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AMMAN — HRH Princess Rym Ali on Monday attended a ceremony for the 2014 Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Children’s Literature, according to a statement released by Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation (AHSF) on Tuesday.

Stories read in early childhood build a relationship between children and books for the rest of their lives, AHSF CEO Valentina Qussisiya said in a speech at the ceremony.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan on Tuesday stressed the pivotal role of young people in the development of the Arab world.

Delivering a speech at the sixth Arab Youth Conference, organised by the Arab Thought Forum and the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the prince stressed the need for a well-defined mechanism to engage young Arabs in reform, noting that the Arab world is in dire need to move from a consumerist to a productive economy.

He also underlined the importance of the 2015 census as a tool to implement future economic plans.

AMMAN — Electricity Distribution Company (EDCO) inspection cadres discovered around 2,400 cases of electricity theft during the first 10 months of 2015, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Tuesday.

EDCO Spokesperson Sami Al Zawatin said the company took legal measures against the violators in accordance with the law, cutting power to 2,380 subscribers.

AMMAN — The Jordanian Electric Power Company (JEPCO) on Tuesday said the 2015/2016 winter emergency plan is in place, with costs amounting to JD40 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Around 1,637 of the company’s employees will be on hand when snow falls and accumulates, according to JEPCO Director General Marwan Bushnaq. He said the company has installed 350 new electricity generators in areas under its authority and boosted its stocks of cables and machinery for periods of inclement weather.

AMMAN — A total of 6,000 tourists visited Islamic shrines in the Northern Ghor in November, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Abed Smeirat, director of the district’s awqaf department as saying on Tuesday.

Smeirat said hundreds of tourists came from Arab and Muslim countries. The shrines house the tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions Muath Bin Jabal, Sharhabeel Bin Hasna and Amer Bin Abi Waqqas.

AMMAN — Jordanian Businessmen Association President Hamdi Tabaa and Brazilian Ambassador to Jordan Francisco Carlos Soares Luz on Tuesday discussed the possibility of holding a joint business forum during the first quarter of 2016.

They agreed to organise the forum on the sidelines of the Brazilian foreign minister’s scheduled visit to Jordan, and that it should focus on promising investment opportunities in both countries.

The ambassador noted that work was underway to finalise an agreement on investment promotion and protection, and on averting dual taxation to be signed during the foreign minister’s visit to Jordan so as to encourage Jordanian and Brazilian businesspeople to set up joint projects. 

AMMAN — Eight people were injured on Tuesday when a bus overturned in Balqa, 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 Salt Public Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

In Irbid, four people were reported to be in fair condition after being injured when a bus overturned. In another incident, two people were hit by a car and taken to Prince Rashid Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition. 

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Tuesday met with Russian Ambassador to Jordan Boris Bolotin and discussed ways to enhance ties, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Discussions also covered regional and international developments, especially the Palestinian issue and the Syrian crisis.

Fayez called for opening Russian markets to Jordanian agricultural products. Bolotin commended bilateral relations, highlighting several cooperation agreements, particularly in the energy sector.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Tuesday finished electing members of its 20 committees. At the start of the House’s morning session, deputies read verses from the Koran in memory of two police officers who were killed in Irbid on Monday night.

House Speaker Atef Tarawneh condemned the “heinous crime”, urging the government to find the perpetrators, and expressing his condolences to the Public Security Department and the families of the two officers, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two victims, Captain Jamal Darawsheh and Corporal Usama Jarawreh, were in their patrol vehicle when unidentified assailants reportedly fired bullets at their vehicle. Jarawreh was injured by the bullets and lost control of the vehicle, leading to his and Darawsheh’s death.

AMMAN — Two people were injured in a blaze that erupted in a restaurant near the Jubilee Circle in Amman on Tuesday, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

West Amman CDD cadres contained the fire, administered first aid to the injured and took them to Ibn Al Haitham Hospital where they were listed in fair condition, the CDD said, adding that the cause of the blaze is still under investigation.