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LONDON: The risk of catastrophic war in the Middle East is real. Western governments, including Britain’s, calling on Israel not to spark such a war have the means to force it to comply and must be made to use them.

Around midnight on Saturday night, air raid sirens screamed across Israel as Iran launched a major drone and missile attack on the country, sparking fears of a larger conflict in the Middle East. Residents were advised to seek shelter as explosions were heard, even as air defence protocols were activated in the backdrop. However, by Sunday morning, the situation seemed much less severe.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is tying himself up in knots as he grudgingly, and only to a limited degree, bows to US President Joe Biden’s demands. In doing so, Netanyahu is puncturing Swiss-cheese size holes into Israel’s Gaza narrative, making it easier for Mr. Biden to take him publicly to task.

Apple has released its first major product since the launch of the Apple Watch in 2015. Recently, Apple launched Vision Pro, a virtual reality headset priced at $3499. Apple CEO Tim Cook, who came to Apple’s Fifth Avenue store in New York for the release event, justified the price, calling it “tomorrow’s technology today.” “We think we priced it at the right level considering the value of it,” Cook added. “It’s chock-full of invention. It’s got 5,000 patents on it.” Big companies like Walmart, Nike, Vanguard, Stryker, Bloomberg, and SAP have invested in Vision Pro headsets to enhance customer experience and staff efficiency.

Recently, tensions have surged between Iran and Israel. On Twitter, Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated that Israel’s reported attack on a site within an Iranian embassy area in Damascus— capital of Syria and one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities—was tantamount to aggression against Iran. He emphasized that Israel deserved to face consequences for its actions.

HELSINKI: Shades of the far-right British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher more than 40 years ago: After just over a year in office, Finland’s right-wing, pro-NATO Prime Minister Petteri Orpo, a supporter of sending weapons to Ukraine, is trying to bust Finnish unions through wide curbs on workers’ rights.

The stage is again set for the great deception game. With oil already on the boil, there is a task on the hands of the Modi government and its faithful oil companies to enact another episode of the pe-election drama, which has by now become a regular feature of every Indian election, upwards of state assemblies. The Ministry of Petroleum already announced a reduction of Rs 2 per litre in petrol and diesel prices across India, effective from March 15. That was before the elections were announced.

The Greater Middle East is a ticking time bomb. Generations in war-wracked Palestine, Syria, and Yemen have little, if anything, to look forward to. Moreover, discontent is mounting and could explode anytime in countries like Jordan, Egypt, and Iran.

In the highly polarized Presidential elections in America scheduled in November this year, the announcement by Robert Kennedy Jr. has caused a slight jolt to the prospects of the Democratic Party nominee President Joe Biden. If the anti-MAGA majority is united and votes strategically in the 2024 elections, Biden can defeat Trump in a head-to-head matchup, and Democrats could gain Congressional majorities. The GOP/MAGA leaders know this well. One essential strategy to defeat Biden is propping up third-party campaigns to split the anti-MAGA coalition. With Kennedy Jr. contesting against the Democratic nominee, that possibility is there.

On February 7, one day before Pakistan was set to have its national elections, there were two bomb explosions near where political candidates have their offices in Balochistan. These bombs killed at least 24 people. So far, no one has said they are the ones who did it.