Gourt > Regional > Middle East > Jordan (79)
- For other uses, see Jordan (disambiguation).
Jordan (Arabic: الأردنّ, transliterated '), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan''' (Arabic: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية), is an Arab country in the Middle East. It is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the north-east, Saudi Arabia to the east and south, and Israel and the Palestinian Territories / Israeli-occupied territories to the west. It shares with Israel and the Palestinian Territories the coastlines of the Dead Sea, and the Gulf of Aqaba with Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
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The Economist: Middle East and Africa
Index of happiness?
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
A bottle of Coke tracks change in AfricaAFRICANS buy 36 billion bottles of Coke a year. Because the price is set so low--around 20-30 American cents, less than the price of the average newspaper--and because sales are so minutely analysed by Coca-Cola, the Coke bottle may be one of the continent's best trackers of stability and prosperity."We see political instability first because we go down as far as we can into the market," says Alexander Cummings, head of Coca-Cola's Africa division. The ups and downs during Kenya's post-election violence this year could be traced in sales of Coke in Nairobi's slums and in western Kenya's villages. Events in the Middle East, such as the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel, can dent sales in Muslim parts of Africa, though anti-American feeling usually wears off quite quickly. ...
Dangerous games
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Some scary noises, but maybe also some progress on the nuclear frontAS IS well known, one reason for the giddying rise in oil prices is the fear of a messy conflict over Iran because of its suspected ambition to build atomic bombs. The danger is not simply of a cut-off in supplies from Iran, the world's fourth-largest exporter, but of a prolonged threat to the wider Gulf region, which accounts for 40% of oil traded on the world's markets. Yet if everyone believed the warmongering noises coming from both Iran and its critics, the price of oil would be higher still. Iranian newspapers, for instance, have reported plans by the army to dig some 320,000 graves near its borders, supposedly a humanitarian move to speed the disposal of enemy corpses and so "reduce the pain and hardship of the families of the soldiers who will be killed in any possible invasion of our country." One commander advises that any invaders should equip themselves with artificial legs, because they will not be walking home. ...
A dubious trade
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Politics overrides security advice for Israel's beleaguered prime ministerWHAT is the right price for a dead soldier? The question has gripped Israel this week after the government said that it had accepted a prisoner swap with Hizbullah, Lebanon's Shia militia. Under the deal, Israel will surrender Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese who has been in jail since he killed three Israelis in 1979, as well as four other Lebanese prisoners and the remains of several more. Later on, it will turn over an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners to Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. In return it will get back Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, two soldiers whom Hizbullah kidnapped two years ago, sparking a five-week-long war, along with a report on the fate of Ron Arad, an air force officer whose plane was downed over Lebanon in 1986 and who was known to be alive until talks to release him broke down in 1988. Mr Arad has long been presumed dead, and the government says Mr Goldwasser and Mr Regev probably are too. ...
Continuing to fail
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Will Somalia ever get the peacekeepers it needs?AFTER months of delicate negotiations, Somalia's internationally recognised but feeble transitional government and its Islamist opposition agreed to work together to rebuild their ruined country. Under an agreement signed in neighbouring Djibouti in June, Ethiopia, which invaded Somalia in late 2006 to prop up the ailing secular-minded Somali government, was to withdraw its troops. Somalia's Islamists, who have been fighting an insurgency ever since, would stand their fighters down. It would have been a breakthrough for a country that has lacked a central government since the fall of its long-time dictator, Siad Barre, in 1991. But the deal was stillborn. Since then, Somalia has rotted away, a victim of international indifference and its own internecine history.Somalia's more extreme Islamists have shown their contempt for the moderates by stepping up their attacks. The extremists are led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a wily former army officer who flirted with peace before rejecting it. He is aided by fighters loosely linked to the Shabab ("the Youth"), the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which briefly ran most of the country in 2006, plus nationalist Somalis from disaffected bits of the powerful Hawiye clan and criminals flying a jihadist flag of convenience. And now al-Qaeda is sensing an opportunity in a country where it has previously got nowhere. Abu al-Libi, one of its top men, who escaped from the American Bagram prison camp in Afghanistan in 2005, has circulated a video on the internet calling on foreigners to fight alongside the Somali jihadists, with the aim of establishing a caliphate. ...
Africa?s shame
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
A Munich moment for the continent's leaders as President Robert Mugabe is let off the hook, againGATHERING in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 2nd, the leaders of the African Union (AU) had an unprecedented opportunity finally to pull the plug on the disastrous regime of Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe--or at least cast him into political outer darkness. To fortify themselves they had the world's condemnation of his farcical re-election on June 27th, which the opposition had to withdraw from due to violence and intimidation, ringing very loudly in their ears. They had the UN Security Council saying ahead of the poll that it could not be free or fair. They had the unprecedented verdict of their own observers, who had said that the result could not "reflect the will of the people". Even observers from a normally supine regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), had said that the election could not be considered "legitimate". So what did they do? The least possible. With Mr Mugabe in their midst, the AU leaders did concede that they were "deeply concerned" about the violence. But they responded by merely asking for mediation efforts to continue between Mr Mugabe and the opposition; these are led by South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, and have got nowhere. They also called for a government of national unity, without referring to whether such a government should be led by the man who won the sham runoff vote against no opposition on June 27th, or by Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who actually won the first round of presidential voting in March. The AU's response was embraced by Mr Mugabe, which betrays exactly how much notice he is likely to take of any of it. With no penalties on the table for non-compliance, even the gentle suggestions emanating from Sharm el-Sheikh can be happily ignored. ...
Clarification: Morgan Tsvangirai
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0000
In our article on the United Nations and Zimbabwe ("Crimes against humanity") on June 28th, we said that "Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader, has called for the United Nations to send peacekeepers." This was expressed in an article under Mr Tsvangirai's name in the Guardian on June 25th. He subsequently said the article had not been authorised by him and that he wanted the UN to help "manage the transitional process" but he had not advocated military intervention "by the UN or any other organisation". ...
L.A. Times - Middle East
Pakistan makes little headway in Benazir Bhutto investigation
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Republicans seize on Obama's comments on Iraq
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
White House debates the future of Guantanamo
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Muslim women more than veils
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
World Briefing
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
2,200 Marines' Afghan tour extended
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
UN News Centre - Middle East
Ban sounds alarm on Middle East violence
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced deep concern over incidents in Jerusalem and in the West Bank.
Witnesses tell of worsening conditions for Palestinians to visiting UN team
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
A three-member United Nations team investigative team has received accounts of grave economic, health and human rights conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in Gaza, from witnesses it interviewed in Jordan, the second stop on a three-nation visit that also includes Egypt and Syria.
Presence of armed groups threatens southern Lebanon's stability - UN
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Southern Lebanon has witnessed the longest period of relative stability in many years as the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah following their 2006 war continues to hold, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, while voicing concern about the presence of armed groups and record levels of Israeli overflights in the area.
Ban welcomes humanitarian exchange between Israel and Hizbollah
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed recent progress on resolving the humanitarian aspects of the Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah.
UN health agency to set up permanent office in Iraqi capital
Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations health agency is establishing a permanent office in Baghdad as part of the world body's efforts to provide greater support to the Iraqi people, the senior UN official in the country announced today.
International damage claims expert to serve on Vienna-based UN body
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to appoint Ronald J. Bettauer of the United States to the three-member Board of the United Nations Register of Damage caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNRoD).
NYT > Middle East
Obama Fuels Pullout Debate With Remarks
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:12:44 -0000
The changing dynamics in Iraq have posed a challenge for Barack Obama, who said Thursday that he might “refine” his policies but later held a second news conference to clarify his first statement.
Panel Questions State Dept. Role in Iraq Oil Deal
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:35:15 -0000
Bush administration officials knew that an oil company with close ties to President Bush planned to sign an oil deal with the Kurdistan government, counter to U.S. policy.
Iraq Hints at Delay in U.S. Security Deal
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:28:08 -0000
Sticking points in the negotiations include the extent of Iraqi control over American operations and the right of American soldiers deployed here to detain suspects.
Palestinian Kills 3 With Construction Vehicle
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:53:01 -0000
A Palestinian driver in Jerusalem rammed several cars and two buses before a police officer shot him dead.
World Briefing | Middle East: Hezbollah Leader Confirms Exchange Deal With Israel
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:39:22 -0000
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, confirmed that the group would hand over two captured Israeli soldiers in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners in Israel.
Softer Tone From Iran Has Experts Guessing
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:54:02 -0000
Two top Iranian officials sounded conciliatory notes about the prospects of breaching the impasse between the West and Tehran over the country’s nuclear ambitions.
Subscribe to Middle_East RSS feed 
Index of happiness?
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
A bottle of Coke tracks change in AfricaAFRICANS buy 36 billion bottles of Coke a year. Because the price is set so low--around 20-30 American cents, less than the price of the average newspaper--and because sales are so minutely analysed by Coca-Cola, the Coke bottle may be one of the continent's best trackers of stability and prosperity."We see political instability first because we go down as far as we can into the market," says Alexander Cummings, head of Coca-Cola's Africa division. The ups and downs during Kenya's post-election violence this year could be traced in sales of Coke in Nairobi's slums and in western Kenya's villages. Events in the Middle East, such as the 2006 war between Hizbullah and Israel, can dent sales in Muslim parts of Africa, though anti-American feeling usually wears off quite quickly. ...
Dangerous games
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Some scary noises, but maybe also some progress on the nuclear frontAS IS well known, one reason for the giddying rise in oil prices is the fear of a messy conflict over Iran because of its suspected ambition to build atomic bombs. The danger is not simply of a cut-off in supplies from Iran, the world's fourth-largest exporter, but of a prolonged threat to the wider Gulf region, which accounts for 40% of oil traded on the world's markets. Yet if everyone believed the warmongering noises coming from both Iran and its critics, the price of oil would be higher still. Iranian newspapers, for instance, have reported plans by the army to dig some 320,000 graves near its borders, supposedly a humanitarian move to speed the disposal of enemy corpses and so "reduce the pain and hardship of the families of the soldiers who will be killed in any possible invasion of our country." One commander advises that any invaders should equip themselves with artificial legs, because they will not be walking home. ...
A dubious trade
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Politics overrides security advice for Israel's beleaguered prime ministerWHAT is the right price for a dead soldier? The question has gripped Israel this week after the government said that it had accepted a prisoner swap with Hizbullah, Lebanon's Shia militia. Under the deal, Israel will surrender Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese who has been in jail since he killed three Israelis in 1979, as well as four other Lebanese prisoners and the remains of several more. Later on, it will turn over an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners to Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. In return it will get back Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, two soldiers whom Hizbullah kidnapped two years ago, sparking a five-week-long war, along with a report on the fate of Ron Arad, an air force officer whose plane was downed over Lebanon in 1986 and who was known to be alive until talks to release him broke down in 1988. Mr Arad has long been presumed dead, and the government says Mr Goldwasser and Mr Regev probably are too. ...
Continuing to fail
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
Will Somalia ever get the peacekeepers it needs?AFTER months of delicate negotiations, Somalia's internationally recognised but feeble transitional government and its Islamist opposition agreed to work together to rebuild their ruined country. Under an agreement signed in neighbouring Djibouti in June, Ethiopia, which invaded Somalia in late 2006 to prop up the ailing secular-minded Somali government, was to withdraw its troops. Somalia's Islamists, who have been fighting an insurgency ever since, would stand their fighters down. It would have been a breakthrough for a country that has lacked a central government since the fall of its long-time dictator, Siad Barre, in 1991. But the deal was stillborn. Since then, Somalia has rotted away, a victim of international indifference and its own internecine history.Somalia's more extreme Islamists have shown their contempt for the moderates by stepping up their attacks. The extremists are led by Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a wily former army officer who flirted with peace before rejecting it. He is aided by fighters loosely linked to the Shabab ("the Youth"), the armed wing of the Islamic Courts Union, which briefly ran most of the country in 2006, plus nationalist Somalis from disaffected bits of the powerful Hawiye clan and criminals flying a jihadist flag of convenience. And now al-Qaeda is sensing an opportunity in a country where it has previously got nowhere. Abu al-Libi, one of its top men, who escaped from the American Bagram prison camp in Afghanistan in 2005, has circulated a video on the internet calling on foreigners to fight alongside the Somali jihadists, with the aim of establishing a caliphate. ...
Africa?s shame
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 13:02:45 -0000
A Munich moment for the continent's leaders as President Robert Mugabe is let off the hook, againGATHERING in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 2nd, the leaders of the African Union (AU) had an unprecedented opportunity finally to pull the plug on the disastrous regime of Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe--or at least cast him into political outer darkness. To fortify themselves they had the world's condemnation of his farcical re-election on June 27th, which the opposition had to withdraw from due to violence and intimidation, ringing very loudly in their ears. They had the UN Security Council saying ahead of the poll that it could not be free or fair. They had the unprecedented verdict of their own observers, who had said that the result could not "reflect the will of the people". Even observers from a normally supine regional bloc, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), had said that the election could not be considered "legitimate". So what did they do? The least possible. With Mr Mugabe in their midst, the AU leaders did concede that they were "deeply concerned" about the violence. But they responded by merely asking for mediation efforts to continue between Mr Mugabe and the opposition; these are led by South Africa's president, Thabo Mbeki, and have got nowhere. They also called for a government of national unity, without referring to whether such a government should be led by the man who won the sham runoff vote against no opposition on June 27th, or by Morgan Tsvangirai, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), who actually won the first round of presidential voting in March. The AU's response was embraced by Mr Mugabe, which betrays exactly how much notice he is likely to take of any of it. With no penalties on the table for non-compliance, even the gentle suggestions emanating from Sharm el-Sheikh can be happily ignored. ...
Clarification: Morgan Tsvangirai
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0000
In our article on the United Nations and Zimbabwe ("Crimes against humanity") on June 28th, we said that "Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwe's opposition leader, has called for the United Nations to send peacekeepers." This was expressed in an article under Mr Tsvangirai's name in the Guardian on June 25th. He subsequently said the article had not been authorised by him and that he wanted the UN to help "manage the transitional process" but he had not advocated military intervention "by the UN or any other organisation". ...
L.A. Times - Middle East
Pakistan makes little headway in Benazir Bhutto investigation
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Republicans seize on Obama's comments on Iraq
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
White House debates the future of Guantanamo
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Muslim women more than veils
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
World Briefing
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
2,200 Marines' Afghan tour extended
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0700
UN News Centre - Middle East
Ban sounds alarm on Middle East violence
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today voiced deep concern over incidents in Jerusalem and in the West Bank.
Witnesses tell of worsening conditions for Palestinians to visiting UN team
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
A three-member United Nations team investigative team has received accounts of grave economic, health and human rights conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, particularly in Gaza, from witnesses it interviewed in Jordan, the second stop on a three-nation visit that also includes Egypt and Syria.
Presence of armed groups threatens southern Lebanon's stability - UN
Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Southern Lebanon has witnessed the longest period of relative stability in many years as the cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hizbollah following their 2006 war continues to hold, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated, while voicing concern about the presence of armed groups and record levels of Israeli overflights in the area.
Ban welcomes humanitarian exchange between Israel and Hizbollah
Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed recent progress on resolving the humanitarian aspects of the Security Council resolution that ended the 2006 conflict between Israel and the Lebanese group Hizbollah.
UN health agency to set up permanent office in Iraqi capital
Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The United Nations health agency is establishing a permanent office in Baghdad as part of the world body's efforts to provide greater support to the Iraqi people, the senior UN official in the country announced today.
International damage claims expert to serve on Vienna-based UN body
Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has decided to appoint Ronald J. Bettauer of the United States to the three-member Board of the United Nations Register of Damage caused by the Construction of the Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (UNRoD).
NYT > Middle East
Obama Fuels Pullout Debate With Remarks
Fri, 04 Jul 2008 06:12:44 -0000
The changing dynamics in Iraq have posed a challenge for Barack Obama, who said Thursday that he might “refine” his policies but later held a second news conference to clarify his first statement.
Panel Questions State Dept. Role in Iraq Oil Deal
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 12:35:15 -0000
Bush administration officials knew that an oil company with close ties to President Bush planned to sign an oil deal with the Kurdistan government, counter to U.S. policy.
Iraq Hints at Delay in U.S. Security Deal
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:28:08 -0000
Sticking points in the negotiations include the extent of Iraqi control over American operations and the right of American soldiers deployed here to detain suspects.
Palestinian Kills 3 With Construction Vehicle
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:53:01 -0000
A Palestinian driver in Jerusalem rammed several cars and two buses before a police officer shot him dead.
World Briefing | Middle East: Hezbollah Leader Confirms Exchange Deal With Israel
Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:39:22 -0000
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, confirmed that the group would hand over two captured Israeli soldiers in exchange for five Lebanese prisoners in Israel.
Softer Tone From Iran Has Experts Guessing
Wed, 02 Jul 2008 05:54:02 -0000
Two top Iranian officials sounded conciliatory notes about the prospects of breaching the impasse between the West and Tehran over the country’s nuclear ambitions.
| This footage was shot as we Training for the Peace mission in the desert of Jordan for our Peace mission with Breaking ... | |
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