There are handshakes, and then there are handshakes. One type of handshake took place recently in Europe, at a security conference in Munich, between Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal and Israeli official Danny Ayalon.
Naturally, the incident has sparked a commotion in the Arab world, similar to such occasions in the past. Such "scandals" are a dreary waste of time and effort
When Syrian President Bashar Assad recently told The New Yorker magazine that "civil war in Lebanon could start in days - unless they change the whole system," it should have been music to the ears of almost all Lebanese. It was comforting to finally hear that the Syrian potentate recognizes the truth about Lebanon.
The story of Afghanistan is as intricate as it is painful. It is a story of flagrant abuse at the hands of a procession of superpowers, each one learning nothing from the previous. The British, the Russians and now the United States have each left a terrible mark on the country. The Afghan people barely had a chance to rebuild their nation after each invasion
While many of us have enjoyed the unusually warm temperatures this winter, the return of more typical weather means more than a very temporary burden to bear before the warmth comes back - it's also an opportunity to salvage what's left of the ski season for the country's mountain resorts. While snow has blanketed Lebanon's ski runs so late that only a half-dozen or
The diplomatic struggle between the international community and Iran regarding that country's nuclear program remains tumultuous as ever. Although this week, Iranian officials hinted that they may be ready to comply with a nuclear proposal Western powers tabled last year, talks of sanctions against Iran are gaining momentum. Though mildly encouraging, a resolution is still far off
Corruption in our part of the world is by no means a new story. But by the same token, it's not a traditional story either. As Transparency International points out in its 2009 Corruption Index, a handful of states in the Arab world are the world's "leaders" in this domain, considered among the most corrupt systems on the planet. And according to the experts
The bells and horns that sounded throughout Iran on Monday were ostensibly a celebration of the 31st anniversary of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's return to the country, which generated one of the most important sparks for the Iranian Revolution, if not the most important one. Back then, the momentum for the fall of the shah had a lot to do with the rhythm of opportunities
