SEBLINE, Lebanon: Nearly a week after a cease-fire agreement between warring factions in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp brought a fragile peace, hundreds of displaced residents see no immediate prospects of return.
Some have lost their houses, while others do not trust that the calm will hold. For many, it’s not the first time they have been forced to flee their homes.
Among them is Munira Abu Aamsha, 63, who left the camp near the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon with her family, ducking from alleyway to alleyway under a rain of bullets.

NEW YORK: Rapprochement between the US and Iran offers an avenue for regional peace, Oman’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi added that the recent prisoner exchange between Washington and Tehran would lead to further dialogue and closer ties in the coming months.

He was addressing the inaugural Middle East Global Summit in New York, organized by Semafor and Al-Monitor, and attended by Arab News.

NEW YORK: The Middle East is at a “critical crossroads,” but a new narrative based on peace and prosperity can be created through economic investment, Jordan’s King Abdullah II said on Wednesday.

The country is battling the twin threats of surging numbers of refugees and a booming drug- and weapon-smuggling trade along the Syrian border, he warned.

The king was the keynote speaker at the inaugural Middle East Global Summit in New York, organized by Al-Monitor and Semafor, and attended by Arab News.

NEW YORK: The UAE is moving away from traditional geopolitical diplomacy to geoeconomic strategies that focus on joint economic initiatives to benefit the country and its regional and international partners, the senior diplomatic adviser to the president said on Wednesday.
“The region needs stability, but you can’t promote stability to people who are struggling in their daily lives. You have to also talk about prosperity … Stability is only for the rich,” Dr. Anwar Gargash told the inaugural Global Middle East Summit in New York.

NEW YORK: Normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel is central in the US administration’s agenda in the Middle East, but former representatives have called on it to heed its allies.

Addressing the inaugural Middle East Global Summit in New York, attended by Arab News, the US assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs said Washington is looking to increase integration.