Skip to main content

Prince Harry and Meghan visit hospitalized children from Gaza, refugee camp during Jordan trip

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Prince Harry and Meghan visited a refugee camp and hospital in Jordan on Wednesday to kick off a trip spotlighting organizations that help civilians affected by war and displacement.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also joined World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for a roundtable with the WHO’s regional leaders, some of their humanitarian partners and key donors.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be in a room full of people with such big hearts,” Harry told the group. “I don’t know how many times you get thanked for all the work that you do — probably not enough.”

Since stepping aside as working royals in 2020, the couple has prioritized support for projects that assist civilians affected by war, especially injured and displaced children. Their nonprofit, Archewell Philanthropies, recently supported WHO efforts to evacuate children from Gaza and bring them to Jordan for treatment.

Harry and Meghan met some of those children Wednesday at Specialty Hospital in Amman. They also visited Za’atari Refugee Camp, home to thousands of Syrians who remain displaced after more than a decade of conflict in their home country.

The couple were scheduled Thursday to visit the Amman office of World Central Kitchen, which organizes and sends food and other humanitarian assistance to Gaza. Harry and Meghan are longtime supporters of World Central Kitchen, their nonprofit’s first philanthropic partner.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story