Day: May 3, 2023

A Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) official has highlighted untapped opportunities for growth in Jordan’s craft sector worth nearly JD200 million, urging entrepreneurs to take advantage of the industry’s vast potential. Speaking to the Jordan News Agency (Petra), JCI’s craft sector representative, Fawaz Shakaa, said that opportunities in the craft sector are split between local production destined for the domestic market and for export to foreign markets, in the food, engineering, chemical, construction, and clothing industries. The craft sector is a crucial component of Jordan’s economy and generates employment. Therefore, he added, we are determined to speed the actual implementation of national programs and activities related to craft establishments to support and promote it in non-traditional regional and global markets. In this regard, Shakaa advocated for offering incentives, special support programs, and incubators for innovative and entrepreneurial ideas for micro-enterprises and projects, in order to strengthen the position of craft businesses within the national economy and the tendency to increase their marketing, administrative, and technical capabilities, Additionally, he urged collaboration and partnerships among government institutions, large businesses, and craft establishments, as well as the inclusion of accurate and thorough data on craft establishments in the national statistics system. This would help identify their needs and better target assistance toward them.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A Palestinian citizen was killed and five others were wounded during the latest Israeli occupation shelling in the Gaza Strip, according to an official Palestinian source. In a statement issued today, the Ministry of Health in the coastal enclave announced that the Israeli escalation in Gaza resulted in the death of a 58-year-old citizen, who succumbed to his wounds, and the injury of 5 others.

Source: Jordan News Agency

ABU DHABI, 3rd May, 2023 (WAM) — The greatest stars of international jiu-jitsu are returning to the sport’s most coveted hub on the planet, the capital of jiu-jitsu, Abu Dhabi. The final leg of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour 2022-2023 (ADGS – Abu Dhabi) will take place from 5th-7th May at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City. The championship boasts impressive prizes totaling $1,525,000 for the first-place holders of the season. The ADGS will make its final stop of the season in the UAE capital after visiting Rio de Janeiro, Miami, Sydney, and London. The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) and Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Pro (AJP) are jointly organising the event, which is open to players from various clubs and academies worldwide. The championship will have kids and youth categories taking to mats on the first day, masters on the second day, and professionals on the third day. The event has received an overwhelming response, with increased registration for participation over the three-day period. Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, Deputy Chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, said, “Abu Dhabi Grand Slam is one of the most prominent jiu-jitsu championships in the world, and it is one of the few tournaments whose rounds are held in major country capitals and cities. “The championship returns in its current round to the UAE capital, which will further cement Abu Dhabi’s position as the world’s destination for champions from around the world,” Al Dhaheri added. According to Al Dhaheri, UAE players have experienced notable success in recent years, including their remarkable achievement of winning the Asian Championship title for three consecutive years. He noted that the players’ participation and experience in the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam tours had highly contributed to sharpening their skills and honing their performance at major international events. “Abu Dhabi Grand Slam is considered one of the most important events in the annual AJP calendar because it awards 3000 points to the first-place winners, which would help them qualify to win the prestigious Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Awards,” said Tariq Al-Bahri, Director-General of the AJP. “These tours serve as a platform that brings various athletes from all over the world together to engage in intense competitions and share experiences. Jiu-Jitsu is a sport that brings people together and shortens distances, and Abu Dhabi continues to play a significant role in providing a perfect venue for global athletes to engage with each other, develop and promote this sport, aligning with its reputation as the world’s Jiu-Jitsu capital,” he added. Elsewhere, Tacio Carneiro, a black belt from the Vision BJJ academy who competes in the under-120 kg professional category, said, “I always make sure to attend all of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tour events, and I organize my schedule in a way that ensures I never miss them. My goal is to achieve the highest possible ranking points in Abu Dhabi.” Among the most popular athletes, Lucas Protasio and Julia Alves, leaders of the 2021-2022 ranking, have already secured their spots at the event. Aiming to repeat their feat in the 2022-2023 season, they will have to overcome other heavy hitters who have their eyes on the prize, such as Yuri Hendrex, Zayed Alkatheeri, Alexa Yanes, Rose el Sharouni, Catriel Oliveira, Uanderson Ferreira, Thiago Macedo, Hiago George, Ingridd Alves, Leonardo Mario, Renato Cardoso, and Yatan Bueno.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

CAIRO, 3rd May, 2023 (WAM) — The third session of the Arab Council of Ministers Responsible for Meteorology and Climate kicked off on Tuesday to discuss various relevant issues in the field of climate change and meteorology. The session was held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States. ccording to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Dr. Ayman bin Salem Ghulam, CEO of the National Centre for Meteorology (NCM), headed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s delegation to the meeting. In his speech at the meeting, Dr. Ghulam said that the Kingdom has sought to achieve its ambitions in the field of meteorology and to raise its technical and scientific capabilities to achieve the ambitious Saudi Vision 2030. The Kingdom witnessed the results of its dual national and regional initiatives, especially in the field of developing numerical model systems to improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and increase the geographical coverage of land and sea, Dr. Ghulam said. He added that the Kingdom, since its presidency of the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for Meteorological and Climate Affairs, has collaborated with the General Secretariat of the Arab League to advance the scheduled action approved by the Council and has been keen on ongoing coordination with the Council’s members. hlam Almazrooi/ Esraa Esmail

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

Under the headline “Israel Commits Ethnic Cleansing”, Al-Raya daily said that the world is witnessing the reality of the Israeli occupation committing more crimes and brutal massacres against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. Regrettably, the actions of the Israeli entity are heinous acts of ethnic cleansing, deliberately targeting hospitals, medical staff, schools, homes, civilians, and civilian infrastructure.

The newspaper highlighted HE Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani’s affirmation that the situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated to worse levels a month after the outbreak of fighting in the occupied Palestinian territories, with the Israeli occupation committing genocidal practices and crimes of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people by indiscriminately bombing hospitals, schools, refugee camps, and other civilian facilities, in which the displaced, women, children, and the elderly have taken shelter. His Excellency said that his talks with HE Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Catherine Colonna focused on all the political and humanitarian dimensions of this crisis, and Qatars priorities in continuing the efforts aimed at mediation through the release of hostages and the need for relief convoys and humanitarian aid to flow adequately and without interruption to the Palestinian brethren besieged in the Gaza Strip, the paper added.

The newspaper stressed that the State of Qatar, which called on the international community to intervene and assume its moral and legal responsibilities to end the ongoing Israeli escalation, which is inconsistent with all human and moral values and the rules of international law, regrets that that the international community’s reactions to what is happening in Gaza were not at the required level of this humanitarian catastrophe, as the international community continues to deal with this crisis with double standards.

In conclusion, Al-Raya referred to Qatar’s condemnation of the statements of the Minister of Heritage in the occupation government, considering them a serious incitement to a war crime and a disregard for humanitarian and moral values and international laws. These statements represent an extension of the escalatory policy adopted by the Israeli government in the occupied Palestinian territories.

English-language newspaper The Peninsula said that the massacres of civilians by Israeli forces continue unabated in the Gaza Strip, but the world community has largely been a mute spectator as no concrete action has been taken to stop the killing of women and children.

In its editorial titled “Stop genocide in Gaza”, the paper said that Israel must be held accountable for the war crimes and those responsible for the killing of civilians must be brought to justice. The international community must act now.

It added that the State of Qatar condemned in the strongest terms the Israeli occupation forces’ bombing of the Al Fakhoora School in the Jabalia refugee camp and a number of hospitals in Gaza, considering these as brutal massacres and heinous crimes against defenceless civilians and a blatant violation of international laws. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated international community’s complicity in the war crimes because of its silence, and called on the global community to assume its responsibility and deter Israel from committing more crimes against civilians, the paper added.

The paper underlined that Qatar renewed its firm stance for justice to Palestinians by ensuring their legitimate rights and the establishment of an independent state for them on the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.

Meanwhile, Qatari efforts continue to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip amid Israeli airstrikes, and the State has stressed the need to open the Rafah crossing permanently and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, The Peninsula concluded.

Source: Qatar News Agency