In the long list of the most hellish places, Russia’s penal colonies are close to the top. In an interview last year with the Associated Press, Olga Romanova, head of a prisoner-rights … more

Poland’s government won an important victory on the battleground of history last week. It succeeded in persuading Netflix to amend a newly released World War II-based documentary that … more

Paul is an Australian Jewish man in his late 40s who lives in the city of Brisbane, in the state of Queensland. Paul (the name he has been given by local media to protect his identity) was … more

The International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe is the perfect example of an organization with an imposing name and an illustrious advisory board that you’ve still … more

I interviewed Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, during his September visit to New York. The public-relations maven who arranged the meeting pitched Morawiecki — then … more

A disparate group of Islamist clerics has been busily predicting that the State of Israel will disappear in 2022, citing the Koran for support. The prediction has been circulating in earnest … more

The Biden administration’s regressive decision to include $150 million for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) as part of its restoration of more than $200 million of financial aid to … more

The people of Iran were again subjected last Friday to the farce that befalls them every four years … more

At high school, he made no friends and didn’t belong to any clubs. He liked girls, but having a girlfriend was beyond his abilities. Academically, he was undistinguished, doing well in … more

It’s a familiar pattern. The citizens of a Middle Eastern state explode with frustration against their corrupt, repressive government. They gather for noisy, impassioned demonstrations in their capital city. The authorities react violently. Images of middle-aged women and wheelchair-bound individuals being tear-gassed, clubbed, and sprayed with water cannon race across social media platforms like wildfire. The protests then spread to other cities. The authorities step up their repression. more