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AMMAN — Jordan and Ukraine see “eye to eye” on various international issues and are keen on increasing cooperation in various fields, especially in higher education, according to Ukrainian ambassador in Amman, Serhiy Pasko.

The two countries, which initiated diplomatic ties in 1992, enjoy solid relations, with a large room for strengthening cooperation in the areas of tourism, commerce and pharmaceuticals, the ambassador said in an interview with The Jordan Times on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of independence celebrated by the embassy on Tuesday.

Jordan and Ukraine have similar views on many different international issues and support each other at international organisations.

“We support Arab causes and the Jordanian stance on various issues in the international arenas and we will continue to do so,” the ambassador said.

He highlighted the field of higher education as a key sector that is witnessing an increasing growth. 

Currently, there are 2,500 Jordanian students majoring mostly in medical fields in Ukrainian universities. “We have high quality medical education and our universities, which are 250 years old, are very affordable,” Pasko said.

The diplomat added that there are around 3,000 Jordanian medical doctors currently working in the Kingdom who are graduates from Ukrainian universities.

Some 5,000 Ukrainian nationals are living in Amman, 2,000 of whom are Ukrainian women married to Jordanians and who started families and “live happily in the Kingdom”, he said.

There are also around 5,000 Jordanians living in Ukraine, some of whom work while others are relatives of the Jordanian students at the Ukrainian universities.

The ambassador said that Ukraine was keen on increasing the number of scholarships given to Jordanian students. Currently, a total of four scholarships are offered to Jordanian students.

“This is not enough, we need to have much more. We started discussions on this and will continue discussing the increase of scholarships to 15 to 20,” he stated.

On trade exchange, he noted that it reached $106.5 million in the first 8 months of this year, $101 million of which are Ukrainian exports to Jordan which include steel, wheat, milk, honey, barley, among others.

Trade exchange at the end of 2017 is expected to be 8 per cent higher than 2016, he said.

Jordanian exports to Ukraine are mostly pharmaceuticals, he noted, saying: “Jordan has great pharmaceutical companies and they are looking forward to increasing cooperation with Ukraine in this regard.” 

Calling Jordan as a “museum under open air”, he said that the country is home to many touristic and religious sites worth visiting.

Some 10,000 Ukrainian tourists visit Jordan each year and around 3,000 Jordanians visit Ukraine every year.

“We will continue efforts to increase tourism on both sides,” he said.

AMMAN — Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh on Monday inaugurated an electricity-generating project using solar panels for The Islamic Charity Centre Society, with a capacity of 4MW, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The “one of a kind” project, worth JD5 million, is partially supported by the EU at an amount of 700,000 euros. Deputising for Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Kharabsheh said that the pioneering project is one of 9 projects being funded by the EU, most of which were implemented by the ministry.

He added that these projects will make a great difference in the beneficiaries’ electricity bills, outlining the struggles faced by the Kingdom’s energy sector. For his part, EU Ambassador for Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana said that the EU is a major partner for Jordan in the green energy field. 

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a November 2016 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 40-year-old man to 10 years in prison after convicting him of shooting and killing a teenage boy in an Amman neighbourhood five years ago.

The court declared the defendant guilty of randomly shooting the 16-year-old boy in Sahab on November 2 and handed him a 20 year prison term.

However, the tribunal decided to reduce the sentence by half as the victim’s family dropped charges against the defendant.

Court papers said the defendant owned an unlicensed gun and was playing with it while standing on the street.

“The defendant started shooting randomly and struck the boy who was playing in the backyard of his house,” court document said.

The bullet struck his chest and “penetrated his heart, killing him instantly”, the court transcripts added.

The defendant turned himself to the police and handed them the weapon in his possession, according to the court document.

The higher court ruled that the verdict was accurate and that the defendant deserved the punishment he received.

“The defendant confessed to the incident and the witnesses corroborated his confessions, in addition to the criminal lab results that also pointed out to him being the perpetrator of the incident,” the Court of Cassation said.

The higher court added that the “defendant’s actions of shooting for fun while knowing he was using the firearm in a populated area is a dangerous and a reckless act”.

The Court of Cassation tribunal comprised of judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Naji Zubi, Nayef Samarat and Bassem Mubeidin.  

AMMAN — HRH Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation’s  board of trustees, on Monday honoured winners of the 5th anti-smoking media competition and institutions that obtained “smoke-free zone” certificates, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Princess Ghida said that smoking is a “brutal enemy” responsible for many fatal diseases that affect millions of lives. The competition, titled “With our pens we fight smoking”, aimed to encourage media professionals and journalists to partake in a fight against smoking.

The “smoke-free zone certification” encourages companies, establishments, restaurants, hospitals, schools to provide a smoke-free environment.

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Monday attended a ceremony honouring the advisers and distinguished entrepreneurs of the 2017 Enhanced Productivity Centres Project (IRADA), where six advisers were awarded, in addition to 12 projects from each governorate.

Since its inception 15 years ago, IRADA has contributed to the establishment of more than 10,000 small and medium home projects that have provided more than 26,000 self-employment opportunities, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

The youth sector has been the largest beneficiary of the programme, which helped support the development of these projects through specialised technical, administrative and financial training, quality control and marketing processes, as well as economic feasibility studies.

Over 21, 000 studies were conducted and some 8,000 graduates of universities and private sector institutes were trained, 20 per cent of whom were later employed in these institutions.

Coordinator of the IRADA Hisham Shaaban said that the honouring ceremony, which is organised for the first time, sheds light on Jordanian success stories, showing the great efforts exerted by the entrepreneurs to establish productive projects in their regions.

Fakhoury said that the programme contributed to the fund and the follow-up on the implementation of over 1,800 micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2016-2017, and to finance more than 200 infrastructure projects that had a direct impact on improving livelihoods, the statement said.

It also helped implement various development initiatives targeting youth and women, the minister noted.

Fakhoury stressed that the ministry, in cooperation with various entities, carried out an awareness raising campaign on the available lending, financing and advisory windows aimed at supporting individuals and community organisations in all governorates, the statement read.

He said that a networking scheme for the graduates of the programmes of the National Company for Employment and Training and the Vocational Training Corporation was implemented with the government financing, credit and consulting agencies, built on the outputs of the training, the statement concluded.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said that Jordan’s holistic battle against terrorism remains unabated in the face of Daesh, which already lost about 95 per cent of the land it previously conquered, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.

As he received a delegation from the National Defence College in the UAE, Momani noted that Jordan’s holistic strategy in facing terrorism covers all aspects, from the military and security to ideology and media.

He added that Jordan has specialised units to monitor and combat media content of terrorist groups, pointing to the high level of coordination and joint action between Jordan and the UAE.

The delegation praised the bilateral relations, stressing the UAE’s appreciation to Jordan for dealing with the various regional crises.

AMMAN — Secretary General of the Jordanian-European Higher Commission Mohamed Abu Rub on Monday announced the official registration of the commission in Geneva, Switzerland, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In a statement, Abu Rub said that the official registration of the commission has created an independent legitimate personality and a legal protection that allows it to carry out its activities and achieve its objectives.

He added that Geneva is considered as the home of various international organisations. Abu Rub said that the commission is cooperating with various associations in Europe to promote teamwork and consolidate the principles of solidarity between the Jordanian community and its authorities on European territories. He noted that the committee includes Jordanian members from 21 European countries, stressing that the membership is open to Jordanian individuals or associations based in Europe.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah is scheduled to pay a working visit to the US next week, during which he will hold meetings with US Congress committees, an authorized source said.

The King is also scheduled to meet with US Vice President Mike Pence, according to the source. 

The King will hold discussions with the leaders of the Senate’s committees of military service, foreign relations and appropriations, in addition to Speaker of the US House of Representatives Paul Ryan and the House’s committees of military services and foreign affairs. 

His Majesty met with US President Donald Trump in Washington in September.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday received a phone call from Spain’s King Felipe VI in which the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and global and regional developments. 

The conversation also focused on the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis, on the basis of the two-state solution, according to a Royal Court statement.

Also on Sunday, His Majesty received at Al Husseiniya Palace a delegation from the National Defence College (NDC) in the United Arab Emirates, the Royal Court said in a separate statement. 

During the meeting, His Majesty and the NDC delegation discussed bilateral ties as well as regional developments. His Majesty stressed on the strength of the historical relations between the two countries, expressing his pride in the advanced levels reached in various areas. 

They also discussed crises facing the region and the efforts made to reach a solution, as well as regional and international efforts in the war on terror within a holistic strategy. 

Members of the delegation praised Jordan’s pivotal role in the region, under the leadership of King Abdullah, and its efforts to achieve security and stability regionally.

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Sunday charged a 42-year-old Syrian man with manslaughter in connection with the murder of a woman at her home in an Amman neighbourhood over the weekend, official sources said.

The victim’s daughter reportedly found her mother’s body on Friday evening when she returned home where the two resided in Tabarbour neighbourhood and alerted the authorities.

 Police on Sunday announced that they arrested the suspect after their investigation led them to consider him as a person of interest in the murder of the 53-year-old woman, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said. 

The police official told The Jordan Times that during the initial questioning, the suspect “confessed to murdering the victim and said he went to her house because he learnt from his mother that she was looking for a place to rent”. 

“The two argued over the matter and the suspect hit her with a blunt object on different parts of her body and left the apartment,” according to Sartawi.

 A second source said police became suspicious of the suspect after a neighbour of the victim informed them that he “knocked on his door to ask about the victim’s address”.

“When the suspect was summoned by the police he immediately confessed to murdering the woman following an argument,” the second source told The Jordan Times. 

In his initial testimony to Criminal Court Prosecutor Jihad Dureidi, the suspect claimed that “he was unaware of what he did and that he started feeling dizzy while sitting with the woman”, a senior judicial source said.

“The suspect claimed that he does not remember his actions and that he might be suffering from mental problems,” the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

 Dureidi, however, decided to charge the suspect “because he felt that he was fit and sane when he said his story”, the judicial source maintained.

“The criminal court prosecutor is expected to hear more witnesses in the case and is also waiting for criminal lab results,” the judicial source added.

Dureidi ordered the suspect be detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation, the senior judicial source said.