Day: January 19, 2022

Categories
General

Contract to supply Lebanon with Jordan’s electricity to be inked next Wednesday-Energy minister

Jordan, Lebanon and Syria are scheduled next Wednesday to sign a transit agreement and a contract to supply Lebanon with part of its electrical energy needs from Jordan through the Syrian grid, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Saleh Kharabsheh, announced.

In a press statement on Wednesday, Kharabsheh stressed the importance of the agreement in helping Lebanon to meet part of its electrical energy needs, in implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah II’s directives to support the Lebanese people in overcoming obstacles in the energy sector.

Under the agreement, Lebanon will be provided with about 150 megawatts of electricity from midnight to 6 a.m., and 250 megawatts during the remaining hours, Kharabsheh pointed out.

The project, he said, will benefit the Jordanian electrical system, as Lebanon will be supplied directly from the Kingdom’s power transmission networks.

The minister added: “The selling price of electricity to Lebanon will not cause any losses to the Jordanian electrical grid, as the distribution cost will not be included in the selling price offer.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Fashion

Crown Prince visits JMI; urges keeping up with developments in media sector

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II on Wednesday, during a visit to the Jordan Media Institute (JMI), stressed the importance of keeping abreast of developments in the media field.

Crown Prince Al Hussein met with a group of government spokespeople who are attending a capacity building programme held by the JMI, and highlighted the need for credibility and transparency in presenting media narratives, noting that the vacuum created by the absence of reliable information leads to a decline in public trust.

His Royal Highness was briefed by JMI founder Her Royal Highness Princess Rym Ali on the programmes and courses offered by the institute, which aims to develop the skills of media professionals in Jordan and the Arab region through educational opportunities and specialised training, especially its Master’s programme in Journalism and New Media.

The Crown Prince, accompanied by Princess Rym, toured JMI’s facilities, which include an auditorium, a newsroom, TV and radio studios, a library, and other training halls.

JMI is the first Arab educational institution to develop its journalism curricula by utilising elements of the digital environment, as well as focusing on building a strong cultural knowledge base among its students. The institute balances theoretical and practical instruction and integrates communications technology with digital applications.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Fashion

Culture minister, Qatari counterpart talk ways of joint cooperation

Minister of Culture, Haifa Najjar, on Wednesday discussed ways of Jordanian-Qatari cultural cooperation, which would improve the Arab cultural scene, during her visit to Doha.

According to a ministry statement on Wednesday, Najjar affirmed in her meeting with Qatari Minister of Culture, Sheikh Abdul Rahman bin Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, the “deep-rooted” bilateral relations.

Touring Doha International Book Fair, Najjar lauded the exhibition’s “good organization and diversity of displays in various fields of knowledge, science and literature.”

The fair, which sees participation of 36 Jordanian publishing houses and hundreds of Arab and international publishers, reflects “the state of sciences in Qatar, and a platform to bring together Arab culture,” Najjar pointed out.

Qatar presents, through this event, a “distinguished cultural project,” indicating that the “outstanding” relations between the Jordanian and Qatari culture ministries pushes the two sides to work to advance Arab culture, according to Najjar.

Najjar noted cultural activities, held on the sidelines of the fair, enrich the Arab cultural scene, and represent an “important” platform for contact and dialogue among Arab thinkers and their world peers.

For his part, the Qatari minister lauded the importance of Jordanian culture and its thinkers, who have an “important” role in enriching Arab cultural scene.

The fair, he said, constitutes an Arab cultural destination to exchange views and showcase intellectual product of Arab writers.

The Qatari official also said importance of such activities, events and exhibitions stems from supporting culture at the national level and creating a “refined Arab and human dialogue.”

The event’s goal comes within the framework of promoting the culture of reading, and its role in curbing negative values, and building pride in national identity.

On the other hand, Jordanian publishers valued Najjar’s visit to the fair’s pavilions, which would encourage Jordan’s publishing industry and support their presence in exhibitions organized at the Arab level.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

UN, World Bank urge gov’t to uphold in-class learning

UNICEF, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank urged the Jordanian government to uphold in-class learning to prevent affecting school children.

They commended Jordan’s efforts to avoid affecting the school learning process and for opening school, amid national efforts to ensure the necessary health measures are in place for safe learning and that both children and teachers have the skills and tools they need to effectively catch up.

They urged the authorities to avoid reversing years of progress in education, adding this will be made possible by continuing to apply the safe reopening framework that seeks to keep in-class learning available for the majority of students.

“Time is of essence to help children who have already lost almost two years of in-person learning. The focus must be on getting the most vulnerable children who are facing a shadow pandemic of child labour, early marriage and mental health issues, and are most at risk of dropping out, back to school,” said Tanya Chapuisat, a UNICEF representative.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has already placed restrictions and immense pressures on children everywhere. Returning to school should be an exciting time for them and contributes to their physical and mental development…,” said Jamela Raiby, a WHO representative.

“Early indications from the recent mid-term review of Jordan’s Education Strategic Plan (ESP) already point to alarming learning and equity losses due to the pandemic. Stronger prioritisation on reopening schools and keeping them open and mainstreaming of remedial education approaches within public schools will be critical, especially for children from low-income households, children with special needs, and refugee children,” said Min Jeong Kim, a UNESCO representative.

“Disruptions to instructional time in the classroom can have a severe impact on a child’s future ability to learn. Learning losses can far exceed the actual school closure time…,” said Holly Benner, a World Bank representative.

The cost of keeping schools closed is significant as children who fall behind in their education are more likely to drop out, affecting Jordan’s human capital outcomes and the ability of the young to secure job opportunities and economic opportunities in the longer term.

Simulations suggest that students have lost up to 0.9 years of schooling in Jordan, adjusted for quality. It is estimated that in Jordan students’ future earnings may fall as much as 8 percent.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Government Policy

Gov’t calls two-hour delay Thursday due to weather conditions

The government Wednesday issued an order to put back working hours to start at 10:00 on Thursday for the public sector due to the weather conditions.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Technology

Cabinet approves Amman municipality social solidarity fund

The Cabinet Wednesday approved the Social Solidarity Fund for the employees of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) of 2022.

The Cabinet also decided to appoint Qais Abu Dayyeh ambassador in the Ministry of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, and to name him ambassador to the Republic of Italy.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Government Policy

King receives call from Al Azhar grand imam

His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday received a phone call from Grand Imam of Al Azhar Sheikh Ahmad Al Tayyib.

Discussions in the phone call covered developments in Jerusalem, with King Abdullah stressing the need to cease all unilateral Israeli violations against the Palestinians, which undermine the prospects of achieving just and comprehensive peace.

His Majesty reaffirmed that Jordan will continue to undertake its historical and religious role in safeguarding Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, under the Hashemite Custodianship.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Technology

Second school semester to start Feb 20, says minister

The government Wednesday announced the second school semester is scheduled to start on February 20.

The second semester is put back for kindergarten children and first through eleventh graders based on the COVID-19 response commission.

Faisal Shboul, the media minister, said the order is aimed at protecting school students and faculty and to contribute to the national efforts to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Shboul added that the government rules out the return of remote learning, highlighting the second semester will be extended to offset the delay, as the second semester is scheduled to end on July 6.

The health authorities estimate that the cases will continue to rise for a number of weeks, after which, the cases will drop, hence the decision to put back the start of the second semester.

He said the order excludes 12th graders (Tawjihi) and schools that teach international programmes; nevertheless, he added, health measures and protocols will continue to take place in case a school reports 10 percent infections among its staff and students.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Health

GAM values Crown Prince’s letter to highlight its anti-COVID-19 immunization drive-Shawarbeh

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has received a letter of appreciation from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, for its efforts in the national anti-COVID-19 immunization campaign.

In a statement on Wednesday, Chairman of the GAM Committee, Dr. Yousef Shawarbeh, valued the Crown Prince’s letter, which constitutes an incentive to make further action to support national efforts aimed at mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic-related effects on Jordan.

In addition, Shawarbeh voiced the GAM’s keenness to implement Royal directives and support efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II and Crown Prince to achieve national development and mitigate the pandemic-induced impacts on various fields.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Health

Jordan sees 14 COVID-19 fatalities, 6, 216 new cases Wednesday-MoH

The Ministry of Health announced 14 Covid-19 fatalities and 6, 216 new cases were recorded in the Kingdom on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 13,028 and the caseload to 1, 117, 397.

To date, there are currently 36,672 active 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 118, while 90 cases have recovered and discharged.

According to the briefing, the total number of recoveries recorded Wednesday, whether at hospitals or at home, stood at 2, 789 bringing the total to 106,7780 since the outbreak began.

Moreover, the number of Covid-19 patients still receiving treatment at hospitals countrywide has reached 597.

The statement also indicated that occupancy of ICU beds in the northern, central and southern regions, has reached 31%, 28%, and 7%, respectively.

With regard to testing, 40,394 tests were conducted Wednesday, 15.39 per cent of which were positive.

Since March 2020, the total number of tests administered has increased to 1,421,1088, 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 4,532,878 and 4,133,132 have received their second shot.

Source: Jordan News Agency