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AMMAN — The Labour Ministry on Monday signed a cooperation agreement with its Palestinian counterpart to exchange expertise, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Labour Minister Nidal Katamine said during the ceremony that the agreement includes exchanging visits among officials and experts in the field of labour as well as exchanging studies, research, and information related to improving vocational training, public safety and health.

Palestinian Labour Minister Mamoun Abu Shahla stressed the importance of benefiting from Jordan’s experience in vocational training.

AMMAN — The Lower House lost quorum on Sunday at a meeting scheduled to resume discussion of the government’s economic policies.

First Deputy Speaker MP Mustafa Amawi (Islamic Centrist Party list) apologised for not being able to continue the session after almost 50 minutes due to the lack of quorum. 

“Regrettably, I have to adjourn the meeting,” he said. The House’s quorum is achieved with the presence of two-thirds of its 150 members.

Lawmakers were scheduled to present their response to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour’s defence of the government’s economic policies, which he presented last week.

Before adjourning the session, some MPs presented their parliamentary blocs’ response to the government, with some of them calling for curbing public expenditure and price hikes.

According to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the National Union bloc stressed the need for constant partnership between the government and the House in handling the country’s affairs and solving citizens’ economic problems.

Speaking on behalf of the National Gathering bloc, leftist MP Mustafa Shneikat attributed economic imbalances to the government’s economic approach, calling for “resurrecting” the state’s social role, Petra said.

The Watan [nation] bloc said citizens are unable to bear price hikes, urging the government to refer to the House for any sensitive decisions.

Other blocs called on the government to stop resorting to citizens’ pockets to narrow the budget deficit and increase salaries of public servants to meet inflation rates.

AMMAN — Defendants being tried for the assault on a Public Security Department (PSD) patrol, during which Captain Jamal Darawsheh and Corporal Usama Jarawreh were killed, pleaded not guilty before the State Security Court on Sunday. 

The three defendants are charged with carrying out terrorist acts by using automatic rifles that led to the killing of one person, and carrying out terrorist acts using automatic rifles that caused damage to a vehicle, according to the charge sheet. 

At the hearing before the SSC military panel, the defendants said they cannot afford a lawyer. 

The court appointed three attorneys for them, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, especially as the penalties for the charges levelled against them could reach up to the death sentence. 

The court decided to reconvene on Tuesday to listen to witnesses’ testimonies, according to Petra.   

Earlier this month, Darawsheh and Jarawreh were in their patrol vehicle near the Samma intersection to the west of Irbid, some 80km north of Amman, when assailants reportedly fired bullets at their vehicle.

Jarawreh, who was driving the vehicle, was injured and lost control of the car, which veered off and toppled down the road.

Following investigations, police arrested the three suspects currently being tried.

A PSD statement issued in the wake of the arrest said one of the suspects was the brother of a man from the village of Samma who was killed in a shoot-out with police in early October when police were trying to arrest him for alleged vandalism of an Islamic cemetery in the northern town.

The other two men were a friend and a cousin of the prime suspect, who planned the attack against the highway patrol car, the statement said.

Police found weapons and sharp tools when they raided their houses, according to the PSD statement. 

AMMAN — The Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) on Sunday announced Jordan’s general policy in the field of nuclear safety and radiation protection, which is a cornerstone for the implementation of the country’s peaceful nuclear programme.

The policy seeks to ensure the highest levels of nuclear security and ensure the Kingdom’s continued ability to regulate and monitor its atomic energy programme, EMRC Chief Commissioner Farouq Hiari told reporters.

“The adoption and announcement of this policy follows a recommendation by the International Atomic Energy Commission that conducted a mission in the middle of this year to Jordan. They made about 64 recommendations and the adoption and announcement of this policy is one of these recommendations,” Hiari said.

“This policy will be the main reference for any upcoming plans and programmes in the field of nuclear and radiation safety and protection,” the official said, adding that the policy was adopted by the Cabinet.

The policy, he said, will be published on the commission’s website (http://emrc.gov.jo/index.php?&lang=en) and several outlets for review and feedback.

The general policy covers 12 areas that include national laws that govern nuclear safety, transparency, civil responsibility, community awareness, and management of used fuel and radioactive waste.

In October 2013, Jordan contracted Russia’s Rosatom to build the Kingdom’s first two nuclear reactors that are expected to be operational by 2022.

Under the deal, Rosatom has agreed to take on 49 per cent of the plants’ $10 billion construction and operation costs on a build-own-operate basis, with the government shouldering the remaining 51 per cent and retaining a majority share. 

AMMAN — The General Secondary Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) winter session starts on Wednesday and concludes on January 12, with 158,819 students registered for it, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said Sunday.

During a meeting at the Interior Ministry with Interior Minister Salameh Hammad to discuss preparations for the national exam, Thneibat said 1,426 examination halls in the Kingdom have been equipped for this session, in addition to one hall outside the country in Tunisia, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Discussions at the meeting, attended by senior officials from the two ministries and heads of security services, also covered the administrative, technical and security measures taken to ensure the winter session’s success.

Thneibat said the ministry, in cooperation with administrative governors, has worked to limit cheating attempts and prevent the gathering of crowds near examination halls, commending the cooperation of security services and the media to ensure the success of Tawjihi.

Hammad commended the Education Ministry’s efforts to restore the integrity of the national exam, whose results decide students’ future in higher education, stressing that the Interior Ministry is committed to providing security during the winter session and preventing any problems that could happen during the exam to facilitate the process for students and supervisors. 

AMMAN — Seventeen salt spreader trucks will be put into service  this winter to sprinkle salt to melt ice and snow on roads across the capital, according to the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM).

The salt spreaders are part of the municipality’s winter service fleet which also includes loaders, heavy duty pickup vehicles, water pumps and snowploughs which will be deployed to keep roads open during snowstorms, GAM Spokesperson Izz Eddin Shammout said on Sunday.

“The municipality used to own only two salt spreaders, and most of the salt sprinkling on the capital’s roads used to be done manually,” Shammout told The Jordan Times.

“The process will become faster and more efficient now that there are 17 heavy duty salt spreaders that can also clear snow,” he said.

The salt will be spread during snow or during freezing temperatures to de-ice slippery roads, Shammout said, noting that the salt will be mixed with sand to ensure it sticks to the snow or ice and make the de-icing process faster.

Manaseer Group, a major oil company in the Kingdom, distributed last month bags of salt free of charge to Ammanis in preparation for potential snowfall during winter. A total of 500,000 kilogrammes of salt were bagged, each containing 50 kilogrammes. 

Meanwhile, Shammout noted that GAM has prepared 10 loaders to remove snow and will also be using for the first time three six-inch pumps to extract water from tunnels, adding that the municipality has also ordered an eight-inch water pump. 

He said that during rain and snow, the municipality will deploy technical teams to prevent water from blocking the capital’s tunnels by pumping out water, while the Traffic Department will close down tunnels during heavy rain.

AMMAN — More than 25,000 owners of land and houses in Jubeiha area have appealed to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to intervene after a court ruling revoked their ownership.

In an appeal published in Al Rail daily, owners of around 25 plots of land, houses, villas and stores urged Ensour to take action over the ruling issued last month.

The court ruling stated that the ownership of more than 226 dunums of land, where around 25,000 properties have been built, go back to the original owners who recently won a lawsuit after claiming that their lands were sold using forged documents.

“This ruling will make us lose our properties, houses, lands and investments,” a committee representing those affected by the ruling said in the appeal.

“We bought these lands, houses and buildings legally over the years... through the Department of Land and Survey [DLS] that issued us property ownership documents. We have nothing to do with any forgery that affected the original owners of these lands. We appeal for immediate intervention to save us and protect us from disaster,” the committee said.

Tareq Al Shoraan, whose family bought a plot of land in the 1980s in Jubeiha and built a villa, said he was unable to issue property ownership documents recently after the court ruling.

“I went to the DLS to issue this document but they refused, telling me that there is still a case in court and that I might lose ownership of my house and land,” Shoraan told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

“This is unbelievable. We bought our land legally and through public institutions. This is not our fault and we are not to blame. Those people paid billions of dinars to buy these lands and build these houses. They cannot be simply told they do not own these houses and lands. It is not their fault,” he added.

Many of those who own property on the plots of land in question were similarly unable to issue property ownership documents, Shoraan said.

“Some filed lawsuits. I made some consultations to file a lawsuit but lawyers were unable to sue as the judicial authorities said efforts were under way to resolve the issue,” he noted.

“We heard promises and pledges from many MPs and officials but to no avail. We do not know what is happening and how all this will end. This is a disaster and no one is giving us clear answers,” he added. 

AMMAN – Two children who were reported missing last Tuesday in Ghor Al Safi were found dead in an agricultural pond there on Sunday, according to the authorities

The children were identified by police as 11-year-old Ahmad Abdul Kareem Osheibat and his nephew, nine-year-old Abdul Rahman Osama Oshoush.

Captain Luay Majali from the Karak Police Department told The Jordan Times that the children, who were found near the Ghor Al Safi graveyard, were sent to Karak Forensic Department to identify the exact cause of death. 

“We were informed of the incident on Tuesday evening and we immediately began searching for the children in cooperation with the Karak Public Security Department,” said Col. Abdul Hadi Al Sarayreh, Karak Civil Defence Department director.

“This is an agricultural area and 90 per cent of it is not fenced, which always leads to similar incidents,” the colonel explained.

Sarayreh noted that the CDD has urged farm owners to install fences around their ponds to avoid such incidents, but very few have heeded these warnings.

Stressing the need to fence agricultural ponds in Ghor Al Safi, Omar Osheibat, the mukhtar (tribal leader) of the Osheibat tribe, said the latest incident is one of many reported drowning cases in these ponds. He added that there are between 3,000 and 4,000 agricultural ponds in the area.

AMMAN — Jordanian Nedaa Sharara on Saturday won the latest season of “The Voice: Ahla Sawt”, the Arabic version of the popular Dutch TV show.

The contestant, whose voice has been described by the judges as “mesmerising”, “authentic” and “incredibly strong”, earned the highest votes after passing the battle and live performance phases.

Sharara, who is on Egyptian singer Shernine Abdel Wahab’s team on the talent show, will now sign a recording contract.

On her official Twitter account, Her Majesty Queen Rania congratulated Sharara, saying that she has a “beautiful voice that deserves to win”.

Despite the overwhelming support for the Jordanian singer, the fact that she wears a headscarf has stirred controversy among many, who have criticised her decision to take part in the show.

“Nedaa introduces a contradictory image. A woman singing with hijab is a new trend that we will never digest,” one Facebook user commented on her official page.

Mohammad Emad wrote that “she only represents herself, not Jordan, nor Islam.”

On the other hand, many have called on Sharara not to listen to the voices of “backwardness”.

“Do not listen to those who claim that their opinions are divine or infallible. You have the right to choose the image you want… your voice is what got you here and not your looks,” said Hadi Kilani.

Some Twitter users drew parallels between Sharara and Italian nun Cristina Scuccia, who won the 2014 season of “The Voice of Italy”.

In earlier remarks to The Jordan Times, Jordanian Artists Association President Sari Asaad described Sharara’s voice as “great” and the way she plays with her vocals as “phenomenal”.

“With her veil, Nedaa sends to the world a message that an artist can be famous and modest. She also proves that Islam is a religion of tolerance and beauty,” Asaad noted. 

AMMAN — A Jordanian teacher at a school in an underprivileged area in Karak Governorate is among 50 finalists from all over the world for the Global Teacher Prize 2016.

Nesrin Bakaeen, who has been a teacher of mathematics over the past 16 years, was able to build partnerships with the local community to provide better learning experiences for students and the community, despite the “very limited” resources.

The holder of a master’s degree in administration and educational supervision was nominated to the prize by her local community due to her social and educational activism. 

Granted by the Varkey Foundation, the international prize is an annual $1 million given to an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession, according to the award’s website.

The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in March 2016 in Dubai, the foundation said.

Bakaeen said she has launched a number of ongoing initiatives aimed at improving students’ academic proficiency and bringing up socially intelligent individuals that are equipped with the needed skills to compete globally.

She started a twinning initiative between the Karak Secondary School for Girls and other schools in underprivileged areas of the governorate, located 140km south of Amman, in order to develop a sense of empathy and compassion among students.

“Students would spend a full day with their peers at poor schools, distribute donated stationary and supplies to them and invite them to visit,” she told The Jordan Times in a phone interview on Sunday.

Another initiative seeks to deepen respect and understanding for “the other” by having two students with different religions, nationalities or physical conditions put on a single oversized shirt, where each speaks about herself at the morning assembly. 

“The symbolism is that although the two may be different, they are in a single body and live in one country,” the educator said.

Stressing her belief in women’s role in developing their local community, Bakaeen said she and her students carried out a project to plant medicinal herbs, such as chamomile, thyme and sage in the backyards of houses in the Karak Valley.

“Housewives would look after the plants and students would sell the products in the school’s bazaar,” she said, adding that the project aims to generate income for the women “even if a modest one” and at the same time teach students project management skills.

Reflecting on her experience as a teacher, Bakaeen said the numerous activities she implemented in her school and in cooperation with other schools in the area give her an “indescribable sense of joy”, as she pays back  her community.

“Nothing feels better than the look of happiness on parents’ faces when they visit me to say thank you,” said Bakaeen, who gives free classes twice-a-week for underprivileged General Secondary Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) students in her area.

One of the most memorable experiences in her career was when a “good” 10th grader dropped out of school.

“I paid a visit to the student’s house and learned that she had to stay home to look after her newborn twin brothers, while her mother was at work to be able to put food on the table for her children,” Bakaeen recalled.

The teacher added that she was able, in cooperation with members of the local community, to secure somebody to look after the infants so the girl could go back to school.

Through her participation in the competition, Bakaeen said she sends a message of ambition and persistence to her students, who consider her “a role model”.

“Since I have been able to prove my capabilities and stand out among the 8,000 initial candidates from all countries, why can’t they succeed in spite of the limited resources?” she asked, adding that her students have witnessed her journey since its beginning.

Bakaeen, who received the Teacher Award for 2009 presented by the Association of Queen Rania Al Abdullah Award for Excellence in Education, dreams of establishing a centre for students in Karak that builds their capacities and hones their skills.