Jordan

AMMAN, July 3 (Reuters) - Jordan on Sunday dismissed senior officials at the country's main Red Sea port of Aqaba port after finding gross negligence was behind the deaths of thirteen people following a chlorine gas leak at a major berth.

The deaths and injury of over 300 workers came after a crane loading chlorine containers onto a ship last Monday dropped one onto the quay, causing it to explode. 

30 June 2022; MEMO: There are no plans for a military alliance in the region that includes Israel, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Al-Safadi told Al Jazeera on Tuesday.

"This issue is not on the agenda of the US President Joe Biden's visit to the region," Al-Safadi said, stressing: "There is no Arab alliance that Israel will be part of. There have been no proposals for such a thing."

AQABA, Jordan (AP) — Jordan’s prime minister said Tuesday that he has instructed authorities to launch an investigation into the deadly blast the previous day at the Red Sea port of Aqaba that killed at least 13 people.

A crane loading chlorine tanks onto a ship on Monday dropped one of them, causing an explosion of toxic yellow smoke. Along with those killed, some 250 were sickened, authorities said.

27 June 2022; MEMO: Ten people died and 251 were injured in a toxic gas leak from a storage tank at Jordan's Aqaba port, state television reported on Monday, as authorities called on residents to shut windows and stay indoors, Reuters reports.

The leak came after a tank filled with toxic gas fell while being transported, state news agency, Petra, said, citing the spokesperson of the Public Security Directorate.

AMMAN, Jun 23 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan and Saudi Arabia, yesterday, urged Israel to stop all “illegal actions” that undermine the two-state solution and the chances of achieving a fair peace.

In a joint declaration, issued at the conclusion of a visit to Jordan by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, the two countries stressed the need to launch an international effort to realise a political horizon to resolve the Palestinian cause based on the two-state solution.

22 June 2022; MEMO: Jordan is to buy water from Israel in a bid to ease shortages in the Hashemite Kingdom. Moreover, explained Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammed Al-Najjar, the government will not expropriate land on which illegal wells have been sunk.

"Many wells are located in remote areas," Al-Najjar was quoted as saying by the Jordan News. "If they had been close to the water networks, though, we would have taken possession of them."

22 June 2022; MEMO: Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, arrived on Tuesday in Jordan as ties thaw after years of frayed relations due to divergent views on regional conflicts and unfulfilled pledges of aid, officials said, Reuters reports.

The first such visit in years by the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia comes at a time, officials say, when Jordan's economy is struggling with the economic knock-on effects of the Ukraine war.

AMMAN, Jun 16 (NNN-PETRA) – King Abdullah II of Jordan, yesterday, called for more cooperation between Jordan and the European Union (EU), when he held a meeting with visiting European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, according to a Royal Hashemite Court statement.

During the meeting, the Jordanian king stressed the need to end the violence threatening regional stability and security.

AMMAN, May 23 (NNN-PETRA) – Jordan yesterday condemned an Israeli court decision, allowing “extremists” to pray at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem.

Jordan’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Haitham Abu Al-Foul, said that, the decision is null and void, which “lacks legal status under international law that does not recognise Israeli jurisdiction on territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem,” according to a ministry statement.

22 May 2022; MEMO: Four people were killed in an attempt to smuggle large amounts of drugs from Syria to Jordan, the kingdom's armed forces said on Sunday,  Reuters reports.

Some smugglers were also wounded while others escaped by going back to Syria, it said.

The Jordanian armed forces did not specify who killed or wounded the people involved.