Local

AMMAN — The Azeri embassy in Jordan, in coordination with the Azerbaijan International Development Agency, on Monday began distributing relief packages to Syrian refugee families in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

The packages are distributed in cooperation with CARE International and Sanabel Charity Society. Azeri Ambassador to Jordan Sabir Aghabayov said the distribution will continue for four days to cover the needs of 400 Syrian families in Amman. 

AMMAN — Eleven people were injured on Tuesday in a four-vehicle collision in Balqa governorate, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Salt Public Hospital and Al Israa Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

Also on Tuesday, five people were injured when their vehicle overturned in Aqaba. CDD personnel took them to Prince Hashem Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition. 

AMMAN — German President Joachim Gauck and Germany's first lady, Daniela Schadt, on Tuesday visited the Azraq Refugee Camp, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Gauck was briefed by UNHCR Deputy Representative to Jordan Paul Stromberg on conditions in the camp and the services it offers, including education, water and electricity. 

Stromberg said the agency estimated spending for 2015 at around $24 million, $17 million of which was allocated to building an electricity grid in the camp, while the rest will go towards health services, relief and improving other services offered to Syrian refugees in the camp. 

The camp, which covers an area of 15 square kilometres some 100km east of Amman, currently hosts 28,000 refugees, Camp Security Director Col. Atef Omoush was quoted by Petra as saying. 

He said there are 8,029 housing units in the facility, a 130-bed hospital, two schools that can each accommodate 5,000 students using a shift system, children's playgrounds, a library and centres for psychosocial support. 

The camp's establishment cost $45 million, including paving streets, building housing units and infrastructure, and it is currently under the supervision of UNHCR.

The German president concluded his tour with a visit to a Syrian family, whose members told him about conditions in the camp and the services they receive.

Also on Tuesday, Gauck and Schadt concluded their official visit to the Kingdom, during which the German president met with His Majesty King Abdullah and discussed bilateral relations, and regional and international developments. 

Higher Education Minister Labib Khadra, Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji and several officials and officers saw him off at Marka Military Airport. 

AMMAN — Ramtha Public Security Department personnel, in cooperation with the Anti-Narcotics Department, on Tuesday raided two kiosks in Ramtha market, confiscating 2,500 narcotic pills and an amount of alcohol, a security source told the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The source said the owners of the two kiosks were arrested and an investigation is still under way. 

AMMAN — Trade Minister Maha Ali on Tuesday stressed the importance of developing economic cooperation between Jordan and Russia.

At a meeting with Deputy Chairman of Russian-Jordanian Business Council Valeriy Kononenko, she said it is important to encourage the private sector to contribute to boosting economic relations.

Ali recommended that a Jordanian Russian Business Forum be held on the sidelines of the joint committee’s meeting scheduled to convene during the first quarter of 2016, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Basketball enthusiasts will have an action-packed weekend with an internationally acclaimed basketball show by New York's Harlem Wizards team making a visit to the capital.

The team will hold its "Slamtastic" basketball show at Prince Hamzah Arena on Friday and Saturday, while also giving children and young players between the ages of 6 and 13 the chance to develop their skills, learn new tips and have fun with the best in a three-day camp organised by Riyadi-Aramex Club Thursday to Saturday.

Riyadi Secretary General Fadi Sabbah told The Jordan Times that the Wizards programme will include visiting schools and young people in east and west Amman as well as community centres such as Ruwwad Al Tanmeya, an empowerment initiative that helps disadvantaged communities through civic engagement and education.

The team, which arrived in Amman on Monday evening, already met over 1,000 schoolchildren on Tuesday.

The Wizards will be visiting other local schools, NGOs and institutions including the King Hussein Cancer Centre, where they will be spending time in the children's ward and distributing basketball giveaways from the Wizards and Riyadi.

During Friday's show, Riyadi will introduce their men's team, who will play a quarter against the Wizards.

The Wizards are a basketball show team that delivers fundraisers for schools and nonprofits. Their production also includes veterans of the Harlem Globetrotters.

AMMAN — West Amman Civil Defence Department (CDD) teams on Tuesday rescued a cat that was stuck on a 30 metre high tree in Jabal Amman.

The rescue operation took more than one hour and the cat was brought down in good condition from the top of the tree using a hydraulic ladder, according to a CDD statement carried by the Jordan News agency, Petra.

AMMAN — Ahmad Jaradat on Tuesday presented his credentials to Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika as Jordan's extraordinary and plenipotentiary envoy to Algeria, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jaradat delivered His Majesty King Abdullah's greetings to Bouteflika and the Algerian people. Bouteflika stressed the importance of Jordan's role in enhancing stability in the region. 

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya on Tuesday attended a ceremony where the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) and the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) signed a cooperation agreement, a JEA statement said.

The agreement aims at preparing a guidebook in the field of structural design for buildings damaged by disasters and is supported from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Princess Sumaya, president of the RSS, said the agreement aims at finding a scientific reference that helps engineers and decision makers conduct an assessment of buildings after disasters to ensure public protection.

AMMAN — HH Prince Mired, president of the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, on Tuesday attended a ceremony marking International Day of Disabled Persons.

At the ceremony, organised by the University of Jordan's faculty of rehabilitation science in cooperation with the council, titled "Our Rehabilitation is our Life,” Prince Mired highlighted constraints that persons with disabilities face in different countries, highlighting the progress achieved in Jordan in terms of rehabilitation programmes.

He also highlighted the council's efforts to draw up policies and follow up on their implementation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. International Day of Disabled Persons is observed annually on December 3.