Jordan News UpdatesDozens of Jewish extremist settlers on Monday storm Al-Aqsa Mosque / Haram al-Sharif compound in occupied East Jerusalem.
Eyewitnesses told Petra’s reporter in Ramallah that the radical settlers carried out today’s raids under heavy protection of Israeli special police.
“The settlers toured the mosque’s yards and provocatively performed Talmudic rituals, while Muslim worshipers and Al-Aqsa’s guards peacefully confronted,” the eyewitnesses added.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh said Monday that Jordan’s imports of Iraqi crude during the period from September 9 to November 26 were about 840,000 barrels, an average of 9,700 barrels daily.
Kharabsheh said Jordan imports crude oil from Iraq at a daily rate of 10,000 barrels, covering about 7 per cent of the Kingdom’s needs, that are transported from the Beji Refinery, 830 km from the Jordanian-Iraqi border.
He said that Jordan had coordinated with the Iraqi side to set up a station in Al Qaem in Anbar Province, 435 km from the border, as an alternative to Beji for loading crude due to its proximity to the Kingdom. But the Iraqis did not inform the ministry about its readiness, he added.
Jordan imports Iraqi crude under a memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries in 2008, which is annually extended, but it was halted in late 2013 following the closure of the Treibil border crossing for security reasons. In 2017, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources asked the Iraqi side to renew the memorandum, which was revalidated in early 2019.
Iraqi crude is currently imported under a memorandum signed in early 2021 at a price $16 per barrel less than benchmark Brent crude price.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Jordan and Japan on Monday signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) under which the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) provides a $100 million loan to support the general budget, address economic and development challenges and enhance social protection.
The MoUs were signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh, Japan’s Ambassador to Jordan, Shimazaki Kaoru and JICA’s Chief Representative in Amman, Chie Miyahara.
A ministry statement said the signed loan is part of a total loan of $300 million, which was asked from the Japanese government to support the budget, following the London Conference to Support Jordan, which was held in 2019.
Shraideh explained that this loan is the fifth that has been provided by the Japanese government as direct support to the general budget since 2014 to contribute to covering expenditures of the general budget, in addition to a loan provided in 2012 to support capital projects in the general budget, which comes as emergency support to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic in Jordan, with eased financial terms, within the package of mitigating measures approved by the Cabinet.
For his part, Japanese envoy expressed his hope that the new loan would contribute to supporting the Jordanian government’s development efforts and help in early recovery from the economic impact of the pandemic on the Kingdom.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) Monday inaugurated the multi-purpose playground of Bait Illiqa Centre for persons with disabilities.
The establishment of the multi-purpose playground is part of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)-funded project: Strengthening Community Mental Health and Disability Services for Vulnerable Populations” that supports the de-institutionalisation (De-I) of persons with disabilities, which seeks their inclusion and transforming residential centres into daycare centres.
Ambassador of Italy to Jordan Fabio Cassese, who attended the ceremony, said, “The government of Italy firmly supports Jordan national agenda for the de-institutionalisation of persons with disabilities in line with Law 20/2017 on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and praises the efforts exerted by the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as the driving agent behind this challenging process.
“Through our longstanding partnership with WHO, we support the creation and the strengthening of comprehensive and integrated mental health and social care services at the community level, as a key to help social cohesion and promote inclusive communities.”
Jamela Raiby, the WHO representative to Jordan, praised the efforts to develop services for children with developmental disorders and disabilities and their families on all different levels, in coordination with all stakeholders.
Emilio Cabasino, the head of the AICS, said, “We are confident that this playground, besides representing a safe space to support child development through play activities, could become a place to promote encounter, exchange and social interactions with ‘others’ and contribute as a small seed to building a society of tomorrow that can be fair, inclusive, respectful of diversities and capable to enable each one of us to take his role in the society.”
Chiara Giorgio, who is in charge of the Bait Illiqa Centre, praised the Italian government and the WHO for their support.” This playground will be a sign of great hope for a new beginning in our lives. It is an important part of the village that Bait Illiqa dreams of for our children, youth and their families, which will increase the opportunities of interaction and integration in the community.”
The Bait Illiqa Centre for persons with disabilities is a charitable, voluntary humanitarian centre whose goal is to train and rehabilitate persons with disabilities and activate their role in society.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Ministry of Health announced Monday it recorded 33 coronavirus deaths and 5,661 infections across the Kingdom, bringing the tally since the outbreak of the pandemic to 11,584 fatalities and 948,966 infections.
The rate of positive PCR tests reported for the day was 9.67 per cent, according to the ministry’s daily media brief.
It said that the number of currently active Covid-19 cases reached 53,402, while those admitted to hospitals today numbered 182 and 127 were discharge. The total number of confirmed cases still being hospitalized reached 1,045, according to the statement.
It showed that the occupancy rate of isolation beds in the northern region was 28 per cent, intensive care beds 36 per cent and respirators 27 per cent.
In the central region, the occupancy rate of isolation beds reached 23 per cent, intensive care beds 35 per cent and respirators 15 per cent, it said.
In the southern region, the occupancy rate of isolation beds was 13%, intensive care beds 13% and respirators 11%, it said.
The ministry also said that 3,118 cases of recovery were recorded, bringing the total number of expected recoveries after the end of the 14-day isolation period to 883,980.
The daily summary showed that the number of those who got the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine reached 4,130,354, while the number of those who received the second jab climbed to 3,739,571.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The UK’s health department Monday reported 35 COVID-19 deaths, taking the death toll to 144,810.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said some 42,800 people tested positive for the highly contagious lung disease, as the caseload tops 10 million.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The UK health department Monday said it will offer a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine to all its citizens.
Anthony Harnden, Deputy Chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said in an interview with the BBC: “Inevitably, everybody will be offered a booster.
“But what we want to do is make sure that it’s done in a sensible order so that those that are most vulnerable for this infection can get boosted and their natural immunity levels can go up.”
Source: Jordan News Agency
Minister of Health, Firas Hawwari on Monday met with Norway Ambassador to Jordan Espen Lindback, for a discussion on ways to enhance mutual cooperation, especially in the health field.
Hawwari called for exchanging expertise in the field of training medical cadres in the two countries, which greatly contributes to improving the level of medical services provided to citizens.
The minister said Jordan provides high-quality health services, implements plans to respond and deal with Covid-19 and provide ways to implement health safety programs for all citizens and nationals from friendly and brotherly countries and refugees.
For his part, the Norwegian envoy lauded the level of relations between the two countries, stressing his country’s keenness to build a partnership with Jordan in many areas of joint cooperation, and the need to strengthen it to serve the interests of the two peoples.
He said that Jordan has presented a distinguished level thanks to its wise management in dealing with the epidemiological situation, commitment to applying health protocols, controlling the level of stability between infections and providing health services in Covid-19 patients treatment hospitals.
The ambassador welcomed the important cooperation in the next stage and potentials for cooperation between the two countries in the health field, especially in exchanging medical expertise and rare medical specialties.
Source: Jordan News Agency
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II on Monday visited the training camp of the national football team, which is participating in the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 held in Doha.
Crown Prince Al Hussein checked on the readiness of the national team, wishing the players a strong showing in the championship, which begins on Tuesday, with the participation of 16 Arab football teams.
The national team’s group also includes Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Palestine. The team faces Saudi Arabia on its first match, slated for 1 December.
Source: Jordan News Agency