Day: July 19, 2022

Temperatures on Tuesday are forecast to mark 3-4 degrees above annual average, bringing dry and hot weather in the highlands and the plains, while scorching conditions will prevail in the Dead Sea, the Jordan Valley and Aqaba, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said in its daily update.

The department also warned of direct exposure to sunlight in the afternoon, mainly in the Badia areas, the Jordan Valley and Aqaba.

Mercury levels will drop few degrees on Wednesday, with relatively hot weather prevailing in the heights and the plains, while it will remain hot in other regions. Winds will be northwesterly moderate to brisk, the JMD added.

Thursday and Friday are expected to bring in similar weather conditions, with northwesterly moderate winds, picking up at times, the meteorologists predicted.

The highs in Amman and other highlands across the Kingdom today will range between 36 and 33 degrees Celsius, dropping at night to 20C or even 17C in the southern highlands. In the Gulf city of Aqaba, it will be much hotter with mercury reaching a high of 42C and a low of 29C.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A man has been arrested after confessing to killing a girl in his shop in Zarqa Governorate and hiding her body in the shop.

According to a Public Security Department (PSD) statement, an investigation was launched as soon as a report was received that a man had killed a girl in Zarqa due to disagreements between them.

It was also stated that police officers identified and arrested the suspect. He confessed to killing the girl with a blunt instrument in his shop and then fled the scene.

According to the statement, police agents escorted the perpetrator to his shop, where he showed them where he had hidden the body. According to the PSD, the investigation is still ongoing.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Scores of Jewish extremist settlers early Tuesday stormed Al-Aqsa Mosque / Haram al-Sharif compound in occupied East Jerusalem.

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

“The settlers provocatively toured the Mosque’s yards, performed Talmudic rituals and listened to explanations on the alleged “Temple mount” amid a state of anger inside the compound,” it added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan is working to address the overcrowding of Palestinian travelers on the King Hussein Bridge, which was brought on by Israel’s failure to accommodate the unprecedented passenger traffic, Minister of Interior Mazen Farraya said Tuesday.

During a dawn tour of the Jordan Valley crossing, the minister promised immediate, medium-term, and long-term solutions to the majority of traveler problems, especially those of a humanitarian and logistical nature.

Farraya explained that the border crossing is experiencing unprecedented traveler congestion as a result of a two-year travel disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the holiday season, and the return of expatriates.

He disclosed that more than 10,000 passengers arrive daily at the crossing, but only about half of them are able to cross due to the Israeli measures of short working hours and limited staff.

Regarding short-term fixes, the minister stated that new arrangements with the relevant transportation companies will allow for the sale of transportation tickets at designated locations throughout the governorates and the capital Amman rather than at the crossing and in accordance with the number of passengers the Israeli side can handle.

In addition, he noted that, within two weeks, an electronic platform will be launched through which travelers crossing the King Hussein Bridge can obtain an electronic transport ticket.

Farayya met with bridge officials, who suggested opening new lanes and rehabilitating existing ones so that one section is for commercial trucks and the other is for travelers to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.

The minister explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates is working with stakeholders to find solutions that will facilitate passenger traffic, denying that any country is mediating between Jordan and Israel regarding the travel movement procedures on the bridge.

He indicated that up to this point, there has been no official information about the Israeli side possibly lengthening its working hours.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority is in coordination with Jordan to carry Israel to open the Al-Karamah crossing around the clock amid an unprecedented heavy traffic and delays in recent days.

Shtayyeh demanded in a statement that a separate passenger track be designated at the crossing, known in Jordan as the King Hussein Bridge, until the reopening of the Damia Bridge.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, blamed the Israeli government for what he termed a “catastrophic situation” at the Al-Karama crossing.

In a brief statement, Al-Sheikh said that intensive contacts are currently underway with Jordan to find solutions to “this tragic situation, which Palestinians are experiencing in their movement,” calling on Israel to take the necessary measures to end the suffering.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan’s apparel and footwear imports jumped by 37.7 and 52.5 percent, respectively, in the first half of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

According to Textile and Readymade Clothes Syndicate’s statistics issued Tuesday, garments imports in the January-June period of 2022 amounted to JD122 million compared with JD89 million in the same period last year. Similarly, footwear imports rose to JD31 million from JD20 million in the same period of 2021.

China supplied the majority of Jordan’s apparel and footwear imports, with 41 and 65 percent, respectively.

In the first six months of 2022, Jordan imported JD50 million worth of garments from China compared with JD37 million in the corresponding period of 2021. Other suppliers included Turkey with JD33 million, non-Arab Asian countries (other than China and Turkey) with JD27 million, Arab counties with JD8 million, and European counties with JD4 million.

Likewise, footwear imports from China reached JD20 million during the reporting period, up from JD13 million during the same period last year. Other top footwear suppliers included Turkey with JD3 million, non-Arab Asian countries (other than China and Turkey) with JD4 million, Europe with JD2 million, and Arab countries with JD1 million.

Sultan Allan, president of the syndicate, told Petra that the increase is due to the national economy’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as a decision made at the beginning of the year to reduce customs tariffs on several imports.

The garments and footwear sector is the largest commercial sector in the country, with approximately 11,000 businesses and 63,000 workers, the majority of whom are Jordanians, as well as 180 brands investing in the local market.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The 8th Arab Conference on Talent and Excellence Research opened Tuesday at the University of Jordan (UoJ), under the motto “Motivation in the Knowledge Community”.

Minister of Youth Mohammad Nabulsi, who patronized the conference on behalf of Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, noted that education has been at the center of the Kingdom’s priorities and royal directives to successive governments to develop and advance the various components of education.

“Across the first centennial of the life of the Jordanian state, this sector saw landmark achievements and bright milestones, in terms of regulatory legislation or infrastructure,” he told the conference, which was organized by the International Youth Foundation in cooperation with UoJ.

He noted that education and youth are the focal point of the national youth strategy, through which the ministry, in collaboration with partners, was keen to develop a safe and stimulating scientific and educational environment, harnessing information technology to promote a culture of innovation and creativity among young people.

UoJ President Nazir Obeidat told the gathering that “the motivation we aspire to plant in the students should be preceded by real reform of the system, including curricula, plans, values, laws and public life, socially, economically, politically and at the level of parties.”

Source: Jordan News Agency