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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday expressed confidence and pride in young Jordanians, underscoring the importance of their role in serving their community and country. 

"You — the new generation — boost my morale," the King told representatives of different youth entities at a meeting attended by Her Majesty Queen Rania at Al Husseiniya Palace.  

King Abdullah underscored the role of young Jordanians in countering various challenges, according to a Royal Court statement. 

"You play an important role in confronting challenges facing our people, politically, economically and socially," the King said. 

His Majesty highlighted regional challenges, especially terrorism and radical ideologies, and ways to confront them, stressing young people's important role in combating such threats, through awareness raising and cultural and educational activities. 

In remarks on the London donors' conference, which will be held at the end of this week to discuss mechanisms to support refugee-host countries, especially Jordan, the King said it is a political conference and the Kingdom wants political decisions to be taken by countries that want to assist with the issue of Syrian refugees. 

“I ask the world to assist Jordan” to deal with the repercussions of the crisis of Syrian refugees, he said, noting that then, Jordan will be able to assist Syrians. 

“It is the world’s turn to stand with Jordan, as we have supported world countries for years,” the King added. 

In response to remarks by young Jordanians, the King asserted that the Higher Youth Council should play a more effective role to meet the needs of young people and support them.

The young Jordanians wished His Majesty a happy 54th birthday and congratulated him on the centennial of the Great Arab Revolt.  

They also expressed their appreciation of the King’s efforts and vision in confronting the various challenges facing the country. 

Their remarks addressed ways to combat terrorism, boost political participation and deal with unemployment. 

To combat terrorism, they suggested that the media should play a bigger role. They also stressed the importance of raising religious awareness and supporting the rule of law. 

They called on universities to motivate students and encourage critical thinking through holding conferences, seminars and workshops, arguing that political parties are incapable of attracting young people and should review their programmes.

Addressing the issue of unemployment, they urged the government to establish investment projects in the various governorates and districts to meet development needs.  

They also recommended establishing one entity entrusted with recruiting and training young people, and promoting small productive projects.

In remarks to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Sahar Neimat, who attended the meeting, called for activating the role of religious, cultural, youth and women entities to help young people in confronting terror groups, which tend to exploit those who are suffering poverty and unemployment.

She also stressed the importance of raising young people’s awareness of the news and images circulated on social media outlets by some radical groups. 

In an interview with Petra, Ahmad Issa highlighted how, along with 15 other young people, he set up an independent entity, working to raise public awareness on heritage, economy and youth-related issues. 

Also, Sharif Omari highlighted his experience in implementing a group of initiatives and development projects targeting areas in the south of Jordan, including the poverty pockets’ ambassadors’ project, which focused on training young people on implementing community initiatives.

AMMAN — Over 10,000 public sector employees are currently on unpaid leave, with a majority working in the Gulf Arab countries in the education and health sectors, an official said Sunday.

As unpaid leaves help employees improve their living conditions and increase foreign currency remittances, the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) has recently amended the civil service by-law to allow leave-takers to work abroad for longer periods, said CSB President Khalaf Hmeisat.

Previously, the allowed leave could not exceed 10 years, while under the recent amendment it became unlimited, he explained.

Furthermore, the CSB recommended that the Civil Service Council increase the appointment rate of replacements for workers on unpaid leave from 60 to 80 per cent.

Commenting on whether there is a limit on the number of employees allowed to take unpaid leave in a certain department, the official said approving or rejecting the leave is up to the director of the department.

"Any employee willing to go on an unpaid leave to work abroad must submit their contracts to the heads of their departments, who will, in turn, address the CSB for a replacement," he said.

Hmeisat noted that some public sector employees take leave for educational purposes or due to sickness, while others travel with their spouses.

Despite the advantages of unpaid leaves, they could have a negative effect on workers' career advancement and benefits.

The official noted that those on unpaid leave do not progress on the employment scale at their home agencies. For example, a worker who takes leave while in a fifth-category job returns to the same category.

Another dilemma faces those under the civil service retirement system, which requires workers to spend the entire duration of their service in their government job. 

However, workers under the social security system, who constitute the majority, can continue to pay their dues to the Social Security Corporation while abroad.

MAFRAQ/RAMTHA — Sitting at his café in the northeastern city of Mafraq, Muneer Arabiyat complained that his business, which used to be the main hub for café-goers in the city for 40 years, is now nearly empty. 

Arabiyat said he used to receive customers day and night, and the business was simply “doing great”. 

“With the influx of Syrian refugees, many of them opened new cafés and took some of our clients. So now a limited number of people frequent my café,” he told The Jordan Times in an interview as he surveyed the empty tables around him.

Preliminary results of the national census conducted in late November showed that 175, 280 Syrians live in Mafraq. 

According to the UNHCR website, 156,102 Syrians are registered in the governorate, 80km northeast of Amman. 

The problems facing Arabiyat are an example of what residents and officials described to The Jordan Times during field visits as “tremendous pressure” on the northern region of the Kingdom due to the Syrian crisis. 

Mafraq Governor Ahmad Al Zu’bi said the number of Syrian refugees is generally high in the two northern governorates of Mafraq and Irbid because they are close to the border with Syria. 

“The influx of refugees has negatively affected several sectors, including health and education, and these are the two sectors that drew people to the Kingdom because of their high quality,” he told The Jordan Times at his office on Sunday. 

Zu’bi said many people have complained about the long waiting period to receive medical attention at healthcare centres in Mafraq.

Education 

Pressure on the education sector in the northeastern city is “extremely high”, according to the head of the education directorate in central Mafraq, Ahmad Bani Hani. 

“There are eight schools only in this area and they operate a double-shift system. A total of 6,000 Syrian children attend the afternoon period, and 1,500 Syrian students attend the morning shift there, while between 500 and 600 Syrian children are on the waiting list,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Bani Hani noted that the main difficulty is the overcrowding in classrooms. 

The governor agreed, adding that one class sometimes consists of no fewer than 60 students. 

“The double-shift system also affects the quality of education since we are forced to slash five minutes from the duration of each class,” Bani Hani added. 

Social life and local businesses

Standing outside his tobacco store in the northern city of Ramtha, Mohammad Makhadmeh described the local business his city faces: “A dead person cannot carry a dead person.” 

“Syrians coming from their home were already facing tough times due to the civil war, and our business had been also affected due to the closure of the border crossings,” Makhadmeh told The Jordan Times. 

He said the closure of the border and the difficulty in bringing goods from Syria, which used to be a main source of cheaper commodities for Ramtha merchants, added more burdens on the city’s residents. 

Ramtha, 90km from Amman, is the farthest Jordanian city to the north and had lived for decades on trade with Syria before the crisis.

Makhadmeh’s neighbour Abdul Salam Jazzazi, who works at his father’s accessories store, said the increasing number of Syrian stores in Ramtha forced many residents to sell their shops due to fierce competition. 

“There are around 200 new Syrian stores that opened in Ramtha. The demand is low while the number of stores is too high so there is no point in doing business anymore,” he added. 

Arabiyat, the Mafraq café owner, said there are many shopkeepers who cannot afford to make ends meet due to fierce competition in the once sparsely populated desert town. 

“Let’s not forget that many Jordanians are unemployed as many local stores prefer to hire Syrians because they are cheaper labour,” he said.

Najih Shurfat, the mayor of Salhiah and Naifah municipality in Mafraq, said Syrian workers “invaded the local farms”, with hundreds of families working for the minimum wage in the municipality’s 187 agricultural projects.

Hikmat Bani Younes, a Mafraq resident, said many landlords have leased their buildings to Syrian families and they started building new floors, a matter that has negatively affected infrastructure in the city.  

Ayed Qallab, a father of 10, says rents have skyrocketed in the city. 

“Landlords used to rent their houses for JD70 a month. Now, with the huge number of Syrian refugees in the city, prices increased significantly to reach around JD250,” he told The Jordan Times at a public café in Mafraq. 

Jazzazi said the environment is also a concern.  

“There are piles of garbage in the city and the municipality cannot cope with the pressure. It needs more support in this aspect,” he added.

Qallab said the wastewater network is also not equipped to handle the abnormal population growth.

He also criticised the humanitarian relief agencies, claiming that they ignore underprivileged Jordanian families.

“Many Syrians receive items from these agencies and sell them. There are many people who are in need locally,” Qallab claimed. 

The public bus driver said the great number of Syrians in the city used to be beneficial for him because they used to take public transport, but now some Syrians have managed to buy cars and transport other Syrians. 

Ramtha, Makhadmeh said, is witnessing traffic jams due to the rise in population. 

With the approach of the London donors’ conference, slated for Thursday, Jazzazi urged the international community to provide further assistance to the government. 

Zu’bi said the international community needs to realise that great support has to be directed to the Kingdom, which received Syrians out of its “humanitarian duty”. 

Baha Abu Hasnah contributed to this story 

AMMAN — The UK has been at the forefront of the humanitarian effort to Syria and has pledged more than $1.6 billion in aid, including $0.5 billion to Jordan specifically, said Edward Oakden, the UK ambassador to Jordan.

Of this, $100 million was extended last year alone, and half of that has gone directly to Jordanian host communities, Oakden told The Jordan Times via e-mail, ahead of the London-hosted donor conference that will take place on February 4 under the title “Supporting Syria and the Region”.

 In spite of this, the 2015 UN-coordinated inter-agency appeals for the Syria crisis were only around 50 per cent funded, the ambassador noted. 

“This lack of funding means that Syrian people didn't receive enough of the food, shelter and medical treatment they have needed so desperately, and places extra strain on the resources of host countries like Jordan, which have gone all out to support those who have fled,” the ambassador explained, stressing that this year, the international community needs to do better and this conference will be an important step in that direction.

He explained that Syria is the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis and needs urgent action to help refugees and the communities hosting them across the region. The needs and suffering are immense, he said, with over 18 million people in Syria and neighbouring countries in need of urgent help.

“That’s why the UK is bringing together world leaders in London to co-host this conference, with Kuwait, Germany, Norway and the United Nations, to intensify the international spotlight on the needs of those affected, nearly five years after they first started fleeing brutality and conflict”.

Participants represent over 70 countries, international organisations, NGOs, civil society and the private sector, which will “come together in London to raise further humanitarian and development funding, and address the longer-term needs of those affected”, according to the diplomat.

He added that the conference’s programme will focus both on meeting the UN’s immediate funding need, and on how the international community can work together to help to create regional economic and educational opportunities, including for host communities. 

 “This might look like agreements to facilitate additional trade and investment here, which in turn will create more jobs in Jordan,” the ambassador said.

In an interview with The Jordan Times a day before, Mohammad Momani, minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications, stressed Jordan’s call on the international community to adopt a new approach to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis.

He added that the new strategy should not be based on humanitarian relief alone, but should also include economic development goals, for the Kingdom to be able to continue carrying the burden of hosting the refugees.

As for the employment of Syrians in the country’s job market, Momani said: “If the world wants us to be able to help Jordanians affected by the Syrian crisis and Syrian refugees, then the national economy must be helped to provide economic and employment opportunities for Jordanians as well as Syrians.”

“This cannot be done given the huge burden on the Jordanian economy unless this economy grows sustainably and sufficiently... we want access to their [donors’] markets and ease of access to the rules of origins,” the minister explained.

AMMAN — The government on Sunday decided to lower the prices of gasoline, kerosene and diesel by 4 to 11 per cent and maintained the price of gas cylinders unchanged at JD7. 

The government's decision, effective as of Monday, was taken in accordance with the recommendations of the fuel pricing committee which convened on Sunday, Industry and Trade Minister Maha Ali said in a statement. 

Under the decision, kerosene and diesel will be sold at JD0.32 per litre, down from JD0.36 per litre, a drop of around 11 per cent. 

The price of unleaded 90-octane and 95-octane gasoline will see a 4.8 and 4.4 per cent drop under the decision respectively. 

One litre of unleaded 90-octane gasoline will be sold at JD0.495 instead of JD0.520, and a litre of unleaded 95-octane gasoline will be sold at JD0.650, down from JD0.680.  

A government pricing committee meets monthly to adjust prices in a manner that corresponds to changes in oil prices on the international market.

Prices of oil derivatives in the local market are calculated based on international prices of oil, with the addition of other costs such as shipment, handling and taxes.

Overall taxes on oil derivatives are as follows: 22 per cent on 90-octane and 40 per cent on 95-octane, while the tax is 6 per cent for all other fuel products, except for heavy oil.

All derivatives are subject to a JD0.006 stamp fee.

Last week, President of the Gas Station Owners Association Fahed Al Fayez expected the prices of fuel products for February to drop by 8 to 15 per cent, basing his expectations on the drop in the price of crude Brent oil on the international market during January.

He expected the prices of diesel and kerosene to witness a 15 per cent drop, and the prices of 90-octane and 95-octane gasoline to go down by 8 to 10 per cent.

AMMAN — A 16-year-old boy shot last week in Sareeh town in Irbid, allegedly by his neighbour, died at dawn on Sunday, provoking riots in his district, official sources said.

The victim, Ayham Rawabdeh, was reportedly shot by his 40-year-old neighbour a week ago over personal disputes, Irbid Police Department Director Brig. Gen. Ali Hamlan said.

“The victim remained hospitalised at the ICU after being shot in the foot and stomach, and succumbed to his wounds on Sunday,” Hamlan told The Jordan Times in a telephone interview.

Shortly after the announcement of the boy’s death, the police official said acts of riot occurred in the neighbourhood where the victim and suspect resided.

A resident in the area told The Jordan Times that a shop and a house belonging to the suspect were torched by a group of people at dawn on Sunday.

“Gendarmerie forces were called in and they brought the situation under control. Fire engines were called and they extinguished the fires,” the police official said.

Hamlan added that “no one was injured in the fires because the families of the suspect were evicted to a remote location based on tribal laws [jalwa]”.  

Jalwa, a term first coined by tribes, entails the forced relocation of a clan if one of its members murders someone, in a bid to avoid friction between the victim’s and the killer’s tribes or families if they were living in the same area. 

The local resident, who preferred not to be identified, said rioting occurred when the boy was laid to rest on Sunday but was contained by gendarmerie forces.

The police official said three individuals were arrested in response to the riots.

“We are still investigating the incident and more people could be arrested as a result. In the meantime, the situation is under control and calm is restored in the town,” Hamlan said.

AMMAN — The Kingdom on Sunday entered the last 50 days of winter, locally referred to as "khamsiniyeh", according to a Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) statement.

The name is derived from khamsin — meaning 50 in Arabic — because this weather pattern usually occurs during a 50-day timeframe.

The khamsiniyeh marks the end of "marbaniyeh", the local name given to the coldest 40 days of winter, during which the country witnesses several depressions and cold spells.

The JMD noted that rainfall registered during marbaniyeh, which started on December 22, 2015, was "very high" except in southern areas and the Northern Ghor. 

A depression that brought snow and heavy rain to Jordan in January channelled more than 16.5 million cubic metres (mcm) of water into the Kingdom's dams, according to the Water Ministry.

The dams now hold 54.24 per cent (176.52mcm) of their total capacity of 325mcm, Water Ministry Assistant Secretary General Adnan Zu'bi told The Jordan Times late last week.

Rainfall since the start of the season in October constituted 65.1 per cent of the Kingdom's long-term annual average of rainfall of 8 billion cubic metres. The country has received around 5.34 billion cubic metres of rain since the start of the wet season, according to Zu'bi.

During this time last year, the dams held 165mcm, according to the ministry.

During the 2015-2016 marbaniyeh, the country witnessed three weather depressions brought on by polar fronts. The lowest temperature registered was on January 29 in Shobak, standing at -10ºC, the JMD statement said.

Rain during marbaniyeh constitutes 30 per cent of the Kingdom's long-term annual average of rainfall, whereas the rain that falls afterwards constitutes 46 per cent, the JMD statement said.

The weather during khamsiniyeh is usually slightly warmer, temperatures increase by 1-2ºC, with rainfall expected, according to the JMD. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday received Jordanian mountaineer Mostafa Salameh and commended his achievements, a Royal Court statement said. 

On January 16, Salameh registered a new achievement by reaching the South Pole within 38 days. 

Salameh spent 50 days in Antarctica during which he crossed 985 kilometres in very cold weather.

The King said that with persistence and determination, young Jordanians can achieve many things at the local and international levels, commending Salameh's achievement in reaching the farthest point in the southern hemisphere, becoming the first Arab to do so.

Salameh hoisted the Jordanian flag and the Hashemite banner when he reached the point. 

He faced challenges such as low visibility that did not exceed 20 metres due to the snow, fog and cloudy skies. 

Salameh, who has successfully made it to the summit of Mount Everest, became one of only 235 people in the world to scale the Seven Summits — the highest mountains on all seven continents — in November 2012 when he climbed to the top of Puncak Jaya in Indonesia. 

AMMAN — China and an entity supported by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are among those showing interest in a project to expand the capacity of the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company (JPRC), Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said Sunday. 

The minister told The Jordan Times that the refinery is currently assessing offers by several companies and financing entities to look into the best means to fund the JD1.6 billion expansion plan, as well as reviewing technical proposals for the project's design.

The expansion project seeks to increase the refinery's capacity to 120,000 barrels per day, Saif said, stressing the importance of the project in meeting rising demand for various fuel types.

Currently, the refinery processes about 70,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The grace period given to the JPRC by the government for the expansion project ends in May 2019.  

The minister added that imports of diesel by companies given licences for this purpose will start in the middle of this month.

The government recently signed agreements with Jordan's Al Manaseer Group and France's Total to allow them to import fuel derivatives, starting with diesel, ending the JPRC's monopoly on imports.

AMMAN — King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben on Sunday met with US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, Zaben and Wells discussed military cooperation and coordination.