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AMMAN — The National Library Department (NLD) on Wednesday said it referred a shop owner to the prosecutor general for selling receivers that decrypt paid satellite TV channels "to enable customers to watch porn and sports channels for free".

“We confiscated around 300 receivers from the store worth $20,000. These receivers were imported from China, and the owner of the store tampered with these devices to automatically decrypt paid porn and sports channels,” NLD Director General Mohammad Abbadi told The Jordan Times.

The receivers were being sold at around JD50 each at the store in Amman, said Abbadi, adding that the NLD staff, in cooperation with Criminal Investigation Department personnel, raided the store.

“This is in violation of the law. No store is allowed to sell such receivers or use any technology to decode paid channels to enable people to watch them for free,” he added.

"Demand on such receivers is high… We will soon start a campaign to crack down on all stores selling them,” the official said.

Selling devices that decrypt paid TV channels is in violations of Article 55 of the Copyright Law, which prohibits the manufacturing, designing or selling of any device or technology that uses decoding to provide services. 

The Copyright Law stipulates that it is a crime to download software, music or movies that are protected under the legislation.

The legislation also prohibits the alteration of technological safeguards for the unlicensed commercial use of a protected product, particularly satellite feeds. Offenders face a prison sentence of between three months and three years and a fine ranging from JD1,000 to JD6,000.

AMMAN — In a bid to transform sightseeing into sight-doing, the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) seeks to offer Wadi Rum visitors a “Mars-like” experience”.  

The move “under preparation” is a simulation of the Hollywood sci-fi blockbuster “The Martian”, partially filmed in Wadi Rum, Tohama Nabulsi, director of communications and media at the JTB, said Wednesday.

She noted that the board is working on bringing back the habitat of the film to Wadi Rum, some 328km south of Amman, as well as the rover that the film crew gifted to the Royal Automobile Museum, adding that spacesuits will be available for visitors to take photos in.

Directed by Ridley Scott, the 20th Century Fox production tells the story of a mission to Mars where an astronaut, played by Academy Award winner Matt Damon, is presumed dead after a fierce storm and is left behind by his crew.

“Giving visitors the opportunity to live the experience of the very popular film will increase the significance of the location and encourage visitors to stay longer,” said Nabulsi, who cited revenues for local vendors and residents. 

She said visitors usually prefer “rich” cultural experiences during their travels, and tourists always seek to interact with the local community through homestays.

“The Martian” was released in theatres in September last year and has so far made over $228 million in the US box office and around $400 million internationally, according to the website Box Office Mojo.

The film was also nominated for seven Oscars this year and garnered two Golden Globe Awards, for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. 

Wadi Rum has been a popular filming destination for other Mars-centred films such as the 2000 features “Mission to Mars” by director Brian De Palma and “Red Planet” by director Antony Hoffman, according to the Royal Film Commission. 

Wadi Rum, known as the Valley of the Moon, was also the filming location for the Oscar-nominated Jordanian film “Theeb”.

Nabulsi said developing a similar simulation for “Theeb” may be a “good idea” although it has not been studied yet.

AMMAN – The Senate Health and Environment Committee on Wednesday approved the draft amendments to the Public Health Law as referred by the Lower House with some changes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan started prohibiting smoking in public areas in 2010, but there has been no real commitment to the implementation of the law, the chair of the committee, Senator Yassin Husban, said. 

Smoking contributes to increasing chances of heart disease, cancer and death, and it has a negative impact on the economy, Husban added.

Health Minister Ali Hiasat highlighted the importance of changing public conceptions about smoking, especially among families, to protect children and raise their awareness of the negative impact of the habit.

Under the new amendments, a prison term from one to three months or a fine no less than JD100 and no more than JD200 will be imposed on those caught smoking cigarettes or any tobacco product in public places.

Under the law, smoking is prohibited in hospitals, healthcare centres, schools, cinemas, theatres, libraries, museums, public and non-governmental buildings, public transport vehicles, airports, border crossings, stadiums, closed playgrounds, lecture halls, Internet cafés, tourism buildings and any other similar location.

Officials in charge of a public place allowing smoking or not posting a no-smoking sign face between three and six months in prison or a JD1,000-JD3,000 fine under the Lower House’s amendments.

As phrased by deputies, those caught smoking in public and private schools and kindergartens also face a prison term between three and six months or a fine from JD1,000 to JD3,000.

AMMAN — Installing surveillance cameras in Al Aqsa Mosque will enable 1.7 billion Muslims around the world to stay in touch with the worshippers praying there, Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani said Wednesday. 

This will strengthen Muslims’ awareness of what is going on at the mosque complex and the challenges facing its worshippers, Momani, who is also the minister of state for media affairs and communications, said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.  

The cameras will record extremists’ raids on the mosque, thus putting a stop to them, he said.

Moreover, installing the cameras will refute the Israeli forces’ claims that “Palestinian riots” are the reason behind their “provocative interference” in the affairs of the mosque, which will all be captured for the whole world to see that Israel is violating the status quo under false pretences.

These recorded videos will help Jordan and Palestine present documented proof to defend Al Aqsa legally on international platforms and through diplomatic channels, enhancing the Kingdom’s protection of the mosque, worshippers, the Awqaf Department’s staff.

Late last year, His Majesty King Abdullah received a delegation comprising representatives of the Jerusalem Awqaf Department, clerics, and Muslim and Christian Jerusalemites. 

The King asserted that Jordan stands firm and rejects any changes to the historic status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, which extends over an area of 144 dunums.

The King asserted that the surveillance camera project is a Jordanian initiative that will be carried out by the Awqaf Ministry, in cooperation with “our Palestinian brothers” on the ground.

AMMAN — Seven people were injured on Wednesday in two road accidents in the capital and Jerash, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) announced.

In Amman, four people were injured in a collision involving a bus and two vehicles on the Amman-Zarqa Highway, where east Amman CDD personnel administered first aid to the injured and transferred them to Al Bashir Hospital.

They were reported to be in fair condition, according to a CDD statement.

In Jerash, three people were injured in a collision between a truck and a vehicle on Marsa Bridge, and were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — A supply convoy to Jordan’s “Gaza-40” field hospital arrived in the strip on Wednesday through Beit Hanoun border crossing.

Hospital Commander Col. Ibrahim Masafeh said the five-truck convoy was carrying medical supplies necessary to sustain the hospital’s work, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Hospital Director Col. Yahia Dreidi said hospital personnel work round the clock to receive hundreds of patients, Petra added.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad and Spanish Ambassador to Jordan Santiago Cabanas Ansorena on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to train Syrian refugees according to their field of specialty and preferences, as well as their knowledge of human rights.

In press remarks following the signing ceremony, Hammad said the memo is part of efforts to serve Syrian refugees and provide them with a suitable environment that can ensure improvement and integration into society, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Under the memo, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and the EU will finance the training and rehabilitation programme for the Syrian refugees.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Wednesday received a delegation of “martyrs’ children” and listened to their demands, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, Tarawneh voiced the House’s support to the families of the martyrs of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and other security agencies, pledging to examine their demands with the concerned parties.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad on Wednesday received head of the Polish National Security Bureau Paweł Soloch and an accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed means to enhance Jordanian-Polish relations in the security, economic and political spheres as well as the latest regional developments, especially in Syria.

Hammad briefed the visiting delegation on Jordan’s burdens resulting from hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees.

The minister also said that Jordan has been calling for a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis that can safeguard Syria’s territorial unity and end the suffering of its people.

Soloch praised Jordan’s humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees and its role in protecting the region’s peace and security, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The government of Japan has extended a grant of $85,579 to the Jordan Health Aid Society International (JHASI) to provide equipment to the society’s laboratory in Amman under the Grant Assistance for Grass-roots Human Security Projects, the Japanese embassy said in a statement.

The grant was signed on Wednesday by Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai and JHASI President Yaroub Ajlouni. The grant aims at “significantly improving” JHASI’s laboratory performance.

JHASI offers free treatment to vulnerable people, including Jordanians, Syrian refugees and those of other nationalities, who cannot afford the treatment at public hospitals.