Lauren Jackson, The Diplomat
China's inroads in Nepal mean increasing control over Buddhist heritage sites with implications for Tibet.
Shirley Le Penne, Jerusalem Post
Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika's announcement to run for a fifth term was no surprise. Few, however, expected the mass backlash. After all, during the Arab Spring the Algerians seemed effectively silenced. So much so, in fact, that in 2014, a year after Bouteflika suffered a stroke that left him impotent and ineffective, they re-elected him. Yet now, Algerians defiantly took to the streets, refusing a picture-frame as president. After four weeks of protests... Читать дальше...
Erica Borghard, WOTR
The Washington Post recently reported that U.S. Cyber Command conducted an offensive cyber operation in the fall to block the Internet Research Agency, a
Sophie Pinkham, New York Review of Books
On the night of April 25, 1986, during a planned maintenance shutdown at the Chernobyl power plant in northern Ukraine, one of the four reactors overheated and began to burn. As plant engineers scrambled to regain control of it, they thought for a moment that there had been an earthquake. In fact, a buildup of steam had propelled the two-hundred-ton concrete top of the reactor's casing into the air, with masses of radioactive material following close behind when the core exploded. Читать дальше...
Kemp & Hennop, AFP
A former academic with a love of classical allusions and naked poolside Instagram photos, Thierry Baudet has stunned the Dutch political world with his victory in provincial elections. The latest in a line of flamboyant Dutch populists, 36-year-old Baudet and his Forum for Democracy party have been
Kirill Semenov, Al Monitor
The visit to Russia by Khaled al-Mishri, president of Libya's High Council of State and a former Muslim Brotherhood member, has raised speculation about Russian policy on a resolution for the Libyan conflict.
Hunter DeRensis, National Interest
The Golan is one of the most important strategic locations in the region that borders Israel and Syria.
Aaron David Miller, CNN
For Trump, going above and beyond with a pro-Israel agenda is great politics -- it's an easy way to distinguish himself from former President Barack Obama and win points among key constituencies in the US, writes Aaron David Miller.
Ureib al-Rantawi, YNet
Opinion: Decades of futile peace negotiations prove that the two-state solution has failed and Trump's deal of the century' will not change this. It is time to take another look at a one-state solution that will offer full equality to all its citizens.
Jack Rosen, Jerusalem Post
This should come as no surprise. Hamas, lest we forget, is classified as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US Department of State, and its terrorist status was recently reiterated by the EU.
Jonathan Cook, National
Washington is ignoring international law and consensus, bolstering Benjamin Netanyahu's position ahead of the forthcoming elections
Andy Mukherjee, Bloomberg View
General Prayuth Chan-Ocha, who seized power five years ago, is poised to retain it as an elected leader. The pro-army Palang Pracharath won 7.7 million votes with 94 percent counted, according to unofficial results posted on the Election Commission's Facebook page. The country's largest party, the former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's Pheu Thai, was pushed into second place with 7.23 million votes. It's the first electoral defeat for the pro-Thaksin camp since 2001.
Daniel Baer, Foreign Policy
As the world looks on, it's up to Washington to demonstrate the strength of its institutions.
Alexander Albrecht, Notes on Liberty
The last few weeks were quite a blast for me: I've interned at the German embassy in Rome. A new job in a new city. I thought to process the experiences I made here in one (or a few?) articles. It'
Amanda Sloat, Brookings
After the British parliament defeated Prime Minister Theresa May's deal with the European Union for a second time in mid-March, it narrowly supported a request to the EU for an extended Brexit deadline. This week, May asked for a 3-month extension and her counterparts granted a flextension.
Shmuel Rosner, New York Times
The president's announcement on the Golan Heights will finally free us from the land for peace formula that none of us believe in anyway.
Bruno Macaes, Nikkei Asian Review
Trieste port plans could change north-south economic balance
Nick Cohen, Guardian
Europe hasn't belittled us. Our pitiful state has been inflicted on us by our woeful leaders
Peter Hitchens, Daily Mail
Can anyone really have thought that this great greasy, congealed granny knot, tied and retied and tightened for nearly 50 years, could be undone by a single clean stroke?
David McWilliams, Irish Times
As Putin marks 20 years in power, he knows how much the world needs his country
