AMMAN: For the first time in nearly three years, Jordan has allowed the entry of humanitarian aid for displaced Syrians in the Rukban camp, located near the northeastern border with Syria.

On Friday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights cited activists saying they had seen the aid entering Rukban from Jordan.

The camp, according to the UN, is home to an estimated 50,000 Syrians (10,000 families) who remain stranded at the desert facility.

TEHRAN: Iran has arrested 13 suspected robbers accused of making off with the contents of more than 160 safe boxes from a bank branch in the capital, the judiciary said Friday.
“Thirteen suspects in the robbery of Bank Melli were arrested, and large quantities of stolen property have been discovered,” Tehran’s chief prosecutor Ali Salehi said, quoted by the judiciary’s Mizan Online news agency.
The state-owned lender said thieves had taken advantage of a public holiday on Sunday to break into the branch on Enghelab Street, a major artery in Tehran.

DUBAI: The creation of a joint development fund with France to assist Lebanon is the latest in a string of announcements signaling a ramp-up in Saudi aid to Middle East and North African countries being pushed deeper into debt by conflict and crisis.

The fund, unveiled in April, made an initial $30 million pledge to support food security in Lebanon and the country’s crippled health sector, according to a statement from the French embassy.

BEIRUT: Lebanon is hoping a summer influx of tourists and visitors will help revive its flagging economy, with the return of live performances at the Baalbeck International Festival expected to be a major drawcard.

The festival, a global cultural highlight for more than six decades, was held virtually in 2020 and 2021 because of pandemic restrictions, but previews of its Baalbeck Castle line-up between July 8-17 have attracted more than 17 million views on social media.

LONDON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that Iran is risking greater isolation and heightened tensions after the country removed cameras meant to monitor its nuclear program.
Iran’s actions threatened the possible restoration of the 2015 six-party nuclear deal, Blinken said in a statement.
“The only outcome of such a path will be a deepening nuclear crisis and further economic and political isolation for Iran,” he said.