Month: March 2024

The seventeenth Ramadan lecture of the Leader of the Revolution, Sayyed. Abdul Malik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, Sunday, 21 Ramadan 1445 AH – 31 March 2024 AD.

Source: Yemen News Agency

Amman: His Royal Highness Prince Mired bin Raad, Chairman of the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD), alongside Minister of Water and Irrigation, Raed Abu Saud, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Sunday to enhance the involvement, integration, and skill development of individuals with disabilities within the National Water Fellowship Program.

The agreement aims to coordinate efforts to boost the participation of individuals with disabilities in the water sector, improve services provided to them as recipients, employees, trainees, and partners, and ensure that water sector services and facilities are accessible according to disability requirements. It emphasizes the provision of information in accessible formats for individuals with disabilities.

Under the MoU, efforts will be made to train young people with disabilities to join the National Water Fellowship Program, launched by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation with support from the Water Sector Governance Activit
y (WGA) funded by the United States Agency for International Development.

Prince Mired emphasized the significance of the National Water Fellowship Program in developing the capabilities of young people and integrating them into various water sector facilities.

He called for the active involvement of young people with disabilities in sectoral development through specialized training programs.

Abu Saud highlighted the water sector’s commitment to broadening cooperation with the Supreme Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, underscoring the crucial role individuals with disabilities play in fostering change and addressing water challenges, as outlined in the national strategy.

USAID Mission Director in Jordan, Leslie Reed, described the signing as a vital step toward inclusiveness and integration within the water sector, emphasizing the commitment to equal opportunities and rights for youth and individuals with disabilities.

The Water Sector Governance Activity aims to support sustainable de
velopment in the water sector by providing technical assistance for institutional reforms, strategy development, capacity building, and performance improvement to mitigate water loss and enhance water supply efficiency.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Jordan is intensifying its efforts to combat food waste as part of the national initiative “No to Food Waste,” launched by the Ministry of Agriculture in November 2022, said Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat.

He affirmed that Jordan is committed to taking significant steps to minimize food waste in alignment with the objectives outlined in the National Food Security Strategy 2021-2030. This strategy, coupled with its action plan for 2022-2024, aims to introduce innovative approaches to mitigate food wastage and promote awareness regarding responsible consumption practices.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency (Petra) on Sunday, marking the International Day of Zero Waste, Hneifat emphasized the comprehensive nature of the initiative. It encompasses various programs and interventions, notably a nationwide awareness campaign aimed at fostering behavioral changes to reduce food wastage. Hneifat stressed the urgency of addressing the global challenge of food waste, highlighting its detrimenta
l economic, environmental, and social ramifications.

According to the Food Waste Index Report 2024 issued by the United Nations Environment Program, the world discards approximately 1.3 billion tons of food annually, amounting to 132 kilograms per capita. In Jordan, the annual per capita food waste stands at about 101 kilograms, totaling approximately 1.136 million tons, which could sustain the food needs of 1.5 million people for a year. This alarming trend not only strains limited natural resources but also exacerbates water scarcity issues in the country.

The initiative is multifaceted, focusing on both entrepreneurial endeavors and research initiatives. The entrepreneurial track seeks to nurture innovative solutions for managing food waste, providing participants with training to develop sustainable business models. Meanwhile, the research track aims to establish methodologies for quantifying food waste in collaboration with the Department of Statistics, laying the groundwork for a national waste index.

Thirty-seven teams from all governorates of the Kingdom applied for the program, and the five best innovative ideas for five teams were selected. The winning teams were given $45,000 to enable them to develop their innovative ideas in addition to enabling food waste management initiatives.

The Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Development and the World Food Program, is spearheading efforts to establish a union comprising associations dedicated to addressing food waste. This initiative aims to institutionalize and coordinate the activities of various stakeholders involved in food waste management.

Hneifat underscored the importance of a concerted national awareness campaign to instill a culture of responsible consumption and reduce food waste across households, restaurants, hotels, and other sectors. The campaign, slated for a one-year duration, seeks to educate the public about the scale and impact of food waste, targeting negative behaviors and promoting sustainable prac
tices.

The campaign will be executed in two phases: the first phase will focus on raising awareness about the challenges of food waste, while the second phase will concentrate on behavioral change through social and educational interventions.

Hanifat stated that the campaign will organize efforts to create a culture of stopping food waste through schools, mosques, churches, media, and social incubators, in order to achieve the goal of reducing food loss and waste by 50% by 2030.

Against the backdrop of the climate crisis and regional conflicts, Hneifat emphasized the collective responsibility of society and its institutions in combating food waste. He urged concerted efforts to mitigate the impact of food shortages, particularly in war-torn regions like Gaza, underscoring the imperative of sustainable consumption practices to secure food security for all.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Aqaba: Urbaser and MAB Company, for the fourth consecutive year, are undertaking the “Preserving Grace” initiative during Ramadan.

According to Haneen Jarhi, the project’s brainchild, its goal is to foster social cohesion, minimize food wastage, and honor blessings by redistributing surplus food from major hotels to needy families in Aqaba.

Jarhi, the company’s PR director, emphasized that the project aims to uphold the dignity of the underprivileged and support their sustenance. To achieve this, the team liaises with Aqaba hotels, collects fresh, healthy food, handles it hygienically, packages it, and distributes it to families across the city.

She noted that around 6,000 individuals benefit annually during Ramadan, expressing hopes for continued support from the hotel industry throughout the year. This initiative could serve as a model for other regions in Jordan, easing the burden on needy families in an organized manner.

Jarhi highlighted another advantage of the project: reducing environmental waste
by utilizing surplus food and fostering public-private partnerships. Urbaser, in collaboration with Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, Health and Tourism Directorates, the hotel sector, and local community volunteers, spearheads this endeavor.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Ramallah: Israeli occupation forces conducted raids in a village south of Bethlehem and a town north of Hebron on Sunday morning, leading to dozens of Palestinians experiencing suffocation due to the use of toxic tear gas.

According to a statement from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the occupation forces stormed into the village, unleashing stun grenades and firing toxic tear gas indiscriminately towards residential areas. This resulted in numerous individuals suffocating as they struggled to breathe amid the noxious fumes.

Clashes erupted between young Palestinians and the occupying army. The Israeli forces deployed tear gas bombs, stun grenades, live ammunition, and rubber bullets, inflicting various injuries upon civilians caught in the crossfire.

Moreover, in a sweeping operation across the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces detained 14 Palestinians. The Palestinian Prisoners Society revealed that these individuals were transferred for interrogation, accused of involvement in armed resistance agai
nst the occupation forces and settlers.

The incursions spanned various governorates, with a particular focus on camps. Homes were raided, subjected to thorough searches, and residents were subjected to field interrogations, often enduring hours of detention.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Gaza: In the early hours of Sunday, several Palestinians were killed and others were injured after the Israeli occupation aircraft bombed a house in the Maghazi camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Medical sources confirmed the loss of at least three lives, with several others missing and numerous injuries reported.

Israeli warplanes also launched raids on the southern areas of Deir al-Balah, further escalating the tense situation in the central Gaza Strip.

Meanwhile, occupation forces resumed their incursion into the Al-Matahin and Al-Baraka areas, as well as the outskirts of the Mawasi Al-Qarara area in Khan Yunis, located in the southern part of the Strip. These operations were accompanied by artillery shelling and gunfire from gunboats.

On Saturday, 17 Palestinians were martyred and 30 were injured in an Israeli bombing of the popular and tribal committees at the Kuwait Roundabout in Gaza City. The victims were gathered there, awaiting humanitarian aid intended for distribution to families in Gaza.

Additi
onally, explosions were reported in the central region of southern Gaza, caused by forceful bombs used by the Israeli occupation.

According to the non-final tally provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, the death toll has now risen to 32,705, predominantly comprising children and women, with 75,190 reported injuries since the commencement of the Israeli aggression against the besieged Strip in early October.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of State for Public Sector Modernisation Nasser Shraideh, on Sunday evening, sponsored the launch of the Institutional Culture Enhancement Program in the Public Sector, in the presence of secretaries-general and directors-general of ministries and government departments.

In an opening speech, Shraideh said, “The success of modernization initiatives in the public sector requires a supportive institutional culture for the concepts of modernization and development, and one that motivates citizen service and embraces positive change, because its absence is a major obstacle to implementing change initiatives, and thus hinders the desired modernization.”

He indicated that the first change that the public sector will witness in 2024 is the human resources management system that will be approved in the coming weeks, explaining that the secretaries-general and directors-general are the leaders of this change, and they will manage it, with the support of
human resources and institutional development departments.

Shraideh added that the government, realizing the importance of institutional culture and its intersection with all components of the public sector modernization roadmap, has started implementing initiatives to enhance institutional culture in the public sector since the approval of the public sector modernization roadmap, where it designed a model and program for institutional culture.

He pointed out that the priorities of the public sector modernization roadmap for 2024 included a special priority for raising awareness of the desired institutional culture model and the importance of change in 100 ministries and government departments, and another priority for applying the institutional culture program in 50 ministries and government departments.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The International Court of Justice in The Hague on Thursday adopted a new majority decision obliging the Zionist enemy entity to take the necessary measures in order to ensure the entry of basic food supplies into the Gaza Strip and stop the spread of famine there.

The resolution, its second resolution in the recent period, which was adopted by a majority of 14 votes out of 16, is binding on the Zionist enemy entity, and reaffirms the precautionary measures contained in the resolution issued on January 26.

This resolution comes after the UN Security Council resolution, which effectively condemned the Zionist enemy entity by demanding an immediate ceasefire.

Despite the absence of an executive mechanism to oblige the Zionist enemy entity to abide by the two resolutions, legal and diplomatic sources view the two resolutions as an expression of further isolation of the usurping entity and Washington’s inability to provide more protection.

Diplomatic sources expected Algeria to propose to the Security Council
a resolution confirming the court’s decision and calling for its implementation.

And in the details of the new decision. The judges of the International Tribunal ordered the Zionist enemy to take all necessary and effective measures in order to ensure the entry of basic food supplies to the Gaza Strip and to stop the spread of famine there.

The Tribunal unanimously decided to take all necessary measures to ensure close cooperation with the United Nations without delay and the provision of services by all parties concerned, in particular by increasing capacity, the number of land crossings and keeping them open.

It also decided to ensure that the Zionist enemy “army” does not commit acts that violate any of the rights of Palestinians in Gaza, including preventing the delivery of aid, in any way. The Court also decided that the Zionist enemy should, one month from today, report to it on all the measures it had taken to implement its order.

In this context… The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas called on t
he international community to ensure that the order of the International Court of Justice to enter aid to the Gaza Strip must be accompanied by an implementation mechanism that obliges the Zionist enemy, which uses starvation as a weapon against civilians.

The movement said in a statement last night: “The enemy government, despite the previous decisions of the court, is still continuing the war of extermination against our people, without any deterrence.” It stressed that the order issued by the International Court of Justice to the Zionist enemy on the need to bring basic aid and services into Gaza must be accompanied by an executive mechanism imposed by the international community, which obliges the fascist enemy, which uses starvation as a weapon against civilians, to implement it immediately, so that this decision does not remain ink on paper, as the government of the fascist enemy, despite the previous decisions of the Court, is still continuing the war of brutal extermination against our people, withou
t any deterrence.

Hamas pointed out that the government of the Zionist enemy has consistently flouted all international resolutions, the latest of which is the UN Security Council resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

It pointed out that the Zionist enemy “in a behavior that confirms that this terrorist entity acts as if it is above the law and accountability, due to the cover provided by the US administration, which is a partner in all crimes committed against children and unarmed civilians in the Gaza Strip.”

The International Court of Justice said in a statement that Palestinians in Gaza face worsening living conditions amid widespread famine.

In January, the International Court of Justice ordered the Zionist enemy entity to avoid any acts that may fall under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and to ensure that its forces do not commit any acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

In the new decision, the court reaffirmed the Jan
uary measures, but added that Israel must take action to ensure the unimpeded delivery of basic services and humanitarian assistance, including food, water and electricity, as well as medical supplies and medical care to Palestinians across Gaza.

Commenting on the ICC order on aid last night, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said: “We have no position now, because our team is still aware of the text of the resolution, but we urge Israel to facilitate the entry of more aid into Gaza.”

In flagrant violation of international laws, the Zionist enemy restricts humanitarian access to Gaza, especially by land, causing scarce supplies of food, medicine and fuel and creating a famine that has killed children and the elderly in the enclave it has besieged for 17 years and is home to some 2.3 million Palestinians in catastrophic conditions.

The Zionist enemy also faces Palestinian and international accusations of using “starvation” as a weapon in Gaza, amounting to a “war crime”, and the United Nations ca
lls on it to open land crossings to flood the Strip with humanitarian aid before famine devours more of its population.

In turn, the president of the International Court of Justice, Nawaf Salam, stressed the need for the new procedures approved by the court on Thursday. At the same time, he explained that these measures cannot fully achieve their effects, “unless the ceasefire resolution is effectively adhered to within the month of Ramadan,” which was issued by the UN Security Council a few days ago.

South Africa had requested the new measures, as part of its ongoing case accusing Israel of genocide in the Gaza Strip.

South Africa welcomed the court’s decision, and the presidency said in a statement that “the most effective way to support the right of Palestinians to exist is through measures to prevent genocide, which the court has outlined.” She stressed that the changing conditions in Gaza “require the implementation of new strategies.”

The statement added that the Palestinians are martyred not only a
s a result of the shelling and ground attacks launched by the occupation, but also because of disease and famine, urging the cessation of military operations in Gaza, and commitment to the resolutions of “international justice.”

Two months ago, the International Court of Justice called on the Zionist enemy to take measures to prevent genocide in Gaza and direct incitement to it. The court then requested that Israel report to it on its response to the measures scheduled after one month, and that all immediate measures be taken to protect Palestinians in Gaza, as well as immediate measures that would allow humanitarian aid to enter the Strip.

Despite the court’s demands and decisions, the Zionist enemy continued its war on the Gaza Strip. Intensifying the targeting of civilians and all necessities of life, and tightening the siege, so as to prevent the entry of the required aid through land crossings, as part of the war of starvation that it deliberately practices.

On March 6, South Africa called on the Inte
rnational Court of Justice to take additional emergency measures against Israel because of the “widespread famine” that resulted from its fierce war on the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, South Africa accused the Zionist enemy of setting a precedent in defying the decisions of the highest court in the United Nations, the International Court of Justice. Gaza is witnessing a “starvation” campaign.

South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor told a seminar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace during a visit to Washington that the Zionist enemy defied a decision by the International Court of Justice in January ordering it to do everything in its power to prevent genocide. “Israel has completely ignored the temporary measures.”

“We are currently witnessing mass starvation and famine before our eyes.” Warning of the repercussions of a step that could serve as an example to follow. The behavior of the Zionist enemy can be interpreted by countries as being able to do what they want without any accountability.

A UN-backed food security assessment found that Gaza faces imminent famine, with some 1.1 million people, almost half the population, suffering catastrophic hunger.

In six “provisional measures”, the court issued an effective warning to the Zionist entity. The proceedings essentially urged this usurping entity and its forces to ensure that genocide does not occur in response to the October 7 attack, guard against incitement to genocide, preserve evidence and report to the court, and urged this entity to “address the living conditions faced by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”

Source: Yemen News Agency

Amman: The Petroleum Derivatives Pricing Committee decided Sunday to reduce the price of diesel to JOD.730 per liter instead of JOD.740 and to raise the selling price of 90 octane gasoline to JOD.940 per liter instead of JOD,930.

It decided to raise the selling price of octane gasoline 95 to JOD1,175 per liter instead of JOD1,170.

The Committee decided to set the price of kerosene for next April at JOD.620 per liter and to keep the price of a domestic gas cylinder (12.5 kg) at JOD 7.

This came during its monthly meeting to determine the selling prices of petroleum derivatives locally for April after reviewing the international prices of crude oil and petroleum derivatives during March and comparing them to February.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A meeting for the pro-Aqsa national higher committee on Sunday discussed arrangements for Quds International Day that will be revived late in this Ramadan.

The meeting dealt with the program of the event at the levels of Sana’a City and other Yemeni governorates, and tasks of different authorities to celebrate the day.

The meeting underlined need for coordination between central and local authorities in order to revel this important occasion.

Source: Yemen News Agency

Amman: Four civilians, including two children, passed away on Sunday at Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, due to malnourishment, dehydration, and a shortage of medical supplies, according to Palestinian medical sources in Gaza.

The reports stated that there were now 34 famine-related martyrs, including 31 youngsters.

Since last October 7, the Gaza Strip has been the target of constant Israeli aggression. As a result of the acute shortage of fuel, food, water, and medical supplies, the region has experienced exceptionally harsh humanitarian conditions, nearly reaching famine.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Hodeida Governor Mohammed Ayyash Qahim inaugurated on Sunday the Ophthalmology Center at Al-Thawra General Hospital in the governorate.

Qahim was briefed on the components and contents of the center and the services it provides to patients, including examination and general surgery, where he listened to the Chairman of the Authority, Dr. Khaled Ahmed Suhail, to explain about the plan and mechanism of operating the center and its importance in keeping pace with the treatment of cases visiting the Authority.

The Governor of Hodeida praised the efforts to establish the center and the development vision of Al-Thawra Hospital Authority in expanding medical services and opening more specialized centers, which represent a priority for upgrading the service system and the qualitative transition of the hospital’s role to meet the overall medical needs of the people of Hodeida and its neighboring governorates.

He considered the qualitative success and continuous achievements of Al-Thawra Hospital Authority as a resu
lt of the administration and a sense of humanitarian and national responsibility towards the requirements of the stage that the country is going through, especially in the medical and health field, which requires more efforts and solidarity.

For his part, Dr. Suhail explained that the launch of the Ophthalmology Center crowns the path of ambition in developing the medical service for the treatment of eye patients, which was limited to the eye clinic, indicating that the center will provide broader services, including performing eye operations.

In addition, the Governor of Hodeidah inspected the progress of work on the project to establish an intensive care department that is being implemented within the framework of expanding the infrastructure projects of Al-Thawra Hospital Authority to provide and enhance services to patients.

During the visit, Governor Qahim urged the speedy completion of the construction of the department, stressing that the local authority in the province will do its best to support t
he department with medical devices and equipment out of keenness on the success of such medical projects.

The Chairman of the Authority, Dr. Suhail, appreciated the cooperation of the Governor of the Governorate and the First Undersecretary of the Governorate, and the extent of continuous interaction in supporting the hospital’s projects and overcoming the difficulties facing it, stressing that the leadership of the Ministry of Health highly appreciates all the efforts and contributions in support of the hospital, whose steadfastness represents a success for all, especially under the circumstances of the difficult exceptional stage.

Source: Yemen News Agency