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AMMAN — Forty-two people en route from Saudi Arabia to Jordan after performing umra (the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca) were injured in a traffic accident in Maan on Thursday morning, the Jordan News Agency, Petra quoted a Civil Defence Department (CDD) source as saying.

CDD cadres took the injured to Maan Public Hospital where two were listed in fair condition and the rest in good condition. Maan police provided a bus to take the pilgrims to their homes after they received the necessary treatment.

AMMAN — Irbid Preventive Security Department personnel have arrested a suspect found in possession of clay pieces and coins, some of which turned out to be of historic and archaeological value, in addition to weapons and ammunition, a Public Security Department (PSD) statement said Thursday.

Department personnel, who were tipped off, identified the suspect and tracked him to his house where he was hiding 24 clay pieces and 40 coins, in addition to three shotguns, four pistols, binoculars and ammunition. An investigation is under way.

AMMAN –– The Ministry of Public Sector Development has finalised a project to build the capacities of human resources units at four ministries.

The project covered the ministries of foreign affairs, planning and international cooperation, finance and trade, raising the number of ministries covered by the project to 16, according to a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Minister of Public Sector Development Khleef Al Khawaldeh said human resources units at these ministries were evaluated to identify opportunities for improving their performance, adding that the project is part of the 2014-2016 executive plan to improve the public sector performance.

The project entailed providing human resources units with qualified staff and linking ministry departments electronically.

AMMAN — Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji on Thursday checked on the condition of Abdullah Ghosheh Street after cracks in one lane resulted in its closure and traffic was diverted as a precautionary measure.

Drilling at a construction site where a commercial complex is being built caused the cracks. Biltaji instructed Greater Amman Municipality staff to take the needed safety measures, in cooperation with the Traffic Department, and to verify the causes of the fissure.

The Traffic Department closed the lane from the airport road leading towards Abdullah Ghosheh Street and diverted traffic, according to the Jordan News Agency Petra.  

AMMAN — Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan on Thursday launched a community campaign to confront terrorism and radicalism, and to deal with their impact.

The campaign, organised by Al Anwar Charity Society for Women in Maan, is in line with its awareness programmes aimed at promoting moderation and boosting the role of young people and women in combating terrorism and radicalism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  

AMMAN — USAID on Wednesday hosted a maker competition to showcase inventions created with the Intel Galileo technology.

The competition, held at the Dead Sea, ran parallel with a two-day International Design and Test  symposium featuring leaders and experts in the electronics design field from Intel and Silicon Catalyst, according to a USAID statement.

The competition featured 22 teams of graduates from the Intel Galileo training course along with their university advisers. Overall, 75 students from nine Jordanian universities graduated from the 

USAID-sponsored training. The Intel Galileo training generated prototypes designed for the Internet of Things, including wearable technology and mobile and security applications, the statement said.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 46 Syrian refugees during the past 48 hours and sent them to shelters and camps , a military source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Thursday. 

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

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday inaugurated the Tafileh Wind Project, considered the first such renewablel energy project at the domestic and regional levels. 

With a capacity of 117-megawatt, the wind farm, implemented in accordance with the Royal vision aimed at diversifying the sources of energy and boosting the Kingdom's reliance on renewable and alternative sources, is to produce around 400 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually at a total cost of $287 million. 

The King unveiled the curtain on a plaque commemorating the opening of the project, which represents a model of the public-private sector partnership and is expected to lure further investments in the field of renewable energy, according to a Royal Court statement.  

At the launch ceremony, attended by HRH Prince Talal, the King’s special adviser, and by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, the King also launched the initial stage, signaling the flow of an electric current to the general electric network by switching on the main ignition key. 

Touring the project’s different facilities, the King was briefed on the process used to convert wind power to electric energy, to increase renewable energy’s share in the energy mix to 10 per cent by 2020, in conformity with the national strategy on energy. 

King Abdullah was briefed by Jordan Wind Project Company (JWPC) Chairman Samer Judeh on the turbines used to generate electricity with wind power, at a 25 per cent cost lower than that of thermal power, to save the Treasury around JD35 million annually.

JWPC, a co-development comprising InfraMed, Masdar and EP Global Energy, laid the corner stone for the project in April 2014 and completed its construction phase in August 2015. Tafileh, around 160km south of Amman, was selected due to favourable wind speed and direction, the company has said. 

According to Judeh, the project represents the first step towards finding effective solutions for the energy sector and meeting its increasing needs. 

Energy Minister Ibrahim Saif said the project laid the grounds for a new stage of wind power utilisation, placing Jordan on the world map in this field. 

He also highlighted the positive economic and social impact of the project, noting that it will provide job opportunities in different parts of the Kingdom.  

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, UAE Minister of State Sultan Jaber, who is also Masdar’s chairman, congratulated Jordan on the project, stressing its importance as a booster of the Kingdom’s energy security.

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Thursday delivered a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on bilateral relations and keenness to develop them at all levels.

Judeh and Abe expressed keenness to continue coordination and cooperation regarding several regional and international files, especially since  Japan will chair the Group of Seven and was elected as non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Both officials discussed efforts exerted to fight terrorism and extremism that, they agreed, are threatening the entire world, where Judeh reiterated the importance of the international community to join efforts to serve this end, stressing that Jordan has always been and will always be at the forefront of these endeavours.

They also tackled efforts exerted to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis according to the Geneva 1 Conference and the envisioned results of the third meeting on Syria in New York on Friday.

Both officials said such a solution is important to end the suffering of the Syrian people and to cease the "catastrophic" human repercussions of the crisis, Petra added.

For his part, the Japanese official expressed appreciation for King Abdullah's endeavours to reach peace and stability in the Middle East and the world.

Abe also voiced his country's keenness to cooperate and coordinate with the Kingdom in different fields that would serve the interests of both countries and peoples, reported Petra.

Also on Thursday, Judeh met with Shinako Tsuchiya, head of the foreign affairs committee at the Diet, and discussed bilateral ties and the latest regional developments, Petra reported.

AMMAN – Jordan on Thursday said that details and information regarding a list of terrorist groups in Syria the Kingdom is compiling will be announced at the right time through the appropriate channel.  

A government source told The Jordan Times that the announcement of the list will be made "after consulting with allies and friends".

On November 15, international and regional participants in talks in Vienna on Syria tasked Jordan to coordinate efforts to compile a common list of terrorist groups in the war-torn country. 

Russian state-run Sputnik media agency on Thursday said that Jordan has prepared a list of 160 organisation possibly tied to terrorist groups. 

The agency, which cited a source at the Russian foreign ministry, said the list would be reviewed during the ministerial meeting on Syria on December 18 in New York. 

Commenting on the news carried by the Russian media outlet, the government source in Amman, who requested anonymity, downplayed the importance of the news, saying that the figure mentioned in the statement must be exaggerated. 

“Are there really 160 terror groups in Syria?” he asked. 

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, a government official said that Jordan would classify groups in Syria into several categories depending on whether they are considered terrorists, not terrorists, or subject to debate.

“One list will specify groups that are classified as terrorist by consensus; another will comprise the ones that are labelled as moderate and not involved in terrorism; and a third will include groups that are still unclassified due to differences,” the official has said.