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AMMAN — Eighty per cent of the Kingdom's long-term annual average rainfall of 8 billion cubic metres has been achieved since the start of the wet season, an official said on Monday.

By Monday morning, Jordan had received 6.638 billion cubic metres of rainwater, according to an official at the Water Ministry, who noted that Ajloun Governorate received the most rain between Sunday and Monday morning — an amount of 46 millimetres (mm).

Figures from the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) indicate that Sweileh in north Amman received 37.2mm, the University of Jordan area 32mm, Madaba Governorate 27mm, Salt in Balqa Governorate 25mm, Shobak in Maan Governorate 24.6mm and Arrabeh in Karak Governorate 22.9mm.

The department said that until Monday morning, the eastern region of the Kingdom, including Safawi, Rweished and Azraq, received no rainfall, as well as Jafer and Aqaba in the south.

The Water Ministry said on Monday, in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the Kingdom's 10 major dams are now 59 per cent full, holding 191.94 million cubic metres (mcm) out of a total capacity of 325mcm.

The rainy and cold weather is the result of a cold air mass that started affecting the country on Sunday, bringing a significant amount of rain, especially to the northern and central regions.

Heavy downpour on Monday morning left many streets in Amman flooded with rainwater and caused two traffic lights in Sweileh and downtown Amman to malfunction.

Izzedin Shammout, spokesperson of the Greater Amman Municipality, said the two traffic lights were fixed promptly, noting that traffic police handled traffic movement in both locations while the lights were being fixed.

"The rain caused slow traffic movement on the streets of the capital but didn’t inundate any tunnels. Amman's problems during rain are aggravated by the fact that many households still link their drainpipes to wastewater manholes, causing them to overflow and flood the streets," Shammout told The Jordan Times.

A slight rise in temperatures is forecast for Tuesday, but the weather will remain cold and partly cloudy with chances of rain showers during the day, according to the JMD.

Temperatures will be three degrees below their annual average of 15ºC for this time of the year, while winds will be northwesterly moderate to brisk. Daytime temperatures will be 12ºC, dropping to a low of 6ºC at night in Amman.

A rise in temperatures is expected for Wednesday, when the weather will be relatively cold, but fair in Aqaba and the Jordan Valley. 

Temperatures will range between a maximum of 17ºC and a minimum of 7ºC in Amman, while winds will be southwesterly moderate turning to southeasterly moderate to slow at night, the JMD said.

A further rise in temperatures is forecast for Thursday, the JMD added, noting that winds will remain southeasterly moderate, while mercury levels will range between a high of 20ºC and a low of 8ºC at night in Amman.

AMMAN — The University of Jordan (UJ) on Sunday organised a "Youth, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day" for students, aiming to empower them and encourage them to create and start projects, organisers said.  

At the event, held by UJ’s Innovation Centre, the success stories of several leading figures in the society were shared with students to “guide them” regarding the possibility of implementing their own ideas and launching projects. 

Nearly 50 per cent of UJ students aspire to start their own businesses or work in the private sector, according to a recent survey by UJ's Centre for Strategic Studies, the university's president, Ekhleif Tarawneh, has said.

The survey also showed that around 45 per cent of a sample of 25,662 UJ students believe that the curricula at Jordanian universities depend on “spoon-feeding”, while nearly 53 per cent think the textbooks “not enough” to prepare students for the world outside campus. 

During the launch ceremony on Sunday, Tarawneh highlighted the university's quest to invest in the minds of students and guide them towards innovation and entrepreneurship.

"The university’s mission is not limited to the educational aspects only — it is about promoting... entrepreneurship and developing the potential of innovation in education in its different ways and means," he said. 

For her part, UJ Innovation Centre Director Arwa Hamaydeh stressed the centre's aim to attract new ideas from professors, students and creative minds.

Entrepreneur Maher Kaddoura said innovation should be mainstreamed in society in order to see more products made by Jordanians.

“The problem is that innovation is not encouraged here. The system does not support creative ideas. We don’t teach people to imagine, which is why we don’t see many projects,” Kaddoura told The Jordan Times.

“We need to be serious and passionate about this issue. There should be real partnerships between students and companies, not only useless slogans,” he said. 

Kaddoura stressed that the university curricula should include more activities that would engage students with the community outside campus.

He also suggested that companies run a 12-week boot camp for students on campus to teach them specific skills in business and then offer them job contracts to automatically hire them after the training period.

Ahmad Jaber, a third-year student, said innovation is present at the university and students from different fields are “considering implementing their ideas and making them real projects”. 

He added that students need motivation at home to enter international competitions in entrepreneurship and technology. 

“I am working on a project that combines technology, maths, science and computer devices... I want to start my own business in the future,” Jaber said.

Asma Ameen, a computer science student, said she hopes to create an application to notify drivers in Jordan which roads are jammed so that they can choose roads with less traffic instead. 

“I don’t think students and young innovators in Jordan get the needed support, I am still planning to implement my project. However, I believe what is holding us back is the lack of support and sustainability for projects,” Ameen told The Jordan Times. 

The ceremony included distributing certificates from the Intel Technology Camp to the 50 UJ students from different majors who participated in it. 

AMMAN — A security force on Sunday night arrested five “wanted people” in a raid in Jerash, according to an Interior Ministry source. One of the arrested suspects is wanted on cases of fraud, theft, resisting police officers and using weapons illegally, the source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Monday.

During the operation, the security force was met with strong resistance and intensive shooting to secure the suspects’ escape, the source said, noting that local residents were not harmed.

AMMAN — Around 27,000 Jordanian housewives have been optionally subscribed to the Social Security Corporation (SSC) since the inclusion of this segment of society in 2010, an official said on Monday.

SSC Director General Nadia Rawabdeh said optional subscription is a safety net for Jordanian resident and expatriate housewives, as it entitles them to old age, injury and disability pensions once they meet the requirements. 

Speaking at the launch of a new campaign to encourage housewives to subscribe electronically through the SSC's website, Rawabdeh explained that those wishing to subscribe are required to pay 16.75 per cent of the monthly wage subject to deduction.

Eligible subscribers must be Jordanian, over 16 years and under 55 (for those subscribing for the first time), and must not be officially registered workers.

Housewives under 55 years who used to work and were thereby subscribed to the SSC can return the compensation they received from the corporation upon the termination of their previous job and continue their previous subscription, the SSC director said.  

The "Subscribe from Your Home" campaign will be launched on March 1 and will address the targeted audience across the country through online and offline media tools, in addition to meetings and lectures, according to the SSC.

Around 5,500 housewives already receive SSC old-age retirement pensions, Rawabdeh noted, adding that housewives can pay ahead and also terminate their subscription for a period not exceeding 12 months and rejoin.

Out of a total of 181,000 social security pensioners, 14 per cent are women, according to the SSC.

Around 200,000 out of some 1.3 million Jordanian families are headed by women, said SSC Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi, adding that active female SSC subscribers have increased over the past four years from 25 to 27 per cent of the overall number of 1.112 million active subscribers. 

AMMAN — The Russian Cultural Centre will receive applications for scholarships next Saturday between 10am and 7:30pm for graduate and undergraduate studies at universities in Russia, the centre’s director general, Vadim Zaychikov, said on Monday.

The centre will present 110 scholarships in the 2016-2017 scholastic year, and it requires students to present a photocopy of their passport and a personal photo, in addition to photocopies of their certificates, Zaychikov told the Jordan News Agency, Petra. He added the scholarship includes an allowance, residence and an academic year for studying the Russian language.

AMMAN — Two people died and eight were injured on Monday in several accidents across the Kingdom, according to the Civil Defence Department (CDD).

One man died and three people were injured when a vehicle overturned in Amman’s Jubeiha neighbourhood, a CDD statement said. In Zarqa, one man died when a car overturned in northern Azraq.

East Amman CDD personnel dealt with an incident where two people suffered breathing difficulties in Wihdat after inhaling gas leaked from an oven, said the CDD.

In Irbid, three people were injured in a two-vehicle collision in Northern Mazar. CDD personnel administered first aid to the injured and transferred them to nearby hospitals, where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan on Sunday highlighted the need to return to the “Arab renaissance” concept which placed morality and ‎plurality first and foremost.

Attending a lecture delivered by former Lebanese media minister Tarek Mitri at the Lebanese embassy in Amman, Prince Hassan stressed that building democratic institutions requires individuals’ contributions to serious projects, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Mitri, at the lecture dubbed “The rough road towards democracy”, said the past century was dominated by ideologies based on participation, patriotism and equality, which all were evident in the Great Arab Revolt.

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Monday met with Indian Ambassador to Jordan Anil Trigunayat and discussed Jordanian-Indian relations, especially in the economic and parliamentary fields.

Fayez referred to the humanitarian and financial repercussions affecting Jordan as a result of regional conditions.

Trigunayat praised bilateral relations and the Kingdom’s role in fighting terrorism, achieving regional peace and hosting refugees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The Interior Ministry and the EU mission in Jordan on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to expand partnership in countering extremism and exchanging expertise to enhance peace and tolerance.

Interior Minister Salameh Hammad, who signed the memo on behalf of the government, said it aims at adopting policies that enhance cultural and religious dialogue, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana noted that the Kingdom and the union will work together through a comprehensive approach that includes strategic research, communications, and training and rehabilitation programmes, Petra added.

AMMAN — Constitutional Court President Taher Hikmat on Monday received Qatari Minister of Justice Hassan Al Mohannadi, and discussed means of legal and judicial cooperation, especially at the constitutional level.

At the meeting, attended by Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni, Hikmat reviewed the Jordanian experience in the Constitutional Court and briefed Mohannadi on the cases it has dealt with, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. They also discussed means of cooperation and developing Jordanian-Qatari relations.