Several MP’s stressed the need to realign the Kingdom’s general budget claiming that COVID-19 is not an excuse to force citizens to be patient in order to remove themselves from poverty.

During a parliament session to discuss the general budget Sunday, MP Nedal Al-Hayari said that poor economic conditions cause Jordanians to live and die screaming

He emphasized that the high salaries that officials receive should be cut in order to provide more finances for the military.

Al-Hayari pointed out that citizens suffer exponentially from rent, university fees, bills, and other required expenditures.

In turn, MP Yanal Fraihat stressed that the budget needs to be restructured, adding that "The Jordanian citizen is tired of theorizing at the expense of their poverty and hunger, and that the government should stop using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse for lack of funding and poverty, and they must stop telling citizens to be patient until the region stabilizes.

Speaking of the pandemic in Jordan, if the percentage of positive PCR tests reaches eight percent, the government will be forced to reassess the current health measures.

The assistant secretary general for health affairs at the Ministry of health Ghazi Sharkas told Roya that the government could possibly even impose or reimpose certain measures, noting that the epidemics committee at the ministry of health is studying the health situation in the Kingdom very closely.

He emphasized that there is "pressure" on the COVID-19 curve in Jordan, indicating that the percentage of positive examinations last week was five percent or less, and that there were about 2000 more cases this week than last week.

The government originally said that an announcement could be expected yesterday or today, but as of yet, no decisions have been made.

Sunday, the Emirati Hope Probe showed the world the first image they have taken of Mars taken from a height of 25,000 kilometers.

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, wrote on Twitter, "The transmission of the Hope Probe's first image of Mars is a defining moment in our history and marks the UAE joining advanced nations involved in space exploration. We hope this mission will lead to new discoveries about Mars which will benefit humanity."

The image shows sunlight falling on the surface of Mars, the north pole of the red planet, and the largest volcanoes of Mars, Olympus Mons, according to AFP.

On Feb. 9, millions in the United Arab Emirates, the Middle East, and the world watched the historic moments of the "probe of hope" entering Mars' orbit after it traveled 493 million kilometers in space.

Lebanon began its vaccination campaign Sunday against the coronavirus by administering the first vaccine dose to a doctor.

The head of the intensive care unit at the Rafik Hariri Governmental Hospital in Beirut, Doctor Mahmoud Hassoun, received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, one day after the first shipment of 28,500 doses from Belgium arrived in Lebanon.

"I hope that [the vaccine] will be the beginning of the end for this pandemic in the country," he said.
Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab visited the hospital to see the process, saying that today is not the day he is to be vaccinated, noting that “Today’s priority is for the health sector.”

According to the government's plan, the first stage of vaccination is reserved for medical staff and those over 75 years of age.

Late Saturday, the West African country of Guinea announced that four people have died due to Ebola.
According to the Guinean Minister of Health Remy Lamah,this is the first outbreak in five years. The World Health Organization has viewed with grave concern every new outbreak since 2016, and has dealt with the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as an international health emergency.

However, the widespread availability of vaccines that have been given to more than 40,000 people has helped reduce the disease.

Looks like the snow lovers may just be in luck as the Kingdom is expecting snow this week on the areas over 900 meters above sea level.

On Wednesday, a significant decrease in temperatures is expected along with strong winds reaching 60 kilometers per hour. Rain is expected in the Western parts of the Kingdom and snowfall in areas more than 1,000 meters above sea level.

Wednesday night, the cold air front will affect most parts of the Kingdom along with lightning, thunder and hail in some areas. Snowfall is expected in areas more than 900 meters above sea level.

The Jordan Meteorological Department advised drivers to beware of limited visibility and slippery roads especially at night.