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AMMAN — Seven people were injured on Saturday during a brawl in Ajloun Governorate’s Halawah village, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said. Cars and private property were also damaged security services contained the brawl.

The injured were transferred to Al Iman Public Hospital in Ajloun where they were reported to be in fair condition, CDD said, adding that those who caused the fight were arrested.

AMMAN — Photojournalist Jamil Abdul Rahman Mazraawi passed away on Friday. Jordan News Agency, Petra, Director General Faisal Shboul paid tribute to Mazraawi, who worked in journalism for more than 30 years.

Jordan Press Association President Tareq Momani also paid tribute to Mazraawi and expressed condolences to his family, according to Petra.

AMMAN — The Agriculture Ministry, through its 13 forest nurseries across the Kingdom, produces 3 million saplings of 80 species annually, Issa Shobaki, the ministry’s assistant secretary general for forestry and pastures, said on Saturday.

The ministry distributes 1.5 million saplings to citizens and public and private institutions, 500,000 saplings to support forestry projects and 1 million saplings are given to nurseries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. As a result of the ministry’s efforts, the Kingdom’s green areas increase by between 5,000 to 6,000 dunum annually.

AMMAN — The Finance Ministry, in cooperation with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, on Thursday launched a one-window project to enable taxpayers to inquire and pay the property tax in 109 municipalities.

The project, co-implemented by UNDP, will cover all municipalities in 2017. It aims at collecting taxes and fees through a unified database that can handle the revenues of all municipalities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — The Law Interpretation Bureau on Saturday ruled that the Lower House cannot directly ask the attorney general to investigate violations listed in the Audit Bureau’s annual report, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The bureau said the Lower House can refer any violations to the prime minister to take the necessary measures; however, if a minister is involved in reported violations, the House is authorised to investigate, collect evidence and refer the minister for trial. 

AMMAN — Former basketball and handball national team player Samir Nassar launched his biography “Maestro” on Thursday at a ceremony attended by former ministers, players and referees.

Nassar, who started his career at Amman Club, joined the national basketball team in 1974 and continued to lead Amman Club while playing basketball for Orthodoxi and the national team. He retired as a player in 1988 and moved to coaching in Saudi Arabia with Nasr, Qadissieh and Nahda clubs before moving to Qatar’s Ahli and Sadd.

Nassar then returned to Jordan, where he coached Jazira and the national team. He was also appointed Jordan Basketball Federation technical adviser, and became a lecturer at the University of Jordan (UJ) and the Hashemite University after earning an MA in sports management from UJ.

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh paid a brief working visit to Riyadh on Saturday during which he held talks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir. 

The talks came within the “framework of on-going coordination between the two countries and their leaderships and in light of the latest regional developments, and repercussions of the Iranian escalating measures against to Saudi Arabia”, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra

Judeh's visit to Riyadh was also a follow-up of contacts between His Majesty King Abdullah and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz, Petra said. 

On Thursday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour underlined Jordan’s commitment to preserve security on its borders with neighbouring countries, especially Saudi Arabia, and protect them from all threats.

The meeting came shortly ahead of the Ministerial Meeting of the Cooperation Council of Gulf Arab countries, hosted by Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and the Arab League Ministerial Meeting, which will be held in Cairo on Sunday.  

The agency quoted Judeh as stressing Jordan’s “historic” position in support of Saudi Arabia, especially in light of the latest developments in the region. 

Moreover, the minister urged Iran to respect its neighbours and stop interfering in the internal issues of other countries, noting that the recent acts of sabotage that took place at the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were in violation of international laws and, in particular, the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

Judeh stressed Jordan’s rejection of sectarian incitement witnessed in the region recently, following Iranian provocative statements. 

The Saudi foreign minister conveyed King Salman’s greetings to King Abdullah, reiterating that Judeh’s visit is in line with continued consultations and coordination between the two countries. 

In statements to the press following the meeting, Judeh said his visit to Riyadh affirms the solid relations between Jordan and Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom’s support of Saudi Arabia in confronting recent developments.  

Judeh said he entrusted Jordan’s permanent mission to the Arab League to attend the Arab League Ministerial Meeting and to assert Jordan’s support for Saudi Arabia, pointing out that he would not be able to attend the meeting because he is tied up with King’s Abdullah’s visit to the US. 

Jubeir noted that the Saudi-Jordanian contacts are going on, at all levels, in a manner that serves mutual interests and regional causes.  

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah conducted 1,381 activities in 2015, with more than half of the time allocated for local activities focused on social and economic issues, according to the Royal Court.

An infograph published on the King’s official website, which is available at www.kingabdullah.jo, showed that 783 of the activities were meetings with Jordanian officials and key figures in several social, political, economic and media arenas and 435 were meetings with foreign leaders internally and externally.

Of the total activities, 92 were phone calls with Arab and foreign leaders, 52 military programmes, 19 speeches and interviews and 36 working visits.

In 2015, His Majesty received 123 leaders and officials from Arab and foreign countries, including nine official hosted visits, according to the facts and figures sheet.

Of the total 835 meetings with Jordanian officials and figures, 647 were meetings with officials and 52 were with the military staff. In terms of sector, discussions in 45 meetings focused on the social field, 44 on economy, 42 on politics and 5 on the media.

Out of the 435 meetings the King held last year with foreign leaders and officials, 316 were focused on politics, 69 on economic issues, 34 on military affairs and 16 on the media, according to the Royal Court fact sheet.

In terms of time distribution for local activities, 37 per cent of the time was allocated for social activities, 21 per cent for economic activities, 20 per cent for military activities, 17 per cent for political activities and 5 per cent for media-related activities.

According to the list, the King conducted 36 working visits in 2015 that reached 73 working days and included 224 meetings with leaders and officials outside the Kingdom.

The average duration of each visit stood at 48 hours. 

AMMAN — Jordan was tasked by the Conference of Arab Lawyers, recently concluded in Cairo, to form an international legal committee to follow up on the Israeli assaults on Jerusalem's holy sites and Al Haram Al Sharif.

Internal law expert Faisal Khuzai, who will lead the panel, said that Jordan will document all Israeli assaults on the Old City's holy sites and will then file a lawsuit against the Israeli occupation authorities with the International Criminal Court. 

Khuzai said he presented a working paper at the conference on the Hashemite Custodianship on Jerusalem's holy sites.  

His Majesty King Abdullah recently slammed the continuous Israeli violations in Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif and attempts to change the status quo in Jerusalem. 

He said such acts hinder endeavours aimed at reviving the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, the King stressed, are a red line for Jordan, noting that the Kingdom will continue shouldering its religious and historical responsibilities towards the entirety of Al Haram Al Sharif.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday called on traders of fruits and vegetables to resume exporting agricultural produce to Syria via sea.

Salah Tarawneh, the ministry’s assistant secretary general for marketing and information, said that tomatoes and other vegetables were exported on Thursday to Syria via Aqaba Port.

"Exports of fruit and vegetables to Syria have resumed via seafreight. A total of 200 tonnes of tomatoes were exported on Thursday to Syria," Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.

The official called on exporters to "take advantage" of ferries that transport goods from Syria to Jordan.

"Several ferries bring Syrian commodities to the port of Aqaba and then leave empty. We urge exporters to take advantage of those ferries and to export their fruits and vegetables to Syria and Lebanon at a much lower cost," Tarawneh said.

He underscored that exporters of fruits and vegetables can make up for their losses following the closure of Jordan's border with Syria by shipping agricultural produce through the maritime line.

"Abundant production in fruits and vegetables is expected soon. Therefore, we call on exporters to take advantage of this opportunity, particularly as there is a strong chance that the prices of fruits and vegetables in the target market are high," Tarawneh said.

Jordan closed the Jaber border crossing with Syria in April last year for security reasons. Ramtha, the other border crossing with Syria, has been closed for over four years, except for humanitarian assistance to the war-torn country.

A total of 1,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables, worth millions of Jordanian dinars, used to be exported every day to Syria and Lebanon, according to the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruits and Vegetables.