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Entries in King Abdullah of Jordan (21)

Sunday
Mar312013

Mali (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Suicide Bombing in Timbuktu

See also Syria Live Coverage: Getting the Story Wrong on US Intervention


1516 GMT: Egypt. Prosecutors have released political satirist and TV host Bassem Youssef on LE15,000 ($2,142) bail after hours of questioning.

Youssef is accused of insulting President Morsi and denigrating Islam on his TV show.

1509 GMT: Mali. At least three Malian soldiers have been injured in fighting today in Timbuktu, a day after insurgents killed two troops and injured another in attacks including a suicide bombing (see 0853 GMT).

A military spokesman said, "The fighting is heavy and it is ongoing. We are in the process of encircling them."

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Thursday
Jan242013

Jordan (and Beyond) Live Coverage: A Parliamentary Election --- But What Does It Mean?

Election queue in Jordan on Wednesday (Photo: Khalil Mazraawi/AFP)

See also Syria Live Coverage: A Growing Crisis Over Food?
Wednesday's Israel (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Netanyahu Claims Narrow Victory


1530 GMT: Jordan. Opposition candidates have won a significant minority of the seats in Parliamentary elections, despite a boycott by some oppositon groups.

Initial results released by the Independent Electoral Commission had 18 opposition Islamists winning seats in the 150-seat Parliament. About a dozen leftists affiliated with pan-Arab nationalist groups, who are vocal critics of the Government. Fourteen victors from a centrist party are expected to lean toward the opposition rather than the Government in the legislature.

While supporters of King Abdullah claimed the majority of the seats, their vote total was far short of that in 2010.

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Wednesday
Jan232013

Israel (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Netanyahu Claims Narrow Victory


1700 GMT: Palestine. A 21-year-old Palestinian woman died after being shot in the face by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank today.

Lubna Hanash was killed in a shooting outside a college near Al-Arrub refugee camp, eight kilometres (five miles) north of Hebron, medics said.

Witnesses said a civilian car with Israeli plates stopped on the main Hebron-Bethlehem road in the southern West Bank and two men wearing military fatigues got out and began shooting towards a nearby Palestinian college. Medics said another two people were injured by gunshot wounds.

A military spokeswoman said troops on a routine patrol had been "confronted by Palestinians with Molotov cocktails" and opened fire in self-defence, wounding several of them.

Meanwhile, a 15-year-old Palestinian who was hit in the face by Israeli gunfire last Friday died of his injuries, an Israeli hospital spokeswoman told AFP.

Saleh Amarin had been seriously hurt by a bullet fired by Israeli troops during clashes in Aida refugee camp, north of Bethlehem.

The two deaths raised to six the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli gunfire since 10 January.

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Monday
Jan212013

Jordan Feature: The Kingdom's "Syria Problem" (Pelham)

Zaatari Refugee CampAs the uprising in Syria takes on an increasingly sectarian cast, Jordan has become a crucial center for the Islamist opposition — fighters, regime defectors, and their supporters, who speak of replacing the secular-Alawite regime with a new government that brings a Sunni majority to power. More extremist groups, like Jabhat al-Nasra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate based in and around Aleppo that wants to establish a caliphate, have strengthened their numbers with Jordanian recruits in the south, and are fighting to take the capital first. And while Jordan’s own secular monarchy contends with hundreds of thousands of newly arrived Syrian refugees, it is fearful that the conflict is also creating a powerful cause for its own restless Islamists.

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Wednesday
Nov142012

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: New Opposition Coalition Gathers International Support

Israeli military video of the airstrike that killed senior Hamas military commander Ahmed al-Jabari

See also Israel-Palestine Opinion: Why Obama's Re-election Offers Renewed Hope for an Agreement
Tuesday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Fighting Escalates Near Damascus and in East


Today's live coverage is closed. Follow the story at Thursday's Israel-Palestine Live Coverage: Day 2 of Operation Pillar of Cloud


2228 GMT: Israel-Palestine. The number of rockets fired at Israel may wind up being in the hundreds (it's too early, but clearly many dozens have already been fired), yet the Israel Defense Forces are confident that their missile defense, Iron Dome, is working:

2220 GMT: Israel-Palestine. AlAkhbar reports:

Below are the names of Palestinians in Gaza who have been killed so far in this latest attack by Israel:

1. Ahmed al-Jaabari - Hamas leader - 52 years old

2. Mohammed al-Hams - 28 years old

3. Mohammed Kusaih - 18 years old

4. Esam Abu Meza - 19 years old

5. Heba al-Mashharawi - 19 years old

6. Renan Yousif Arafat - 3 years old

7. Omar al-Mashharawi - 11 months old

8. Mahmoud Abu Sawaween - 62 years old

The death toll is expected to rise even further.

More than 50 have been injured.

Many of the victims appear to be children:

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Tuesday
Oct232012

Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: The UN Talks Cease-Fire --- Is Anyone Listening?

The devastastion in the Khalidiya section of Homs


See also Israel-Palestine Live Coverage (23 October): Gaza, Settlements, Iran, and Elections
Monday's Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: "Revolution Was Won When Wall of Fear Was Broken Down"

1709 GMT: Kuwait. Last Thursday, former MPs Bader Al-Dahoum, Falah Al-Sawwagh, and Khaled Al-Tahous were arrested and charged of criticising the Emir at an opposition gathering on 10 October. The following picture was taken shortly after their arrest:

Today, they appeared in court with shaved heads, wearing prison uniforms:

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Wednesday
Oct102012

Syria (and Beyond) Live: Regime Advances in Homs, But Insurgents Take Key Town

2008 GMT: Turkey/Syria. According to Turkish reports, weapons equipment was also found on the planes (updates below):

2003 GMT: Turkey/Syria. No weapons, but military communications equipment, we found on the plane detained by Turkey (see updates below), according to a Turkish journalist:

1910 GMT: Syria. 164 people have been killed by the Assad regime so far today, according to the Local Coordination Committees:

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Sunday
Oct072012

Jordan Video Discussion: An Escalation of Tension? (Al Jazeera English)


Amid recent protests and King Abdullah's dissolution of Parliament for a November election, Al Jazeera English's Inside Story hosts a discussion of the political situation. 

The guests are Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh; Toujan al-Faisal, a former member of the Jordanian Parliament; Ian Black, the Middle East editor of The Guardian; and Adnan Hayajneh, a professor of political science at the Hashemite University.

Friday
Oct052012

Jordan Opinion: Is the Monarchy Courting Trouble?  (Libdeh)

Protest in Amman, September 2012


Jordan has the potential to transition to democracy in a more peaceful and organised way by following the Moroccan example. In 2011, the Moroccan monarchy agreed to transfer more powers to parliament, including the authority to form cabinets. This ensured the survival of the monarchy and averted further unrest and violence there.

Unfortunately, it does not appear as if Jordan's king has the vision or the courage to follow this path --- but failure to learn the lessons of the Arab spring may mean that the Jordanian people will make that decision for him.

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Tuesday
Sep042012

Jordan Feature: The Government's Threat to Internet Freedom (Tarawneh)

Successive governments have consistently accused Jordanian news sites of practicing irresponsible journalism, publishing slanderous articles, and partaking in character assassinations as well as blackmail. However, for the average Jordanian Internet user, such sites represent a vital resource of fairly unfiltered, local breaking news, as well as a platform for discussion, which may help explain the antagonistic relationship between the state and the budding, unregulated sector.

Yet, what would push Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh's government (which has recently passed its 100-day mark and faces upcoming parliamentary elections) to initiate such a controversial legislative move now?

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