Day: February 6, 2023

Amman, Jordan offered condolences to Turkey and Syria after a powerful earthquake struck the two countries earlier Monday, killing and injuring hundreds of people.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates reiterated the Kingdom’s solidarity with the governments and people of Turkey and Syria, offering consolation to the victims’ families and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

More than 500 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit in the early hours of Monday morning, according to media outlets and Turkish and Syrian officials.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, Jordanian Ambassador in Mexico Adli Khaldi on Monday met with Mexican Secretary of Defense Luis Crescencio Sandoval to discuss bilateral ties.

During the meeting, Khladi tackled means of boosting cooperation with Mexico City, particularly in training and rehabilitation, expertise exchange, and combating terrorism.

The talks are part of the envoy’s series of meetings with senior Mexican officials.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, The Kingdom’s courts have dealt with a total of 16,760 cybercrime-related cases involving 20,259 people over the past four years, according to statistics obtained by the Jordan News Agency (Petra) from the Jordanian Judicial Council.

Since 2019, there have been 13,108 instances of cybercrime that directly violated the law, and 3,652 instances of other crimes involving the use of technology, the data showed.

With a total of 11,926 cases, online defamation was the most common offense, followed by criminal threats, indecent assault, indecency, fraud, economic crime, and pornography.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, Minister of Education Azmi Mahafzah decided to suspend schools on Tuesday, February 7, due to the weather conditions, which are expected to include heavy rainfall.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, The Department of Statistics (DoS) and the European Union on Tuesday kicked off a project to upgrade the DoS’s statistical data collection, analysis, and reporting capabilities to par with the best European and international practices.

The Director General of Technical Affairs at DoS, Tayseer Miqdadi, expressed optimism that the project would help transfer the experiences of the participating European countries to DoS, thereby enhancing the department’s ability to provide trustworthy economic and social statistical data to policy and decision makers, and researchers.

He added that the project is implemented under a twinning business model, which is the most important know-how transfer vehicle used by the EU to source and localize expertise in partner countries.

According to Patrick Lambrechts, Senior Advisor and Director of Cooperation at the EU Delegation in Jordan, the project’s main objectives are to develop an integrated data development system through the creation of statistical administrative records for business and to improve the accuracy of population estimates. New statistical methodologies will be developed as part of the twinning project.

In turn, Carsten Ulrik Zangenberg, Director of Communication and Sales at Statistics Denmark, said that while the goal of the project is knowledge sharing (including experiences, ideas, solutions, and results), there may be many obstacles to this goal, the most significant being the need for accurate information.

Because of the critical nature of our future contributions to official statistics production, it is imperative that our statistical departments be able to be relied upon as an accurate and trustworthy resource, and that we regularly share our expertise with experts from other nations, Zangenberg added.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday expressed condolences over the victims of the earthquake that hit areas in Syria and Turkiye.

In separate cables to Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Syrian President Bashar Assad, King Abdullah said he has issued directives to provide aid to the families impacted by the tragedy in the two countries.

In the cables, His Majesty expressed his sympathies and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, The Agricultural Engineers Association on Monday assured that the local animal products are safe for human consumption and said that a recent outbreak of the Foot and mouth Disease (FMD) in the Dhelil area in Zarqa poses no threat to human health.

The association issued a statement saying that the disease is a temporary and localized problem and that it is closely monitoring the spread of the disease, while also stressing that the situation calls for concerted and coordinated efforts to eradicate the disease, and protect the health of citizens.

It also warned that spreading misinformation and rumors about the disease could lead to a new crisis that would take a long time to resolve.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hooves animals, but does not cause death. It requires great efforts and various measures, including vaccination and quarantine, to contain it and prevent its spread.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, on Monday visited the Public Security Directorate (PSD) and observed a live broadcast of the Petra 2023 exercise conducted by Civil Defence personnel.

The exercise, which also involved the Royal Jordanian Air Force and various PSD units, included a simulation of flood and evacuation scenarios at the Petra archaeological site and was held in cooperation with the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority.

King Abdullah commended the professionalism and readiness of PSD and civil defence personnel, and the cooperation of Petra’s local community, underscoring the important role of citizens in making such exercises a success.

During the visit, His Majesty also inaugurated the new studios of the PSD radio channel, and was briefed on the PSD’s plans for raising public awareness and offering timely information.

The King noted the crucial role of the PSD’s communication team, stressing the need to bolster engagement with the media.

For his part, PSD Director Maj. Gen. Obaidallah Maaytah said the directorate is committed to implementing His Majesty’s directives through a security strategy that aims to serve the public and safeguard the nation’s assets.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, Minister of Government Communications, Faisal Shboul, on Monday attended the launch of a training and capacity-building program for government communication staff at the Institute of Public Administration (IPA).

The program is funded with a grant from the US Embassy in Jordan, and implemented by Magenta International Consulting.

In a speech at the launching ceremony, Shboul, who is also the government spokesperson, said that this program is divided into two parts, the first of which is training and building the capabilities of media spokespersons and government communication staff, and the second is modernizing and developing the press conference hall in the Prime Ministry.

He explained that the government started training ministries spokespersons last year, pointing out that the training resulted in developing the capabilities of a number of spokespersons to be trainers in the upcoming training programs, in addition to smoothly providing access to information to the media.

Shboul indicated that the Ministry of Government Communications seeks, during the next three years, to train a number of spokespersons in ministries and government institutions, and staff in media departments in state institutions.

For her part, Acting US Deputy Ambassador Stefanie Altman-Winans lauded the strategic relationship between the United States and Jordan, which is an important element of stability in the region, pointing out to the memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries for 2023-2029.

She reaffirmed the United States’ support for Jordan, and the political, economic and administrative modernization programs that fall within the visions of His Majesty King Abdullah.

Winans pointed out that the training and capacity-building program for government communication staff extends for three years and targets 150 people, at a cost of $1.2 million, and includes all levels of government communication staff, including spokespersons, coordinators, digital media and media relations.

She said that this program will support the renovation of the press conference hall in the Prime Ministry by providing it with the latest technology.

She expressed hope that the program will contribute to enabling the Jordanian government to communicate effectively with the public and increase awareness and knowledge of government plans and priorities.

Winans explained that effective government communication is based on informing the public of success stories, government programs and plans, and taking the initiative to address rumors and fake news.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Amman, The Ministry of Agriculture began procedures for the production of a vaccine for the Foot and Mouth Disease (SAT2 strain), after a recent outbreak in the Dhelil area in Zarqa.

Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hunaifat on Monday stressed the need to move ahead with the procedures for manufacturing the vaccine and to take scientific and technical measures, in addition to adhering to the regulations governing its production, noting that this would be a great investment opportunity to supply the region with the vaccine.

Earlier today, the Agricultural Engineers Association assured that the local animal products are safe for human consumption.

Foot-and-mouth disease is a contagious viral disease that affects cloven-hooves animals, but does not cause death. It requires great efforts and various measures, including vaccination and quarantine, to contain it and prevent its spread.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY