Tag: Jordan

  • McDonald’s CEO admits markets in Middle East affected by boycott

    McDonald’s CEO admits markets in Middle East affected by boycott

    McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski revealed on Thursday that a number of markets in the Middle East, and some beyond, were undergoing a “meaningful business impact” following the Israel-Hamas escalation and “associated misinformation” with regards to the brand.

    Since October 7, when Israel intensified its ground and air raids in Gaza and killed more than 22,000 people, several fast-food chains, including McDonald’s and Starbucks, have been boycotted by consumers due to their “pro-Israeli stance and alleged financial ties to Israel”.

    Kempczinski deems the “misinformation” regarding the brands “disheartening and ill-founded.”

    “In every country where we operate, including in Muslim countries, McDonald’s is proudly represented by local owner operators who work tirelessly to serve and support their communities while employing thousands of their fellow citizens,” Kempczinski said in a LinkedIn post.

    In October, following the escalation, McDonald’s Israel posted on social media that it gave thousands of free meals to Israel Defense Forces members.

    This move was repudiated by McDonald’s franchises in some Islamic states.

    Since then, many brands have felt the impact of boycotts in Egypt and Jordan as well as non-Arab countries like Muslim-majority Malaysia.

    Reuters reports that as of fiscal 2022, the company franchised and operated about 40,275 McDonald’s restaurants across more than 100 countries. The fast-food chain reported total annual revenue of $23.18 billion in the year.

    Shares of the company were down marginally in afternoon trading.

  • ‘Is the word terrorist reserved solely for Muslims and Arabs?’ Queen Rania of Jordan calls out media bias in Gaza coverage

    ‘Is the word terrorist reserved solely for Muslims and Arabs?’ Queen Rania of Jordan calls out media bias in Gaza coverage

    Rania, the Queen Consort of Jordan, talked to CNN about the situation in Gaza on Tuesday evening. Right now, Al-Jazeera reports, the death toll in Gaza, where airstrikes have bombed homes, hospitals and bakeries in the South, has reached almost 6000.

    Queen Rania, who is also of Palestinian descent, criticised the silence of the West as the violence in Gaza goes on: “The people all around the Middle East, including in Jordan, we are just shocked and disappointed by the world’s reaction to this catastrophe that is unfolding.”

    Addressing the bias in the media, she pointed out that Palestinian deaths are not acknwoledged as war crimes committed by Israel:

    “For the last couple of weeks, we have recieved silence around the world. Countries have stopped expressing concern over the casualties, always with a preference of declaration of support for Israel. Are we being told it is wrong to kill a family at gunpoint, but its oaky to shell them to death? There is a glaring double standard here, and it is just shocking to the Arab world.”

    “This is the first time in modern history there is such human suffering and the world is not calling for a ceasefire. The silence is deafening, and to many in our region, it makes the Western world complicit through their support and coverage they give to Israel.” Further Queen Rania added how her people shocked to see this act as the West aiding and abetting the violence.

    Speaking on the violence of October 7, Queen Rania responded Jordan reiterated its position by being against the killing of any innocent civilian, whether Palestinian or Israeli. “But why isn’t there equal condemnation to what is happening now?”

    Queen Rania went on to slam the one-sided narrative of the Western media by emphasising how the war did not begin with the Hamas attacking out of the blue on October 7th, but because of the 75-year-long history of oppression of the Palestinians by Israel. She stressed on Israel’s history of documented crimes over Palestinians is missing from the narrative.

    “This conflict did not begin on October 7th, although it is being portrayed as that. Most networks are covering the story under the title of ‘Israel at war’. But for many Palestinians on the other side of the separation war, on the other side of the barbed wire, war has never left. This is a 75 year old story. A story of overwhelming death and displacement for the Palestinian people. It’s the story of an oppressed people under an apartheid regime that occupies land, demolishes houses, confiscates lands, night raids.”

    “Is the word terrorist reserved solely for Muslims and Arabs,” Queen Rania questioned when speaking about the way Israeli’s are protected under the claim of ‘self defense’ when Palestinians are murdered, but Palestinians are blamed as terrorists while trying to protect their homeland. “There are no two equal people in the conflict. One is an occupier and one is the occupied. One has a military force that is one of the mightiest in the world and the other doesn’t have a military at all.”

  • Jordan’s King refuses to meet Biden after Israeli strike on hospital

    Late on Tuesday night, following a deadly attack by Israel on the Baptist Hospital in Gaza, Jordan announced that a summit involving US President Joe Biden has been canceled. Earlier, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine also announced that he will not meet Joe Biden as the fallout from the deadly strike continues to reverberate across the world.

    The summit will be held “when the decision to stop the war and put an end to these massacres has been taken”, the Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi had said in an unusually harsh worded statement.

    ‘Nothing can justify targeting civilians’: President of France on Gaza hospital strike

    Macron has also demanded humanitarian access to Gaza ‘without delay’. He took to X (former Twitter) and said, “France condemns the attack on the Al-Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza which caused so many Palestinian victims. We think of them. All the light must be shed.”

    Protests have erupted all over the world against Israel’s heinous and brutal attack on a Palestinian hospital which killed more than 800 people. From Sweden to Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank, people are taking to the streets and protesting against the genocide in Palestine. Protestors in Jordan have surrounded the Israeli embassy with calls to end the genocide.

    After the recent attack, Scotland becomes the first country to offer refuge to the people of Gaza.

  • Royal wedding in pictures: Jordan’s Prince Crown Prince Hussein married Rajwa Al Saif

    Royal wedding in pictures: Jordan’s Prince Crown Prince Hussein married Rajwa Al Saif

    The future king of Jordan, Hussein, 28, married Saudi architect Rajwa Al-Saif, 29, in a lavish ceremony in Amman, on Thursday.

    The lavish ceremony featured a star-studded celebrity guest list with royal families around the world attending. The British Royal Family members Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton were spotted congratulating the parents of the groom, Queen Rania and King Abdullah. Princess Beatrice along with her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi was also present.

    The bride, Rajwa, is the youngest daughter of Khalid Alseif and Azza Al Sudairi. She was born in Riyadh, studied in the United States and earned a degree in architecture from Syracuse University in New York before completing her Masters degree in visual communications from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

    The couple reportedly met through a mutual friend.

    Hussien describing himself as lucky to meet someone like her in an interview with Vogue.

    They got engaged in 2022 at Rajwa’s home with her parents present, as well as Hussein’s family. The Royal Family of Jordan announced the news in a press release:

    “The Royal Hashemite Court is pleased to announce the engagement of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II to Ms Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al Saif, and extends its sincere congratulations on this occasion.”

    The Crown Prince had shared the news on his official Instagram account saying:

    “Alhamdullillah. We pray that God grants us His blessings. Grateful to my dear Jordanian family for their heartfelt support and kind wishes.”

    Queen Rania shared pictures from the joyous occasion, and sent her blessings to the newly wedded couple:

    “May God bless you both and fill your home with love and happiness. From Hussein and Rajwa’s wedding ceremony.”

    She also shared pictures of the dinner banquet held in celebration of the newly married couple.

    Here are some more pictures from the wedding ceremony.

  • PM Imran declared Muslim world’s ‘Man of the Year’ by Jordanian institute

    PM Imran declared Muslim world’s ‘Man of the Year’ by Jordanian institute

    Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan has been declared as “Man of the Year” from the Muslim world, by the Jordan based Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, an official said. “Jordan’s Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre named Prime Minister Imran Khan as ‘Man of the Year’ in its recent list of the most persuasive Muslims in the World”.

    In its latest edition “The World’s 500 Most Influential Muslims, 2020″ the center also named American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib as “Woman of the Year”.

    Abdallah Schleifer, who is chief editor of “The Muslim 500” project, while declaring Khan as “Man of the year”, wrote that his quest for peace with neighboring India and his philanthropist work entitled him for the honor. Schleifer is Professor Emeritus of Journalism at the American University in Cairo.

    He added that he was impressed by Khan, launching a successful fund-raising campaign to establish a hospital devoted to treating cancer victims and research.

    Recalling Khan’s first address to the nation as prime minister in August 2018, the author said he genuinely wanted to normalise relations through trade, and settle the Kashmir dispute with India.

    “Khan also wrote three letters to India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling for dialogue and lasting peace. Modi did not respond,” Schleifer noted.

    The centre also declared the US Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, as the most prominent “Muslim Woman of the Year”.

    “American Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (Democrat, Michigan) is this year’s Muslim 500 Woman of the Year,” the centre announced.

    She is the first Palestinian-American woman elected to the American Congress, as member of the House of Representatives, Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre said.

    The centre also included other top 50 influential Muslims personalities in its edition. They are Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamid Al-Thani, President Joko Widodo President of Indonesia, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud King of Saudi Arabia, King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, King Mohammed VI King of Morocco and others.

    Eminent religious scholars Mufti Taqi Usmani and Maulana Tariq Jameel have also been named among the most influential Muslims.

    Maulana Tariq Jameel’s sermons focus on ‘self-purification, avoidance of violence, observance of Allah’s orders and pursuing the way of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).’ He has been named continuously as one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world by the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought in Jordan from 2013 to 2019.

    In 2019, the religious scholar stood 40th of a list ranking the world’s most “influential” Muslims. The annual publication was compiled by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Jordan and highlights people who are influential as Muslims. The publication defines influential as meaning “any person who has the power to make a change that will have a significant impact on the Muslim World”.

  • Jordanian princess becomes her country’s first female pilot

    Jordanian princess becomes her country’s first female pilot

    Jordan’s Princess Salma bint Abdullah became the first woman in her country to pass her theoretical and practical pilot training with the Jordanian Armed Forces.

    19 years old princess was presented with her aviation wings by her father in a ceremony at Amman’s Al Husseiniya Palace. Her mother Queen Rania and her elder brother, Crown Prince Hussein were also present at the ceremony.

    The princess graduated from a short commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in November 2018. She is also not the first female member of the Jordanian royal family to attend the military academy. Her aunt, Princess Aisha bint Hussein, became the first Middle Eastern woman to attend the academy, graduating in 1987.

    Her brother, who is a first lieutenant in the Jordanian Armed Forces, took to social media to congratulate her.

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