Kris Cheng & Holmes Chan, Lowy
The latest "us-versus-them" drama shows China sees little
chance of mending ties with the West, for now at least.
Ailbhe Rea, New Statesman
The cause of these riots is complex and nuanced - but little attention is being paid in Westminster.
Andrew McQuillan, Spectator
It is depressingly appropriate that a weekend which started on Good Friday was one which illustrated the shaky foundations of the agreement which brought a form of peace to Northern Ireland. Twenty three years on from that landmark deal, discontent among the Province's unionist and loyalist community is beginning to mount.
Noa Tishby, RealClearWorld
Israel is my homeland and I love it. But a lot of people don't - billions around the world, in fact. Recently, as antisemitism and anti-Zionism (we'll get to the differences and connections between the two in a second) started to creep more and more into the mainstream, I started to make an effort to find out why. I talked to a lot of people about it, asking them: "Why do you think people hate Israel?"
Yanis Varoufakis, Project Syndicate
Understanding why the European Union will emerge from the pandemic weaker rather than stronger may prove to be a source of gloom. But recognizing what might have been could also serve as a springboard for change.
Alex de Waal, World Politics Review
Millions of people in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region are facing starvation. Until now, it's been a crisis without pictures. Those wrenching images of emaciated children and mothers with dull-eyed gazes, so sadly familiar from famine zones, have yet to emerge. But that's because journalists aren't permitted to travel to the worst-hit areas of Tigray, where hunger is deepening by the day. When the media can finally get access, or when starving villagers abandon their homes and flee to towns... Читать дальше...
Ben Caspit, Al Monitor
New Hope leader Gideon Saar decided not to recommend a candidate for composing the next government, thus opening the way for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the first crack at the mission.
Chung Min Lee, EAF
As President Joe Biden begins to recalibrate the United States' role and place in the world after Trump's tumultuous presidency, South Korean President Moon Jae-in enters his last year in power. How much influence Moon can have in shaping Biden's North Korea policy is unclear.
Robert Zaretsky, Slate
All lockdowns are unhappy, but every lockdown is unhappy in its own way. Inspired by the measures that had already been taken in China, the goal of the first "confinement" last March was "zéro COVID." It ranged far and deep, closing schools, offices, restaurants, and, apart from those deemed essential, stores and markets. Though the economic and social consequences were seismic, the vast majority of French supported the measures. The rewards...
Yoshiyuki Sagara, JT
No one knows when and how the pandemic will end. In the post-COVID-19 world, however, two things are certain: accelerated digitalization and a more confident China.
Joseph Bosco, Taipei Times
"Testy," "divisive," "frigid," "an exchange of insults" were some of the media descriptions of last month's meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and their Chinese counterparts.
Simon Tisdall, The Guardian
As ethnic militias back the popular uprising and refugees flee the country, the similarities with Syria are deeply disturbing
Danny Zaken, Al Monitor
There are about a billion and a half Muslims in the world, yet only several thousand of them visit the holy sites in Jerusalem each year. The Abraham Accords signed in 2020 between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan constitute a tremendous opportunity to change that picture.
Bruce Riedel, Brookings
Jordan is in the midst of what may be its most serious political crisis in 50 years. King Abdullah appears securely in charge, but the country faces substantial socio-economic challenges aggravated by the pandemic. Over a dozen people were arrested over the weekend and the former Crown Prince Hamzah bin Hussein is apparently under house detention. It is unprecedented turmoil in the ruling family, and there are credible allegations of foreign meddling.
S. Thormann, RCW
Earlier this month, U.S. President Joe Biden went after Russian President Vladimir Putin, calling him a "killer." Without question, the Biden administration's rhetoric on Russia will be much harder than Trump's was. But actions speak louder than words, and contrary to popular belief,...
Victor Mallet, Financial Times
It would be a political earthquake as disruptive as the UK referendum vote for Brexit in 2016 and the election of Donald Trump as US president later that year.
Thomas Rogers, New York Review of Books
Since Angela Merkel admitted 1.2 million refugees in 2015 and 2016, the dire predictions about their impact on the country have not materialized.
Dongwoo Kim, The Diplomat
Amid growing anti-Chinese sentiment in South Korea, there is a mismatch between the popular will and Seoul's foreign policy.
C. Esch, J. Glüsing & C. Hebel, Der Spiegel
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, the development of the Sputnik V vaccine is a welcome boost to his country's image. And it has been received with open arms in Latin America. In Europe, though, people remain skeptical. Rightly so?
Raffi Khatchadourian, New Yorker
When Anar Sabit was in her twenties and living in Vancouver, she liked to tell her friends that people could control their own destinies. Her experience, she was sure, was proof enough.
