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AMMAN — A Royal Decree was issued on Sunday endorsing the 2015 Elections Law, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two Houses of Parliament have passed the bill with minor changes. It will go into effect after it is published in the Official Gazette. 

The notorious one-person, one-vote electoral system, which was introduced in 1993, is now history, under the version of the law adopted by both Houses and approved by the King. 

The bill is based on an at-large voting system, in which candidates can run for parliamentary elections on one large multimember ticket.

The bill divides the Kingdom into 23 electoral districts, one for each of the 12 governorates, except for Amman which was split into five districts, Irbid into four and Zarqa into two.

Each of the three badia districts (northern, central and southern) was considered a governorate for the purposes of the bill, a key component of the country’s political reform process.

The draft law allocates 115 seats for the constituencies and 15 seats for a women’s quota, one seat for each governorate and one seat for each of the three badia districts.

The draft law also stipulates that the ticket includes no less than three candidates and does not exceed the number of seats allocated for the constituency in which the ticket is competing.

Under the bill, each eligible voter can only pick one list and has then to name the candidate(s) he/she has chosen from the ticket.

The Senate made an amendment to Article 66 of the bill to resolve any expected case of vacancies in the current seats of the Lower House’s after the draft law is put into force by keeping the provisions under which the current House was elected valid until the end of its mandate, for whatever reason. The House agreed.

Under this amendment, all procedures and regulations under which the current Lower House was elected will remain valid even after the cancellation of the 2012 Elections Law with the publication of the new law.

AMMAN — Jordan seeks to attract more religious tourists and students from Indonesia, while Jakarta wants to benefit from Jordan’s strategic location to ensure itself trade access into the region.

During a meeting in Amman on Sunday between Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and an accompanying delegation, the two sides discussed other aspects of cooperation, along with regional issues and the Middle East peace process, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the meeting, attended by Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani and Jordan Phosphate Mines Company Chairman Amer Majali, Ensour commended the fact that the foreign minister of a key Islamic country like Indonesia is a woman. 

The premier highlighted the good bilateral relations and voiced interest to enhance them, noting that the most important commercial ties rely on Indonesia’s purchases of fertilisers and phosphate from Jordan. 

He said tourism between the two countries could be enhanced since Jordan houses several shrines of Prophet Mohammad’s companions, noting  that it is also possible to facilitate for Indonesian pilgrims visits to Jerusalem.

He also urged Indonesian students to come and study Arabic and Sharia (Islamic law) in Jordan.

For her part, Marsudi said that her country plans to take advantage of Jordan’s status as a gateway to the region to access targeted markets for Indonesian products.

She also voiced interest in opening an honorary consulate for Indonesia in Aqaba, Jordan’s sole port city and special economic zone. 

On the region,  Marsudi  commended Jordan’s support of the Palestinian cause.

In a related development, the Council of Ministers approved an agreement between Jordan and Indonesia to exempt holders of diplomatic and high-ranking public servants’ passports from the visa requirement. 

Those eligible to benefit from the waiver can stay in the country for no more than 30 days since the date of each entry.

AMMAN — Israel on Sunday banned Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi from entering to the occupied West Bank, where she was scheduled to hold talks with Palestinian leaders, the minister told The Jordan Times in Amman later in the day.

The minister said she was due to open an honorary consulate in Ramallah, adding: "That was anticipated. I had already expected that they would do that. It is not the first time that they ban a foreign minister of a Muslim country from entering Ramallah."

"In spite of that, my mission was accomplished, “ Marsudi said, explaining that she met here with her Palestinian counterpart, Riyad Maliki and the honorary consul, who was appointed officially and would start her service immediately.

“At my meetings in Jordan with officials, we discussed bilateral ties and how to put the Palestinian issue back on the international community’s radar,” said the minister, referring to a recent meeting for the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Indonesia, which stressed on the illegality of Israeli settlement activities and their adverse impact on the Palestinian territories and peace prospects.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday approved a stricter version to the Public Health Law, which prohibits smoking in public areas.

However, the development triggered a public debate, especially since those who made the law still practise the unhealthy habit under the Dome. 

Under the new amendments, those caught smoking in public areas will face a penalty of imprisonment ranging between one month to three months or a JD100-200 fine instead of a JD15-25 fine or a penalty of imprisonment ranging from one week to one month, as stipulated in the original law.

Public spaces are classified according to the new amendments as those that are prepared to receive people such as hospitals, healthcare centres, schools, cinemas, theatres, libraries and galleries.

Public areas also include government and non-government institutions, play areas, closed sports facilities, lecture rooms, restaurants, Internet cafes, border points along with airports' arrival and departure halls.

"The Public Health Law was not activated because it required tremendous efforts by the Health Ministry to enforce it. We have more than 20,000 locations classified as public spaces. Some government institutions receive more than 10,000 people a day," said head of the House's Health and Environment Committee, Deputy Raed Hijazeen.

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. I believe that the amended law will be a good start in our mission to fully enforce the law," he told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

According to the new amendments, every person responsible for a public area and allows smoking or does not announce a ban on smoking will face an imprisonment term that is no less than three months and no more than six months or a JD1,000-3,000 fine.

Those caught smoking in kindergartens, private or public schools will be imprisoned for no less than three months and no more than six months or pay a fine between JD1,000 and JD3,000.

When the House’s health committee referred its proposed amended law to MPs for approval, people have expressed their "shock" and "dismay" over the law, particularly as MPs themselves smoke under the Dome.

“They should ban smoking inside the House before starting to impose the law elsewhere. The message they give us is that lawmakers are above the law. How ironic!” Khader Faouri, a private sector employee, told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

Shireen Nawras, also an employee, agreed, saying that “it is unacceptable for deputies to enforce something on the public that they even cannot abide to”.

However, and while acknowledging that MPs should not smoke inside the House, Hijazeen noted that the Dome is not considered a public area, but a place that is designated for lawmakers, ministers and those who are permitted to attend the session.

“We hope that one day we can ban smoking under the Dome, which is a sort of a private room where lawmakers and government officials gather,” he said.

History is not encouraging. In 2004, noted the MP, lawmakers were banned from smoking, but meetings started to lose quorum when deputies left ongoing deliberations to smoke outside.

“This prompted the speaker to allow smoking inside,” Hijazeen, who is a smoker himself, noted.

“For me, I make sure that I do not smoke inside the House,” he said.

People on social media platforms also criticised the timing of the law, saying that there are other significant issues deputies could discuss.

“MPs act as if everything else is great in the country and all we need is a ban on smoking,” said Mohammad Al Shalabi on his Facebook page.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Sunday passed the new amendments to the Public Health Law, stiffening the penalty for smoking in public places. 

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.

The government’s version of the law stipulated that any person caught smoking in a public place is subject to between one week and one month imprisonment or a JD15-JD25 fine. 

In the law, a “public place” is defined as the place designed to receive the public or a certain category of people like hospitals and schools. 

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 responsible for 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 MPs’ amendments.

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

When discussing the bill in 2014, a group of deputies signed a memo urging the House to commit to the prohibition of smoking under the Dome in accordance with the Public Health Law. 

In the same year, the Senate approved a recommendation by its health committee to prohibit smoking under the Dome.

Jordanians’ annual consumption of cigarettes is estimated at around 1.7 million cartons at a cost of more than JD0.5 billion, according to official figures.

Around 34 per cent of Jordanians between the ages of 13 and 15 consume tobacco, while over 40 per cent of individuals within the same age group have tried tobacco products, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The tobacco consumption rate among Jordanians is expected to reach 50 per cent by 2025, WHO has said.

In January, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour expressed his keenness on combating smoking through action, resolutions and guidance, citing some 1,550 smoking-related deaths every year in Jordan.

According to Health Ministry figures, cancer prevalence rates in Jordan reached 78.5 cases per 100,000 residents, a “low” figure compared to the global rate of 133.4 cases per 100,000 individuals.

A total of 5,013 cancer cases among Jordanians were registered out of an overall number of 7,454 cases recorded by the Jordan Cancer Registry in 2012, according to the  ministry.

Breast cancer was the most common among Jordanians (1,008 cases), followed by colorectal cancer (567), lung cancer (371), lymphoma (327) and bladder cancer (246).

AMMAN — Every day, the Jordan Media Institute (JMI) organises brainstorming sessions for its students to discuss what is going on locally, regionally and internationally, the institution’s dean, Basim Tweissi, said.

“The purpose of these sessions is to teach students about politics. A student without political background cannot become a journalist,” Tweissi told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Noting that the JMI has graduated six classes since its establishment in 2006, he added that “all the institute’s graduates are working in the media sector in Jordan, the Arab world and abroad”.

As a journalism graduate from New York’s Columbia University with professional experience in the field, HRH Princess Rym Ali established the JMI with a vision centred on teaching professional journalism and preparing a generation of media practitioners in the Arab region, the dean noted.

“The vision was also based on establishing a centre of excellence in journalism education that seeks to address the weaknesses in the profession in Jordan and the Arab world,” he added.

Tweissi explained that the JMI’s vision was translated into programmes and curricula different from those applied and taught at other institutions. “Priority is given to practice over theory at the JMI, which keeps its students updated on the latest technologies used in the field.”

“When I was appointed here, I focused on engaging students with their political surroundings. At the JMI, we also work on cultivating students’ journalism skills like curiosity, boldness and quest for distinction,” Tweissi added.

“We always tell our students that it is the field that makes a good journalist and never the office.”  

In order to engage students with local and regional hot topics and enable them to come up with newsworthy materials, Tweissi said the JMI is sending them to refugee camps, the border with Syria, poverty pockets and underprivileged areas. 

“Almost each week at the institute, we organise workshops and receive experts and established journalist — mostly from abroad — to talk about their experiences,” he elaborated.

In addition to sending JMI students on media tours and to workshops outside Jordan, Tweissi said the institute is linked with fellowship programmes with Al Jazeera, Al Arabiya, CNN, AFP and Sky News. 

“Under these fellowships, our students spend a three-month training course. Most of them are selected by the international news channels to work with them,” he added.

“According to figures released in February 2015, 94 per cent of our graduates are working now. It is the highest percentage of employed graduates in Jordan. Seventy-one per cent of them work at professional media institutions and the rest in public relations.”

Tweissi also explained that the training centre at the JMI has been improved during the past three years to “become now the largest of its kind in the Arab region”. 

“The institute has so far trained 600 journalists from Jordan and the world. Last year, we focused on data journalism and we were the first to introduce it in the Kingdom”.

Tweissi added that “Akeed” is the most important project launched by the JMI and is considered “the first specialised, institutionalised fact-checking centre in the Arab world”.

Launched a year and a half ago, Akeed is an online portal dedicated to monitoring the credibility of Jordanian media.

The website is part of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development’s Democratic Empowerment Programme (Demoqrati) and has adopted a series of criteria to verify news published by local media outlets.

“Thrill is not Akeed’s quest. It is working silently and prudently not to judge media outlets’ coverage but to improve it. Protecting citizens’ right to authentic information is Akeed’s main objective,” Tweissi said.  

AMMAN — The Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) announced on Sunday the first invitation for entrepreneurs and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to join the “Accelerate with JEDCO” programme. 

The 2.6 million euro programme is financed by the G-7 Deauville Partnership – MENA Transition Fund, through the EIB Facility for the Mediterranean Investment and Partnership to support JEDCO.

JEDCO CEO Hana Uraidi invited small Jordanian enterprises and high growth start-ups to apply to join the new programme designed to support accelerated growth in businesses with the ambition, capacity, capability and opportunity for growth.

“The programme represents a major change in JEDCO policy regarding business support with a move away from the disbursement of grants to a more targeted and tailored approach to meet  the individual needs of growing SMEs in Jordan,” a JEDCO statement said. 

“Accelerate with JEDCO” will provide “a comprehensive business diagnostic” to help owners and CEOs identify the barriers to growth. 

This will lead to business coaching support to develop and implement their strategic growth plans and more effectively overcome these barriers, the statement said.

JEDCO has trained a group of key senior staff in the UK as “business growth managers” to facilitate the programme.

If an SME is accepted into the programme, the business growth manager will invite the senior management of the business to complete a diagnostic assessment to help them understand the need for change.

“Today’s invitation is a call to all SMEs [that] wish to benefit from this specialised programme and contribute to the development and growth of the Jordanian economy through their own growth in profit, employment numbers and new product development,” the statement quoted Uraidi as saying.  

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday approved delivering electricity to single-detached dwellings in poverty pockets using solar power units, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The solar power units will not be part of the electricity grid and will cost a maximum of JD6,000 for each house. 

The decision will reduce financial burdens for the public, and the service will be limited to poverty pockets after coordinating with the Social Development Ministry before installing each unit, Petra said. 

Jordan, which currently imports 97 per cent of its energy needs annually, has signed several agreements for renewable energy projects. 

According to the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, several projects are implemented or under implementation, and by 2020, Jordan will have solar and wind power projects with a total capacity of 1,600 megawatts.

Currently, renewable energy contributes to 3-4 per cent of the national electricity grid and the figure is scheduled to reach 10 per cent by 2020.

In Jordan, the annual daily average of solar irradiance ranges between 5-7 kilowatt-hours per square metre, which is almost twice the ratio in Germany, which by mid-2015 generated 34 per cent of its electricity via renewable energy projects. 

The wind speed in some areas in Jordan can reach up to 10 metres per second.

AMMAN — The government on Sunday condemned the two terrorist blasts that hit Ankara and Côte d’Ivoire’s Grand-Bassam resort earlier in the day.

Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani voiced the Kingdom’s denunciation of the criminal attacks, and Jordan’s support to the security and stability of Turkey and Côte d’Ivoire, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Momani, who is also minister of state for media affairs and communications, expressed the Kingdom’s solidarity with these two countries in their battles against terrorism and the heinous practices that contradict religious beliefs and civil values.

He also offered condolences to the families of the victims, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

AMMAN — A man in his nineties died and five people were injured on Sunday in a two-vehicle collision on the Jerash-Ajloun road, a Civil Defence Department (CDD) statement said.

CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Al Iman Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

Also on Sunday four people were injured when their minivan overturned on Karak’s Al Qasr road. CDD cadres administered first aid and took them to Prince Ali Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.