John J. Metzler NEW YORK — Fifty years ago, the World’s Fair opened in New York. The Fair, a grand expo of technology, commerce, and cultures, was held in at a time when America’s fortunes were riding high in the post-war era. Now every time I pass the great Unisphere Globe, build by U.S. Steel […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The people who write for the Korean Central News Agency in Pyongyang must be having fun. How else can you account for some of the great turns of phrase that show up in the English-language versions of their harangues? It wasn’t enough that the KCNA quoted an otherwise […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a resounding rebuff to Russia, the UN General Assembly has reaffirmed Ukraine’s territorial integrity and has characterized the recent referendum which incorporated the Crimean peninsula into Russia as “invalid.” While President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty joining Crimea with Russia, the Kiev government has committed itself never to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com JEJU ISLAND, South Korea – The protest against building a South Korean navy base off the shore of a pleasant village on the southern coast of this “island of peace” by now seems a little tiresome. No way will the hardy band led by priests and pastors stop […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The clock is ticking and the calendar counting down for Afghanistan as the embattled South Asian country heads for presidential elections in April and the pullout of foreign security forces by the end of the year. A credible electoral process would go a long way in paving a peaceful […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The disappearance of Malaysian Airlines 777 confronts the world with a crisis that’s never going to end. The loss of 239 people is tragic enough, but the implications for air travel are still more frightening. The point, which nobody had believed was possible, is that a plane can […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com MANILA One long-running story forever dominates the front pages here. That’s corruption, bribery and cheating on a mass scale — so massive as to bear comparisons with that in big bully China. The story now is that of a few senators sending special funds to an agency charged […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Less than a week after the spectacular closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided for an encore and invaded the sovereignty of neighboring Ukraine. The chill winds of the Cold War have returned to Europe and the halls of diplomacy. Taking advantage of Ukraine’s […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, East-Asia-Intel.com The Russian bear is definitely waking up after a long period of hibernation. Russian troops have taken over the Crimean peninsula, and it’s hard to believe they’re about to leave under a blitzkrieg of scolding by President Obama and a phalanx of editorialists and European leaders. The Russian […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Amid the continuing carnage from Syria’s civil war, there are small, if hard won, humanitarian victories which bring a tiny glimmer of hope to the battered and bleeding Mid East nation. Surprisingly, the UN Security Council unanimously agreed to a resolution which allows “unhindered humanitarian access” to cities, towns, […]