Day: May 5, 2023

Azerbaijan and Armenia have made “tangible progress” towards reaching a consensus in talks over the past few days, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday. The four-day negotiating session, hosted by Washington, did not lead to a peace agreement, but Blinken said he believed a deal was “within sight, within reach.” “The two sides have discussed some very tough issues over the last few days, and they’ve made tangible progress on a durable peace agreement,” Blinken said at a closing session for negotiation. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, who led their respective delegations, did not speak at the closing ceremony. He said reaching an agreement would be “not only historic but would be profoundly in the interests of the people of Azerbaijan and Armenia and would have very positive effects even beyond their two countries.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget at the US White House, warned Thursday that countries such as China and Russia would capitalize on the “chaos” that would ensue if the United States defaulted on its debt and use it as evidence that democracy was dysfunctional. Young was echoing concerns expressed earlier in the day by Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Haines told senators that, in the case of a U.S. default, it would be “almost a certainty that [China and Russia] would look to take advantage of the opportunity” to demonstrate “that we’re not capable of functioning as a democracy,” according to Washington Post. At the White House news briefing Thursday, Young said that U.S. competitors love to see the partisan fighting over debt ceiling negotiations and stressed again that “Congress needs to do its job.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

Hotel occupancy rates in the current weekend across Jordan topped 70 per cent, an official said Friday. The Jordan Hotels Association (JHA), spokesperson Muhammad Al Qasem, told the Jordan News Agency (Petra) that occupancy rates in the Dead Sea amounted to 90 per cent, 80 per cent in Petra, 77 per cent in Amman, and 74 per cent in Aqaba. Al Qasem added that occupancy rates according to the hotel classifications by category were as follows: 5-star category in the Dead Sea amounted to about 90 per cent, and 93 per cent for the 4-star category, while the rates in Petra for the 5-star category amounted to about 80 per cent, and for the 4-star category 87 per cent, and for the 3-star category 66 per cent. He explained that the occupancy rates in Amman, amounted to about 77 per cent for the 5-star category, 80 per cent for the 4-star category, and 62 per cent for the 3-star category. As for Aqaba, the rates reached 74 per cent for the 5-star category, 77 per cent for the 4-star category, and 69 per cent for the 3-star category.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Tens of thousands performed Friday prayers in the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque despite the strict military measures imposed by the Israeli occupation authorities at the holy mosque’s gates and entrances to the Old City in the occupied Jerusalem The Islamic Awqaf Department in Jerusalem said that about 40,000 worshipers performed Friday prayers in the of Al-Aqsa Mosque premises, from the West Bank governorates, including Jerusalem, and within the 1948 lands, while occupation forces were deployed in the city’s streets and the Al-Aqsa Mosque’s premises and stationed at its gates, stopped the worshipers and checked their ID.

Source: Jordan News Agency

DUBAI, 5th May, 2023 (WAM) — The UAE Badminton Federation’s vision received a major fillip as it joined hands with Danube Sports World the region’s largest indoor sports facility to be the National Training Centre for the UAE Badminton Team. The collaboration has come just days after the successful hosting of KhiladiX.com Dubai 2023 Badminton Asia Championships last week, which saw UAE players including Bharath Latheesh and brothers Dev and Dhiren Ayyappan putting up impressive shows in a field dominated by world and Olympic stars. The agreement with Danube Sports World will focus on fostering the sport of badminton in UAE besides increasing participation among individuals of all ages and improving players’ skills. Speaking at the signing, Noura Aljasmi, UAE Badminton Federation President and newly-elected Badminton Asia vice president said, “We are delighted to collaborate with Danube Sports World, which will be the official Training Centre for the UAE National Badminton Team. Our vision is to provide the best infrastructure, facility, and environment to our players for their overall development and I don’t think there can be any other better facility than this. We are very much hopeful that this collaboration will benefit our players as they strive for glory.” Rashed Meeran, General Manager, Danube Sports World represented the sports facility at the signing. The state-of-the-art Danube Sports facility provides a climate-controlled environment enabling year-round uninterrupted sporting activities; this is just one of many other features. The young UAE National team will start its training at the facility soon to get ready for upcoming sporting events. Ahlam Almazrooi/ Esraa Esmail

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)