Author: Anjali

The political crisis in Lebanon hit the nadir on Wednesday when continuously for the 12th time the country’s Parliament was unsuccessful in electing a President, the post which is to be held by a Maronite Christian. The political limbo has been in place since the last President, Hezbollah-backed Michael Aoun’s tenure ended. The deepening political impasse in Lebanon Lebanon’s Christian cleric, Bechara Boutros-al Rai has criticized the country’s prolonged inability to elect a President. He severely condemned the multi-religious country’s constitution and the fragile democracy and cautioned that the country’s split along religious lines is widening.  The Middle Eastern country…

The organization which holds the responsibility of ensuring the funding for the Jewish survivors from the holocaust has extended its helping hand to confer another $1.4 billion for the nazi victims across the world. Claims Conference for Holocaust Survivors The amount was discussed with the German finance ministry. Out of the whole sum, $ 888.9 million is dedicated to giving home care and other supportive nitty gritty for feeble survivors of the horrors of the second world war. In addition, an extension of $ 175 million to the Hardship Fund Supplemental program has been succeeded which affects over 128,000 Holocaust…

The rehabilitation of Syria into the Arab League after decade-long isolation is followed by one of the major demands by Arab states which calls for an end to the illegal trade of Captagon which has served as lucrative earnings for the war-ravaged economy over the years. Figure 1 Image Source: AP Captagon as a tool of leverage Syria under Bashar al-Assad had been under years of civil war which has severely devastated the once-growing economy. But, during the internal turmoil, the source of income was generated by smuggling of Captagon from Syria to other parts of the Middle East, Saudi…

With the re-election of Erdogan as the President of Türkiye, the cloud of haze has become clear regarding Turkish foreign policy towards Greeks while both countries have been at loggerheads with each other over several issues for decades. There are hopes for mending ties which however cannot be guaranteed given Turkey’s nationalist agendas. The recent thaw in relations between the Turks and Greeks The relations between Türkiye and Greece have seen signs of tranquility in recent months when Greece moved forward with a benign motive to help Türkiye in relief operations after it was badly hit by earthquakes in February.…

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, moves to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, to restore the destabilizing relations between traditional allies – USA and Saudi Arabia. Issues encompassing Iran, regional security, and soaring oil prices are the major points of discussion. Besides, Riyadh’s normalization with Israel, albeit a far-fetched dream, is also going to be included in the meeting. Figure 1 Image Source: Reuters Main objectives of Saudi visit Two issues are going to occupy the major space in the talks: security and economy. A couple of days ago, Saudi Arabia, the largest exporter of oil in the world, cut…

Oil prices boomed sharply as the world’s largest producer of oil, Saudi Arabia announced that it would bring down the production of oil by million barrels per day from July, to counter the macro-economic challenges posed by the plummeting prices. The move is in addition to the arrangement agreed upon by OPEC+ countries to cut the oil supplies. Figure 1 Image Source: Getty Images Why did Saudi Arabia take this decision? OPEC+ countries met for a seven-hour long meeting where they discussed the issue of dipping oil prices. Other members of the oil-producing countries’ organization also gave consent for reducing…

In the series of perpetual clashes between the Israeli military and Palestinian militants, a dreadful incident of a Palestinian toddler and his father being injured by the Israeli military has grabbed the attention. The Israeli military, however, claims that the attack had been fortuitous. The child, in critical condition, was rushed to the hospital. Figure 1 Image Source: Reuters How did the toddler get injured? It is not unprecedented that Israel makes headlines for some or other reason incessantly. The friction between Israel and Palestine has become a daily affair. This also indicates that violence leads to bloodshed with every…

Israeli settlers built a religious school in Homesh, one of the four outposts in the occupied West Bank following the abrogation of law that emptied the settlements in these outposts. This comes weeks after the Jerusalem day parade which is seen as reinforcement of Israeli command over East Jerusalem. The construction of a yeshiva in disputed region piles up the heap of issues between Israelis and Palestinians. Background  Figure 1 Image Source: AP The erection of the school is endorsed by the Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, and was approved by Defense Minister Yoar Gallant. The Israeli government has hailed the…

Assad’s re-integration into the Arab League after  decade-long  isolation is a sigh of relief for the Syrian President and is a move towards stability in the region. But, this normalization is likely to spell doom for Syrian refugees scattered in the neighbouring countries. Peace-making at the upper strata of politics does not guarantee safety at the grassroot level. Why are Syrian refugees upset at normalization? Arab allies restored the vine of friendship with the Syrian regime which is considered historic by the observers. Researchers who closely looked at the nuances of this event  believe that this ice-breaking moment is a…

Ivan Maslov, the head of Wagner Group in Mali has been sanctioned by the USA citing the paramilitary group’s wrongful activities of using the African country as a channel for smuggling mines, drones, and other military equipment to Russia purchased from foreign networks for the so-called military operation in Ukraine. The mercenary group is seen as a threat by Western allies as it has entrenched its influence in the African continent and is actively involved in the assault against Ukraine Figure1 Image Source: AP The Wagner Group The Wagner Group is a private Russian military force that is closely integrated…