Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The landlocked West African state of Mali remains a critical crossroads for both international people smuggling and a nexus of radical Islamic terrorism in the Sahel, the vast arid region on the southern reaches of the Sahara desert. Here amid ancient caravan routes, porous borders, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a sweeping and sobering tour of the world crises and trouble spots, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a dire global situation plagued with “protracted conflicts and the spread of terrorism.” Stressing that, “We face a Gordian knot in the Middle East and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Surging crowds thronged the streets of Tehran and cities across Iran screaming Death to the Shah, Death to America. A situation brewing for a few years reached its boiling point with the return of an obscure Ayatollah from exile. The old order collapsed as the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Consulting my crystal snow globe reveals a blizzard of events, many of them unpredictable which await us in the New Year. And after 2017’s roller coaster and often bizarre political events, it’s difficult to believe that 2018 may hold many unexpected surprises. UN Secretary General […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The USA and Israel suffered a nasty diplomatic slap when the 193 member UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn the Trump Administration’s plan to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem. But while the mainstream media and the usual chorus of critics presented this lopsided […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A riveting Security Council session condemned North Korea for its Nuclear proliferation and illegal ballistic missile firings. The meeting at the Ministerial level saw Foreign Ministers and delegates nearly universally condemn Pyongyang’s provocative actions which have brought the world to the brink of conflict. Now […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The Olympic Games should be entirely about sport, sportsmanship and solidarity. Yet they rarely are. Every four years the athletes of the world, or at least most of them, meet in an exotic locale plagued by political controversy, cost overruns, corruption, and doping concerns. The […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The global surge of refugees and economic migrants continues unabated. Both the scourge of civil and ethnic conflicts, as well as the pull of economic betterment, have seen millions of people on the move to both the USA and the European Union. As countries scramble […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A key UN Committee has condemned Iran’s widespread use of the death penalty and has urged the Islamic Republic to eliminate “all discrimination and rights violations against women and girls.” In a separate resolution, the Third Committee roundly chastised North Korea’s grave human rights situation […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — U.S. President Donald’s Trump’s whirlwind trip to East Asia was fraught with both promise and peril; the promise of expanding commercial alliances and reinforcing military alliances, and the peril of confronting North Korea’s ominous nuclear threat. In Seoul, South Korea’s bustling and free capital, the […]
