Local

AMMAN – A security officer was killed during clashes with an armed group in the northern city of Irbid that also resulted in the killing of seven "outlaws", a government official said Wednesday.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani told the Amen FM, the radio station of the Public Security Department, that four security officers were injured but in stable conditions, adding that the raid ended in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Specialised security forces carried out a raid against a group of armed people, described as outlaws at around 7:00 pm and lasted until 3:00am.

The security officer killed in the raid was identified as Captain Rashed Zyoud.

Two citizens who happened to be in the area were also injured, sustaining wounds to the hand and the foot.  

The source told The Jordan Times that the wanted persons were holed up in a residential building in downtown near the Irbid District Electricity Company.

Some residents of Irbid city told The Jordan Times on Wednesday that life went back to normal in the morning.

AMMAN — Specialised security forces raided a residential building in Irbid downtown Tuesday to arrest a group of armed persons sources said were outlaws belonging to a jihadi group.

Captain Rashed Hussein Zyoud fell martyr, a security source said, adding that four of the extremists were killed in the raid, which extended for hours in the northern city.

Two security personnel were injured in the operation and were receiving treatment, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, cited the source as saying. Two citizens who happened to be in the area were also injured, sustaining wounds to the hand and the foot, respectively. They were in a moderate condition.  

Dozens of troops, reportedly from the army special forces and intelligence, were deployed, supported by helicopters and other security personnel.

Citizen journalists posted videos on social media platforms, purportedly from the scene, where heavy fire exchange was clearly heard and a long fleet of security vehicles was taking control of the area.

A security source, who preferred to remain unnamed, told The Jordan Times that anti-terror personnel carried out the operation to arrest a number of hard-line takfiris in Irbid Governorate, some 90 kilometres north of Amman.

The source told The Jordan Times that the wanted persons were holed up in a residential building in downtown near the Irbid District Electricity Company, adding that they opened fire at the raiding forces, which responded "intensively and heavily".

"People living in other apartments in the building were escorted to the ground floor," an eyewitness said, adding: "The fire exchange was intensive and clearly heard from even a long distance."

The eyewitness, Hussein, told The Jordan Times over the phone that the "besieged takfiris in the building were aided by other Salafists who came from other areas and opened fire at the security forces".

Officials were not available to confirm that the suspects had a backup from outside the building where they were hiding. 

One suspected terrorist was arrested, according to Petra, which said the operation was still ongoing in the early hours Tuesday. 

AMMAN — Around 300 patients have benefited from part of HRH Crown Prince Hussein's “Hearing Without Borders” initiative, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

As part of the initiative, a specialised team from Germany's Aalen University helped the 300 patients by treating their hearing disabilities, according to Petra.

In an interview with Petra, Professor Annette Limberger described the Crown Prince's initiative as "unique and unprecedented", saying that hearing impaired persons undergo surgeries or given special equipment, including cochlear implants, and aid to help them live safely and communicate with others.

 Launching the initiative in December 2014, Crown Prince Hussein noted some 300 children in Jordan are born with hearing disabilities every year and they need help to be able to hear and speak. He added that the chance for these children to hear and speak normally is great if there is adequate medical intervention before they are six years old.

According to the Crown Prince’s website, the vision behind the project is to “have a Jordan free from hearing disabilities, and the mission is to provide all support and assistance for the rehabilitation of deaf children who receive cochlear implants, to provide the needed language therapy and training for these children and to create community awareness on the cause of deafness.” 

AMMAN — Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Ziad Fariz expected the national economy growth rate to remain around 2.5 per cent for 2015 and increase to around 3.2 per cent in 2016, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

The government expected the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 4 per cent in the 2015 budget law; however, the growth rate reached 2.6 per cent by the end of the third quarter of that year. 

Speaking to board of directors' presidents and executive managers of banks around the Kingdom, Fariz said that the revenues of banks before taxes grew by 6 per cent in 2015, amounting to JD874 million compared to JD822 million in 2014.

He stressed the importance of cooperation among all stakeholders in the financial industry to achieve higher growth and better life conditions for the public, highlighting that Jordan’s condition is promising despite the tough conditions in the region.

The total assets of banks operating in the Kingdom increased more than the GDP, reaching 5 per cent, making the total amount of assets  JD46.7 billion in 2015, Fariz said, adding that credit facilities grew by 10 per cent in 2015, compared to the year before.

The source of worry is the increasing rate of unemployment, he said, which amounted to 13 per cent, growing especially among young people. 

The CBJ’s reserves of foreign currency increased to around $14 billion by the end of February, except for gold, Fariz said, noting that the overall budget deficit, both state and independent government agencies, was around 3.5 per cent in 2015.

The Kingdom also faces the problem of the increasing net public debt, internal and external, which constituted around 86.5 per cent of the GDP for 2015, according to the CBJ governor.

He added that the external net public debt service is almost insignificant in the balance of payments; however, the total public debt service is over  JD1 billion a year,  which constitutes a burden given its ration to the public budget.

Due to the unstable conditions in the region, there has been a decrease by 4.9 per cent in the tourism income in 2015, Fariz said, noting that expatriates’ remittances preserved acceptable levels of growth albeit lower than the figures recorded previously.

The dollarisation in the Kingdom has decreased to 16.9 per cent in January, compared to the 24.8 per cent it reached in 2011 which was the highest percentage, Fariz added.

Jordan’s reserves of foreign currency increased to JD14.153 billion, while the ratio of inflation decreased, as well as the budget deficit to 3.5 per cent compared to 8.3 per cent since the implementation of the economic correction programme, according to Fariz.

AMMAN — The UN Development Programme (UNDP) celebrates this month five decades of efforts to realise a “better” world through investing in plans that contribute to sustainable development.

Since 1966, the UNDP has been working in more than 120 countries, to eradicate poverty, reduce inequality, and help states develop policies and institutional capabilities. 

“We do not have a special agenda. Our agendas are set by the national priorities,” said UNDP Country Director Zena Ali Ahmad on Tuesday. 

At a media briefing prior to the official celebration of the agency’s 50 years in service, she highlighted projects implemented in Jordan throughout the UNDP mandate in the Kingdom, which extends to 40 years. 

The UNDP is currently engaged in projects deemed “crucial” to the Kingdom, including poverty reduction, water and energy, training, unemployment, good governance, elections and municipalities. 

“The UNDP was one of the few entities that realised the impact of the Syrian influx on the host communities and worked to mitigate the problem,” said Ahmad.

To this end, the UN agency has established 600 micro projects — of which 240 are led by women — created 1,800 job opportunities and targeted 12,000 beneficiaries through training and support in regions hit-hard by the Syrian influx. 

On the other hand, the UNDP has cooperated with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to draw up the Jordan Response Plan for the Syrian refugee crises. 

“Our budget for Jordan stands at $25 million in 2016,” said Ahmad, noting that $50 million were allocated for the agency’s 2013-2017 programme in Jordan. 

“However, this figure has doubled with the increase of Syrian refugees,” she noted, adding that the fund will start supporting Zarqa’s new refugee host community as well as Irbid and Mafraq. 

The fund is also engaged in waste and water management schemes, through which it is able to create a “development dimension”. 

Ahmad indicated that the UN fund will soon launch a project to combat terrorism that would target young people and the media.   

The UNDP, according to its country director, is committed to establishing “solid” partnerships with Jordanian stakeholders to best serve the interests of local communities. 

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents arrested 226 suspected drug dealers in the second half of February, according to a Public Security Department (PSD) statement released on Tuesday.

In 129 cases over the past two weeks, AND personnel confiscated 39kg of hashish, 21kg of synthetic cannabis (locally known as “joker”), 11,000 narcotic pills, 1kg of heroin and eight weapons, the PSD statement said. 

In one of these cases, AND agents raided a house in the Northern Badia on Monday, arresting three suspects.

Upon searching the house, they found 10kg of hashish and 2,000 narcotic pills, according to the PSD. In a raid conducted on Sunday in the Southern Badia, two suspects were arrested for selling narcotics. They were found in possession of 15 palm-sized sheets of hashish and a firearm. 

In Maan, some 220km south of Amman, two suspects were arrested. AND agents found 1kg of heroin, two firearms and an automatic weapon in their possession.

In Mafraq, around 80km northeast of Amman, four suspects were arrested. AND personnel seized 4,000 narcotic pills, 2kg of hashish and two firearms in the arrest, the PSD said.

Earlier this week, AND Director Brig. Gen. Anwar Tarawneh said the department’s personnel arrested 14,000 drug users from different nationalities last year.

In previous remarks, he said that 1,216 people were treated at AND’s rehabilitation centre for drug users last year. 

AMMAN — At this time of the year, Romanian women residing in Jordan look back on their childhood, when they would wait for the first day of March all winter long to observe the “Martisor” tradition.

Martisor is a diminutive of “Martie”, the Romanian word for March, to celebrate rebirth and regeneration, embodied in an amulet offered to loved ones (also called a Martisor) that symbolises purity, innocence and love towards women, as well as the optimism of springtime.

Celebrated on the first day of March, the tradition is that men generally give women a decorated string in white and red as a hope that they will always be strong and healthy for the year to come.

“I used to be very happy as a little school girl when my male classmates gifted me Martisoare [the plural of Martisor],” said Jenita Lebade, adding that each girl would claim hers are the most beautiful.

Roxana Shadeh agreed, adding that she used to pin more than one Martisor on her clothes and wear them as bracelets too. 

Now living in Jordan, the women continue to honour this occasion to this day, passing it on to their children.

To keep the tradition alive, Nela Marcela Najdawi, who has been living in Jordan over the past 30 years, said she takes part in competitions for handmade Martisoare. 

Although Martisoare are available in the market at affordable prices, making them by hand is important for Romanian women, as it brings them together.

Because spring is closely connected to flowers, Najdawi said she prefers to design Martisoare with flowers and snowflakes.

Rodica Slovineanla said she passes the tradition on to her children and tells her Jordanian neighbours about it.

Cernaianu Lenardo, the Romanian embassy’s deputy head of mission, said over time, people started attaching silver and gold coins to the Martisor that they would later use to buy sweet white cheese and red wine.

“People believed that their faces would remain beautiful and white as cheese and rubicund as the red wine for an entire year,” Lenardo told The Jordan Times.

He noted that men enjoy giving Martisor to women — to wives, friends or co-workers. 

Some men tie Martisoare to flowers or jewellery and gift them to women. 

“It is a nice gesture that shows appreciation for women who symbolise life,” Lenardo said, adding that March in Romania usually comes after a very harsh winter.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday insisted on its amendments to the residency and foreigner affairs and the domanial money collection laws.

During Tuesday’s session, MPs rejected the Senate’s changes to the two laws, insisting that foreigners have to pay JD50 annually to renew their residency permits under their amendments to the Residency and Foreigner Affairs Law.

As per their amendments to the 2015 draft domanial money collection law, MPs insisted on removing a provision imposing a 9 per cent fine annually on unpaid dues.

The Senate had rejected MPs’ changes to the residency law, insisting that the value of fees for residency ID renewal be determined by a special by-law. 

When deliberating the 2015 draft domanial money collection law, senators had decided to keep the provision imposing a 9 per cent fine annually on unpaid dues as in the government’s version of the law. 

But deputies passed the 2015 amendments to the Higher Education Accreditation Commission Law as referred from the Senate.

The House also referred the draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters signed between Jordan and the US to its Legal Committee for review. 

The Chamber has previously decided to postpone its deliberations of the draft treaty until it received a full copy of the agreement. Some lawmakers had accused the government of approving an agreement that violates the Kingdom’s sovereignty. 

Attending the session, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour explained that the accord grants each country the right to reject extending assistance to the other if it harms its interests or sovereignty. 

Also on Tuesday, around 40 MPs signed a memorandum, calling for activating Article 4 of the Juveniles Law under which the concerned authorities should expunge all charges previously registered against juveniles once they turn 18.

Signatories of the memo cited the move’s contributions to facilitating the young people’s reintegration into their societies. 

In another memorandum signed by 30 lawmakers, signatories requested that the House presidency mediate in resolving the issue of Palestinian lawmaker Najat Abu Baker.

Abu Baker, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, has been summoned by the attorney general for interrogation in Ramallah over her support for a teacher strike in the West Bank, according to the Palestinian Information Centre.

AMMAN — The Cassation Court will start reviewing a Criminal Court ruling sentencing a 21-year-old man to death after convicting him of engaging in sexual activities with a minor in 2014.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of engaging in sexual activities with a minor under 12 years old and handed him the death penalty last week, a senior judicial source said on Tuesday.

The defendant confessed to the offence, informed the court he planned to marry the victim and asked to be pardoned based on Article 308 of the Penal Code, the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

Article 308 of the Penal Code stipulates that rapists, molesters and individuals engaged in consensual sex with girls under the age of 18 are spared punishment or legal prosecution if they marry their victims and stay with them for three years (in misdemeanour convictions) or five years (criminal conviction).

The victim also notified court that she wished to marry the defendant and that her family accepted his marriage proposal, the court added.

However, the two could not be wed as “the Chief Islamic Justice Department refused to tie the knot because the victim was under 15”, the judicial source explained. 

An amendment to the Personal Status Law in 2002 changed the legal age of marriage from 15 to 18 for both boys and girls, but left room for exceptions for marriages between the ages of 15 and 18 if the judge deems it would “benefit both spouses”.

Court papers said the victim, who was 11 years and nine months when the incidents occurred, and the defendant knew each other by phone and started meeting.

“Their relationship developed into a sexual one, and they engaged in sexual activities four times, then the matter was discovered,” court transcripts said.

Under the Jordanian Penal Code, engaging in sexual activities with a girl under the age of 12 is punishable by death, the judicial source said.

Sexual assaults against girls aged between 12 and 15 are punished by 15 years in prison, and if the girl loses her virginity, the punishment is raised to 20 years, the judicial source explained.

Perpetrators who assault teenage girls between the ages of 15 and 18 could receive a punishment of up to seven years, which could increase to 10 years if the victim lost her virginity in the process, the judicial source added.

AMMAN — The Health Ministry on Tuesday said there was no need to suspend classes in schools where some their students are diagnosed with H1N1 (swine) flu.

Ministry Spokesperson Hatem Azrui said schools are not required to close when any one of their students contract H1N1, because this type of flu is now deemed seasonal.

"Students with swine flu should receive the required treatment and get days off as determined by the doctor. There is no need for other students stay home," he said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The health and education ministries are coordinating over measures to be taken in such cases.

Azrui highlighted that there is a "noticeable decline" in the number of flu cases, particularly with the end of the cold season.

A private school in Amman has decided to suspend classes after a case of H1N1 was confirmed among its students.

Media reports also circulated a decision by Karak district education department to suspend classes in two schools for one week after registering swine flu cases.

In previous remarks, the Health Ministry said deaths caused by the disease do not exceed those caused by the seasonal flu, but no figures are available.

The majority of the deaths are among high-risk groups that include people who have respiratory problems, children or pregnant women, ministry officials have said.

They called on the public not to panic and to seek medical consultation once they feel the symptoms, which include diarrhoea, fever, and a sore throat.