Saturday, June 28, 2025

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Global Affairs

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 26, 2025
It took U.S. President Donald Trump a long time to realize that he had been played by the Israeli prime minister, but it won’t last because he cannot bear the idea that he was outsmarted, writes Gwynne Dyer. Official White House photograph courtesy of Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 26, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 26, 2025
It took U.S. President Donald Trump a long time to realize that he had been played by the Israeli prime minister, but it won’t last because he cannot bear the idea that he was outsmarted, writes Gwynne Dyer. Official White House photograph courtesy of Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 23, 2025
Donald Trump
Why did Iran start enriching uranium past the 3.5 per cent limit that it accepted in the 2015 deal? Because U.S. President Donald Trump tore up that deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 23, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 23, 2025
Donald Trump
Why did Iran start enriching uranium past the 3.5 per cent limit that it accepted in the 2015 deal? Because U.S. President Donald Trump tore up that deal in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 19, 2025
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on May 22, 2017. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs photograph by Haim Zach 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 19, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 19, 2025
Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on May 22, 2017. Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs photograph by Haim Zach 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 16, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Iran is on the brink of getting nuclear weapons half a dozen times in the past 20 years, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph by Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 16, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 16, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared that Iran is on the brink of getting nuclear weapons half a dozen times in the past 20 years, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph by Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 12, 2025
We cannot rebuild healthy oceans unless that bottom trawling stopped in the safe zones where fish populations should be able to recover, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of David Dodge/Green Energy Futures/Creative Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 12, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 12, 2025
We cannot rebuild healthy oceans unless that bottom trawling stopped in the safe zones where fish populations should be able to recover, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of David Dodge/Green Energy Futures/Creative Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 9, 2025
It’s unlikely the United States ends up in a de facto alliance with Russia, but it’s possible, given U.S. President Donald Trump’s bizarre but undeniably very close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Shealah Craighead
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 9, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 9, 2025
It’s unlikely the United States ends up in a de facto alliance with Russia, but it’s possible, given U.S. President Donald Trump’s bizarre but undeniably very close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Shealah Craighead
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 5, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu
As Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently pointed out to his colleagues, the problem with starving people is that the country’s allies cannot tolerate ‘images of mass famine,’ writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy of Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 5, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 5, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu
As Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently pointed out to his colleagues, the problem with starving people is that the country’s allies cannot tolerate ‘images of mass famine,’ writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy of Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 3, 2025
The inability to hold the warming down means more and bigger forest fires, floods, droughts, cyclones, and killer heatwaves, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 3, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | June 3, 2025
The inability to hold the warming down means more and bigger forest fires, floods, droughts, cyclones, and killer heatwaves, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 28, 2025
Quite suddenly, under President Donald Trump, the United States has become just another great power where foreigners watch what they say, try to minimize contacts with official bodies, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 28, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 28, 2025
Quite suddenly, under President Donald Trump, the United States has become just another great power where foreigners watch what they say, try to minimize contacts with official bodies, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 27, 2025
Donald Trump
The whole show is designed to exploit U.S. President Donald Trump’s fascination with the British monarchy, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Andrea Hanks
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 27, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 27, 2025
Donald Trump
The whole show is designed to exploit U.S. President Donald Trump’s fascination with the British monarchy, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Andrea Hanks
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 21, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is the most articulate exponent of the dream to “relocate” Palestinians, and he sees the war in Gaza as a heaven-sent opportunity to make it real, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 21, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 21, 2025
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is the most articulate exponent of the dream to “relocate” Palestinians, and he sees the war in Gaza as a heaven-sent opportunity to make it real, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 20, 2025
Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, will probably insist once again that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ‘no cards,’ and must submit, but that wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 20, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 20, 2025
Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, will probably insist once again that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ‘no cards,’ and must submit, but that wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has comprehensively trashed the European delusion that the United States would come to its defence if Russia invaded, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 15, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump has comprehensively trashed the European delusion that the United States would come to its defence if Russia invaded, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 14, 2025
Afrikaners aren’t actually refugees. They are bit-players in a secular passion play staged by U.S. President Donald Trump, right, probably at the suggestion of his faithful side-kick Elon Musk, left, who grew up very rich in apartheid-era South Africa, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 14, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 14, 2025
Afrikaners aren’t actually refugees. They are bit-players in a secular passion play staged by U.S. President Donald Trump, right, probably at the suggestion of his faithful side-kick Elon Musk, left, who grew up very rich in apartheid-era South Africa, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the White House/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 8, 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, runs a Hindu-nationalist agenda, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a hard-right coalition, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 8, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 8, 2025
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, runs a Hindu-nationalist agenda, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leads a hard-right coalition, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 6, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at The White House on April 7. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 6, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 6, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet at The White House on April 7. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 1, 2025
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro could go to jail for more than 40 years if he is found guilty of plotting to reverse his electoral defeat in 2022 by a military coup, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 1, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | May 1, 2025
Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro could go to jail for more than 40 years if he is found guilty of plotting to reverse his electoral defeat in 2022 by a military coup, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 30, 2025
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The relationship between the two nations is fundamentally unstable because Pakistan has only one-sixth of India’s population and one-10th of its wealth, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 30, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 30, 2025
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The relationship between the two nations is fundamentally unstable because Pakistan has only one-sixth of India’s population and one-10th of its wealth, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 23, 2025
Donald Trump
There has certainly been outrage at U.S. Donald Trump’s threats to crush the Canadian economy and take over the country, which doubtless moved more votes to Liberal Leader Mark Carney, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/the White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 23, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 23, 2025
Donald Trump
There has certainly been outrage at U.S. Donald Trump’s threats to crush the Canadian economy and take over the country, which doubtless moved more votes to Liberal Leader Mark Carney, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/the White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 17, 2025
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, left, leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, while General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan commands the ‘official’ Sudanese Armed Forces. The mercenaries who work for them are the scum of the earth, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 17, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 17, 2025
General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, left, leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, while General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan commands the ‘official’ Sudanese Armed Forces. The mercenaries who work for them are the scum of the earth, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 14, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump not only blinked first, but he blinked at exactly the right time, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 14, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 14, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump not only blinked first, but he blinked at exactly the right time, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 10, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Estimates put the deaths at more than 50,000 in Gaza, compared to at least 12,650 in Ukraine. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 10, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 10, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Estimates put the deaths at more than 50,000 in Gaza, compared to at least 12,650 in Ukraine. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 7, 2025
Donald Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump has greatly overestimated America’s ability to prevent a realignment of global trade that simply goes around it, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 7, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 7, 2025
Donald Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump has greatly overestimated America’s ability to prevent a realignment of global trade that simply goes around it, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 2, 2025
Nobody set out to destroy the deterrence system, least of all U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured in 2013, who was just seeking some short-term advantages in his usual way, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 2, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | April 2, 2025
Nobody set out to destroy the deterrence system, least of all U.S. President Donald Trump, pictured in 2013, who was just seeking some short-term advantages in his usual way, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 27, 2025
Donald Trump
The Iranians claim that they are only enriching uranium for nuclear fuel and other peaceful uses, but nobody believes them. U.S. President Donald Trump should have left the nuclear deal alone, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 27, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 27, 2025
Donald Trump
The Iranians claim that they are only enriching uranium for nuclear fuel and other peaceful uses, but nobody believes them. U.S. President Donald Trump should have left the nuclear deal alone, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 25, 2025
Residents walk along a road in Bombo Lumene Natural Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC has 60 per cent of the world’s coltan, a mineral essential for electronic devices. Photograph courtesy of Unsplash
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 25, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 25, 2025
Residents walk along a road in Bombo Lumene Natural Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DRC has 60 per cent of the world’s coltan, a mineral essential for electronic devices. Photograph courtesy of Unsplash
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 20, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t understand the rules that were established in 1945 or why they matter to the world, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 20, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 20, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t understand the rules that were established in 1945 or why they matter to the world, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Gage Skidmore/Flickr
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 11, 2024
Simon Stiell
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, pictured on Sept. 22, 2023. He addressed delegates at the opening of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan on Nov. 11. UN photograph courtesy of Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 11, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 11, 2024
Simon Stiell
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, pictured on Sept. 22, 2023. He addressed delegates at the opening of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan on Nov. 11. UN photograph courtesy of Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 7, 2024
A big factor in Donald Trump’s spectacular comeback—the dog-whistle racism that so many older white males responded to—is due to a period of demographic transition which will pass, writes Gwynn Dyer. Wikimedia Commons photograph
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 7, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 7, 2024
A big factor in Donald Trump’s spectacular comeback—the dog-whistle racism that so many older white males responded to—is due to a period of demographic transition which will pass, writes Gwynn Dyer. Wikimedia Commons photograph
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 5, 2024
Whether Republican Donald Trump, left, or Democrat Kamala Harris wins the U.S. presidential election, the ideological passion that Americans bring to their votes has always been off the scale, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photographs by Shealah Craighead and Cameron Smith
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 5, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 5, 2024
Whether Republican Donald Trump, left, or Democrat Kamala Harris wins the U.S. presidential election, the ideological passion that Americans bring to their votes has always been off the scale, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photographs by Shealah Craighead and Cameron Smith
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 31, 2024
Donald_Trump
As mega-hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated much of the southeastern U.S. a month ago, Donald Trump talked of the climate emergency as ‘one of the greatest scams of all time.’ Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 31, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 31, 2024
Donald_Trump
As mega-hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated much of the southeastern U.S. a month ago, Donald Trump talked of the climate emergency as ‘one of the greatest scams of all time.’ Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2024
Some Israelis—like those around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—are tempted to go all out against Iran, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2024
Some Israelis—like those around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—are tempted to go all out against Iran, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 23, 2024
Under the U.K.-Mauritius deal, Chagossians are banned from returning to their original homeland, the island of Diego Garcia, pictured, which was turned into a giant American airbase in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/European Space Agency
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 23, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 23, 2024
Under the U.K.-Mauritius deal, Chagossians are banned from returning to their original homeland, the island of Diego Garcia, pictured, which was turned into a giant American airbase in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/European Space Agency
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 22, 2024
Donald J. Trump
Politicians like Donald Trump draw a curtain across the unhappy realities, and give angry and desperate people other targets to blame, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 22, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 22, 2024
Donald J. Trump
Politicians like Donald Trump draw a curtain across the unhappy realities, and give angry and desperate people other targets to blame, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Shealah Craighead
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 17, 2024
Elon Musk
The scientific event of the year was the launch of the Europa Clipper mission in one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets on Oct. 14, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photo illustration, photograph courtesy of Flickr/NVIDIA Corporation
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 17, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 17, 2024
Elon Musk
The scientific event of the year was the launch of the Europa Clipper mission in one of Elon Musk’s SpaceX rockets on Oct. 14, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photo illustration, photograph courtesy of Flickr/NVIDIA Corporation
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 16, 2024
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reluctant to get involved in a tit-for-tat missile exchange with Iran, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 16, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 16, 2024
Benjamin Netanyahu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reluctant to get involved in a tit-for-tat missile exchange with Iran, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 10, 2024
Austria’s Freedom Party, led by Herbert Kickl, bluntly calls for the expulsion of immigrants. Last month, the party won the Austrian election. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 10, 2024
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 10, 2024
Austria’s Freedom Party, led by Herbert Kickl, bluntly calls for the expulsion of immigrants. Last month, the party won the Austrian election. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons