AMMAN – Jordanian Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz reshuffled his cabinet Thursday for the third time in less than year as the kingdom remains mired in economic difficulties. The new cabinet took the oath in front of King Abdallah II at the Husseiniyeh Palace west of the capital, the royal court said. Former cabinet members had tendered their resignations Wednesday in ...

AMMAN — Jordan’s expertise in the enforcement and implementation of international human rights treaties through incorporating them into the judicial system is invaluable, Director of the Prime Ministry’s Human Rights Department Khalil Abdallat said on Tuesday. Abdallat’s remarks came during the opening ceremony of the training course organised by Mizan Law Group in cooperation with the Danish Institute Against Torture ...

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief to Jordan, Martin Cerisola, said on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, that “there are many signs of improvement in economic performance though Jordan is facing difficult circumstances and pressing challenges.” In an interview with Jordan News Agency (Petra), Cerisola, in a telephone call from Washington, affirmed the improvement was reflected in higher exports, increased tourism ...

According to preliminary data released by the Central Bank of Jordan, the Kingdom’s revenues from tourism income rose by 6.1 % in the first third of 2019 reaching to $ 1.7 billion, equivalent to JD 1.2 billion, compared to $ 1.6 billion for the same period last year. The increase was mainly due to the rise in the number of ...

Eight vultures on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights – about half the birds’ population there – have been poisoned to death, Israeli officials say. The bodies of the griffon vultures were found on Friday morning, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority (INPA) said. It is not known what poison killed the birds or who was behind the attack. An investigation is ...

Israel lifted a ban on Friday on Palestinian fishing boats operating off the Gaza Strip, ending a measure imposed during a deadly flare-up of violence earlier this month. The fishing union in the Gaza Strip confirmed the lifting of the ban, saying the new limits imposed by Israel were 12 nautical miles in the southern half of Gaza and six nautical miles in the north. Zakaria ...

In an open letter published Thursday, a group of over 30 Palestinian cultural centers and organizations from Gaza called for a global boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest, the enduringly popular international singing competition that will be held May 14 to 18 in Tel Aviv, Israel. “Even when Israel bombs us, imprisons our men, women and children, kills and maims thousands of ...

All Jordanian ministers tendered their resignation on Wednesday as part of government reshuffling spearheaded by King Abdullah II. Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz is expected to maintain his role, and some of the ministers who resigned are slated to reclaim their positions in the next round of nominations. A statement released by the Jordanian government says that the changes in ...

BEIRUT – Lebanon’s prime minister says his country should learn from the government of Egypt how to stimulate economic growth, reform laws and combat corruption. Lebanon’s economy is struggling with soaring debts, rising unemployment and slow growth. The government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri is debating an austerity budget and key reforms with the aim of unlocking billions of dollars in ...

CAIRO — A provincial governor in Egypt says five Sudanese nationals and an Egyptian driver were killed in a bus crash in the country’s south. Gen. Abdel Hamid al-Haggan, the governor in Qena province south of Cairo, says the Sudanese were traveling from Sudan to the Egyptian capital when their bus collided with a truck on a desert road. Al-Haggan ...