Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The political choreography was classic. The staging was epic. But the outcome remains unpredictable. North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong-Un and his entourage secretly rolled into Beijing on a special armored train later to be greeted and then feted by the Supreme Leader of the […]
by WorldTribune Staff, March 1, 2018 The Kim Jong-Un regime is evading international sanctions by using ships which change names and take on new flags to export and import goods, a UN report said. “North Korea earned almost $200 million in the first nine months of last year from banned commodity exports, providing crucial foreign […]
by WorldTribune Staff, February 28, 2018 Lawyers representing impeached South Korean President Park Geun-Hye are asking the UN to help secure her release after prosecutors called for a 30-year sentence and a court in Seoul extended her detention by six months. “The UN is looking at our application urgently and the South Korean authorities need […]
by WorldTribune Staff, February 21, 2018 U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said she will continue to “speak hard truths” after the Palestinian Authority’s top negotiator had told her to “shut up.” Saeb Erekat, the Palestinian negotiator, had said last month that Haley “needs to shut up and realize the Palestinian leadership is not […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — With a spectacular and sparkling opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Olympics, South Korea has predictably excelled in showcasing both sports and setting. Yet, given that security concerns on the divided peninsula dominated the nervous countdown to the Winter Games, the Seoul government at least in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Three Iranian Christians are due to appear before Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court on Feb. 4 to appeal against their 2017 convictions on charges of “conducting evangelism” and carrying out “illegal church activities.” Pastor Victor Bet Tamraz, Amin Afshar Naderi, and Hadi Asgari each received a provisional […]
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 — 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 […]
