Day: May 20, 2021

On the 11th consecutive day of the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian woman was killed and other citizens were injured, Palestinian sources said on Thursday.

The occupation warplanes fired a number of rockets at the western line of Khan Yunis in the southern part of the coastal enclave, killing a woman and wounding others, the sources added.

Also today, Israeli aircrafts bombed several houses in Jabalia refugee camp, Sabra neighborhood, Al-Mashtal area, an agricultural land at the entrance to Dawah Street in Nuseirat, Al-Bureij, in addition to a home east of Jabalia, leaving a number of Gazans injured, including women and children.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The increasing amount of sewage sludge requires internationally practiced solutions to utilize the matter for economic purposes, said Mohammad Najjar, Minister of Water and Irrigation in a statement on Thursday.

The minister, during a meeting with Ministers of Agriculture and Environment Khaled Hneifat and Nabil Masarweh, European Union Representative Omar Abu Eid and Food and Agriculture Organization Representative to Jordan Nabil Assaf, said the status quo of the sanitation sector, which serves an increasingly large number of people, calls for highlighting the issue of biosolids, which are solid organic matter recovered from a sewage treatment process.

Sanitation, Najjar pointed out, is a major challenge that demands appropriate solutions in accordance with global reuse experiences, noting that biosolids are a vital economic resource that can be used to achieve economic gains in generating energy and cutting operational costs for some businesses.

The ministry’s strategy focuses on preserving the environment, protecting water resources and public health, and providing advanced services to citizens in the water and sanitation sectors, with an aim of providing an appropriate environment for investments, he stated.

He underscored that the ministry is taking into consideration the use of modern scientific techniques and advanced technological methods to ensure the optimal utilization of water of all kinds and the disposal of sewage sludge, especially treated water from purification plants, as an increasing source of water for the purposes of restricted agriculture.

The Minister of Agriculture pointed to the importance of utilizing treated water and biological treatment wastes in the afforestation project as part of the national afforestation plan, which will have a major environmental impact, underlining the need to expand green areas, combat desertification, and utilize treated water in afforestation, which has an economic impact.

The Minister of Environment highlighted commitment to support any projects implemented in the Badia area and the Water Ministry’s pursuit to develop sustainable environmental solutions. Masarweh also stressed the complementing roles of the three ministries within the government’s plans to improve the environmental, economic and service status quo.

Food and Agriculture Organization Representative to Jordan Nabil Assaf said the UN organization is ready to put in place all capabilities and expertise to make the Jordanian government’s efforts succeed through the relevant ministries.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A 28-year-old Palestinian, from the Umm Dar village in the West Bank city of Jenin, died of serious wounds he sustained by Israeli occupation fire, the Al-Razi Hospital said on Thursday.

The martyr, Muntaser Mahmoud Jawabreh, was seriously injured by the occupation bullets during Israeli attacks on the village two days ago, the hospital added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has received a fresh contribution of $1.5 million from the government of South Korea towards its emergency food assistance programmes supporting thousands of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

WFP has also received US$1 million from the Republic of Korea for the second instalment of its 2020-2021 contribution to Lebanon that is part of a US$3.8 million package WFP received from Korea in December 2020 to provide assistance for Syrians inside their country and in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.

In Jordan, food security levels among Syrian refugees living in communities have dropped by more than ten percentage points since 2019; in March 2021, close to a quarter of refugees were food insecure and 60 percent on the edge of food insecurity. Korea’s US$500,000 contribution for Jordan will support WFP in providing monthly assistance to more than half a million vulnerable Syrian refugees and refugees of other nationalities in Jordan.

In Turkey, US$1 million from Korea will help WFP equip Syrian refugees with the skills they need to find job opportunities and become self-reliant through vocational and paid on-the-job training. These funds will also represent a lifeline for approximately 52,000 refugees living in six camps across south-eastern Turkey through a monthly assistance of TRY 120 (US$17) per person.

This assistance is provided through cash-based transfers; through blockchain in the three Syrian refugee camps, and as cash for refugees living in communities across the country. The.

In Lebanon, with US$1 million as the second allocation of ROK’s 2020-2021 contribution, WFP will provide monthly cash assistance for refugees in Lebanon, ensuring that families who have a hard time getting by are provided with the assistance they need to meet their daily nutrition requirements.

“These funds from the Government of Korea could not have been more timely as the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent economic downturn has pushed hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees in the region deeper into need and desperation, unable to meet their own needs, forcing them to become more dependent on WFP assistances,” said Gordon Craig, WFP’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Life has become an even harder daily struggle for more than 5 million Syrian refugees, who have little or no financial resources.”

The number of vulnerable refugees who lack the basic resources to survive in exile has surged dramatically as a result of the public health emergency. Loss of income has pushed refugee families to the edge. Many are unable to pay their rent and are forced to take on additional debt, cut down on food and medication.

To date, Korea has contributed over US$20 million to WFP’s response to the Syrian regional crisis in the past decade. Korea has become a major donor that has a growing portfolio in the regional crisis.

The Syria response is one of WFP’s largest and most complex emergencies worldwide. Each month, WFP provides food assistance to some 6.5 million Syrians inside and outside Syria. Syrian refugees remain the largest refugee group in the world.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The inspection teams of the Health and Professional Supervision and Inspection Department at the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) shut down 25 facilities, while 33 others were penalized for violating health and professional standards.

According to a statement issued by the GAM Thursday, the teams inspected 702 facilities yesterday, unveiling a number of health and professional violations.

Source: Jordan News Agency