Unreported: Sudan’s literal hell with widespread devastation, displacement, despair

Unreported: Sudan’s literal hell with widespread devastation, displacement, despair

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, April 24, 2025 The Four Horsemen of the apocalypse are stalking Sudan; Brutal civil conflict, widespread devastation, humanitarian disasters, and the displacement of millions of refugees. Now add the Fifth Horseman, the darkness of global indifference. In characterizing one of the world’s biggest conflicts, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres […]

A brief history: How trade relations with China went off the rails

A brief history: How trade relations with China went off the rails

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, April 16, 2025 A flurry of accusations, finger pointing and political grandstanding dominate the headlines as the trade war with China escalates. Global markets responded with roller-coaster fluctuations, and serious jolts, amid growing economic uncertainty. Talk of escalating tariffs is in the air as major trading partners square-off […]

Chinese escalates harassment of Taiwan with ‘Grey Zone’ carrier exercise

Chinese escalates harassment of Taiwan with ‘Grey Zone’ carrier exercise

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, April 7, 2025 China’s growing naval power is regularly and systematically harassing the waters around Taiwan in what appears to be rehearsal exercises for a future invasion of the self-ruled democratic island. Units of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) as well as swarms of military aircraft regularly […]

One day after CCP-backed ruler’s defiant speech, Burma jolted by earthquake

One day after CCP-backed ruler’s defiant speech, Burma jolted by earthquake

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, March 31, 2025 Two powerful earthquakes jolted and devastated Myanmar, aka Burma, causing widespread death, destruction and dislocation for a country already reeling from the effects of ongoing civil conflict. The 7.7 Scale quakes created stunning devastation in central Myanmar as well as into neighboring Thailand killing 1,700 […]

Iran’s Houthi proxies target U.S. ships, Red Sea trade routes, consumers

Iran’s Houthi proxies target U.S. ships, Red Sea trade routes, consumers

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, March 23, 2025 Amidst the unpredictable arc of crisis shadowing the Middle East persists the systemic and sustained merchant shipping attacks in the Red Sea.  The culprits are a shadowy but lethal Iranian proxy force, the Houthis, who use their control of mountainous parts of the Yemeni coast […]

Taliban’s dark rule in failed state Afghanistan: Opium prices soar, women lose rights

Taliban’s dark rule in failed state Afghanistan: Opium prices soar, women lose rights

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, March 16, 2025 The darkening rule of the Taliban regime over Afghanistan continues to dim prospects for Women’s rights as well as any chances for the war-torn country to overcome an ongoing humanitarian catastrophe. Currently more than 50 percent of the population, some 23 million people in this […]

Ukraine-U.S. dust up in review: All sides benefited: The war has been a travesty

Ukraine-U.S. dust up in review: All sides benefited: The war has been a travesty

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, March 7, 2025 LONDON — A made for TV political smackdown in the White House between two uneasy allies, a flood of recriminations, followed the incendiary face-off during the high stakes meetings between President Donald Trump’s team and the visiting Ukrainian delegation. The fear that the pending Ukrainian […]

Germany’s election; Conservative victory but…

Germany’s election; Conservative victory but…

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, February 28, 2025 Another major country has flipped politically to the conservative column. After three years of a drifting center-Left coalition government, voters elected the conservative (small c)  Christian Democratic Union CDU in Germany’s parliamentary elections. Yet what was expected to be a massive win for the likely […]

The sidelining of Europe: Allies brawl over ending the Ukraine war

The sidelining of Europe: Allies brawl over ending the Ukraine war

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, February 20, 2025 Three years into Russia’s war against Ukraine, there seems to be a chance for peace. But this political intermezzo may be as fleeting as the approaching Spring weather to soon sweep the steppes yet at the same time remains a worthwhile window of opportunity for […]

Strategic Panama: Two vast oceans, China, Taiwan and the Darien Gap

Strategic Panama: Two vast oceans, China, Taiwan and the Darien Gap

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler, February 13, 2025 The Panama Canal is back in the headlines after President Donald Trump raised political and security concerns over the future of the strategic waterway linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The heart of the President’s argument is that the Canal, built and paid for by […]