Day: 7 August 2023

His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday received Deputy Assistant to the US President and White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk at Bayt Al Urdun.

The meeting, attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, covered the strong ties between Jordan and the United States and the means to bolster their strategic partnership.

According to a royal court statement, discussions also addressed the latest regional and international developments, especially the Palestinian cause.

King Abdullah stressed the need to step up efforts in pursuit of just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 4 June 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, and Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan attended the meeting.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) has unveiled its seventh annual report on the nation’s payment system for 2022. The document delves into significant developments concerning payment systems, instruments, channels, and electronic fund transfers.

Adel Sharkas, the CBJ Governor, underscored the significance of the report, noting that it outlines pivotal statistical metrics reflecting the state of Jordan’s electronic payment ecosystem.

Such insights furnish invaluable data for stakeholders, from researchers and policymakers to investors, streamlining the furtherance of electronic payment utilization in Jordan.

Sharkas emphasized the report’s role as a principal data source on the national payment system, underscoring the Central Bank’s commitment to international best practices.

This effort mirrors the bank’s strategic vision of fostering a seamless transition to a digital payment landscape, bolstering the nation’s financial stability. Furthermore, the report aids in accomplishing the Central Bank’s goal to establish a robust and efficient national payment system.

The 2022 report resonates with Jordan’s economic modernization vision for 2023-2033 and the national e-payment strategy spanning 2023-2025. The document serves as a crucial tool for gauging progress toward these ambitious milestones.

The report, structured into two main chapters, kicks off by spotlighting the regulatory and legislative strides within the national payment system throughout 2022. It underscores enhancements aimed at fortifying the legislative framework, ensuring rigorous supervision, and swiftly navigating the rapidly evolving sector.

Additionally, the report touches upon global payment systems adopted by the Central Bank in 2022, shedding light on contemporary financial innovations within Jordan’s national payment structure.

The subsequent chapter delves into the evolutions within the Kingdom’s payment, clearing, and settlement systems, accompanied by pertinent statistical data. Key highlights from the report include:

– A surge in immediate payment system usage, tallying up to 18.13 million transactions worth 2.7 billion dinars, predominantly via e-wallets and bank accounts.

– A 25% uptick in electronic bill display and collection system transactions, reaching 42.7 million transactions valued at 10.5 billion dinars.

– Paper-based payment instruments, such as checks, registered 10.3 million transactions with a cumulative value of 54 billion dinars.

– The Kingdom saw a proliferation of payment cards, amassing 5.7 million of various categories, including credit, debit, and prepaid cards.

– Jordan now boasts 2,246 ATMs scattered across the country, with 69,040 Point-of-Sale (POS) devices facilitating card payments. Notably, electronic banking channels, encompassing ATMs, online, and mobile banking, constituted a whopping 72% of 2022’s total payment activities.

In alignment with global best practices, the Central Bank remains committed to the report’s periodic issuance, ensuring it captures the dynamic landscape of Jordan’s payment sector.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Israeli military authorities today issued a demolition order against a house in the village of Burin, east of the southern West Bank city of Hebron, reported WAFA correspondent.

He said that Israeli soldiers broke into the village and handed the demolition order to the owner of the 160-square-meter house that is still in the construction stage under the pretext it was being built in Area C of the occupied West Bank that is still under full Israeli military control without a permit.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency

The Israeli District Court’s decision not to grant the ill freedom fighter Walid Daqqa, who completed 37 years behind bars for his resistance to the Israeli occupation, an early release from prison due to his deteriorating health condition is equivalent to a death sentence, today said the Daqqa family after the Israeli District Court in Lydda rejected the family’s appeal for the early release of its son.

Walid Daqqa has ended his actual life sentence, later commuted to 37 years, since March 24. However, two more years were added to his sentence after accusing him of attempting to help prisoners to contact their families by phone.

The Daqqa family said in a statement that the court rejected the early release of its son despite the extreme danger to his life as a result of the deterioration of his health condition during the past five months. It said he is still undergoing inappropriate treatment in the Ramle prison clinic.

‘We, the family and the campaign for the release of the prisoner Walid Daqqa, consider any decision or judgment that does not lead to the immediate release of the prisoner Daqqa an authorization to execute him by procrastinating in deciding on his release despite the very high degree of danger in his health condition, which was recognized even by the report of the occupation’s Prison Services,’ it said, adding that despite this report and the termination of his actual sentence five months ago, the court refused his immediate release.

The family called on all political and popular parties to support its campaign at all levels in the Arab world and globally until the release of Daqqa, stressing that it will petition the Israeli Supreme Court for his release.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh Monday met with a delegation of members of the US Congress, which included 22 members of the Democratic Party, headed by Senator Hakeem Jeffries, leader of the Democratic Caucus in the House of Representatives, in his office in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

The meeting discussed ways to revive the political process and the role of the US Congress in protecting the two-state solution, as the Prime Minister called on Congress to vote in favor of recognizing the State of Palestine.

The Prime Minister affirmed that Israel violates international law on a daily basis through killing, storming and building settlement, stressing that this causes the systematic destruction of the two-state solution.

He said that the continuation of the fait accompli will lead to a slide towards one state with an apartheid regime in reality, laws and legislation, especially in light of the Palestinians’ superiority over the Jews in terms of numbers in the 1948-occupied territories.

Shtayyeh called on Congress to pressure Israel to allow holding of Palestinian elections, including Jerusalem, in accordance with the signed agreements, considering that Israel’s failure to allow this is an attempt to fight Palestinian democracy.

The PM also demanded that the US administration’s condemnation of settlements be translated into deterrent measures that protect the two-state solution from Israel.

On the other hand, the Prime Minister called on members of Congress to push for amending laws and regulations that target the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization and link them to terrorism.

Source: Palestine news & Information Agency

A high-ranking delegation, headed by Minister of Defense Thabet Muhammad Al-Abbasi, began a visit to the United States of America at the official invitation of the US Department of Defense (The Pentagon).

A statement by the Security Media Cell stated: “The delegation included the head of the Anti-Terrorism Service, Lieutenant General Abdul-Wahhab Al-Saadi, Chief of Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Abdul-Amir Rashid Yarallah, Lieutenant General Qais Al-Muhammadawi, Deputy Commander of Joint Operations, and a number of advisors and officers.”

During this visit, the delegation will hold several meetings to discuss a number of issues, foremost of which is the future relationship with the international coalition, bilateral security cooperation between Iraq and the United States, and the exchange of experiences and information, especially in the intelligence aspect, in pursuing the remaining elements of the terrorist gangs of ISIS.

The visit also includes holding a series of interviews and meetings with officials of the US Department of Defense in a way that serves the common interests between the two countries.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Prime Minister, Muhammad Al-Sudani, stressed today, Monday, the importance of implementing the government program according to the tools and time.

He said during the inauguration of the Higher Institute for the Preparation and Qualification of Leaders, in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers: We need competition among cadres, so we need this institute to achieve the goals.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Prime Minister, Muhammad Al-Sudani, affirmed: “The quota system has developed in forms that harm state institutions.”

Al-Sudani said in a speech at the ceremony held today, Monday, at the Higher Institute for the Preparation and Qualification of Leaders, in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers: “Many of the owners of senior positions have arrived as a result of the quota system, and that many decisions in the Council of Ministers fall within the government routine, and many delayed projects came result of this.”

He added: “We must implement the government program according to the timings and conduct an evaluation process for the special grades to reach the best formulas to achieve the goals.”

Al-Sudani stressed that the minister must provide the worthy employee with training to improve his performance.

Al-Sudani stressed: “General managers must be well-acquainted with their work in order to be successful administrative leaders,” noting that “there should be no intersection between the institutes to train cadres for joint work, and the training curriculum must be carefully prepared”.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Turkish media revealed a tour that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to undertake during the current month, and that it will include several countries in the Arabian Gulf, foremost of which is Iraq.

Turkish media, relying on official sources, said that the Gulf tour, which is the second, includes Iraq, Bahrain, the Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait.

This tour, according to Turkish sources, comes within the framework of the Turkish president’s political and economic efforts to strengthen relations with the Arab Gulf states.

This visit aims to enhance cooperation in several areas, including economy, energy, security and political cooperation.

This announcement comes after an official visit made by the Turkish President to several Arab countries from 17 to 20 July, where he visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

Somali National Army and international partners killed 45 Al-Shabaab militants after conducting a joint operation in Hiiraan region in central Somalia.

Sources in the Somali army told the Somali National News Agency (SONNA) that the military operation carried out in the past few days in Qob-Yaxaas, 80 km south of Buloburde in Hiiraan, resulted in the killing of 45 militants, including ten prominent leaders.

Somali forces have been fighting for more than a decade against armed groups, which have claimed responsibility for many attacks that killed hundreds of civilians and security personnel.

Source: Qatar News Agency

An earthquake measuring 4.8 magnitude on the Richter scale struck Monday off the coast of the Guanacaste Province, northwest of Costa Rica.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicenter of the earthquake occurred 122 km from the Tamarindo area of the province, at a depth of 10 km.

There have been no reports of casualties or material damage as a result of the earthquake so far.

Costa Rica is exposed to earthquakes of different strengths due to its location on active geological layers that cause many underground cracks.

Source: Qatar News Agency