Skip to main content
Al Monitor

Al Monitor

Newspaper | United States | Centre-Left

Engagement Insights

6.4 score
168
Discussions
4
Participants
10
Total Votes
1180
Articles

Discussions from Al Monitor

Geopolitics

What are the different views on the impact of the Gaza flotilla's interception by Israel on peace efforts in the region?

Organisers of a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on Thursday said Israel's army had "kidnapped" 211 activists including a Paris city councillor in a raid in international waters off Greece. Helene Coron, a spokeswoman for the Global Sumud France, told an online news conference that the operation had taken place near the island of Crete, at an "unprecedented" distance from Israel. Yasmine Scola, an activist on board the flotilla, said her colleagues had been "kidnapped" by Israel. Israel's foreign ministry had earlier put the number of those detained at 175

Global
Join Discussion
Geopolitics

What might the effects be of Russia staying in OPEC+ after the UAE's exit?

MOSCOW, April 29 (Reuters) - Russia plans to stay in OPEC+ despite a decision by the United Arab Emirates to leave, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, voicing hopes the alliance of oil producers would continue to operate amid turmoil in the global energy market. The UAE said on Tuesday it would quit the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, dealing a blow to the group as an energy crisis triggered by the Iran war has exposed rifts among Gulf nations. The UAE ​was the fourth-largest producer in OPEC+, while Russia is second, behind Saudi Arabia

Global
Join Discussion
Geopolitics

How can phone calls between leaders help or hurt peace efforts in places like Lebanon?

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held a phone call with Donald Trump on Thursday during which he thanked the US leader for his "efforts" to secure a ceasefire with Israel, the presidency in Beirut said. The call comes after Aoun rejected a US request for a "direct call" with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to an official Lebanese source, and a day after Trump announced an expected call between the two countries' "leaders". FRANCE 24's Cyril Payen reports from Beirut, Lebanon

Lebanon
Join Discussion
Politics

What are the possible impacts of Ali al-Zaidi becoming Iraq's Prime Minister on the country's future?

April 27 (Reuters) - Iraq's alliance of Shi'ite political blocs, the Coordination Framework, on Monday named Ali al-Zaidi as its nominee for the post of prime minister, said a coalition statement. Iraq's President Nizar Amedi invited Zaidi on Monday evening, the nominee of the largest parliamentary bloc known as the Coordination Framework, an alliance of Iran-aligned factions, to form a government, Shi'ite lawmakers told Reuters

Iraq
Join Discussion
Geopolitics

How can we encourage people to care more about peace in a world with so much conflict?

By Joshua McElwee VATICAN CITY, April 4 (Reuters) - Pope Leo led the world's Catholics into Easter at a Saturday night vigil Mass in St. Peter's Basilica and urged people not to feel numbed by the scope of the conflicts raging across the world but to work for peace. Leo, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the Iran war, said that mistrust and fear have been allowed to "sever the bonds between us through war, injustice and the isolation of peoples and nations."

Global
Join Discussion
Geopolitics

How could Israel and Lebanon work together to address the influence of Hezbollah in Lebanon?

WASHINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - The Lebanese government made it clear during U.S.-brokered talks with Israel that they no longer want to be "occupied" by Hezbollah and that there were conversations about long-term vision for clearly delineated border, Israel's ambassador to the United States Yechiel Leiter told reporters on Tuesday. (Reporting by Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk and Ryan Patrick Jones, Editing by Bhargav Acharya)

Israel
Join Discussion
Geopolitics

What are the possible impacts of military actions between Israel and Hezbollah on the safety of people in the region?

April 25 (Reuters) - Israel said on Saturday it would attack Hezbollah targets forcefully, further testing a fragile ceasefire with Lebanon that U.S. President Donald Trump recently said had been extended by three weeks. Four people were killed on Saturday in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, Lebanon's state news agency reported, while the Israeli military said Hezbollah had fired rockets at Israel, posing the latest challenges to the tenuous ceasefire

Israel
Join Discussion