One in ten Syrians has been killed or wounded in conflict

One in ten Syrians has been killed or wounded in conflict

Special to WorldTribune.com Recently released statistics detail the grim toll of Syria’s civil war: more than 10 percent of the country’s population has either been killed or injured in the past five years. Life expectancy has dropped from 70 to 55. Statistics generated by the Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) found that more than […]

U.S. intel official: ISIL determined to attack on U.S. soil this year

U.S. intel official: ISIL determined to attack on U.S. soil this year

Special to WorldTribune.com Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is likely to attempt “direct attacks on the U.S. homeland” this year, top intelligence officials told Congress on Feb. 9. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, in testimony at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, said ISIL is hiding jihadists among the wave of refugees […]

Netanyahu plans fences ‘to surround all of Israel’ to protect it from ‘wild beasts’

Netanyahu plans fences ‘to surround all of Israel’ to protect it from ‘wild beasts’

Special to WorldTribune.com The entirety of Israel should be surrounded by fences to protect against infiltration from “wild beasts,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Feb. 9. “At the end of the day as I see it, there will be a fence … surrounding Israel in its entirety. We will surround the entire state of […]

Nightmare scenario: Assault on Mosul could trigger dam disaster, 40-foot wave of death

Nightmare scenario: Assault on Mosul could trigger dam disaster, 40-foot wave of death

Special to WorldTribune.com Any missteps in Iraq’s attempt to retake Mosul from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISL) could result in a “nightmare scenario” in which the unstable Mosul Dam collapses and unleashes a 40-foot wave of death. “If the dam busts, the center of Mosul goes under water by about a 40-50 foot wave,” an […]

Israeli Arab lawmaker takes ‘our struggle’ to the White House

Israeli Arab lawmaker takes ‘our struggle’ to the White House

Special to WorldTribune.com After failing to make progress on the Israeli-Palestinian front, the Obama administration turned its attention this week to Israeli Arabs. The White House and State Department hosted Deputy Speaker of the Knesset Ahmed Tibi of Israel’s Joint List party. Tibi met with U.S. President Barak Obama’s chief adviser to the Middle East, […]

Republican offensive will complicate Obama’s bid to implement Iran deal

Republican offensive will complicate Obama’s bid to implement Iran deal

Special to WorldTribune.com Republicans in Congress intend to hold Iran accountable on several fronts where lawmakers say the Obama administration has delayed action or failed to act. This week, Republicans held five separate committee meetings aimed at shining a light on Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal, its recent missile tests, human rights violations and […]

Morocco is in ‘complete solidarity’ with Saudi over Gulf region threats

Morocco is in ‘complete solidarity’ with Saudi over Gulf region threats

Special to WorldTribune.com Morocco on Feb. 10 signaled it stands with Saudi Arabia against threats in the Gulf region and backs the Saudi-led effort to “defend the legitmacy” of Yemen. “We are in complete solidarity with Saudi confronting any interference in its internal affairs,” Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar said during a joint press conference […]

Obama lectures Arab leaders on importance of being ‘responsive’ to citizens

Obama lectures Arab leaders on importance of being ‘responsive’ to citizens

Special to WorldTribune.com The U.S. president, who many critics say would rather be on the golf course than dealing with his constituents, gave Arab leaders a lecture on Feb. 8 on the importance of being “responsive” to their citizens. “As we’ve seen in the tumult across the Middle East and North Africa, when governments do […]

Two members of Jihadi John’s ‘Beatles’ beheaders cell identified

Two members of Jihadi John’s ‘Beatles’ beheaders cell identified

Special to WorldTribune.com Two terrorists have been identified as members of infamous executioner Jihadi John’s “Beatles” cell that beheaded several Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) hostages. Alexe Kotey, 32, and Aine Davis, 31, both of London, became known as “The Beatles” by their hostages because of their British accents, according to an investigation […]

Mosul Dam at ‘higher risk’ of failure, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assesses

Mosul Dam at ‘higher risk’ of failure, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers assesses

Special to WorldTribune.com The lives of over a half million Iraqis are at risk if the Mosul Dam were to collapse and that risk has increased in the past year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In an assessment made public by Iraq’s parliament on Feb. 8, the Corps of Engineers said it […]