Friday, December 5, 2025

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Friday, December 5, 2025 | Latest Paper

Global Affairs

Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 1, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, in 2022. Netanyahu has asked Herzog to pardon him in his ongoing corruption trial. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 1, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | December 1, 2025
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, with the country’s president, Isaac Herzog, in 2022. Netanyahu has asked Herzog to pardon him in his ongoing corruption trial. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 26, 2025
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin participate in a joint press conference after their meeting at the Arctic Warrior Event Center at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. Trump and Putin are trying to destroy the international rule of law, writes columnist Gwynne Dyer Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 26, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 26, 2025
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin participate in a joint press conference after their meeting at the Arctic Warrior Event Center at Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Aug. 15, 2025. Trump and Putin are trying to destroy the international rule of law, writes columnist Gwynne Dyer Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 25, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s job is to know if and when the morale of the Ukrainian army and the general public is starting to break, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 25, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 25, 2025
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s job is to know if and when the morale of the Ukrainian army and the general public is starting to break, writes Gwynne Dyer. The Hill Times photograph by Sam Garcia
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 12, 2025
Pro-Trump rioters occupied Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. Ahead of the protest in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump had posted it would 'be wild.' Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 12, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 12, 2025
Pro-Trump rioters occupied Capitol Hill on Jan. 6, 2021. Ahead of the protest in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump had posted it would 'be wild.' Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 10, 2025
Nothing very impressive is likely to come out of the UN climate conference despite the urgency of the situation, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy by Kiara Worth
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 10, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 10, 2025
Nothing very impressive is likely to come out of the UN climate conference despite the urgency of the situation, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy by Kiara Worth
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 6, 2025
Displaced people arrive in South Sudan from Sudan through the Joda border crossing. Killing in Sudan has been non-stop since October. It’s the worst massacre yet in a civil war that has already killed 150,000 people and made one-third of the population refugees, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the United Nations by Ala Kheir
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 6, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 6, 2025
Displaced people arrive in South Sudan from Sudan through the Joda border crossing. Killing in Sudan has been non-stop since October. It’s the worst massacre yet in a civil war that has already killed 150,000 people and made one-third of the population refugees, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of the United Nations by Ala Kheir
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 3, 2025
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump can infallibly trick the public into drawing their attention away from something else that he doesn’t want them to see, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 3, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | November 3, 2025
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump can infallibly trick the public into drawing their attention away from something else that he doesn’t want them to see, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2025
Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still wants to get the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, but this may no longer require a confrontation with Donald Trump, writes Gwynne Dyer White House photograph by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 29, 2025
Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still wants to get the Palestinians out of the Gaza Strip, but this may no longer require a confrontation with Donald Trump, writes Gwynne Dyer White House photograph by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 27, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, is doing everything possible to look like he is serious about overthrowing Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela by force, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 27, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 27, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, is doing everything possible to look like he is serious about overthrowing Nicolás Maduro’s regime in Venezuela by force, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 22, 2025
Last month, unidentified drones forced Denmark to shut down its airports on several occasions, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Russian involvement could not be ruled out. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 22, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 22, 2025
Last month, unidentified drones forced Denmark to shut down its airports on several occasions, and Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that Russian involvement could not be ruled out. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 16, 2025
In the latest example of American influence, Argentina President Javier Milei, left, has welcomed Donald Trump’s $20-billion bailout even as the American president mused about the country’s elections, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 16, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 16, 2025
In the latest example of American influence, Argentina President Javier Milei, left, has welcomed Donald Trump’s $20-billion bailout even as the American president mused about the country’s elections, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons/Gage Skidmore 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 15, 2025
The biggest players in the system supporting AI are spending vast amounts of borrowed money on a technology they don’t even fully understand, writes Gwynne Dyer. Image courtesy of Gerd Altmann/Pixabay
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 15, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 15, 2025
The biggest players in the system supporting AI are spending vast amounts of borrowed money on a technology they don’t even fully understand, writes Gwynne Dyer. Image courtesy of Gerd Altmann/Pixabay
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 8, 2025
Jane Goodall, pictured in 2019, died on Oct. 1 at the age of 91. She was also one of the greatest self-taught scientists in history, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/Simon Fraser University 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 8, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 8, 2025
Jane Goodall, pictured in 2019, died on Oct. 1 at the age of 91. She was also one of the greatest self-taught scientists in history, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/Simon Fraser University 
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 7, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, has a very short attention span, but he was able to bully Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into at least the opening stages of a ceasefire, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 7, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 7, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, has a very short attention span, but he was able to bully Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu into at least the opening stages of a ceasefire, writes Gwynne Dyer. White House photograph by Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 2, 2025
Donald Trump.
After the June U.S. bombing on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, President Donald Trump claimed the key facilities ‘have been completely and totally obliterated.’ Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 2, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | October 2, 2025
Donald Trump.
After the June U.S. bombing on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities, President Donald Trump claimed the key facilities ‘have been completely and totally obliterated.’ Photograph courtesy of Flickr/The White House
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 30, 2025
Portland, Ore., residents protest the U.S. president’s deployment of troops to the city to ‘protect’ an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 28. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube/KPTV Fox 12
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 30, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 30, 2025
Portland, Ore., residents protest the U.S. president’s deployment of troops to the city to ‘protect’ an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Sept. 28. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube/KPTV Fox 12
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 24, 2025
American President Donald Trump, pictured, attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a February White House visit, but this week at the United Nations Trump suggested Ukraine could win back its territory. Official White House photograph
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 24, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 24, 2025
American President Donald Trump, pictured, attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a February White House visit, but this week at the United Nations Trump suggested Ukraine could win back its territory. Official White House photograph
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 22, 2025
The cascade of recognitions at the United Nations General Assembly’s annual session in New York is pure gesture politics, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph by Manuel Elias
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 22, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 22, 2025
The cascade of recognitions at the United Nations General Assembly’s annual session in New York is pure gesture politics, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph by Manuel Elias
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 17, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s real goal with the Poland drone strike is to stampede NATO’s European countries into spending large amounts on their own national defence, instead of continuing to send arms to beleaguered Ukraine, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 17, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 17, 2025
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s real goal with the Poland drone strike is to stampede NATO’s European countries into spending large amounts on their own national defence, instead of continuing to send arms to beleaguered Ukraine, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Most Republican voters still believe that U.S. President Donald Trump, left, won the 2020 election. By contrast, only 36 per cent of Brazilians doubt that former president Jair Bolsonaro was part of the 2022 coup plot, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 15, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 15, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Most Republican voters still believe that U.S. President Donald Trump, left, won the 2020 election. By contrast, only 36 per cent of Brazilians doubt that former president Jair Bolsonaro was part of the 2022 coup plot, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 10, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu
With the bombing of Qatar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it blindingly clear he wants to avoid a ceasefire in Gaza, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy of Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 10, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 10, 2025
Benjamin Netanyahu
With the bombing of Qatar, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it blindingly clear he wants to avoid a ceasefire in Gaza, writes Gwynne Dyer. UN photograph courtesy of Loey Felipe
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 9, 2025
Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was a stage-managed coming-out party for China’s new superpower status, but no actual deals were done, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 9, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 9, 2025
Xi Jinping
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was a stage-managed coming-out party for China’s new superpower status, but no actual deals were done, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 4, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, held a White House meeting to discuss plans for Gaza’s future, with former British prime minister Tony Blair in the mix among real estate developers and others. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 4, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 4, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, held a White House meeting to discuss plans for Gaza’s future, with former British prime minister Tony Blair in the mix among real estate developers and others. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 3, 2025
British MP Nigel Farage recently promised that a Reform U.K. government would deport 600,000 people during its first five years in power. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 3, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | September 3, 2025
British MP Nigel Farage recently promised that a Reform U.K. government would deport 600,000 people during its first five years in power. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 28, 2025
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
Denmark has accused the United States of running a covert operation in Greenland. The attempt to recruit a few ‘pro-American’ Greenlanders to front the operation suggests President Donald Trump’s regime prefers a non-violent conquest if at all possible, writes Gwynne Dyer. Official White House photograph courtesy of Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 28, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 28, 2025
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin
Denmark has accused the United States of running a covert operation in Greenland. The attempt to recruit a few ‘pro-American’ Greenlanders to front the operation suggests President Donald Trump’s regime prefers a non-violent conquest if at all possible, writes Gwynne Dyer. Official White House photograph courtesy of Daniel Torok
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 26, 2025
People are learning ‘from a distorted map,’ says Speak Up Africa founder Fara Ndiaye, leading to ‘a biased view of Africa’s role in the world.’ Photograph courtesy of Unsplash
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 26, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 26, 2025
People are learning ‘from a distorted map,’ says Speak Up Africa founder Fara Ndiaye, leading to ‘a biased view of Africa’s role in the world.’ Photograph courtesy of Unsplash
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 21, 2025
Donald Trump, left, and President Vladimir Putin.
The campaign by U.S. President Donald Trump, left, for the peace prize includes pretending he can end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but that conquest is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s heritage project, and he can still keep the war going for years, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 21, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | August 21, 2025
Donald Trump, left, and President Vladimir Putin.
The campaign by U.S. President Donald Trump, left, for the peace prize includes pretending he can end the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but that conquest is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s heritage project, and he can still keep the war going for years, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
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 | March 17, 2025
Rodrigo Duterte
Last week’s arrest of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court for the ‘crime against humanity’ of mass murder was long overdue, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 17, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 17, 2025
Rodrigo Duterte
Last week’s arrest of former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte by the International Criminal Court for the ‘crime against humanity’ of mass murder was long overdue, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 13, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, insisted on preconditions before entering peace talks, whereupon U.S. President Donald Trump, right, lost it in that infamous Oval Office exchange on Feb. 28, writes Gwynne Dyer. Zelenskyy had to back down. Screengrab courtesy of CNN
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 13, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 13, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, insisted on preconditions before entering peace talks, whereupon U.S. President Donald Trump, right, lost it in that infamous Oval Office exchange on Feb. 28, writes Gwynne Dyer. Zelenskyy had to back down. Screengrab courtesy of CNN
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 11, 2025
Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government was overthrown in 2024. Assad needed reliable allies to run the tyrannical state, and Alawites needed jobs, so they ended up greatly over-represented in the lower ranks of the army and government, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 11, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 11, 2025
Former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government was overthrown in 2024. Assad needed reliable allies to run the tyrannical state, and Alawites needed jobs, so they ended up greatly over-represented in the lower ranks of the army and government, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 6, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump wants to 'annex' Canada and make it the 51st state of the United States of America. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia/Gage Skidmore
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 6, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 6, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump wants to 'annex' Canada and make it the 51st state of the United States of America. Photograph courtesy of Commons Wikimedia/Gage Skidmore
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 3, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In the White House on Feb. 28, U.S. President Donald Trump, centre, and Vice-President J.D. Vance, right, launched a vicious attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the massed cameras of the American media, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screenshot courtesy of CNN
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 3, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | March 3, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
In the White House on Feb. 28, U.S. President Donald Trump, centre, and Vice-President J.D. Vance, right, launched a vicious attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before the massed cameras of the American media, writes Gwynne Dyer. Screenshot courtesy of CNN
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 27, 2025
Donald Trump, left, and Adolf Hitler. Both Hitler and Trump took advantage of relatively new communication technologies to spread their message—radio and mass-circulation newspapers in Hitler’s case, Fox and X in Trump’s–and they both made lavish use of the so-called ‘Big Lie,' writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 27, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 27, 2025
Donald Trump, left, and Adolf Hitler. Both Hitler and Trump took advantage of relatively new communication technologies to spread their message—radio and mass-circulation newspapers in Hitler’s case, Fox and X in Trump’s–and they both made lavish use of the so-called ‘Big Lie,' writes Gwynne Dyer. Photographs courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 25, 2025
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi—the daughter of the army’s founder—led a largely non-violent revolution that forced the military to share political power, but in 2021, the army took it back very violently, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 25, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 25, 2025
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi—the daughter of the army’s founder—led a largely non-violent revolution that forced the military to share political power, but in 2021, the army took it back very violently, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 19, 2025
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders mirror the to-do list of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan for instituting permanent right-wing rule after a Trump election victory, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 19, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 19, 2025
Donald Trump
U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders mirror the to-do list of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s plan for instituting permanent right-wing rule after a Trump election victory, writes Gwynne Dyer. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 18, 2025
Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, is negotiating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a cut of Ukraine’s future mining income in exchange for continued American aid. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/Presidential Office of Ukraine
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 18, 2025
Opinion | BY GWYNNE DYER | February 18, 2025
Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, is negotiating with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a cut of Ukraine’s future mining income in exchange for continued American aid. Photograph courtesy of Flickr/Presidential Office of Ukraine