ISIL fighters take pay cut: New air strikes incinerate hundreds of millions in cash

ISIL fighters take pay cut: New air strikes incinerate hundreds of millions in cash

Special to WorldTribune.com The U.S.-led coalition bombed ten Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) cash depots this past weekend, incinerating hundreds of millions in currency. Col. Steve Warren, the spokesman for the American-led campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria, said the targeting of ISIL’s cash hoards is having an impact on the terror […]

Burma and North Korea? No comparison

Burma and North Korea? No comparison

Special to WorldTribune.com By Donald Kirk, EastAsiaIntel.com Comparisons between North Korea and Burma (also known as Myanmar) over the years have suggested that the two nations share some of the same problems. However, even in the worst periods of military dictatorship, Burma never bore any similarity to North Korea. The contrast extends from urban market […]

Report: Israel strikes Syrian army outposts near Damascus

Report: Israel strikes Syrian army outposts near Damascus

Special to WorldTribune.com Israeli rockets struck Syrian army outposts near Damascus on Feb. 17, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. According to the Observatory and a report by Reuters, the outposts south of Damascus were hit by three Israeli rockets. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently that Israel “is active from time […]

Erdogan: Will Turkey stop shelling anti-ISIL Kurdish forces in Syria? No way

Erdogan: Will Turkey stop shelling anti-ISIL Kurdish forces in Syria? No way

Special to WorldTribune.com President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not cease its attacks on Kurdish forces even though the Kurds have been the only consistently effective ground force against common foe Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). Erdogan on Feb. 17 said Turkey would continue shelling Kurdish targets in Syria to prevent the […]

Russia-Turkey spat threatens to draw NATO into Syrian conflict

Russia-Turkey spat threatens to draw NATO into Syrian conflict

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey and Russia risk setting off an “accidental war” which threatens to bring NATO into the equation, analysts say. “Both Russia and Turkey are looking to position for strategic advantage,” Tim Ash, head of emerging-market strategy at Nomura in London, said on Feb. 15. “The risk is of an actual Russo-Turkish military […]

Iranian official: Joining oil output freeze would be ‘illogical’

Iranian official: Joining oil output freeze would be ‘illogical’

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty A senior Iranian official is reported as saying it would be “illogical” for Tehran to join a proposed oil output freeze. Iranian newspaper Shargh quoted Iran’s OPEC envoy Mehdi Asali as saying Tehran would continue to increase oil production until it reaches presanction levels. The comments […]

Egyptian schools, in first, to teach 1979 peace accord with Israel

Egyptian schools, in first, to teach 1979 peace accord with Israel

Special to WorldTribune.com President Abdul Fatah Sisi’s overhaul of Egypt’s education system will include, for the first time, fact-based instruction on the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. A report by Army Radio on Feb. 17 said the new curriculum pushed by Sisi “does not stray into the aggressive, biased characterizations of Israel as […]

China deploys missile system to disputed S. China Sea island

China deploys missile system to disputed S. China Sea island

Special to WorldTribune.com Satellite images show China has deployed the advanced HQ-9 surface-to-air missile system to a disputed island in the South China Sea. Taiwanese and U.S. officials confirmed that batteries of the HQ-9 surface-to-air missile launchers were set up on Woody Island in the Paracels chain, according to a report by Reuters. China, Taiwan […]

Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary general, dies at 93

Boutros-Ghali, former UN secretary general, dies at 93

Special to WorldTribune.com Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who led the United Nations as secretary general in the 1990s, died on Feb. 16 in an Egyptian hospital. He was 93. Current UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Boutros-Ghali “a memorable leader who rendered invaluable services to world peace and international order.” A senior minister to Egyptian President Hosni […]

Russia, Saudi Arabia agree to oil-output freeze

Russia, Saudi Arabia agree to oil-output freeze

Special to WorldTribune.com Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty Russia and Saudi Arabia, the world’s two largest crude producers, have agreed to freeze output, as long as others follow suit. Freezing output at January levels will be “adequate,” Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said on February 16 after talks with Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak […]