Obama to face scrutiny on Syria during Jordan visit

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A day after challenging Israelis to embrace peace with Palestinians, US President Barack Obama was scheduled on Friday to face scrutiny over his strategy on Syria during an overnight stay in Jordan.

Following a three-day trip to Israel and the Palestinian territories, his first as president, Obama was to fly to Amman for talks and a private dinner with King Abdullah, after ending his trip to the Holy Land with a visit to Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity.

While the thrust of his trip to Israel was reassurance that the United States would mount an "eternal" defense of Israel in the face of the Iranian nuclear threat, in Jordan Obama will turn to the agony of Syria's conflict.

Jordan is sheltering nearly 436,000 Syrian refugees, a figure expected to rise to 700,000 by the end of the year, as people fleeing vicious sectarian fighting between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel groups spill over its borders.

Obama has resisted pouring US arms or ammunition into the conflict, which the UN estimates has taken at least 70,000 lives, but has offered logistical support to rebels, and hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid.

He will also support political reform efforts inside Jordan, which has been an oasis of relative calm in a region swept by turmoil.

A senior US official said Obama wanted to coordinate with the king on security challenges and on helping Jordan alleviate the refugee crisis.

In Jerusalem, Obama said the US was investigating claims that chemical weapons had been used in Syria, warning it would be a "game-changer" and that Assad's government would he held accountable.

Questions:

1. How many days did Obama spend in Israel and the Palestinian territories?

2. How many Syrian refugees is Jordan sheltering?

3. What has Obama offered to rebels?

Answers:

1. 3.

2. Nearly 436,000.

3. Logistical support and hundreds of millions of dollars in humanitarian aid.

（中国日报网英语点津 Helen 编辑）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.