brutally beating Palestinians suspected of stealing food for their families. A day earlier, Hamas announced that three Gazans will soon be slaughtered with knives for allegedly "collaborating" with Israel. Others will have their limbs hacked off with blades for supposed "theft" of food. "Since October 7, I've said it without hesitation: Hamas is ISIS – only with better PR. And that PR machine runs on Qatari money, through media outlets that spin terrorism into heroism and wash blood with propaganda." — Hamza Howidy, Gaza-born peace and human rights advocate, X, May 4, 2025. "There is no government, no law, no order – just fear. And as Palestinians dare to speak out, Hamas hunts them down, kidnaps them, threatens their families and silences them by force... They offer no protection, no aid, no leadership – only guns, terror, and slogans." — Hamza Howidy, X, May 3, 2025. "Hamas relied on criminal elements to create pandemonium that generated mass looting events which provided some cover for the terror group to commit the organized theft of what remains of food supplies in Gaza." — Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib, a Gaza native and senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, X, May 2, 2025. This criminality is precisely why the international community needs to back Israel's effort to prevent Hamas from monopolizing and embezzling humanitarian supplies sent into the Gaza Strip. The international community should support any initiative aimed at ending Hamas's rule over the Gaza Strip and destroying its military capabilities. Both Israel and the Palestinian people, who are paying a heavy price as a result of Hamas's decision to commit the biggest massacre against Jews since the Holocaust, will only gain from this.
Palestinians say that if anyone is stealing the humanitarian aid and food in Gaza, it is Hamas. This criminality is precisely why the international community needs to back Israel's effort to prevent Hamas from monopolizing and embezzling humanitarian supplies sent into the Gaza Strip. Pictured: Hamas terrorists on a pickup truck "escort" trucks carrying humanitarian aid that they intend to loot, near the Rafah border crossing with Egypt in the southern Gaza Strip on December 10, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images)
The Iran-backed Palestinian terrorist group Hamas has reconstituted its "Executive Force" as part of an effort to control humanitarian aid and "impose law and order" in the Gaza Strip. The 5,000-strong force, originally established in 2006, has been entrusted with preventing the "theft" of food and "deterring thieves and thugs responsible for anarchy and lawlessness." Members of the "Executive Force" have been deployed throughout the Gaza Strip and given orders to "take all necessary measures, including the use of excessive force," to restore security and stability to the coastal strip, according to Palestinian sources. In 2007, the "Executive Force" played a central role in the Hamas coup against the Palestinian Authority (PA) and was responsible for killing hundreds of Palestinians and wounding thousands. After the coup, PA President Mahmoud Abbas declared the force criminal and illegal.
Continue Reading Article
|
