Day: July 23, 2022

UK foreign secretary Liz Truss condemned as “absolutely appalling” and “completely unwarranted”, the Russian attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa.

“It is absolutely appalling that only a day after striking this deal, Vladimir Putin has launched a completely unwarranted attack on Odesa” Truss said Saturday in a statement.

“We need to urgently work with our international partners to find a better way of getting the grain out of Ukraine that doesn’t involve Russia and their broken promises,” she added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan Seismological Observatory (JSO) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources recorded 818 seismic activities during 2021 and more than 50 earthquakes in 2022.

The seismic activities included 78, 308 local and regional earthquakes, respectively, while 432 distant tremors were recorded, the majority were concentrated in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, the JSO added.

Jordan is located on the eastern edge of the Dead Sea fault extending from Red Sea gulf in the south to southern Turkey, about 1,100 km, while the Levant region is a seismically active region throughout history, mostly intangible.

JSO is the Kingdom’s sole official body that owns seismic monitoring devices, and no official corporation, government or private university has seismic equipment, its head, Ghassan Sweidan, said in a statement to “Petra”on Saturday.

Work is underway to prepare a seismic hazard study for the Petra region, as 50% of natural vibration points for the target area has been completed during 2021, he noted.

On expansion plans, he announced two new seismic monitoring stations have been installed at Al al-Bayt University and Al-Asha region on the northern border in Irbid, bringing the total seismic monitoring stations to 22 stations countrywide, working round the clock throughout the year.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Director General of the Land Transport Regulatory Authority (LTRA) Tariq Habashneh, confirmed inclusion of yellow taxi and commuter vehicles in direct government support for public transport means.

The government support comes to counter repercussions of high fuel prices on the transport sector in its various forms, reduce burdens of their operating costs and maintain their services, he pointed out.

In a statement to “Petra” on Saturday, he said LTRA board of directors approved the direct support mechanism for public transport and submitted it to the Council of Ministers.

Value of support is in line with the operational costs of each type of public transport and will be announced as soon as it is approved by the Cabinet, he added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Grain prices dropped Saturday about 5%, their lowest point since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after the two countries signed a deal reopening Black Sea ports for Ukrainian corn and wheat exports to resume.

The agreement will allow millions of tons of grain, currently trapped by the conflict, to be released into global markets, which witnessed acute shortages that threatened millions with hunger.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky was quoted as saying that shipping 20 million tons of grain could help prevent what he called a global food catastrophe.

UN Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres said at the signing ceremony in Istanbul that the agreement on the resumption of Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea is “a beacon of hope” in a world that desperately needs it,

Source: Jordan News Agency

Musical and folkloric events and performances organized by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), as part of activities of “Urdun Jannah” programme, which encourages domestic tourism, in various tourist and archeological sites, witnessed a “remarkable” attendance during the past two weeks, estimated at thousands.

In a statement on Saturday, the ministry said several trips were conducted for citizens under the programme to attend these events and tour the tourist and archeological attractions countrywide.

The programme’s activities started on July 14 and will run until September 30. Entry to attend the events is free, the ministry pointed out.

As for the goals, activities are held to stimulate tourism in the Kingdom’s governorates, which would “positively” affect empowerment of local communities by establishing charities’ popular bazaars countrywide and educate citizens about the tourist and archeological destinations spread across the country, the ministry noted.

On the activities’ locations, artistic events, shows and concerts were held during the past two weeks in Karak Castle square, recreational complex in Aqaba, Umm Qais Visitors Center in Irbid governorate, historic al-Sila village in Tafileh Governorate, and Uqba bin Nafeh Square in Salt city, the ministry pointed out

Source: Jordan News Agency