Special to WorldTribune.com The Obama administration has paid a “ransom” of $1.7 billion in U.S. taxpayers’ funds to Iran for the release of American hostages, critics and Iran officials said. The administration insists the payment was a decades-old legal settlement with Teheran and was not tied to the recent release of five American hostages, according […]
Special to WorldTribune.com U.S. special forces have taken control of an air base in northeastern Syria, according to reports. The facility, near the city of Rmeilan in Hasakah province, is the first U.S.-controlled air base in Syria. A spokesperson for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the base was handed over to the U.S. to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Chinese President Xi Jinping on Jan. 21 pledged billions of dollars in aid to Egypt as Beijing moved to boost its influence in the Middle East. “China supports Egypt’s efforts to maintain stability, develop the economy and improve livelihoods, and … play an even greater role in international and regional affairs,” Xi […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Donald Gregg, former U.S. ambassador to Korea, makes an astounding statement in a piece published after North Korea’s fourth nuclear test. Striking “a very positive note,” he praises “the performance of Kim Jong-Un in improving the North Korean economy and downplaying nuclear threats and nuclear weapons development.” It […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The United States has unleashed a new strategy against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL): bomb the “Daesh cash.” According to Col. Steve Warren, a Baghdad-based spokesman for the U.S.-led coalition, nine air strikes in Iraq and Syria in the past few months have destroyed “tens of millions” of dollars of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Jan. 21 he is “not seeing evidence” of Turkey’s willingness to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). While attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Abadi told CNBC he believes Turkey views the Kurdish population within its border as a greater problem […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The Swiss government negotiated a secret deal with Yasser Arafat’s Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) to avoid terror attacks in Switzerland, according to a report. The arrangement was made following the hijacking by Palestinian groups of two Swissair flights in 1970, according to the Swiss newspaper Neue Zurcher Zeitung (NZZ). Full details of the deal […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Saudi Arabia will do “whatever we need to do in order to protect our people,” including developing nuclear weapons if Iran does the same, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Jan. 19. Jubeir also warned that world powers may regret lifting sanctions on Iran as a result of its reported nuclear […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Israel is building a wall, actually a fence, along its last frontier without a physical barrier, the border with Jordan. Construction on 30 kilometers (18 miles) of fence is expected to be completed by the end of the year, according to the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Engineering and Construction Department. The barrier will […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Adolf Hitler “was not morally corrupt,” but “daring” for the extermination of six million Jews, a Palestinian Authority official said. Fatah leader and Central Committee member Tawfiq Tirawi made the comments on the “Ma’an” television program on Jan. 16, Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reported. The PMW report said the TV program’s host immediately cut Tirawi […]
