Jordan's King Abdullah and Sultan Haitham of Oman discuss Palestine in Muscat

Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Sultan Haitham bin Tariq discussed regional crises in talks in Oman on Tuesday.

The two men discussed ways to find "political solutions to the crises in the region," the official Jordanian news agency reported.

"The king affirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause and the need to support the Palestinian brethren to obtain their just rights and achieve the just peace," the report said.

The meetings were attended by the sons of the two leaders: Jordan's Crown Prince Al Hussein and Oman's Crown Prince Theyazin.

Oman's Foreign Ministry said the talks aimed at strengthening "the bond of brotherhood between the brotherly Omani and Jordanian people”.

They also discussed issues related to “regional and international developments”.

Queen Rania is accompanying the king on the two-day visit.

Jordanian state television said Omani and Jordanian officials will sign “agreements and memorandums of understandings” during King Abdullah's stay.

These aim to strengthen bilateral ties and trade between the two countries, it said.

Jordan exported goods to Oman worth $72 million last year and imported the equivalent of $79m from Oman, official data showed.

The royal couple were met at a private airport in Muscat by Sultan Haitham, both nations' state news agencies confirmed.

The monarchs then travelled to Muscat's Al Alam Palace, where they were met by the Royal Guard of Oman. Sultan Haitham escorted King Abdullah to a stage and cannons were fired 21 times in his honour.

Jordan and Oman are both close US allies and have military pacts with Washington.

Oman also has friendly ties with Iran. Jordan, despite its reservations about Iranian proxies fighting in Syria, generally steers away from directly criticising Tehran.

Over the past decade, security ties between Jordan and Oman have strengthened, with King Abdullah praising the sultanate for mediating disputes in the region. Jordan has sent military advisers to Oman, while Omani troops have participated in US-supervised military drills in the kingdom.

The two countries share “a middle, peaceful and balanced course,” Jordanian state television reported yesterday.

Bilateral ties have improved “noticeably” since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1972, which “serve security and stability in the region”, the report added.

Jordan's most extensive ties in the Gulf have been forged with the UAE. In 2019, Jordan restored full diplomatic ties with Qatar, which were downgraded in response to the rift between Doha on one side and the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on the other.

The six Gulf Co-operation Council countries employ most of Jordan's expatriate labour.

Official data from 2018 shows that 61 per cent of the 800,000 Jordanians working abroad reside in Saudi Arabia, followed by 14 per cent in the UAE, 13 per cent in Qatar and 6 per cent in Oman.

Official media quoted the king as telling political figures on Sunday that Jordan “will continue its moves in the upcoming period for [solving] regional issues and activating economic co-operation”.

The lowdown

Badla

Rating: 2.5/5

Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke

Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

A Long Way Home by Peter Carey
Faber & Faber

UK’s AI plan

AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
£10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
£100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
£250m to train new AI models

RESULTS

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Electric scooters: some rules to remember

Riders must be 14-years-old or over
Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes

Dengue%20fever%20symptoms

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57%20Seconds

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Juvenile arthritis

Along with doctors, families and teachers can help pick up cases of arthritis in children.
Most types of childhood arthritis are known as juvenile idiopathic arthritis. JIA causes pain and inflammation in one or more joints for at least six weeks.
Dr Betina Rogalski said "The younger the child the more difficult it into pick up the symptoms. If the child is small, it may just be a bit grumpy or pull its leg a way or not feel like walking,” she said.
According to The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases in US, the most common symptoms of juvenile arthritis are joint swelling, pain, and stiffness that doesn’t go away. Usually it affects the knees, hands, and feet, and it’s worse in the morning or after a nap.
Limping in the morning because of a stiff knee, excessive clumsiness, having a high fever and skin rash are other symptoms. Children may also have swelling in lymph nodes in the neck and other parts of the body.
Arthritis in children can cause eye inflammation and growth problems and can cause bones and joints to grow unevenly.
In the UK, about 15,000 children and young people are affected by arthritis.

The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?

George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.

Hunting park to luxury living

Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds

Company%20profile

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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

Key facilities

Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills