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AMMAN — Irbid police on Thursday announced the arrest of three people in connection with attacks on vehicles and a kiosk in the town of Malka earlier this week.

The suspects, including a 15-year-old juvenile, were arrested late Wednesday night, Irbid Police Department Director Brig. Gen. Ali Hamlan said.

“We relied on evidence and witness accounts to arrest the three suspects at different times and in different locations,” Hamlan told The Jordan Times.

The police official said the suspects reportedly confessed to committing the attacks, “saying they were under the influence of alcohol”.

Investigators are still questioning the suspects and will refer them to the judiciary once the investigation is over, according to a statement by the Public Security Department.

Hamlan said police are investigating a separate incident of attacks on vehicles and property in Um Qais on Sunday.

“What was evident to us is that the two incidents are not related,” the police official stressed.

Several Um Qais residents woke up on Monday to discover that their vehicles were damaged, but nothing was stolen. 

Around 10 vehicles were damaged.

“We have an idea of the perpetrators in the Um Qais incident, and most probably the incident was an act of revenge. Those responsible will be brought to justice soon,” Hamlan added.

AMMAN –– The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said Sunday it will start facilitating the construction of housing  units in the eastern part of the capital to alleviate the pressure of the growing population in some neighbourhoods.

GAM spokesperson, Izzedin Shammout, said the municipality will facilitate the construction process in areas such as Uhud, east Qweismeh and Naser. 

“According to the latest figures, there are already 4 million people residing in the capital, and this is the number we expected to reach in 2025,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

Bassam Jameel, a resident of Qweismeh area, said he completely supports facilitating the construction of new housing units. 

“The number of residents is growing substantially and this causes traffic jams. I hope the new step would alleviate traffic congestion,” he told The Jordan Times.  

After a visit by His Majesty King Abdullah to GAM last March, the municipality has been working on a number of projects in east Amman, according to Shammout. 

The official said a 900-dunum space located in Madouna area in east Amman will witness a number of projects to boost the area. 

“GAM is working on moving a slaughterhouse in Ain Ghazal to this space since the current one causes traffic jams,” he added. 

The municipality official said there are two options in executing the plan: either for GAM to design the project or for an investor to do so.

In either case, an investor would hire employees and the project would be owned by GAM after a specific period of time. 

“We finished submitting a letter of interest on January 16 to see which investors are interested in taking part in this project,” Shammout said. 

Mohammad Ibrahim, another Qweismeh resident, said he personally does not face any challenges in using the current slaughterhouse. 

“I do not support the plan to move it because the current location is suitable and it serves many areas,” he said. 

GAM plans to relocate vehicle dealers and used car auction lots to the same plot of land in the Madouna area soon, according to Shammout. 

He noted that several offices of the Driver and Motor Vehicle Licensing Department, insurance companies and banks will be located at the same venue as well. 

AMMAN — The Ministry of Education has opened the door for students who intend to move from private to public schools starting from next Sunday, the ministry's spokesperson, Walid Jallad, said Thursday.

The decision was taken due to the rising demand from the parents of students to facilitate these moves, Jallad told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that the ministry works to meet the expectations of the public.

He said the ministry gives students the right to choose which type of school to attend at the beginning of every school year, noting that 67,000 students have been moved from private to public schools since September.

The reasons behind transferring from private to public schools differ from one student to another, but include economic burdens and a change in the student's residence or a parent's place of work, Jallad said.

Jordan Teachers Association Spokesperson Ayman Okour attributed the increasing demand to move students to public schools to the high tuition fees at private schools. 

He called on private schools to be fair and reduce the economic burdens on students' parents.

Okour said moving students at this time of year could disrupt the educational process and affect the capacity of public schools, since they have already settled enrolment for the year and have a sufficient number of students.

"We can accept a reasonable number of students, but any further increase in numbers will definitely takes its toll on the budget of public schools, because they will find themselves committed to securing a suitable atmosphere for the new students," the spokesperson said, noting that, for example, those new students are not going to sit on the ground and will require additional desks.

"As a syndicate, it is our duty to cooperate with everybody and preserve stability in the educational process, but this is also the responsibility of all," Okour added.

AMMAN — Shared regional challenges should motivate Jordan and Turkey to work more closely together, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Thursday. At a meeting with members of the Joint Jordanian-Turkish Business Council, Ensour noted that bilateral ties were good in the five years preceding 2014, but he called for more efforts to boost them, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan’s central location in the Middle East can be used as a gateway for Turkish exports to Arab countries, the premier added. Members of the council highlighted opportunities for further cooperation in energy, water and transportation, Petra added. Also on Thursday, Ensour chaired a meeting of the smart ID project steering committee, whose members reviewed the plan’s progress, which currently stands at 23 per cent.

AMMAN — King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben on Thursday met with Qatari Ambassador to Jordan Bandar Al Attiyah, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Talks covered military cooperation and coordination. 

AMMAN — Eight people were injured on Thursday in various incidents across the Kingdom, according to the Civil Defence Department (CDD). Four people were injured in a three-vehicle collision near Khau Bridge, according to a CDD statement, which added that Zarqa CDD personnel administered first aid to the injured and transferred them to hospital, where they were listed in fair condition. Also in Zarqa, two people were hit by a car.

Zarqa CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and sent them to hospital, where they were reported to be in fair condition. Moreover, two people suffered breathing difficulties when a fire erupted in their house in Amman’s Abdalieh area. Firefighters extinguished the blaze and rescue teams transferred the injured to hospital, where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — Royal Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi, who heads a committee entrusted with following up on Royal initiatives, and Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan on Thursday distributed assistance awarded by Royal Makruma to 225 societies and institutions specialised with providing care for the elderly and people with disabilities.

During the distribution ceremony at the Royal Court, Abu Hassan said 21 per cent of the targeted societies are located in the south, 42 per cent in the central region and 37 per cent in the north.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sarvath, chairperson of the Amman Baccalaureate School’s board of trustees, last week inaugurated a study centre established at the school by the University of Bath, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday.

Princess Sarvath toured the facilities of the centre, which grants International Baccalaureate certificates and provides MA programmes to the employees of the Amman Baccalaureate School and International Baccalaureate Schools in the region. A delegation from the University of Bath attended the inauguration ceremony, Petra reported.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Ghida Talal, chairperson of the board of trustees of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), on Wednesday said the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) received 14 patients when it first opened in the late 1990s, but now it is treating 17,000 cancer patients, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Speaking at a panel discussion held at the Lebanese embassy in Jordan, Princess Ghida said that with the increase of families depending on the KHCC for cancer treatment, the centre is working at full capacity and needs expansion to host more patients. She added the current infrastructure in Jordan to treat cancer will not be enough for the next decade. For her part, HH Princess Dina Mired, director of the KHCF, spoke about the foundations’ programmes to collect donations and how they are spent.

AMMAN — Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) President Majid Tabaa on Thursday called on students who pass the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination and wishing to study engineering to check the association’s pamphlets on these fields, and the labour market’s needs.

Tabaa urged male and female students to avoid nuclear, surveying, communications and computer engineering, while female students are advised not to join chemical and mining engineering, according to a JEA statement. The JEA is ready to reply to students’ inquiries on any of the engineering specialisations, the president added.