Two events related to tech giant Facebook this week should force us to stop and reflect about how the rise of social media has impacted us as societies, especially in the Arab world.

The news on Wednesday of the death of our dear colleague and former assistant editor in chief Youssef Khazem came as a shock, but it was no surprise. Youssef had suffered from cancer for nearly three years and, sadly, the former war correspondent lost his final battle.

A raft of foreign policy decisions since the Biden administration took office — some ill advised, some badly timed, and in some cases both — prompt a question I thought would never have to be asked: Do US foreign policy advisers know who their friends in this region actually are?

Who, apart from heartless terrorists, would deliberately fire a missile at a gas station and kill at least 17 people? Who, apart from a group of savages who adhere to an evil ideology, would then fire another missile at an ambulance that came to rescue any survivors?

As Egyptian engineers enter Gaza to remove the rubble and rebuild what was destroyed in the recent devastating 11-day war, it is important to take note of the lessons that have been learned this time around.

Last week, Jordan celebrated the centennial of its establishment. Despite watered-down ceremonies due to the pandemic — and despite a recent rift within the Hashemite Royal Court — Jordan has every right to celebrate and be proud.

There has been widespread uproar at what was seen as misogynistic and insulting treatment meted out by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The cowardly terrorist attack on Abha International Airport in Saudi Arabia’s southern region comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with the violent nature of the Houthis. Anyone who has followed the war in Yemen needs no reminder of their savagely barbaric behavior.