Christopher Dickey, The Daily Beast
The ban in Cannes of the Muslim bathing suit known as a âÂÂburqini' was intended as a statement of secularism. In fact, it's a declaration of intolerance.
Joseph Dana, The National
The Movement for Black Lives is part of a transnational struggle for civil rights that includes the Palestinian people.
Evelyn Gordon, Commentary
It's no accident that several recent terror attacks in Western countries have been carried out by people who apparently had histories of mental illness, including Nice, Orlando, and several attacks in Germany. Nor is it any accident that the Islamic State is cultivating such people. As with many other terrorist techniques pioneered by the Palestinians, ISIS has copied this one precisely because it proved successfulâÂÂand not just as a means of recruiting assailants.
Roger Cohen, New York Times
There is something in the developed world that does not like a developing country that organizes a major sporting event. I heard the same jeremiads in South Africa at the time of the World Cup in 2010: the crime that would ruin things, the poverty that was shameful, and the inefficiency that would plague visitors. The tournament was a triumph. I don't recall reporters combing the poorest, most crime-ridden parts of Britain in 2012 to find people ready to grumble about the London Olympics.
Paul Saunders, Al-Monitor
Russia and Turkey have made strides in improving their ties, but the relationship is going to need far more than the issuance of commemorative plates celebrating the Aug. 9 meeting of the countries' presidents in the Constantine Palace's Greek Room.
Josh Rogin, Washington Post
The governments of Japan, South Korea, France and Britain have all privately communicated their concerns about a potential declaration by President Obama of a âÂÂno first useâ nuclear-weapons policy for the United States. U.S. allies have various reasons for objecting to what would be a landmark change in America's nuclear posture, but they are all against it, according to U.S. officials, foreign diplomats and nuclear experts.
Shashank Joshi, Telegraph
It is hard to imagine that the destiny of Syria might be shaped by somewhere with half the population of Slough or Blackpool.
Helena Smith, The Guardian
The historic third bailout awarded to Athens after weeks of brinkmanship last year was supposed to have secured its future in the EU. But little has changed.
Owen Matthews, Politico EU
Olympics, plots, purges and late-summer dread descend on Moscow.
Yan Matusevich, The Diplomat
A crackdown in Tajikistan has led to a little noticed surge in Tajik asylum seekers in Europe -- particularly Poland.
Denise Gill, New Republic
An ethnomusicologist on the unusual combination of violence and prayer.
James Cartwright & Bruce Blair, NY Times
Throughout the nuclear age, presidents have allowed their senior commanders to plan for the first use of nuclear weapons. Contingency plans were drawn to initiate first strikes to repel an invasion of Europe by the Soviet Union, defeat China and North Korea, take out chemical and biological weapons and conduct other missions.
Michael Totten, World Affairs Journal
US officials deny that a recent payment to Iran was for the ransom for four hostages released the same day, but coincidence seems an unlikely explanation.
Anthony Gottlieb, New Statesman
Voltaire said he was the greatest reasoner who ever set pen to paper. But is there a twist to Bayle's thinking?
Sergey Aleksashenko, Moscow Times
Russian economic indicators were equivocal enough during the first half of the year to provide space for both optimists and pessimists. Arguably the glass was half full. Arguably it was half empty.For the pessimists, GDP fell around 1 percent year-on-year, all components of the domestic demand continues to shrink, and the economy continues to be in recession, now six quarters in arow. For the optimists, the speed of decline is steadily reducing and, hopefully... Читать дальше...
Emma Campbell, East Asia Forum
It is not easy being a young person in globalised South Korea. The intense competition that defines South Korea's education system and the irregular employment market that awaits graduates has led to rising inequality, falling birth rates, insecure employment and high numbers of youth suicide.Beyond South Korea's domestic wellbeing, globalisation and its accompanying economic insecurity also have implications for foreign affairs, particularly attitudes towards North Korea.
Richard Rossow, cogitASIA
On August 3, the Rajya Sabha (upper house of India's Parliament) passedà the Constitution (122nd Amendment) (GST) Bill, 2014, allowing for the creation of a national âÂÂGoods and Services Taxâ (GST). The vote came 15 months after the amendment was passed by the Lok Sabha (lower house of Parliament) where Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a single-party majority.
Robert Callahan, Miami Herald
What must Daniel Ortega do before the United States and other democracies finally act, or even speak, against his demolition of Nicaragua's democracy?
Noah Barkin, Reuters
In Michel Houellebecq's bleak satirical novel "Submission", the French political order is turned on its head after the soul-crushing re-election in 2017 of Francois Hollande, the most unpopular president the country has ever seen.
Emily Harris, NPR
NPR examined more than a decade of data detailing Israeli and Palestinian fatalities. From February 2005 to September 2015, there were only four months with no deaths from conflict-related violence.
Gregory Brew, Oil Price
The Chinese firm involved in the construction of Hinkley Point C is now under investigation in the United States for espionage, adding to the already significant tensions surrounding the project.
