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☆ Jordan to host summit between Biden and Egyptian and Palestinian leaders
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks as he meets British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, at Downing Street in London, Britain, October 15, 2023. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSummary Jordan king to warn Biden against Israel 'transfer' policyKing sought to lobby for immediate delivery of aidAuthorities worried about spillover of violenceAMMAN, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Jordan on Wednesday will host a four-party summit in Amman with U.S. President Joe Biden and Egyptian and Palestinian leaders to discuss the "dangerous" repercussions of the war in Gaza for the region, officials said. Jordan's King Abdullah will also separately hold a tripartite summit with both Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Officials said the monarch will stress to Biden on Wednesday that the country would resist any attempt to push Palestinian refugees into Jordan if conflict widens to the West Bank in a wider regional conflagration. Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi; editing by Christina Fincher, Alex Richardson and Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Jordan's King Abdullah II, Rishi Sunak, Hannah McKay, Biden, Israel, King, Joe Biden, Jordan's King Abdullah, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, Mahmoud Abbas, King Abdullah, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Christina Fincher, Alex Richardson, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: British, REUTERS, Wednesday, Officials, West Bank, Senior, Hamas, Thomson Locations: London, Britain, AMMAN, Jordan, Amman, U.S, Gaza, Israel, East Jerusalem

☆ Jordan says Palestinian displacement pushes region to 'abyss' of wider conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-14 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Jordan said on Saturday any move by Israel to impose a new displacement of Palestinians would push the region to the "abyss" of a wider regional conflict. Israel's push to move the entire population to leave their homes was a "red line" that Arabs would confront, Safadi said. "This will bring the region into the hell of war ... we have to end this madness," he added. The war's continuation also threatened to lead to its spread on other fronts, Safadi said, adding that "violence would breed more violence and destruction". Safadi said the king had also emphasised Jordan's refusal to accept the displacement of Palestinians from their land.

Persons: Khan Younis, Ahmed Zakot, Jordan, Ayman Safadi, Israel, Safadi, King Abdullah, Antony Blinken, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Muath Freij, Emelia Sithole, Sharon Singleton, Helen Popper Our Organizations: United Nations, REUTERS, Rights, Hamas, Canadian, U.S, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Israel, Jordan, Europe, Amman, East Jerusalem

☆ Arab States Say Palestinians Must Stay on Their Land as War Escalates
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +6 min

It reflects deep-rooted Arab fears that Israel's latest war with Hamas in Gaza could spark a new wave of permanent displacement from land where Palestinians want to build a future state. Some 700,000 Palestinians, half the Arab population of what was British-ruled Palestine, fled or were driven from their homes, many spilling into neighbouring Arab states where they or many of their descendants remain. Israel contests the assertion it drove Palestinians out, pointing out it was attacked by five Arab states the day after its creation. Palestinians and Arab states say a deal should include the right of those refugees and their descendants to return, something Israel has always rejected. After an emergency Arab League meeting on Wednesday, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said all Arab states agreed to confront any attempt to displace Palestinians from their homeland.

Persons: Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Maya Gebeily, Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, Gilad Erdan, Israel, Erdan, U.N, Khan Younis, Mariam al, Ayman Safadi, Aidan Lewis, Tom Perry, Aiden Nulty, Michelle Nichols Organizations: Hamas, West Bank, Israel, Arab League, United, United Nations, Muslim, Royal United Services Institute, Jordan's Locations: Maya Gebeily AMMAN, BEIRUT, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Egypt, Jordan, British, Palestine, Gaza City, United States, Farra, Sinai, Israeli, Rafah, Cairo, Khalidi, Amman

Persons: Abdel Fattah al, Sisi, Vladimir Putin, Alexei Danichev, Jordan, Israel, Gazans, Jordan's King Abdullah, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Antonio Guterres, Stephane Dujarric, Gilad Erdan, Erdan, U.N, Khan Younis, Mariam al, Ayman Safadi, Maya Gebeily, Suleiman Al, Aidan Lewis, Tom Perry, Aiden Nulty, Michelle Nichols Organizations: Sputnik, REUTERS Acquire, Hamas, West Bank, Israel, Arab League, United, United Nations, Muslim, Royal United Services Institute, Jordan's, Thomson Locations: Russia, Africa, Saint Petersburg, Egypt, AMMAN, BEIRUT, Gaza, Israel, Palestinian, Jordan, British, Palestine, Gaza City, United States, Farra, Sinai, Israeli, Rafah, Cairo, Khalidi, Amman

☆ Jordan disperses pro-Palestinian protesters heading to border with West Bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] Men pray as security forces stand guard during a protest to express solidarity with Palestinians, in Amman, Jordan October 13, 2023. REUTERS/Muath Freij Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Jordanian riot police on Friday forcibly dispersed hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach a border zone with the Israeli-occupied West Bank as thousands held anti-Israel demonstrations across the country, witnesses said. The interior ministry had issued a ban against holding anti-Israel marches in the sensitive border area, where it said the Jordan river valley was closed to protesters but that licensed protests elsewhere would be allowed. Several thousand protesters near downtown Amman chanted slogans in support of Hamas and demanded the government close the Israeli embassy and scrap the 1994 peace treaty with Israel. The Israeli embassy, where protesters gather daily, has long been a flashpoint of anti-Israel protests at times of turmoil in the Palestinian territories.

Persons: Muath, Jordan, Witnesses, Israel, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Jordanian, West Bank, Hamas, Thomson Locations: Amman, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian, Gaza, East Jerusalem, Irbid

☆ Jordan's king says no stability in region without Palestinian state
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-11 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks at the opening of a new parliamentary session in Amman, Jordan October 11, 2023. Royal Hashemite Court/Handout via Reuters Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Jordan's King Abdullah said on Wednesday no peace was possible in the Middle East without the emergence of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel. A two-state solution was the only option, the monarch told deputies in a speech at the opening of a new parliamentary session. "Our region will never be secure nor stable without achieving just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution," the monarch said. Jordan's peace treaty with Israel is widely unpopular among many citizens who see normalisation as a sellout of the rights of their Palestinian brethren.

Persons: King Abdullah II, King Abdullah, Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, Blinken, King Abdullah said, Amman, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Alison Williams, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Royal Hashemite, Reuters Acquire, Rights, West Bank, Thomson Locations: Amman, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian, Western, Jerusalem, Gaza, East Jerusalem

☆ At least 60 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 60 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and a security source said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said in a statement, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones to carry it out. The statement did not specify an organisation and no group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Syria's defence minister attended the graduation ceremony but left minutes before the attack, according to a Syrian security source and a security source in the regional alliance backing the Damascus government against opposition groups. We don't know where it came from, and corpses littered the ground," said a Syrian man who had helped set up decorations at the academy for the occasion.

Persons: Syria's, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Reuters, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Syria, Homs, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ At least 100 killed in drone attack on Syrian military academy, monitor says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

People stand and walk outside a building after drone attack on Syrian military academy in Homs, Syria October 5, 2023 is seen in this screen grab from a video. Video obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsBEIRUT, Oct 5 (Reuters) - At least 100 people were killed on Thursday in an attack on a military academy in Syria, a war monitor and an official said, with weaponised drones bombing the site minutes after Syria's defence minister left a graduation ceremony there. Civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack on the military academy in the central province of Homs, Syria's defence ministry said, adding "terrorist" groups had used drones. Syria's defence and foreign ministries vowed to respond "with full force". The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 100 people were killed and 125 injured.

Persons: Syria's, Hassan Al, Ghobash, Bashar al, Assad, Laila Bassam, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Kinda, Jon Boyle, Mark Heinrich, David Gregorio, Alexandra Hudson, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Syrian Observatory, Human Rights, Health, Thomson Locations: Homs, Syria, Rights BEIRUT, Idlib, Damascus, Syrian, fatigues, Russia, Iran, Tehran, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey

☆ Japan loans Jordan $100 million for electricity reforms
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan sign agreements in Amman, Jordan September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Muath Freij Acquire Licensing RightsAMMAN, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Japan extended a $100 million loan to help Jordan's electricity sector reforms as part of Tokyo's support for the kingdom's IMF-guided reforms, officials said on Sunday. "Japan will continue our support for Jordan in its economic and financial reforms and further modernization," Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said in joint remarks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman al Safadi at the start of a visit to Jordan. Japan is one of Jordan's main donors, contributing over $4 billion in loans, aid and technical support in recent decades. Reporting by Suleiman Al-Khalidi Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Yoshimasa Hayashi, Muath, Ayman al Safadi, Jordan's King Abdullah, Hayashi, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Ros Russell Organizations: Planning, Cooperation, REUTERS, Rights, IMF, Jordan, Thomson Locations: Amman , Jordan, Japan, Jordan, Tokyo, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

☆ U.S. officials visit Syria's Deir al Zor in bid to defuse Arab tribal unrest
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

An American soldier sits on a military vehicle, at al-Omar oil field in Deir Al Zor, Syria March 23, 2019. An Arab tribal backlash against the rule of the Kurdish YPG militia has led to clashes, with over 150 killed and dozens injured. Arab tribal fighters initially drove out the Kurdish-led forces from several large towns but the SDF has begun to regain the upper hand. Arab tribal leaders say they have been deprived of their oil wealth after the Kurdish-led forces laid their hands on Syria's biggest oil wells after the departure of Islamic State. Washington has pushed for a bigger say for Arab inhabitants in running their affairs in SDF areas, Western diplomats say.

Persons: Omar, Aboud, Syria Ethan Goldrich, Joel B Vowell, Deir al Zor, Sheikh Mahmoud al Jarallah, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Rosalba O'Brien Organizations: REUTERS, SDF, Senior U.S, Kurdish YPG, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, U.S, State Department, Thomson Locations: American, al, Deir Al Zor, Syria, Iran, AMMAN, Zor, U.S, Islamic State, Arab, Busayrah, Shuhail, Kurdish, Russia, Damascus, Deir al, Washington

☆ Syria says Israeli attack puts Aleppo airport out of service
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A man walks at Aleppo international airport after it was reopened for the first time in years, Syria February 19, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki/file photo Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI/AMMAN, Aug 28 (Reuters) - An Israeli air attack put Syria's Aleppo airport out of service on Monday, the Syrian defence ministry said, while regional intelligence sources said an Iranian arms depot was hit. "The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack ... targeting Aleppo International Airport. The Israeli military declined to comment. Two regional intelligence sources said the attack targeted an underground munitions depot run by Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps within the compound of Nairab military airport next to Aleppo airport.

Persons: Omar Sanadiki, Bashar al, Assad, Iran's, Yomna Ehab, Suleiman al, Khalidi, Clauda Tanios, Jacqueline Wong, Nick Macfie Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, Israel, Lebanon's, Hezbollah, Fighters, Thomson Locations: Aleppo, Syria, Rights DUBAI, AMMAN, Israeli, Iranian, Israel, Lebanon's Iran, Aleppo province, Damascus, Iran

☆ Syria's Assad's ruling party shut by protests in rebellious Druze city
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-27 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Youths with welding machines sealed the gates of the building of the party led by President Bashar al Assad, which has been in power since a 1963 coup. A major economic crisis has seen the local currency collapse, leading to soaring prices for food and basic supplies and which Assad's government blames on Western sanctions. Across the province, scores of local branches of the Baath party whose officials hold top government posts were also closed by protesters with its cadres fleeing, residents said. In a rare act of defiance in areas under Assad's rule, protesters tore down posters of Assad, where the party has promoted a personality cult around him and his late father. Sweida, a city of over 100,000 people, has seen most public institutions shut and public transport on strike and businesses partially open, residents and civic activists said.

Persons: Bashar al Assad, Bashar, Assad, Kenan Waqaf, Sweida, Ryan Marouf, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Grant McCool Organizations: Baath, Protesters, Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Sweida, Russia, Iran

☆ What happens to the Wagner Group after Yevgeny Prigozhin plane crash?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Courtesy PMC Wagner via Telegram via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsAug 24 (Reuters) - A day before mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's plane crash, a Russian official visited Libya to reassure allies that fighters from the Wagner Group would remain in the country -- but under Moscow's control. In Africa, Wagner may stay more or less intact under new management or be subsumed by another Russian mercenary group. 'REPLACE A DEAD LEADER'After the June mutiny, Prigozhin intensified his efforts to bolster Wagner's presence in Africa. In countries where Wagner operates through an official agreement with Moscow, analysts do not expect much to change - for now. But as Wagner was there through a state-level agreement with Russia, "nothing will affect the presence of these instructors" he said.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin's, Yunus, Bek Yevkurov, Khalifa Haftar, Jalel, Prigozhin, Vladimir Putin, Putin, John Lechner, Haftar's, Harchaoui, Faustin, Fidele Gouandjika, Gouandjika, Ousmane Pare, Evro, Filip Lebedev, Ed McAllister, Tiemoko Diallo, Suleiman al, Angus McDowall, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Wagner, Telegram, REUTERS, Libyan, Royal United Services Institute, Central African, Wagner PMC, Human Rights Watch, Russian, Russia's Defence, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Africa, Libya, Benghazi, Russian, Moscow, Russia, Europe, East, Ukraine, Syria, Central African Republic, Mali, Belarus, U.S, Tripoli, Burkina Faso, Evro Polis, Reuters Libya, Tblisi, Dakar, Judicael Yongo, Bangui, Thiam Ndiaga, Ouagadougou, Bamako, Khalidi, Amman

"We are sons of Jenin," said one of the Islamic Jihad fighters, who identified himself as Abu Salah. Islamic Jihad is a Palestinian faction sworn to destroying Israel and replacing it with an Islamic state. Many of the Palestinian attackers who have killed Israelis in Israel and the West Bank came from the area. Sometimes the transfers involve criminals and sometimes legitimate or semi-legitimate businesses help to move funds to the West Bank, the militant sources said. Much of the weaponry used by the Jenin fighters comes from Israel itself, stolen and sold on through criminal gangs, Israeli officials say.

Persons: Raneen, Tzachi Hanegbi, Abu Salah, Benjamin Netanyahu's, Mahmoud Al, Saadi, Tamir Hayman, Daoud Shehab, Yasser Arafat, Ali Sawafta, James Mackenzie, Suleiman al, Khalidi, Raneen Sawafta, Maayan Lubell, Jonathan Saul, Jerusalem, Nidal, Michelle Nichols, Leila Bassam, David Clarke Organizations: Bank, REUTERS, West Bank, Islamic, Israel's National, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, HIT, Palestinian Authority, Palestinian, Israel's Institute for National Security, United Nations, Palestinian Center, Policy, Survey Research, Jenin Brigade, Gulf, Aqsa Brigades, Fatah, Thomson Locations: Jenin, JENIN, West, Islamic Jihad, Iran, Jihad, Lebanon, Israel, Oslo, Crescent, Tel Aviv, New York, Nablus, Palestinian Territories, China, Jordanian, Al, Aqsa, Amman, Maayan, Gaza, Beirut, Parisa, Dubai

☆ Deadly clashes in Palestinian camp in Lebanon rage for third day
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

AMMAN, July 31 (Reuters) - Hundreds of residents of a main Palestinian camp in Lebanon fled on Monday as fighting between mainstream faction Fatah and radical Islamists raged for a third day, residents and security sources said. At least 11 people have been kllled and 40 wounded in the clashes that broke out in Ain el-Hilweh camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon, over the weekend, security and Palestinian sources said. On Monday, the warring groups fired rocket-propelled grenades at each other in the crowded alleys of the camp. More than 2,000 people were forced to flee, seeking safety, said Dorothee Klaus, head of UNRWA, the U.N.agency responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees, which runs basic services in the camp with over 50,000 inhabitants. Shrapnel injured several Lebanese soldiers outside the walled camp were the army control access for people in checkpoints outside.

Persons: Fatah, Dorothee Klaus, Klaus, Shrapnel, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Nidal Al Mughrabi, Ali Sawafta, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Fatah, Iranian Hezbollah, UNRWA, Thomson Locations: AMMAN, Lebanon, Ain el, Sidon, Israel, Gaza, Ramallah

☆ At least six die in Palestinian faction clashes in Lebanon
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, July 30 (Reuters) - At least six people were killed in two days of clashes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, where the mainstream faction Fatah fought against rival groups that support Islamists, security sources said. Four of the aides later died of their injuries, a security source said, adding that sporadic clashes in the camp intensified later on Sunday. Fighting subsided but did not completely stop after a ceasefire was reached at a meeting between rival Palestinian factions that included representatives of pro-Iranian Hezbollah group and its ally Shi'ite Amal movement that hold sway in southern Lebanon. Shops had earlier closed their doors and some people fled the camp, the largest refugee camp in Lebanon, as tensions between the rival groups mounted on Sunday, a witness said. The U.N. agency responsible for the welfare of Palestinian refugees that provides basic services to nearly 50,000 people living in Ain el-Hilweh said it was suspending all operations in the camp.

Persons: Fatah, Hilweh, Dorothee Klaus, Najib Mikati, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Nidal al Mughrabi, Frances Kerry Organizations: Fatah, Iranian Hezbollah, Caretaker, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Lebanon, Ain, Sidon, Ain el, Israel, Gaza

"Given the events, their relationship with the Syrian defence ministry is now over." Mali authorities did not respond to a request for comment on the flights and whether any Wagner fighters had been redeployed from Syria to Mali. Wagner fighters secured Syrian oilfields and Western officials say Wagner is linked to Evro Polis, a company that profits from those assets. Reuters was unable to determine the fate of those commercial interests in the wake of the Russian defence ministry's moves against Wagner in Syria and Russia. In the wake of the Wagner uprising, Syria's leadership quickly restated publicly the importance of its military alliance with Russia.

Persons: Wagner, Nawar Shaban, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Bashar al, Assad, Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin, Russian Wagner, Evro Polis, Asmaa al, Laila Bassam, Tom Perry, Ed McAllister, Joanna Plucinska, Mike Collett, White, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Omran Center, Strategic Studies, Syrian Republican Guard, Republican Guard, Reuters, Russian Reconciliation Center, Moscow State University, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, Moscow, Syria, Russian, Russia, Istanbul, Damascus, Ukraine, Belarus, Syrian, Syria's, Homs, Hmeimim, Latakia, Bamako, West African, Mali, Evro Polis, Libya, elswhere, Africa, Western, U.S, Deir, Beirut, London

☆ Russian jets said to step up strikes on Syrian rebel enclave
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

White Helmets/Handout via REUTERSAMMAN, June 25 (Reuters) - Russian jets bombed villages and towns near the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians and wounding dozens in a major flare-up of violence in the country's last opposition stronghold, witnesses and rescuers said. No immediate comment was available from Russia or its allies in the Syrian army, whose artillery pounded rebel areas in the countryside west of Aleppo. During past outbreaks of fighting, Damascus and Russia have said they only target insurgent groups and deny indiscriminate attacks on civilians. Damascus has in recent rounds of Russian-brokered talks with Ankara demanded that Turkey withdraw a formidable military presence in the last foothold of the Syrian rebellion. Turkish troops based in the region have held back Russia and Damascus from a final assault to wrest back control of the enclave.

Persons: Sham, jihadists, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Giles Elgood Organizations: REUTERS, Russian Sukhoi, Ankara, Thomson Locations: Russian, Jisr, Shughour, Syria, REUTERS AMMAN, Syrian, Idlib, Jabal al, Russia, Turkey, Aleppo, Damascus, Turkish, Hayat, Qardaha, Latakia, Moscow

☆ Lebanese Christian and opposition coalition nominate IMF's Azour for president
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT, June 4 (Reuters) - Lebanon's disparate opposition, independent and main Christian parties said on Sunday they had nominated IMF official Jihad Azour for the presidency in a challenge to Hezbollah-backed candidate Suleiman Franjieh. A meeting of the parties endorsed the nomination of Azour, currently director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and also a former Lebanese finance minister. Pro-Iranian Hezbollah, the country's main armed political force, and its Shi'ite ally Amal, had backed Franjieh, 56, heir of an old Lebanese Christian political dynasty and an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with strong ties to the ruling political establishment in Damascus. "This new candidate that was announced is for us a candidate for confrontation," Hezbollah deputy Hassan Fadlallah said on Sunday, without naming Azour. Washington has warned that the administration was considering sanctions on Lebanese officials for their continued obstruction of the election of a new president and warned the paralysis could only worsen the country's crisis.

Persons: Azour, Suleiman Franjieh, Michel Aoun's, Amal, Bashar al, Assad, Michel Mouawad, Lebanon's, Beshara al, Rai, “, Hassan Fadlallah, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, Maya Geibeily, David Holmes Organizations: Central Asia Department, International Monetary Fund, Hezbollah, Lebanese Christian, Maronite, Thomson Locations: BEIRUT, East, Lebanese, Lebanon, Damascus, Azour, Syria, Iran, Arab, Washington

☆ Royal wedding showpiece highlights Jordan's role as West's stable ally
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Prince Mohammed last visited Jordan a year ago following years of tensions, also prompting hopes then that warmer ties would unlock more fulsome economic support. KING-IN-WAITING[1/10] Jordan's Crown Prince Hussein and Rajwa Al Saif are seen together at their royal wedding ceremony, in Amman, Jordan, June 1, 2023 in this screen grab taken from a video. At the Arab League summit in Jeddah last month, he walked alongside his father to greet Crown Prince Mohammad. Washington's desire for a stable ally in an otherwise volatile region meant it too has often turned a blind eye to Jordan's slow democratic reforms and mixed human rights record. It's the prince's wedding, not ours," said Abdullah al-Fayez, a retired servicemen living on slim savings on the outskirts of Amman.

Persons: Prince Hussein, Rajwa Al Saif, Britain's William, Kate AMMAN, King Abdullah, Jordan, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Lady Jill Biden, Britain's Prince, Princess of Wales, William, Kate, Prince Mohammed, Hamza, Hussein, Joe Biden, Prince Mohammad, Prophet Mohammed, Alia Ibrahim, Abdullah al, Suleiman Al, Khalidi, John Stonestreet Organizations: West, Saudi, U.S, Royal Hashemite, REUTERS, Georgetown, Sandhurst, League, International Monetary Fund, Thomson Locations: Saudi, West, U.S, Amman, Jordan, Jeddah, Mecca, Iraq, Syria

☆ Syria says Israeli missiles target sites near Damascus
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AMMAN, May 29 (Reuters) - Syrian army air defences on Sunday confronted an Israeli missile strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital Damascus, and there were no casualties, state media said. Citing a Syrian military source, state media said missile strikes coming from the direction of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights had targeted several sites it did not identify. "Our air defences confronted the aggressors' missiles and downed some of them with only material losses," the Syrian military source said. The strikes are part of an escalation of what has been a low-intensity conflict with a goal of slowing Iran's growing entrenchment in Syria, Israeli military experts say. Fighters allied to Iran, including Hezbollah, now hold sway in vast areas in eastern, southern, and northwestern Syria and in several suburbs around the capital.

☆ Factbox: Then and now: How Arab states changed course on Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

May 19 (Reuters) - President Bashar al-Assad's attendance at an Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia on Friday is the result of big policy shifts by Arab states that once backed his opponents in Syria's civil war. The support was a point of rivalry with another Gulf Arab state, Qatar, which backed Islamist groups espousing ideologies viewed with suspicion by Riyadh. It also worked with the United States in a programme to support rebels deemed moderate by Washington. As some Arab states changed course on Assad, notably the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia showed no sign of bringing him in from the cold. Like other Arab states, Saudi Arabia is also expecting Assad to curb the trade in narcotics smuggled out of Syria.

☆ After years of war, Assad returns to Arab fold
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

* Aug. 2011 - U.S. President Barack Obama says Assad has lost legitimacy to rule and should surrender power. * Nov. 2011 - The Arab League suspends Syria and urges its army to stop killing civilians. * Sept. 2015 - Russia joins the war on Assad's side, deploying war planes that bomb rebel-held areas - a turning point in the conflict. * March 2022 - Assad visits the United Arab Emirates and meets its leaders, his first trip to an Arab state since 2011. Assad says he will only meet Erdogan when Turkey is ready to withdraw forces from Syria.

☆ Jordan must accelerate reforms to drive faster growth -IMF
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Suleiman Al-Khalidi | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"With unemployment still high, and particularly among the youth and women, structural reforms are essential for achieving strong and inclusive growth and creating more jobs," IMF official Ron van Rooden told reporters. “Despite a challenging global and regional environment, Jordan has maintained macroeconomic stability," van Rooden said. Jordan's macroeconomic stability had helped it tap more favourable interest rates from international capital markets than other sovereign countries when it issued last months' Eurobond worth $1.25 billion, he said. "We are calling Jordan a success story because they have consistently implemented sound macroeconomic policy, fiscal policy, monetary policy," he said. Inflation was on track to moderate to 2.7% in 2023 from earlier projections of 3.8% with a tight monetary policy that helped to curb global inflationary pressures, van Rooden said.

☆ Arabs bring Syria's Assad back into fold but want action on drugs trade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Maya Gebeily | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Hezbollah, which deployed fighters to Syria to aid Assad's war efforts, has denied any role in the drugs trade. Aided by Iran and Russia, Assad steadily beat back his rebel enemies, some of whom had support from U.S.-allied Arab states that have now restored ties. The United States, United Kingdom and European Union have all placed new sanctions on Damascus in recent weeks over captagon. The United States has said it will not normalize ties with Assad and its sanctions remain in full effect. "I would put ending the captagon trade right at the top alongside the other issues", she said.

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