Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — One of the UN’s most vital, unsung, but necessary operations concerns its global peacekeeping missions. For more than sixty years, the UN “Blue helmets” have seen service from the Sinai to Cyprus and the Congo. In 1988, UN Peacekeeping won the Nobel Peace Prize. But […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — After seven years of bitter fighting, twelve million civilians displaced, and more than a half million people killed, Syria’s relentless civil war may be coming to a dramatic conclusion. The final showdown seems set for the north-western province of Idlib, a rebel stronghold, where three […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A “climate of fear and persecution” face Burma’s minority Rohingya population as a year of unrelenting human rights abuses and forced expulsions continue by the country’s Beijing-backed military rulers. As UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told a stunned Security Council meeting, “The massive refugee emergency […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — The light mist on the Danube river and the morning radiance on the honey-hued buildings of the Comenius University greet each summer day with the optimism of a fresh beginning. Yet this is August and the memories of the past still dart among shadows and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — The very name Cambodia evokes tragic memories and historical passions. This small Southeast Asian land which was ravaged by the communist Khmer Rouge genocide a generation ago, then occupied by neighboring Vietnam, and later, resuscitated back to life by a long forgotten United Nations peacekeeping and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — With trade and tariff polices shifting like the proverbial weathervane, the Trump Administration has confused and confounded even many close trading partners, Europe, Canada and Japan among them. This may be the Donald’s tactic in his wider strategy of getting fairer trade and better “deals” […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Not surprisingly the countries leading in Research & Development are among the world’s most successful economies. Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Sweden top the list among the top ten global innovation economies which also include the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States, Finland, Germany and Ireland. […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Donald Trump’s rhetorical thunderclap at the start of the NATO Summit sent political reverberations throughout allied capitals and put the pundits into overdrive as to what immeasurable damage the American president had caused while in Brussels. Indeed while chiding European allies on their woeful shortfalls […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler PARIS — The American mainstream media template, dutifully reflected and jaded by most of the European press, paints a tempestuous picture of the relationship between our European partners and what is presented as a capricious and domineering Trump Administration. Rifts over NATO defense spending, the Iran nuclear deal, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler HAMBURG — Witnessing the early stages of the World Cup Football extravaganza offers an amazing sporting experience. Indeed, the enthusiasm is palpable and contagious as the early matches kicked off in a near carnival atmosphere. For a full month, soccer games across Russia will lead to the coveted […]