Special to WorldTribune.com U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy in Ukraine of threatening Russian President Valdimir Putin but taking no substantial action has failed miserably, lawmakers and analysts say. Two years after protests toppled Ukraine’s pro-Moscow government, Obama’s policy languishes amid Putin’s heavy-handed determination, the headline-stealing conflicts in Syria and Iraq and wavering support from European […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The Saudi foreign minister on Feb. 28 said the Assad regime and Russia have violated the truce in Syria. Adel al-Jubeir, speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen in Riyadh, said there would be a “plan B” if it became clear that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has dismissed a proposal by Russia and three OPEC members to freeze oil production as “ridiculous.” Zanganeh said on February 23 that the proposal by Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Qatar for crude oil producers to cap production at January […]
Special to WorldTribune.com In an age of increasingly precise munitions, Russia is almost exclusively dropping “dumb” bombs in Syria, the U.S. military said. “They’re using mostly dumb bombs, guided only by gravity and fins,” said Army Col. Steven Warren, the top military spokesman in Baghdad, according to a report by national security correspondent Rowan Scarborough […]
Special to WorldTribune.com A pair of car bombings in Syria claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) killed 119 people just as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry had announced a provisional deal for a ceasefire. Two car bombings killed at least 57 people and wounded dozens in the Al-Zahraa district of Homs, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com After several deadly attacks on medical facilities, the humanitarian aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) will no longer share GPS coordinates on hospital locations with Russian and Syrian officials. “Healthcare in Syria is in the crosshair of bombs and missiles. It has collapsed,” Joanne Liu, MSF International president, told reporters in Geneva. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com In the year 2036, if man is still alive, Russia is planning to target a near-Earth asteroid with modified ICBMs. Russian scientists will test the modified missiles on the asteroid 99942 Apophis, Sabit Saitgarayev, the leading researcher at the Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau, told TASS news agency. Saitgarayev believes Apophis may pass […]
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 Turkey and Russia risk setting off an “accidental war” which threatens to bring NATO into the equation, analysts say. “Both Russia and Turkey are looking to position for strategic advantage,” Tim Ash, head of emerging-market strategy at Nomura in London, said on Feb. 15. “The risk is of an actual Russo-Turkish military […]
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 […]