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Scott Lucas

Professor of International Politics, University of Birmingham
Scott Lucas became Professor of International Politics in 2014, having been on the staff of the University of Birmingham since 1989 and a Professor of American Studies since 1997.

He began his career as a specialist in US and British foreign policy, but his research interests now also cover current international affairs – especially North Africa, the Middle East, and Iran – New Media, and Intelligence Services.

A professional journalist since 1979, Professor Lucas is the founder and editor of EA WorldView, a leading website in daily news and analysis of Iran, Turkey, Syria, and the wider Middle East, as well as US foreign policy.

Global Geopolitics Series

Why are the US and Israel not on the same page over how to deal with Iran? Expert Q&A

May 30, 2025 12:04 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The US president, Donald Trump, claimed on May 28 to have personally stopped Israel from attacking Irans nuclear facilities. When asked if hed intervened during a phone call with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin...

Gaza deal: what it means for peace in the Middle East – expert Q&A

Jan 17, 2025 14:31 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

After 15 months of bitter conflict on the Gaza Strip, a ceasefire deal has been agreed which promises an end to the fighting and will allow for the access of food and other desperately needed humanitarian aid to the...

Who is Syria’s new prime minister – and what will he do?

Dec 16, 2024 05:06 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Dressed in a modest grey suit and tie with a light blue shirt, bald and bearded, 41-year-old Mohammed al-Bashir addressed his fellow Syrians on Tuesday from behind a desk in an empty conference room. Asking for stability...

Global Geopolitics Series

October 7 marks 12 months of escalation into the ‘forever war’ now engulfing the Middle East

Oct 08, 2024 12:02 pm UTC| Insights & Views

One year after Hamass mass killing of nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and abduction of 251 others, and almost a year into the Israeli retribution that has so far slain almost 42,000 in Gaza, there seems no...

How Israel-Gaza will affect the US election campaign

Aug 22, 2024 23:22 pm UTC| Insights & Views

As delegates assembled in Chicago for the start of the Democratic National Convention on August 19, something surreal was happening 6,000 miles away in Israel. In Tel Aviv, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken,...

Iran: meet the men – and women – lining up to contest the early presidential election

Jun 06, 2024 11:33 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The death in a helicopter crash of the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, on May 19 has triggered a presidential election one year earlier than expected. Its a consequential moment in Iranian politics as many believed that...

Israel-Hamas war: will the US and Iran be drawn into a broader conflict? It's Tehran's move

Oct 31, 2023 09:17 am UTC| Insights & Views

Washington has sent a warning to Irans supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, about Iranian anti-US provocation in the Middle East. This has been going on sporadically for years, but from October 17 to October 25 there...

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Economy

Copper Prices Hit Record Highs as Metals Rally Gains Momentum on Geopolitical Tensions

Copper prices surged to record levels on Thursday, extending a powerful rally across global metals markets as investors increased exposure to physical assets amid escalating geopolitical risks and ongoing supply concerns....

Indonesian Stocks Plunge as MSCI Downgrade Risk Sparks Investor Exodus

Indonesian stocks suffered a dramatic selloff on Thursday, putting the market on course for its largest two-day decline on record as fears of a potential downgrade to frontier market status rattled investors. The benchmark...

Asian Currencies Trade Flat as Dollar Retreats After Fed Decision

Asian currencies traded in a mostly flat-to-lower range on Thursday, while the U.S. dollar weakened after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and struck an optimistic tone on the U.S. economy. Currency...

Philippine Economy Slows in Late 2025, Raising Expectations of Further Rate Cuts

The Philippine economy posted weaker-than-expected growth in the final quarter of 2025, reinforcing concerns about slowing momentum and increasing speculation over further monetary policy easing by the central bank....

South Korea Industry Minister Heads to Washington Amid U.S. Tariff Hike Concerns

South Koreas Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan is set to visit Washington on Thursday to hold high-level talks with U.S. officials following President Donald Trumps announcement of plans to raise tariffs on South Korean...

Politics

Trump and Schumer Explore Deal on New Limits for Federal Immigration Agents

U.S. President Donald Trump and Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer reportedly took steps Wednesday night toward a potential agreement to negotiate new restrictions on federal immigration agents, according to a report by the...

Federal Reserve Faces Subpoena Delay Amid Investigation Into Chair Jerome Powell

The Federal Reserve has not yet complied with grand jury subpoenas tied to an ongoing criminal investigation involving Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, according to a report by CNBC citing a source familiar with the...

Trump Warns Minneapolis Mayor as Immigration Raids Continue Amid Rising Tensions

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday warned Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey that he was playing with fire by insisting local police would not enforce federal immigration laws, even as the White House sent mixed messages...

Starmer’s China Visit Signals New Era in UK–China Economic Relations

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday in a high-profile diplomatic engagement aimed at strengthening UKChina economic relations after years of strained ties....

Jerome Powell Attends Supreme Court Hearing on Trump Effort to Fire Fed Governor, Calling It Historic

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell revealed on Wednesday that he personally attended last weeks Supreme Court arguments related to President Donald Trumps attempt to remove Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, underscoring...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

NVIDIA, Microsoft, and Amazon Eye Massive OpenAI Investment Amid $100B Funding Push

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) are reportedly in discussions to invest as much as $60 billion combined into artificial intelligence powerhouse OpenAI, signaling a major...

Meta Stock Surges After Q4 2025 Earnings Beat and Strong Q1 2026 Revenue Outlook Despite Higher Capex

Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) shares jumped sharply in after-hours trading after the company delivered better-than-expected Q4 2025 earnings and issued a strong revenue forecast for the first quarter of 2026, easing...

Samsung Electronics Posts Record Q4 2025 Profit as AI Chip Demand Soars

Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (KS:005930) delivered record-breaking revenue and profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, driven largely by booming demand from the artificial intelligence industry for advanced memory chips. The...

Microsoft AI Spending Surge Sparks Investor Jitters Despite Solid Azure Growth

Microsoft rattled investors after reporting record artificial intelligence spending alongside slower-than-expected cloud growth, raising concerns about when its massive AI investments will meaningfully pay off. Following...

Advantest Shares Hit Record High on Strong AI-Driven Earnings and Nvidia Demand

Advantest Corp. (TYO:6857) shares surged to a record high on Thursday after the Japanese semiconductor testing equipment maker posted strong fiscal third-quarter earnings and raised its full-year guidance, driven by robust...