Day: February 14, 2023

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday welcomed a decision by the Syrian president to open two further crossing points on the Turkish border to allow more aid into the stricken northwest of the country.

Guterres said in a statement ” I welcome the decision today by President Bashar al-Assad of Syria to open the two crossing points of Bab Al-Salam and Al Ra’ee from Turkiye to north-west Syria for an initial period of three months to allow for the timely delivery of humanitarian aid.”

“Opening these crossing points – along with facilitating humanitarian access, accelerating visa approvals, and easing travel between hubs – will allow more aid to go in, faster,” he added.

The UN chief noted that as the toll of the Feb. 6 earthquake continues to mount, delivering food, health, nutrition, protection, shelter, winter supplies, and other life-saving supplies to all the millions of people affected is “of the utmost urgency.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

Recent restrictions on livestock transport and markets will be relaxed this week as a nationwide campaign to vaccinate cattle against foot and mouth disease (FMD) nears completion, said the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday.

According to a statement released by the ministry, a specialized team from the World Organization for Animal Health, led by the regional director of the organization and Italian specialists, visited livestock farms in the Al Dhelil area of the eastern Zarqa Governorate to assess the extent of disease spread and identify the source of the virus.

According to the ministry, committees were set up to compensate farmers whose livestock contracted the disease.

The ministry purchased 62,700 FMD vaccines from a British manufacturer, and as of today, the number of cows with vaccinations has surpassed 52,625 heads, including those vaccinated by farmers.

The first stage of the campaign involved immunizing cows in cattle farms within a 15-kilometer radius of Dhelil, where the FMD outbreak is thought to have started. The second stage will cover an additional 10 kilometers, the ministry said, and 13,570 vaccine shots were distributed to agriculture departments throughout the kingdom.

According to the ministry’s reporting system, as of Monday evening, 334 cows and 426 calves had perished as a result of the virus.

Officials have reassured the public that the FMD outbreak does not endanger human health and that local animal products are safe for consumption.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A restaurant in Jerash was momentarily shut down by the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) on Tuesday after 20 customers complained of food poisoning.

Sadiq Otoum, director of Jerash Governmental Hospital, told Petra in a statement that 20 people came in late on Monday night with symptoms of food poisoning, and that 18 of them were discharged the following day.

The eatery has been closed by the JFDA pending the laboratory results of a sample taken from the food supply.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Official statistics and medical professionals estimate that between 400 and 450 children, both Jordanians and foreigners, are diagnosed with cancer every year in Jordan.

On the occasion of International Childhood Cancer Day, which is observed annually on February 15, around the world, Dr. Eyad Sultan, Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the King Hussein Cancer Center, said in an interview with the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the causes of childhood cancers are often unknown and that genealogy studies help determine risk factors in only about 10 percent of cases. Cancer incidence rates for children under 15 are roughly 10-15 per 100,000 globally, he said.

Leukemia, lymphoma, and brain tumors are the most common types of childhood cancer, he said, adding that survival rates for these diseases are improving and are currently estimated to be between 80 and 90 percent for some types of leukemia and lymphoma.

Sultan elaborated by saying that childhood cancer symptoms are both unique and shared with other diseases, and that anyone noticing a symptom that lasts longer than two weeks should see a doctor, possibly more than once.

He stated that the majority of a child’s symptoms, including paleness, poor appetite, inactivity, high fever, headache, bone and back pain, or the development of some lumps in the abdomen and other parts of the body, in addition to weight loss, excessive sweating, the appearance of bruises, and a skin rash, are brought on by a lack of platelets.

He emphasized the importance of dispelling the myth that cancer is always a terminal illness, taking into account the significant scientific and technological advancements that directly increased cure rates locally and globally. He cautioned against turning to alternative medicine, which is still a reason for delaying treatment in some cases.

According to Dr. Amjad Adnan Jumaian, a consultant psychiatrist and pediatric and adolescent psychiatrist, there is a close and strong relationship between psychiatry and the treatment of children with cancer because the child and the family are exposed to anxiety, depression, and isolation upon learning that the child has cancer.

He highlighted the value of psychiatry and behavioral therapy, noting that research and studies have shown that a strong psychological immunity correlates with a healthy physical immune system and aids in recovery in many cases.

Jumaian said that due to the difficulty children have in communicating their problems, suffering, or trauma, play therapy specifically through drawing is just as important for children as pharmaceutical treatment. “As a method and entry point into the child’s treatment, we frequently turn to playing with kids to spot their internal problems that impede growth and mental health”, he added.

Ahmed Masafa, the Director of General Education and the Ministry of Education’s media spokesperson, has stated that all students who have been ill are welcomed back into their schools, and that students with medical conditions are counted so that they can be included in school activities and their parents can be kept updated on their health throughout the school year.

He said that in the event of an emergency, school administrators and teachers are prepared to assist students with serious illnesses like cancer, diabetes, and kidney failure. Furthermore, he said, schools coordinate closely with nearby medical facilities and civil defense to ensure that these students are cared for.

The International Childhood Cancer Day (ICCD) is a global collaborative campaign to raise awareness and promote an increased appreciation and deeper understanding of the challenges faced by children and adolescents with cancer, the survivors and their families. The ICCD spotlights the need for more equitable access to treatment and care for all children with cancer, everywhere.

Every year, more than 400,000 children and adolescents below 20, are diagnosed with cancer. The rate of survival depends on the region, with 80 percent survival in most High-Income Countries but as low as 20 percent only in Low and Middle-Income Countries.

The Target Goal of the WHO Global Childhood Cancer Initiative is to eliminate all pain and suffering of children fighting cancer and achieve at least 60 percent survival for all children diagnosed with cancer around the world by 2030.

This represents an approximate doubling of the current cure rate and will save an additional one million children’s lives over the next decade.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Police officers have arrested the members of a transnational drug smuggling ring after a three-month investigation and stopped them from smuggling 800,000 narcotic pills into a neighboring country.

A Public Security Department spokesman said in a statement on Tuesday that anti-narcotics agents have been investigating the local ring, which has connections to a larger regional smuggling network, for the past three months.

The police were able to track down the members of the ring and the locations where they had stashed the narcotics in Amman, Mafraq, Zarqa, and the Russifeih district, the spokesman continued.

After simultaneous raids on the ring’s hideouts, five people including four Arab nationals were ultimately detained and the drugs were seized.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Civil Service Bureau (CSB) on Tuesday launched the first stage of the Job Competencies Project, which aims to enhance the competencies of employees in several relevant fields.

During a workshop held to introduce the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)-funded project, the CSB Acting President Mubarak Khalayleh said competency is a crucial component in managing and improving the selection of human resources to ensure employees’ ability to carry out the job’s tasks.

He added that the job competencies guide in the civil service was developed in collaboration with the European Commission and accredited in 2016 and that the CSB began integrating the concept of job competencies in 2011 by launching a competencies matrix.

Additionally, job description cards that precisely outline the qualifications needed for appointment were created for executive positions such as director generals, he noted.

In 2021 and 2022, Khalayleh continued, the CSB conducted competency-based job exams for openings in the health and education sectors, and a website was launched to inform people about the technical and professional aspects of the exam.

Leader of the Public Administration Reform Jordan Project Johannes Uhl said the workshop aims to collect quantitative and qualitative data from human resource departments on job competencies in need of development.

The workshop was attended by representatives of 12 civil service departments as part of sectors prioritized by the public sector modernization roadmap: water, transportation, social, finance, and investment environment.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Semester at Sea (SaS), a cruise-based study-abroad program administered by the Institute of Shipboard Education (ISE) in Fort Collins, Colorado, arrived in Aqaba on Tuesday.

More than 623 male and female students from various American universities and colleges are traveling on the ship for the duration of an entire semester in order to pursue their research specializations in the nations they are visiting.

In a press release, Peter Marji, director of tourism for the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, said that the floating university hosts students from 60 different countries studying 75 different disciplines.

The students, he added, will have the opportunity to conduct in-depth interviews with locals and visit tourist sites, like Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea, and Mount Nebo, all of which will enrich their scientific research and studies.

In 1963, the University of the Seven Seas, also referred to as the “Floating University,” set sail from the port of New York.

The ship was changed in 2015, and two cruises, one in the spring and one in the fall, were now scheduled annually. While the autumn trip concentrates more on Europe, Africa, South and Central America, the spring trip typically explores Asia, Africa and a few European ports.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Israeli troops fatally shot a young Palestinian in the northern West Bank early Tuesday, bringing to 48 the number of Palestinians killed by the occupation army and Jewish settlers since the start of the year, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

A large military force raided the refugee camp of al-Fara’a, north of the city of Nablus and laid siege to a house, touching off a clash with local youth during which soldiers used live rounds, critically wounding 17-year-old Mahmoud Al Abidi in the head, Palestinian sources said.

Abidi later succumbed to his wounds at a local hospital, they said.

Source: Jordan News Agency