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AMMAN — Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel have arrested several suspects in connection with the premeditated murder of an Irbid resident, the Public Security Department (PSD) said Sunday. The victim was admitted to a hospital on May 12, 2015 after a report showed he fell while he was with his friends, the PSD said, adding that he died in hospital after a month-and-a-half, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

A CID agent investigating the case received a tip off that a friend of the victim hit him on the head with a blunt instrument, the PSD noted, adding that CID agents identified the suspect and arrested him. The suspect confessed to the crime and said he agreed with the victim’s other friends to report that he fell. The case was referred to the Criminal Court, with the main suspect facing premeditated murder charges and his accomplices facing charges of concealing a crime, Petra added.

AMMAN — Following a week off, the Lower House is scheduled to resume meetings on Tuesday to discuss a US-Jordan draft treaty that was put on hold until the full text was received by lawmakers. 

MPs took a week-long vacation following the six sessions they spent on the 2015 draft elections law, which they passed on last Tuesday. 

The House’s seven-day vacation was the longest so far after MPs were off for four days from January 15 to 19 following their endorsement of the 2016 draft state budget law.

The 150-strong House is scheduled to discuss the draft Treaty of Mutual Assistance on Criminal Matters signed between Jordan and the US.

On February 15, the Chamber decided to postpone its deliberation of the draft treaty until it received a full copy of the agreement. Some lawmakers accused the government of approving an agreement that violates the Kingdom’s sovereignty. 

At the time, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour apologised for not sending the agreement’s supplement, stressing lawmakers’ right to know everything regarding the treaty and calling for an investigation into why it arrived incomplete to the House.

On Sunday, the House Legal Committee completed its review of the 2015 draft integrity and anti-corruption law to be referred to the Chamber for deliberations.

MP Abdul Munim Odat, chair of the panel, said the bill aims at ensuring compliance with the National Integrity Charter in addition to enhancing anti-corruption tools and combating attempts at character assassination. 

As per the law, the Ombudsman Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Commission will be integrated into one entity called the national centre for integrity and anti-corruption.

Also on Sunday, the House Financial Committee concluded its review of the Audit Bureau’s 2009-2012 report to be referred next week to the Chamber.  

AMMAN — The Ministry of Public Works is expected to float a tender for the implementation of the desert highway rehabilitation project within two weeks, Minister Sami Halaseh said on Sunday.

Funded by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), the project’s total cost is $170 million, divided into a $65 million grant signed last November and a $105 million soft loan, the minister told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Halaseh noted that the ministry on Saturday addressed the final funding agreement to the SFD, adding that floating the tender will take place “immediately” after the paperwork between the two sides is finalisation.

The agreement entails a complete rebuilding of the 220km road, which runs from the Queen Alia International Airport intersection to Maan Governorate, he said.

Work will be carried out over six stages, each covering around 30 to 35km of the road, over a total duration of 18 months, according to the minister. 

Halaseh highlighted the desert highway as the main road linking the capital to the southern region, particularly the Aqaba port, citing increased traffic on the road after the Syrian border was closed some two years ago.

The desert road extends from Amman to Aqaba and passes through Karak, Tafileh and Maan.

Over the past few years, the desert road has witnessed several car accidents, mainly involving overturned vehicles, which resulted in many deaths.

AMMAN — One of Taiwan’s leading LED light firms will soon start working on a project to build a factory to manufacture LED street lighting units in Jordan, Ali Yang, the representative of the Commercial Office of the Republic of China (Taiwan), said on Sunday.

The Taiwanese firm will implement the project in cooperation with Saudi Prince Khaled Bin Al Waleed Bin Talal’s company.

The factory will help transfer Taiwanese technology in the field of manufacturing LED lights to Jordan and will create several jobs, Yang told The Jordan Times in an interview.

“The factory will first focus on the local market and will later export its products to several countries in the region, which will play a key role in making Jordan a regional hub in this regard,” said the diplomat.

He noted that LED street lights consume 75 per cent less power than other types, playing a significant role in reducing energy consumption.

“Taiwan enjoys great expertise in this area and transferring the project will help transfer the technology and know-how of Taiwan to the country.” 

In regard to economic relations, Yang said the trade volume between Jordan and Taiwan rose to $410 million in 2015, compared to $370 million in 2014. 

Jordan’s exports to Taiwan, mainly potash and phosphate, rose by 40 per cent in 2015.

“There are five major Taiwanese textile factories in Jordan with a total investment of around $450 million,” Yang said.

These employ some 6,000 workers, of whom around 25 per cent are Jordanians, according to the diplomat.

Textile and garment exports by the Taiwanese factories in Jordan stand at about $300 million per year, accounting for about 30 per cent of Jordan’s overall textile and garment exports, he said.

Pledging continued support to the Kingdom to help it deal with the influx of Syrian refugees, Yang said the recent decision by the EU to simplify the rules of origin for Jordanian products is likely to play an important role in creating jobs.

“When such jobs are created and some products are being made by Syrian refugees, it might be a good idea to label these products with labels informing buyers that these products are made by Syrian refugees. These products can be sold at a little bit higher price and will … ensure turnout to help in this cause, as buyers can give back and support Syrians this way,” he added. 

AMMAN — With the weather starting to warm up, authorities on Sunday urged picnickers to avoid lighting fires at forests.

"Trees easily catch fire because they are surrounded by dry bushes and broken branches, in addition to the fact that resin makes trees easily flammable," Agriculture Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Stressing that the majority of wild fires are started by illegal loggers, he warned that picnickers' negligence to properly put out the fires they start for barbeque is also responsible for the destruction of hundreds of centennial forest trees every year.

"We won't be able to ban picnickers from lighting fires at forests; therefore, we are asking them to at least make sure they put them out properly," Haddadin noted.

During sunny and warm weekends, rangers of the ministry's Forestry Department will increase patrol over popular picnicking sites, the government official said.

"The rangers will also approach picnickers to raise their awareness on the dangers of lighting fires at forest areas and also educate them on the right way to put out fires," Haddadin noted.

He urged picnickers to completely extinguish fires before departure, calling on them to pour water over the fire, turn wood and coals over to wet all sides and all remaining ash and to spread soil onto the fire site and mix.

Forests in Jordan constitute less than 1 per cent of the country’s total area of 97,000 square kilometres, making Jordan among the poorest countries worldwide in terms of forest cover, with the internationally accepted average of land covered by forests standing at 15 per cent of the total area.

A total of 1,982 violations on forest lands have been registered since 2002, when an agriculture law was drafted with penalties on those who allocate, designate, sell or barter forest lands, according to the ministry.

Forestry lands amount to 1.5 million dunums, of which 250,000 dunums are bare, 400,000 dunums are natural forests, 500,000 dunums are planted forests and 350,000 are nature reserves, according to the ministry's figures.

New regulations are now being drafted to disallow issuing commuted sentences to those involved in forest violations, according to the ministry.

AMMAN — A police officer who was shot during a brawl in Tafileh on Saturday night is recovering in hospital, official sources said.

The officer, a corporal, was shot during an altercation with a group of people in a neighbourhood in Tafileh, some 180km southwest of Amman, late Saturday night, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“The officer was part of a patrol that was in a neighbourhood when he was struck in the stomach, but his condition is excellent, because the bullet hit him in a non-fatal area,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The officer remains hospitalised for further medical attention, Sartawi said.

The police official said five people were arrested in connection with the shooting of the officer.

“We still don't know the cause of the shooting and are currently questioning the five individuals to learn more about the incident,” he said.

Sartawi added that investigators are trying to determine who fired at the officer to refer him to the judiciary.

Local media outlets reported that the officer was part of a police force that was looking for wanted suspects and that “he was shot while arresting a group of people”.

AMMAN — Only 3 per cent of victims of gender-based violence would seek support from the police after experiencing violence, a local study revealed on Sunday.

The study said societal pressures to reject claims of violence against women persist within the justice system. 

Other challenges in the management of victims' complaints, according to the study, include the lack of standard operating procedures and the uneven understanding of women’s vulnerabilities.

The findings were revealed in a study titled "Strengthening the Jordanian Justice Sector's Response to Cases of Violence against Women", released on Sunday by UN Women in a press conference at Amman's Landmark Hotel. 

“One in three women in Jordan has been a victim of physical violence at least once since the age of 15, and nearly one in 10 women has experienced sexual violence,” UN Women Jordan Representative Giuseppe Belsito told reporters. 

Providing justice for the victims of violence is not only a core legal principle but also the first step to build a fairer and more equal society, he said. 

“As UN Women, we stand ready to support those who are at [the] forefront of this process, building the capacity of the justice sector to ensure predictable and timely assistance to the victims and easing their difficult journey of recovery,” the UN official stressed. 

Developed in collaboration with the Arab Women Legal Network (AWLN), the study analysed how the justice sector currently responds to cases of violence against women, and how survivors of violence perceive and experience seeking legal redress through the Jordanian justice system, said Judge Ihsan Barakat, an AWLN member.

“We want to use the study to understand the reasons why women victims of domestic violence do not resort to the justice system for help and what we can do to encourage them to seek their rights,” she said.

The study revealed that the sample of judges, prosecutors and lawyers interviewed do not regard violence against women as a systemic issue, Barakat noted.

She added that the survey also focused on the knowledge, attitudes and subjective norms, and environmental factors driving justice sector personnel’s actions on these cases and associations between these factors.

AWLN Secretary General Hadeel Abdul Azeez explained that the study consisted of interviews with victims of gender-based violence to assess their experience in the justice sector, as well as interviews with 168 justice sector personnel.

This pilot project does not aim to create a large volume of data but rather to shed light on areas that needed to be addressed, she said.

“In line with the current legislative framework, judges appear more cautious when dealing with cases involving sexual violence,” Abdul Azeez said. 

The study recommended introducing and mainstreaming comprehensive procedures for filing and receiving complaints, and handling cases in the justice sector, which are expected to improve the safety of women making complaints, she added. 

Other suggestions from the study included improving the information about complaint procedures available to women, “because it is expected to significantly reduce their perceived powerlessness and vulnerability when resorting to legal institutions”, according to Abdul Azeez.

The study also recommended addressing gaps in the knowledge, skills and attitudes of all justice sector personnel, she said.

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh on Sunday received a medal from the Arab Tourism Organisation in recognition of the King’s efforts to support joint Arab action in different sectors, including tourism.

Tarawneh conveyed His Majesty’s appreciation of the organisation’s gesture, which is also an award for Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Bandar Al Fehaid, head of the organisation, said the medal is a sign of the organisation’s “admiration of the Kingdom’s developed tourism sector”.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 239 Syrian refugees during the past 72 hours and took them to camps, a Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army statement said Sunday.

Royal Medical Services cadres treated the sick and injured refugees.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Muna on Sunday attended the graduation of the first MA class of paediatric nursing at the Princess Muna College for Nursing, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times. At the end of the ceremony, Princess Muna presented the graduates with their certificates.