Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Lawrence A. Franklin • May 7, 2025 at 5:00 am
Some Catholics who are sensitive to the Holy See's influence on international affairs may be hoping for a Pope who exercises decisive moral clarity in condemning brutal behavior, whether in Africa, China or elsewhere. Pope Francis seemed to be infrequent in his condemnation of Islamist atrocities and when he did condemn them, he would be quick to criticize those who equated the religion of Islam with violence. Mass murders of Catholics and other Christians by Islamists take place daily in Nigeria, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). There are heroic candidates among the "Papabiles" (Papal possibles) such as the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who offered himself in exchange for the hostages seized by the Gaza terrorist group Hamas. Although the Vatican's reason for being is to guide souls to God, its pronouncements on secular affairs not only have a profound impact, literally, on the lives of millions of Catholics, but on preserving the Judeo-Christian values upon which civilization is built, as well.
Pictured: A prelate walks on St Peter's Square a day prior to the start of the conclave, with the St Peter's Basilica in the background, in the Vatican, on May 6, 2025. (Photo by Gabriel Bouys/AFP via Getty Images)
While the world's 1.4 billion Catholics wait prayerfully for the elevation to the papacy of the 267th pope, successor to the Christ-appointed St. Peter, most of the rest of humanity may be wondering what impact the new pontiff could have on global affairs. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership, which did not send a representative to the funeral of Pope Francis, has cause to be attentive. If this week's Papal Conclave selects Philippines Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Archbishop of Manila, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping would have reason for concern.
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by Lawrence Kadish • May 7, 2025 at 4:00 am
By observing Victory in Europe Day, we honor those who defeated a darkness that can still be found in our worst nightmares. That generation's sacrifices can never be forgotten, nor their ultimate gift of freedom repaid. Let us pause this month and pay homage to the events and people of long ago and vow to never forget. Pictured: Crowds celebrate VE Day in Times Square, New York City, on 8th May 1945. (Photo by FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images)
I was just a young boy when World War II ended, but I can still remember the enormous burst of elation in my Brooklyn neighborhood when it was announced on May 8, 1945 that Germany had surrendered. We knew that Imperial Japan was still a tough and dangerous adversary, but no one knew that three months and two atomic bombs later, the war would be brought to an immediate end. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the conclusion of World War II, we are morally compelled to reflect on a seminal conflict that took over 70 million lives. We need to memorialize that enormous loss while appreciating that it reshaped the global order then, and continues to impact us today and far into the future. President Donald J. Trump is correct in stating that the end of this conflict is so important it deserves to be observed by this nation every year.
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by Nils A. Haug • May 6, 2025 at 5:00 am
The European Union's decision to grant the Palestinian Authority (PA) a sum of $2 billion to assist them to "reform themselves" can only be the result of willful blindness, cognitive dissonance and what by now can only be ascribed to a proud European tradition of Jew-hate. Israel's warnings of the PA continuing to seize Israel's land by phases -- as planned by the PLO 10-Point Program of 1974 and advanced by former PA Prime Minister Salman Fayyad's plan -- to "create facts on the ground" with illegal buildings -- are largely ignored by the West. So far, the PA, with the funding from the EU, has built more than 97,581 illegal structures on Israeli land that is still to be negotiated. The Palestinian Authority also full-throatedly incites terrorism in its education system and bountifully funds terrorist acts. The total so far disbursed as remuneration for the PA's "Pay-for-Slay" program and acts of terrorism reportedly exceeds $1 billion. This transaction has been in place for decades. The EU's naiveté (to be kind) is already bringing disaster upon many of its member nations by allowing unlimited Muslim migration, presumably in an unconditional desire for every vote imaginable. Israelis are understandably against an untenable two-state solution -- which they accurately see as no solution at all.
The European Union's decision to grant the Palestinian Authority (PA) a sum of $2 billion to assist them to "reform themselves" can only be the result of willful blindness, cognitive dissonance and what by now can only be ascribed to a proud European tradition of Jew-hate. Pictured: French President Emmanuel Macron meets with PA President Mahmud Abbas during the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 25, 2024. (Photo by Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images)
The European Union's decision to grant the Palestinian Authority (PA) a sum of $2 billion to assist them to "reform themselves" can only be the result of willful blindness, cognitive dissonance and what by now can only be ascribed to a proud European tradition of Jew-hate. The PA, despite claiming to be secular, is saturated with an Islamist mentality in support of jihadists. The PA plays the West by displaying a veneer of reasonableness, victimhood and the bogus claim that it would, in an ever-extending future, accept some kind of peace with the Jews. This fiction is supposedly backed by an equally bogus claim that it would be willing -- under conditions which would always be suicidal for the Jews to accept -- to establish a two-state solution in Israel's ancestral homeland.
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by Bassam Tawil • May 5, 2025 at 5:00 am
"These fires put both Israelis and Palestinians at risk and are causing severe damage to the land these terrorists claim to be fighting for. These people are not pro-Palestinian, they are pro-terrorism against Jews." — Bassem Eid, Palestinian human rights activist, X, April 30, 2025 Decades of anti-Israel propaganda by Palestinian leaders and media outlets are directly responsible for this hatred. For that reason, any talk about a peace process with the Palestinians has unfortunately become nothing but a sick joke. Palestinians are far more interested in murdering Jews and setting Israel on fire than they are in "coexisting." They do not want Israel "coexisting" on even one millimeter of the Jews' own historical homeland. The world needs to realize that the Palestinians have raised a whole generation that worships destruction and death for the Jews -- and even for themselves -- far more than a better and prosperous life.
As fires raged in central Israel in late April, many Palestinians celebrated, brazenly demanded more fires, and called for Israeli homes to be reduced to "ashes." Palestinians are far more interested in murdering Jews and setting Israel on fire than they are in "coexisting." Pictured: A helicopter pours water on a wildfire near Jerusalem, Israel on April 30, 2025. (Photo by Ori Aviram/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
As fires raged in central Israel in late April, many Palestinians celebrated, brazenly demanded more fires, and called for Israeli homes to be reduced to "ashes." All this happened on the day Israelis commemorated fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism and prepared to celebrate Independence Day. "We ask God to protect our people and land. May these fires confuse the [Israeli] occupiers and their embattled settlers," wrote Palestinian social media user Hana Barghouti. "In the name of Allah," another user, Umm Ibrahim, who posted images from of the blazes, wrote: "the Avenger, the Almighty."
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by Raymond Ibrahim • May 4, 2025 at 5:00 am
"Our imam had assured us that when you kill a kafir [infidel], Allah rewards one with a Jannah [paradise]... so I wanted to get that Jannah." — Hanifa Hamiyat, a Muslim woman who poisoned and killed three people: a young Christian couple, as well as her own 18-year-old daughter, who accidentally ate the same poisoned food the Muslim woman had offered to the Christians; Morning Star News, March 28, 2025, Uganda. "Pure genocide" experienced by Christians at the hands of Muslims, headlines.... – Nigera "During the time I was there, Ali did bad things with me... He also beat me whenever I used to cry for my parents and told him that I wanted to go back home. I was kept locked in a room most of the time." — Saba Masih, age 12, kidnapped, and forced by her kidnapper to convert to Islam and marry him. When her father reported the kidnapping to the police, "the police deliberately misstated Saba's age," writing down that she was 16, even though her father kept insisting she was 12; Morning Star News, February 7, 2025, Pakistan. [E]ven in Indonesia, which is often presented as an exceptionally moderate Muslim nation, Christians are being persecuted for blasphemy.... — Morning Star News, March 21, 2025, Indonesia. Coptic Christians, for some inexplicable reason, must have become the most careless and fire-prone people in the world: more Coptic churches than any other kind seem to keep "accidentally catching fire." — Coptic Solidarity, March 17, 2025, Egypt.
On March 8, three Muslim converts to Christianity received a combined total of 42 years in prison for practicing their faith: Narges Nasri, who was pregnant, and two men, Mehran Shamloui, and Abbas Soori. Pictured: Evin Prison in Tehran, where the three Christians are imprisoned. (Image source: Ehsan Iran/Wikimedia Commons)
The following are among the abuses and murders inflicted on Christians by Muslims throughout the month of March 2025. The Muslim Slaughter of Christians Uganda: On March 16, Hanifa Hamiyat, a Muslim woman poisoned and killed three people: a young Christian couple, as well as her own 18-year-old daughter, who accidentally ate the same poisoned food the Muslim woman had offered to the Christians for sharing Christ with the daughter. The Christian woman she killed was six months pregnant. When local leaders later questioned Hanifa, she confessed to poisoning the food, saying: "I never intended to kill my daughter, but my plan was to kill the neighbors because of taking my daughter to church during this holy month of Ramadan. Our imam had assured us that when you kill a kafir [infidel], Allah rewards one with a Jannah [paradise] called Firdausi, so I wanted to get that Jannah."
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by Amir Taheri • May 4, 2025 at 4:00 am
There is, of course, one non-judicial way to make sure a deal sticks: Remove the root causes of enmity. For example, let's start by releasing the US hostages and make sure that no further hostages are taken during what remains of Trump's term. Then join the rest of the world in the Financial Action Task Force accords against money laundering and funding terrorism. Iran is part of a blacklisted trio that includes North Korea and Myanmar.
Judging by comments and leaks from the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff -- although problems remain -- things are going smoothly. Trump himself keeps saying that he expects "a good agreement" without spelling out what that means. The fact, however, is that so far nothing has happened. Pictured: A combination of photos showing Witkoff (L) and Araqchi. (Photos by Evelyn Hockstein and Amer Hilabi/AFP via Getty Images)
For the past two weeks, I have been bombarded by questions from colleagues and "experts" from across the globe wondering how to assess the current round of talks between Tehran and the Trump administration in Washington. The typical question is: what is going on? Judging by comments and leaks from the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and President Donald Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff -- although problems remain -- things are going smoothly. Trump himself keeps saying that he expects "a good agreement" without spelling out what that means. Tehran pundits muse about an historic turnaround that would see the US investing over a trillion dollars in Iran while the regime is given the green light to continue merrily enriching the uranium it does not need. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian goes further by talking about "rebuilding the whole region in peace and with prosperity for all."
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by Majid Rafizadeh • May 3, 2025 at 5:00 am
If Iran can enrich a little uranium, it can later enrich a lot. Iran's latest diktat to the United States openly states that the regime has no interest in compromise, no intention of abandoning its nuclear weapons program, and no fear of impotent threats from a US president. The Iranian regime at least deserves credit for honesty. The mullahs want to preserve its uranium enrichment program: it gives the regime a loaded gun pointed at the world. This cat-and-mouse game has been Iran's playbook for nearly 20 years. The regime pretends to comply with some dismissible Westerner, dial back enrichment slightly to satisfy desperate Western politicians who want to score short-term diplomatic victories, and in return, they extract billions of dollars in sanctions relief, economic benefits and especially political legitimacy. One thing is certain: the minute it is clear that Iran has acquired nuclear weapons, every country in the Middle East, except for Israel, will submit to it rather than risk being bombed. Mr. President, you have a choice. You can leave behind a legacy as the great, historic global leader who had the courage to save the entire free world from the Iranian nuclear threat. Or you can seek a meaningless political victory by signing a deal that will just paper over the crisis for twenty minutes. If you negotiate a weak agreement, history will remember you not as a success, but as a gigantic "loser" – and regard you with the same derision as Chamberlain. Chamberlain never got a Nobel Peace Prize and neither will you. But if you save the world from a nuclear Iran, you will go down in history as a second Winston Churchill. Continuing to negotiate with an Iran that has bluntly stated that it will never give up its claimed "right to enrich uranium" is not diplomacy, it is surrender. Any agreement that allows even limited enrichment is a betrayal of everything the West stands for. We must not walk down that path again. Mr. President, act now, decisively, and ensure that Iran's nuclear ambitions are buried forever -- and most of all that your legacy as the greatest leader of the 21st Century is enshrined forever.
Iran's latest diktat to the United States openly states that the regime has no interest in compromise, no intention of abandoning its nuclear weapons program, and no fear of impotent threats from a US president. Pictured: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a 'Qasem Soleimani' missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran's true intentions could not have been made any clearer: Last week, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi flatly declared the issue of uranium enrichment is "non-negotiable." Iran has called President Donald J. Trump's bluff about bombing the country if the regime does not voluntarily dismantle its uranium enrichment centrifuges, ballistic missiles and the rest of its nuclear program. Trump immediately folded. Now the president seems to be backing down and trying to dodge: "I think we can make a deal without the attack."
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by Karys Rhea • May 2, 2025 at 5:00 am
[T]he IDF tends to be... focused on immediate, critical threats from Lebanon, Syria, Gaza and Iran. [Many in Israel] demand a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal construction, regardless of EU funding and lawsuits, and have called on the Israeli government to initiate a long-overdue diplomatic effort that will make it clear to the EU that it has established red lines that will be enforced. It may even be that right-wingers such as [Finance Minister Bezalel] Smotrich and others have risen to power precisely because of growing Israeli frustration over fundamental threats such as this one having long gone ignored.
[Many in Israel] demand a zero-tolerance policy towards illegal construction, regardless of EU funding and lawsuits, and have called on the Israeli government to initiate a long-overdue diplomatic effort that will make it clear to the EU that it has established red lines that will be enforced. Pictured: Israeli soldiers stand next to an illegally-built structure in Area C, in Idhna, near Hebron, on April 28, 2025. (Photo by Mosab Shawer/Middle East Images /AFP via Getty Images)
In 1967, Israel fought a monumental six-day war against neighboring Egypt, Syria and Jordan, who attacked the small country with the declared goal of wiping the Jewish state off the map. To the amazement of the international community, Israel unexpectedly emerged victorious, gaining control over multiple territories, including the West Bank. Historically known as "Judea and Samaria," and before 1948 home to a thriving Jewish population, the West Bank was illegally occupied by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan without international recognition from 1948 to 1967. In that time, Jordan ethnically cleansed the Jewish residents and destroyed dozens of synagogues. It re-named the region the "West Bank," meaning "west of the Jordan River," to sever any Jewish connection to the land in an attempt to legitimize its occupation of territory that was never part of its internationally recognized borders.
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by Uzay Bulut • May 1, 2025 at 5:00 am
On March 19, just days before the March 23 primaries of Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- the CHP's leading candidate who was thought by many possibly to win the next presidential election against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- was arrested on contested charges of "corruption and terrorism." A day earlier, on March 18, Imamoglu's university degree was revoked, "citing 'nullity' and 'clear error' as grounds for cancellation... The decision affects Imamoglu and 27 other individuals whose academic credentials have now been invalidated...." "All of the detainees, absolutely all of them, were tortured terribly while being detained. They were tortured terribly in the detention vehicle, while being taken to Gayrettepe [police station]. There are young people among them who are in really bad shape. What is terrible is that there is nothing [as evidence against them] in their investigation files, not even a photo against them. ..... [T]hese are revenge trials. The prosecutors who took testimonies of detainees yesterday, today do not talk with the lawyers, in any way... This is not a [proper] judiciary." — Sezgin Tanrıkulu, MP from the CHP opposition party, March 27, 2025. Meanwhile, Erdogan's regime has arrested many dissident journalists and continues to apply financial and judicial pressure on media outlets that refuse to operate as mouthpieces for the regime. "There was no chance for a defense.... The decision appears prepared beforehand." — Elif Taşdöğen, attorney, medyanews.net, January 22, 2025. Meanwhile, the government continues to pardon and release imprisoned Turkish Hizbullah terrorists. The Erdogan regime's support for Islamic terror groups such as Hamas and ISIS (Islamic State) is also well-documented..... Meanwhile, do Europeans really want the possibility of up to 87 million more Turkish citizens flooding Europe?
On March 19, the regime of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrested Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogan's main rival in the next presidential election, on contested charges of "corruption and terrorism." Meanwhile, Erdogan's regime has arrested many dissident journalists and continues to apply financial and judicial pressure on media outlets that refuse to operate as mouthpieces for the regime. Pictured: Erdogan addresses a meeting of his party in Ankara, on February 23, 2025. (Photo by Adem Altan/AFP via Getty Images)
On March 19, just days before the March 23 primaries of Turkey's main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu -- the CHP's leading candidate who was thought by many possibly to win the next presidential election against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- was arrested on contested charges of "corruption and terrorism." A day earlier, on March 18, Imamoglu's university degree was revoked, "citing 'nullity' and 'clear error' as grounds for cancellation... The decision affects Imamoglu and 27 other individuals whose academic credentials have now been invalidated...." according to Turkiye Today. Imamoglu's detention sparked one of the biggest street demonstrations against Erdogan since he was first elected as national leader in 2002. On March 29, hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Istanbul for a mass rally called by the CHP to oppose the jailing of Imamoglu.
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by Con Coughlin • April 30, 2025 at 5:00 am
Trump argued that the JCPOA failed to address key issues such as Iran's continued research into producing weapons-grade nuclear material, development of ballistic missiles and Tehran's support for Islamist terror groups in the Middle East. Is he repeating their mistake? Reports emerging from the Omani-mediated talks suggest that, rather than seeking the complete dismantlement of Iran's nuclear programme, Trump is instead prepared to settle for a less demanding settlement, one that allows Tehran to continue with its nuclear activities so long as they are not linked to producing nuclear warheads. At this point, that is folly. If Iran is able to enrich any uranium at all, it can easily enrich it to a weapons-grade level of 90 percent within weeks. Yet, despite compelling evidence that Iran has continued work on its clandestine programme to produce nuclear weapons, American intelligence chiefs such as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard continue to insist that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Iran is actively attempting to build nuclear weapons. This has led to calls for the administration to undertake an immediate reappraisal of Washington's intelligence assessment regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons as a devastating matter of urgency, and for the Trump administration to undertake an urgent reappraisal of Gabbard. Sadly, the Norwegian Nobel Committee will most likely never reward Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize, no matter how much peace he delivers. To them, a worthy recipient was Yasser Arafat, among other leaders now known more for their failures than for success. Trump instead would do well to focus on becoming the greatest leader of the 21st Century, another Churchill, by ridding the world of Iran's nuclear weapons threat for once and all, as well as its ballistic missile program and its ability, through its proxies, to keep exporting terrorism.
Despite compelling evidence that Iran has continued work on its clandestine programme to produce nuclear weapons, American intelligence chiefs such as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard continue to insist that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Iran is actively attempting to build nuclear weapons. Pictured: Gabbard at a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
With the Trump administration seemingly intent on negotiating a new nuclear deal with Iran, it is vital that the White House first makes a realistic assessment of the current state of Iran's nuclear programme, which most Western intelligence experts believe is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. After US and Iranian officials met for a third round of talks in the Gulf state of Oman at the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi openly said that Iran remained extremely cautious about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff. US President Donald J. Trump has invested a substantial amount of political capital in agreeing a new deal with Tehran, aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring its own nuclear weapons arsenal. Trump, a staunch critic of the original nuclear deal negotiated by in 2015 by President Barack Obama, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), dramatically ended American participation in 2018.
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by Lawrence Kadish • April 29, 2025 at 5:00 am
Combine the example of amphibious innovation with their construction of aircraft carriers, next-generation fighter jets, Pacific island military bases, and their intent to master artificial intelligence (AI) and nuclear fusion power, and it becomes obvious to all that it matters not what China says. It is what they are doing. Pictured: J15 fighter jets on China's Liaoning aircraft carrier during a drill at sea, in April 2018. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
There is an old adage many of us heard from our parents, "It's not what you say, it's what you do." So when China creates military equipment that demonstrates a growing skill at an amphibious invasion, it would be best to ignore their rhetoric and concentrate on what they are doing to create the skills, tactics and ability to invade that democratic bastion across the Taiwan Strait. As students of history, the Communist giant's rulers knows full well the difficulty of any invasion that comes from the sea. The British Commonwealth is still traumatized over their World War I amphibious assault on the Turkish Dardanelles Straits, which history records as Gallipoli Campaign. Bogged down on the beach, with Ottoman troops and artillery firing down on them, after months of stalemate, and over a half million casualties combined suffered by both sides, the Allies withdrew. Many New Zealand and Australian soldiers suffered, and memorials abound to their sacrifice.
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • April 28, 2025 at 5:00 am
The appointment of al-Sheikh needs to be seen in the context of Abbas's effort to dupe the international community into believing that he is serious about reforming the PA and sharing power. Abbas's main goal is to rid himself of the image of an autocrat and present himself as a reformist and democrat, so that Western donors will continue to pour money on him – foolishly with no conditions. [T]hose who think that al-Sheikh would be different from Abbas are clueless. Al-Sheikh, a veteran member of Abbas's ruling Fatah faction, is an exact replica of his boss. Abbas and he share the same positions on almost every issue related to Israel. Both have always used harsh rhetoric to condemn and vilify Israel, especially in the international arena. Al-Sheikh may not represent the old guard in the Palestinian leadership, but his statements and positions reflect those of Abbas and the old guard. The Palestinians need real reforms that will end the corruption in PA institutions and remove corrupt and incompetent officials. The last thing they need is a new game of musical chairs designed to deceive both the Palestinians and the international community.
The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as Vice President of the Palestinian Authority (PA) needs to be seen in the context of PA President Mahmoud Abbas's effort to dupe the international community into believing that he is serious about reforming the PA and sharing power. Abbas's main goal is to rid himself of the image of an autocrat and present himself as a reformist and democrat, so that Western donors will continue to pour money on him. Pictured: Al-Sheikh arrives at the PLO Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. (Photo by Zain Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)
On April 26, a group of unelected Palestinian Authority (PA) officials approved the appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as "Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Vice President of the [non-existent] State of Palestine." PA President Mahmoud Abbas, who also serves as chairman of the PLO Executive Committee, had nominated the 64-year-old al-Sheikh for this position in accordance with a decision by the Palestinian Central Council, a body dominated by Abbas loyalists, to create the position of "Deputy Chairman of the PLO Executive Committee and Vice President of the State of Palestine." The 16-member PLO Executive Committee, which approved the nomination, is also dominated by Abbas loyalists, including al-Sheikh, who was appointed a few years ago by the now 89-year-old Abbas as its secretary general.
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by Gordon G. Chang • April 27, 2025 at 5:00 am
Xi Jinping's regime simply cannot admit it is not able to stand up to Washington. [O]n April 24 about a dozen Chinese officials, including a "high-ranking official from the Chinese Ministry of Finance," were seen entering the U.S. Treasury's main building in Washington at 7:00 in the morning as Chinese security officials attempted to prevent photographers from recording the entry. "In fact, the tariff waivers underscore that not only does Beijing need access to the American market far more than Americans need the China market but also that the United States makes vital products that simply aren't Made in China, and won't be for years at best." — Alan Tonelson, trade expert at RealityChek, to Gatestone, April 25, 2025. When Trump has to raise the temperature, Beijing has just shown him which U.S. products China believes it cannot do without. Beijing has ordered its airlines not to take delivery of Boeing aircraft, and the plane maker has now flown back, from China to the U.S., three 737 Max aircraft that were about to be delivered. Due to the long order backlogs at both Boeing and Airbus, this punishment imposes, as a practical matter, almost no cost on Boeing. Yet if Trump were to order Boeing not to deliver parts or provide services to Chinese airlines, China would soon have to ground a large number of its airliners.
China is making significant trade concessions without saying it is making concessions. Xi Jinping's regime simply cannot admit it is not able to stand up to Washington. When Trump has to raise the temperature, Beijing has just shown him which U.S. products China believes it cannot do without. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
China, according to Reuters and Financial Times reporting on April 25, is not uniformly imposing its new 125% across-the-board tariff on American goods. In short, certain imports from the U.S. are in fact coming in tariff-free. Beijing's new policy has not been announced and is not official. "Companies in sectors including aviation and industrial chemicals said that some of their products had already been granted a reprieve, while local media reported that some semiconductors had been spared tariffs," the Financial Times noted. American Chamber of Commerce in China President Michael Hart told Reuters that some pharmaceutical company members of his organization had said they were now able to import products tariff-free. China is also exempting aircraft engines, nacelles, landing gear, and parts.
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by Amir Taheri • April 27, 2025 at 4:00 am
Today, the problem is that religion, in most of its forms, is trying to imitate philosophy, which is the realm of doubt, or replace ideology as a means of organizing political action. The question is: religion in which of its many forms? There are those who see kerygma as a poetic conceit, focusing on catechism, or its Islamic version the Shari'a, as a means of social and political control and domination. Then there are those who, having asserted the kerygma, allow the elastic to be pulled in the opposite direction as far as possible. The problem is that, at some point, the elastic might snap. The global mood has changed from the time Francis was chosen, and Benedict's zeitgeist seems to be making a comeback in a world disappointed with the empty promises of progressivism.
The global mood has changed from the time Pope Francis was chosen, and Pope Benedict's zeitgeist seems to be making a comeback in a world disappointed with the empty promises of progressivism. Pictured: Francis delivers a public address on the main balcony of St. Peter's basilica, in the Vatican on April 20, 2025. (Photo by Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images)
In 2013 when a little-known cardinal from Argentina was elected the Pope of the Catholic Church, taking the title of Francis, many wondered in which direction he might walk in Saint Peter's shoes. The election came as a surprise in the wake of the unprecedented decision of Pope Benedict XVI to abdicate the pontificate. Benedict, a German, had been revealed as a conservative pontiff focused on the doctrine in what he called "a time of upheavals." That was the time when globalism was in the ascendancy and all religions appeared to be on the defensive in the face of political and cultural forces advocating multiculturalism and secularism. In his book Values in a Time of Upheavals, Benedict spoke of "the three myths" that threaten mankind: science, progress and freedom which, transformed into absolutes, pretend to replace religious faith.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • April 26, 2025 at 5:00 am
Talks offer hope of sanctions relief, currency stabilization, and international legitimacy — all while buying time to continue uranium enrichment behind closed doors. The West calls it a "deal." Iran calls it a jackpot. Just imagine the conversations happening behind closed doors in Tehran. Iranian officials are likely saying something like: "...At least we can waste another two or three years pretending to negotiate. We can agree to pause enrichment a little bit, just enough to give them a diplomatic victory.... Trump is so eager to get a discredited Nobel Peace Prize, but the Norwegians will never give it to him -- to them, the 'left' is a religion. Their heroes are Castro and Arafat. Meanwhile, to show Norway how peaceful he is, Trump will let Iran, Russia and China off the hook. Poor fellow, it will not work. He will just find himself the 'sucker' and the 'loser.' Meanwhile he will have thrown away what could have made him a historic great. While he is are celebrating his 'peacefulness' in keeping America out of a war that was not going to happen anyway, we can keep on moving toward our bomb, our missiles and the miniature nuclear warheads to put on them. Quietly. And if we get caught? So what. The Americans will negotiate again!" The idea that you can contain or "monitor" Iran with inspections and enrichment caps is a lovely, romantic fantasy. Sadly, this regime cannot be trusted. It cannot be allowed to keep any part of a nuclear infrastructure. The only acceptable path is total dismantlement or permanent destruction. No centrifuges, no uranium enrichment, no stockpiles, no underground facilities. Nothing. Each round of diplomacy gives the regime more room to maneuver, more time to develop its weapons, and more resources to fund terror proxies across the Middle East and Latin America. The result is not peace — it is proliferation. Unless the West finally gets serious, Iran will cross the nuclear weapons threshold and the world will not only face an extremist, predatory regime armed with nuclear weapons, but the mother of all arms races. Unfortunately, the only solution left is to completely dismantle Iran's nuclear program. No talks. No deals. No illusions. It is time to bring these endless negotiations to an end.
Each round of diplomacy gives Iran's regime more room to maneuver, more time to develop its weapons, and more resources to fund terror proxies across the Middle East and Latin America. The result is not peace — it is proliferation. 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)
The Iranian regime is once again celebrating having diplomatic negotiations with the United States, this time under the Trump administration. Tehran's leaders have been framing these renewed talks as a positive that will enable them to retain their hold on power, and their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs to unleash at a later date. Iranian officials, including leading figures in the foreign ministry, have voiced optimism about the direction of diplomacy, portraying the Trump team's willingness to engage as a step toward "mutual understanding." They would like the world to believe that diplomacy is working — when in reality, it is a trap. The excitement in Tehran is not a signal of peace or cooperation; it is a victory celebration. Whenever a terrorist regime that chants "Death to America" starts smiling about negotiations, it is not diplomacy — it is a win.
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