Islamist cleric's comments, from a cell in Jordan, highlight rift between jihadist groups Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra The radical Islamist cleric Abu Qatada has said the beheading of two American journalists by Islamic State (Isis) is against Islamic teachings. Speaking from his courtroom cell in Jordan, he told journalists: "Messengers should not be killed," quoting the prophet Muhammad....
Christian pilgrims happily swallow a political narrative that is served up to them by the rebranding of archaeological sites Jesus was baptised in the river Jordan. That much we know. But what we don't know is exactly where, or more specifically, on which side. Did he step into the muddy waters from the east or from the west? I know, I know: who really cares? Well actually, it matters not least to...
Vatican says purpose of visit is mainly religious, but political spectres hang over three-day tour of Jordan, Palestine and Israel In a refugee camp near Bethlehem, final preparations are being made for Pope Francis's first official trip to the Holy Land, which begins on Saturday night. On Saturday, in the Phoenix Centre, a modern community hall on the outskirts of the Deheisheh camp, Francis will...
The conflict in Syria has forced two and a half million people to flee the country. Neil Gaiman visits two refugee camps in Jordan run by UNHCR and hears the stories of some of those who have escaped the violence and terror to rebuild their lives in these cities in the desert See more photographs from Neil Gaiman's visit to Jordan We are in a metal shed in Azraq refugee camp, Jordan, sitting on a low...
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has infected 496 people, most of them in Saudi Arabia, since emerging in 2012 A man has died in Jordan after being infected with the Mers virus, the government has said on the eve of a World Health Organisation emergency meeting on the disease. The latest death brings to five the number of fatalities in Jordan from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus since...
A TV debate in Jordan becomes so heated that the guests start destroying the studio live on air. Journalists Muhammad Sharif al-Jiyusi and Shakir al-Johari were midway through a discussion on the Jordanian 7 Stars TV network when one pundit accuses the other of 'bartering his positions', prompting the offended journalist to say 'shut up!' The men quickly start pushing the studio table at each other...
Katie Price pours out her pain on Twitter and yet again a woman's distress is a rallying cry to the vultures, says Tracy McVeigh Poor old Katie Price, née Jordan. The latest woman to be tied to the internet's whipping post. Emoting her hurt on social media as she is doing today is perhaps the equivalent of drunk texting, raw emotion with no filter. No doubt she cant help herself, the pain of...
The Mers-CoV has killed 107 people in Saudi Arabia and is a cousin of the Sars virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 Two new cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV) have been detected in Jordan, the health ministry has said . One was a Saudi man and the other a Jordanian doctor who was treating him. The state news agency, Petra, said this brought to seven the total number of people...
Camp near town of Azraq has been designed to expand to 130,000 capacity if necessary The Jordanian government and the UN have officially opened a new camp for refugees from the war in Syria with the potential to become one of the world's largest refugee camps. Although the first refugees began arriving on Monday 437 so far the camp, which currently has shelters for 25,000 and infrastructure for 50,000,...
Australia's foreign affairs minister, Julie Bishop, announced on Monday that Australia would provide US$20m for children in Lebanon and Jordan who have fled across the borders as refugees because of the Syrian crisis. Bishop, speaking in Amman, Jordan, said the funding would go towards the No Lost Generation strategy Continue reading... ...
Allegations say GSK sales representatives bribed doctors by issuing free samples that they were then allowed to sell on GlaxoSmithKline, the UK's largest drug firm, is investigating claims that its staff in Jordan and Lebanon have bribed doctors. The inquiry comes after separate allegations of unscrupulous behaviour by staff in China, Iraq and Poland , with the last two of those cases both emerging...
Jordanian security source says targets were Syrian rebels in civilian cars mounted with machine guns Jordanian warplanes have hit and destroyed several vehicles trying to cross the border from Syria, a government spokesman said on Wednesday, underlining Amman's concern about incursions from areas controlled by Syrian rebels. "There was an attempt to infiltrate across the border from Syria by a...
Libyan authorities confirm Fawaz Aitan has been kidnapped in attack that left his driver wounded Jordan's ambassador to Libya has been kidnapped, underscoring the tenuous state of security in the country. Continue reading... ...
One person shot dead at Zaatari refugee camp, and two people killed as mortar shells explode near Damascus opera house The United Nations said on Sunday it was alarmed at the violent nature of a demonstration in a Syrian refugee camp in Jordan that killed one person and wounded dozens. Saturday's deadly protest in the sprawling Zaatari camp reverberated around the region as international aid agencies...
The US is the largest donor to Syrian refugees and has the largest resettlement program in the world. No more excuses When I met with Syrian refugees in Jordan and Turkey a few months ago, many were already struggling with the realization that they would not be able to return home any time soon. For some, home no longer even existed. "If we returned to Syria, we have nothing left," a father...
Daniel Yohannes, Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO, shares his views on the private sector and poverty reduction Tell us about yourself and how you got into aid. I came to the US by myself [from Ethiopia] when I was 16 years old, looking for better opportunities. It was not planned but I landed a career in banking and finance, where I spent over 30 years. Then I wanted to give back to the country...
The Arab world should again embrace the principles behind this great intellectual awakening and its dream of a borderless nation In the first months of 2014, in the midst of a crisis in Ukraine that recalls all but moribund European rivalries, much has rightfully been made of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the European civil war that would come to be known as the first world war. But, while...
Chronic scarcity, overuse, waste and a surge in demand caused by refugees has paved the way for desalination plan Jordan, one of the most water-scarce states, is facing a perfect storm of pressures including chronic scarcity, overuse, waste and a surge in demand caused by refugee arrivals, according to a report by Mercy Corps , an NGO. To add to the water stress, the country is undergoing its driest...
Faisal Almhairat, in legal dispute with Saudi princes, claims notice was part of business vendetta An Interpol red notice, seeking the arrest in London of a Jordanian businessman at the centre of a high profile legal dispute involving two senior Saudi princes, has finally been withdrawn after more than two years. Faisal Almhairat claims that the notice authorising his extradition was issued in pursuit...
An estimated 1.2 million Syrians are living in Jordan, many in refugee camps, displaced – geographically and psychologically The old man does not give his name. He does not say anything at all. Lying under a blanket on a thin mattress in the corner of a dark, prefabricated metal container that these days serves as home, he greets a visitor with a baleful stare. Then, slowly, he turns his face to the...