Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Responding to the Berlin Blockade, the communist coup in Czechoslovakia, and the looming threat from the Soviet Union, the U.S. and Western European states formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On 4 April 1949, the foreign Ministers of twelve countries including the USA, Britain, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Beijing’s ambitious “Belt and Road” infrastructural initiative has scored its first significant beachhead in the Mediterranean, as Italy has signed on to the expansive Chinese globe-spanning project. China’s President Xi Jinping was feted in Rome with a grandiosity fit for an visiting Emperor as the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Elected on a wave of dynamism a mere eighteen months ago, French President Emmanuel Macron has morphed into the figure of derision and disillusion. From a stunning 66 percent landslide win in the May 2017 elections to a perilous political free fall, Emmanuel Macron, France’s […]
by WorldTribune Staff, December 4, 2018 Far-left extremists have infiltrated the “Yellow Vests” anti-carbon tax movement and are likely responsible for a share of the violence that engulfed France in recent days, some reports say. The Yellow Vests are a populist movement formed to pressure French President Emmanuel Macron to rethink a fuel tax that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler MONTREAL — World leaders met in Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the Great War in 1918. The solemn gathering convened by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, saw 80 heads of state among them President Donald Trump, […]
by WorldTribune Staff, November 4, 2018 A prominent Chinese dissident, Guo Wengui, said he doubts the official explanation from the French government of the events surrounding the death of the co-chairman of Chinese conglomerate HNA, who he said was in the company of security guards who were members of China’s military. Earlier this year, HNA dropped […]
by WorldTribune Staff, November 2, 2018 Seven Syrians, all members of the same family, who had pledged allegiance online to Islamic State (ISIS) were arrested in Paris by French authorities despite liberalized laws on viewing jihadist Internet sites. Heavily armed police stormed the family’s residence in the Sablons district on Oct. 30, arresting seven members of […]
by WorldTribune Staff, October 29, 2018 The Belgian government has chosen to replace its aging fleet of F-16s with the U.S. F-35. Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Oct. 25 that he’d chosen the F-35 over the Eurofighter Typhoon (developed by Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain) because it was cheaper. Costs for the F-35 […]
by WorldTribune Staff, October 18, 2018 The Iranian diplomat who was arrested in connection to a plot to bomb an Iranian opposition group rally in Paris enjoys full diplomatic immunity, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said on Oct. 14. Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi said the diplomat, Assadollah Assadi, has full immunity, clarifying earlier media reports that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty An Iranian diplomat who is the suspected mastermind of an attack that allegedly was planned on Iranians living in exile in France has been extradited from Germany to Belgium, security officials said. Previously identified as Assadollah Assadi by AFP, the 46-year-old diplomat based in Austria was […]