As Cuba restores U.S. ties, Americans and Spaniards hope to regain stolen property

As Cuba restores U.S. ties, Americans  and Spaniards hope to regain stolen property

Special to WorldTribune.com As the United States moves closer to restoring full diplomatic ties to Cuba, some Spaniards believe the increased focus on the island nation may open the door for them to recover property that was seized when they fled the communist revolution. American citizens who lost assets in Cuba may also have an […]

Game of musical chairs in Security Council vote did not favor U.S. interests

Game of musical chairs in Security Council vote did not favor U.S. interests

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In its annual round of diplomatic musical chairs, the General Assembly chose five new members for the coveted seats on the Security Council, the UN’s most prestigious body. The new members, Angola, Malaysia, New Zealand, Spain and Venezuela begin their two year terms starting in […]

Morocco erects blade-topped wall after migrants swarmed into Spanish enclave

Morocco erects blade-topped wall after migrants swarmed into Spanish enclave

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Morocco has been quietly building a wall around the Spanish enclave along the Mediterranean Sea. Moroccan sources said the North African kingdom was constructing a wall to stop infiltration of the Spanish enclave of Melilla. The sources said the five-meter wall was topped by blades and barbed wire to prevent […]

Gibraltar rocks again: Spain threatens anti-UK alliance with Argentina

Gibraltar rocks again: Spain threatens anti-UK alliance with Argentina

Special to WorldTribune.com By Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com Exactly 300 years after the Treaty of Utrecht settled the century-long royal spat between Spain and England, the last remaining territorial issue between the two countries flared up again in recent weeks. At issue is the sovereignty of Gibraltar which overlooks the vital isthmus connecting the Mediterranean and […]

World’s largest solar facility is in United Arab Emirates, of all places

World’s largest solar facility is in United Arab Emirates, of all places

Special to WorldTribune.com ABU DHABI — The United Arab Emirates has launched the world’s largest solar power plant. Shams-1 was designed to generate 100 megawatts of solar power, which comprised 10 percent of global renewable energy. The $600 million facility, inaugurated on March 17 in Abu Dhabi, generated power through mirrors or lenses as part […]

Algeria presses energy firms to remain despite terror strikes

Algeria presses energy firms to remain despite terror strikes

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Algeria has urged foreign energy companies to remain in the North African country in wake of a major attack by Al Qaida. Officials said the Energy Ministry was contacting Western and other foreign contractors to maintain operations in Algeria. The officials said the Energy Ministry assured such companies as British […]

Europe gets the prize: Sixty years of peace, if not prosperity

Europe gets the prize: Sixty years of peace, if not prosperity

John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The European Union, the concert of 27 countries ranging from the Bay of Biscay to the Baltics and the Balkans has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. Some may smile, others may smirk, and many, when they think about it for a second time, may say […]

Solar aircraft flies from Spain to Morocco ‘without a drop of fuel’

Solar aircraft flies from Spain to Morocco ‘without a drop of fuel’

Special to WorldTribune.com CAIRO — Morocco has become the host of the first transcontinental flight by a solar-powered aircraft. The Solar Impulse aircraft was said to have arrived in Rabat after a 2,500 kilometer flight on early June 6. The plane, equipped with 12,000 solar cells, was invited by the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy […]

Collapsing Europe is in crisis and the U.S. bailout option, for once, is not available

Collapsing Europe is in crisis and the U.S. bailout option, for once, is not available

Sol W. Sanders   [See Archive] Despite the fact that Europe is in the Northern Hemisphere, the downward swirl of the euro this month took a reverse direction and started going left — counterclockwise. Maybe it is the first part of the Mayan prediction that gravity will fail later this year and we will all […]

EU defense cuts erode peackeeping mission in Lebanon

EU defense cuts erode peackeeping mission in Lebanon

Special to WorldTribune.com LONDON — The United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon, amid pressure to cut national defense budgets, was preparing to undergo a reduction. Diplomats said a range of European Union countries were preparing to reduce their contingents in the UN Interim Force in Lebanon over the next year. The diplomats said at least […]