The World: Royal Rumor

Radio Amman chose the occasion of King Hussein's 37th birthday last week to issue a rather odd disclaimer. "Certain information media have linked the name of His Majesty to the name of Miss Alia Bahaeddin Toukan," declared a laconic announcer. It was true, he continued, that the King had known Miss Toukan since his school days and had a high regard for her and her family. Nonetheless, there was "no room for certain news that has been circulated outside this framework."

The announcement was peculiar for two reasons. In the first place, not a single newspaper in the Arab world had published...

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