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AMMAN — Regulations governing Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services are expected to be issued soon, according to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC).

VoIP enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for voice calls. It is used in applications such as Viber, Skype and WhatsApp. 

The TRC will discuss the issue in the next few days and will take a final decision on the new regulations, which will be in line with the Telecommunications Law, TRC Chief Commissioner Ghazi Jbour said Monday.

The regulations, he added, will preserve the interests of all stakeholders.

Using such applications to make voice calls over the Internet has affected the telecom sector’s revenues, Jbour told The Jordan Times, adding that such apps utilise infrastructure developed by companies operating in the local market.

Stressing that the regulations will not entail blocking any of these services, he said they will focus on making voice calls using these apps.

The TRC recently started a study in cooperation with local telcos on the impact of VoIP apps such as Viber and WhatsApp on the telecom market and its revenues, the official noted

The increase in Internet penetration and the rise in adoption of smartphones has led to a decline in sending text messages and making voice calls, especially international voice calls, said Jbour.

He added that there is a notable drop in international voice calls.

According to the latest figures by the TRC, there are more than 6.3 million Internet users in Jordan and some 13 million active mobile subscriptions.

Figures by the ICT Ministry indicate that smartphone penetration in Jordan exceeds 70 per cent. 

AMMAN — Students from Yarmouk University in Irbid on Sunday bought all the goods sold by an old street vendor near the university’s north gate in an initiative to support him.

The street vendor arrives at the university street in the city of Irbid, some 80km north of Amman and stays there every day from 10am until late in the afternoon, according to students from the university.

“I watched him every day last week, he comes to the same spot and displays all the toys he sells regardless of the weather condition,” student Ibrahim Madhi told The Jordan Times.

A campaign was launched on Saturday on a Facebook group for Irbid residents and it received positive feedback by many students, professors and media outlets, he said.

“Many students asked us how to participate and about the exact location of the old man so that they can help,” Madhi said.

He added that the vendor asked the students about the reason they were buying the toys he sells and they replied that they wanted to buy gifts for orphans on the occasion of the holidays and the New Year.

“We told him it’s for orphans because we didn’t want to hurt his feelings,” Madhi said.

Aya Rbihat, who is also a student at the university, said such acts should be promoted and encouraged.

“The new year is around the corner, we should remember the poor and the ones who built this country and participated in making it successful,” the third-year student added.

“The world is a small place. We can make a difference every day by doing these small acts, we can always lend a hand,” she said.

Many Jordanians shared the photo of the vendor on their personal social media profiles, commending the initiative.

AMMAN — Jordanians can now inquire about registered lawsuits and follow up on them through a smartphone application, Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni said Monday. 

The application, available on Android and iOS platforms, is part of the ministry’s efforts to advance its services and keep up with technological developments, the minister told reporters, adding that the new service is particularly important for the court notification process.

The service is expected to decrease the number of inquiry visits to courts, as it provides users with information on all types of registered personal and criminal cases, except for investigative, juvenile and private cases.

Through the system, users can inquire about cases they filed or ones filed against them, Talhouni said, adding that users can also obtain non-conviction certificates through the ministry’s website (http://www.moj.gov.jo/Pages/viewpage.aspx?pageID=218).

To access the database, users are required to register with their identification number, date of birth, e-mail address and phone number, he said, stressing that strict measures are in place to ensure the privacy and security of the information. 

The online service of issuing a non-conviction certificate was among eight e-government services launched in late November by the steering committee for e-government programmes.

Two of the launched services were by the Greater Amman Municipality, which were inquiring about traffic violations and paying for them as well as paying the property tax.

Five services were for the Income and Sales Tax Department, including paying monthly taxes for companies.

AMMAN — President of the Gas Station Owners Association (GSOA) Fahed Al Fayez on Monday said the upcoming monthly pricing update of fuel products should see a larger drop than what the government announced recently.

Fayez expected the drop in crude Brent oil prices on the international market during December to lead to a 4.5-12 per cent decrease in local fuel prices, noting that the product’s global price decreased by 13 per cent this month compared to November.

The recent drop in international oil prices hit an 11-year low, according to news agencies.

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.

Last Tuesday, the government said fuel prices would drop at the end of this month by 2 per cent to 8 per cent, a ratio Fayez did not agree with.

The prices of diesel and kerosene are expected to witness a substantial decrease that could reach 11 to 13 per cent, Fayez told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The GSOA president also said that the prices of 90 octane and 95 octane gasoline are likely to go down by 4.5- 6 per cent.

Fayez noted that his expectations could carry a margin of error of 1-2 per cent.

His remarks on the drop in fuel prices were echoed by several consumers, who did not agree with the government’s expectations of a 2-8 per cent decline in prices.

“All prices should be reduced at least by 20 per cent,” wrote Facebook user Fares Alammer. 

“Brent oil’s price is $36 and the decrease does not meet our expectations,” Osama Eid also commented on Facebook.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture on Monday called on farmers to fence off their ponds to prevent drowning incidents, which mostly involve children.

Thousands of agricultural ponds of different sizes and depths spread across the Jordan Valley for the irrigation of fruits trees and crops, the ministry’s spokesperson, Nimer Haddadin, said, noting that there are no laws or regulations that oblige farmers to fence off the ponds.

“Unfortunately, there is nothing that legally binds owners of farm ponds to install fences around them, therefore, we urge the farmers to cooperate and fence them off and to install warning signs to prevent more drowning incidents,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour underscored that fencing off farm ponds is the responsibility of their owners.

“We have no jurisdiction over farmers inside their farms,” Abu Hammour told The Jordan Times.

Drowning incidents of people swimming in farm ponds recur in the Jordan Valley. 

On Sunday, authorities retrieved the bodies of two children who were reported missing since last Tuesday in Ghor Al Safi.

They were found dead in an agricultural pond in Ghor Al Safi, which includes 3,000-4,000 ponds, according to an area resident.

Col. Abdul Hadi Al Sarayreh, Karak Civil Defence Department director, said on Sunday that the area where the two children drowned is agricultural and 90 per cent of it is not fenced.

Sarayreh said that although the department has urged farm owners to install fences around their ponds to avoid drowning incidents, very few have heeded to the instructions.

Meanwhile, Haddadin underscored the importance of raising public awareness on the hazards of swimming in farm ponds.

“It is a shared responsibility to keep the children safe from drowning. It is shared among the authorities, parents and schools. Swimming in farm ponds involves the danger of drowning due to thick layers of mud that trap swimmers. In addition, the water of farm ponds could be contaminated with remnants of pesticides or fertilisers,” he highlighted.

AMMAN — Eleven students from the Tafileh Technical University, eight of whom are currently in their last semesters, found out last week that they could be expelled for celebrating their own and their colleagues’ graduation projects, a student said Monday.

Jaser Harasees, an activist at the university, said students found out about the decision last Wednesday, when they tried to access their online university accounts.

Harasees also claimed that campus security used force to stop the celebrations.

 “The university president, Shtaywy Abdalla, had issued an announcement banning all kinds of celebrations after the presentation of graduation projects,” Harasees told The Jordan Times, “but we hadn’t had a graduation ceremony in three years — we wanted to celebrate.”

Fawwaz Abed Alhaq, the university’s vice president, said “a misunderstanding” happened between students and campus security last week during the celebrations.

“We will check the surveillance camera footage to see who created the chaos that day. The investigation is ongoing, but hopefully, nothing will happen to the students who are in their last semester,” the vice president added. 

He noted students were celebrating despite several announcements banning celebratory gatherings after graduation seminars, adding that the restriction on such festivities are aimed at preventing clashes between students and residents of nearby areas. 

The celebrations, Abed Alhaq noted, are chaotic and many students complain about them.

“This behaviour does not befit university students — creating chaos and disrupting classes,” he told The Jordan Times. 

On Sunday, the students who were notified online of their expulsion protested in front of the presidency building to urge the administration to reverse its decision, Harasees said. 

The administration, he added, promised to reconsider the decision this week. 

AMMAN — Jordan’s submission to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, “Theeb”, has recently won three awards at the 12th Trans-Saharan International Film Festival in Zagora, Morocco, according to a statement from the movie’s distributor, MAD Solutions. 

Director and co-writer Naji Abu Nowar’s “bedouin Western” won the Jury Award, the Journalism and Film Analysis Award and Best Actor Award for Jacir Eid, who plays the titular character.

The win came a few days after “Theeb” made it to the Oscars shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film. 

The nine films currently contending in the category were selected out of 80 submissions.

“Theeb”, which was filmed entirely in the Southern Badia, is one of only two shortlisted films not from Europe — the second being Colombian feature “Embrace of the Serpent”. 

The other selected movies are from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary and Ireland.

Foreign Language Film nominations for 2015 are being determined in two phases, according to the Oscars’ official website.

The “Phase I committee”, consisting of several hundred Los Angeles-based academy members, screened the original submissions in the category between mid-October and December 14. 

“The group’s top six choices, augmented by three additional selections voted by the Academy’s Foreign Language Film Award Executive Committee, constitute the shortlist,” the academy said.

The shortlist will be reduced to the category’s five nominees by “specially invited committees” in New York, Los Angeles and London. 

“They will spend Friday, January 8, through Sunday, January 10, viewing three films each day and then casting their ballots,” the academy added.

The 88th Academy Awards nominations will be announced on January 14, 2016.

Last month, “Theeb” was released commercially in the US and garnered more than $136,000 in ticket sales within five weeks, the distributor said.

The film was also released in 12 countries in the Arab world and Europe and is set to have a limited re-release in several Arab countries, details of which will be revealed soon, it added.

The film’s producers collaborated with bedouin tribes to ensure the authentic depiction of life in the region. The cast was entirely formed from the local tribesmen of these communities after they were engaged in acting workshops in the eight months prior to principal photography.

Co-scripted with Bassel Ghandour, the film is set in the Arabian Desert of 1916.

It follows Theeb, a young bedouin boy, and his brother Hussein as they leave the safety of their tribe to venture on a treacherous journey at the dawn of the Great Arab Revolt.

“If Theeb is to survive, he must quickly learn about adulthood, trust and betrayal,” a statement from the distributor said.

In addition to Eid, the film also stars Hussein Salameh, Hassan Mutlag, Marji Audeh and Jack Fox, the only professional actor on the cast.

The crew included Wolfgang Thaler, an award-winning Austrian director of photography, British composer Jerry Lane and British production designer Anna Lavelle.

The film was edited by Rupert Lloyd.

Ghandour’s Bayt Al Shawareb, in association with Lloyd’s Noor Pictures, produced the film, in co-production with Nasser Kalaji and Laith Majali’s Immortal Entertainment.

Nadine Toukan — the producer of acclaimed Jordanian features such as “Captain Abu Raed” and “When Monaliza Smiled” — is the executive producer.

AMMAN — King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben returned home on Monday following a brief visit to Egypt during which he and Egyptian Defence Minister Sedki Sobhi watched the final activities of a joint military exercise, dubbed "Aqaba 2015".

The exercise carried out by members of the Jordanian and Egyptian armies was aimed at boosting military cooperation, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

During his visit, Zaben said the exercise sends a strong message to any entity that seeks to threaten Egypt, Jordan or any Arab country.

He also conveyed the greetings of His Majesty King Abdullah, Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, to the Egyptian leadership, people and armed forces.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 100 Syrian refugees during the past 24 hours and sent them to shelters and camps , a military source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Monday.

Royal Medical Services cadres provided healthcare services to the ill and injured.

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi has decided to designate a new department to deal with PSD media-related affairs. The step is in line with the restructuring of some PSD departments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday. 

PSD Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said the independent PSD media department will start its work from the beginning of next year and will comprise the media centre, the PSD radio station, and a new television station that has recently started trial broadcast. The new department will be headed by Col. Khader Al Khattab, he added.