In the headlines: the divisions of the Jordanian royal family

Audio 04:55

King Abdullah II.

© Vincent Kessler / REUTERS

By: Sébastien Duhamel

11 mins

Publicity

All the ingredients are there to make a good saga, as the press likes them.

The latter therefore echoes the events of the weekend in Jordan.

The

Times

in Great Britain, among others, but also across the Atlantic: " 

The disagreement within the royal family shakes Jordan

 ", displays the

Wall Street Journal

in the front page.

“ 

A royal disagreement laid bare.

Key characters arrested.

Rumors of a failed coup attempt.

An intense palace intrigue

 , ”writes the

New York Times

.

According to the newspaper, no surprise when the White House supports King Abdullah, he is a " 

crucial partner in the fight against terrorism

"

in the Middle-East.

Because Jordan has borders with Syria, Iraq, Israel and the West Bank occupied by Israel, the country is considered a hub of regional security

," develops

the New York Times

.

The United States is stationing troops and planes in the country, maintains close ties with Jordanian intelligence services and last year provided more than

$

1.5

billion in aid to the government

 ."

With that, the American daily estimates that this “ 

dispute in Amman seems to play out not only for the Jordanian public, but also like a war of public relations directed towards Washington.

Prince Hamzah made a video in Arabic, but he also took care to publish one in English,

 ”underlines the

New York Times.

The allegedly "international" aspect of this affair

Jordan accuses the deposed crown prince of foreign conspiracy

 ," reads a

Financial Times front page

.

Jordan says the sedition campaign was supported by foreigners,

 " the

Washington Post

adds

.

Headlines that refer to the accusations of Aymane Safadi, the Jordanian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister who spoke of the involvement of foreign powers.

He said nothing else, but it didn't take much for the Iranian press to seize on this issue too, to fuel its communication war against Saudi Arabia.

A dagger in the back,

 " reads the front page of the

Tehran Times

.

We just know in this case that two protagonists arrested alongside Prince Hamza have dual nationality, Jordanian and Saudi.

Bassem Awadallah and Charif Hassan Ben Zaïd were emissaries in Riyadh, recalls the

Tehran Times.

 The newspaper - quite faithful to the line of the Iranian regime shall we say - maintains enmity with Saudi Arabia.

Relaying several media in the region, he also accuses the United Arab Emirates of being involved.

However, to take the necessary tweezers, you have to read

L'Orient-le-Jour

.

In her columns, a researcher confirms the rumors.

However, for the moment, “ 

no evidence has been provided to support this claim, and the Jordanian authorities themselves have not hinted at it.

 "

Another information war around eastern Ukraine

There is trench warfare, fighting since 2014 between Ukrainians and pro-Russian separatists and, in the back, indeed, there is also information warfare.

Because in times of conflict, it should be remembered, the press is also a weapon.  

And if tomorrow the Donbass

 ", headlines the Russian newspaper

Kommersant

.

Eastern Ukraine is preparing for war,

 " he wrote from Moscow.

“ 

Ceasefire violations (…) have ceased to be sporadic.

The last week of March was the hottest on the Donbass demarcation line since last summer

 ”.

Kommersant

then delivers a real inventory, unverifiable for us, but worthy of a military communication guide.

He recounts, for example, the discovery last week of “ 

51 units of the Ukrainian operational and tactical group 'Vostok', deployed in 14 localities.

Among them, the T-64 tanks, the BMP-1 and BPM-2, the 122 mm howitzers (although prohibited by the Minsk agreements), the MT-12 anti-tank guns and the Strela surface-to-air missile systems. 10

 ”.

Yes,

Kommersant

is precise.

The Russian newspaper also claims that a " 

child born in 2016

 " was killed by a Ukrainian drone strike in the village of Oleksandrivka, on the western outskirts of Donetsk.

The most shocking event,

 " said the Russian daily, at a time when Kiev was leading " 

a diplomatic offensive with its Western allies

 ".

And that, “ 

to blame

 ” for the escalation in Moscow,

Kommersant said

.

A different story in the Ukrainian press

The newspaper

Segodnya

, in particular, explains to us how Moscow and Gazprom are exerting pressure: " 

Russia is reducing gas transit through Ukraine

 ", he writes.

And if

Kommersant

relayed the voice of Moscow, it is interesting to note that

Segodnya

belongs to a wealthy Ukrainian businessman, Rinat Akhmetov, precisely from Donbass.

The two titles therefore offer two diametrically opposed visions of the conflict.

For the Ukrainian media, it is clear that it was Moscow

which mobilized its troops.

 " 

About 28,000

men, deployed in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk

 ".

And the newspaper wonders about the reasons why " 

Russia is once again talking about arms at the border

 ".

Vladimir Poutine perhaps wants to " 

show who is the boss

 ", reflects

Segodnya

.

Perhaps the Kremlin wants to " 

distract from the Crimea

 ", to prepare to take advantage of the North Crimean Canal and the Dnieper River.

Yes, it is Kiev which controls the waters of the river and " 

after all, the Crimean peninsula has experienced a terrible drought for the third consecutive year

 ", recalls the Ukrainian newspaper.

He does not have the answer on the real motivations of the Kremlin, but for

Segodnya

, it is certain: " 

If the Kremlin launches in an open aggression, a real economic war will begin

 ".

We can see it clearly, for those who still doubted it: yes, the information war, it is well declared.

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  • Jordan

  • Abdullah II

  • Ukraine

  • Russia

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