Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — At least two Americans have been abducted in the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Bedouin gunmen believed linked to Al Qaida attacked a group of Americans in southern Sinai on Feb. 3. This marked the first abduction of Americans in Sinai since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — In an unprecedented operation, Al Qaida abducted Chinese nationals in Egypt in an attempt to win the release of an Islamist insurgency commander. [China said on Feb. 1 that the abducted workers have been released, state media reported. China’s Xinhua news agency quoted the Chinese embassy in Egypt in its […]
John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — When the government of erstwhile U.S. ally Egypt shut down seventeen Western pro-democracy groups, trashed their Cairo offices, and slapped travel bans on some of their staff, political relations between Washington and Cairo hit a new and unexpected low. Just a year after a tumultuous political uprising topped the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com HERZLIYA, Israel — Israel’s military has been exploring the prospect of developing projects in the upper tier of the atmosphere. Officials said the Israel Air Force has drafted plans to develop aircraft that could operate in what they termed the stratosphere. They said this would enable unmanned platforms to conduct reconnaissance and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — Congress has relayed another warning to Egypt that its policy endangers U.S. military assistance. The Senate has sent a letter to the Egyptian military regime that cited harassment of non-governmental organizations. In a letter to Egyptian Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, 11 senators raised the prospect of a cutoff of U.S. […]
Sol W. Sanders Diverted by the essential — if sometimes burlesqued — pursuit of America’s quadrennial search for leadership, policymakers have tried to put international problems on hold. But dealing with wannabe-totalitarian outcroppings throughout the Islamic world from Casablanca to Zamboanga, is as critical and demanding and may take as long as the struggle with […]
Special to WorldTribune.com TEL AVIV — Israel is said to have been stunned by the U.S. decision to export advanced weapons to Egypt. Officials said the Israeli military and Defense Ministry have been closely monitoring a spate of recent U.S. arms sales to Egypt. Officials said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud […]
Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Bedouin insurgents linked to Al Qaida have been targeting the tourist industry in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Bedouin gunmen have been attacking resorts in the southern Sinai as part of the community’s growing revolt against the central government in Cairo. On Jan. 22, Bedouins stormed the Aqua Sun resort some 30 […]
Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The International Atomic Energy Agency has reported the theft of radiactive material from a site in Egypt designated to house the nation’s first nuclear power plant. The agency said a safe that contained radioactive material was stolen during an attack of the Dabaa nuclear reactor construction site on Jan. 13. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The opposition has reported the rebel capture of another Syrian town. Opposition sources said the Free Syrian Army attacked and seized Duma, a major suburb of Damascus, on Jan. 21. They said FSA units, comprised of Syrian Army deserters, overran positions of the regime of President Bashar Assad and captured […]