Day: November 7, 2021

ITHACA, NEW YORK — Bomb threats at three Ivy League college campuses caused evacuations and police investigations Sunday, with at least two schools saying the threats there were unfounded.

Cornell, Columbia and Brown universities alerted students to the threats. Authorities at Columbia and Brown said campus buildings had been cleared Sunday evening.

In Ithaca, New York, Cornell police cordoned off the center of campus on Sunday after receiving a call that bombs were placed in four buildings.

In New York City, Columbia University police issued a campuswide emergency alert after receiving bomb threats at university buildings about 2:30 p.m. The university deemed the threats not credible shortly before 5 p.m.

Brown University officials in Providence, Rhode Island, sent a text alert to students that said police were investigating “multiple buildings on campus involving a bomb threat. Later in the evening, the university issued another alert before 6 p.m. that said students were safe to resume activity on campus.

The threats came two days after a bomb threat at Yale University forced the evacuation of several buildings as well as nearby businesses in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale’s campus resumed normal activities Friday evening, roughly five hours after the call was received.

Source: Voice of America

Arab countries possess fertile ground and resources that enable them to achieve joint integration in food security, said Khalil Haj Tawfiq, President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) on Sunday.

During a meeting with the Arab League’s Secretary-General of the Council of Arab Economic Unity Mohammadi Ahmed Al-Nei, Haj Tawfiq underlined that achieving integration in food security has become an urgent need for Arab countries, especially after changes imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Haj Tawfiq proposed holding a virtual dialogue session via teleconferencing to discuss food security in the Arab world, and bringing together experts and specialists from the public and private sectors to develop scenarios to achieve joint integration in food security among Arab countries.

He pointed to global challenges facing the food sector, including post-harvest loses and upped maritime freight rates and foodstuffs prices, which requires a joint Arab effort to address such challenges.

He also stressed the need for a unified Arab mechanism to purchase foodstuffs and agricultural crops, in addition to expanding existing investments in food industries, leveraging the advantages available in each country, and establishing an Arab maritime transport fleet.

Moreover, achieving economic integration requires facilitating the movement of business owners and capitalists and easing customs restrictions to promote intra-regional trade between Arab countries, which holds lower trade exchange numbers compared to trade with foreign countries, he indicated.

The chamber’s president urged the council to lobby to amend the 1994 Paris Protocol and separate the Palestinian economy from the Israeli occupation’s economy and to grant Palestine freedom of trade with Arab countries.

He underscored that the ACC is fully prepared to cooperate with the council to serve the interests of the Arab economy and to exchange information on economic opportunities available in Arab countries, proposing the signing of a memorandum of understanding that frames any potential joint effort.

For his part, Al-Nei stated that the council has begun preparing a draft comprehensive five-year plan for the period (2022-2027). The draft plan, he noted, will be a road map for the council’s work that corresponds with its objectives, and considers Arab, regional and international changes in the fields of economy, trade, investment, investment opportunities, and laws and legislation that stimulate investment, as well as relevant international agreements in the areas of digital transformation, money laundering, e-commerce and financial markets.

During the meeting, Al-Nei indicated that the bases for the plan is the Arab Economic Unity Agreement approved in 1957 by the Economic and Social Council of the Arab League to advance Arab economic work.

He also stressed the importance of cooperation between the council and the ACC to enhance joint Arab action, stressing the council’s commitment to overcoming obstacles facing the flow of Jordanian goods to Arab markets, especially those related to customs procedures.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

A Jordanian movie titled the Alleys, or “Al-Hara,” written and directed by Bassel Ghandour, made history by becoming the first Jordanian film to participate in the Harbour category of the 2022 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR).

The IFFR, in its 51st session, is one of the most prominent events in the Netherlands and is amongst the oldest in Europe and the world, according to a statement by the movie’s regional distribution company MAD Solutions.

It added that the festival, which will be held during January 26 until February 6 of 2022, is the fourth international pit-stop for the movie “Al-Hara”, after an international premier in the Locarno Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival.

In Locarno Film Festival, the movie premiered in Piazza Grande arena, on the biggest outdoors screen in Europe, where it marked the first participation of a Jordanian movie in the festival and the first Arab movie to participate in the Piazza Grande’s showcase since 2008.

The movie was sold out in the London Film Festival. It also competed in the Sutherland Trophy for a Director’s original and imaginative first feature, and was the first Jordanian movie to participate in the festival since the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-wining film “Theeb.”

The Alleys will also compete in the first session of the Red Sea International Film Festival in next December 2021. The movie stars Emad Azmy, Baraka Rahmany, Munther Rayahneh, Maisaa Abdulhadi, Nadira Omran, and Nadeem Rimawy.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

The National Society for Consumer Protection (NSCP) on Sunday said that only scientific studies conducted by specialists determine whether food is safe or not.

Responding to inquires from citizens following rumors that food in Jordan is unsafe for consumption, President of the NSCP Muhammad Obeidat stated: “The decisive factor in this matter [food safety] is the results of objective scientific studies through which we can ascertain if our food is safe, sound and suitable for human consumption or otherwise.”

Obeidat called on the concerned authorities, both official, union or interested in food-related issues, to implement awareness and guidance campaigns to educate citizens on healthy and safe food to preserve their health and safety.

Earlier this month, officials from the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the Jordan Chamber of Commerce and the Jordan Pharmacists Association had refuted the rumors and had assured that food in the Kingdom is safe and undergoes a rigorous monitoring process.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY