Middle East Headlines

AMMAN — Arab Jordan Investment Bank (AJIB) and Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) entered into an agreement on Sunday for the acquisition of Standard Chartered's business in the Kingdom, following the Central Bank of Jordan's approval, according ...

CAIRO — Archaeologists in Egypt have discovered more than 2,000 ancient mummified sheep heads left as offerings in a temple to the pharaoh Ramses II, the tourism and antiquities ministry said on Sunday. Mummies of dogs, goats, cows, gazelles and mon...

OM ESHR, Sudan — As generations of Sudanese have done before her, Wissal Abdel Ghany crouched next to a fire to prepare a traditional drink, a thirst-quenching favourite enjoyed during the fasting month of Ramadan. In Sudan, the arduously made "...

LOS ANGELES — Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets made a statement on Saturday, downing Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks 129-106 in a battle of NBA conference leaders. In a game touted as a potential NBA Finals preview, two-time and rei...

By Nathalie Khalaf Holistic Counsellor I've had many clients seek my help to change or control the emotional state they find themselves in. They reach a point when they feel more emotional and don't understand why. When I ask them what they mean, ...

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday, during a session chaired by Speaker Ahmad Safadi and attended by Cabinet members, approved draft amendments to the 2022 Companies Law as submitted from the Chamber's Economy and Investment Committee. The valida...

AMMAN — In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the inauguration of Queen Alia International Airport's (QAIA) terminal building by His Majesty King Abdullah, Airport International Group (AIG) hosted a ceremony supported by Minister of Public...

AMMAN — A 28-year-old defendant, who was sentenced by the State Security Court (SSC) to over three years in prison for selling illicit drugs to an undercover agent, recently had his verdict upheld by a higher court. The defendant was convicted by th...

BEIRUT — The death toll from retaliatory US strikes on Iran-linked groups in Syria following a deadly drone attack has risen to 19, a war monitor said Saturday, as Washington insisted it is not seeking conflict with Tehran. Further rocket attacks by...

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Tens of thousands of worshippers attended Friday prayers at Jerusalem's Al Aqsa Mosque Compound, the first in the holy month of Ramadan, AFP correspondents said, amid heightened tensions in the region. Authorities said the p...

NEW YORK — Donald Trump created a "false expectation" of his imminent arrest, the New York prosecutor investigating the ex-president over hush money said on Thursday, as tensions build over a possible indictment. Manhattan District Attorney ...

PARIS — French unions on Thursday staged a new day of disruption against President Emmanuel Macron's pension reform after he defiantly vowed to implement the change, with refineries at a standstill and mass transport cancellations. Interrupted s...

AMMAN — Changes in the operating hours of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) have sparked anger among commuters in Amman, especially students and private sector employees. The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) announced on Wednesday that the Amman Bus and t...

AMMAN — Awareness and digital literacy empower the general public against cyber attacks, experts say. A total of 1,326 cyber security incidents targeting government institutions and vital sectors were recorded in 2022, according to a report from the...

AMMAN — Despite ongoing assurances from the authorities that the prices of food items will not increase during Ramadan, prices of several food items, including vegetables and fruits, have already increased on the first day of Ramadan, according to J...

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The Israeli parliament approved on Thursday legislation restricting grounds for declaring a premier unfit for office, a move the opposition has called a "personal law" that serves Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The v...

BEIJING — A massive new gas pipeline to China could help reduce Russia's reliance on European buyers, but analysts say the project reveals a growing imbalance between the longtime strategic allies. Beijing emerged as an economic lifeline for Mos...

PARIS — Plastic pollution in the world's oceans has reached "unprecedented levels" over the past 15 years, a recent study has found, calling for a legally binding international treaty to stop the harmful waste. Ocean plastic pollution is...

PARIS — Three months on from agonising defeat in the World Cup final in Doha, France begins a new era with several veterans having retired and Kylian Mbappe handed the captain's armband for the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. The aftermath of tha...

AMMAN — Winners of Al Hussein Awards for Creativity and Excellence were honoured by Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Adel Sharkas during a ceremony held in Amman on Tuesday. Adel Sharkas, who also chairs the board of directors of the King Husse...

DUBAI — Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognised government reached an agreement Monday to exchange more than 880 prisoners, the United Nations confirmed, while urging the two parties, at war since 2014, to continue talks. The ag...

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — Israel's settler movement celebrated Tuesday after parliament annulled part of a law banning them from residing in areas of the occupied West Bank the then Israeli government evacuated in 2005. That year the government of Ar...

AMMAN — Japan's Ambassador to Jordan Okuyama Jiro on Tuesday visited a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school and health centre in Baqaa Palestine Refugee Camp. The ambassador was briefed by...

AMMAN — Costly dowries, coupled with difficult economic conditions, are the main reasons many attribute to a decline in marriages in Jordan. The Kingdom witnessed a remarkable decline in marriages in 2022 compared with 2021, down by 15.2 per cent, o...

KABUL — A strong earthquake lasting for at least 30 seconds was felt across much of Afghanistan, Pakistan and parts of India Tuesday night, with the United States Geological Survey(USGS) putting the magnitude at 6.5. "It was a terrifying tremor....

WASHINGTON — The US banking sector is "stabilising"; after the recent failures of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank rattled the industry, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will tell a summit on Tuesday, according to prepared remarks....

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — The white-coloured humanoid "Garmi" does not look much different from a typical robot — it stands on a platform with wheels and is equipped with a black screen on which two blue circles acting as eyes ...

PARIS — The Women's Champions League knockout stage got underway on Tuesday with Chelsea and Arsenal both hoping to become the first English team to lift the trophy since the Gunners in 2007. Back then, when Arsenal beat Umea of Sweden in the fi...

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — The Palestinian Authority on Monday called an Israeli minister's remarks denying the existence of the Palestinian people "conclusive evidence" of the Israeli government's "racist ideology"....

AMMAN — More than 15,000 students from 250 schools around the Kingdom have taken part in the Enterprise Business Challenge (EBC), implemented for the 12th year in a row by INJAZ, a local non-profit in Jordan, in partnership with the Prince's Tru...

AMMAN — In an effort to promote sustainable fashion, Jordanian Haneen Khalaf, an architect and a multidisciplinary designer, is turning organic waste into wearable biomaterials. Instead of shopping for fabric to bring her designs to life, Khalaf eit...

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma on Monday said that women's struggles and sacrifices should always be commemorated and glorified. The princess's remarks were made during the Jordanian National Commission for Women's (JNCW) commemoration of In...

AMMAN — Jordan and Greece enjoy "excellent" political relations, share common values and the peoples of two countries have developed close ties due to the many similarities in their culture, according to Greek Ambassador to Jordan Eleftheria...

AMMAN — Jordan marks the 55th anniversary of Al Karamah Battle Tuesday, in which Jordanian soldiers repelled an Israeli attack on the town of Karamah, or "dignity" in Arabic, in the Jordan Valley. Eighty-six Jordanian soldiers lost their liv...

SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-un led two days of military drills "simulating a nuclear counterattack", including the launch of a ballistic missile, state media reported on Monday. Kim expressed satisfaction over the weekend drills, wh...

MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Monday that Russia was open to discussing China's proposals to end the fighting in Ukraine at the start of high-stakes talks in the Kremlin. The summit comes as China s...

A niche manufacturer in an age of ever expanding, but little differentiated crossover-heavy model lines, US automaker Chrysler currently fields no SUV-like vehicle, but instead two distinct, more traditional models that it does well, including the chisell...

LONDON — Global bank shares took another beating on Monday despite a UBS takeover of embattled Swiss rival Credit Suisse and actions by financial authorities aimed at calming investors fearing a broader crisis. UBS agreed to take over Credit Suisse ...

HUWARA, Palestinian Territories — A shooting attack in the northern West Bank town of Huwara on Sunday injured two Israelis, the army and rescuers said, as Israeli and Palestine officials held talks in Egypt over a surge in violence. The attack in H...

BAGHDAD — Iran's top security official on Sunday signed a deal with Iraqi authorities for "protection" of their common border, the Iraqi prime minister's office said, months after Tehran struck Kurdish opposition groups in Iraq's...

TEHRAN — Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has favourably received an invitation from Saudi Arabia's King Salman to visit the kingdom following the reconciliation deal between the two countries, an Iranian official said on Sunday. "In a letter...

SEOUL — North Korea fired a short-range ballistic missile on Sunday, Seoul's military said, the fourth show of force in a week as South Korea and the United States stage major military drills. Seoul and Washington have ramped up defence cooperat...

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma, president of the Jordanian Association for Boy Scouts and Girl Guides (JABSGG), on Sunday attended the silver jubilee celebration of the International Scout and Guide Fellowship of Orthodox Christians (DESMOS), which incl...

AMMAN — Jordan is working with other Arab countries to prepare a strategy to regulate social media to protect users from harmful and illegal content, according to Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul. The Kingdom was officially tasked...

AMMAN — As part of its efforts to promote private sector-led recycling and sustainable waste management, the USAID Recycling in Jordan project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Greater Amman Municipality, hosted the Promoting Pa...

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Red Bull's Sergio Perez flexed his street circuit muscles with dramatic effect on Sunday by storming to victory ahead of teammate Max Verstappen at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The 33-year-old Mexican came home 5.355 seco...

ZURICH — UBS was up against the clock Sunday in talks to finalise a mammoth takeover of its troubled rival Swiss bank Credit Suisse and reassure investors before the markets reopen. Switzerland's biggest bank UBS is being urged by the authoritie...

By Dr Tareq Rasheed International Consultant & Trainer We are essentially made of light and energy. The latter is defined as the ability to achieve a certain amount of work in a specific frame of time. Some people have a higher amount of energy and thus c...

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Israeli forces on Thursday killed four Palestinians including a teenager in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said, the latest deadly raid on Jenin. The Israeli forces said they "neutrali...

AMMAN — International humanitarian organisation, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Jordan, with support from the Citi Foundation, launched the third edition of the "Resilient Futures" programme. The programme aims to assist young p...