Jordan’s PM says displacement of Palestinians ‘red line’ violating peace treaty

Jordan’s PM says displacement of Palestinians ‘red line’ violating peace treaty
Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh warned that if displacement of Palestinians occurs, the peace treaty would become meaningless. (File/AFP)
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Updated 27 November 2023
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Jordan’s PM says displacement of Palestinians ‘red line’ violating peace treaty

Jordan’s PM says displacement of Palestinians ‘red line’ violating peace treaty
  • The prime minister stressed King Abdullah’s longstanding support for a two-state solution

DUBAI: Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh called the displacement of Palestinians a “red line” that constitutes a fundamental violation of the peace treaty between his country and Israel, The Jordan Times reported on Monday.

Khasawneh highlighted the treaty’s key provision defending against forced population movements, stating that such displacement would dissolve the Palestinian issue and threaten Jordan’s national security.

Khasawneh warned that if displacement of Palestinians occurs, the peace treaty would become meaningless.

He affirmed Jordan’s support for Egypt’s rejection of displacing Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, fearing a precedent of forced removal in the West Bank.

Khasawneh stressed King Abdullah’s longstanding support for a two-state solution and warned against neglecting it, foreseeing a region plunged into violence.

Jordan considers any attempt to alter the status quo in Al-Aqsa Mosque as another “red line” with consequences for crossing it, the prime minister warned.

Khasawneh said Jordan was exploring options to secure alternatives in the event that the supply of liquefied natural gas from Israel is halted.

He said Jordan was talking with other Arab countries, while affirming Amman’s commitment to contractual obligations with Israel.

Although no indication of a gas supply halt exists, Jordan maintains a gas reserve sufficient for 65 days, evaluating alternative scenarios amidst ongoing Israeli military operations in Gaza.


Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post

Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post
Updated 27 min 18 sec ago
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Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post

Iran former top diplomat Zarif returns to VP post

TEHRAN: Iran’s former foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Tuesday announced he was returning to his post as vice president to Masoud Pezeshkian after submitting his resignation earlier this month.
Pezeshkian named Zarif as his vice president for strategic affairs on August 1, but the former top diplomat resigned less than two weeks later, citing his disappointment with the line-up in the 19-member cabinet.
He also said he faced pressure because his children hold dual US citizenship.
Conservatives in Iran have criticized Pezeshkian for choosing Zarif, who became known on the international stage for his vital role in negotiating the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
“After the follow-ups and consultations conducted by the president and with his written order, I will continue to exercise my duties as Strategic Vice President,” Zarif said in a post on X.
Zarif — who attended on Tuesday the new cabinet’s first meeting with Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — also praised the new cabinet in his post.
Last week, all the members of Iran’s new cabinet were granted a full vote of confidence from parliament, marking the first time in over two decades a president got all his nominees through the body.
Zarif, who has represented Iran in the United Nations, served as the country’s top diplomat between 2013 and 2021 under moderate president Hassan Rouhani.
The 2015 nuclear deal was effectively torpedoed three years later when the US unilaterally pulled out, but it helped cement Zarif’s reputation as a combative negotiator who nonetheless opened Iran up to the West.


A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says

A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says
Updated 26 min 25 sec ago
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A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says

A dam collapse in eastern Sudan kills at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency says
  • The flooding has either destroyed or damaged the homes of 50,000 people living in the areas west of the dam

CAIRO: The collapse of the Arbaat Dam in Sudan’s eastern Red Sea state over the weekend flooded nearby homes and killed at least 30 people following heavy rains, a UN agency said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said late Monday, citing local officials, that the actual number of fatalities from the collapse on Sunday might be higher. Additionally, about 70 villages around the dam were affected by the flash flooding, including 20 villages that have been destroyed.
The Arbaat Dam, which is about 38 kilometers (nearly 25 miles) northwest of Port Sudan, was massively damaged because of heavy rains. In areas west of the dam, the flooding either destroyed or damaged the homes of 50,000 people — 77 percent of the total population living there. Those affected urgently need food, water and shelter, OCHA warned, adding that damage in eastern parts of the dam is still being assessed.
More than 80 boreholes collapsed because of the flooding, OCHA said citing officials, while 10,000 heads of livestock are missing, and 70 schools have been either damaged or destroyed.
Heavy rain and flooding across Sudan this month impacted more than 317,000 people. Of those impacted, 118,000 people have been displaced, exacerbating one of the world’s biggest displacement crises due to the ongoing war in the country.
Tuesday marks 500 days since Sudan plunged into war after fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF.
The conflict began in the capital, Khartoum, and raged across Sudan, killing thousands of people, destroying civilian infrastructure, and pushing many to the brink of famine. More than 10 million people were forcibly displaced to find safety, according to the UN
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement Tuesday that “this is a shameful moment” for international humanitarian organizations, which for more than 16 months, “have failed to provide an adequate response to the country’s escalating medical needs — from catastrophic child malnutrition to widespread disease outbreaks.”
“At the same time, heavy restrictions from both warring parties have drastically limited the ability to deliver humanitarian aid,” MSF said.
Abdirahman Ali, CARE’s Sudan country director warned in a statement Tuesday that the war “shattered” the health care system, “leaving countless without care.”
More than 75 percent of health care systems have been destroyed since the war began, according to a World Health Organization estimate in July.


US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank

US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank
Updated 3 sec ago
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US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank

US backs UN bid to resolve dispute over Libya Central Bank
  • Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi

TRIPOLI: The United States gave its backing Tuesday to UN efforts to resolve differences between Libya’s rival administrations over the mangement of the central bank without cutting off vital oil income.

The US embassy said the move by the UN Support Mission in Libya “offers a path forward to resolve the crisis” sparked by the eastern administration’s announcement on Monday that it was suspending operations at all oil fields and export terminals under its control.

In a statement late Monday, UNSMIL said it was “convening an emergency meeting for all parties involved” in the crisis.

It also called for “immediately lifting force majeure on oil fields and refraining from using the country’s primary revenue source for political ends.”

Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

It remains divided between the UN-recognized government in Tripoli led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and the rival administration in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Most of its oil fields are located in regions controlled by Haftar, but oil revenues and the state budget are managed by the Central Bank based in Tripoli.

On Monday, Libya’s eastern-based administration said it was shutting down oil fields and terminals it controls in response to what it said were attempts by the western-based government to seize control of the Central Bank.

UNSMIL said “resolving this emerging crisis is an urgent necessity” and called for measures to protect the Central Bank’s employees from “threats and arbitrary arrests.”

On August 18, the bank’s head of information technology was kidnapped, and the bank said it was suspending its operations until his release later the same day.

A week earlier, Libyan media reported that armed men had besieged the bank in a bid to force the resignation of its governor, Seddik Al-Kabir, who has faced mounting criticism from people close to Dbeibah over its management of oil resources and the state budget.

On Monday morning, the eastern-based administration said an “outlaw group” close to the Tripoli authorities had forcibly taken over the bank.

Reports later said that the Presidential Council, which is close to Dbeibah, had established a commission tasked with leading a “transition of powers” which had installed a new bank board.


Iran’s supreme leader opens door to negotiations with United States over Tehran’s nuclear program

Iran’s supreme leader opens door to negotiations with United States over Tehran’s nuclear program
Updated 27 August 2024
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Iran’s supreme leader opens door to negotiations with United States over Tehran’s nuclear program

Iran’s supreme leader opens door to negotiations with United States over Tehran’s nuclear program
  • Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks set clear red lines for any talks

DUBAI: Iran’s supreme leader opened the door Tuesday to renewed negotiations with the United States over his country’s rapidly advancing nuclear program, telling its civilian government there was “no barrier” to engaging with its “enemy.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s remarks set clear red lines for any talks taking place under the government of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian and renewed his warnings that America wasn’t to be trusted.
But his comments mirror those around the time of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which saw Tehran’s nuclear program greatly curtailed in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
“We do not have to pin our hope to the enemy. For our plans, we should not wait for approval by the enemies,” Khamenei said in a video broadcast by state television. “It is not contradictory to engage the same enemy in some places, there’s no barrier.”
Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, also warned Pezeshkian’s Cabinet, “Do not trust the enemy.”
Khamenei, 85, has occasionally urged talks or dismissed them with the US after then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the deal.


Tunisian court allows Mekki to return to presidential race

Tunisian court allows Mekki to return to presidential race
Updated 33 min 25 sec ago
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Tunisian court allows Mekki to return to presidential race

Tunisian court allows Mekki to return to presidential race

TUNIS:  Tunisian court on Tuesday upheld an appeal by prominent opposition politician Abdellatif Mekki, allowing him to resume his bid for the presidency in an election expected on Oct. 6, judicial and political sources told Reuters.
The electoral commission had excluded Mekki from the race due to what it said was a lack of popular endorsements. A judicial official, Faycel Boguira, told Reuters that the court’s decision was final and could not be appealed.
Tunisia’s administrative court will issue further rulings this week regarding other politicians who have filed appeals after the commission also rejected their candidacy papers. They include Mondher Zenaidi, Imed Daimi and Abir Moussi.
The court’s decision adds Mekki, head of the Action and Achievement Party, to a list of accepted candidates that also includes the incumbent, President Kais Saied, and politicians Ayachi Zammel and Zouhair Maghzaoui.
Mekki was a prominent official in the Islamist Ennahda party but left to found a rival party in 2022. However, he still enjoys widespread support among supporters of Ennahda, one of Tunisia’s largest political parties.
“The court decision is fair and highlights the image of the administrative court, known for its integrity even in the darkest periods in Tunisia’s history,” Ahmed Nafati, Mekki’s campaign manager, told Reuters.
Tunisian opposition parties, politicians and human rights groups have accused the authorities of using “arbitrary restrictions” and intimidation to help ensure the re-election of Saied.
They say the electoral commission is not neutral and is seeking to eliminate all serious competitors to pave the way for Saied’s victory. The commission denies the accusations.
Saied, who dissolved parliament and seized control of all powers in 2021 in a move described by the opposition as a coup, said last year “he would not hand over the country to non-patriots.”