Day: 26 March 2024

The Amman Stock Exchange concluded its Tuesday daily trading session, marking a 0.11 percent increase, reaching 2476 points.

The stock exchange witnessed trading of 2.9 million shares across 1,824 contracts, with a total trading value of approximately JD3.9 million.

During the session, 25 companies experienced a decline in share prices, while 30 witnessed an increase, and the share prices of 29 others remained unchanged.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The organizers of the Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition 2024 (MITT) declared the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) as the recipient of the top prize for its pavilion’s outstanding participation. This recognition was announced during an event held from March 19-21.

In a statement Tuesday, the JTB attributed its win in the “Best Participating Tourism Pavilion” category to the exceptional marketing strategies showcased in its pavilion, spearheaded by the JTB and supported by various key partners in the tourism sector.

The Moscow International Travel and Tourism Exhibition 2024 (MITT) stands out as one of Russia’s premier events dedicated to promoting tourism, attracting significant attention and engagement.

Source: Jordan News Agency

RAMALLAH: The Ministry of Education said today that about 5,881 Palestinian students were killed and 9,899 were injured since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on October 7 on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The Ministry of Education said in a statement that the number of students who were killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the aggression reached more than 5,826, and those who were injured reached 9,570,

In the West Bank, 55 students were killed and 329 others were injured, while 103 were killed.

It indicated that 264 teachers and administrators were killed and 960 were injured in the Gaza Strip, six were injured, and more than 73 were detained in the West Bank.

The Ministry pointed out that 286 government schools and 65 affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA) were bombed and vandalized in the Gaza Strip, which led to 111 of them being severely damaged and 40 completely destroyed.

Meanwhile, 57 schools in the West Bank were stormed and vandaliz
ed, while 133 government schools were used as shelter centers in the Gaza Strip.

The Ministry confirmed that 620,000 students in the Gaza Strip are still deprived of enrolling in their schools since the beginning of the aggression, while most of the students suffer from psychological trauma and face difficult health conditions.

Source: Palestine News and Information Agency – WAFA

The second phase of the Industrial Support Fund programs kicked off Tuesday, inviting companies to submit applications starting April 8, via the designated electronic platform, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply announced.

Yousef Shamali, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, said in a statement that the platform will cater to applications for three distinct programs: output-based incentives administered by the ministry, industry modernization facilitated by the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) and export credit guarantees offered through the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation (JLGC).

The application process for the second round of the export promotion program, overseen by the Export House Company, will be announced in the latter half of 2024.

Shamali elaborated that the total allocations for the second phase of all Fund programs stand at approximately JD42 million, benefiting over 330 industrial facilities. They will be disbursed in the form of incentives, grants and guarantees.

F
or the initial phase in 2023, the designated application platform received a total of 1,400 submissions across all four programs. These efforts resulted in agreements valued JD45.168 million for 395 industrial facilities throughout the past year, amounting to 50.2 percent of the total financial allocations for Fund programs, which stand at JD90 million.

In the upcoming period, orientation sessions will be organized to elucidate eligibility criteria, financial support particulars, permissible activities, and the application process. The application window will remain open for two months following the commencement date.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Palestinian Presidency spokesm Nabil Abu Rdeineh said Tuesday that the UN Security Council resolution on a ceasefire in Gaza led to an “unprecedented” international isolation of Israel.

He said in a statement that despite “the shy open gap” between Israel and the US administration that is now building, US military and political support to Israel has not changed to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people.

Abu Rdeineh called on the US administration to take more serious and effective positions because the real battle that needs to be addressed is not only the aggression on Gaza or regional skirmishes, but it is deeper and larger than that, as a solution to the decades-old conflict needs a change in US policy.

Source: Jordan News Agency

RAMALLAH: Dozens of Palestinians today held hands to form human chains in the city of Ramallah in rejection of the massacres and war of genocide waged by the Israeli occupation against the Palestinian people.

The human chains, which were organized by civil society institutions and youth movements, ran along Al-Manara Square in the center of the city to Al-Irsal Street.

Participants carried pictures of Palestinian victims killed by Israel and pictures of prisoners in Israeli jails, in addition to banners condemning the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem.

Protesters marched towards the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), in the city of Al-Bireh in Ramallah, and gathered in front of the building in condemnation of the Committee’s failure to have an adequate follow-up on the file of Palestinians who were detained by the occupation after October 7; the start of the bloody Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Source: Palestine Ne
ws and Information Agency – WAFA

Amman His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II on Tuesday visited the closing exhibition of the first national electronic chip design competition, launched in August last year.

During a tour of the exhibition, Crown Prince Al Hussein spoke with members of 12 teams, who represent a number of Jordanian universities and have qualified to the competition’s final stage, about their projects.

The competition’s closing ceremony was held at the Royal Cultural Centre, as part of the national programme to promote the semiconductor and electronic chips industry in Jordan, in line with the Economic Modernisation Vision.

The national programme aims to hone the skills of engineering and ICT graduates through intensive training, followed by practical applications, and mentoring from professors and experts in the industry.

The exhibition was held by the Fifth Industrial Revolution company, in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, the Crown Prince Foundation, and the Info
rmation and Communication Technology Association, with the support of Al Hussein Fund for Excellence.

The Crown Prince was accompanied by Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education Azmi Mahafzah, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Ahmad Hanandeh, and CEO of the Fifth Industrial Revolution Company Mothanna Gharaibeh.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Eight Palestinians were killed Tuesday when Israeli aircraft struck a tent housing displaced people in Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, the Gaza Health Ministry said.

A child was also killed in Israeli shelling of a house east of Rafah, in southern Gaza, it said.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations in New York stated that Morocco welcomes the United Nations Security Council’s adoption of Resolution No. 2728 on Monday, which calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip throughout the month of Ramadan.

The Moroccan mission stressed that “the decision constitutes an important step to put an end to the suffering of Palestinian civilians, the Moroccan embassy in Amman said in a statement.

It added that Morocco, whose King Mohammed VI chairs the Al-Quds Committee, also welcomes the resolution’s demand for humanitarian aid to reach civilians in the entire Gaza Strip and to enhance their protection.

It stressed the importance of the immediate and complete implementation of the resolution by all parties, allowing the way to deal with the crisis in all its dimensions, and added that the Kingdom looks forward to the international community increasing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.

The Security Council on Monday adopted a r
esolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the urgent need to “expand the scope of the flow” of humanitarian aid.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Government Communication Forum held a meeting with media representatives on Tuesday, entitled “The Orphans Fund Development Corporation (OFDC): Achievements and Challenges.”

OFDC’s Director General, Abdul Rahim Al-Hazaimeh, said that the OFDC’s assets are estimated at about JD251 million, including lands valued at JD47 million, buildings valued at JD43 million, and a stock portfolio valued at JD22 million.

He added that the OFDC owns 25 investment buildings in Amman, and 6 buildings as a usufruct in Aqaba in partnership with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority at a value of JD5.5 million and an annual profit of JD75,000, indicating that the number of tenants reached about 800 with a revenue of JD4 million annually.

He said that the volume of financing in the OFDC is JD71 million, and the volume of financial leasing investments that started in 2018 is about JD10 million, indicating that the financing is granted to low-income public sector employees, in addition to preferential benefits granted to
employees that contribute to reducing the profit rate.

Al-Hazaimeh pointed out that the OFDC’s revenues last year amounted to JD13.644 million, the volume of its investments in deposits in Islamic banks is JD45 million, and the sale of Murabaha is JD72 million with a growth rate of 25 percent.

Al-Hazaimeh explained that the OFDC manages the money of orphans, whose number is estimated at about 45,000 minors, and its goal is to preserve the orphans’ money, develop it, and invest it according to the provisions of Sharia law to achieve returns on the orphans’ deposits.

He explained that the OFDC manages its investments in several ways, the most important of which is the financing portfolio; It is a profit-sharing investment that comes through granting public and private sector employees and small and medium-sized enterprises materials to provide housing for low-income people.

He stressed that the OFDC has made great strides in electronic transformation, as the user can obtain financing through a special appli
cation that uploads documents and obtains approval, and visits the OFDC only to obtain the commitment letter. The guardian can also deposit into the minor’s account without having to come to the OFDC.

Al-Hazaimeh noted that the OFDC has allocated JD20 million to create an electronic card that will enable the government employee to buy his needs in installments at the “cash” price, indicating that the card is in its final stages and the agreement with the implementing company will be signed within two days.

He added that there are aspirations for a new project that aims to establish a bank for public sector employees similar to the Military Credit Fund for comrades-in-arms, and a project specialized in real estate and real estate development, in addition to proposed partnerships with the private sector.

Source: Jordan News Agency