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AMMAN — The Kingdom is eager to attract more investments from the EU to help the national economy overcome the challenges it is going through and generate more jobs for Jordanians and refugees, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Tuesday.

At a meeting with German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller, Ensour also stressed the importance of exporting Jordanian products to European markets in light of the closure of many regional markets due to instability.

Ensour and Müller also discussed bilateral relations and ways to enhance joint cooperation at all levels, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier also expressed the Kingdom's appreciation for Germany's support, saying that Berlin has never hesitated to assist Jordan in the face of economic challenges brought on by hosting refugees.

International assistance, he added, covers only a small part of the cost of hosting Syrian refugees, noting that there are indirect costs that have not been taken into consideration, such as security, crimes and drugs.

Müller stressed Germany's full support for the Jordanian economy to help it cope with the challenges resulting from hosting refugees from different countries, commending the Kingdom's role in enhancing regional security and stability, according to Petra.

AMMAN — MP Rula Hroub on Tuesday questioned the government on raising a fixed charge included in the water bill by nearly 100 per cent, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

At a Lower House oversight session, Hroub (Stronger Jordan list) said that she was not convinced by the government's response and decided to withdraw her confidence in Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour. 

But she later ended the questioning after other MPs raised the issue of whether it is constitutional or not to question Ensour rather than the concerned minister. 

Some lawmakers said the House can hold one minister or more responsible for their actions but not the premier, while others considered questioning the prime minister a constitutional right and a basic part of the supervisory role of the House over members of the executive authority.

Ensour said questioning the government for not consulting with the House in the decision is unconstitutional, noting that the Lower House does not have the right to intervene in the water pricing decision but can only supervise and withdraw confidence.

He said the government takes the responsibility for decisions to increase prices and not the House, which previously decided not to intervene when asked to set prices of oil derivatives. 

Ensour added that the Constitution differentiates between the premier and the ministers, stressing that Hroub's decision to withdraw confidence in the prime minister is unconstitutional. 

The MP had charged that the decision to raise the fixed charge in the water bill lacks transparency because it was not published in the Official Gazette, Petra reported. 

Water subscribers in the Kingdom receive bills on a quarterly basis.

Households consuming between zero to 18 cubic metres per three months, which originally had to pay a fixed charge of JD2.43 in addition to the bill, are now charged an extra JD2.

Subscribers consuming between 19 cubic metres and 72 cubic metres, who used to pay between JD4.80 and JD5.73, now have to pay an additional JD4.

The fixed charge in the water bill went up by JD6 for households that consume over 73 cubic metres, making it JD11.73 after the raise.

AMMAN — MPs on Tuesday called on the government to follow up on the case of journalist Tayseer Al Najjar, who is reportedly detained in the UAE.

In a memorandum they submitted to the Lower House's secretariat, 52 lawmakers called on the government to contact the UAE to "uncover the fate of Najjar", Al Rai daily reported. 

The signatories said security bodies in Abu Dhabi summoned Najjar in December on his way back to Jordan, claiming that the detained journalist's family knows nothing about his fate, according to Al Rai. 

The Jordan Press Association (JPA) said last Tuesday that it is following up on the detention of Najjar with the Emirati and Jordanian sides.

JPA President Tareq Momani told The Jordan Times that he has recently spoken with the Emiratis about the issue of Najjar.

Momani said the syndicate received information that the journalist was detained at the airport in Dubai as he was heading back to Amman recently.

He said he has sent an official letter to the UAE Journalists Association to follow up on the issue.

“We have not received a response yet from the UAE association, and we are exerting our utmost efforts in this regard to check on his situation and identify his whereabouts,” Momani added.

“The JPA also contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman, which pledged to look into the issue,” he said.

AMMAN — Border Guards rescued a five-year-old Syrian girl on Monday  several hours after she had reportedly gone missing near the country’s northeastern border, according to an official source at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army.

Upon the Royal directives to give priority to humanitarian issues, and upon the directives of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mishal Al Zaben, the King’s military adviser, the Border Guards formed a search and a rescue team using a helicopter as soon as they were informed of the incident, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Following coordination with the Iraqi side to ensure the safety of the search operation, the Border Guards found the girl near the Iraqi-Jordanian border after several hours. The girl, who was found startled and scared, was provided with medical attention and was returned to her parents, according to the army official.

AMMAN — King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben on Tuesday attended a ceremony to raise the flag of the Great Arab Revolt at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) headquarters, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At the ceremony, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, Zaben directed all field commanders to raise the flag of the Revolt at JAF directorates around the Kingdom.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 64 Syrian refugees during the past 24 hours, an army official said on Tuesday. 

Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps. Royal Medical Services cadres provided health care and essential medications to the ill and wounded, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — The Health Ministry on Tuesday said the H1N1 (swine) flu is now considered a seasonal flu and there is no need to announce a state of emergency or even to register cases.

Hatem Azrui, the ministry’s spokesperson, told The Jordan Times that deaths caused by the disease do not exceed those caused by the seasonal flu, but no figures are available.

He noted that the majority of the deaths are among high-risk groups that include people who have respiratory problems, children or pregnant women.

He called on the public not to panic and to seek medical consultation once they feel the symptoms, which include diarrhoea, fever, and a sore throat.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad, president of the Civil Defence Higher Council, on Tuesday visited the Civil Defence Department (CDD) and checked on its work in dealing with emergency cases during the prevailing snowstorm.

CDD Director Lt. Gen. Talal Kofahi said an emergency plan for the winter season has been drawn up and has been implemented since the beginning of the cold front, stressing the CDD’s readiness to assist the public. Hammad praised the CDD’s efforts during the current weather conditions.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said on Monday it has water pumps at the ready at four tunnels in Amman to prevent flooding and the disruption of traffic.

GAM spokesperson Izzedin Shammout said the pumps will be used in emergency cases after the four tunnels were flooded by rainfall in the past. 

"They are placed near the Sports City, Interior, Al Shaab and Medical City tunnels," he told The Jordan Times. 

Shammout noted that 5,000 GAM employees are being deployed to the streets in three shifts.

He called on residents not to litter as this makes the work of the staff harder during the current weather conditions. 

Accumulating trash could block manholes on the streets and cause floods during rain and snow.

"Sanitation workers collected 5,000 tonnes of garbage on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Until noon on Monday, they collected 850 tonnes of waste," Shammout told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The municipality received some 88 complaints until Monday morning, most of which were about broken tree branches on streets and car accidents, according to a GAM statement. 

The central Amman market also received 2,400 tonnes of fruit and vegetables on Sunday, Shammout added. 

"Everything is under control." 

He said GAM teams are also gearing up for Tuesday as the polar front, which has brought snow and heavy rain to the Kingdom, is forecast to intensify.

AMMAN — Jordanians wishing to wake up Monday morning to a white city were disappointed, as snow did not accumulate overnight, with many of them ending up going to work. 

Social media users shared memes and jokes about what they called "exaggerated" forecasts of the expected storm, dubbed "Nimeh" (meaning blessing in Arabic), which prompted them to prepare for harsher conditions and got their hopes up for a day off.

Lama Khatib, who works at a private recruitment company, wrote on Facebook that she had to go to work on Monday, as it was not announced a public holiday, but there was not much to be done and employees went back home shortly.

The Jordan Metrological Department expected snow to fall and accumulate Monday during the day in areas located 800m above sea level and by night in areas 700m above sea level.

"Everyone kept looking out of the windows fearing they will be trapped at work if it snows heavily," another Facebook user wrote.

Yosef Fuqaha claimed that meteorologists and bakeries cooperated to spread "inaccurate" news to show the government Jordanians'" real purchasing power".

"We took out a chicken from the freezer to cook; it cried: 'please put me back in, it is freezing out here'," tweeted Ayham Hammad
(@Ayhamhammad48).

Rana Abdallah joked that Jordanians have so far accumulated fat by eating what they had saved up for the snow that did not accumulate.

Social media users shared photos of the historical snowstorm that has recently hit eastern parts of the United States, joking that "Nimeh" changed its mind and went to the US instead of Jordan.