Israel closing its doors to ‘official visits from Sweden’

Israel closing its doors to ‘official visits from Sweden’

Special to WorldTribune.com Israel has announced it is banning visits by Swedish officials. In doing so, Jerusalem said it was “sending in the clearest manner possible a very sharp message to Sweden saying that it is backing terror and giving a tail wind to Islamic State to act throughout Europe.” The move by Israel came […]

Egypt tightens security on Libyan border following mysterious air strikes

Egypt tightens security on Libyan border following mysterious air strikes

Special to WorldTribune.com Egyptian forces near the Libyan border have been put on high alert following air strikes on Jan. 10 from unidentified fighter jets inside Libya. The fighter jets struck Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) targets inside Libya, according to news reports. The Libyan coastal city of Sirte has served as ISIL’s […]

Why the petro kingdom executed a prominent Shiite cleric

Why the petro kingdom executed a prominent Shiite cleric

Special to WorldTribune.com By Norman Bailey Very seldom does a columnist have the experience of having one of his or her predictions begin to take shape within weeks, much less in 24 hours. But that is what has happened. Shortly after writing my column ‘Petro kingdom at risk? 2016’s Mideast power matrix and the Chinese […]

U.S. air strike incinerates ‘millions’ in ISIL cash

U.S. air strike incinerates ‘millions’ in ISIL cash

Special to WorldTribune.com U.S.-led coalition air strikes destroyed an Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) facility in Mosul, Iraq that contained “millions of dollars” in cash, according to a Jan. 11 report. Multiple 2,000-pound bombs hit the facility, which a U.S. defense official told AFP contained a stockpile of cash that “we estimate in […]

Senior Brotherhood member arrested in Cairo attack on Israeli Arab tourists

Senior Brotherhood member arrested in Cairo attack on Israeli Arab tourists

Special to WorldTribune.com Egyptian authorities on Jan. 11 arrested a senior Muslim Brotherhood member for allegedly ordering an attack last week on a bus carrying Israeli tourists. Muslim Brotherhood member Abd El-Aal Al-Ashry, the brother of former parliamentarian Gamal Al-Ashry, was arrested, according to Daily News Egypt. Al-Ashry and his sons are accused of taking […]

Iran selling excess heavy water to U.S.; denies dismantling Arak reactor core

Iran selling excess heavy water to U.S.; denies dismantling Arak reactor core

Special to WorldTribune.com Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said it will sell its stock of excess heavy water to the United States as part of Teheran’s nuclear deal with world powers. “Iran will sell 40 tons of its excess heavy water to the United States through a third country,” Ali Asghar Zarean, Iran’s deputy atomic chief, […]

Germany registered 1.1 million migrants in 2015, 5 times the 2014 total

Germany registered 1.1 million migrants in 2015, 5 times the 2014 total

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Germany says nearly 1.1 million asylum seekers were registered in the country last year, with Syrians making up almost 40 percent of arrivals. The Interior Ministry said on January 6 that 1,091,894 people in total were registered between January and December 2015. Syrians seeking refuge in […]

Turkey waging brutal battle in siege on Kurdish stronghold

Turkey waging brutal battle in siege on Kurdish stronghold

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey is continuing to press its brutal siege on the Kurdish de facto capital. Kurds represent about 20 percent of Turkey’s population, and Kurdish fighters have been the only successful fighting force against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). The months-long battle for Diyarbakir, a walled city on the Tigris […]

Iran’s Rouhani predicts ‘economic boom’ after sanctions

Iran’s Rouhani predicts ‘economic boom’ after sanctions

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has predicted Iran will undergo an “economic boom” with the lifting of international sanctions. Iran and six world powers secured a deal in July 2015 under which Tehran pledged to curtail elements of its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. “The government is running the country under […]