Jordan

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Biden to Visit Israel, Jordan on Wednesday

Blinken announces trip to Israel after overnight meeting with Netanyahu

(Newser) - President Biden has decided to go to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced. Blinken made the disclosure early Tuesday after meeting for 7½ hours with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had invited the president but apparently hadn't received an answer, and his war Cabinet at...

There's a Whole Lot Riding on This Big Royal Wedding

Nuptials of Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein, Rajwa Alseif to deepen nation's ties to Saudi Arabia

(Newser) - The Middle Eastern country of Jordan is hosting its biggest royal wedding in years on Thursday as its young Crown Prince Hussein exchanges vows with Rajwa Alseif, daughter of one of Saudi Arabia's wealthiest and most influential families. With a VIP list that includes US first lady Jill Biden,...

13 Die After Crane Drops Chlorine Tank

250 injured in Jordan disaster

(Newser) - A crane loading chlorine tanks onto a ship in Jordan's port of Aqaba on Monday dropped one of them, causing an explosion of toxic yellow smoke that killed at least 13 people and sickened some 250, authorities said. Video carried on state TV showed the moment the tank exploded,...

Half-Brother of Jordan's King Hasn't Been Seen for Months
Plot Allegations Cost
Prince Hamzah His Title
updated

Plot Allegations Cost Prince Hamzah His Title

King's half-brother was accused of working against Jordan's ruler

(Newser) - Update: A year after Jordan's Prince Hamzah was accused of plotting to undermine the rule of King Abdullah II and placed under house arrest, the prince has lost his title. He made the announcement Sunday on Twitter, the AP reports, saying he relinquished "prince" because his values "...

'It's 9K Years Old and Everything Was Almost Intact'

Shrine discovered in Jordan desert

(Newser) - A team of Jordanian and French archaeologists said Tuesday that it had found a roughly 9,000-year-old shrine at a remote Neolithic site in Jordan's eastern desert. The ritual complex was found in a Neolithic campsite near large structures known as "desert kites," or mass traps that...

200 Naked People Weren't at Dead Sea for a Swim
200 Naked People Weren't
at Dead Sea for a Swim
in case you missed it

200 Naked People Weren't at Dead Sea for a Swim

Painted and nude, they were part of US artist Spencer Tunick's latest installation on climate change

(Newser) - It's not uncommon to see people in their swim trunks along the shores of the Dead Sea. What is uncommon is hundreds of naked people in white body paint congregating there, but the hordes that gathered over the weekend weren't there to take a dip in the famous...

Pandora Papers Look 'Really Bad' for Jordan's King
Pandora Papers
Look 'Really Bad'
for Jordan's King
THE RUNDOWN

Pandora Papers Look 'Really Bad' for Jordan's King

King Abdullah reportedly used front companies to buy $106M in real estate while citizens struggled

(Newser) - We're learning more about the tax avoidance schemes of the uber-rich courtesy of the Pandora Papers , published Sunday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which are putting Jordan's King Abdullah II in a particularly bad light. The longest-serving monarch in the Arab world, who's ruled Jordan...

Jordan King's Half-Brother Pledges His Loyalty
Jordan's Royal
Family Feud Is Over

Jordan's Royal Family Feud Is Over

'We all must stand behind the king,' pledges former crown prince

(Newser) - The royal feud in Jordan is apparently over. After days of uncertainty, former crown prince Hamzah bin Hussein pledged loyalty to his half-brother, 59-year-old King Abdullah II, on Monday, the palace said. "The interests of the homeland must remain above every consideration. We must all stand behind the king...

A Different Royal Mess, This One With 2 Half Brothers
A Different Royal Feud
Has Serious Consequences
the rundown

A Different Royal Feud Has Serious Consequences

The king of Jordan, a vital US ally, has placed his half brother under house arrest

(Newser) - Headlines about a royal feud erupted over the weekend and continued into Monday, but it's not the royal family most people would think of first. This one involves Jordan, and it's more than just a trivial family spat, especially given the nation's vital role in Mideast security....

Jordan Blames Plot on Former Crown Prince

Government calls conspiracy an attack on the kingdom's security and stability

(Newser) - Jordan implicated Hamzah bin Hussein on Sunday in a plot against the government, saying the former crown prince was working with foreign interests. "These were efforts that threatened Jordan's security and stability," the deputy prime minister said, "and these efforts were foiled." The prince, who'...

Jordan Begins Arrests in Possible Plot Against King

Military visits former crown prince, who denies involvement but criticizes corruption

(Newser) - Jordan ordered scores of arrests Saturday to counter what it called "a threat to the country’s stability" and palace officials described as a broad conspiracy. The former crown prince, Hamzah bin Hussein, was ordered to not leave his home while reports of an attempt to overthrow King Abdullah...

Dogs Were Sent Overseas to Help. A Report Details Their Horrors

State Department probe details serious neglect, terrible conditions for bomb-sniffers in Jordan

(Newser) - A hotline complaint about US bomb-sniffing dogs working overseas jump-started a State Department probe, and the resulting report is a disturbing one. Federal investigators looking into the health and welfare of the canines sent to Jordan—one of several partner nations the US sends specially trained dog to for assistance...

The Rain Fell Hard. Then a Wall of Water, Scrambling Tourists

At least 12 are dead in Jordan after flash floods

(Newser) - The death toll from flash floods in Jordan rose to 12 on Saturday, and the kingdom's main tourist attraction, the ancient city of Petra, was closed for cleanup after what local officials said was the biggest deluge in the area in decades. Friday's floods struck several areas of...

18 Dead After School Bus Swept Away Near Dead Sea

Most were middle school children

(Newser) - A terrifying flash flood in Jordan killed at least 18 people Thursday, most of them middle school children who were on a school bus that was swept away. Authorities say the death toll, which is expected to rise, also includes members of families who were picnicking near the Zara Maeen...

Scientists Find the World's Earliest Bread
In Ancient Fireplace, an
'Exceptional' Food Find
NEW STUDY

In Ancient Fireplace, an 'Exceptional' Food Find

Researchers find the world's oldest bread

(Newser) - At least 4,000 years before the advent of farming, humans were baking bread. Two dozen charred crumbs found in hearths at an ancient hunter-gatherer site in northeastern Jordan have been identified as the world's oldest samples of bread—specifically, a 14,400-year-old flatbread made from wild cereals. That...

Jordan to VP Pence: 'Rebuild Trust' After Jerusalem Pivot

Jordan's King Abdullah hopes for renewed confidence in a two-state solution

(Newser) - Jordan's king appealed Sunday to Vice President Mike Pence to "rebuild trust and confidence" in the possibility of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, following fallout from the Trump administration's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Pence tried to reassure King Abdullah that the...

Don't Discount Kushner's Mideast Peace Push Just Yet

David Ignatius writes that the prospects for Israeli-Arab cooperation aren't so bad

(Newser) - Jared Kushner continued his long-shot quest for Mideast peace on Thursday in meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, but as the AP account of the sessions notes, expectations are low and skepticism high. As they probably should be, writes David Ignatius in the Washington Post . Still, he finds a kernel...

'Marry the Rapist' Law Defeated in Jordan

It joins Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt

(Newser) - Jordan's parliament has repealed a provision in its penal code that allowed a rapist to escape punishment if he married his victim, the AP reports. Cheers erupted from the spectators' gallery as legislators narrowly voted on Tuesday to scrap controversial Article 308. The vote came after an emotional debate...

Disturbing Video Shows Shooting of US Soldiers

Shooter kept firing as soldiers surrendered in November incident, footage shows

(Newser) - After three US soldiers were shot and killed in Jordan in November, the country offered this explanation: A Jordanian guard had opened fire on the American Special Forces soldiers when they failed to stop at the gate of a military base. That claim, however, was subsequently withdrawn, per the AP...

A Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Card for Rapists May Be Eliminated

Jordan's Article 308 allows rapists to marry victims to avoid jail time

(Newser) - Jordan's Cabinet took the first steps to undo a loophole protecting rapists on Sunday by revoking Article 308, a law that allows the criminals to escape punishment by marrying their victims and staying in that marriage for at least three years. Activists are celebrating this victory, with one calling...

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