Jordan's King Abdullah appoints US-educated technocrat as PM, royal court says

AMMAN — Jordan's King Abdullah has designated key palace aide Jafar Hassan as prime minister after the government resigned on Sunday, the royal court said, days after a parliamentary election in which the Islamist opposition made some gains in the U.S.-allied kingdom.  Hassan, now head of King Abdullah's office and a former planning minister, replaces Bisher Khasawneh, a veteran diplomat and former palace adviser who was appointed nearly four years ago, a royal court statement said.  Khasawneh...