For the Record.

- Princess Basma inaugurates exhibition *HRH Princess Basma opened on Monday a folklore embroidery exhibition organized by the Arab Culture Society. Over 90 women marketed their products at the exhibition. ACS is a nongovernmental charitable organization established in 1967 to support education and cultural movement. The society also provides scholarships to underprivileged students at Al Raed Al Arabi School. Queen Noor attends musical rehearsal *Her Majesty Queen Noor attended on Sunday the final rehearsal of the musical, "Walking the winds: Arabian Tales" at the John F Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The play, a joint effort by the Performing Arts Center of the Noor Al Hussein Foundation and the Kennedy Center, will be performed between April 7-16. The play's seven stories reflect the music and tradition of the various cultures of the modern and ancient Arab world. Japanese Ambassador presents credentials *Secretary General of the Foreign Ministry Nabih Shuqum received on Wednesday credentials of the newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to Amman Mr Shigenobu Kato. During the meeting, the new Ambassador reaffirmed his country's keenness to enhance cooperation relations with Jordan in all fields.US Ambassador visits Sahab factories *The US Ambassador to Amman David Hale visited two Jordanians factories that hire young Jordanians with support from the Business and Export Development Program for Jordanian Enterprises "Tatweer", a project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). During his visit, Hale said "USAID has provided $7.3 million for the Tatweer project to help around 500 companies improve their business and increase their competitiveness in the glob market." Hale visited also the Specialized Wood Establishment LTD in Yadoudeh, where he met with General Manager Elias Kawar and a number of interns enrolled at the factory through the Jordan-US Business partnership--a recently completed program funded by USAID. The Ambassador also visited IRADA Apparel Manufacturing Co. at the Al-Tajamouat QIZ in Sahab and listened to explanation made by General Manager Muhammad Shaheen on Maharat Internship Program which is a comprehensive recruiting and training program targeting recent university graduates and SMEs, and which is implemented by Tatweer project. Petra receives 80,000 visitors * The red rose city of Petra received 80,000 visitors during the first quarter of 2006, of whom nearly 10,000 were Jordanians, according to official figures issued by Petra Historical Reserve and Petra Tourist Directorate. Tourism began to recover since the beginning of March. Nearly 1,500 visitors of different nationalities visit Petra each day, according to the same source. Culling poultry started *As a precautionary measure, teams from the ministries of Agriculture and Health started on Tuesday slaughtering homebred poultry in the Jordan Valley, after the deadly H5N1 virus was found in the Beqaot Settlement in the West Bank. The government will compensate farmers for their loss. Abu Rumman, the Egyptian national who tested positive for bird flu last Friday, is in stable condition and recovering. International Mine Awareness Day*Under the patronage of HRH Prince Raad, Chief Chamberlain, Jordan marked International Day for Mine Awareness. Hundreds of red and white balloons were released over the Baptism Site on Tuesday; the red balloons signified the clearness of the site from landmines, while the white ones symbolized the 533 mine victims. UN representatives, diplomats and other dignitaries shared the day with the National Center for Demining and Rehabilitation (NCDR).NCDR Board Chairman HRH Prince Mired said, "In this day we celebrate our achievements in mine action where 101,559 mines were cleared, so that Jordan could meet its 2009 Ottawa Treaty deadline for a country free from mines." UNDP Deputy Resident Representative Mona Hider highly praised landmine-clearing efforts in the country and said such efforts contribute to putting the country on track to achieve most of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly those reducing poverty to half by the year 2015 and ensuring environmental stability. NCDR Director Muhammad Braikat commended The Jordan Royal Corps of Engineers (JRCE) who have been working hard since 1993 to remove an estimated 304,653 landmines. JRF turns to DOMOTEX for new markets *After considerable success in marketing its products in Europe, The Jordan River Foundation (JRF), which is chaired by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdallah, is looking to build a commercial network in the Arabian Gulf launching the campaign at the DOMOTEX Middle East specialist carpets and flooring show at Dubai World Trade Center from May 28-30."We are coming to DOMOTEX to meet potential partners and dealers and establish a network with small and medium-sized business as well as wholesalers and retailers," explained JRF's Director, Maha Khatib. CP workshop kicks off *Under the theme "Improving the Eco-efficiency of Enterprise: Cleaner Production, Concept, Tools and Methodology" experts from Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Yemen, Algeria and Tunisia met on Tuesday to discuss the formation of a regional Arab network to promote cleaner production (CP) in the Middle East and North Africa. The three-day event, held under the patronage of Environment Minister Khalid Irani, came to introduce the concept of CP, explain its methodologies and reach an understanding of CP in improving the economic and environmental efficiency of enterprises. Cabinet announces new appointments *During its weekly meeting, the Council of Ministers appointed on Tuesday Hashem Masaeed as director general of the Public Transport Regulatory Commission, Khalil Kurdi as director general of the Vocational Training Corporation and Ghazi Shbeikat as director general of the Department of Statistics. The Cabinet approved a request by Daygam Khreisat and Partners Company to publish a new weekly newspaper called Dar Al Hyatt. In addition, the Cabinet endorsed the criteria for selecting and appointing public sector workers in the first, second, third and fourth grades. The Council of Ministers gave permission for retired military personnel working in the public sector to receive pension in addition to their income, as long as it does not exceed JD300. Bawab awarded Romanian medal *The Romanian government bestowed the Order of Merit on former Jordanian Ambassador in Bucharest Abdul Latif Bawab, who ended his term of duty in November last year. The medal was presented to the ambassador at a ceremony held on Tuesday at the Romanian embassy in Amman. Romanian Ambassador Radu Onofrei commended the efforts of Bawab during his tenure, saying they resulted in better relations between the two countries. Karak gets JD11 million loan *Karak Mayor Muhammad Maaitah said on Tuesday the municipality obtained a JD11 million loan from the World Bank to finance a major tourist project. The mayor said the project included rehabilitating the old wall surrounding the city, repairing the drainage system, paving the city's roads with basalt, beautifying the entrance of the town and renovating ancient buildings. Arab youth: 'No to Terrorism' *Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit inaugurated on Monday the third meeting of youth from Arab countries entitled "No to Terrorism". In his address the Premier said: "Terrorism has turned into a global phenomenon, which necessitates regional and international coordination, it is time to fight terrorist acts that hide under the cover of Islam.President of the Higher Youth Council (HYC) Atef Odeibat said the council has started giving more attention to young people in implementation of King Abdallah's directives. The 12-day gathering, which is organized by HYC, seeks to enhance the sense of unity among young Arabs in the fight against terror. TIS, PSUT, and Sybase, launch Lab *In keeping its ongoing aims to investing in the educational and technological sectors in Jordan, Turnkey Information Solutions (TIS) signed a memorandum of understanding with both Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) and Sybase Products Middle East Inc. to setup the first Sybase Lab in Jordan.The MoU was signed on April 2, on PSUT's campus in the presence of Head of PSUT's Board of Trustees HRH Princess Sumaya Bint El-Hassan, members of the board, faculty members and other representatives from the private sector. In keeping with its aims, TIS is to supervise and invest in the development of a technology Lab that is to be founded on the PSUT campus. The lab will be equipped with the latest technological developments from Sybase in order to ensure the highest level of efficiency and productivity for its users. German-Jordanian Friendship Society *The German-Jordanian Friendship Society held its ordinary meeting in which it approved both the financial and administrative report. The General assembly elected its new board for the coming three years. The board consists of: Dr Saleh Rsheidat as chairman; Mr Rajai Dajani vice chairman; Mr Ghazi Msharbash, secretary general; Mr Marwan Soudah, press officer; and Mr Riyad Halah, bursar. The following are members: MP Saad Hayel Srour; Mr Hisham Tal; Dr Ali Mahafzah; Dr Saeed Alloush; MP Osama Malkawi; and Mr Samir Kawar. Production of KA-226 helicopter in Jordan During SOFEX 2006 that ended last week, "OPK Oboronprom" JSC General Director, Mr Denis Manturov announced that Russia and Jordan will be setting up the Oboronprom Middle East joint venture for the production of the Ka-226 helicopter in Jordan.Under License Agreement the "OPK Oboronprom" will authorize the joint venture to produce and then sell the Ka-226s in Jordan and other countries in the region. The joint venture will also be entitled to overhaul and repair Ka-226s and procure its spare parts. Mr Majdi Al-Yacoub, managing director of Orangeville Consultants Inc., and acting managing director of the new joint venture, "OPK Oboronprom" Middle East, commented, "The formation of Oboronprom Middle East here in Jordan is highly important in highlighting the position of the Kingdom as a central hub and entry point to the Middle East. Jordan is an emerging hub for aviation manufacturing and development as we have a clear understanding of the region's needs and approach." Family health electronic gate launched *Deputizing for Her Majesty Queen Rania, Minister of Health Dr. Said Darwazah launched the Arabic Electronic Gate For Family Health. The project is the outcome of a partnership between Batelco-Jordan and the Media Partners for the Health of the Family Program (MPHFP), which is supported technically by John Hopkins University. The gate aims at consolidating health efficiency among various members of the society all over the kingdom by providing them with knowledge and skills related to health. Batelco's CEO Marwan Juma said the electronic gate is successful partnership, which benefits all age groups. For the Record

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