NATO to establish first-ever Middle East liaison office in Jordan

Jordan’s foreign ministry has announced the establishment of the Middle East’s first NATO liaison office in Amman. (NATO)
Jordan’s foreign ministry has announced the establishment of the Middle East’s first NATO liaison office in Amman. (NATO)
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Updated 11 July 2024
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NATO to establish first-ever Middle East liaison office in Jordan

Jordan’s foreign ministry has announced the establishment of the Middle East’s first NATO liaison office in Amman. (NATO)
  • In a joint statement, the ministry said the office will bring NATO and Jordan closer by enhancing political dialogue and practical cooperation in areas of common interest

LONDON: Jordan’s foreign ministry has announced the establishment of the Middle East’s first NATO liaison office in Amman to strengthen collaborative ties with the military alliance.

In a joint statement, the ministry said the office will bring NATO and Jordan closer by enhancing political dialogue and practical cooperation in areas of common interest between the alliance and Amman.

“It will enable regular engagement between NATO and the Jordanian authorities, thus contributing to a better shared understanding of the national and regional context,” the statement said.

NATO and Jordan said the office will also enable “the development and implementation of partnership programmes and activities, including, among others, conferences, courses, and training programs in areas like strategic analysis, civil emergency planning and preparedness, crisis management, public diplomacy, cyber security, and climate change.”

The statement added that the establishment of the office acknowledged Jordan’s significant role “as a beacon of stability in both regional and global contexts, and as a long-time champion in fighting transnational threats, including terrorism and violent extremism.”

The opening of the office is a natural progression of the NATO-Jordan relationship which will continue to grow, the statement also said.


Communications devices used by Hezbollah detonate across Lebanon, security source, witnesses say

Communications devices used by Hezbollah detonate across Lebanon, security source, witnesses say
Updated 26 sec ago
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Communications devices used by Hezbollah detonate across Lebanon, security source, witnesses say

Communications devices used by Hezbollah detonate across Lebanon, security source, witnesses say
BEIRUT: Communications devices used by Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah detonated late Wednesday afternoon across the country’s south and in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, a security source and a witness said.
The source said it was not clear if the equipment was pagers. At least one of the blasts heard took place near a funeral organized by Hezbollah for those killed the previous day when thousands of pagers used by the group detonated across the country.

Erdogan says Turkiye will deepen ties with East while still facing West

Erdogan says Turkiye will deepen ties with East while still facing West
Updated 36 min 52 sec ago
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Erdogan says Turkiye will deepen ties with East while still facing West

Erdogan says Turkiye will deepen ties with East while still facing West
  • Erdogan said debates over an “axis shift” were unfounded, but that Türkiye had to adapt to new “centers of power” forming in the fields of economy, production, and technology
  • “That is the approach that lies behind our country’s will to expand the basis of dialogue with all of them, from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to BRICS and ASEAN“

ANKARA: President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Türkiye would not stop deepening ties with the East, including the BRICS group of nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), even as it continued to face West.
Türkiye, a NATO member, has in recent months voiced interest in joining the BRICS and SCO groups, both of which include China and Russia. This has stirred US and European fears that Türkiye may be pivoting away from its traditionally Western geopolitical orientation, despite repeated denials from Ankara.
Speaking at an event in Ankara, Erdogan said debates over an “axis shift” were unfounded, but that Türkiye had to adapt to new “centers of power” forming in the fields of economy, production, and technology, while keeping itself open to opportunities with every structure and actor.
“That is the approach that lies behind our country’s will to expand the basis of dialogue with all of them, from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to BRICS and ASEAN,” Erdogan said.
“Of course, our face is turned to the West, but this certainly does not mean that we will turn our backs on the East, that we will ignore the East, or not improve our ties with the East,” he added.
BRICS comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Iran, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. China and Russia, in particular, want to expand the group further as they seek to counter Western economic dominance.
The SCO is a security, political and economic club launched by Moscow, Beijing and Central Asian states in 2001 as a counterweight to Western alliances.


UN rights chief demands accountability for Lebanon pager blasts

UN rights chief demands accountability for Lebanon pager blasts
Updated 46 min 54 sec ago
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UN rights chief demands accountability for Lebanon pager blasts

UN rights chief demands accountability for Lebanon pager blasts
  • “Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals … violates international human rights law,” Volker Turk said
“Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals … violates international human rights law,” Volker Turk said

GENEVA: Those responsible for a deadly wave of explosions across Lebanon targeting paging devices used by members of the Hezbollah militant group “must be held to account,” the UN rights chief said Wednesday.
“Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” Volker Turk said in a statement.

Blinken says Sudan progress threatened by new RSF offensive in Al-Fashir

Blinken says Sudan progress threatened by new RSF offensive in Al-Fashir
Updated 18 September 2024
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Blinken says Sudan progress threatened by new RSF offensive in Al-Fashir

Blinken says Sudan progress threatened by new RSF offensive in Al-Fashir
  • Progress in Sudan is threatened by RSF’s new offensive in Al-Fashir

CAIRO: The progress in Sudan is threatened by a new offensive by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the southwestern city of Al-Fashir, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Wednesday during a visit to Cairo.


Egypt won’t accept security changes on Gaza border, foreign minister says

Egypt won’t accept security changes on Gaza border, foreign minister says
Updated 18 September 2024
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Egypt won’t accept security changes on Gaza border, foreign minister says

Egypt won’t accept security changes on Gaza border, foreign minister says
  • Security on the border, and whether Israel will maintain a troop presence along a 14-km (9-mile) buffer zone known as the Philadelphi Corridor, have become a focal point of months-long talks
  • Israeli troops entered the buffer zone in May as they pursued an offensive around Rafah

CAIRO: Egypt will not accept any changes to the security arrangements that were in place on its border with Gaza before war broke out between Israel and Hamas last October, the Egyptian foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Security on the border, and whether Israel will maintain a troop presence along a 14-km (9-mile) buffer zone known as the Philadelphi Corridor, have become a focal point of months-long talks aimed at securing a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza.
Israeli troops entered the buffer zone in May as they pursued an offensive around Rafah.
Egypt, which is a mediator in ceasefire talks, says Israel must withdraw and that a Palestinian presence needs to be restored at the Rafah crossing between Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Gaza.
“Egypt reiterates its position, it rejects any military presence along the opposite side of the border crossing and the aforementioned (Philadelphi) corridor,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told reporters during a press conference in Cairo with US counterpart Antony Blinken.
Abdelatty also said that any escalation, including blasts that wounded Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon on Tuesday, would create hurdles for the completion of a Gaza ceasefire deal.