Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, November 13, 2025 On Nov. 9, 1989, the Berlin Wall collapsed. On a very ordinary night thousands of East Germans started crossing the dividing barrier between the communist East and capitalist West Berlin after the East German regime had suddenly opened tightly controlled border crossings. In a matter […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, November 6, 2025 PARIS — France has faced a tumultuous Autumn. The usual strikes, government shuffles, and sensational events from a high profile daylight heist at the world-famous Louvre Museum, to the imprisonment of a former president, have characterized a disquieting period. Indeed, just a year after hosting […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, October 22, 2025 In a ritual of near farcical folly, the UN General Assembly has elected fourteen new members to join the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. The otherwise low-key annual ballot raises political hypocrisy to a heightened level. These new Council members including countries like Angola, Egypt, Iraq, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, October 14, 2025 Many years ago, a senior British diplomat told a few of us UN correspondents outside the Security Council, and I paraphrase, “That no matter what you see transpiring in the Middle East, it’s never wise to base one’s career on predictions of the outcome.” So, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, October 12, 2025 Almost a decade ago, the then new UN Sec. Gen. Antonio Guterres decried the forced expulsion of the minority Rohingya people from Myanmar (Burma) by the military. During a September press conference in 2017, he condemned the Myanmar regime’s actions forcing nearly a million Muslim […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, September 29, 2025 President Donald Trump lambasted the United Nations on opening day for its failure to stop global crises in the midst of major regional wars, humanitarian disasters, looming security threats, never mind costly bureaucratic waste. But like a stern professor, yet as the leader of the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, September 22, 2025 Presidents, prime ministers, kings and potentates are converging on New York for the United Nations General Assembly session. The upcoming General Debate, starting Sept. 23, will bring together a cast of thousands of delegates for ten days of speeches, meetings, and debates. UN Sec. Gen. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, September 14, 2025 The Chinese communists put on a massive military parade in Beijing to both commemorate the 1945 victory over Japan as well as to reinforce the rule and strategic vision of Supreme Leader Xi Jinping. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and its assorted services excelled in […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, September 3, 2025 When the new UN General Assembly session opens on Sept. 9th, world leaders and diplomats will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the global organization established in the wake of WWII to “maintain international peace and security” for future generations. At headquarters here on the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, August 20, 2025 The landmark political Summit between President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, set in the geographical majesty of Alaska, offered the opening scenes to what could be the long-sought path to peace in Ukraine. Yet few genuine diplomatic observers presumed a political deal could […]
