Report of record oil output from Iraq throws global markets in turmoil

Report of record oil output from Iraq throws global markets in turmoil

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty An announcement from Iraq that it is pumping oil at record levels has helped send oil prices and stock markets tumbling around the world. Iraq’s Oil Ministry told Reuters on Jan. 25 that the country reached record output in December, with its fields in the central […]

Film: Late Saudi king’s Palestinian wife tells of abortions to prevent ‘little Arafats running around the palace’

Film: Late Saudi king’s Palestinian wife tells of abortions to prevent ‘little Arafats running around the palace’

Special to WorldTribune.com The story of the Saudi royal family is one of corruption, drugs, sex and gambling, according to a new documentary featuring the Palestinian ex-wife of Saudi King Fahd. In “The Weaknesses of King Fahd”, Janan Harb, who secretly married Fahd when she was 20, claims the king forced her to have three […]

Congress asking questions about U.S. payoff to Iran

Congress asking questions about U.S. payoff to Iran

Special to WorldTribune.com Congress is investigating the Obama administration’s $1.7 billion payment to Iran that many observers say was “ransom” for the release of five U.S. hostages. While the White House insists the payment to Iran was to settle a decades-old financial dispute, lawmakers have questioned the timing of the payment, which was made just […]

Israeli official: Obama helped fund Iran’s next war against ‘our children’

Israeli official: Obama helped fund Iran’s next war against ‘our children’

Special to WorldTribune.com The leader of Israel’s Yesh Atid party said the Obama administration’s support for lifting sanctions on Iran “will translate to rockets aimed at our children.” “The next conflict in the North or South of Israel is just a matter of time,” Yair Lapid said on Jan. 25 during a briefing to the […]

Palestinian Authority commentary blames U.S. for 9/11, creation of Islamic terror threat

Palestinian Authority commentary blames U.S. for 9/11, creation of Islamic terror threat

Special to WorldTribune.com The United States engineered the September 11, 2001 attacks to create “an imaginary enemy called ‘terror,’ ” the Palestinian Authority (PA) said. An opinion piece by Dr. Osama Al-Fara in the official PA daily newspaper said the U.S. is responsible for all the chaos and civil wars in the Muslim and Arab […]

Analyst: Impossible for Saudis to destroy U.S. shale industry

Analyst: Impossible for Saudis to destroy U.S. shale industry

Special to WorldTribune.com Despite its best efforts, it is impossible for Saudi Arabia to destroy the “resilient” U.S. shale industry, an analyst said. Because of its mid-cost nature, compared to the high cost of conventional drilling, shale will rebound quickly, according to Daniel Yergin, founder of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, who said groups are […]

Libya’s recognized parliament rejects UN-backed unity government

Libya’s recognized parliament rejects UN-backed unity government

Special to WorldTribune.com The internationally recognized parliament in Libya has voted against a UN-backed unity government. The parliament in Tobruk, also known as the House of Representatives, rejected the deal in a vote on Jan. 25. “We voted against endorsing the government and ask… to be presented with another government,” parliamentarian Ali al-Gaydi said. The […]

Iran, China agree to strategic ties, $600 billion trade revival of ‘Silk Road’

Iran, China agree to strategic ties, $600 billion trade revival of ‘Silk Road’

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Chinese president Xi Jinping (foreground left) and Iranian President Hassan Rohani (foreground right) in Tehran on January 23. Iranian President Hassan Rohani says Iran and China have agreed to expand bilateral relations and boost trade to $600 billion over the next 10 years. Rohani made the […]

Kerry appears ill at ease in Riyadh where he sought to assure Gulf allies

Kerry appears ill at ease in Riyadh where he sought to assure Gulf allies

Special to WorldTribune.com In a visit intended to reassure America’s ally Saudi Arabia over Iran’s continued “interference” in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry instead appeared uneasy and defensive, reports said. Kerry met in Riyadh on Jan. 23 with Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers. “Overall […]

Khamenei celebrates capture of U.S. sailors as ‘God’s deed’, welcomes closer ties with China

Khamenei celebrates capture of U.S. sailors as ‘God’s deed’, welcomes closer ties with China

Special to WorldTribune.com Iran seeks closer ties to China as it “never trusted the West,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Jan. 23. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Teheran on Jan. 23, Iran’s supreme leader said the United States was “not honest” in the fight against terrorism in the Middle East. “Iranians never trusted […]