Day: June 29, 2024

Beirut: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Saturday that Israeli threats to launch a wider war against his country is “a psychological warfare.”

During a tour of Southern Lebanon, Mikati was asked if there is a war. Yes, he replied, adding that a large number of people were killed, civilians and non-civilians, and many villages were destroyed by the Israeli “aggression.”

Speaking in the city of Tyre to check on secondary school exams, which began despite ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, Mekati asked: could the exams have taken place had the Lebanese army not been present in the south?

He said that when the vocational education exams began, the Lebanese government received threats on social media that exam centers will be bombed, and investigations found they might have come from students who were harmed by the conflict.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: His Majesty King Abdullah II has sent a cable to King Mohammed VI of Morocco, expressing condolences over the passing of his mother, Princess Lalla Latifa, the widow of the late King Hassan II.

In the cable, His Majesty extended condolences on behalf of the people and government of Jordan to Morocco’s monarch, the royal family, and the Moroccan people, over Princess Lalla Latifa’s passing.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Chairman of Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, Fathi Jaghbir, and Head of the Palestinian Federation of Industries (PFI), Nassar Nassar, on Saturday discussed ways to advance joint economic integration and cooperation, based on the brotherly “historic” relations.

According to a statement issued Saturday, the two sides agreed on the necessity of “serious and real” work to establish the one-market principle, which contributes to enhancing “competitiveness” of Jordanian and Palestinian products in both markets, by providing all logistical facilitations, streamlining procedures, and removing obstacles.

The two sides stressed the importance of facilitating reciprocal movement of goods directly, based on the door-to-door system, calling for ending the current mechanism, which impedes commodity flow and raises cost of products on the final consumer.

Additionally, the two sides called for raising quality of products, manufactured in the two countries to contribute to enhance their competitiveness agains
t imported items in the Jordanian and Palestinian markets, and make efforts to jointly target regional and global markets.

Jaghbir and Nassar noted importance of implementing mutual recognition between the two countries’ standards and metrology institutions, which contributes to the “easy” flow of goods reciprocally without obstruction or delay.

The statement said the two parties agreed to hold a “close and expanded” meeting with all the two countries’ economic stakeholders to discuss all the details and develop a road map to achieve economic integration.

This step aims to replace industrial products in both countries, which would contribute to expand the industrial production base, open new production projects, provide tens of thousands of job opportunities and contribute to raise the mutual economic level, the statement pointed out.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Beirut: The Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Beirut issued a statement urging its residents not to travel to Lebanon.

In a post on the X platform, the embassy said it is closely following the developments in southern Lebanon, reiterating its previous call for all Saudi citizens to abide by the decision not to travel to Lebanon.

It urged citizens who are there “to leave Lebanon immediately.”

The embassy called on its citizens to contact it in case of any emergency, expressing its wishes for safety and security for all.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: The total value of national exports in the first third of the current year dropped by 7.2%, reaching JD2.488 billion, compared to JD2.682 billion for the same period last year, official statistical data showed.

In a related context, the Kingdom’s increase in exports of pharmaceutical preparations, clothing and related accessories contributed to curb decline in national exports in the January-April period of the current year.

According to foreign trade data issued by the Department of Statistics (DoS) and obtained by “Petra”, an increase in the Kingdom’s exports of pharmaceutical preparations was recorded in the first third of this year by 34.8%, reaching JD182 million, compared to JD135 million for the same period last year.

The Kingdom’s exports of clothing and related accessories also grew in the first third of this year by 26.5%, reaching JD468 million , compared to JD370 million for the same period last year, the figures revealed.

On the other hand, the percentages of national exports dropped i
n the first third of the current year, for nitrogen or chemical fertilizers by 40.6%, jewelery by 10.9%, raw potash by 36.4%, and phosphate by 13.9%.

Meanwhile, the value of the Kingdom’s exports of nitrogenous or chemical fertilizers in the first third of this year amounted to approximately JD276 million, compared to JD465 million for the same period last year, and the value of exports of jewelery reached JD253 million, compared to JD284 million for the same period of the past year.

The value of the Kingdom’s exports of raw potash in the first third of the current year reached JD157 million, compared to JD247 million for the same period last year, while the value of phosphate exports reached JD161 million, compared to JD187 million for the same period last year.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed on Saturday its condemnation and denunciation of the Israeli occupation authorities’ Security Cabinet’s approval of the expansion of blatant settlement operations in the West Bank.

According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the ministry emphasized the Kingdom’s categorical rejection of Israel’s continuous violations of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy, warning of the dire consequences of the Israeli occupation authorities continuing to do so in the complete absence of international accountability mechanisms.

It added that these violations undermine the chances of peace and contribute to fueling conflicts and destabilizing regional and international security and stability.

Source: Jordan News Agency