Special to WorldTribune.com By Golnaz Esfandiari, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty To get her first book of poetry past the Iranian censor, Fatemeh Ekhtesari did what other Iranian writers often have to do: She used dots for words and sentences she thought would not get past the authorities. But Ekhtesari wasn’t prepared for her […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Despite some recent military successes against the Islamic State (ISIL) forces, both the security and the humanitarian situation in Iraq remain fragile and precarious. That’s the assessment from Jan Kubis, the UN special representative in a sobering report to the Security Council on the road […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs U.S. voters and political parties were, by mid-February 2016, well down the path toward selecting the final candidates for the November 2016 Presidential election. This determines how the United States would face the most decisive challenges for more than a century to its […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Alexander Maistrovoy and Ted Belman Before Donald Trump’s blowout win in New Hampshire he shocked the world by saying he would allow the Russians to do the “dirty work” and would “let them beat the shit out of ISIS [ISIL] also.” Trump went further, “I have always felt that Russia and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Comparisons between North Korea and Burma (also known as Myanmar) over the years have suggested that the two nations share some of the same problems. However, even in the worst periods of military dictatorship, Burma never bore any similarity to North Korea. The contrast extends from urban market […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty A senior Iranian official is reported as saying it would be “illogical” for Tehran to join a proposed oil output freeze. Iranian newspaper Shargh quoted Iran’s OPEC envoy Mehdi Asali as saying Tehran would continue to increase oil production until it reaches presanction levels. The comments […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s two largest crude producers, have agreed to freeze output, as long as others follow suit. Freezing output at January levels will be “adequate,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on February 16 after talks with Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Iran is cracking down on Valentine’s Day celebrations in an effort to fight “decadent Western culture.” Iranian police have told shops not to display or promote Valentine’s Day items. The police directive also said that coffee shops and juice bars should prevent gatherings in which boys […]
Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct In another example of the Obama administration’s unwillingness to delegate authority and its inability to form a cohesive policy on fighting ISIL, Secretary of State John Kerry has publicly contradicted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. Kerry has laid out U.S. strategy […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Reversing the trend of economic mismanagement, ending a fifteen year debt impasse with foreign lenders, calming a percolating political crisis over the disputed Falkland/Malvinas islands in the South Atlantic, and overcoming the image of unpredictability, Argentina’s new conservative government faces serious obstacles in reintroducing Argentina […]