Day: 31 August 2023

An exhibition was opened on Thursday for the ICT Mediterranean platform for UNESCO cultural heritage (iHERITAGE), displaying holographic figures of Petra, Jordanian folklore, and museums. The expo witnessed the launch of the official website for the red-rose city and other tourist sites, in which visitors can indulge in an authentic tourism experience by watching a 3D movie. The gathering and the website were created by the Jordanian Society for Scientific Research (JSSR) and the Department of Antiquities (DoA), the Jordanian partners in the EU-funded iHERITAGE project. Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Makram Qeisi emphasized the ministry’s dedication to collaborating with all parties to implement projects supporting and promoting Jordan’s tourism at local, regional, and international levels. In remarks given on behalf of Qeisi by Assistant Director of DoA Ahmed Musa, he commended the iHERITAGE project for its efforts in promoting Jordan’s archaeological and tourist sites, specifically Petra, by using digital technology, which greatly contributes to the attraction of visitors from all across the globe. He added that Jordan’s tourism industry currently offers 55,000 employment opportunities, contributing 13% of the gross domestic product, noting that there is a plan to increase this number and invest more in the sector as part of the country’s economic modernization vision. The JSSR and the DoA are actively promoting iHERITAGE through various activities like showcasing products and digital platforms created by iHERITAGE staff, according to JSSR President Reda Khawaldeh. The goal is to encourage international, regional, and Jordanian companies to explore the possibility of partnering up and establishing companies to further develop and leverage these products, he added. During the exhibition, various seminars and discussions will take place on technology, iHERITAGE products, and investment opportunities, with the participation of many related companies, businessmen, and specialists.

Source: Jordan News Agency

President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Khalil Hajj Tawfiq and Jordanian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Hamza Omari on Thursday discussed ways to strengthen economic ties and increase trade between Jordan and Kazakhstan. During the meeting, they discussed the role that the Jordanian embassy in Kazakhstan can play in providing a database on investment opportunities in the Kingdom, exportable goods, and the needs of the Kazakh market for goods and services. They went over the potential for increased investment from Kazakhstan in Jordan and for Kazakh investors to capitalize on the Kingdom’s safe and attractive investment environment, with a new law in place that provides many incentives for investors. Tawfiq stated that the ACC plans to collaborate with the Jordanian Embassy in Kazakhstan to organize joint exhibitions, exchange delegations, explore investment prospects, increase trade, and network with private sector institutions through the signing of memorandums of understanding. Furthermore, he suggested holding a one-day exhibition in Kazakhstan to showcase unique products from Jordan. He also emphasized the importance of inviting tourism companies from Kazakhstan to visit Jordan and meet with officials to learn about the country’s tourism offerings, particularly in the realm of religious tourism. Omari pointed out several challenges hindering the growth of trade between the two countries, primarily including high transportation costs, the absence of direct transportation routes, and the difficulty faced by Jordanian businessmen in obtaining visas. He also highlighted the upcoming fifth session of the Jordanian-Kazakh Joint Committee, scheduled to take place in Amman in October, emphasizing the significance of developing strategies and methods to bolster economic collaboration in sectors such as trade, agriculture, and investment between the two nations.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Scores of Israeli settlers today broke into the compounds of al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy protection from the Israeli police, according to witnesses. The settlers, divided into groups, raided the holy Islamic Mosque, took provocative tours in its compounds, and performed Talmudic rituals there. 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.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

A Palestinian youth was Thursday morning injured after he was shot by Israeli forces, to the west of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah. Local sources said that the Israeli forces opened fire at a Palestinian youth, whose identity has yet to be revealed, at the Ni’lin military checkpoint, claiming that he had allegedly carried out a car-ramming attack near the illegal Israeli settlement of Mod’een. Israeli reports said that three settlers were injured, as a result.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Israeli forces Thursday detained 17 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank, including two former prisoners. In Salfit, Israeli forces detained one Palestinian, while in Jenin, the forces detain nine Palestinians, six of whom were released later. Israeli soldiers detained three from Ramallah, three others, including two former prisoners, from Hebron. Additionally, the forces detained one from Jerusalem.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh today said the Israeli occupation authorities’ daily killings, the latest of which was the cold-blooded murder of Jerusalemite teenager Khaled al-Zaanin, the incursions into Palestinian cities, villages, towns and camps, and the detention of hundreds of Palestinians, aim to explode the situation and drag it into a spiral of violence and escalation. He said that the Israeli occupation government bears full responsibility for the dangerous current conditions, stressing that all that Israel is doing will not bring it security and stability, which will not be achieved without the Palestinian people obtaining their full rights recognized by the international legitimacy. No issue will be resolved in the Middle East without a just solution to the Palestinian issue, he added. The international community, especially the US administration, must be well aware that what Israel is doing in terms of killing, detention, the storming of holy places, settlers’ terrorism, and other unilateral measures will have very dangerous repercussions for everyone because the Palestinian people and their leadership will not stand idly by while Israel continues in these crimes, which will not be allowed to continue, he said. He added that there is a national Palestinian decision to protect the rights and stop this aggression against the people, land, and sanctities. Abu Rudeineh called on the US administration to immediately intervene to stop this Israeli madness before it is too late because the alternative is destruction, instability, and loss of hope, and this is what is happening now. He added that disregard for the lives of the Palestinian people, the stealing of their land, and the attacks on their sanctities will not subjugate them, nor force them to give up their rights and national constants, stressing that history has always proven that victory always stands on the side of truth, justice and freedom that the Palestinian people represent. The presidential spokesman affirmed, on behalf of the presidency, that the Palestinian leadership, responsible for the independent Palestinian national decision, will not back down on the national constants and historical rights, foremost of which are the Muslim and Christian holy sites.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA

The people of Salh District in Taiz province organized a tribal stand to denounce the crime of the aggression’s mercenaries against citizens in Akhdoo’ Asfal in Maqbanah District, Killing and injuring 17 citizens, most of them women and children.

During the protest, the Director of the district, Muhammad Al-Hamsha, pointed out that this crime reveals the brutality and barbarism of the aggression coalition and its mercenaries and constitutes a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.

He stressed that this crime and the crimes that preceded it will not have a statute of limitations, and the perpetrators will be prosecuted until they receive their deterrent punishment.

A statement issued by the movement denounced the continued aggression coalition and its mercenaries in committing crimes against citizens and ignoring all humanitarian conventions and laws.

He pointed out that the complicity of the international community and the United Nations towards the suffering of the Yemeni people encouraged the aggression coalition to commit more crimes.

The directors of the executive offices of the Directorate and social figures participated in the vigil.

Source: Yemen News Agency

The US-Saudi led aggression coalition forces committed 73 violations of the ceasefire agreement in Hodeida province over the past 24 hours, the operations room to monitor the violations reported on Thursday.

A source in the operations room told the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) that among the violations were four spy aircraft raids on Maqbana area, and the creation of combat fortifications in al-Jabaliya area and Hays district.

The source indicated that the violations also included four sorties of spy planes over the airspace of Hays and Maqbana, 11 violations with artillery shelling, and 50 violations with various gunshots.

Source: Yemen News Agency

At nine o’clock in the evening, a tweet campaign will be launched on the social networking site “Twitter”, entitled

“The graveyard will be waiting for you”.

The campaign organizers called for widespread participation in the tweet campaign, to expose the American invader who increased his forces and remind him that Yemen is the graveyard of the invaders, using the two hashtags:

Source: Yemen News Agency