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Affairs

MPs agree on inclusive general budget draft law under constitutional amendment

The Lower House of Representatives agreed to establish a sole legal umbrella to submit a single draft law for the general budget, including the budgets of government units, to the Parliament’s two chambers for debate.

During a Wednesday session, a total of 110 deputies voted to approve this amendment on the Constitution’s Article 112 that merges state budgets into a sole bill.

Under the new amendment, the draft general budget law, including the budgets of government units, is submitted to Parliament at least one month, preceding the beginning of the fiscal year, in accordance with the Constitution’s provisions.

This amendment also seeks to enable the government to exercise its monitoring over revenues and expenditures of Jordan’s independent bodies, in addition to developing and activating parliamentary work mechanisms by sparing lawmakers’ effort and time, while discussing the budget law.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

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Affairs

Army chief, UAE delegation discuss joint military cooperation

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti on Wednesday received an Emirati military delegation, chaired by Head of the UAE Executive Department for Defense Policies and Strategic Affairs, Major General Pilot Mubarak Al Neyadi, on ways to enhance military cooperation between the two countries.

On the sidelines of the meeting, which was attended by the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF)’s Assistant for Planning, Organization and Defense Resources, Brigadier General, Yousef Al-Khatib and the Emirati military attaché in Amman, the minutes of the twelfth meeting of the Jordanian/Emirati Joint Committee for Military Cooperation were signed.

The minutes aim to bolster joint strategic military cooperation between the two parties, and to consolidate the deep-rooted historical ties established by the wise leadership of the two countries, in addition to holding joint exercises and coordination in the field of training and exchange of expertise, in order to develop and qualify manpower and raising the efficiency of the two armies, and enhancing joint cooperation between them in the field of defense industries and military exhibitions that are held periodically and reflect both armies volume of military technical developments and level of readiness.

Brigadier General Al-Khatib said: “In the Jordan Armed Forces, we constantly seek to increase the depth of the historical relations that were laid down by the wise leadership between the two brotherly countries, and we are working to strengthen and develop them to reach the highest levels in all fields, especially operational, training and technical.”

He stressed that this meeting is a valuable opportunity to boost military relations between the armed forces of the two brotherly countries.

Major General Al Neyadi lauded JAF’s keenness on joint military communication through periodic meetings, expressing his admiration for the JAF’s distinguished level and its methodology in enhancing skills and combat capabilities of their ranks.

He added that the UAE Armed Forces are working hand in hand with JAF to reach the highest levels of readiness and unify efforts in order to face the current regional challenges.

On the other hand, the army chief and the guest delegation visited the King Abdullah II Special Operations Training Center (KASOTC), and were briefed by KASOTC Director General on specialized courses it holds in the field of combating terrorism and special operations teams, in addition to qualitative training for JAF personnel, pointing out that the KASOTC was able to attract trainees from brotherly and friendly armies last year.

The army chief and the guest delegation attended military drills, visited the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Brigade/Rapid Intervention, the brigade’s Supporting Arms Virtual Trainer (SAVT) Center and other JAF’s facilities.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

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Health

Qatar reports 1,690 COVID cases, remote learning extended

The Qatari authorities Wednesday decided to extend remote learning for school students until January 27, as some 1,690 Qataris tested positive COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.

The decision that was made by the education ministry was necessary against the backdrop of an increase in the daily COVID-19 infections.

A total of 193 people had recovered and were discharged from hospital, as the total number of recoveries is around 246,000.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

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Health

Nurses found guilty for illegally selling medicine

Prosecution in Amman Wednesday charged two nurses with illegally selling medicine and were fined JD1,000 plus the prosecution fees and the confiscation of the medicine found on them.

In an open hearing the court found the two defendants guilty of illegally selling the Coronavirus medicine “Remdesivir” that is strictly used in hospitals. They sold the medicine for about JD200.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

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Health

UK reports 334 COVID fatalities

The UK’s health department Wednesday reported 334 COVID-19 deaths, taking the death toll to 149,284.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said some 194,750 people tested positive for the highly contagious lung disease, as the caseload tops 13.8 million.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

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General

Iraq al-Asad Airbase hit by missile attack

The al-Asad Airbase in western Iraq Wednesday was hit by at least five missiles, according to a military source.

The source added that the missiles were launched from a village in the Hit city, 170 km west of Baghdad. It is still unknown if the attack had caused any casualties.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Categories
General

At least 6 million people in Ethiopia will need life-saving assistance: UN

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that 6.4 million people in eastern and southern Ethiopia affected by drought need life-saving assistance this year, including three million people in the Somali region, 2.4 million people in eastern Oromia and one million people in southern Oromia

After the third consecutive failed rainy season, drought in southern and eastern Ethiopia (Somali region, eastern and southern Oromia) is already having a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of pastoralists and agro-pastoral communities living in the region, where about three million people face water shortage and need require water trucking support, according to an OCHA statement.

The drought also impacted more than 155,000 students in these areas due to the closure of schools and the lack of school food programs.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

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Health

9.2 billion Covid-19 vaccines administered worldwide: Johns Hopkins University

The total number of Covid-19 vaccines that have been administered around the world have topped 9.275 billion doses, while the total caseload amounted to more than 296 million.

The latest update of Covid-19 statistics on US’s Johns Hopkins University website on Wednesday evening showed that the United States ranked first in terms of infections, with 57.2 million, followed by India, which recorded 35 million, while Brazil ranked third with more than 22 million.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY