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Syria Pro-Regime Tribes Reject Jordanian King's Support

Representatives of some of Syria's leading pro-government tribes on Friday rejected support from Jordan's King Abdullah II against the Islamic State group, accusing him of backing "terrorists."

Their comments came after the Jordanian monarch, in a meeting with tribal leaders in his country, pledged to support tribes in areas of Syria and Iraq where the jihadists are operating.

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Derbas Says Refugee Crisis Requires 'Political State of Emergency'

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas has said that the crisis of Syrian refugees is a national cause that requires a political state of emergency to overcome its repercussions.

“The issue of the displaced Syrians should not cause political tension,” Derbas told An Nahar daily on Friday, a day after he referred a detailed report on the refugees to Prime Minister Tammam Salam and several cabinet ministers.

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U.S. Struggling to Train Moderate Syrian Rebels

The U.S. is struggling to implement its training program for moderate Syrian rebels fighting the Islamic State group, according to figures released Thursday by the Pentagon.

Only "100 to 200" fighters have actively begun training at U.S. sites in Jordan and Turkey, according to Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren, of the 5,000 forces the military says it wants to train over the year.

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Jumblat Meets Jordanian King amid Fears for Syrian Druze

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat held talks Wednesday in Amman with Jordanian King Abdullah II, amid rising fears in Lebanon and the region for Syria's Druze community.

The monarch met the Druze leader at the al-Husseiniya Palace in Amman, Jordan's state news agency Petra reported.

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Suspected Mastermind of 1982 Paris Attack on Jews 'Held in Jordan'

The suspected mastermind of an attack on a Paris Jewish restaurant in 1982 that left six people dead and 22 injured, has been arrested in Jordan, a source close to the case said Wednesday.

Zuhair Mohamad Hassan Khalid al-Abassi, alias "Amjad Atta", was one of three men for whom France issued an international arrest warrant earlier this year.

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Jordan Arrests Islamist Preacher for 'Incitement'

Jordanian authorities have arrested an Islamist preacher for inciting hatred against the regime on Facebook, and ordered him held in preventive detention for 15 days, a court official said Tuesday.

Eyad Qunaibi was detained Monday night after posting a piece entitled "Jordan heading for the abyss", which criticized Amman's ties with neighboring Israel, as well as the westernization of Jordanian society.

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Derbas Urges Joint Action with Jordan to Resolve Refugee Crisis

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas has called for joint Lebanese-Jordanian action to establish safe areas in Syria to help the refugees return to their country.

“There is a need for joint Lebanese-Jordanian work to ask for safe areas in Syria,” Derbas told An Nahar daily published on Tuesday.

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Amnesty Condemns 'Shameful' World Response to Refugee Crisis

Rights group Amnesty International on Monday slammed world leaders for "condemning millions of refugees to an unbearable existence" and demanded they work closely to resolve the "worst crisis" since World War II.

"From the Andaman to the Mediterranean people are losing their lives as they desperately seek safe haven," said Salil Shetty, Amnesty's secretary general, as the group published a report ahead of World Refugee Day on June 20.

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Jordan Accepts Family Request for Burial of Iraq's Aziz

Jordan said Saturday that former Iraqi foreign minister Tareq Aziz will be buried on its soil after approving a request from his family to hold the funeral in the kingdom.

Aziz, who served as the voice of Saddam Hussein's regime for two decades, died in hospital on Friday aged 79.

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Refrigerated Truck Owners Demand Government Action over Land Transport Crisis

The owners of refrigerated trucks in Lebanon blocked the main road in the eastern town of Chtaura on Thursday to protest the government's procrastination in finding ways to export their goods after a land transportation crisis.

The drivers called on the government to help them transport the goods by sea two months after al-Qaida affiliate al-Nusra Front rebels seized Syria's Nasib crossing on the border with Jordan.

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