Opinion

BEIJING, China--The Ukraine crisis and the geopolitical tragedy it has triggered are not enough to kill the hunger of the US and some Western countries to reap political profits from the situation. 

WASHINGTON, U.S.--The United States remains wedded to a failed Trump-era policy towards Venezuela, but it is no closer to achieving its regime change goals today than when it started more than three years ago.

NEW YORK, U.S.--On May 1, on Russian TV, the media executive often called "Putin's mouthpiece" urged the Russian president to launch a Poseidon underwater drone with a "warhead of up to 100 megatons." 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--While celebrating the festive season and enjoying the company of loved ones, relatives and friends, hopefully we can spare a thought for the grieving family of Nagaenthran Dharmalingam, who was executed in Singapore recently for having trafficked 43g of heroin into the island republic as a drug mule about a decade ago.

NAIROBI, Kenya--Western media coverage of the Ukraine conflict has been so hysterically one-sided, and divorced from reality, that it's probably only a matter of time before Iraq's erstwhile 'Comical Ali' is brought out of retirement to insist that there are no Russians advancing towards the Ukrainian army's front lines. 

WASHINGTON, U.S.--Americans are fervently cheering for Ukraine in a war that many believe is a decisive struggle for human freedom. The intensity of our infatuation makes it easy to assume that everyone in the world shares it. They don’t.

NEW YORK, U.S.--The hard left is going absolutely crazy over Elon Musk's decision to buy Twitter. One of their arguments, made loudly by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, is that no one person should own and control such an important media platform. 

WASHINGTON, U.S.--When it comes to national security, there should be no compromise. Therefore, Saudi Arabia’s stance on protecting Yemen’s sovereignty remains unequivocal. A cursory glance at the map immediately reveals Yemen’s relevance to Saudi Arabia. 

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--It is worrying that politicians seem to be either clamouring for the politics of development and stability, or those of reform and anti-corruption, or those supporting a youthful party that is yet to portray a distinct feature that would challenge the socioeconomic ideology of the older political parties.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--The push by developed economies against palm oil – the most produced, consumed and traded edible oil – in favour of protecting the soybean (the second most-produced edible oil) trade is well-known.

WASHINGTON, U.S.--In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg in January, French President Emmanuel Macron declared he believed the time had come for Europe to build “a new order of security and stability.”

WASHINGTON, U.S.--The U.S. is scrambling to check the growth of Chinese influence in the Pacific nation of the Solomon Islands after Beijing struck a security pact with the islands that would allow China to dock their ships, deploy security forces to protect Chinese-built infrastructure, and help the government restore order.

JOHOR BAHRU, Malaysia--There has been a sense of hopelessness among many opposition leaders and supporters, and the wider Malaysian population. It is as if we are waiting for the inevitable, that UMNO, in its unreformed and unrepentant form led by the Court Cluster, in particular Dato’ Seri Najib Razak and Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi, is going to win the next general election on its terms.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--By whipping up tensions around Ukraine, Washington is trying to solve a number of foreign and domestic political problems.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia--The detention centre breakout that occurred in the Sungai Bakap Immigration Depot is a larger issue of Malaysia’s major policy failure in its treatment of refugees in the country.

WASHINGTON, U.S.--Two recent reports highlight a disturbing trend in the global power dynamic. They are not receiving much attention because of the ongoing war in Ukraine, but China is exploiting this out-of-the-spotlight moment to work smartly at increasing its influence within the Muslim world.