Day: June 21, 2024

Amman: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates’ Directorate of Operations and Consular Affairs declared that 75 Jordanian pilgrims who were not participating in the official Hajj mission have died from heat stroke brought on by the extreme heat wave.

Following their families’ wishes, 68 Jordanian pilgrims have received burial permits to be buried in Mecca; seven more burial permits are currently being processed, according to Ambassador Sufian Qudah, Head of the Directorate of Operations and Consular Affairs.

According to the database created by the Directorate since the start of reporting the loss and death of several Jordanian pilgrims, 27 of whom are receiving treatment in Saudi hospitals, including 15 people in critical condition, and coordination is underway to transfer them for treatment in the Kingdom as soon as their health condition allows, Qudah continued. Out of the 110 Jordanian pilgrims registered in the lists of missing pilgrims, 96 have been found.

Ambassador Qudah also said that sear
ch operations are still underway for 7 missing Jordanian pilgrims, with joint efforts from the cell formed by the ministry, which works around the clock in coordination with the Jordanian Consulate in Jeddah, the Jordanian embassy in Riyadh, the Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and with the competent Saudi authorities.

Qudah renewed his call to all Jordanian citizens who performed Hajj and their families to contact the Jordanian Consulate General team in Mecca to request assistance, report missing persons, or arrange for the transfer of bodies in cases of death around the clock, through the following numbers:

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates welcomed the decision of the Republic of Armenia to recognize the Palestinian state, as an important step reflecting Armenia’s compliance with the rules of international law and the relevant resolutions of international legitimacy.

Ambassador Sufian Qudah, the official spokesperson for the Ministry, expressed the Kingdom’s gratitude for Armenia’s decision and its support for the Palestinian people’s right to freedom and an independent state on June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the two-state solution.

In an effort to ensure a return to a path that leads to a just and comprehensive peace, upholds the rights of the Palestinian people, and fosters security, stability, and peace in the region, Qudah reiterated his calls for the international community to act quickly to recognize the state of Palestine and for the Security Council to take up its duties and impose a resolution recognizing an independent Palestinian stat
e in accordance with international law and the pertinent resolutions of international legitimacy.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Today, following Friday prayer, a march was held in front of the Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman, to show support for the people of Gaza and to call for a stop to Israeli aggression on the defenseless Palestinian people.

The demonstrators, who span all sectors of Jordanian society, held up signs of sympathy for the Palestinian brethren and the people of Gaza in the face of the current humanitarian crisis since October 7.

Along with denouncing the attacks by Israeli radical settlers and the Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank, they demanded an immediate end to the Israeli brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip, which resulted in unprecedented numbers of casualties.

They applauded the Kingdom’s historic and firm stance toward the people in Gaza and the West Bank, led by His Majesty King Abdullah II, in both diplomatic and humanitarian contexts. They called for the facilitation and augmentation of the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.

In addition, they denounced the application of unfa
ir disparities in the management of the Gaza conflict and called for the withdrawal of Israeli occupation forces from all regions of the Gaza Strip.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, on Friday, spoke with Ararat Mirzoyan, the Foreign Minister of Armenia, over the phone and informed him that Jordan is very grateful for his nation’s recognition of the Palestinian state.

By recognizing the Palestinian state, Safadi emphasized that Armenia was upholding international law, justice, and peace. A just and comprehensive peace cannot be reached without the establishment of a free and independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the lines of June 4, 1967, in accordance with the two-state solution.

The Israeli aggression against Gaza, its illegal measures against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, and its attacks on Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, including the Armenian Church and its parishes and property, were all topics of discussion between Safadi and Mirzoyan.

Safadi issued a dire warning about the threat posed by Israel’s on-going aggression against Gaza and
the grave consequences of its illegal actions in the occupied West Bank, which includes Jerusalem.

The two ministers emphasized the need of upholding and applying international humanitarian law and international law using the same standards.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The international Blue Flag label, awarded annually by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection, chaired by Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Hasnaa, will be flown on 27 beaches, four marinas and, for the first time in Morocco, on a mountain lake during the 2024 summer season.

With a total of 32 sites awarded the label, Morocco ranks 18th out of 43 countries in the Northern Hemisphere and the Arab country with the most Blue Flags and the second most in Africa.

The Blue Flag label is a demanding ecolabel established by the Foundation for Environmental Education and introduced in Morocco in 2002 by the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environmental Protection.

All 27 beaches awarded the 2023 label have renewed their Blue Flag status, testifying to stakeholders’ commitment to maintaining the label’s high standards throughout the summer season, the Foundation said in a press release.

The beaches in question are Oued Laou, Essaouira, Arekmane, El Haouzia, Sidi Rahal 4th tranche, Bouznika, Ba Kacem, M
diq, Rifienne, Sidi Ifni, Saïdia Municipale, Station Touristique Saidia Ouest, Dalia, Achakar, Bedouza, Safi Municipale, Souiria Lakdima, Aglou, Imin Tourgha, Oum Labouir, Foum el Oued, Skhirate, Sidi Abed /El Jadida, Les nations, Aïn Diab extension, Al Minaa and Est Marina Smir, according to the press release.

For the first time in Morocco, a mountain lake has been awarded the Blue Flag label: Aguelmam Azigza in the Khenifra National Park. Nestled between a long cliff and a forest of Atlas cedars several hundred years old, this “green lake” is a wild pearl of the Middle Atlas, noted the same source.

To boost visitor numbers to this very popular spot in Khenifra and the surrounding region, the local authorities have decided to develop the site, including access roads, service buildings, a camping area and sanitary facilities. A project that the Foundation has supported by awarding it the Blue Flag label.

For Tanja Marina Bay, the fourth marina to hoist the Blue Flag, after Saidia in 2018, Est Marina Smir i
n 2022 and Al Hoceima in 2023, this ecolabel is a natural continuation of its development, stresses the press release.

Opened in 2018 as part of the reconfiguration of the Tangier Port, it is now the Kingdom’s largest marina, with 1,400 berths. Its modern, comprehensive facilities, particularly for waste management, have earned it the ecolabel.

The Blue Flag is highly prized by coastal municipalities, which are responsible for beach management, for the positive image it conveys and its attractiveness to summer visitors.

A total of 49 beaches applied for the 2024 edition of the label, which is awarded on the basis of compliance with four main criteria: bathing water quality, environmental information and awareness, hygiene and safety, and development and management. Unannounced checks are carried out during the summer season to ensure that label-approved sites comply with these criteria.

Blue Flag labeled beaches are all part of the Clean Beaches program, which brings together over a hundred beaches, mainl
y the most popular in the country. 66 local authorities, supported by their supervisory authorities, the Directorate General of Local Authorities, all the administrations involved in coastal management, 26 economic partners and over a hundred local associations, will be mobilizing for almost three months to raise awareness and educate summer visitors, ensure the quality of bathing water and sand, equip beaches, guarantee safety and sanitary coverage, and enforce law and order.

Ocean and beach pollution is a major concern for the Mohammed VI Foundation for of the Environment, which has been rolling out operation ‘bharblaplastic’ (plastic free beaches) since 2019. This initiative aims to raise mass awareness of plastic pollution among summer visitors, collect waste on beaches and recycle it.

In 2024, this operation will be held for the fifth time and has become a benchmark, with all Blue Flag beaches taking part. The initiative is recognized and integrated into the United Nations Decade of Ocean Sciences for
Sustainable Development, of which the Foundation is a stakeholder.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse

Customs and police personnel stationed at the Bab Sebta crossing point successfully intercepted an attempted drug trafficking operation on Friday, seizing a substantial 39 kilograms of hashish, as reported by a customs official.

In a coordinated enforcement effort, customs officers at the export terminal, working alongside police and a canine unit, discovered the drugs meticulously concealed as bricks within a specially constructed compartment hidden along the floor of a vehicle registered in Germany. The vehicle was driven by a Moroccan expatriate holding a Dutch passport, who was reportedly preparing to exit the national territory, according to the same source.

Following the operation, authorities confiscated both the vehicle and the illicit substances. The driver of the vehicle was promptly handed over to police custody for further interrogation into the case, under the oversight of the relevant prosecutor’s office.

Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse