by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS -In a quiet but contentious campaign, countries are competing for new openings on the UN’s Human Rights Council. Many of the contenders for membership on…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS—White smoke has emerged from the Security Council, where the powerful fifteen member body, has selected a new UN Secretary General from among a dozen declared…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS—Presidents, Prime Ministers and Kings will convene in New York next week for the opening of the 71st General Assembly of the United Nations. The annual…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS—On a picture perfect September morning, the Grim Reaper struck in New York. Hijacked aircraft slammed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center shattering…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer BRATISLAVA, Slovakia— The majestic Danube River connects Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. Just 40 miles downriver from Vienna, the historic city of Bratislava rises above the Danubian plain.…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer PARIS – A vital American ally has gone geopolitically adrift in the wake of Turkey’s failed military coup, and the subsequent crackdown on all forms of domestic…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer     PARIS–Imagine for a moment arriving at Sunday morning religious service only to see the doors of the church guarded by camouflage-clad soldiers with automatic weapons.…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer PARIS – The recurring terrorist attacks which have plagued France seem to have no bounds nor mercy. The murder of a Catholic priest saying Mass in a…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS – What’s beginning to look like this year’s Republican presidential primaries in the USA has morphed into a political scramble for the UN Secretary General’s…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS— In a major legal setback for Beijing, an international tribunal has rejected and rebuffed many of Mainland China’s claims regarding exclusive sovereignty and rights in…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS—In a sense NATO has been a victim of its own success. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also known as the Atlantic Alliance, has rested on…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS – The annual round of musical chairs in the UN Security Council came early this year as elections for five new non-permanent members to the…

  by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS – It’s a deal! The Islamic Republic of Iran is set to buy 100 American made Boeing civilian airliners for a price tag near…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS -The artillery rumbles like a rolling late Spring storm. Small arms fire reaches a staccato, only to fall silent just as quickly. And hapless civilians…

by John J. Metzler Weirs Times Contributing Writer UNITED NATIONS – Stressing that terrorism “can only be defeated by a sustained and comprehensive approach” involving the active participation and collaboration of all States, the UN…