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AMMAN — The Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) has implemented several campaigns and raids since the beginning of the year, arresting 24 suspected drug dealers, the Public Security Department (PSD) said Saturday.

AND personnel seized 12kg of hashish, 15kg of synthetic cannabis (locally known as “joker”), 10,000 narcotic pills, 7kg of marijuana and 50g of heroin, according to a PSD statement. The suspects were referred to the State Security Court prosecutor general.

AMMAN — Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji on Saturday received Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) President Majid Tabaa and discussed ways to enhance cooperation on building safety regulations.

Biltaji and Tabba called for issuing clear instructions to avoid incidents similar to what happened on Abdullah Ghosheh Street recently, when digging at a construction site caused a crack in the vital road, according to a JEA statement.

Biltaji said the JEA is a main partner to the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) in serving the city’s organisation, stressing that GAM welcomes JEA and other parties to discuss all issues of mutual concern. 

AMMAN — A test to measure the levels of radiation in the Kingdom was conducted on Saturday and revealed no irregular radiation levels, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission Chief Commissioner Farouq Hiari as saying.

The test was conducted through mobile environmental radiation measurement labs with the aim of ensuring that there is no radiation pollution in Jordan.

AMMAN — A 24-year-old woman drowned in an agricultural pond in Irbid’s Abu Sido area on Friday, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said.

Irbid CDD divers administered first aid to the woman and took her to Abu Obaidah Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to a CDD statement.

AMMAN — A married couple died on Friday in the latest heater-related incident to take place in the Kingdom this year, police officials said Saturday.

The victims were found dead by one of their family members after he broke down the door in Rujm Shami area, south of Amman, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“There was a gas heater in the room and not enough ventilation. Foul play is ruled out,” the official told The Jordan Times.

The victims were rushed to a nearby hospital but were declared dead on arrival, Sartawi added.

The police official said the husband was born in 1988, while his wife was born in 1993.

Last Wednesday, a family of three perished in a gas heater incident.

The family — consisting of a 28-year-old father, his wife, 26, and their son, 3 — were found dead in the living room by a relative, a senior official source said.

The source added that “a gas heater was in the room and there wasn’t enough ventilation, which caused their death”.

Heater-related accidents in Jordan have claimed over 20 lives since November, according to CDD figures.

Last winter, 307 incidents resulted in 23 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

CDD officials have repeatedly issued warnings urging the public not to keep kerosene and gas heaters on for long periods, ventilate homes and make sure the hoses connected to gas cylinders are attached correctly. 

AMMAN — Mohammad continues to be the most popular name in Jordan, topping the list of common names for boys in the past several years, according to official figures. 

In the last three years alone, over 31,000 newborns were named Mohammad, according to the Department of Statistics (DoS) and the Civil Status and Passports Department (CSPD). 

Ahmad, another name for Prophet Mohammad, came second to the list of popular names for the past three years with 14,789 counts, followed by Omar, 10,640. 

In addition to those three, the list of the 10 most popular names for boys in 2015 also included Yousef, Ameer, Abdul Rahman, Rayan, Kareem and Adam. 

Joud, which means generosity, was the most popular name for girls in Jordan in 2014 and 2015, with 4,863 counts.

Last year, the name Jouri (damask rose) came second with 2,467 girls, followed by Jana (2,310), Layan (2,014), Sarah (1,892) and Leen(1,834).

The name Mohammad is not only popular in Jordan and Muslim countries, as British media reports have cited official data that revealed the name was also popular in the UK, ranking 14th with 3,588 counts. 

In 2013, data showed that it is also the most common name for men in Oslo, Norway’s capital, according to news reports, with more than 4,800 men and boys in the city called Mohammad. 

Mohammad is believed to be the most popular name in the world, with an estimated 150 million men and boys bearing the name, according to web sources.

CSPD Spokesperson Malek Khasawneh noted that there are no particular names that are banned in Jordan, except for those that hold “negative or socially unacceptable meanings”. 

Last year, the Court of First Instance decided to change the name of a girl over its negative connotations.  

The name of the child, who was born in 2011, was changed from “Ajayeb”, which has a negative meaning related to whatever is strange and weird, to “Rahmeh” (mercy) after her mother filed a lawsuit. 

The father of the child was angry when the girl was born for being the fifth female born to the family, and he had wanted a boy.

The Ifta Department said at the time that it is “preferred in Islam that the parent choose a good name for the child”, citing a saying by Prophet Mohammad in which he called on parents to choose good names for their children.

Article 14 of the Civil Status Law stipulates that the mother or the father of a newborn is the one responsible for reporting the birth and naming the baby.

AMMAN — Heba Ghaith, a sport lover from Maan, has taken it upon herself to enable her fellow Maani women to keep fit and work out in a comfortable space. 

A computer science engineer who used to be a top athlete in basketball and handball, Ghaith used to spend long vacations in Amman, where she would practise sports daily at gyms. 

However, after she got married and had four kids, she was unable to spend much time away from Maan, where she says she did not find any proper gym to enrol at. 

This situation inspired her to consider opening a gym of her own reserved only for women, she told The Jordan Times.

After several years of thinking over the idea, Ghaith decided to try seriously to implement it. 

Yet she faced difficulties such as a lack of available start-up money and high prices for gym equipment.

Ghaith's opportunity came when she found a Facebook page called "Forsa" (Chance), through which she learned about Jordan Micro Credit Company's (Tamweelcom) "Fekrati" award. 

The idea for a women-only gym in Maan, some 220km south of Amman, fulfilled the award's conditions and was viewed as innovative, since it would be the first of its kind in the city, according to the business founder. 

"Fekrati helped by admitting me into intensive workshops to ensure my idea's success.When the results were announced, I won the first prize in the service category," she recalled. 

"Tamweelcom offered me these intensive workshops and also hired Saleem Sawalha, country manager for Jordan, Palestine and Iraq at Visa, to be my guide and observe my work continuously for two years, helping me with every step or decision I take," Ghaith said.

Established in 1999, Tamweelcom is a regional microfinance institution owned by the Noor Al Hussein Foundation, which operates independently under the umbrella of the King Hussein Foundation.

The institution recently launched the Youth Business Jordan initiative to support young entrepreneurs as part of a partnership with the UK institution Youth Business International, which is an international network of independent organisations supporting “underserved” young people who want to start their own businesses.

"Through Tamweelcom, I received funding for my business idea without interest, in addition to personal funding as well," Ghaith said.

With the money from Tamweelcom, she was able to rent a venue. She designed the gym and worked for three months to surmount additional challenges such as obtaining permits and receiving approvals from different authorities.

Finally, the entrepreneur was able to register the gym, which she called "My Fitness", and officially opened the facility on December 16, 2015.

The gym is open from 9am to 6pm every day, except Fridays and currently has 20 members, Ghaith said, adding that future plans include sections for aerobics, hiring a nutrition expert, opening a cafeteria and a special play area for children, dedicated for housewives who cannot leave their children alone at home. 

Ghadeer Krechan, a member of the gym and deputy director at the Microfund for Women, said she heard about the gym from the public relations department at her workplace, adding that new things in Maan are easy to spot.

Lamees Almasri, another member, said she heard of the gym from her neighbours, who helped in setting it up, agreeing that the dearth of new businesses in Maan makes new ventures stand out. 

Almasri added that she followed My Fitness' Facebook page to stay updated. 

Ghaith said she intends to open other branches of the women-only gym in the southern governorates, adding that she is also keen to offer jobs to women in her society, especially in Maan, where she says jobs are limited to the public sector, which cannot take in all graduates from universities and colleges.

AMMAN — A family of three perished late Wednesday in the latest gas heater incident to occur in the Kingdom, official sources said.

The family — consisting of a 28-year-old father, his wife, 26, and their son, 3 — were found dead in the living room by a relative, a senior official source said.

“Colleagues attempted to contact the victims on Wednesday morning because they failed to show up at work but they did not answer their phones so they informed their relatives,” added the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. 

The victims’ relatives rushed to their home and broke down the door. They found the family dead with a gas heater next to them, the official told The Jordan Times.

The family was rushed to a nearby hospital by the Civil Defence Department (CDD) but were declared dead on arrival, a CDD official said.

“Preliminary investigations indicated that the family died from carbon monoxide poisoning, but the final results are pending until an autopsy is conducted,” the CDD official told The Jordan Times.

He added that “a gas heater was in the room and there wasn’t enough ventilation, which caused their death”.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi ruled out foul play.

“It was a tragic incident that is related to a gas heater.  Foul play is ruled out by police,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

On Thursday, the CDD said in a statement that two people suffered smoke inhalation in a fire that erupted at their house in Aqaba when the heater overturned. 

Rescue teams administered first aid to the injured and took them to Prince Hashem Military Hospital, where they were reported to be in fair condition. 

Heater-related accidents in Jordan have claimed over 20 lives since November, according to CDD figures.

Last winter, 307 incidents resulted in 23 deaths and hundreds of injuries.

CDD officials have repeatedly issued warnings urging the public not to keep kerosene and gas heaters on for long periods, ventilate homes and make sure the hoses connected to gas cylinders are attached correctly. 

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, accompanied by several ministers, is scheduled to visit the Azraq Refugee Camp on Saturday, a government source said on Thursday.

“The visit is important as it comes ahead of the London conference next week,” the source said, highlighting the services Jordan continues to provide for refugees, the majority of whom are living among host communities.

Jordan’s villages, cities and governorates have utilised their scarce resources to support these refugees, the source added.

Interior Minister Salameh Hammad, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani are scheduled to accompany Ensour.

Azraq camp, some 100km east of Amman and 20km west of the town of Azraq in Zarqa Governorate, is currently home to 29,992 refugees, according to the UNHCR’s latest available figures.

In remarks on Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh stressed the importance of the London donor conference in helping Syrian refugee host countries.

At a meeting with heads of EU delegations to the Middle East and North Africa, Judeh highlighted the difficulties brought on by hosting Syrians in the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Around 1.3 million Syrians are in Jordan, according to official figures, but only around half of them are registered as refugees.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director General Guy Ryder on Thursday discussed ways to boost cooperation between Jordan and the ILO through supporting the country's capacities in the different areas of the labour market. 

The Monarch and the ILO official, who is currently visiting the country, discussed possible cooperation in drawing up projects that can support job generation in the country, in a manner that would reduce the level of unemployment and poverty and improve the living standard of citizens. 

Ryder expressed the ILO's commitment to developing its cooperation with the Kingdom in the various areas of labour and employee-related issues, according to a Royal Court statement. 

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan and Labour Minister Nidal Katamine attended the meeting. 

At a joint press conference with Ryder later in the day, Labour Minister Nidal  Katamine reiterated Jordan’s stand regarding allowing Syrian refugees to join the workforce.

“We can’t provide job opportunities, except to the Jordanians first,” he said, stressing that “without investments we will not be able to create jobs in Jordan”.

This position is part of a “holistic approach” Jordan has adopted and is expected to present to a donors’ conference in London, slated for February 4.

According to officials, Jordan seeks investments that would generate jobs for communities hosting Syrian refugees, where the infrastructure and labour structures have been strained due to the influx of around 1.5 million (now the figure stands at around 1.3 million) Syrians who sought refuge in the Kingdom over the past five years.

Jordan would then allow a “fraction” of these refugees to legally take jobs.

“We are hoping that the international community will be able to respond to this… We are unhappy with how the international community is responding” to the impact of the crisis on Jordan.

As for Jordan’s needs for the year 2016 to continue providing services to Syrian refugees, the minister said, the amount will be presented at the London conference. However, he said the World Bank announced that Jordan needs $2.6 billion for this year.

However, “we believe there will be a [positive] response”, Katamine told reporters.

For his part, Ryder said: "The particular reason for my visit is to see the circumstances prevailing in Jordan… to try to understand and measure the impact of the fact that Jordan has received a very large number of refugees, particularly from Syria.”

In addition, he sought to “reassess the labour market situation”.

“I have come here before the London conference, which contains a theme on jobs and employment as a part to the response to the refugee crisis. And here lies the challenge to the international community: to provide assistance and support to resources and policies that would better enable Jordan and other countries to meet the challenges” and that would involve the possibility for Syrians to make a living in host countries.

He added: “There are several areas where I believe the international community can help Jordan  to ensure the legitimate employment needs of Jordanian people and also find access for your guests to the labour market. My organisation is trying to play a role to this effort.”

The UN official said that he would have a chance to speak at the London conference and tell donors what he has seen in the country, stressing that the world “has a clear and present interest” in ensuring that Jordan is in a position to receive sufficient support to continue its mission in serving the refugees.