Day: April 28, 2022

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah called on climate leaders to resist pessimism and embrace “urgent optimism” on the climate crisis, so that they may inspire others and serve “as the spark that ignites collective action and drives transformation.”

Her Majesty made her remarks while participating through a pre-recorded speech in the Foreign Policy Virtual Climate Summit, a two-day online summit aiming to advance scalable and inclusive strategies to combat climate change. Other speakers include New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Costa Rica President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry.

In her speech streamed online on Thursday, the Queen described the “alarming” threat to our planet posed by feedback loops that accelerate global warming, such as record-high atmospheric methane levels caused by increased tropical rainfall.

“But there’s another kind of feedback loop that also deserves our attention one that I believe will make or break our climate future,” Her Majesty said. “They’re not chemical or physical. They’re in our heads and in our hearts. These feedback loops are human.”

Citing a recent global survey of children and young adults, Queen Rania stated that “young people around the world are worried” about the future of the planet. “If people don’t believe anything can be done, it’s easy to simply do nothing. Paralysis makes our problems worse, which leads to even greater despair,” Her Majesty explained.

“But here’s the good news,” she asserted. “We’re not there yet.”

Calling on the audience to harness “hope into headway” and “shift the frame from ‘doom’ to ‘opportunity,’” the Queen relayed a number of recent positive global developments, such as the falling prices of solar panels and electric batteries worldwide.

“We’ve read the reports. We’ve seen groundbreaking innovation with our own eyes. And we know there are positive tipping points within reach,” Her Majesty emphasized.

Queen Rania also spoke about her experiences as a council member of the Earthshot Prize, founded by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, two years ago as a global environmental financial award and platform. The prize aims to discover, accelerate, and scale groundbreaking eco-innovations in order to repair and regenerate the planet, and help put it firmly on a trajectory towards a stable climate by 2030.

“When we’re determined to succeed, that’s when game-changing creativity kicks in You see that spirit in every one of the other Earthshot finalists and winners,” she said. “Relative to the scale of the problem, their efforts may be small. But that doesn’t stop them, because they, like you, see themselves as part of a generational project.”

Reaffirming the power of hope in the climate battle, the Queen commended those who strive to contribute meaningfully to combatting climate change.

“By making a difference in whatever way they can, they aim to inspire others to act,” she said. “In this way, climate leaders like these are creating a feedback loop we can celebrate. One that runs on urgent optimism, a sense of possibility, and the faith that, together, we can make things better – which is why we have to try.”

Titled “The Transition to Net Zero: Making Good on COP26 Commitments,” the second annual Foreign Policy Virtual Climate Summit aims to advance the global climate conversation and further global environmental commitments. Streamed online free of charge, the virtual event features a diverse lineup of leaders, experts, and environmental activists from around the world.

Source: Jordan News Agency

-Minister of Culture, Haifa Najjar, on Wednesday discussed with the Chinese ambassador to Jordan, Chen Chuandong, ways of boosting cooperation in the cultural field and reviving cultural agreements signed by the two countries.

Najjar said Jordan and China have “deep-rooted and strong relations” based on a human cultural heritage and future outlook, confirmed by continuous participation in all occasions, held in the two countries.

In a ministry statement, Najjar noted bilateral ties will see development and progress, adding that the two countries have cultural, political and economic understandings aimed to push and build solid relations.

Jordan, which is battling many challenges, also has many opportunities, and works in a spirit of partnership, governance and institutionalized approach, and celebrates diversity, and respect for the other opinion, Najjar noted.

From this standpoint, Jordan is open to the creative Chinese culture in many fields, including cultural industries, which are a model to learn from, Najjar noted, voicing the ministry’s keenness to activate agreements with China, especially with regard to cultural industries.

For his part, the Chinese envoy said the Jordanian-Chinese relations are “strong, longstanding, deep-rooted” historical and cultural relations, calling on strengthening joint dialogue to enhance ties, voicing his country’s readiness to cooperate in various fields, especially in cultural areas.

Jordan signed the first cultural agreement with China in 1979, followed by signing several executive programs, the last of which was the Executive Program for the Cultural Agreement 2019-2022, which entered into force from its signing date.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Represented by the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), Jordan has joined the Global Harmonization Working Party (GHWP), a non-profit organization that aims at harmonizing medical device regulations.

The JFDA has become an active member of the organization, of which 31 countries is part of, based on its achievements and implementation of the best scientific and technical practices and legislation in the field of medical supplies and devices, according to a statement on Thursday.

The JFDA Director-General Nizar Mheidat said the administration’s membership will help develop local manufacturing of medical devices and supplies and enhance their quality to reach global markets by coordinating as much as possible with Asian countries and the world.

He said the move will enable the JFDA to exchange expertise, benefit from global experiences, and partake in decision-making and drafting legislation on classifying and recording medical devices and supplies through participating in technical workgroups that standardize requirements for medical devices and supplies before registration and following up on them post-marketing, in addition to dealing with feedback on side effects and technical issues.

As a member, the JFDA will partake, alongside member countries, in building a standardized regulatory system, reaching a unified audit system, adopting a unified report and information exchange system, communicating with the International Medical Device Regulators Forum, establishing a regional organization to enhance training and dialogue, and conducting joint projects between regulatory departments and manufacturers in Asia, Mheidat added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Lower House, in its session on Thursday, headed by its Speaker Abdul Karim Daghmi and in the presence of Prime Minister Dr. Bisher Khasawneh and the Cabinet’s members, approved draft amendments on the Execution Law.

The Senate is scheduled to discuss the draft amendments of Execution Law and Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 at the beginning of the week following Eid al-Fitr holiday.

The two chambers will hold a joint session during that week, and before proroguing the Parliament’s current ordinary session on the 15th of next May to resolve the dispute over the laws of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).

In its House final version, the Execution Law prohibits the imprisonment of the debtor, in the case the debt amount is less than JD5,000 or if the debtor fails to meet a contractual obligation of three years after the law comes into force.

In addition, the draft law stipulates that an individual shall not be imprisoned during the bankruptcy proceedings, as well as prohibits imprisonment for insolvent debtors and in the case that the imprisonment of debtors has negative social effects or negatively impacts the debtor’s household.

As per its mandating reasons, the bill seeks to achieve a creditor- debtor balance, to ensure justice for all parties, reduce the debtor’s imprisonment and prevent his/her jail in some cases, in addition to addressing loopholes that surfaced during implementation.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Environment Muawieh Radaideh on Wednesday paid an inspection visit to Russeifa district, northeast of Amman, to have a first-hand look on the rehabilitation projects of the “Pepsi Pool” and the ecological park.

A statement by the ministry on Thursday said that the minister was briefed on the progress of the Pepsi Pool rehabilitation project, which is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

“The project includes treating the stagnant water in the pool, which has accumulated as a result of sewage, household connections, water leaking from factories and rainwater, and turn the area into a recreational facility,” the statement added.

The minister visited the ecological park site, stressing the need for such projects in the district to be a safe haven frequented by citizens for the purpose of hiking and sports activities.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Tax revenue in the first two months of the current year inched up by JD54.8 million, standing at a total of JD970.2 million against JD915.4 million in the corresponding period of 2021, according to official figures.

In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Finance said that the rise in tax revenue was primarily driven by a JD65.9 million increase in taxes on income and revenue, signaling that Jordan is on the right path toward economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The ministry also highlighted the efforts exerted by its Income and Sales Tax Department to improve financial stability by cracking down on tax evasion and improving tax compliance.

Financial statements for the first two months of 2022 indicated that non-tax revenue decreased by about JD95.5 million, reaching JD242.1 million against the JD337.5 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.

The decline, the ministry noted, is driven by a JD116.5 million drop in the property income revenue after the item of surpluses and financial returns from independent government units inched down by JD116.2 million during the same period of last year.

Public expenditures increased by JD71.6 million in the first two months of this year, reaching a total of JD1.406 million, against the JD1.335 million recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.

On the debt side, the government debt balance declined, after excluding what the Social Security Investment Fund holds until the end of February 2022, comprising 88.6 percent of the estimated GDP for the month of February of this year against 89.5 percent in 2021.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Covid-19 global caseload hit 511 million as of Thursday, according to the American Johns Hopkins University data.

In a recent update, the university said that the death toll surged to 6.2 million with the total number of vaccines globally administered exceeding 11.3 billion jabs. The United States is still at the top of the infections list, followed by India then Brazil, it added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, on Thursday met Kenyan Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Defense, Eugene Ludovic Wamalwa, and an accompanying delegation.

A military ceremony was held to receive Wamalwa. Honor Guards lined in and saluted him as the Jordanian Armed Forces Band played the national anthems of Jordan and the East-African country.

Huneiti and Wamalwa discussed prospects of cooperation and coordination in military training and exchange of expertise, as well as means of enhancing relations to benefit the armed forces of the two countries.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The weather on Thursday is forecast to remain warm in the mountains and the plains, and hot elsewhere, with a chance of light rainfall in the eastern parts of the Kingdom, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

On Friday, temperatures are forecast to rise 7-8 degrees above their annual average, bringing relatively hot weather countrywide, with clouds at various altitudes.

At night, unstable weather conditions will prevail, caused by a Khamasini depression accompanied by a dusty air mass.

The depression will deepen on Saturday, bringing warm, dry and dusty weather in most regions, with southeasterly active winds.

Mercury in Amman today will range between a high of 31 degrees Celsius and a low of 15C at night, while the port city of Aqaba will see a high of 38C, sliding to 20C at night.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) said Thursday that it achieved a significant increase in its total pre-tax profits at the end of March to JD191.6 million against JD45.3 million for the same period in 2021.

In a disclosure on the Amman Stock Exchange website, the company reported that it recorded a net post-tax profit of JD147.1 million, up from JD35.8 million for the same reporting period of last year.

Moreover, the company’s total assets rose to JD1.619 billion at the end of the first quarter of this year, compared with JD1.505 billion at the end of last year.

Source: Jordan News Agency