Day: December 5, 2021

Categories
Affairs

Jordan’s national exports soar to JD4.283 billion in Q3 of 2021

Jordan’s national exports jumped by 15.8, or JD584 million, in the third quarter of 2021 to a total of JD4.283 billion, compared with JD3.699 billion recorded in the same reporting period of 2020, according to official figures.

 

However, despite this strong rise in exports, monthly data issued by the Department of Statistics on Sunday showed that the Kingdom’s foreign trade deficit had ballooned by 27.8 percent, or JD1.344 billion, to JD6.175 billion against JD4.831 billion recorded in the same period of last year.

 

Total exports, which include re-exports, hit JD4.719 billion in the January-March period, signaling an increase of JD566 million, or 13.6 percent, from the JD4.153 billion reported in the corresponding period of 2020.

 

Conversely, the value of re-exports in the three-month period dropped by 4.1 percent to a total of JD435.8 million compared with JD454.3 million.

 

As for imports, the figures indicate that they amounted to JD10.984 billion in the third quarter of the current year, rising by 21.2 percent, or JD1.909 billion, from the JD8.985 billion registered in the same period of last year.

 

Accordingly, the import-to-export coverage ratio stood at 43.3 percent against 64.2 percent in the same reporting period of 2020.

 

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Health

Global COVID-19 cases top 265mn

The total number of global COVID-19 cases has surged to 265.4 million, as of Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

 

In its latest update, the University revealed that the global death toll has so far reached around 5.2 million, while over 8.1 billion COVID-19 vaccinations were given.

 

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Games

Mark Bradley: A tale as old as time: Georgia leads Alabama by 10 — and loses

Published by
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — Maybe next time, huh? Maybe next month in Indianapolis for the national title. Maybe that will — once and forever — be the time Georgia beats Alabama in a game of significance. We thought the moment would come Saturday. Yet again, we thought wrong. Alabama entered the SEC Championship game against No. 1 Georgia as a 6 1/2-point underdog, something the Crimson Tide hadn’t been since 2009. As always happens when these teams meet, the Bulldogs built a lead. As always happens when these teams meet, Alabama won. Final score: 41-24. In the grand scheme, losing shouldn’t mean much to Georgi…

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Categories
Games

Strong defensive effort combined with Collin Gillespie’s 23 points leads No. 6 Villanova to 81-52 rout of St. Joseph’s

Published by
The Philadelphia Inquirer

VILLANOVA, Pa. — If there’s anything Villanova has accomplished during its Big 5 week, it’s gradual improvement at the defensive end that will prepare the Wildcats for the brutal three-game stretch away from Finneran Pavilion that awaits them. The sixth-ranked Cats limited St. Joseph’s to less than a point a minute Saturday for the first 30 minutes and held the visitors to 36.2% shooting overall in an 81-52 victory at Finneran Pavilion, their third win in seven days over a Big 5 opponent. Collin Gillespie had another strong offensive game with 23 points, including five 3-point baskets, and Jus…

Continue reading “Strong defensive effort combined with Collin Gillespie’s 23 points leads No. 6 Villanova to 81-52 rout of St. Joseph’s”
Categories
Judicial

US Condemns Militant Attack in Mali that Killed 31

The United States “strongly condemns” a militant attack on a bus in central Mali that killed at least 31 people and wounded 17, the State Department said Sunday.

Unidentified gunmen on Friday opened fire on the bus as it traveled from the village of Songho to a market in Bandiagara, 10 kilometers away.

The villages sit in the heart of the Mopti region, an epicenter of violence in Mali fueled by insurgents linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.

“The United States strongly condemns the attack on civilians on Saturday near Bandiagara, Mali, which left 31 dead and 17 injured,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a written statement.

“We extend our deepest condolences to the Malian people and will continue to partner with them in their pursuit of a safe, prosperous, and democratic future,” Price said.

Jihadist attacks have surged across Africa’s Sahel region, killing thousands and displacing millions across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Source: Voice of America

Categories
Games

World Petroleum Congress Starts In U.S. Houston Amid Omicron Concern

HOUSTON, The World Petroleum Congress, the largest triennial gathering for the industry, kicked off yesterday in Houston, the largest city of south central U.S. state Texas, amid the shadow of the fast-spreading Omicron variant of COVID-19 and the uncertainty of global economic activity and energy consumption.

Topics include the role of U.S. oil and gas in global energy markets, shale revolution, digital evolution of oil industry, energy transition from oil, gas and coal to wind, solar and other clean technologies, and a future vision and perception of the industry, according to the organisers.

More than 300 speakers are likely to participate in strategic programmes and technical forums, with some 4,000 registered attendees from about 70 countries and regions.

Chief executives of BP and QatarEnergy have dropped out of the conference in the last minute, over concern about the Omicron variant, the Upstream reported yesterday.

The fast spreading Omicron sent oil prices plunging recently. Crude prices lost more than 15 percent within days, falling back around 65 U.S. dollars a barrel, according to media reports.

The World Petroleum Congress is organised every three years by the London-based World Petroleum Council, which includes 65 member countries, representing over 96 percent of global oil and gas production and consumption.

The international gathering this year, which will end on Thursday, hasn’t been held in the United States since 1987, when it was also held in Houston.

Source: Nam News Network

Categories
Games

Hamilton wins Saudi GP to level with Verstappen

Jeddah, Lewis Hamilton won a crazy, twice-halted Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to go level on points with Red Bull rival Max Verstappen and set up a winner-takes-all title showdown.

On a chaotic night in Jeddah, the first race in the Gulf kingdom took almost as many twists and turns as an already astonishing and enthralling rollercoaster season — and also left a bitter aftertaste, Reuters reports.

There were crashes and collisions, safety cars, red flags, and claims of dirty driving after seven-times world champion Hamilton hit the back of Verstappen’s suddenly slowing car on the super-fast Corniche street circuit.

Extraordinary, at times angry, radio exchanges between the race director Michael Masi and the top two teams filled the airwaves.

With a bonus point for fastest lap, Hamilton moved alongside Verstappen at the top of the standings with 369.5 points after 21 races.

Verstappen, who finished second with Valtteri Bottas third for Mercedes, leads 9-8 on wins, however — meaning that the Dutch 24-year-old will be champion if neither he nor Hamilton scores another point.

Mercedes extended their lead in the constructors’ championship to 28 points, with an eighth successive title looking more real.

The final round of the season is at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina next weekend.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Categories
Health

South Africa Readies Hospitals as Omicron Variant Drives New COVID-19 Wave

JOHANNESBURG — South Africa is preparing its hospitals for more admissions, as the Omicron coronavirus variant pushes the country into a fourth wave of COVID-19 cases, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday.

Omicron was first detected in southern Africa last month and has triggered global alarm as governments fear another surge in infections.

South Africa’s daily infections surged last week to more than 16,000 on Friday from roughly 2,300 on Monday.

Ramaphosa said in a weekly newsletter that Omicron appeared to be dominating new cases in most of the country’s nine provinces and urged more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

“South Africa now has sufficient supplies of vaccines, … vaccination is essential for our economic recovery because as more people are vaccinated more areas of economic activity will be opened up,” he said.

The government would soon convene the National Coronavirus Command Council to review the state of the pandemic and decide whether further measures are needed to keep people safe, Ramaphosa said.

Scientists in South Africa and other countries are racing to establish whether Omicron is more contagious, causes more severe disease and is more resistant to existing vaccines.

But some anecdotal accounts from doctors and experts in South Africa are reassuring, suggesting that many infections it causes are mild.

“We are keeping a close eye on the rates of infection and hospitalization,” Ramaphosa said.

Source: Voice of America

Categories
Technology

Princess Basma opens 29th Teachers Conference

HRH Princess Basma Bint Talal, Honorary President of the Cultural and Educational Forum for Private Schools, on Saturday, inaugurated the 29th Teachers’ Conference, which is organized by the forum under the slogan “A self-renewing teacher in a flexible school.”

Her Highness stressed, in a speech, the importance of the role of schools and teachers in the lives and well-being of students, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic and its repercussions on all walks of life, including education.

She said that the pandemic has now become the main challenge for education everywhere, adding that the form, tools, skills and concepts of education are rapidly evolving, which calls for innovative thinking, creativity and flexibility, openness to cultures, and acceptance of the other.

Therefore, Her Highness emphasized, it has become necessary for the teacher to arm the students with the necessary skills, knowledge and tools and to think flexibly to approach this new reality in a world of intense competition.

She pointed out the importance of such meetings, which she said provide an opportunity for teachers and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and experiences, discuss the future of their students, and help them achieve their ambitions.

The head of the forum, Wafaa Al-Shanar, said that the coronavirus pandemic has fundamentally changed education to shift from face-to-face to distance learning, which necessitated the introduction of new strategies, means and methods, and required equipping schools with electronic platforms and networks.

She explained that today’s teacher is required to learn more, research, renew and acquire new skills, stressing that this new reality calls for a flexible school that provides teachers with space and freedom to learn, innovate and be creative.

Over the course of two days, the conference will discuss a number of working papers and research, including “Tomorrow’s Generation for Moral Education, Intellectual Balance and Emotional Intelligence”, “Integrative Management for Sustainable Community Education”, “Multi-level Support System”, “Appreciating Diversity and Acceptance of the Other”, “Teacher Preparation Program”, “The Power of the Subconscious”, “Trends in Educational Technology and Strategies for Effective Learning”.

Source: jordan News Agency

Categories
Technology

Students in Saudi go back to in-classroom learning

Students in Saudi Arabia will go back to in-classroom learning for the second semester that starts Sunday, December 5, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The wire service said children in elementary schools and kindergartens will continue taking online lessons remotely, adding that schools that will start in-classroom learning will continue following the health measures issued by the authorities.

Source: jordan News Agency