Category: General

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, on Tuesday honored Major Hadhram Al-Fayez and Captain Mohammad Tarawneh from the Public Security Directorate (PSD) who handled the sandstorm on the desert road a few days ago and demonstrated professionalism and sacrifice while performing their duty.

During the honoring ceremony, attended by PSD Director, Major General Hussein Hawatmeh, the Crown Prince voiced his pride in their efforts to secure and guide citizens during the sandstorm, as well as risking their lives to preserve citizens’ lives and ensure their safe arrival to their destinations.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates announced on Tuesday that a number of Jordanians and their families have boarded a bus, along with other foreigners, that will evacuate them from the city of Sumy in Ukraine.

The ministry revealed in a statement that another number of Jordanians had been able to secure small vehicles that will transport them out of the northeastern city. The ministry said that it has been communicating with the Jordanian community, mainly students, in the city and with the Ukrainian authorities to secure transportation for the evacuation of Jordanians.

The ministry added that its crisis cell is now following up the process in coordination with contact points in the city of Sumy to know the number and names of Jordanians who were able to secure transportation, stressing that it will continue to work to evacuate the remaining Jordanians.

In an earlier statement, the ministry said that on Monday evening it received reports from the authorities in Ukraine indicating that the evacuation of foreigners from the city of Sumy may begin on Tuesday morning.

The ministry indicated that providing safe means of transportation from the city of Sumy is the main challenge for the evacuation efforts, pointing out that the number of foreigners wishing to leave the city is large at a time when most transport companies and bus owners are reluctant to participate in the process.

Source: Jordan News Agency

About 1,500 detainees, who have not received final court rulings, will be freed again under an electronic tagging scheme, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, as an alternative to institutional confinement, Minister of Justice Ahmed Zyadat announced Tuesday.

Electronic tagging is a form of surveillance that uses an electronic device affixed to a person and is usually fitted above the ankle.

Zyadat clarified that if the tag has been tampered with or the tagged person goes outside the permissible geographical area, the device will send an alert to law enforcement agencies specifying the whereabouts of that person.

He stressed that the ministry has already purchased 1,500 tags as the first phase of the scheme, which, he said, has a total capacity of 5,000 tags.

In addition to offering an alternative to institutional confinement, the minister explained that the scheme is designed to reduce prison overcrowding and detention costs and to ensure that under-trial detainees are held separately from inmates.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday passed a new political parties bill, reaffirming the right of Jordanians to establish and join parties and prohibits targeting people for their partisan and political affiliations and activism.

According to the constitution, the bill needs to be endorsed by the Senate and signed into law by the King before it takes full force.

The draft Political Parties Law of 2022 requires existing parties to reconcile their legal statuses in line with the new requirements within 18 months after the law comes into full force by holding a general assembly that meets the conditions of the founding conference as set forth in Article 10 of the law. Otherwise, the party will be dissolved.

With regard to the penal system, the new legislation authorizes the Board of Commissioners of the Independent Election Commission to file a request with the Court of First Instance to “suspend the party” if it does not correct its status after being notified thereof, and the 60-day period for correction has elapsed. In all cases, the bill stipulates that the party may not be dissolved except in accordance with its statute or under a final court decision.

According to the draft, the Court of First Instance has the jurisdiction to consider any party’s dissolution lawsuit filed by the Commission’s Board of Commissioners in cases where it is proven, under a criminal case, that the party is organizationally linked to an external entity, or has accepted funding in violation of the law, or in the event that the party fails to correct its situation as required by law.

The commission may also request the dissolution of a party if it is proven that it has violated any of Paragraphs (2) and (3) of Article (16) of the Constitution, regarding the right to form associations, trade unions and political parties.

Any party shall be dissolved by a court order if it is convicted of having incited demonstrations of an armed nature, forming organizations or groups aimed at undermining the regime or violating the constitution, and contributing directly or indirectly to supporting or promoting takfiri or terrorist organizations and groups.

According to the draft, anyone who directly or indirectly promotes an outlawed party shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of no less than one year and no more than five years, and a fine of no less than JD1,000 and not more than JD5,000.

Article 4 of the bill affirms the right to establish and join parties, and stipulates that no Jordanian, including university students, be targeted, directly or indirectly, or that their constitutional or legal rights be undermined, or be held accountable because of their party and political affiliation and activism.

According to the draft legislation, anyone who believes they have suffered moral or material harm as a result of party affiliation or political activism have the right to resort to a court and claim compensation for the damage incurred.

Under the bill, a bylaw will be issued setting the conditions for the parties’ access to financial support provided by the state, its amount, aspects and procedures for disbursement. The government has earmarked funds for political parties support in the 2022 general budget.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The total number of global Covid-19 cases surged to 448 million, as of Tuesday, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

The University, in its latest update, revealed that the current global death toll reached about 6 million, according to Agence France-Presse.

The United States accounted for the world’s highest number of cases and fatalities followed by Brazil.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Youssef Shamali on Tuesday decided to retain a previous decision preventing the export and re-export of some essential food items” as part of the measures taken to preserve the strategic stock of food commodities”, according to a ministry statement.

Staples and foodstuffs targeted by the decision include rice, sugar, dried milk, dry legumes, fodder, wheat and by-products, flour, fodder maize, fodder concentrates, as well as ghee and vegetable oils of all kinds (corn oil, sunflower oil, palm oil and soybean oil).

Source: Jordan News Agency

Lower House Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi on Tuesday met Chairman of Libya’s High Council of State Khaled Al-Mishri and an accompanying delegation.

Dughmi stressed the deep-rooted Jordanian-Libyan relations, expressing Jordan’s support of Libya’s unity and efforts to reach a political solution to protect the country’s security and stability and realize the aspirations of its people, the Lower House said in a statement.

For his part, Al-Mishri lauded his country’s ties with Jordan, noting the Kingdom’s support for a political path in Libya.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Crown Prince Foundation (CPF) said Tuesday that enhancing work in the governorates is its top priority in 2022 and that it opened an office in Ma’an Governorate to reach out to youth in the southern region as part of its scheme.

The CPF made the announcement in a press conference held at its headquarters in the King Hussein Business Park to highlight its achievements, initiatives, and programmes in 2021 and its work plans this year.

Youth are at the centre of the attention of HRH Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, who emphasized in so many occasions the importance of the role of young men and women in shaping the future, CPF Board of Trustees Chairman Ghassan Nuqul told representatives of local and Arab media outlets and social media influencers gathered at the press conference.

The CPF was established in 2015 to oversee the implementation of the Crown Prince’s vision in supporting and developing youth capabilities in Jordan, a vision for a capable youth for an ambitious Jordan and a work strategy that includes three key areas: willingness to work, entrepreneurship and leadership and citizenship.

The foundation, he said, is working to reach out to young men and women across the Kingdom’s governorates through launching initiatives and programmes under a scientific approach, that will remain under the umbrella of the foundation for sometime and then be incorporated into national institutions to guarantee their sustainability and to achieve optimal results.

In her remarks during the conference, CPF CEO Tamam Manko said that Jordanian society is a young society and a majority of its population is of “this important category,” which is the focus of the Foundation’s work and interest, as it oversees the implementation of 12 initiatives and programs across many sectors.

Manko said that 590,000 young men and women were reached in 2021 under the willingness of work and leadership theme, more than 870,000 under the leadership work theme and more than 100,000 under the citizenship work programme.

On the foundation’s work in the Southern region, namely Ma’an Governorate, the foundation has cooperated with a large group of business partners, and was able to reach about 6,000 young men and women during the period between September and December of 2021, she said.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Tuesday handed out annual state awards to a group of Jordanians in recognition of their achievements and creativity in science, literature and other fields of knowledge.

The prime minister deputized for His Majesty King Abdullah II.

The annual honors, dubbed “The State’s Appreciation and Encouragement Awards” and organized by the Ministry of Culture, recognize achievements by innovative individuals and entities in various walks of life.

In the literature/ child literature category, Rashid Essa, Muammad Amro, and Taghreed Najjar bagged the award, while Hind Abul Shaar won the achievement award in the social and human sciences/ the modern and contemporary history of Jordan category.

Muhammad Al-Nimer, professor of mechanical engineering at Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Petra Engineering Industries tied for achievement in applied sciences/ mechanical engineering.

Omar Abdallat bagged the award for achievement in arts/ singing. The literature/short story award went to Siwar Subaihi and Hisham Miqdadi.

Culture Minister Haifa Najjar said that awarding prizes for the year 2021 despite the coronavirus pandemic demonstrates a firm commitment to supporting creativity and innovation, regardless of the circumstances.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Pleasant weather conditions are forecast to prevail on Tuesday as temperatures slightly rise, with clouds at medium and high altitudes and southeasterly moderate winds, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said in its daily update.

Colder weather will overrule at night, with a chance for scattered showers in the northern and parts of the central regions, the JMD added, warning of the danger of low visibility due to fog formation and sandstorms, especially in the Badia region.

On Wednesday, the Kingdom will be affected by a khamasini depression, during which dry and dusty weather is forecast, followed at night by a cold air mass which will bring rain and below average temperatures.

The air mass will continue through Thursday, accompanied by a depression centered over Cyprus that will push temperatures down and bring occasional heavy rain.

Mercury in the capital Amman today will range between a high of 18 degrees Celsius and a low of 9C at night, while the port city of Aqaba will see a fair 26C, sliding to 15C at night.

Source: Jordan News Agency