Arab media report new Jordan PM is pro-Israel

Arab media report new Jordan PM is pro-Israel

by WorldTribune Staff, May 31, 2016 The newly-appointed prime minister of Jordan has “strong Israeli ties”, according to reports in Arab media. Prime Minister Hani Mulki, who was appointed by King Abdullah II on May 29 after the king dissolved parliament, is being described as “pro-Israel”. Husam Abdallat, a former senior government aide at the […]

Egypt closes hospital where girl died after procedure now banned by government

Egypt closes hospital where girl died after procedure now banned by government

by WorldTribune Staff, May 31, 2016 Egyptian authorities closed a hospital and prosecutors are investigating after a 17-year-old girl died during an outlawed female circumcision operation. Mayar Mohamed Mousa, 17, died while under full anesthesia in El Canal hospital in Suez province on May 29, said Lotfi Abdel-Samee, the health ministry undersecretary in the province. […]

Off the record in Beijing: China’s growth rate is non-negotiable

Off the record in Beijing: China’s growth rate is non-negotiable

Special to WorldTribune.com By Willy Lam, EastAsiaIntel.com Who is in charge of China’s macro-level financial and economic policy? Most observers will say President Xi Jinping, who is head of the two highest-level decision-making bodies: the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economics (CLGFE) and the newly set up Central Leading Group on Comprehensively Deepening Reforms […]

UN calls on Hamas to stop planned public executions

UN calls on Hamas to stop planned public executions

by WorldTribune Staff, May 26, 2016 The UN’s Middle East envoy has publicly urged Hamas to halt the public executions of 13 men, most convicted of murder connected to robberies. UN envoy Nickolay Mladenov told the Security Council that public executions are prohibited under international human rights law. “I urge Hamas not to carry out […]

Religious freedom group calls for UN action on ISIL genocide of Christians

Religious freedom group calls for UN action on ISIL genocide of Christians

by WorldTribune Staff, May 26, 2016 A religious freedom group is calling on the United Nations to “mobilize the international community” to take action to protect Christians against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) atrocities. The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), in a letter to the UN, detailed ISIL’s executions of Christians […]

Logs show Egyptair jet had no technical problems before takeoff

Logs show Egyptair jet had no technical problems before takeoff

by WorldTribune Staff, May 25, 2016 A log signed by one of the pilots of EgyptAir Flight 804 showed no technical problems with the airliner before it took off from Paris, a report said on May 24. The Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram, which published a scan of the technical log on its website, said the plane […]

Moscow denies ISIL destroyed Russian helicopters at base in Syria

Moscow denies ISIL destroyed Russian helicopters at base in Syria

by WorldTribune Staff, May 25, 2016 Moscow is countering reports that four of its attack helicopters at a base in central Syria were destroyed in an attack by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). Amaq, an ISIL-linked news agency, on May 15 first reported the “burning of four Russian attack helicopters and 20 trucks […]

Egyptian sub joins hunt for downed flight’s black box

Egyptian sub joins hunt for downed flight’s black box

by WorldTribune Staff, May 23, 2016 Egypt has sent a submarine and underwater equipment from its offshore oil industry to assist in the hunt for EgyptAir Flight 804’s black box flight recorders. Wreckage and personal belongings from the plane that crashed in the Mediterranean Sea with 66 people on board were found on May 20 but […]

ISIL promotes Sinai hotbed as new front against Israel

ISIL promotes Sinai hotbed as new front against Israel

by WorldTribune Staff, May 23, 2016 Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) is using the Sinai Peninsula as a “steppingstone” for attacks against Israel, according to a report by national security correspondent Rowan Scarborough. The terrorist organization has launched a propaganda campaign to recruit jihadists for a force in Sinai large enough to take […]