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 […]

Starvation in Syria: Deaths in Madaya where residents were reportedly ‘eating grass’

Starvation in Syria: Deaths in Madaya where residents were reportedly ‘eating grass’

Special to WorldTribune.com At least 28 people in the Syrian town of Madaya died of starvation and residents resorted to “eating grass” before the regime of President Bashar Assad agreed to a deal with anti-regime rebels to deliver aid, sources say. Pawel Krzysiek, spokesperson for the Red Cross in Syria, told Al Jazeera on Jan. 11 that […]

Egypt convenes parliament for first time in 3 years

Egypt convenes parliament for first time in 3 years

Special to WorldTribune.com Egypt’s parliament, comprised primarily with supporters of President Abdul Fatah Sisi, convened on Jan. 10 for the first time in three years amidst severe security challenges to the nation, especially in the Sinai peninsula. The inaugural 2016 session was the first for the 596-seat parliament since Sisi overthrew Mohammed Morsi in 2013. […]

Iran caught in lie about firing rockets adjacent to U.S. ships

Iran caught in lie about firing rockets adjacent to U.S. ships

Special to WorldTribune.com New video footage released by the U.S. Navy contradicts Iran’s claim that it did not launch rockets near American warships in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Navy, the video shot late last month shows Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ships firing the rockets near Western warships, including the USS Harry S […]

Unprecedented U.S. Mideast strategy is ad hoc, disregards existing frameworks

Unprecedented U.S. Mideast strategy is ad hoc, disregards existing frameworks

Special to WorldTribune.com By Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Senior-level sources in numerous Middle Eastern governments have privately expressed bewilderment at recent and current U.S. government strategies and policies toward the region. But a closer examination of U.S. policies, now almost entirely dictated by the Obama White House, shows no cohesive national […]

UN Human Rights chair, Saudi Arabia, has already executed 50 in 2016

UN Human Rights chair, Saudi Arabia, has already executed 50 in 2016

Special to WorldTribune.com Saudi Arabia has carried out 50 executions in the first 10 days of 2016. Saudi Arabia is the chair of the UN Human Rights Council UNHRC. The 50th execution of the new year came on Jan. 10 when Jinat Farid from Ethiopia was executed for the murder of a Saudi woman, according […]

Gulf States jointly condemn ‘Iranian interference’ in Saudi affairs

Gulf States jointly condemn ‘Iranian interference’ in Saudi affairs

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty The Sunni Arab monarchies of the Persian Gulf have expressed support for Saudi Arabia in its diplomatic row with Iran, condemning what they described as Iranian interference in Riyadh’s internal affairs. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and warned that the kingdom was considering […]

Pakistan reaffirms support for Saudi over Iran

Pakistan reaffirms support for Saudi over Iran

Special to WorldTribune.com Nuclear state Pakistan has reaffirmed its support for Saudi Arabia, saying any threat to Riyadh will be met with a response from Islamabad. In a Jan. 10 statement, Pakistani army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif pledged Pakistan’s support for Saudi amid the kingdom’s escalated tensions with Teheran over the execution of Shi’ite cleric […]