Israeli Military Says it Has Intercepted 2 Suspicious Drones 

People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Military Says it Has Intercepted 2 Suspicious Drones 

People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait for a bus near images of those taken hostage or killed during the deadly October 7 attack, amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel September 17, 2024. (Reuters)

Israel’s military said they had intercepted two suspicious drones that approached Israel from Lebanon and Iraq on Wednesday morning, the day after pagers used by the group Hezbollah exploded in Lebanon and Syria, killing at least nine people, including an 8-year-old girl, and wounding nearly 3,000. Hezbollah and the Lebanese government blamed Israel for what appeared to be a sophisticated remote attack. 

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said they intercepted a drone launched from Lebanon over the Mediterranean Sea near the coast of northern Israel. Another drone launched from Iraq was intercepted by Israeli air force fighter jets. There were no injuries or damage reported. 

Israel also began moving more troops to the northern border with Lebanon in preparation for a possible retaliation. 

As a precautionary measure, the Israeli military moved its 98th division to the northern border, an official said. The division, which includes infantry, artillery and commando units, has until recently been fighting in Gaza. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. 

Hezbollah began firing rockets over the border into Israel on Oct. 8, the day after a deadly Hamas-led attack in southern Israel triggered a massive Israeli counteroffensive and the ongoing war in Gaza. Since then, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have exchanged strikes near-daily, killing hundreds in Lebanon and dozens in Israel and displacing tens of thousands on each side of the border. 



Jordan’s King Abdullah Swears in New Government Led by Technocrat 

Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after talks at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2022. (Reuters)
Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after talks at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2022. (Reuters)
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Jordan’s King Abdullah Swears in New Government Led by Technocrat 

Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after talks at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2022. (Reuters)
Jordan's King Abdullah II speaks during a news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, after talks at the Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, March 15, 2022. (Reuters)

Jordan's King Abdullah II swore in a reformist government on Wednesday tasked with accelerating IMF-backed reforms and pushing through political and economic modernization crucial to reversing a decade of sluggish growth, officials said.

The Harvard-educated prime minister, Jafar Hassan, headed the monarch's office in his last job. Hasan has proven to be an able administrator during a long public career in which he oversaw economic reforms as a deputy premier and during a stint as planning minister, according to officials and politicians.

Politicians say a key task is accelerating IMF-guided reforms and reining in more than $50 billion in public debt in a country with high unemployment.

Veteran foreign minister Ayman Safadi kept his post in the new 32-member cabinet that includes moderates, tribal politicians and technocrats.

Although the new composition of the 138-member parliament retains a pro-government majority, the more vocal Islamist-led opposition could challenge IMF-backed free-market reforms and foreign policy, diplomats and officials say.

The new finance minister Abdul Hakim al-Shibli, a seasoned economist, replaces veteran Mohammad al-Ississ who won praise from the IMF for stepping up reforms and maintaining fiscal prudence while avoiding austerity policies.

The previous government had sought to drive reforms pushed by King Abdullah to help reverse a decade of sluggish growth, hovering at around 2%, that was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in neighboring Iraq and Syria.