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AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

Trump, a one-man demolition squad – but popular

20 Aug 2023

The Perils of Pauline were episodes in a 1914 silent black-and-white film serial about an independent-minded US heiress who for a year seeks adventures before marrying her suitor and settling into family life. She wants to take a balloon ride, fly a plane, and drive a racing car.

Maui inferno

17 Aug 2023

Wildfires in paradise will not convince millions of US citizens to recognise and act against climate change. Last week’s conflagration on Hawaii’s Maui

America should shed its hatred for Syria

13 Aug 2023

The agreement between the United Nations and the Syrian government to reopen the Bab al-Hawa crossing on Syria’s border with Turkey could deepen the process of Arab normalisation with post-war Syria. Restoration of ties was initiated in December 2018 by the UAE when Abu Dhabi reopened its embassy in Damascus.

Reluctant First Lady

10 Aug 2023

A reluctant First Lady, Melania Trump has remained aloof from her husband’s third campaign for the US presidency although he announced his re-election bid in mid-November. She finally spoke up in May when she told Fox News Digital, “My husband achieved tremendous success in his first administration, and he can lead

Lebanon: Anatomy of a nation’s travails

06 Aug 2023

Ahead of the third anniversary on August 4th of the Beirut port blast, Dutch Ambassador Hans Peter Van der Woude, German Ambassador Andreas Kindl, and Australian Ambassador Andrew Barnes accredited to Lebanon made an emotional appeal in “L’Orient Today.”

Loved and loathed

03 Aug 2023

Few musicians who become international stars and celebrities also become authors of change in their homelands. Ireland’s Sinead O’Connor did both in her too short, tragic and tortured life which ended on July 26. O’Connor was regarded as a “troublemaker” by friend and foe alike, was celebrated and castigated, loved and loathed.

The conflict continues to damage Ukraine

30 Jul 2023

Kyiv’s delayed, slow-moving offensive against the well-fortified Russian front line in eastern Ukraine has given rise to concern that the war is stalemated and conflict could continue until one side concedes or both sides are exhausted.

Biden should scrap idea behind cluster bombs

23 Jul 2023

US President Joe Biden’s delivery of cluster munitions to Ukraine is controversial and shameful. He announced that the decision to agree to Ukraine’s demand for cluster bomb shells for its 155mm howitzers was “difficult”

Tendentious reporting over humanitarian aid to Idlib

20 Jul 2023

Last week the Western media strove mightily to skew reports of the squabble which initially erupted between Western powers and Russia over the delivery of humanitarian aid to the northern sector of Syria’s Idlib province.

Ukraine has lost more than Russia in war

16 Jul 2023

The Ukraine war was meant to be a win-win conflict for all concerned but Russia. It is in fact a lose-lose campaign for those involved. Ukraine is, of course, the greatest loser by far. The UN estimated that more than 9,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed and 16,000 injured. The US reported that 20,000 Ukrainian troops have been slain and 130,000 wounded through mid-May this year.

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.