AMMAN: Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, and Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner-general of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, met on Thursday to discuss the funding crisis the agency is facing.

They reviewed targeted strategies to ensure the necessary regional and international financial support for the agency and plug the gap in its finances so that it can continue to provide vital assistance to more than 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in the five areas in which it operates, the Jordan News Agency reported.

BRUSSELS: The EU said on Thursday it had established a “new framework for restrictive measures” in view of Iran’s military support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and of Syria’s regime.

This new framework prohibits the export from the EU to Iran of components used in the construction and production of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or UAVs, the EU said in a statement.

WAD MADANI, Sudan: Air strikes, street battles and artillery fire shook Sudan’s capital Khartoum and the major southern city of El-Obeid on Thursday, witnesses said.

“Artillery fire targeted paramilitary bases of the Rapid Support Forces,” said a resident of El-Obeid, 350 km southwest of Khartoum.

Fighting between the RSF and the regular army, led by feuding generals, has killed at least 3,000 people and displaced more than 3.3 million since April 15.

LONDON: On July 16, the people of Damascus awoke to the shocking news that fire had torn through the city’s historical district overnight, destroying the palace of Abdulrahman Pasha Al-Yusuf in the Old City’s Souk Sarouja.

The blaze had started in a house adjacent to the palace at around 3 a.m. local time before quickly spreading, according to state media agency SANA. Local reports suggested it was sparked by an electrical fault, but social media users have speculated it may have been arson.

AMMAN: Visitors are reportedly flocking in large numbers to the northern city of Ajloun in the highlands of northern Jordan, where a newly opened cable car ride is giving people the chance to experience stunning panoramic views of the mountainous forest landscape.
The Ajloun Teleferique, which was created by royal decree, is the first project of its kind in Jordan. Located about 70 kilometers northwest of Amman, it opened to the public in mid-June and immediately proved incredibly popular with visitors from across the country.