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AMMAN — Five people on Saturday were injured in a two-vehicle collision in Jerash, according to a Civil Defence Department (CDD) statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Prince Rashid Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

Four people were also injured when their vehicle overturned in west Amman. CDD cadres administered first aid and took them to Al Bashir Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Public Sector Development said some government agencies have responded to recommendations by its inspectors after unannounced visits.

In a statement recently e-mailed to The Jordan Times, the ministry said branches of the Department of Land and Survey (DLS) in Karak and Southern Mazar have addressed negative observations included in ministry reports.

The Karak branch of the DLS said in a letter to the ministry that it has listed the services it offers on a bulletin board at the office, placed boxes for suggestions and complaints in a place clear to customers, and improved its accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly.

The statement said the DLS branch in Southern Mazar pledged to take the necessary action against employees who do not serve the public efficiently and those who practise favouritism.

AMMAN — Jordanians took to the social media this week to wish happy holidays to friends and family as Muslims and Christians celebrated two holy occasions.

Christmas this year follows the Muslim celebration of Prophet Mohammad’s birthday, marked on the 12th of Rabi I in the lunar Hijri calendar.

Her Majesty Queen Rania was among the first to congratulate Jordanians on the approach of the two important religious occasions.

“The festive season is all the more special this year  because  Muslims and Christians are both celebrating important events on their religious calendars,” a post on the Queen’s official Facebook page read.

“Today, Muslims mark the birthday of Prophet Mohammad, and the day after tomorrow, Christians will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ,” Her Majesty said in the post, dated Wednesday.

“This week, we commemorate together a message of compassion and coexistence and remember all that we have in common; because at the heart of both faiths is peace. I hope our children and grandchildren will always come together in the same way as the call to prayer sounds and the bell chimes ring, blending in peaceful harmony,” she added.

Ahmad Elissian (@ahmadalsattof) described these days as “sacred”.

“I hope peace  and love will prevail for our fellow Jordanian Muslims and Christians in these sacred days,” he tweeted.

Ahmad Hamida (@ A7mad7amida)    said all religions have positive characteristics in common.

“Love, tolerance and tenderness are the links between all religions and no religion imposes aggression or hatred,” he tweeted.

AMMAN — Three of the judges on "The Voice: Ahla Sawt", the Arabic version of the popular Dutch TV show, turned around upon hearing Nedaa Sharara's voice in the "blind auditions" last month.

The Jordanian contestant, whose  voice has been described by the judges as "mesmerising", "authentic" and "incredibly strong", will compete in the final performance on Saturday after passing the battle and live performance phases.

"Her voice is great and the way she plays with her vocals is phenomenal," Jordanian Artists Association President Sari Asaad told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

Sharara's voice is not her only distinctive feature. She also wears a headscarf.

"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 said.

However, not all agree. The fact that the singer is veiled stirred controversy among some people, many of whom took to social media to express their frustration over her decision to take part in the programme. "Hijab [veil] is a  decision you made out of fear of God. How could you sing while knowing that singing is a sin?" one person commented on her official Facebook page.

Another urged her to take off the headscarf as she "offends Islam when she sings while wearing it".

On the other hand, support for the Jordanian artist is also evident on social media websites, with many urging her "not to listen to voices of backwardness".

"You resemble a role model of real artists who pay more attention to their talent than their looks. We need more artists like you," Ali Kayed commented on her official Twitter page.

"Do not listen to those who want to shackle you. They are enemies of beauty and life," wrote Odai Khattab.

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

Even the US embassy in Amman voiced its support.

"Best of luck to [Nedaa Sharara] tonight as she represents Jordan in the semi-finals of The Voice, We’ll be rooting for her," the embassy said on its official Facebook page on December 19, ahead of the semi-finals.

Sharara will compete with her rivals in the last live performance, to be held in Beirut.

Whether a winner or not, the artist, whose full name literally translates into "call of a spark", will be present in the minds of Jordanians for a long time.

"Whether she wins or not, Nedaa is our star and we will be waiting for her to come back home to celebrate her success," Asaad said.

If she wins, Shrara, who is on Egyptian singer Sherine Abdel Wahab's team on the talent show, will sign a record- ing contract.

AMMAN — Aqaba and other tourist destina- tions in Jordan are expected to receive a “fair” number of visitors during the three-day holiday this week, industry leaders said Wednesday. However, local demand for Aqaba tourist sites at this time of the year is forecast to be less than any other time as the holiday, which starts Thursday on the occasion of Prophet Mohammad’s birthday, coincides with school and university final exams, ASEZA Commissioner

for Economic Development and Investment Affairs Sharhabeel Madi told The Jordan Times.

But Madi left room for optimism, saying the arrival of Christmas a day later could encourage a good number of Christians to visit the port city, some 330km south

of Amman.

Aqaba’s are offering “good prices” to encourage visitors to spend several days in the city, Salahiddin Bitar, the president of the Aqaba Hotels So- ciety, told the Jordan Times.

Shaher Hamdan, president of the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents, seemed more optimistic, describing the current demand for popular vacationing destinations such as Aqaba, the Dead Sea, Wadi Rum and Petra as “very good” without giving any figures.

“Aqaba could top the list among other local sites,” Hamdan added.

Sharm El Sheikh and Turkey are not popu- lar destinations for the majority of Jordanians at this time of the year due to the short holiday, unlike in summer, he explained.

AMMAN — The weather is expected to remain generally stable and cold throughout the next few days, including Christmas, a meteorologist said Wednesday. 

On Thursday and Friday, temperatures will generally remain around their normal average for this time of year, along with mostly clear skies, Arabiaweather. com Chief Meteorologist Omar Dajani told The Jordan Times.

“At night, significantly cold weather will prevail, especially on Thursday over mountainous areas, the badia and the eastern plains, with the risk of frost formation in some parts of the Kingdom,” the meteorologist noted.

A Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) statement said the temperature in east Amman during the day will be 13°C, dropping to 3°C at night, while temperatures in the western parts of the capital are forecast to range be- tween a high of 12°C and low of 4°C.

On Friday, the JMD expected mercury levels in the eastern neighbour- hoods of Amman during the day to mark 14°C, dropping to 4°C, while western Amman will witness a high of 13°C and low of 5°C.

“A slight rise in temperatures is forecast for Saturday, along with the appearance of high altitude clouds,” Dajani said.

Temperatures in east Amman will reach a high of 15°C on Saturday, dropping to 5°C  at night, while mercury levels in west Amman will range between 14°C in the morning and 6°C at night, according to the JMD forecast.

AMMAN — Caritas Jordan and the Latin Archdiocese opened on Wednesday the “Restaurant of Mercy”, a soup kitchen located in Amman’s Jabal Luweibdeh neighbourhood.

The charity offers daily lunch meals for free to people in need. 

On the occasion of Prophet Mohammad’s birthday and Christmas, the soup kitchen opened to serve food to underprivileged residents of all nationalities and religions, volunteers said.

“Today, mercy and love collide — Islam and Christianity — to offer people happiness, peace, and hope that among the fires around us in the Middle East, our country is a model, a success story, an everlasting spring,” Caritas Jordan Director General Wael Suleiman told The Jordan Times.

“Anyone can enter the restaurant and take a meal and for those who can’t make it to the venue we have cars to deliver meals to their houses,” Suleiman added.

Around 300 to 500 meals, upon request, will be offered and delivered to the underprivileged in the capital seven days a week. The soup kitchen will be open for everyone during lunch time, according to organisers.

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said the soup kitchen is located in one of the capital's oldest areas, where diversity played a huge role in the development of modern Amman. 

“Jabal Luweibdeh — where Terra Sancta College was next to the Sharia College and the King Abdullah I Mosque neighbours the Orthodox and Coptic churches,” he said. “Here… the Circassian lives next to the Armenian, the Jordanian, the Syrian and the Palestinian.”

“This restaurant promotes coexistence, love, peace and mercy from the heart of Jordan,” Biltaji added. 

“[It] is a message… Jordanians do not need to start initiatives to deliver messages about coexistence, but the coincidence of both celebrations [Christmas and Prophet Mohammad's birthday] happening together made Caritas open the restaurant to encourage these values in our society,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Father Rifat Bader, the director of the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media, said the project is a sign of national unity and peace.

“This year is a year of national unity, especially since we are celebrating both Prophet Mohammad’s birthday and Christmas, it is also the year of mercy,” Bader told The Jordan Times.

“National unity requires actions and not slogans,” he added.  

Latin Patriarch of the Holy Land and Jordan Fouad Twal said the launch of the “Restaurant of Mercy” comes in “the Year of Mercy” announced by Pope Francis.

The soup kitchen is located near Paris Circle, where the Catholic printing house used to be. 

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday extended a decision to charge Arab tourists the same entry fees as Jordanians when they visit tourist and archaeological sites until December 31, 2016, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The decision, which was first taken in 2014 and previously extended for this year, is aimed at promoting tourism and enhancing Jordan's competitiveness to attract Arab tourists.

The government took several decisions and measures recently in order to support the tourism sector and enable it to overcome the negative repercussions of regional unrest.

Jordan was able to reduce its tourism losses to 6 per cent this year, although the expected loss in revenues was between 20 and 25 per cent, the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) said earlier this week. 

Earlier this year, the Cabinet reduced electricity tariffs for hotels and annulled entry visa fees for visitors who buy unified tickets to tourist sites to support the tourism sector.
The Council of Ministers also lowered the fees for visitors entering through land border crossings from JD40 to JD10 and removed the special tax on tickets for regular flights from Amman to Aqaba.

The JTB is promoting Jordan's tourist attractions in several European markets, placing advertisements on billboards and public transport means.

These campaigns are expected to pay off in 2016, with a rise in tourist numbers, Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez said this week during a visit by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour to the JTB.

AMMAN — The Criminal Court on Tuesday sentenced a 56-year-old grandfather to death for raping his granddaughter in July 2014, judicial sources said.

The defendant stood motionless upon hearing the verdict read out by the tribunal, a senior judicial source noted.

“He did not utter a word or make any noise when hearing his death sentence,” the source told The Jordan Times.

The victim, who was 12 when the one-time assault occurred, became pregnant and informed her family of the incident, the court verdict said.

“The victim’s mother took her daughter to the Family Protection Department and DNA samples sent to the criminal lab led to the arrest of the defendant,” the court added.

The defendant’s son attempted to drop charges against his father during the court session on Tuesday but the tribunal rejected his request, a second judicial source said.

“The tribunal rejected his request because the Penal Code does not allow anyone to drop charges against a defendant in cases of rape of children who are under the age of 15,” the second judicial source explained.

Court papers said the victim’s mother sent food with her daughter for her grandfather during Ramadan.

“The defendant asked the victim to stay the night and he sexually assaulted her,” the court said.

The defendant asked the victim to refrain from informing her family of what happened, according to the court.

The victim was forced to inform her family when she believed she might be pregnant, the court added.

The defendant had denied the rape accusations in earlier hearings, the judicial sources said.

The sources added that the court relied on DNA tests that indicated that the defendant was the biological father of the child.

The tribunal comprised judges Ibrahim Bawareed, Ramzi Nawayseh and Nael Emoush.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Issam Haddidi had asked the court to inflict the maximum punishment on the defendant.

The verdict will automatically be reviewed at the Cassation Court within the next 30 days.

AMMAN — Deputy overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood Zaki Bani Rsheid is expected to be released from jail within the next two weeks, a top Islamist figure said Wednesday.

Murad Adayleh, spokesperson of the Islamic Action Front (IAF), which is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood group, told The Jordan Times that Bani Rsheid is expected to be set free on January 4, 2016 as he would be ending the prison term he was handed by the State Security Court in mid-February.

Bani Rsheid was sentenced to one year and a half in prison on charges of harming Jordan’s ties with a friendly state under the 2014 amended Anti-Terrorism Law.

The top Islamist leader was arrested in late November of last year over a critical statement posted on Facebook accusing the United Arab Emirates of promoting “Zionist” foreign policies and indirectly sponsoring “extremism” in the region.

Making statements deemed harmful to Jordan’s ties with foreign states is a criminal offence under articles 3 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Law.

Adayleh said the Islamist leader has been in jail for 13 months now, adding that in Jordan a year in prison is nine months.

"The lawyer has contacted the court and he was told that Bani Rsheid would be released on January 4," he added.