Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Faced with an entrenched dictatorship, challenged by a deepening political crisis, and undermined by an escalating humanitarian catastrophe, Venezuela is careening towards the edge of the cliff. The once-prosperous Latin American country has entered an explosive political limbo which threatens both Venezuela as well as […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — For nearly two months, large popular demonstrations have rocked Algeria protesting the candidacy of incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who planned to run for a fifth five-year term in national elections. The protests evoked the so-called Arab Spring in which demonstrations and later armed revolts reverberated […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk Ban Ki-Moon, now that he’s no longer United Nations secretary-general, can offer frank views that would definitely have had North Korean diplomats screaming bloody murder in the UN headquarters had he expressed them there. Ban, ever bland, polite, genial, the essence of the seasoned diplomat, gave about as reasoned […]
by WorldTribune Staff, January 23, 2019 Fuel is being illegally shipped from Iranian ports to Yemen to support the Houthi rebels in their war against the Yemeni government, the United Nations said. In an 85-page report to the UN Security Council on Jan. 18, a UN panel tasked with monitoring the Yemen conflict said it […]
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 […]
by WorldTribune Staff, December 7, 2018 The UN’s decision to not condemn Hamas for its recent rocket attacks on Israel is “disgraceful” and “shameful,” U.S. officials said. Meanwhile Israel, supported by the current U.S. administration, continued to shore up ties in the region with the Gulf Arab states including Bahrain which publicly attacked Hizbullah tunnels […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — Burma’s human rights situation is deteriorating despite consistent pressures by the United States and the wider international community to stem the humanitarian crisis. In a rare address before the Security Council, Marzuki Darusman, human rights Rapporteur for Burma, aka Myanmar, presented a report which details […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — What was expected to be a quiet but informational meeting on the plight of political prisoners in Cuba, was suddenly jolted into chaos by table thumping and harangues hurled at an American Ambassador by Cuban regime diplomats packing the audience. A sober human rights presentation […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a riveting election for new members of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly voted for 18 new members. Yet, given that all prospective candidates were unopposed, the perfunctory ballot simply selected a list of states where everyone won, including some notorious human rights […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — In a week of speeches which swirled from the sublime to the ridiculous or were simply just boring, the recent UN General Assembly debate reached some notable exceptions. Among the sonorous drone of 193 addresses, either restating the obvious or repeating by rote the contemporary […]