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AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) on Monday announced that its flights are going according to schedule without any changes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

RJ is ready to take the necessary measures in light of current weather conditions in accordance with its emergency plan, Petra quoted RJ spokesperson Basil Kilani as saying.

He said the cancellation of two trips to New York in the past two days was due to the closure of the airport in the US. He urged travellers to contact 5100000 to inquire about flight times. 

AMMAN — The Consumer Protection Society (CPS) on Monday urged the public not to crowd shopping centres and overstock on goods during the weather depression currently affecting the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The CPS said goods are available in sufficient quantities at markets and warned against buying more than is needed, which, it said, could encourage some merchants to take advantage of consumers by hiking prices or selling low-quality items.

The society stressed the importance of reporting any violations or wrongdoing against consumers to take the proper measures against those responsible. 

AMMAN — An 18-year-old man died of critical injuries after he was run over by a car in Batn Al Ghoul area in Maan, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said Monday. 

Three others suffered breathing difficulties after inhaling gas emitted from a wood-burning heater in a house in Al Hashemieh. CDD rescue teams administered first aid and took the three to Zarqa Public Hospital where their condition was listed as fair. 

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry Secretary General Mohammad Tayseer Bani Yaseen on Monday received a copy of the credentials of newly appointed and non-resident ambassador of Singapore to Jordan Shamsher Zaman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the ceremony, the officials discussed bilateral relations and voiced interest to boost them. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday urged the creation of a climate that is conducive to breathing life into the moribund peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

He told British lawmakers that any talks between the two sides should address all the final status issues in line with the two-state solution and international legitimacy resolutions, a Royal Court statement said. 

His Majesty underlined the key role of concerned international parties, foremost of which the UK, to push the Mideast peace process forward and achieve results that would reflect positively on regional peace and stability, noting that continued violence, turbulence and instability in the area is a lifeline for terrorism and extremism.

The King reiterated the need to intensify the ongoing efforts by regional and international players to firmly address the threat of terrorism and its radical gangs, applying a holistic approach that involves full coordination among all partners. 

The two sides also discussed the Syrian crisis and efforts to find an inclusive political solution.

The British legislators thanked Jordan for the “pivotal” role it is playing in dealing with the various regional issues and its peace efforts, the statement said.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, King’s Office Director Jaafar Hassan and the president of the House’s Palestine Committee, MP Yahya Saud. 

AMMAN – The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) on Monday extended an additional grant worth $20 million to support the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) for the Syrian refugee crisis. 

The grant agreement was signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and KFAED Director General Abdulwahab Ahmad Al Bader in Amman. 

A ministry statement said the grant would enhance the quality of public services in host communities in the sectors of health, education and municipal services.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met with the director of KFAED and thanked Kuwait for supporting the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Also on Monday, Fakhoury headed a meeting for representatives of international financial institutions and the UN, who are convening in Amman as part of the working group on the new financing initiative to support the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. 

The working group was formed following the International Stakeholders’ Roundtable Meeting for the MENA region that took place in Lima, Peru on October 10, 2015 during the World Bank Group (WBG) International Monetary Fund (IMF) joint annual meetings.

The Roundtable Meeting focused on the two financing facilities developed by the WBG, in cooperation with the UN and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which aims to mobilise additional financial resources to the region to strengthen the capacity of countries and communities hosting refugees to absorb the shocks on their economic and social fabric, and to support the recovery and reconstruction of MENA countries.

Fakhoury told participants that Jordan does not intend to borrow to finance priority projects related to the influx of Syrian refugees, stressing that such schemes should be funded only through grants. 

Jordan may consider high concessionary loans to finance its development priorities under the Executive Development Programme (EDP) and fiscal needs, but it may not borrow to finance priority projects related to the Syrian refugee burden even if these projects were implemented in host communities. 

Amman, he said, seeks grants to fund the resilience component of the Jordan Response Plan (JRP).

“Being an upper-middle income country limits our ability to borrow at high concessionary terms, access additional grants, trust funds or guarantees that are not open to countries in this category,” Fakhoury said, as quoted in the ministry statement.

Jordan’s external environment continues to be challenging, he added. Citing the preliminary results of the recent 2015 Population and Household Census, the minister said that Jordan is now a host to about 1.3 million Syrians, and this influx, coupled with the continued impact of the regional turbulence, is impacting growth levels, investments, exports, and tourism, in addition to continued pressures on existing infrastructure and services. 

“This situation constitutes a threat to the stability and overall resilience,” he added.

Briefing participants on recent updates in Jordan, the minister said Jordan has a clear roadmap represented by its 10-year socioeconomic vision, Jordan 2025, which was launched last year.

Under this vision, the government has recently adopted the new EDP 2016-2018, which outlines development projects across priority sectors that include health, local development, education, water, energy, and transport for the next three years and represents the first phase of implementing the new vision.

He said that development priorities under the EDP for the coming three years are estimated at about $14 billion and that more than 75 per cent of these priorities were accommodated in the draft 2016 budget law and the medium-term budgeting framework.

The EDP also takes into consideration the updated Governorates Development Programmes for 2016-2018.

The government adopted a new JRP for 2016-2018 that was prepared in coordination with the donor community, Fakhoury said, adding that the total cost of the response interventions under the new JRP is $8.13 billion for the next three years, of which $2.48 billion is required for refugee interventions and $2.45 billion for host communities, in addition to $3.2 billion that is required for specific budget support needs, including income losses induced by the regional crisis and some security costs, among others.

Adequately financing the JRP through grants is critical as the 2015 plan was only 36 per cent funded, of which less than 10 per cent was dedicated to improve the situation of host communities, the minister said. 

JRP financing will ensure the continuation of the international humanitarian response to refugees, as well as enable Jordan sustain the continuity of the delivery of basic services to refugees and host communities in the sectors of education, energy, health, transport, municipal services and water and sanitation at improved levels rather than at regressing levels, he added.

AMMAN – Border Guards on Sunday night killed two persons who tried to infiltrate Jordan from Syria, boarding a vehicle that was carrying large quantities of drugs, an official source at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) said Monday.

The source said that the vehicle tried to cross into Jordan before midnight on Sunday and that border troops followed the observed rules of engagement. The operation resulted in setting the vehicle ablaze and killing two persons who tried to run away. 

After the inspection of the car, Border Guards found 2,600 palm-sized sheets of hashish and 2.392 million pills of narcotics. 

The bodies of the two men and the seized drugs were handed to concerned authorities, the JAF said. 

Also on Sunday night, the JAF said that Border Guards foiled an infiltration attempt by a person, who was trying to cross from Jordan into Syria.

Border Guards executed rules of engagement taken in such cases, resulting in the arrest of the infiltrator who was later referred to the concerned authorities, a JAF statement said. 

The same person, the official source said, tried to cross the border in 2014 and was shot by border guards. 

On Saturday, the army killed 12 infiltrators and injured others as they attempted to cross from Syria into Jordan, as part of a group of 36 people. 

AMMAN — Three groups of Islamist reformists who have quit the Muslim Brotherhood and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF) are facing challenges to their plans to found new political parties.

Hundreds have resigned from both the Muslim Brotherhood movement and the IAF, including a group led by Rheil Gharaibeh, who established the moderate Zamzam Initiative. There are also the recently registered Muslim Brotherhood Society and a third splinter faction dubbed the Elders Group led by Hamzeh Mansour. Their defections have dealt a heavy blow to the conservative old guard.  

Members of both Zamzam and the new Society said they would each establish a new political party they described as a national party, hinting they would accept members from across the board.

However, Gharaibeh, who is leading the efforts and meetings to discuss the mechanism for establishing the planned party, said the challenge lies in coming up with new ideas that might distinguish the entity from the existing ones.

“We are holding consultations for that purpose, but still need more time,” Gharaibeh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He added, however, that another major challenge is how to attract young people to join the party.

There are 38 political parties in Jordan, he noted, and “if we cannot come up with something that is attractive to young people”, the party will not be a success.

Khaled Hassanain, the Elders Group spokesperson, agreed with Gharaibeh that the major challenge is how to attract youth.

He said the “economy” is the main concern for young people.

“Due to the current economic challenges, the young people are only concerned with how to find job opportunities,” Hassanain told The Jordan Times.

However, he added, the political environment in Jordan is not encouraging and joining political parties is not a priority for the younger generation.

“The [draft] elections law only gives a small share for political parties’ members to be represented in Parliament, and this is not encouraging,” Hassanain said, adding that if there were a real political reform, this might encourage not only youth but Jordanians in general to be more active in political parties.

The spokesperson revealed that researchers have been recruited by the group to conduct several studies on the feasibility and prospects of success for the envisioned party before taking major steps.

Meanwhile, Gharaibeh added that fear of being believed to have a regional affiliation poses as another issue to address before going ahead with the plan.

He said that historically, people believe that political parties are affiliated with regional movements, which makes it not easy to convince citizens to join parties.

Thus, he added, if the planned party is to succeed, “we have to focus on programmes rather than ideology”.

Khaled Kalaldeh, Minister of Political Development and Parliamentarian Affairs, agrees that it is challenging to attract the young people to join political parties, “but Jordan is not alone in this”.

The challenge is global, even in countries that have mature political parties, he said.

Disagreeing with Hassanain, the minister, a veteran politician and partisan activist himself, argued that the economic challenge might be an incentive for the youth to join political parties and political life in general, noting that “those who come up with the economic policies are the politicians”.

Another reason that discourages the young people from being involved in politics, according to the minister, is the experience in some countries that witnessed revolts led by youth that ended up hijacked by traditional leaderships.

Returning to Jordan, where 75 per cent of its population is under 35 years old, the minister said that politicians are challenged to convince the youth that political activism is the right choice and the path for change and a better future. 

AMMAN — The Kingdom will remain on Tuesday under the impact of a depression and a polar front, with heavy rain and snow forecast, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said Monday.

The weather on Tuesday will be very cold, cloudy and rainy, head of the JMD's weather forecast section, Raed Rafed, said, noting that snowfall is expected in areas located 800m above sea level and higher.

"Snowfall intensity will be slight to intermediate, while accumulation will depend on the elevation of each area. By nighttime, snowfall chances will drop in the northern and central regions of the Kingdom," Rafed told The Jordan Times.

Temperatures during the day will be 4°C, dropping to -1°C at night in Amman, while winds will be northwesterly brisk and gusty.

"Daytime temperatures on Tuesday will be 8°C below their annual average of 12.1°C for this time of the year, while nighttime temperatures will be -1°C in east Amman and -2°C in its western parts," Rafed noted.

The very cold weather will continue prevailing on Wednesday, when it will be partly cloudy with slight to intermediate rain showers across the country, according to the weather forecaster, who highlighted that snow showers are also expected on high mountains.

"By nightfall, chances of snow and rain will drop. Freezing temperatures and ice formation, even in the Jordan Valley, are expected," Rafed said.

Temperatures during the day will be 4°C, dropping to -2°C in east Amman and -3°C in its western parts, while winds will be northwesterly moderate.

Fog, partly cloudy and very cold weather is forecast on Thursday, according to the JMD, which said that ice formation due to freezing temperatures is still expected.

Daytime temperatures will be 6°C, dropping to -2°C in east of the capital and -3°C in the west, while winds will be easterly slow.

The depression and the very cold polar front started affecting the country on Saturday, bringing sufficient rain and snow to several parts of the country.

By Monday morning, the JMD registered the highest snow accumulation in Ajloun Governorate's Ras Munif, where snow reached 6cm.

Salt in Balqa Governorate followed, with snow accumulation reaching 2cm.

Snow in Tafileh reached 1cm, according to Rafed, who said that snow accumulation could be higher in areas where the JMD doesn't have stations.

Despite snowfall in several governorates, the Public Security Department (PSD) said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times that all of the country's roads were open to traffic.

The PSD said main roads are open but urged motorists to exercise extreme caution. 

By Monday, the rain and snow brought on by the polar front channelled 3 million cubic metres (mcm) of water into the Kingdom's dams, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Jordan Valley Authority Director Saad Abu Hammour as saying.

He noted that dams' storage currently stands at 164mcm of their total capacity of 325mcm.

AMMAN — State agencies concerned with ensuring a smooth public life during the expected snowstorm have said that this year’s plans include new elements that would help them avoid mistakes that occurred in previous harsh weather conditions.

Their remarks came as the weatherman expected three days of rain and snow that would reach to the desert and areas of elevation as low as 700m above sea level. 

Very cold weather is forecast for Monday, when snow is expected on elevations of 800m above sea level and higher, according to Raed Rafed, head of the weather forecast section at the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

"The impact of the depression and the cold polar front, which started affecting the country on Saturday, is expected to ease off by Wednesday night, when freezing temperatures, frost and ice formation are expected," Rafed noted.

The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), which has been subject to criticism over its performance last year,  has announced a state of maximum alert to deal with weather-related emergencies, according to officials.

On January 15, the Lower House passed the draft 2016 state budget law in addition to the budget bill of independent government institutions after four days of marathon deliberations.

Expenditure in the 2016 draft state budget is put at JD8.49 billion with a projected deficit of JD905 million, while spending of independent public entities is estimated at JD1.9 billion with a deficit forecast to reach JD376 million. 

Finance Minister Omar Malhas said local revenues in the draft 2016 state budget law are forecast to grow by 11.2 per cent compared to 2015, attributing the expected increase to a rise in non-tax revenues by JD120 million, and a rise in collected income tax by 11 per cent in 2016.

As for foreign grants, estimated at JD814 million, the minister broke down the assistance as follows: JD460 million from the Gulf Cooperation Council grant, JD296 million from the US and JD55 million from the EU, Petra reported.

Regarding capital expenditure, it is estimated at JD1,311 million in 2016, higher by around JD215 million, or 19.6 per cent, than the re-estimated expenses in 2015, Malhas said, noting that the local development sector accounted for the largest share with 21.5 per cent.