Day: April 20, 2022

Categories
General

House okays some Penal Code amendments to introduce community service alternatives

The Lower House on Wednesday approved a number of amendments to the Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, in a session, headed by its Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi, in the presence of Prime Minister, Dr. Bisher Khasawneh, and the Cabinet members.

To date, the deputies approved a total of 10 out 40 articles of the draft Penal Code law.

Under the new amendments, alternative penalties are approved, aimed to provide non-liberty-depriving sentences, in misdemeanours (for non-repeat offenders), based on a social report prepared, under the supervision of the Ministry of Justice.

These alternative penalties include community service by 40-100 hours, and monitoring within a behavioral rehabilitation program, in addition to e-monitoring, either on a monthly, or yearly basis, according to a House statement.

In addition, the bill bans the target categories from entering specific places (either per month, year), with the possibility of applying alternative terms in “felonies” that do not involve other people.

These amendments are used, in cases when sentences are reduced to a year, for non-repeaters, pending implementation on bylaws that are not issued yet for this purpose, which set mechanisms for implementing this amended bill, foremost is e-monitoring, the statement added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
General

Jerusalem ‘red line, priority’ to Hashemite leadership-RCJA

The Secretary General of the Royal Committee for Jerusalem Affairs (RCJA) Abdullah Kanaan said His Majesty King Abdullah II “closely” followed up on the Jerusalem file during his treatment abroad, by holding local and international contacts with world leaders and politicians.

In a statement to “Petra,” Kanaan added that His Majesty’s directives to the Jordanian government and diplomacy continued to intensify work and efforts to update global public opinion on provocative Israeli practices, especially Israel’s attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif.

This belligerence was carried out, under the false pretext, to protect the settlers and the Temple groups that storm Jerusalem’s sanctities, Kanaan noted.

RCJA, he said, affirms Jerusalem has always been “a red line and a priority” in the Hashemite thought and sacrifices to preserve its Arab identity and protect its sanctities.

The King will remain the custodian over Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian holy sites to help Palestinian people obtain their full rights, foremost are establishment of the Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital on the 1967 borders and implementation of all international legitimacy resolutions, he noted.

Lauding His Majesty’s position and local and international contacts to follow up on Jerusalem file, he said this Royal action is a message to intensify efforts to protect the city’s holy sites, in support of Jerusalemites to prevent the Israeli occupation from committing its crimes and desecrating sanctities, in defiance of international resolutions and understandings.

The King’s efforts, he noted, aim to preserve Jerusalem’s historical and legal status quo and “fully” reject Israel’s attempts to impose the temporal and spatial division of Al-Aqsa Mosque / Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which is the exclusive property of Muslims alone, as confirmed by international legitimacy resolutions.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Judicial

Chinese lipid-lowering drug candidate proves safe

A new lipid-lowering drug candidate developed by Chinese researchers was proved safe and effective in its phase one clinical trial, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) said on Tuesday.

The drug was developed by researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica under the CAS, and was approved to undergo phase one clinical trial in 2020.

The candidate showed a promising lipid-lowering effect in vitro and in vivo, as well as good safety and tolerability both in healthy subjects and in patients with hyperlipidemia in the phase one trial, according to the research paper published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Lipid-lowering drug statins are currently the main clinical treatment for hyperlipidemia, though they are not suitable for patients with statin intolerance.

The new candidate provides a potential therapeutic strategy for patients with statin intolerance due to its action mechanism that is distinct from other known lipid-lowering reagents, the paper said.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Government Policy

Lower House lauds King’s efforts to stop Al-Aqsa violations

The Lower House of Representatives on Wednesday lauded His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts in communicating with Arab and international leaders to unite and stop the Israeli occupation’s violations in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

These continuous efforts are a message to the world that Jordan did not, and will not, abandon the Hashemite custodianship over the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem, said a statement on Wednesday, adding that it will be the first to confront anyone trying to alter the legal and historical status quo and the region’s Arab, Islamic and Christian identity.

The statement also congratulated His Majesty on the success of his surgery and the safe flight back to the Kingdom.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

JPMC to export largest phosphate shipment to India

The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) on Wednesday kicked off the process of exporting 80,800 metric tons of phosphate to the Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO).

JPMC Chairman, Abdul Wahab Al-Rowwad, said that the load is the largest single shipment of fertilizer in the history of the company, noting that Bulk Carrier Star Gwyneth, which docked yesterday in Aqaba’s port, will be loaded with the shipment in record time.

“The ship is the largest bulk carrier ever to dock at Aqaba’s industrial ports,” he added, commending the company’s staff at various sites who constitute a major economic institution that supports the national economy.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

Sheep, goat population at 3.88mln heads in 2021

Jordan’s sheep and goat population increased by 3 percent in 2021 to a total of 3.889 million heads compared with 3.765 million heads in 2020, according to official figures.

Similarly, sheep and goat births during the same year picked up by 4.4 percent at 2.5 million heads against 2.394 million heads in 2020, the Department of Statistics said on Wednesday, citing data from a regular livestock census.

According to the data, there were 3.085 heads of sheep and 804,000 heads of goat in the Kingdom in 2021. About 1.252 heads of sheep and goat were slaughtered in 2021 for human consumption, indicating an increase of 10 percent year on year.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

China VAT credit refunds top $65b in first half of April

China’s value-added tax (VAT) credit refunds topped 420.2 billion yuan ($65.9 billion) in the first half of April, data from the State Taxation Administration showed on Tuesday.

The refunds benefited 527,000 taxpayers in the period, according to the data.

To improve the cash flow of enterprises, promote consumption-driven investment, and further improve the system for refunding VAT credits, China is set to issue VAT credit refunds on a large scale in 2022, according to this year’s Chinese government work report.

Tax refunds and cuts are expected to total 2.5 trillion yuan, while VAT credit refunds will account for 1.5 trillion yuan of the sum and will all go straight to enterprises.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

QAIA receives over 1.3mln passengers during Q1 2022

The Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) welcomed 1,330,202 passengers (PAX) by the end of March 2022, marking a 195.4% surge and 30.9% decline against 2021 and 2019 figures, respectively.

According to a statement released Wednesday by the Airport International Group, the QAIA recorded 13,684 aircraft movements (ACM), indicating a 123.4% increase and 22.9% decrease compared with 2021 and 2019 figures, respectively.

The QAIA also handled 13,731 tons of cargo – 33% higher and 39.3% lower than figures registered in 2021 and 2019, respectively.

During the month of March, the QAIA received 561,425 passengers (PAX), signifying a substantial 251.3% growth and 17.0% drop against 2021 and 2019 figures, respectively. The QAIA witnessed 5,076 ACM, representing a 131.3% rise and 17.6% fall – as opposed to 2021 and 2019 figures, respectively. The QAIA also handled 5,430 tons of cargo – denoting a 54.3% increase and 35.7% decrease compared with 2021 and 2019 figures, respectively.

“During the first quarter of 2022, specifically following the international easing of travel restrictions, QAIA experienced a positive turn in year-to-date and year-on-year traffic that helped bridge the gap compared with 2019 pre-COVID figures. Given the interconnected nature of the industry we operate in, such efforts are not only welcome but necessary for expediting the recovery of air transport in Jordan and across the globe,” said Airport International Group CEO, Nicolas Claude.

Source: Jordan News Agency