Day: May 17, 2022

Britain’s jobless rate hit a 48-year low in the first three months of 2022 and employers paid bigger bonuses to keep or attract staff, according to data that added to bets by investors on further Bank of England interest rate hikes.

Core earnings for most workers fell by the greatest amount since 2013 when adjusted for surging inflation, the Office for National Statistics said on Tuesday.

But total pay including bonuses was up 7.0% on a year earlier, far above economists’ average forecast of 5.4%, according to Reuters.

Sterling climbed by 1.1% against the U.S. dollar and rose by 0.6% against the euro. Investors priced in a 30% chance that the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee will resort to raising interest rates by half a percentage point in June.

The jobless rate dropped to 3.7% from 3.8% – below forecasts in a Reuters poll for it to hold steady – and the number of people out of work was less than job vacancies on offer for the first time on record.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

A delegation from the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) has recently visited the Netherlands to have a first-hand-look at the Dutch experience in developing means of sustainable agricultural production, providing food and achieving food security.

A statement by the JFDA on Tuesday said that the delegates discussed with the Dutch officials the acceptance of Jordanian food products in European markets, by enhancing its exports and competitiveness, in order to boost the national economy.

During a visit to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, JFDA Director-General Nizar Mhaidat delivered a briefing on the Administration’s experience as a leading national control body, that seeks ensuring the safety and quality of food, and monitoring food entrance through border crossings.

The visit comes under a previously signed agreement between the two countries to exchange expertise and improve the level of food inspection.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Minister of Education Wajih Owais and Mission Director at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Sherry Carlin on Tuesday inaugurated a new school in Karak.

During the opening ceremony, Owais said the new school will help lessen schools in rented buildings and schools with the double-shift system, and reduce crowdedness, noting the importance of US support to the education sector.

The school’s funding is part of USAID support to build 25 schools across the Kingdom, in addition to maintenance work for some 120 schools and preparing 220 additional classrooms, he indicated.

He noted that Al Thania School has a capacity of 750 students and is installed with the latest educational technologies.

For her part, Carlin said the establishment of the USAID-funded school in cooperation with the Ministry of Education comes to ensure the distinguished partnership and friendship between the two countries.

“The U.S. government is committed to helping Jordan increase access to quality educational opportunities for all children and youth,” she said, highlighting effective cooperation with Jordan to provide a safe, inclusive, and effective learning environment. She added the total value of financial support for the two schools is around $7 million.

She also spoke with students about their experiences, achievements, and challenges they faced and attended a silent play on bullying.

Al Thania School, for kindergarten students of both genders up to the third grade and from the fourth to the eighth grade for females only, houses 20 classrooms and two rooms for kindergarten. Its staff consists of 39 teachers and 11 administrators.

Another currently under construction USAID-funded school for students from fourth to tenth grade, Mutah Elementary School, will house 24 classrooms with a capacity of 864 students and a staff of 36 teachers and 10 administrators.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Minister of Investment Khairy Amr on Tuesday called on the Irish private sector to benefit from investment opportunities available in Jordan.

During a meeting organized by the Jordan-Ireland Business Association (JIBA), Amr said Jordan is a gateway to regional markets due to its strategic location and the many free trade agreements it signed that qualified the Jordanian product to reach more than 1.5 billion consumers.

In the meeting, which was attended by Irish ambassador Vincent O’Neill, Amr added that the ministry hoped Irish businessmen would join the Jordanian market.

The Ministry of Investment is ready to help Irish companies and provide them with economic data, he said, pointing to “promising and competitive” sectors that Irish investors aspire for, including information technology, industry, health, agriculture, and service.

He also stressed the importance of such meetings and visits between the Jordanian and Irish private sectors to promote investment ties and increase Jordanian exports to the Irish and European markets.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordan Armed Forces- Arab Army, Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti, on Tuesday welcomed at the General Command Headquarters Assistant Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, Vice Admiral Jean Hausermann, and an accompanying delegation.

In a meeting attended by a number of officers and the French Defence Attache in Amman, the two sides discussed latest regional and international developments and areas of bilateral cooperation, particularly in the field of joint military training.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation, inched up 2.62 percent in the first 4 months of 2022 to 104.58 points against 101.91 points in the same period of last year, according to official figures.

In a monthly report released Tuesday, the Department of Statistics (DoS) said inflation edged up by 1.2 percent in April, reaching 105.99 points compared with 104.73 points in March 104.73 points.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah Tuesday met with HRH Prince Abdul Aziz bin Talal Al Saud in Amman, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Open University (AOU) and President of the Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND).

The meeting, attended by AOU President Professor Mohammad Al Zakari and AGFUND Executive Director Nasser Al Kahtani, discussed issues of common interest and strengthening cooperation.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

A Palestinian was seriously wounded on Tuesday when Israeli troops fired live rounds and tear gas during clashes with local youth at a checkpoint near Nablus, north of the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the confrontation broke out at the Hawara checkpoint at the southern entrance to Nablus and that soldiers barred ambulances from reaching the injured man, but the army transferred him to a hospital inside Israel, where he was in a serious condition.

In the southern West Bank, clashes also broke out at the Aroub refugee camp, near Hebron, where dozens of Palestinians suffocated as Israeli troops fired tear gas and stun grenades on protesters.

The occupation army also staged raids into half a dozens Palestinian towns across the West Bank and arrested 19 people.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Saleh Kharabsheh, on Tuesday launched an oil exploration project in the Sarhan well, southeast Jordan.

The minister inspected the preparations being made to launch drilling operations in the well, which will reach 1400 to 1750 meters deep.

“The location of the well was identified after an extensive study of the area based on the information of the three-dimensional seismic survey, which was analyzed to determine the areas of the glaciers that the area was exposed to millions of years ago, and was prepared by the Ministry and the National Petroleum Company (NPC) in cooperation with international consulting companies in the field of oil and gas,” Kharabsheh said.

He explained that the project’s exploration phase is being implemented by national cadres, in cooperation between the Ministry the NPC.

He said that the project is part of the ministry’s efforts in the field of exploring natural resources, oil and gas, in order to realize the ministry’s vision of achieving energy security and dependence on local natural resources, which will support the state treasury, stressing the importance of the project in terms of providing jobs for the local community and providing drinking water for the region.

The project, Kharabsheh added, is also part of activating the national program for oil exploration, which began about 30 years ago and resulted in the discovery of oil in the Hamza field in 1983, and the discovery of the Risha gas field in 1987, and the discovery of the Sarhan 4 well in 1989, with the efforts of national cadres.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY