AMMAN: Jordan’s King Abdullah II ordered the government on Friday to freeze new price hikes on fuel and electricity, officials said, after angry protests across the cash-strapped country.
Past price hikes have triggered riots in Jordan, a country of 9.5 million with few resources, burdened by poverty and unemployment.
Late Thursday and early Friday, hundreds of Jordanians demonstrated in Amman and other cities, calling for the “fall of the government” as they blocked roads with cars and blazing tires.
That came after the government decreed rises of up to 5.5 percent on fuels and a 19 percent hike in electricity prices, as well as laying out plans for a new income tax.
But early Friday, the king ordered the government to shelve hikes set to take effect that day as the country’s Muslim majority observe the holy month of Ramadan, official Petra news agency said.
Prices have steadily risen in Jordan over recent years as the cash-strapped government pushes reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
The country has a public debt of some $35 billion (30 billion euros), equivalent to 90 percent of its gross domestic product.
In 2016, it secured a $723-million three-year credit line from the IMF to support economic and financial reforms and was told it must drop subsidies and raise taxes to meet conditions for future loans.
Earlier this year, Jordan as much as doubled bread prices after dropping subsidies on the staple, as well as hiking value-added taxes on several goods including cigarettes.
The price of fuel has risen on five occasions since the beginning of the year, while electricity bills have shot up 55 percent since February.
According to official estimates, 18.5 percent of the population is unemployed, while 20 percent are on the brink of poverty.
More than 1,000 demonstrators rallied outside the prime minister’s office in central Amman late Thursday, chanting: “The people want the government to fall.”
In the northern cities of Irbid and Ajlun, some protesters cut off roads with burning tires, while in the Tabarbur suburb of Amman motorists blocked roads with their cars.
Royal reprieve after Jordan price hikes spark protests
Royal reprieve after Jordan price hikes spark protests
- Past price hikes have triggered riots in Jordan, a country of 9.5 million with few resources, burdened by poverty and unemployment.
- Prices have steadily risen in Jordan over recent years as the cash-strapped government pushes reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund.
Pope Francis calls for investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute ‘genocide’
- First time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip
- Last year, Francis met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war
ROME: Pope Francis has called for an investigation to determine if Israel’s attacks in Gaza constitute genocide, according to excerpts released Sunday from an upcoming new book ahead of the pontiff’s jubilee year.
It’s the first time that Francis has openly urged for an investigation of genocide allegations over Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip. In September, he said Israel’s attacks in Gaza and Lebanon have been “immoral” and disproportionate, and that its military has gone beyond the rules of war.
The book, by Hernan Reyes Alcaide and based on interviews with the Pope, is entitled “Hope never disappoints. Pilgrims toward a better world.” It will be released on Tuesday ahead of the pope’s 2025 jubilee. Francis’ yearlong jubilee is expected to bring more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome to celebrate the Holy Year.
“According to some experts, what is happening in Gaza has the characteristics of a genocide,” the pope said in excerpts published Sunday by the Italian daily La Stampa.
“We should investigate carefully to determine whether it fits into the technical definition formulated by jurists and international bodies,” he added.
Last year, Francis met separately with relatives of Israeli hostages in Gaza and Palestinians living through the war and set off a firestorm by using words that Vatican diplomats usually avoid: “terrorism” and, according to the Palestinians, “genocide.”
Francis spoke at the time about the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians after his meetings, which were arranged before the Israeli-Hamas hostage deal and a temporary halt in fighting was announced.
The pontiff, who last week also met with a delegation of Israeli hostages who were released and their families pressing the campaign to bring the remaining captives home had editorial control over the upcoming book.
The war started when the militant Hamas group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 250 as hostages and taking them back to Gaza, where dozens still remain.
Israel’s subsequent yearlong military campaign has killed more than 43,000 people, according to Gaza health officials, whose count doesn’t distinguish between civilians and fighters, though they say more than half of the dead are women and children.
The Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza has triggered several legal cases at international courts in The Hague involving requests for arrest warrants as well as accusations and denials of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.
In the new book, Francis also speaks about migration and the problem of integrating migrants in their host countries.
“Faced with this challenge, no country can be left alone and no one can think of addressing the issue in isolation through more restrictive and repressive laws, sometimes approved under the pressure of fear or in search of electoral advantages,” Francis said.
“On the contrary, just as we see that there is a globalization of indifference, we must respond with the globalization of charity and cooperation,” he added. Francis also mentioned the “still open wound of the war in Ukraine has led thousands of people to abandon their homes, especially during the first months of the conflict.”
Saudi insurers expect financial boost from new reinsurance mechanism
- Move aims to boost role of local reinsurance firms in mitigating insurance risks
- Kingdom’s insurance industry is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2% through 2028
RIYADH: Saudi insurance companies are expecting a positive impact on their financial performance from a new mechanism that directs reinsurance premiums to the local market.
The move, introduced by the Saudi Insurance Authority, aims to boost the role of local reinsurance firms in mitigating insurance risks within the Kingdom.
“The mechanism stipulates that when insurance companies wish to reinsure, they must offer at least 30 percent of their treaty and facultative reinsurance agreements to companies licensed to conduct reinsurance activities within the Kingdom,” according to a statement on the Saudi Stock Exchange.
The mechanism is set to take effect on Jan. 1, giving licensed reinsurance companies the priority to accept or decline these assignments, it added.
Saudi Arabia’s insurance industry is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.2 percent through 2028, with its market size expected to reach SR83.7 billion ($22.28 billion), according to London-based data analytics and consulting company GlobalData.
This growth, up from SR68.3 billion in 2024, is largely attributed to the health and motor insurance sectors, which are projected to account for 86 percent of total gross written premiums.
Earlier data compiled by Arab News from Bloomberg showed a strong performance in the sector, with earnings increasing by 25 percent in the first half of 2024, reaching SR2.2 billion ($585 million), compared to the same period in 2023.
The Saudi Reinsurance Co. expects the new mechanism to boost its reinsurance revenues in the Saudi market by more than 5 percent. The company also said that the financial impact will be reflected in its earnings from the first quarter of next year.
Walaa Cooperative Insurance Co. said that the mechanism will positively affect its financial performance, with results expected to be seen starting in the first quarter of 2025.
As one of the companies licensed by the insurance authority to conduct reinsurance activities, Walaa said the impact would be reflected in its financial results for that period.
Mediterranean & Gulf Cooperative Insurance & Reinsurance Co., known as MEDGULF, said the new mechanism presents an opportunity to reassess its strategy regarding accepting additional reinsurance premiums from local insurers.
Tawuniya Co. also expressed optimism, saying that it would positively impact its revenues from the Saudi market.
“It is expected that positive financial impact will have an effect on 2025 financial results,” said Tawuniya.
Gulf Insurance Group and LIVA Insurance Co. have also said that the new mechanism is expected to contribute positively to their financial performance starting next year.
Survivors still trapped after deadly Tanzania building collapse
- The four-story block came down at around 9:00 a.m. on Saturday in the east African country’s busy Kariakoo market
- Dar es Salaam has been the scene of a frenetic property boom with buildings shooting up at speed, often with scant regard for regulations
DAR ES SALAAM: Tanzanian rescue workers dug through the ruins of a collapsed building for a second day on Sunday, hoping to pull survivors from beneath the rubble.
The four-story block came down at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) on Saturday in the east African country’s busy Kariakoo market, in the center of the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.
Five people have been confirmed dead from the disaster, the fire brigade said. At least 70 people had been retrieved alive from the site.
Dar es Salaam regional commissioner Albert Chalamila on Sunday said there were more people still trapped in the basement floor of the shattered building, without specifying how many.
“We are communicating... and already we have supplied them with oxygen and water,” he said.
“They are stable and we believe they will be rescued alive and safe.”
The fire brigade chief John Masunga said the search and rescue had been hampered by the many walls making up the structure of the building.
In the aftermath of the building’s floors rapidly buckling beneath each other until they formed a mountain of debris, hundreds of first responders used sledgehammers and their bare hands to pull away masonry for hours.
Cranes and other heavy lifting equipment were then brought in to help.
It is not clear why the commercial building collapsed but witnesses told local media that construction to expand its underground business space began on Friday.
The incident has renewed criticism over unregulated construction in the Indian Ocean city of more than five million people.
One of the world’s fastest growing cities, Dar es Salaam has been the scene of a frenetic property boom with buildings shooting up at speed, often with scant regard for regulations.
In 2013, a 16-story building collapsed in Dar es Salaam, killing 34 people.
Indian police battle Maoist rebels, five killed
- More than 10,000 people have died in the insurgency against the Maoists
- The clash took place in regions bordering Kanker and Narayanpur
RAIPUR, India: Indian security forces have killed five Maoist rebels in jungle clashes, an officer said Sunday, as security forces seek to quash the decades-long insurgency in the resource-rich central regions.
Gun battles took place in the Abujhmad forests of Chhattisgarh state on Saturday, taking the toll of the conflict in 2024 to around 200, one of the highest in years.
More than 10,000 people have died in the insurgency against the Maoists — known as the Naxalite movement, who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalized indigenous people.
“In the gunbattle five Maoists have been killed,” senior police officer P. Sunderraj said, adding that two of the rebels were women.
The clash took place in regions bordering Kanker and Narayanpur, with police seizing rifles and ammunition from the corpses.
Two officers were wounded in the clash.
India’s government has warned the insurgents to surrender, with Amit Shah, the interior minister, saying in September that he expected the rebellion to be defeated by early 2026.
The Naxalites, named for the district where their armed campaign began in 1967, were inspired by the Chinese revolutionary leader Mao Zedong.
They demanded land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for the local people, and made inroads in a number of remote communities.
India claimed to have confined the insurgency to about 45 districts in 2023, down from 96 in 2010.
Authorities have pumped in millions of dollars for new investments in local infrastructure projects and social spending.
Direct Pakistan-Bangladesh shipping route marks rebuilding ties
- Dhaka’s ties with New Delhi frayed after former PM Sheikh Hasina flew to India after violent protests
- Ship from Karachi brought goods from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates to Bangladesh’s Chittagong
DHAKA: The first cargo ship in decades to sail directly from Pakistan to Bangladesh successfully unloaded its containers, port officials told AFP Sunday, as both sides seek to rebuild ties after decades of frosty relations.
The two countries, once one nation, split in 1971 after a brutal war, with Bangladesh then drawing closer to Pakistan’s rival India.
But its ties with New Delhi have frayed after a student-led revolution in August toppled Bangladesh’s autocratic leader Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India by helicopter.
The 182-meter (597-foot) long container ship — the Panama-flagged Yuan Xiang Fa Zhan — had sailed from Pakistan’s Karachi to Bangladesh’s Chittagong.
Top Chittagong port official Omar Faruq confirmed to AFP on Sunday that the ship had unloaded its cargo on November 11 before departing.
Pakistan’s envoy to Dhaka, Syed Ahmed Maroof, sparked widespread discussion on social media in Bangladesh when he said after the docking that the direct shipping route was “a major step” in boosting trade across the region.
The route will “promote new opportunities for businesses on both sides,” Maroof wrote on Facebook.
Chittagong port authorities said the ship brought goods from Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, including raw materials for Bangladesh’s key garment industry and basic foodstuffs.
In September, Bangladesh eased import restrictions on Pakistani goods, which previously required a mandatory physical inspection on arrival which resulted in long delays.
Pakistani goods previously had to be off-loaded onto feeder vessels — usually in Sri Lanka, Malaysia or Singapore — before traveling to Bangladesh.
