The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Norway will on Thursday present their findings to the United Nations Security Council after a probe into the May 12 attacks on oil assets off the Emirati coast. During an informal meeting at the UAE mission to the UN, Security Council ambassadors will be briefed on evidence uncovered during the investigation, diplomats quoted by AFP news agency said. UAE-owned channel ...

“WE ARE ALL King Abdullah.” So said the official campaign to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the king’s accession to the throne in Jordan. But the turnout on February 7th suggested that few agreed with the sentiment. Even trays heaped with mansaf, lamb stewed in yogurt, could not rouse large crowds. Two months later the World Economic Forum on the Middle ...

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Jordan has received only 20 per cent of its financial requirements for 2019, according to its operational update for May. The UNHCR reported on Tuesday that as of 21 May, it had received only $74 million of the $371.8 million needed for refugee assistance and protection this year. Jordan is one of the countries most heavily ...

BRUSSELS: The head of the NATO mission in Iraq insisted Thursday that the recent increase in tension between the US and Iran has not hampered the alliance’s work in the country. Washington ordered the evacuation of non-emergency staff from its Baghdad embassy last month due to an alleged growing threat from Iranian-linked Iraqi militias, while Germany and the Netherlands suspended ...

Following an operation performed by an extremist in Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli last Monday, several countries, notably the United States and France, contacted Lebanon to propose help for uncovering the motive behind the attack. Those countries also expressed their readiness to send delegations of experts specialized in fighting terrorism and in the movements of ISIS in the region. “A ...

Lebanon has restricted the movement of Syrian refugees in the Deir El-Ahmar area until Friday after a fire engine was ambushed yesterday. Governor of Baalbek, Bachir Khodr, imposed the severe restrictions on the refugees after a fireman was hopsitalised in the attack. A Syrian man is reported to have been involved in the attack. On Twitter yesterday, Khodr said people in Deir El-Ahmar were ...

A gradual decline in temperature degrees will start Friday across Egypt to end the current heat wave that started earlier this week, the Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) said. In a statement published Thursday, the EMA said that there would a gradual decline by 2 degrees Celsius followed on Friday by a 3 degree Celsius drop. Light rain is expected in ...

Israel reportedly believes US-brokered talks with Lebanon on demarcating the countries’ maritime border could be held within weeks. Speaking with Reuters on Tuesday, an unnamed senior Israeli official said the talks “will begin already in the coming weeks” and could be held in southern Lebanon. The official said the potential talks, which Lebanon has not publicly commented on, would only ...

Iran has agreed to release technology expert Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese national who is serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges of spying for the United States, Lebanon’s government says. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said on June 4 that Zakka was pardoned at Beirut’s request as a goodwill gesture for this week’s Eid al-Fitr festival, which marks the end of ...

The allegation was initially made by a newspaper aligned with Shia militant group Hezbollah. Sydney GP Dr Jamal Rifi said he was the victim of a smear campaign orchestrated by Hezbollah and its supporters. Dr Rifi is a prominent member of Australia’s Sunni community. He can no longer visit Lebanon out of fear he will be arrested for visiting Israel, ...