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AMMAN — ‏Trade Minister Maha Ali on Saturday chaired a meeting to discuss a study on the prospect of Jordanian products finding a market in Africa. A specialised firm funded by USAID conducted the research in cooperation with the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister said the survey is important within the framework of the government’s efforts to find new markets for local products, particularly in African countries and to create the proper conditions to access these markets.

Ali said meetings have been held with African officials towards this end. The study included suggestions to ease export procedures, she added. The minister commended USAID for its support.

AMMAN — Civil Defence Department (CDD) personnel in Kufranjah on Friday extinguished a house fire caused by an electric short circuit, according to Ajloun CDD Director Col. Hani Smadi.

He added that CDD personnel extinguished the fire, which damaged the house’s furniture without causing injuries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — A Korean trade delegation from Daegu city on Thursday concluded business meetings with Jordanian companies in Amman, according to a Korea Business Centre, Amman (KOTRA) statement.

The delegates represented 10 companies specialised in manufacturing and exporting several items including contact lenses, cosmetics and solar street lighting. Discussions at the meetings covered the possibility of establishing joint investment projects, the KOTRA statement said. Korean Ambassador to Jordan Choi Hong-ghi attended the meetings.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday met with representatives of several leading American Jewish organisations over ways to revive the Middle East peace talks on the basis of the two-state solution.

At a meeting in Washington, King Abdullah highlighted the role of American Jewish organisations in pushing for a relaunch of the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations, expressing hopes that 2016 would see genuine progress in this direction, a Royal Court statement said.

The King also underlined that arriving at a just and lasting settlement of the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the key to solving the region's conflicts, warning that the absence of a peaceful solution is prone to ignite violence and radicalisation and would have consequences on the world's peace and stability, the statement said.

The King also stressed that terrorism is nowadays the number one challenge facing the entire world, indicating that confronting radical gangs is a top priority that requires intensified cooperation and coordination, according to the statement. 

Discussions also tackled the latest developments in war-torn Syria and efforts exerted to find a political solution to the ongoing conflict that can bring an end to bloodshed and the large-scale suffering of the Syrian people. 

His Majesty highlighted Jordan's burdens resulting from hosting around 1.3 million Syrian refugees.

He also stressed the tremendous impact of the crisis on the country’s infrastructure, health, education, water, energy and services sectors.

For their part, the American Jewish figures lauded the King’s relentless efforts to achieve peace and his vision to build a better future for the region’s people. They also spoke favourably of the King’s moderate policies and his efforts to promote the values of tolerance and coexistence.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Vice President of Government Affairs at J Street Dylan Williams, described the King’s meeting with US President Obama as fruitful. The meeting, he added, reflected the importance of strong bilateral relations, which, he said, are a priority for anyone who wants to see a stable and prosperous Middle East.

American Jewish Committee Director of Government and International Affairs Jason Isaacson underlined Jordan’s pivotal role led by King Abdullah in pushing the peace process forward in order to achieve security and stability in the Middle East.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Director of the King’s Office Jafar Hassan and Jordanian Ambassador in Washington Alia Hatoug Bouran.

AMMAN — The summit His Majesty King Abdullah held with US President Barack Obama this week “testifies to the credibility and balanced positions of Jordan” on regional crises and issues of global nature.

In particular, analysts referred in phone interviews with The Jordan Times to the Kingdom’s consistent stand on the Syrian crisis, advocating a political solution to restore stability in the neighbouring country.

The commentators added that Obama’s remarks following the White House meeting with His Majesty stressed the pivotal, positive and constructive role Jordan plays in pushing for peaceful means to resolve conflicts.

As world powers are currently pushing for a political solution to the Syrian five-year-old civil war, Jordan has repeatedly stressed that an American-Russian consensus is needed for a political solution to succeed in ending the cycle of violence.

“Jordan enjoys  high credibility globally, but in the Syrian case, no one listened carefully to what the Kingdom has been saying, as the King was the first to call for a political solution in Syria,” said Mohammad Al Tal, chief editor of Ad Dustour daily, adding that if the world had heeded the advice from the beginning, there would not have been the massive destruction that we see today in Syria.

Following his meeting with the Monarch in Washington, Obama said that he gave firsthand briefings to the King on conversations he had with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the cessation of hostilities agreement that was expected to go into effect Friday. 

Obama said if violence in Syria decreases over the next several weeks, it would be a basis to elongate the ceasefire in the north and south and “allow us to move forward on the political transition that ultimately is going to be necessary to bring an end to the civil war in Syria”.

“The US is keen to coordinate with Jordan, which is a key ally for the country in the region. In addition, Jordan is directly affected by the situation in southern Syria and Obama’s keenness to brief the King on discussions with Putin stresses Jordan’s key role in the situation and an understanding of Jordan’s concern for its security,” Al Tal added.

Jawad Anani, former Royal Court chief and several-time minister, said: “Obama could not have said anything better on the relationship with Jordan,” adding that the timing of the summit meeting was very significant, when Jordan is playing an influential role in addressing an array of regional issues with a global impact. The increasing support Washington is extending to Amman is an indication that the Americans appreciate whatthe country is doing. 

Tareq Momani, chief editor of Al Rai daily, said Obama stressed the   US’ continued support to Jordan and recognition of the Kingdom’s relentless efforts to fight terrorism and generosity in opening its doors for Syrians fleeing the violence in their country.

“Whether it’s fighting ISIL [Daesh], reducing the violence in Syria and trying to get that country on track for political reconciliation, trying to bring Israelis and Palestinians to recognise their shared interest in peace — on all these issues, our countries have been in sync,” said Obama in remarks to the press after Wednesday’s meeting.

“Obama clearly referred to His Majesty’s efforts in pushing for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis at a time that the issue is overshadowed by regional developments,” Momani said.

AMMAN — Although the term of the Lower House ends in January 2017, parliamentarians and analysts foresee a dissolution this year to prepare for new elections, and, automatically, the departure of the incumbent government.

The House on Tuesday passed the draft 2015 parliamentary elections law with minor changes following six sessions of debate that began Sunday.

Commentators interviewed by The Jordan Times agreed that no solid proof can be cited to substantiate their theory, except the “acceleration of the endorsement of the elections poll by the House”, which seemed to some as “imposed from outside”.

All expected scenarios boil down to what His Majesty King Abdullah decides in line with his constitutional powers. As per the Constitution, only the King is entitled to dissolve Parliament before its term ends, keep it sitting untill the end of the four-year term, or prolong the term of the chamber for a period of “not less than one year and not more than two years”.

“It is up to the King when to dissolve the Lower House,” said Khaled Kalaldeh, minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, who declined to comment on the scenarios expected.

The first possibility is to dissolve the legislature in May upon the conclusion of the ordinary session and hold the elections within four months. The second is to dissolve it in July, in case there was a need to convene Parliament for an extraordinary session, and conduct the elections in November.

Paragraph A of article 73 of the Constitution states that “If the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, a general election shall be held, and the new Chamber shall convene in an extraordinary session not later than four months from the date of dissolution. Such session shall be deemed to be an ordinary session in accordance with the provisions of Article 78 of the present Constitution and shall be subject to the conditions prescribed therein in respect of prolongation or adjournment”.

The third scenario is to dissolve the Parliament in January 2017, when the chamber ends its Constitutional term. The fourth possibility, of course, is to keep the current legislature in session up to two additional years.  

Waleed Hosni, a veteran Parliament correspondent, said that regardless of all these options, it is likely that the elections would take place this year, because even if the Parliament remains in session until the end of its term, the polls, according to the Constitution, must be conducted four months prior to January 17. He did not see any reasons that would prevent holding new polls, whether the current legislature is dissolved or left to end its tenure. 

Long-time lawmaker Khalil Atieh sensed a “political will” to have the bill passed as soon as possible. In that outcome, he said, the new polls are likely to take place this year.

 “The way in which the law was endorsed by the House and the brief time MPs needed to debate it indicates there is a political will to conduct the elections this year,” Atieh told The Jordan Times.

House members Wafa Bani Mustapha and Abdul Karim Dughmi agreed that the elections would be conducted “soon”.

To Dughmi, the legislative reform package is now in place, so “why the wait?”

The other reform-oriented laws are the Political Parties Law, Decentralisation Law and Municipalities Law.  

“Although some argue that the elections might not be conducted while regional crises are raging around us, we have our internal priorities and regional turmoil should not affect the country’s political process,” Bani Mustapha told The Jordan Times.

The government, according to parliamentary affairs expert Majid Ameer,  is expected to stay in office as long as the Parliament is in session.

“Once the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved, the government will resign and a new government will handle the elections,” Ameer told The Jordan Times.

AMMAN — Analysts on Thursday attributed the decline in sales tax revenues the government collected during the first 11 months of last year to the drop in international oil prices. 

Finance Ministry figures show that sales tax revenues dropped by JD36 million until the end of November of last year to JD2.539 billion from JD2.575 billion in the same period of 2014. 

Economist Mufleh Akel said the drop in sales tax revenues was mainly caused by the drop in international oil prices, which reflected on fuel prices in the domestic market.

In November 2012, the government ended subsidies on fuel products and has since then updated local prices on a monthly basis to reflect oil costs on the global market. 

“The drop in oil prices internationally is bad news for the government because the Treasury loses tens of millions of dinars,” Akel told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that a tax rate of nearly 40 per cent is levied on fuel products. 

Analyst and columnist at Al Rai daily Issam Qadamani agreed with Akel, adding that slow economic activity is also to blame for the decline in revenues. 

He noted that demand for goods and services was weaker last year, compared with 2014. 

Qadamani indicated that in 2015, the government lowered sales tax rates on clothes and accessories to boost demand, but said that consumers seemed to spend less on such items as they prioritised essential commodities. 

In 2014, he said, oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel, while 2015 saw unprecedented sharp declines. 

“The higher oil prices are, the more revenues the government makes out of fuel products,” the analyst said. 

Overall domestic revenues, tax and non-tax, dropped by JD13.5 million in the first 11 months of last year to around JD5.286 billion from JD5.299 billion recorded in the same period of 2014, according to official figures.

AMMAN — Spring-like weather is expected for the weekend as a warm air mass affecting the country will push temperatures well above their annual average for this time of the year, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

The warm air mass, brought by southeasterly winds, started affecting the country on Wednesday and is expected to prevail until next week, said a JMD meteorologist, who preferred to remain unnamed. 

"The weather during the weekend will be sunny and pleasant. Temperatures will be 5^oC to 7^oC above their annual average of 15ºC for this time of the year," the weather forecaster added on Thursday.

It will be warm on Friday and temperatures will range between a high of 22ºC and a low of 9ºC in Amman, while winds will be southeasterly moderate to brisk at times, the forecaster said, noting that light night showers are forecast in the eastern region.

More sunny and fair weather is forecast for Saturday, when temperatures will be 21ºC during the day and 8ºC at night-time in the capital, while winds will remain southeasterly, turning to northwesterly in the afternoon.

A slight rise in mercury levels is forecast for Sunday, when temperatures will be 22ºC during the day and 9ºC at night in the capital, according to the JMD, which said that winds will be easterly moderate.

As the weather warms up, more people head to picnicking locations, said the Ministry of Agriculture spokesperson, Nimer Haddadin, calling on those enjoying the warm weather to safeguard the country's nature.

"People are urged to avoid littering in forests and picnicking sites and to pick their trash when leaving. We are also calling on people to avoid lighting fires in forests to prevent wildfires," Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) recently banned argileh (water pipe) and barbeques at the King Abdullah Parks, which receives 15,000 visitors on weekends, according to its media centre.

The step seeks to preserve the parks' facilities and provide a safe picnicking environment for their visitors, GAM said.

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a Criminal Court ruling sentencing two Sri Lankan domestic helpers to life in prison for murdering and robbing a 50-year-old woman in Fuheis in 2013.

The two defendants were convicted of choking the woman, identified as Sally E., to death with her bathrobe belt at her home on July 24, 2013, and stealing her jewellery. 

The court said one of the defendants worked as a domestic helper for the woman on Wednesdays and saw a safe full of jewellery and gold, so she told her friend about it and they planned to rob the woman.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the domestic worker helped her friend sneak into the house without the knowledge of the owner. 

The owner had to leave, so the defendants waited for her to return in order to take the safe key from her to steal her valuables.

While the victim was away, court transcripts said, several workers came to her house to fix the water cooler and the defendants told them that the owner was not home.

The workers waited in the yard, but one of them had to go to the Khalda area to buy a tool to fix the cooler, according to the court papers.

The woman came back to her house and was attacked by the two defendants, who “overpowered her and choked her with her own bathrobe rope”, the court papers said.

“The two defendants managed to open the safe, emptied its contents in several bags and left the house quickly, passing by the workers who were sitting on the house’s stairs waiting for their colleague,” the court added.

Meanwhile, the workers called the colleague who went to buy the tool and told him that the owner of the house had returned, but when they tried to reach her, she would not answer the door or her phone, the court verdict said.

“The workers called the police and informed them that two domestic helpers had left the house in a hurry with some bags and were acting in a suspicious manner,” the court said.

The Criminal Court decided to amend the premeditated murder charges to manslaughter “because the two defendants did not plot to murder the victim”.

The attorney general appealed the verdict, demanding capital punishment for both suspects and “arguing that the two women had planned to murder the victim five hours before she came home”.

However, the Cassation Court rejected the attorney general's argument, ruling that the Criminal Court’s verdict was correct.

The Cassation Court comprised judges Mahmoud Ababneh, Basel Abu Anzeh, Yassin Abdullat, Mohammad Tarawneh and Hussein Sakaran.

AMMAN — The army said on Thursday that Border Guards received 77 Syrian refugees during the previous 24 hours. 

Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps, and Royal Medical Services cadres treated the injured, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.