Day: September 8, 2021

There will be no changes to the in-place Media Commission regulations, following talks with the Jordanian Press Association (JPS) that opposed the proposed changes.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Sakher Dudin said on Wednesday: “All that we had done with regards to the draft Media Commission’s regulations is to draw opinions and proposals on them, and we have decided to stop at that point and to continue working with the existing regulations at the Commission.”

Dudin emphasised the importance of the dialogue with and involvement of the JPS on issues that concern journalists, not least of which are legislative issues.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A Royal Decree has been issued, appointing Auda Abu Tayeh as chief of Royal Protocol as of 8 September 2021

Another Royal Decree approved the resignation of Qais Abu Daieh from his position as Royal Protocol chief as of 8 September 2021.

Source: Jordan News Agency

COVID-19 killed 191 people in the UK Wednesday, taking the death toll to 133,674, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).

More than 38,970 people tested positive for the highly contagious respiratory disease, as the caseload tops 7 million, the DHSC added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) has ranked 401th on the top 500 universities globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022.

In his interview with “Petra” on Wednesday, JUST President, Dr. Khaled Salem, said entry of Jordanian universities into global rankings reflects support of Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Jordan’s academic institutions within the framework of the Royal visions to advance education outcomes and strengthen scientific research, innovation and partnerships.

Salem also referred to the “distinguished” and “cumulative” efforts made since the university’s establishment to enter the top 500 universities category at the global level.

As part of its strategic plan, he said JUST is working to develop the research and teaching process by acquiring international accreditation for its programs, implementing a scholarship plan, conducting joint research with international institutions, and mobilizing support for the implementation of “qualitative” projects that have a “positive” impact on society.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) closed Wednesday’s trading session up by 0.03 percent at 2,057 points.

A total of 4.2 million shares were traded through 2,920 transactions at a trading value of JD4.9 million.

The closing prices of 40 companies with traded shares went up, while 26 others declined. The prices of the shares of 27 others remained unchanged.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) said a power transformer in the Southern Shouneh area has failed Wednesday morning due to “unknown” gunfire, bringing the number of out-of-service transformer substations by similar attacks since the beginning of 2021 to 17.

The company, in a statement on Wednesday, said it informed the concerned authorities on the incident in the Southern Shouneh district, adding that the attack on the electric utility transformer caused “major” problems and citizen observations, amid the region’s high temperatures.

The company called for taking the necessary measures to uncover the perpetrators’ identities and take “deterrent” legal action, stressing that repeat attacks harm EDCO’s workers and affect power service quality.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Ministry of Health announced 10 Covid-19 fatalities and 975 new cases were recorded in the Kingdom on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 10,501 and the caseload to 804, 326.

To date, there are currently 12, 048 cases countrywide, according to the media statement issued by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.

The statement added that the number of patients who were admitted to hospitals today stood at 67, while 58 cases have recovered and discharged.

According to the briefing, the total number of recoveries recorded Wednesday, whether at hospitals or at home, stood at 904 bringing the total to 781,777 since the outbreak began.

Moreover, the number of Covid-19 patients still receiving treatment at hospitals countrywide has reached 540.

The statement also indicated that occupancy of ICU beds in the northern, central and southern regions, has has reached 20%, 26%, and 15%, respectively.

With regard to testing, 30, 596 tests were conducted Wednesday, 3.19 percent of which were positive.

Since last March, the total number of tests administered has increased to 9,474, 730, the joint statement noted.

The statement also added that the total number of people who received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine has reached 3,543,990 and 3,050,050 have received their second shot.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Department of Antiquities, in cooperation with Yarmouk University (YU), announced HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal will open 15th International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan (ICHAJ), which will be held at YU’s headquarters from July 18-21 next year.

In a joint press statement Wednesday, Ministry of Tourism and Department of Antiquities said Tourism Minister, Nayef Fayez, and President of Yarmouk University, Dr. Islam Massad, agreed on the final arrangements to hold the conference, under the title: “Thoughtful Archaeology in the Ecosphere and Sociosphere, ” in a meeting held today.

According to the statement, ICHAJ, organized every three years, is an event of utmost importance for the scientific community of archaeologists and historians who, at an international level, are interested in Jordan, the Middle East, the Mediterranean and long-term Euro- Mediterranean cultural relations.

The first ICHAJ, which was held in Oxford in 1980, was the initiative of HRH Prince Hassan, according to the statement.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The real estate trade volume in the Kingdom went up by 11 per cent to JD3.089 billion in the first eight months of 2021, compared with the same period of 2019, the Department of Land and Survey (DLS) announced on Wednesday.

According to the DLS’s monthly report, revenues decreased during the January-August period 2021 by 12 percent, compared to the same period in 2019, to stand nearly at JD126.4 million.

The comparison was made in 2019 due to the impact of the pandemic that affected work days in 2020, the report said.

On the monthly level, the trading volume in the Jordanian real estate market soared during August of 2021 by 41%, compared to the same month of 2019, marking an increase of 39%, compared to the previous month, to reach JD487 million.

The department’s revenues in August saw a decrease of 16%, compared to the same month of 2019 to reach nearly JD20 million, the report revealed.

The real estate sales in the Kingdom during the first eight months of 2021 were up by 49%, as apartment sales went up by 33%, and land sales increased by 54%, compared to the same period in 2019, according to the DLS data.

Source: Jordan News Agency

His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, visited the General Command of the JAF on Wednesday.

King Abdullah was received by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Hneiti and senior officers.

His Majesty met with Hneiti and was briefed on a number of operational, training, and logistical issues concerning the JAF.

The King commended the readiness of JAF units and formations, as well as their personnel’s advanced level.

Source: Jordan News Agency