Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Faced with an entrenched dictatorship, challenged by a deepening political crisis, and undermined by an escalating humanitarian catastrophe, Venezuela is careening towards the edge of the cliff. The once-prosperous Latin American country has entered an explosive political limbo which threatens both Venezuela as well as […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — For nearly two months, large popular demonstrations have rocked Algeria protesting the candidacy of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who planned to run for a fifth five-year term in national elections. The protests evoked the so-called Arab Spring in which demonstrations and later armed revolts reverberated […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Responding to the Berlin Blockade, the communist coup in Czechoslovakia, and the looming threat from the Soviet Union, the U.S. and Western European states formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). On 4 April 1949, the foreign Ministers of twelve countries including the USA, Britain, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Beijing’s ambitious “Belt and Road” infrastructural initiative has scored its first significant beachhead in the Mediterranean, as Italy has signed on to the expansive Chinese globe-spanning project. China’s President Xi Jinping was feted in Rome with a grandiosity fit for an visiting Emperor as the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Following the failed Hanoi Summit with the USA, North Korea is now sending mixed messages concerning its denuclearization and missile testing intentions. Pyongyang’s deliberately cryptic policy is likely meant to sow confusion and gain a negotiating advantage with the U.S. over Washington’s efforts to denuclearize […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The devastating double veto cast by both Russia and China to derail a U.S Security Council draft resolution providing humanitarian aid for impoverished Venezuelans reflected the latest round in a widening standoff between the socialist Caracas regime and the democratic opposition. And while the international […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — “Sometimes you have to walk,” was President Donald Trump’s stunning conclusion to the U.S./North Korea Summit in Hanoi, where political great expectations seemed to get ahead of the hard reality that Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons program created an impasse to an expected diplomatic agreement between the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — A deadly terrorist bombing in the disputed Indian province of Kashmir has reignited tensions between both India and Pakistan. In the broader sense, the suicide bomb attack by the Islamic militant Jaish-e-Mohammed which killed 44 Indian para-military police, has brought the nuclear-armed neighbors to a […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Despite dramatic territorial losses, stunning military setbacks and dwindling numbers of militants, the so called Islamic state of Iraq also know as (ISIL) has been degraded but still remains a “global threat,” according to a new UN report. In a candid briefing to the Security […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Addressing a deeply divided nation, reflecting upon a tumultuous two years in his own presidency, but seeking a break in the political storm clouds over Washington, Donald Trump called upon the equally divided U.S. Congress to “choose greatness” and embrace a “moment of unlimited potential” […]