Christians in strife-torn Syria face the same sort of dangers as their Muslim counterparts but are not being specially targeted in the conflict, a Chaldean bishop from the Syrian city of Aleppo said on Wednesday.
Antoine Audo, who is attending a three-day regional conference of the Catholic charity Caritas in Jordan, told Agence France Presse that Christians in Syria are also not being forcibly displaced but are trying to find refuge elsewhere due to instability in the country.
Full StoryMore than four million people inside Syria are in desperate need of aid, up sharply from 2.5 million in September, the UN's humanitarian agency said Tuesday.
"We are watching a humanitarian tragedy unfold before our eyes," Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, told reporters in Geneva.
Full StoryJordan's King Abdullah II visits Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Syrian conflict, the palace said on Monday.
"The king will visit Moscow on Tuesday to discuss with the Russian president the latest developments in Syria," it said in a brief statement on Monday.
Full StoryThousands of people in Sunni-majority areas of Iraq called on Friday for the government's fall amid a spike in violence that has accompanied a political stalemate two months before provincial polls.
The demonstrations, which have been ongoing for nearly two months, have steadfastly urged for the ouster of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki while decrying the alleged targeting of minority Sunnis by the Shiite-led authorities.
Full StoryThe United States believes there may be a way to rekindle stalemated Middle East peace talks, but wants to hear ideas first from regional leaders, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Wednesday.
"I believe that there are possibilities," Kerry said after talks with Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, adding he was an optimist at heart.
Full StoryDoctors Without Borders (MSF) said Wednesday it will open a hospital for Syrian refugee children at the Zaatari camp in northern Jordan, which complains its healthcare services are already burdened.
"MSF is now coordinating with the government to open the hospital in Zaatari in two weeks," Antoine Foucher, head of the organization in the kingdom, told Health Minister Abullatif Wreikat, the official Petra news agency reported.
Full StoryJordan's King Abdullah II on Monday tasked his chief of staff to begin consultations with newly elected MPs on a "new mechanism" to choose the next prime minister as part of a democratization drive.
"The king has entrusted royal court chief Fayez Tarawneh to begin consultations with the lower house of parliament as a new mechanism to choose the prime minster and launch the experiment of parliamentary governments," a palace statement said.
Full StoryKing Abdullah II on Sunday told newly elected MPs that he seeks to reach "consensus" with them before naming a prime minister, and hailed the "historic transformation" towards parliamentary government in Jordan.
"We will start... this new approach by consulting over the government's formation with the lower house and parliamentary blocs as they take shape, in order to reach consensus that leads to the designation of a prime minister" he told the opening of parliament.
Full StoryPrime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Barack Obama could hold a three-way summit during the U.S. president's upcoming visit, Israel's deputy foreign minister said on Saturday.
"During the visit of President Obama, a three-way summit could take place or even four-way with King Abdullah II of Jordan," Danny Ayalon said, quoted by Israeli army radio.
Full StoryPresident Barack Obama plans to soon make his first trip to Israel as U.S. leader to confer on the Iranian nuclear showdown and to soothe his delicate relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The White House said Tuesday that Obama also plans to stop to talk to Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and to travel to Jordan on his trip, which will bring him close to the turmoil threatening to tear Syria apart.
Full Story