Day: 18 June 2023

The Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee met with Canadian Ambassador Tariq Khan on Sunday for talks over regional and global developments and cooperation. The Committee’s Chairman Khaldoun Hayna stressed the importance of the Hashemite Custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, underlining the need for the Israeli occupation forces to halt their attacks on the Palestinian people and their right to live in peace. He highlighted the “harmony” between Jordan and Canada when handling regional and international crises and that the two countries share a common stance regarding Israel’s transgressions in Jerusalem. Jordan is experiencing significant pressure on its resources and infrastructure due to receiving many waves of refugees, the latest of which was the Syrian refugees, he pointed out. Hayna called for renewing agreements related to municipal support, training, and employment to benefit from Canadian expertise in these fields and contribute to creating new job opportunities and reducing unemployment, as well as expanding the reach of collaborations to sectors of Information technology, technical and vocational education, and religious and recreational tourism. Khan has affirmed his country’s stance on the Hashemite Custodianship of the sanctities and stated that they are in constant communication regarding the events in Palestine and the actions taken by Israel. The envoy, who described the 60-year-old Jordanian-Canadian ties as “strong,” praised the reforms led by His Majesty King Abdullah II and the recently passed laws that would advance political, economic, and administrative reforms. Canada is focusing on several topics to support in Jordan, chief of which are education, economy, and other forms of development cooperation, Khan added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF) on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Namaa Charity of Kuwaiti Social Welfare Association, aimed to establish a fund named “Namaa” Charity and provide assiatnce to cover costs of treating cancer patients, who can’t afford expenses at King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC). According to a KHCF statement, the future fund’s assistance will be disbursed to treat cancer patients from Gaza Strip, and other patients of different nationalities and ages. The memo was signed by KHCF Director General, Nisreen Qatamesh, and Saad Otaibi, CEO of Kuwaiti Namaa Charity. Qatamesh valued “generous and continuous” support provided by Kuwait and Namaa Charity to help cancer patients, noting that this assistance enables KHCF to provide the “best comprehensive” treatment for patients of various Arab nationalities. For his part, Otaibi said this memo was signed based on Kuwait’s strategic development goals, to achieve (New Kuwait 2035) plan represented in high-quality health care, adding that the MoU reflects Namaa Charity’s strategic plan to realize partnerships and implement humanitarian and development projects with quality and effectiveness. Otaibi said the memo aims to treat cancer patients who can’t afford to pay treatment expenses, in implementation of the slogan of Namaa Charity: “We Care About People.” Launched more than 44 years ago, Kuwaiti Namaa Charity is a pioneering institution in developmental humanitarian work and aims to contribute to achieve social solidarity and support the poor, orphans, the sick and the needy, by providing in-kind and cash assistance.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Cabinet Sunday approved the bylaw of committees in the Jordanian Medical Council for 2023 to form an examination committee for each medical speciality and institutionalise and supervise continuous professional development through special committees. The Council of Ministers approved an amendment to the scientific research bylaw to develop education for 2023 to ensure harmony with the administrative organisation system of the Ministry of Education, which includes changing the name of the Educational Research and Development Department to the Educational Planning and Research Department. The department would be associated with the Secretary General of the Ministry for Administrative and Financial Affairs. The ministers agreed on the mandating reasons for the draft bylaw for forming a Sharia court of first instance in the Northern Badia District to enable people to “easier” access judicial services, to keep pace with urban expansion and population increase, and to organise and determine the work of the Sharia courts in Mafraq. The Cabinet approved the draft commercial account budget for 2024 and the draft budget of the National Centre for Curriculum Development for 2024-2026. The Cabinet approved the extension of a decision issued on 12/7/2022 about allowing marketing companies to import diesel through the mechanism granted to the Jordanian Petroleum Refinery Company until the end of 2024, provided that the sulfur percentage does not exceed 1,000 mg/kg. The Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Committee for Settlement of Outstanding Issues between taxpayers and the Income and Sales Tax Department.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Deputizing for His Majesty King Abdullah II, His Highness Prince Mired bin Raad bin Zaid, Chief Chamberlain, participated on Saturday evening in the opening ceremony of Special Olympics World Games 2023, which are being hosted by the German capital, Berlin. The tournament, which will last until June 26, will witness participation of more than 7,000 players representing 178 countries from different countries across the world, and will compete in 24 Olympic sports. Jordan’s players compete in 7 sports, mainly athletics, roller skating, bocce, weightlifting, bowling, badminton and swimming. On the tournament’s sidelines, His Highness, as President of Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), participated in activities of Global Forum for Inclusion for Persons with Disabilities in Berlin. Prince Mired’s participation in the conference focused on Jordan’s key achievements in the field of the rights of persons with disabilities, and future plans, which His Majesty attaches great attention and reflects Jordan’s excellence in this field, according to a HCD statement.

Source: Jordan News Agency

University of Jordan (UJ) and the Amman-based Specialty Hospital on Sunday signed a joint training and academic cooperation agreement in education, training, and health development fields. The agreement, which was signed by UJ President, Nazir Obeidat, and hospital’s director general, Fawzi Hamouri, aims to develop treatment services, health education, rehabilitation and technical training, to improve the “distinguished” medical and preventive services for citizens. Under the agreement, the hospital will become an educational and training center for UJ Faculty of Medicine’s students and support joint research, especially with regard to applied studies that serve local community. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Obeidat said the agreement aims to empower UJ Faculty of Medicine’s students, enhance their capabilities, and develop their skills to provide “distinguished” medical services to citizens. Meanwhile, Hamouri said the agreement will provide an opportunity for UJ’s students to benefit from Specialty Hospital’s “high-level” training

Source: Jordan News Agency

Groups of Israeli settlers guarded by Israeli police broke into the courtyards of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem this morning, according to witnesses. Scores of Israeli settlers entered the compound through the Moroccan Gate in groups and performed rituals there under the protection of Israeli police officers, local sources said. During the presence of the Israeli settlers inside the holy site, Israeli police imposed restrictions on the entry of Palestinian Muslims into the holy site, including bodily searching some of them and retaining their identity cards. Since 2003, the Israeli occupation authorities have been allowing settlers into the compound almost on a daily basis, with the exclusion of Friday, the Muslim day of rest and worship. The Islamic Awqaf, the Jordan-run authority in charge of the holy site, has repeatedly described the settlers’ presence in Al-Aqsa Mosque as provocative, saying that Palestinian worshippers and guards at Al-Aqsa feel uncomfortable with the presence of Israeli police and settlers touring the Islamic holy site. Israel captured East Jerusalem, where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located, during the Six-Day War in 1967 in a move never recognized by the international community.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said today that reports about the Israeli government granting far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich powers to approve settlement construction and expansion represents a serious development in the way to a full Israeli annexation of the West Bank. In a press statement, the Foreign Ministry warned of the dangers of this decision, which it described as another step towards applying Israeli law to the West Bank and facilitating the ‘quiet, noiseless’ approval of settlement projects. The Foreign Ministry called for real international and American action to press the Israeli government to backtrack on this decision, and to take the necessary practical steps to force the Israeli government to stop its illegal unilateral measures that undermine the opportunities to achieve a two-state solution. Earlier today, the Israeli occupation government approved a decision authorizing the head of the Religious Zionist Party and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to issue preliminary approval for planning and building in the Israeli settlements, in addition to expediting the procedures for expansion of settlements. The Israeli public broadcaster Kan said that the decision requires that construction plans in the settlements be advanced without the approval of the Israeli political echelon, contrary to the situation that has existed for 25 years.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

An Israeli court in Ramla postponed today a hearing into cancer-stricken Palestinian prisoner Walid Daqqa’s eligibility to appear before the Early Release Committee, provided that the court judge issues his decision within a week of its date, Daqqa’s family have said. Daqqa completed his 37-year sentence on 24 March 2023, but he is still arbitrarily detained after two years were added to his sentence in 2018 on the pretext of his attempt to help the prisoners contact their families. Daqqa is a Palestinian writer and activist who has been imprisoned by Israel since 1986 for his resistance of the Israeli occupation. In December 2022, he was diagnosed with advanced bone marrow cancer, and was declared in urgent need of a transplant, but has not yet had a transplant. On May 22, Daqqa was transferred to the intensive care unit at the Assaf Harofeh hospital south of Tel Aviv due to further health complications. But three days later, Israeli authorities transferred him back to the Ramleh prison’s clinic in Israel, which is notorious for its difficult conditions, despite calls by rights groups to keep him hospitalized for constant monitoring and treatment if he is not released. His imprisonment also violates the 1993 Oslo Accords, which had a clause for the release of all Palestinian prisoners detained prior to the signing of the agreement.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Israeli occupation court Sunday issued a decision to demolish the Umm Qassah Mixed Elementary School, in Badia Yatta, south of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron. The school principal, Youssef Al-Basaita, told WAFA that the occupation had notified the school last year of the demolition and prevented the residents from adding new classroom units to it, indicating that it consists of tin rooms, and houses 58 male and female students from the first to the fourth grades of primary school, noting that it also includes a kindergarten. Al-Basaita added that the occupation court informed the school’s lawyer of the decision to demolish it within seven days.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Hussein al-Sheikh, the Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said today that the Palestinian leadership has decided to boycott the meeting of the Palestinian-Israeli Higher Economic Committee meeting. He said the decision comes in response to the decision of the Israeli government to accelerate settlement construction in the West Bank, including authorizing far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to approve settlement orders. Al-Sheikh said in a tweet that the Palestinian leadership will also consider a number of measures regarding the relationship with Israel. Earlier today, the Israeli occupation government approved a decision authorizing the head of the Religious Zionist Party and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to issue preliminary approval for planning and building in the Israeli settlements, in addition to expediting the procedures for expansion of settlements. The Israeli public broadcaster Kan said that the decision requires that construction plans in the settlements be advanced without the approval of the Israeli political echelon, contrary to the situation that has existed for 25 years.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

A fire broke out on a Philippine’s cargo ship with 133 passengers on board, as it sailed off the port of Tagbilaran in the southern province of Bohol.

Head of the Tagbilaran City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) Anthony Damalerio said that a fire erupted outside the engine room, a few kilometers off the Tagbilaran City Port with 72 passengers and 61 crew members, according to the Philippines News Agency (PNA).

He added that fisherfolk and the crew of another passenger vessel rescued all passengers and crew on board without any injuries happening, as the fire was immediately put off and averted further damage to the vessel.

On March 30, the Philippines witnessed a similar incident that killed 10 people as a result of a fire on a merchant ship off the southern Philippine province of Basilan.

Sea accidents are common in the Philippine archipelago due to frequent storms and poorly maintained vessels, not to mention overcrowding and lack of safety rules, particularly in remote provinces.

In Dec, 1987, a passenger ferry sank after colliding with a fuel tanker, killing more than 4,300 people in the world’s worst maritime disaster.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The College of Islamic Studies (CIS) at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 18, establishing a framework for collaboration in the design of joint postgraduate degrees as well as executive diplomas.

Under the agreement, HBKU’s CIS and UNITAR will pursue and develop forms of cooperation, including joint postgraduate degree programs, short courses, and executive diplomas that will cut across the disciplines of diplomacy, international law, security, energy, strategic studies, and leadership among others.

The partnership’s scope enables UN practitioners and HBKU’s CIS faculty to combine their expertise in the design of academic programming, drawing upon their collective expertise to bolster human development in Qatar while promoting interdisciplinary research agendas and injecting new contributions to global Islamic scholarship.

In this occasion, Dean of College of Islamic Studies Dr. Recep Senturk said: “Our collaboration with UNITAR will enable us to deepen the interdisciplinary nature of our academic and research programming by infusing insights from renowned UN experts in a multitude of fields that span the spectrum of international relations. This partnership embodies the College’s innate dedication to dialogue, overcoming borders, and building capacity in Qatar and beyond, which we carry out by actively leveraging local and international exchange and collaborations with distinguished partners in different sectors such as UNITAR.” Director of the Division for Multilateral Diplomacy at UNITAR Rabih El Haddad commented: “UNITAR’s excellent cooperation with the State of Qatar has been ongoing for numerous years, and it now extends far beyond the government level. Our commitment to joining forces with the most esteemed academic institutions at the state and regional level is aptly embodied by the launch of this important partnership, through which we jointly seek to disseminate knowledge, create true excellence, and empower leaders of today and of tomorrow according to the highest international standards.”

Source: Qatar News Agency