Jordan

Firmly into 2012, how are the Arab revolutions developing? We check in with some of the Arab protest pictures to gauge to what extent they have reached revolution saturation, or on the contrary are just getting started.

The National Committee to Revive the Teachers Association and the Amman Free Teachers Committee pledged to continue the strike, which entered its second week yesterday.

Jordan remains vulnerable to external shocks, the World Bank said Saturday in a press release at the end of talks between a senior management team and top Jordanian officials.

Spurring economic growth is the private sector’s responsibility, and not the government’s, a World Bank official stressed on Tuesday.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) witnessed a steep drop of 40 percent in the Kingdom of Jordan by the end of 2011

Jordan's King Abdullah II has received the leader of Hamas. It was the first visit by Khaled Mashaal in Jordan since his expulsion 13 years ago.

Egyptian gas supplies fell from 220 million cubic feet per day in 2010 to an average of 80 million cubic feet in 2011 due to a series of 10 attacks last year on the Arab Gas Pipeline in the Sinai Peninsula that cut off the flow of natural gas.

Al Bawaba's pickings of some of the more colorful Tweeps operating in the Middle Eastern Twitter-sphere include friendly Lebanese politicians and singers to the actively engaged Emirs and Queens of the region. Which Arab politicians or celebrities are dominating the Twitter-verse?

The commander of Iran's Qods Force, Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani, has said Iran is present in southern Lebanon and Iraq and that these countries are acting in "this way or another" by the will of Tehran

Jordan's 2011 energy bill reached JD 2.75 billion

Recent talks between Israelis and Palestinians in Amman have so far failed to achieve concrete progress, King Abdullah II of Jordan, said about the low-level talks.

"The instability the region has witnessed and protests in Jordan were one of the factors that affected the sector in 2011," Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Nayef Al Fayez remarked.

In remarks to The Jordan Times Wednesday, they agreed that there is a huge price difference between villas and apartments in western Amman, which is the modern and affluent part of the city, and those old and less privileged houses in eastern Amman.

The members’ violations include “abuse of public office” after they reportedly signed a council decision that labels a casino as a legitimate tourism business in accordance with the Tourism Law, according to a Prime Ministry statement.

Christmas is observed in some Middle Eastern countries, by local peoples as well as by expatriates. How do these some 10 million Christian 'Arabs' living in the Middle East mark Christmas, with most living in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine? Christmas visits smaller Arab Christian populations in Jordan, Iraq, and even some of the Gulf states.

Many mobile users cited the "price war" among Zain, Orange and Umniah as the main reason that motivates them to own more than one mobile number.

Chairman of Jordan’s Chamber of Commerce Nael Kabariti said on Wednesday that Jordan will be the first victim and “big loser” from economic sanctions imposed on Syria by the Arab League.

There is "no possibility" decision makers in Amman will consider establishing a buffer zone along the northern border to offer protection to displaced Syrians, said the Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Rakan Majali.

At a protest in front of the Prime Ministry yesterday, some two dozen environmentalists demanded a dialogue over a project they say may have unforeseen costs for future generations of Jordanians.

The Kingdom's nuclear programme has attracted the interest of several major utilities, including French energy giant GDF Suez, China's Datang International Power Generation Co., Russian Rosatom Corp. and Japanese Kansai Electric Power, according to the commission.

By severing gas supplies earlier this month, the seventh act of sabotage this year on the Arab Gas Pipeline exposed the weakness of Jordan's energy sector, which relies on Egyptian gas for over 80 percent of its electricity needs.

Palestinian sources confirmed that Jordan's King Abdullah II, who visited Ramallah Monday conveyed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a European proposal to resume negotiations with Israel.