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AMMAN — Although Jordanian film "Theeb" did not win the Oscar this year for best foreign motion picture, the fact that it was nominated is an honour in and of itself, Jordanians said on social media on Monday.

The Hungarian Holocaust film "Son of Saul" snatched the Academy Award instead. Other nominees included Danish-Afghan conflict drama "A War", Colombia's "Embrace of the Serpent" and the Turkish-French-German "Mustang".

"An epic film, a brilliant team, and a beautiful adventure! @TheebFilm proud of you for taking #Jordan to the #Oscars," Her Majesty Queen Rania tweeted after the Oscar ceremony.

HRH Prince Ali, chairman of the Royal Film Commission's board of commissioners, also voiced his pride in the film's cast and crew.

"Congratulations to all who worked on Theeb; You didn't come home with the Oscar but you are our Jordanian stars! You make us all so proud," he tweeted.

The RFC's official Twitter account also quoted HRH Princess Rym Ali, RFC's executive commissioner, as saying: "Theeb's journey is one of success that made Jordanians proud. Thanks to Theeb’s team for having taken us all to the Oscars!"

Hours ahead of the 88th Academy Awards ceremony, many Jordanians started sharing photos of the film's cast and crew on the red carpet.

Others said that even the film did not win the Oscar, it remains a big hit because it has won many awards and reached such an advanced stage. 

Since its release in international film festivals in August 2014, “Theeb”, directed and co-scripted by Naji Abu Nowar, has been screened in 25 countries, won 18 awards, including Best Director at the Venice Film Festival, according to the movie’s distributor, MAD Solutions.

Earlier in February, Abu Nowar and producer Robert Lloyd won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Outstanding Debut by British Writer, Director or Producer.

The feature, a coming-of-age tale set in the Arabian Desert of 1916, is the first Jordanian film to earn an Oscar nomination.

Hassan Azmi Hijazi posted on Facebook that the movie is a source of pride for him and his fellow Jordanians. 

"Hard luck #Theeb you make us #Proud!" he added.  

Nawal Sbool said the movie provided a space for Jordanians to showcase their potential to the whole world.  

"Theeb [opened] a door for all Jordanian talents... That by itself is much bigger than an Oscar!" she wrote on Facebook. 

The film, co-written by Bassel Ghandour, follows Theeb, a young bedouin boy, and his brother Hussein as they leave the safety of their tribe to venture on a treacherous journey at the dawn of the Great Arab Revolt.

Abed Salamehh (@Abdsalamehh) said having a Jordanian film reach the Oscars is a successful achievement. 

"I'm just going to say that being nominated for an Oscar is a big deal for every actor and director so I'm proud of #Theeb cast no matter what," he tweeted.

AMMAN — Students from the University of Jordan (UJ) on Monday continued their protest on campus after staying overnight to express their rejection of the hike in tuition fees.

Around 50 students participated in a sit-in in front of UJ's administration building.

Protesters said the tuition fees for post-graduate programmes were raised almost three years ago by 100 to 180 per cent.

Ahmad Mustafa, one of the protesters, said the protest, held by the Student Rally for the Cancellation of the Tuition Fee Hike group was “peaceful” and students could talk to the council of deans and the board of trustees. 

“Several local media outlets circulated false information; there were minor clashes between a few individuals, not among groups or with campus security,” Mustafa said.   

Alaa Hijjeh, a fifth-year civil engineering student, claimed he was assaulted by another student from the university on Monday morning after the overnight stay.

“I was heading to the Faculty of Arts when a group of people followed me and said I have to leave the university. One of them beat me and I had to defend myself,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Students said the activist was asking for “the right of education for all” in the protest and a group of students replied “in an uncivilised manner” to the his demands. 

MP Hind Fayez attended the protest late on on Sunday night and discussed issues with students to address them in Parliament, according to students. 

Mustafa said Fayez promised students to address the issue and discuss it at the Lower House and that she will be contacting the university's president to reach a solution. 

The UJ administration and media office were not available for comment on Monday despite several attempts by The Jordan Times. 

Later on Monday, Mustafa said Public Security Department personnel dispersed the protest.

For his part, Adnan Badran, chairman of UJ’s board of trustees, said the university administration raised the fees to narrow the university's budget deficit.

“[The administration] decided to avoid raising tuition fees for the regular programme, in which around 65 to 70 per cent of students are enrolled,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Badran, a former prime minister, noted that the parallel programme, whose tuition fees were also raised, is usually more expensive than the regular programme, while post-graduate programmes are “optional”. 

He added that the university covers 60 per cent of the expenses of regular programme students.

“To afford the university’s expenses and loans, we raised the fees. It is the only logical solution since most students in the parallel and international programmes are relatively well-off.”

According to Badran, the largest ratio of UJ students are enrolled in the regular programme; therefore, the hike only affects less than 20 per cent of students. 

The official said the financial support UJ receives from the government only covers 5 per cent of its expenses.

Commenting on the protest, he said: “We understand their demands, but we have to face reality and deal with the challenges the university faces.”

Badran said that for the administration to reverse the decision, the protesters have to provide it with a viable alternative, or else, the university would be closed.

“The university suffers from a deficit and has to repay around JD27 million in loans... we need to do something about this,” he stressed.

AMMAN — A First Instance Court on Monday sentenced a man who assaulted a teacher to prison, marking the second verdict of its kind in Jordan, according to the Jordan Teachers Association (JTA).

Last September, a teacher in Irbid was beaten by the father of one of his students. "The syndicate followed up on the case and refused all tribal interventions," JTA Spokesperson Ayman Okour told The Jordan Times on Monday, adding that the perpetrator was sentenced to six months in prison and fined JD1,300. 

Noting that 30 cases of attacks on teachers are currently being handled in Irbid courts, Okour underlined that "punishment is not the ultimate goal" of the JTA, but "activating the law in a way that deters assaults on educators is". 

“We did not want things to go this far. We have always hoped for the relationship between teachers and the local community to be more respectful, but the number and nature of attacks on educators have reached a dangerous point,” he noted, urging parents to
build bridges of communications with teachers "for students' best interest".

A court last year sentenced two assailants on teachers to prison in Aqaba when Judge Bassam Khawaldeh of the Aqaba Court of First Instance made the "unprecedented" ruling against a man and his wife who attacked two female teachers in 2014. 

The husband was sentenced to eight months in jail for incitement and the wife to one-year imprisonment for attacking the teachers.

Attacks on teachers are continuing even after the Cabinet approved amendments to the Penal Code last year that stiffen penalties against those who assault educators and medical personnel.

The amended law, which was referred to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau, stipulates no less than a one-year prison term for those who attack teachers, faculty members at colleges and universities, nurses and doctors while they are on duty. 

The punishment also applies if the educators or healthcare workers are attacked for an action or decision they have taken in their professional capacity.

Last year, the JTA registered more than 100 attacks on teachers.

AMMAN — Jordan and Germany on Monday signed agreements at a value of 32 million euros to improve water and wastewater services for communities hosting Syrian refugees in the northern and central regions.

Water Minister Hazem Nasser and German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle signed the two agreements, which aim at reducing the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees on the water and sewage infrastructure.

Under the first agreement, a local contractor and a German consortium will construct a 20km wastewater pipeline to transfer sewage from west Zarqa pumping station to As Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant, Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, noting that the new pipeline will replace the existing worn-out one.

"The new pipeline will have the capacity to transfer 120,000 cubic metres of wastewater per day from the capital, Zarqa Governorate, Ruseifa District and east Amman. It will also transfer wastewater from areas where the sewage network is being extended, such as Shafa Badran in Amman and Dahiyat Al Amirah Haya in Zarqa...," Nasser said.

The ministry's spokesperson, Omar Salameh, told The Jordan Times that the agreement is worth 28 million euros, 90 per cent of which is funded by the German Development Bank (KfW) and the remainder by the Water Authority of Jordan.

He underscored that construction on the project is scheduled to end in 18 months.

"Meanwhile, the second agreement seeks to improve the water supply systems of Al Akeb wells in the Northern Badia," Salameh highlighted.

A local contractor will be implementing the second agreement, under which 20km water pipelines will be established as well as a 4,000 cubic metre reservoir, Nasser said in the statement, noting that the project seeks to raise the water per capita share of host communities.

The project will cost JD4.4 million and is entirely funded by the KfW, according to Salameh.

Official figures indicate that since the Syrian crisis started nearly five years ago, demand for water in Jordan has risen by 21 per cent, while the annual per capita share dropped by 16 per cent.

The 2016-2025 National Water Strategy, announced in January, indicated that the per capita share dropped from 147 cubic metres per year to 123 cubic metres per year over the past five years.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday returned to the Kingdom after concluding an official visit to the US, during which he met with US President Barack Obama, a Royal Court statement said.

The meeting, attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, addressed ways to “entrench the strategic partnership between Jordan and the US, in light of the pivotal role Jordan is playing in the region”.

At a joint press conference following the talks, the two leaders stressed their keenness to maintain coordination and consultation as they deal with the challenges that face the region and the world and ways to enhance bilateral ties. 

AMMAN — The Kingdom marks the 60th anniversary of the Arabisation of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) on Tuesday. In 1956, His Majesty the late King Hussein Arabised the high command of JAF through the removal of British officers, particularly Lt. Gen. John Bagot Glubb, the British commander of the Arab Legion.

In March 1957, the Anglo-Jordanian Agreement was abrogated, followed by the evacuation of British forces from the Kingdom. On Monday His Majesty King Abdullah received cables of congratulations from senior officials and officers on the occasion, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday received a telephone call from Kuwait Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and stressed the "deep-rooted" relations between the two countries.

King Abdullah stressed that Jordan appreciates Kuwait's stands towards the Kingdom under all circumstances, according to a Royal Court statement. 

Sheikh Sabah expressed his pride in the "advanced level" of ties between Kuwait and Jordan.

The telephone conversation also addressed the latest developments in the Middle East, with both leaders voicing keenness to sustain cooperation and coordination to respond to the regional events in a way that serves Jordanian-Kuwaiti mutual interests and enhances Arab solidarity in the face of these challenges, the statement added.

In related developments, the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development has extended a $100 million loan to the government, which will re-lend the funds to small- and medium-sized enterprises to stimulate economy. 

The volume of Kuwaiti investments in Jordan has exceed $12 billion, spreading across various sectors, according to official figures. 

AMMAN — The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), in cooperation with the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, on Monday announced an agreement with the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), under which the latter would provide the government with a second loan worth $100 million.

The CBJ will re-lend the loan to banks and micro-financing companies working in the Kingdom, which will, in turn, re-lend it again to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The loan comes after the government's success in the management of the first World Bank loan of $70 million and the first AFESD loan of $50 million, which both benefited more than 11,000 projects and led to generating 2,600 jobs by the end of 2015.

The CBJ issued a circular to notify banks, encouraging those willing to participate in the effort “in line with clear and transparent criteria”, and published the message on its website (www.cbj.gov.jo) to enable entrepreneurs to have a first-hand look at requirements and lending conditions.

The central bank will also publish a list of the financial institutions involved, so that would-be beneficiaries would apply to these lenders, Petra added.

The CBJ has implemented several procedures to provide and enhance the infrastructure necessary to support the financing sector through expanding the bank’s oversight to include the micro-finance companies, enhance the protection of end users and disseminate a financial awareness culture in society, according to Petra.

In cooperation with the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation, the CBJ will establish a fund for loan guarantees for small- and medium-sized projects, which could have a positive impact, Petra said, as it is expected to boost the chances of targeted enterprises to receive financing, and, subsequently, boost the financial, economic and social stability in the Kingdom.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Monday floated a tender to build the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) road on the intersection of the Queen Rania and Yajouz streets.

The intersection is part of the first BRT route, which connects Sweileh Circle with the Sports City Circle and the Mahatta Bus Complex at a total length of 16km, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Construction work is scheduled to start in late May after GAM finishes receiving and assessing tenders, with GAM estimating the implementation period at six months, Petra added.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and Italian Ambassador to Jordan Giovanni Brauzzi on Monday discussed Italy’s commitment to supporting Jordan’s holistic approach to the Syrian refugee crisis, an Italian embassy statement said.

Talks also covered parliamentary relations as well as regional and international developments. The two officials expressed commitment to address major issues such as combating terrorism, the Syrian crisis and interfaith dialogue.

The ambassador also briefed Tarawneh on the $400 million aid package pledged in the London donor conference to support Jordan and Lebanon. The assistance for Jordan will include $150 million in grants, “with a strong focus on education”.