Jordan's new prime minister, Bisher Al Khasawneh, is a veteran diplomat and former foreign minister. Reuters
Jordan's new prime minister, Bisher Al Khasawneh, is a veteran diplomat and former foreign minister. Reuters
Jordan's new prime minister, Bisher Al Khasawneh, is a veteran diplomat and former foreign minister. Reuters
Jordan's new prime minister, Bisher Al Khasawneh, is a veteran diplomat and former foreign minister. Reuters

Jordan diplomat Bisher Al Khasawneh faces tough challenges as PM


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

Veteran diplomat Bisher Al Khasawneh faces tough policy decisions after being appointed on Wednesday by King Abdullah II to lead Jordan's next government, experts said.

Mr Al Khasawneh, 51, who served as the king's policy adviser, assumes the Prime Minister's post after the resignation of Omar Razzaz's government on October 3, in preparation for parliamentary elections next month.

The western-educated diplomat, who holds a doctorate in law from the London School of Economics, also has the challenge of boosting the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Al Khasawneh has extensive experience forging relations with regional and international states during his time as foreign minister, and as a peace negotiator with Israel.

But now he needs to form a Cabinet of ministers qualified to tackle the country’s pressing problems.

Addressing Jordan's economic challenges will be Mr Al Khasawneh's toughest issue, especially as the pandemic has hit Jordan hard, Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, told The National.

“The economic situation is exceptionally tough with the economy set to shrink by 6 per cent this year, and unemployment just under 25 per cent,” Mr Doyle said.

Jordan also hosts large numbers of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, he said.

If Mr Al Khasawneh fails to address key concerns then Jordanians will “struggle to keep their jobs and feed their families whilst simultaneously having to stomach severe constraints on their everyday lives and freedoms”, Mr Doyle said.

Mr Al Razzaz faced increasing criticism of the way his government dealt with the pandemic and his failure to combat corruption.

He was appointed in 2018 to quell public anger after austerity measures to win IMF support sparked anti-government protests sparked across the country.

After successfully containing the initial outbreak of Covid-19, Jordan is facing an increase in infections during a time of rising public frustration over deteriorating economic conditions and curbs on public freedom.

The country has recorded 20,200 cases and 131 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Health authorities have warned that the kingdom may be forced to impose more closures or a full lockdown should the number of cases continue to surge.

But Mr Al Khasawneh’s first job will be to oversee parliamentary elections due on November 10.

King Abdullah dissolved Parliament last month at the end of its four-year term, requiring Mr Razzaz's government to resign under the provisions of the constitution.

The king said he hoped the new government would improve the country's ability to fight the virus.

"The formation of this government comes at an exceptional time," he said, referring to the fast spread of the coronavirus pandemic.

King Abdullah said the new government should boost the capacity of the healthcare system, which doctors fear could collapse if community spread is out of control.

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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014
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Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals

2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis

2004 Beat Andy Roddick

2005 Beat Andy Roddick

2006 Beat Rafael Nadal

2007 Beat Rafael Nadal

2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal

2009 Beat Andy Roddick

2012 Beat Andy Murray

2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic

2015 Lost to Novak Djokovic

2017 Beat Marin Cilic

About Tenderd

Started: May 2018

Founder: Arjun Mohan

Based: Dubai

Size: 23 employees 

Funding: Raised $5.8m in a seed fund round in December 2018. Backers include Y Combinator, Beco Capital, Venturesouq, Paul Graham, Peter Thiel, Paul Buchheit, Justin Mateen, Matt Mickiewicz, SOMA, Dynamo and Global Founders Capital

T20 World Cup Qualifier

October 18 – November 2

Opening fixtures

Friday, October 18

ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya

Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan

Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed

Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed

Australia men's Test cricket fixtures 2021/22

One-off Test v Afghanistan:
Nov 27-Dec 1: Blundstone Arena, Hobart

The Ashes v England:
Dec 8-12: 1st Test, Gabba, Brisbane
Dec 16-20: 2nd Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (day/night)
Dec 26-30: 3rd Test, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Jan 5-9, 2022: 4th Test, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Jan 14-18: 5th Test, Optus Stadium, Perth

FIXTURES

Saturday, November 3
Japan v New Zealand
Wales v Scotland
England v South Africa
Ireland v Italy

Saturday, November 10
Italy v Georgia
Scotland v Fiji
England v New Zealand
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Argentina
France v South Africa

Saturday, November 17
Italy v Australia
Wales v Tonga
England v Japan
Scotland v South Africa
Ireland v New Zealand

Saturday, November 24
|Italy v New Zealand
Scotland v Argentina
England v Australia
Wales v South Africa
Ireland v United States
France v Fiji

Squads

India (for first three ODIs) Kohli (capt), Rohit, Rahul, Pandey, Jadhav, Rahane, Dhoni, Pandya, Axar, Kuldeep, Chahal, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar, Umesh, Shami.

Australia Smith (capt), Warner, Agar, Cartwright, Coulter-Nile, Cummins, Faulkner, Finch, Head, Maxwell, Richardson, Stoinis, Wade, Zampa.

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Forced%20Deportations
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