Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — While the world is looking elsewhere and transfixed on the whirling Washington Merry-go-Round, a perfect political storm is brewing in East Asia. Unpredictable winds are gathering over the Chinese Mainland. The epicenter is the Zhongnanhai compound near Beijing’s once Forbidden City, as leader Xi Jinping […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — After decades of turmoil resulting from drought, civil conflict, famine, armed militias, terrorists and even pirates, the East African country of Somalia remains a shattered state. And while massive international humanitarian assistance from the United Nations and the international community may have mitigated the worst […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler New York — It’s that time of the year again to consult the crystal snow globe and look ahead at what global political crises we may face in the upcoming year. After a tumultuous 2018, it would be nice to have a respite from the political jolts, lurches […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Beijing held a big party to celebrate the Economic Reform process starting forty years ago which changed China and the world. Amid the meticulous staging in the cavernous Great Hall of the People, China’s supreme leader Xi Jinping addressed the party faithful to a backdrop […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Elected on a wave of dynamism a mere eighteen months ago, French President Emmanuel Macron has morphed into the figure of derision and disillusion. From a stunning 66 percent landslide win in the May 2017 elections to a perilous political free fall, Emmanuel Macron, France’s […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — “He showed me what it means to be a President who serves with integrity, leads with courage and acts with love in his heart for the citizens of our country,” intoned former President George W. Bush in an emotional eulogy at his late father’s state […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — The Russian Navy has harassed and seized three Ukrainian vessels in the narrow waters linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Azov. The surprise incident in the Kerch Strait off occupied Crimea has reignited tensions between the two neighbors and refocused diplomatic attention on […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS —The continuing crisis in Yemen, a country beset with tribal fault-lines, jolted by sectarian clashes, and magnified by a clash of cultures between Arab monarchies and the Islamic Republic of Iran, has shaken the Arabian peninsula to the core. Now after five years of warfare between […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler MONTREAL — World leaders met in Paris to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the Great War in 1918. The solemn gathering convened by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, saw 80 heads of state among them President Donald Trump, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler NEW YORK — The results of the U.S. midterm elections did not follow the predictable script outlined by the mainstream media and most pollsters, namely that the ruling Republicans and President Trump would be soundly rebuked by a restive electorate. Rather a complex outcome offered gains for both […]