Syrian army reportedly set to advance into Raqqa province

Syrian army reportedly set to advance into Raqqa province

Special to WorldTribune.com Syrian forces are set to move into Raqqa province, held by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), to pre-empt the U.S.-led coalition sending in ground troops to fight the jihadists, reports say. U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said on Feb. 12 he expected Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to […]

Israel’s Ya’alon and Jordan’s King Abdullah meet in Munich

Israel’s Ya’alon and Jordan’s King Abdullah meet in Munich

Special to WorldTribune.com Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon and Jordan’s King Abdullah met on Feb. 12 to discuss bilateral relations as well as “ways to breathe life” into the Israel-Palestinian peace process. The meeting, during a security conference in Munich, Germany, was the first between a senior Israeli official and Jordan’s king since the autumn […]

Turkish military strikes Syrian regime targets near Aleppo

Turkish military strikes Syrian regime targets near Aleppo

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey’s military carried out attacks on Kurdish and Syrian regime targets in Aleppo province on Feb. 13, reports said. Turkish forces shelled Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets near the town of Azaz, and also responded to fire from Syrian regime forces on a military guard post in Turkey’s southern Hatay […]

Evidence of gravitational waves detected 100 years after prediction by Einstein’s theory of relativity

Evidence of gravitational waves detected 100 years after prediction by Einstein’s theory of relativity

Special to WorldTribune.com Nice going, Einstein. A century after predicting the existence of gravitational waves in his theory of relativity, scientists proved Albert Einstein right again as on Feb. 11 they announced the detection of the waves. Einstein theorized that “space and time are interwoven into something called ‘spacetime’ — adding a fourth dimension to […]

Saudi companies fail to make payrolls, Gulf states weigh taxes as oil prices strain economies

Saudi companies fail to make payrolls, Gulf states weigh taxes as oil prices strain economies

Special to WorldTribune.com Sinking oil prices are weighing heavily on Mideast economies. In Saudi Arabia, the construction sector has been hit hard by low oil prices as several firms with government contracts are failing to make payroll. The Riyadh government has significantly cut spending on building projects as it seeks to reduce a budget deficit […]

Egypt’s Sisi hosts key American Jewish leaders

Egypt’s Sisi hosts key American Jewish leaders

Special to WorldTribune.com A delegation of American Jewish leaders met with Egyptian President Abdul Fatah Sisi on Feb. 11 to discuss Cairo’s security cooperation with Israel and U.S.-Egypt relations. The meetings between Sisi as well as other Egyptian officials, and 36 members of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations was described as […]

War of words erupts between Russia, U.S. over air strikes in Aleppo, Syria

War of words erupts between Russia, U.S. over air strikes in Aleppo, Syria

Special to WorldTribune.com The U.S. and Russia have traded accusations over recent airstrikes in Aleppo, Syria. After the U.S. said Russian warplanes destroyed two hospitals in the besieged city, Moscow responded by claiming U.S. warplanes bombed Aleppo on Feb. 10, an accusation the Pentagon said was a total “fabrication.” “Just before 2 p.m. Moscow time […]

Female suicide bombers kill 58 in Nigerian camp

Female suicide bombers kill 58 in Nigerian camp

Special to WorldTribune.com At least 58 people were killed when a pair of Boko Haram female suicide bombers disguised as refugees blew themselves up at a camp in northeastern Nigeria. Relief officials in Nigeria’s Borno state said dozens of others were spared when a third bomber refused to detonate her explosives when she discovered that […]

Kurdish forces capture strategic air base in northern Syria

Kurdish forces capture strategic air base in northern Syria

Special to WorldTribune.com Kurdish forces have seized a key strategic airbase in Syria’s Aleppo province. Backed by Arab rebel allies, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) drove Islamists and other rebel fighters from the Minnigh air base and the adjacent town, which are located north of Syria’s second city Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human […]