40 million enslaved by human trafficking: ‘Cops and clergy’ join forces

40 million enslaved by human trafficking: ‘Cops and clergy’ join forces

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The challenge is growing. The risk is widening. The stakes are stark. Those are some of the key takeaways from a UN press briefing on an expanding and dangerous global challenge; human slavery and sex trafficking where forty million lives hang in a precarious balance […]

State Dept. report hits plight of political prisoners in N. Korea, Muslim minorities in China, Burma

State Dept. report hits plight of political prisoners in N. Korea, Muslim minorities in China, Burma

by WorldTribune Staff, May 29, 2018 North Korea is holding up to 120,000 political prisoners while China and Burma continue to crack down on and often brutalize religious minorities, the U.S. State Department said in its annual report on religious freedom. Despite North Korea’s constitutional guarantee of “the right to faith” of its citizens, a […]

Pentagon withdraws China’s standing invitation to major Pacific RIMPAC exercise

Pentagon withdraws China’s standing invitation to major Pacific RIMPAC exercise

by WorldTribune Staff, May 24, 2018 China’s continued militarization of the South China Sea has led the U.S. military to disinvite Beijing’s navy from the upcoming Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in Hawaii, a Defense Department spokesman announced. China’s participation in the major biennial maritime war games since 2012 has been a bone of […]

‘I don’t like that’: Trump ties China to change in attitude by N. Korea

‘I don’t like that’: Trump ties China to change in attitude by N. Korea

by WorldTribune Staff, May 23, 2018 The positive momentum and good-will between the U.S. and North Korea in recent months was suddenly interrupted earlier this month as the North’s belligerent attitude returned. In response, U.S. President Donald Trump pointed to a second meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping […]

China for first time lands nuclear strike bomber on disputed island

China for first time lands nuclear strike bomber on disputed island

by WorldTribune Staff, May 21, 2018 China for the first time sent a long-range, nuclear-capable bomber to an island in the South China Sea. Chinese state media on May 18 released a video showing the H-6K bomber landing and taking off from Woody Island, Beijing’s largest base in the Paracel Islands. The Pentagon said China’s […]

China blocks UN solution for Burma’s 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

China blocks UN solution for Burma’s 1 million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Amid continuing destruction of villages, attacks on children and a widening displacement of refugees, members of the UN Security Council visited Burma and neighboring Bangladesh to assess the widening humanitarian carnage. The officially dubbed Mission to Myanmar, as the country is officially known, offered diplomats […]

The rest of the story . . . . House Intelligence Committee shifts focus to China

The rest of the story . . . . House Intelligence Committee shifts focus to China

by WorldTribune Staff, May 16, 2018 The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence is launching an inquiry into China’s threats to U.S. national security in a shift from a focus on Russia’s role in the 2016 election. “The committee will hold a series of hearings, both open and in secret, examining threats posed by … […]

China’s first domestically-built aircraft carrier begins sea trials

China’s first domestically-built aircraft carrier begins sea trials

by WorldTribune Staff, May 13, 2018 The first domestically-built aircraft carrier in China’s naval fleet began sea trials on May 13, Chinese state media said. The 65,000-tonne Type 001A aircraft carrier, which has yet to be named, left the shipyard in northeastern Dalian at 6.45 a.m., Xinhua reported. “Our country’s second aircraft carrier set sail […]

Mahathir’s return in Malaysia promises significant change in ties with U.S., China

Mahathir’s return in Malaysia promises significant change in ties with U.S., China

Special to WorldTribune.com By GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs, Kuala Lumpur. The return to office as Prime Minister of Malaysia of Dr Mahathir Mohamed, 92, on May 10, 2018, was expected to change the tone of affairs both within Malaysia as well as within the region. Significantly, it is not Dr Mahathir’s age which was at […]

Ex-CIA agent charged with spying for China

Ex-CIA agent charged with spying for China

by WorldTribune Staff, May 9, 2018 The U.S. Department of Justice on May 8 announced it indicted a former CIA agent on charges of spying for China. Jerry Chun Shing Lee was charged with one count of conspiracy to gather or deliver national defense information to aid a foreign government, and two counts of unlawfully […]