Day: July 13, 2022

cores of Jewish extremist settlers early Wednesday stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Haram Al Sharif compound in the occupied holy city of Jerusalem, according to a Palestinian official source.

A statement by the Islamic Awqaf and Al-Aqsa Affairs said that today’s raid was carried out through al-Magharebah Gate under heavy protection of Israeli police and forces.

“The settlers provocatively toured the Mosque and performed Talmudic rituals, while Muslim worshipers and Al-Aqsa’s guards peacefully confronted them,” it added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Inbound remittances to the Kingdom jumped by about 20 percent during the first two weeks of July, compared to the same period last year,Khaled Alzoubi, an official at the Jordanian Exchange Association, said on Wednesday.

Al-Zoubi indicated that the exchange of Gulf currencies rose by more than 50 percent during this month, compared to the same period in the past two years, due to the return of Jordanian expatriates from the Arab Gulf countries and tourist arrivals from the Arab Gulf region.

He also said that such indicators help to improve and revitalize economic growth, as well as increase the Central Bank of Jordan’s reserves

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Joint Greece-Jordan Committee for Economic, Cultural and Technical Cooperation convened last week in Athens, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply.

The committee’s fifth meeting, chaired by the ministry’s Secretary-General Dana Al-Zoubi and Greece’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy and Openness Kostas Fragogiannis, came 16 years after the last meeting, which was held in Amman in December 2006.

The meeting tackled cooperation in construction, energy, agriculture, education and student exchange, and program exchange to boost cooperation in medical tourism.

The meeting is a great chance to speak about global economic challenges caused by the Covid pandemic, said Al-Zoubi, adding that “We hope for further cooperation with Greece due to lots of common interests related to an open economic policy that supports trade exchange.”

Fragogiannis, for one, emphasized the importance of increased cooperation in the economy and commerce, as well as higher education, transportation, energy, agriculture, and other fields.

He also stressed the importance of making investment procedures easier for both countries’ businesspeople.

The committee concluded several agreements to bolster bilateral cooperation in various fields. It also underscored the urge to implement programs such as double taxation, the Cultural and Technical Cooperation Program 2022-2025, and many agreements that will be conducted through diplomatic channels

Source: Jordan News Agency

The second edition of a national competition designed to encourage media professionals to pursue disability-sensitive coverage and abandon stereotypes that portray people with disabilities as superheroes or vulnerable persons was launched Wednesday, according to a statement by the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD).

As its name suggests, the “Address Me Objectively” campaign, which was launched at a ceremony sponsored by the President of the Council, His Highness Prince Mired bin Raad, aims to encourage journalists to submit writings and creative works that objectively address the issue of disability.

In its statement, the council stated that the competition is consistent with a well-established policy to promote a culture that fosters the inclusion of people with disabilities and allows them to exercise their rights on an equal footing with others.

The competition, according to the Secretary-General of the Council, Muhannad Al-Azza, aims to inspire media professionals to present media products and models based on a social human rights approach that emphasizes barriers rather than disabilities.

In addition to highlighting success stories that show advancements made to further promote the rights of the disabled, the competition focuses on the impact of environmental, behavioral, and stereotypes barriers on people with disabilities’ access to their rights and freedoms.

“In media reporting, one should not focus on disability as if it were a suspense element and the essence of journalistic material,” Al-Azza emphasized, adding that “forcing disability into coverage without any context is discrimination and a violation of a person’s privacy.”

Instead, Al-Azza emphasized that the rights and issues of people with disabilities should be addressed within the context of human rights and comprehensive development programs and plans, with media materials used to highlight gaps and deficiencies.

The competition includes audio-visual, print, and dramatic media. Those who wish to compete may submit their work produced between July 1, 2022 and October 31, 2022 via an electronic platform established by the Council for this purpose and accessible via the Council’s website.

The winners will be announced in December, in conjunction with the International Day of Disability. An applicant must be a resident of the Kingdom and not a member of the HCD Board of Trustees, a full-time or part-time employee, a volunteer, or have a contractual relationship with the Council

Source: Jordan News Agency

The total number of global COVID-19 cases has surged to 557.8 million, as of Wednesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The University, in its latest update, revealed that the current global death toll rose to more than 6.3 million, while the total amount of vaccinations administered stood at 11.7 billion doses.

Source: Jordan News Agency

3.0-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale hit north of Lake Tiberias, according to the Jordan Seismological Observatory (JSO).

The tremor struck at a depth of 5 kilometres at around 11:43am on Wednesday, said JSO Director Ghassan Sweidan

Source: Jordan News Agency

Mayor of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) Yousef Shawarbeh participated in the Fifth Local and Regional Governments Forum on the 2030 Agenda held in the United Nations headquarters in New York from July 7 to 12 on the occasion of the 2022 United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

Speaking at the forum, the Mayor said this gathering will serve sustainable development goals to enable cities and local governments to contribute to global efforts in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Amman, like many other cities, is facing several urban challenges, such as population growth due to migration and multiple refugee waves, as well as the effects of climate change and the Coronavirus pandemic, thus requiring global efforts to keep pace with such issues through plans and programs that enhance the quality of life to build resilient and inclusive cities, Shawarbeh added.

He pointed out that the GAM supports efforts to achieve sustainable development goals and has offered several urban and comprehensive plans such as the Amman Resilience Strategy, the Amman Climate Change Plan, the Amman Green City Action Plan, and the 10-year Amman Smart City Roadmap.

On 10 January, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and UN-Habitat held a national webinar on the preparation of the Voluntary Local Review (VLR) of Amman, the first in the Arab region, which is expected to be finalized and presented during the HLPF.

The Mayor added that the recently-launched strategic plan of the GAM for 2022-2026 goes along with the Economic Modernization Vision, indicating that it operates in four domains related to life quality and environment; transportation, traffic, and infrastructure; investment; and legislation.

The forum was organized by the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (GTF) in partnership with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and UN-Habitat

Source: Jordan News Agency