Nine Americans among terror suspects arrested by Saudis

Nine Americans among terror suspects arrested by Saudis

Special to WorldTribune.com Nine Americans were among a group of 33 terrorism suspects detained by Saudi Arabia over the past week. Four Americans were arrested on Jan. 25 and five others over the past four days, the Saudi Gazette newspaper reported on Jan. 31. Also arrested were 14 Saudis, three Yemenis, two Syrians, an Indonesian, […]

Russia publicly endorses talks with OPEC on oil output cuts

Russia publicly endorses talks with OPEC on oil output cuts

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Russia for the first time publicly embraced talking to the OPEC oil cartel about jointly cutting global oil production by up to 5 percent to prop up collapsing oil prices. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on January 28 in St. Petersburg that he is […]

Film: Late Saudi king’s Palestinian wife tells of abortions to prevent ‘little Arafats running around the palace’

Film: Late Saudi king’s Palestinian wife tells of abortions to prevent ‘little Arafats running around the palace’

Special to WorldTribune.com The story of the Saudi royal family is one of corruption, drugs, sex and gambling, according to a new documentary featuring the Palestinian ex-wife of Saudi King Fahd. In “The Weaknesses of King Fahd”, Janan Harb, who secretly married Fahd when she was 20, claims the king forced her to have three […]

Analyst: Impossible for Saudis to destroy U.S. shale industry

Analyst: Impossible for Saudis to destroy U.S. shale industry

Special to WorldTribune.com Despite its best efforts, it is impossible for Saudi Arabia to destroy the “resilient” U.S. shale industry, an analyst said. Because of its mid-cost nature, compared to the high cost of conventional drilling, shale will rebound quickly, according to Daniel Yergin, founder of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, who said groups are […]

Kerry appears ill at ease in Riyadh where he sought to assure Gulf allies

Kerry appears ill at ease in Riyadh where he sought to assure Gulf allies

Special to WorldTribune.com In a visit intended to reassure America’s ally Saudi Arabia over Iran’s continued “interference” in the Middle East, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry instead appeared uneasy and defensive, reports said. Kerry met in Riyadh on Jan. 23 with Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) foreign ministers. “Overall […]

Saudi foreign minister raises prospect of nuclear option against Iran

Saudi foreign minister raises prospect of nuclear option against Iran

Special to WorldTribune.com Saudi Arabia will do “whatever we need to do in order to protect our people,” including developing nuclear weapons if Iran does the same, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Jan. 19. Jubeir also warned that world powers may regret lifting sanctions on Iran as a result of its reported nuclear […]

Iran’s Khamenei disavows attack on Saudi embassy In Teheran

Iran’s Khamenei disavows attack on Saudi embassy In Teheran

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned the attack on Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Tehran in early January, saying it was “very bad” and “wrong.” Khamenei equated the assault to an attack against both Iran and Islam. Khamenei’s remarks were published on his website on […]

Saudi media reports point to national anxieties over lifting of Iran sanctions

Saudi media reports point to national anxieties over lifting of Iran sanctions

Special to WorldTribune.com As trade and investment are set to pour into Iran, and oil pours out, Saudi media are reporting on widespread unease within the Kingdom over the lifting of international sanctions on Teheran. The al-Jazirah daily’s cartoonist drew an incarnation of American capitalism in striped trousers and top hat carrying a bottle marked “sanctions,” from […]

The foreign policy ‘vision’ at Obama’s last State of the Union cries for an opthalmologist

The foreign policy ‘vision’ at Obama’s last State of the Union cries for an opthalmologist

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, the annual speech to a joint session of Congress, has emerged as more of a political pep rally than a clear overview of America’s standing in the world both domestic and foreign. The address was touted as […]

Are Arab media correct? Is Obama really campaigning for top ‘messianic’ UN job?

Are Arab media correct? Is Obama really campaigning for top ‘messianic’ UN job?

Special to WorldTribune.com By Sol W. Sanders President Barak Obama repeatedly refers to the end of his time in office and claims he is no longer campaigning. There is more than a little ambiguity there, however, for his modus operandi is a permanent campaign – even when it is for more limited objectives than the […]