Day: May 2, 2023

House Speaker, Nabih Berri, is currently meeting at the Second Presidency in Ain al-Tineh, with US Ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Maronite Patriarch, Cardinal Mar Beshara Boutros Al-Rahi, is currently meeting in Bkerki with Deputy House Speaker, Elias Bou Saab.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Tuesday welcomed at the Grand Serail Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Sahlawi, with whom he discussed the country’s general situation and bilateral relations between both countries.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

A military personnel was martyred and seven others, including two civilians, were injured in Israeli aggression targeting the vicinity of Aleppo city. The Israeli aggression also put Aleppo International Airport out of service. A military source told SANA that at about 11:35 PM, the Israeli carried out an aerial aggression using waves of missiles from the direction of southeast Aleppo targeting Its Airport and a number of points in its vicinity. The source added that the Israeli aggression claimed the life of a military personnel, and the injury of five others and two civilians. The Israeli aggression also caused material damage and put the Airport out of service

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Deputy Head of the Higher Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh Ali Al-Khatib, on Tuesday received at the Council’s headquarters, United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Joanna Wronecka, who offered him well-wishes on the occasion of the holy Fitr Eid. Discussions reportedly touched on the general situation in Lebanon and the region.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

A lunar eclipse will occur on Friday May 5th at 7:13 p.m. and will continue until 10:31 p.m. and can be seen by the naked eye from anywhere across the Kingdom. Director General of the AstroJo Institute Alaa Azzam said that the peak of the eclipse will be at around 8:22 p.m., adding that it will be visible from most Arab countries except Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen and southern Saudi Arabia.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Tuesday welcomed at the Grand Serail Qatari Ambassador to Lebanon, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Sahlawi, with whom he discussed the country’s general situation and bilateral relations between both countries. Caretaker Premier Mikati also received at the Grand Serail “Democratic Gathering” MP Bilal Abdallah, who said on emerging that he discussed with the Premier an array of public matters, mainly those related to the government hospitals’ employees’ dossier, municipalities’ employees, and prisoners’ medical services. Mikati later received MP Yanal Solh, who said that he discussed with the Premier the economic situation in general, and the agricultural crisis that the Bekaa region is currently facing. The Premier also met with the President of the National Committee for UNESCO, Lawyer Shawki Sassin, who said on emerging that the meeting was to follow up on some issues related to the work of the commission, especially amid the stifling conditions the country is going through.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah inaugurated the Wijdan Art Space building at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts (JNGFA) Park in Jabal Al Weibdeh on Tuesday, in the presence of Her Royal Highness Princess Wijdan bint Fawaz Al-Hashemi and other members of the Royal Family. Named in honor of Princess Wijdan, president of the Royal Society of Fine Arts (RSFA), the Wijdan Art Space includes studios and spaces for mentored courses and workshops in drawing, painting, pottery, sculpture, printmaking, graphic design, and art appreciation. These training opportunities, to be announced on all JNGFA social media platforms, will cater to students, emerging artists, and hobbyists of all ages. The Wijdan Art Space also includes outdoor areas for hosting cultural, artistic, and musical evenings, as well as a café serving trainees and visitors. During the event, it was also announced that the original building housing the JNGFA had also been named after Princess Wijdan, a decision by the RSFA Board of Trustees to acknowledge Her Royal Highness’ role in supporting art and artists over the past 44 years. “Here, in what was a single-story house featuring a collection of 77 artworks, a dream was born,” said JNGFA Director General Dr. Khaled Khreis. “Princess Wijdan’s passion for art led her to establish the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts in this very building.” “This monument to art and culture, which now includes four buildings and a park, is not only a platform for artists from Jordan and the Arab World, but also as a bridge between cultures and civilizations conveying the message of coexistence, love, and peace through art,” Khreis added. In 1979, Princess Wijdan decided to dedicate herself to the promotion of art in Jordan and the creation of an accessible space for Arab art, leading her to found the RSFA and, one year later, the JNGFA, established in a rented villa fitted with dozens of pieces of art, most of which came from her private collection. Today, the gallery has 3,000 works in its permanent collection, and has grown to become a dynamic institution comprising four buildings, a park, and various projects, such as its Touring Museum and The Factory Platform, which aims to involve the local community in all aspects of the creative process. Following the establishment of the JNGFA, Her Royal Highness was inspired to further her education by studying art movements in the region. She received a doctorate in Islamic Art from the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in 1993, and has since written and edited several books on the history of Islamic Art. In addition to teaching at three leading Jordanian universities, the Princess also founded the Higher Institute of Islamic Art and Architecture at Al al-Bayt University and the Faculty of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan, where she served as its first dean.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The University of Jordan’s Center for Strategic Studies (CSS) on Tuesday unveiled the results of an opinion poll on the Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh’s government two and a half years into the job. The poll was carried out from April 25th to 29th of 2023, sampling 1,200 people over the age of 18, of which 50 percent were male and 50 percent were female, who were randomly selected from 150 locations across the Kingdom. According to the survey, the majority of Jordanians believe that the government has succeeded in improving and activating the public transport system and increasing its efficiency, improving the health system and raising its readiness and capacity, developing the comprehensive health centers system, supporting military retirees and improving their living conditions, increasing the number of people covered by insurance, and cementing the rule of law. Jordanians said they believe that the government has also succeeded in strengthening joint Arab action, expanding economic, trade and investment cooperation to achieve common interests, focusing on tourism, improving and diversifying the tourism product, continuing to support the armed forces and security apparatuses and providing decent livelihoods for them, and continuing support for Palestinians and protecting the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. On their confidence in national institutions, the study revealed that the vast majority of Jordanians gave their vote of confidence to the military and local law enforcement with 92 percent of Jordanians saying that they have confidence in the Jordan Armed Forces – Arab Army and 93 percent of them have confidence in the General Intelligence Department, while 92 percent have confidence in the Public Security Department. The majority of Jordanians, about 72 percent, also believes that mandatory military service should be reinstated. As for other professions, university professors were trusted by 71 percent of Jordanians, while Jordanian public universities were trusted by 69 percent, teachers were trusted by 69 percent, judges were trusted by 64 percent, private Jordanian universities were trusted by 63 percent, and private hospitals were trusted by 63 percent. On Jordanian-Palestinian ties, 88 percent of Jordanians believe that Jordanian-Palestinian relations are “good to excellent” and 75 percent are satisfied with Jordan’s position on Israeli aggression on Palestinian territories and the Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem, describing it as “good to excellent.”

Source: Jordan News Agency