Local

AMMAN — The Council of Ministers on Sunday endorsed the grant agreement for a project to rehabilitate the desert highway to be signed between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, under which the Saudi government will provide $65 million through its Saudi Fund for Development, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The total cost to complete the project amounts to around $170 million, and the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry will work to obtain the rest of the needed funds to implement the project, the tender for which is expected to be floated at the beginning of next year.

The 330-kilometre-long desert road extends from Amman to Aqaba, and passes through Karak, Tafileh and Maan, Petra reported.

AMMAN — Culture Minister Lana Mamkegh on Sunday inaugurated the 2015 “Reading for All” festival, which is part of the Jordanian Family Library project, at the Madaba culture directorate, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The festival features 50 titles sold at affordable prices. Mamkegh said the project was launched in 2007 to make books available for families. The festival will continue until December 3, with each book sold at JD0.25 to JD0.35.

AMMAN — The Tafileh Technical University on Sunday inaugurated a solar energy project to generate electricity on its campus, which was implemented by a Korean company, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

At the inauguration, attended by Energy Ministry Secretary General Ghaleb Maabreh, the university’s president, Abdullah Shteiwi said the project is a chance to observe the Korean experience in renewable energy to train engineering students.

AMMAN — The Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) on Sunday announced that some areas in Amman and Zarqa may see temporary changes to the water distribution programme  at the end of this week due to maintenance work on some facilities of the Disi project.

According to a statement issued by the company, changes in the supply programme may last for 60 hours as maintenance starts Tuesday morning and continues until Thursday evening.

Areas to be affected in Amman, the company said, include Sweileh, Shafa Badran, Sahab, Khalda, Jubeiha, Kamaliyah, Um Summaq, Abu Nseir, Jabal Hussein and Muqabalein. 

Miyahuna said that several areas in Zarqa will also be affected. They include Princess Haya residential complexes, Engineers residential complexes and the Zawahreh area.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality has decided to extend the working hours at the tax collection department’s main centre and its real estate appraisal centres starting Tuesday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

The decision aims at facilitating services offered to property tax payers to enable them to pay their dues and not be charged with fines.

The decision includes the appraisal centres in north, west, central and south Amman in addition to Jiza and Marj Hamam, where under the decision, work will end at 5pm in the first half of December and at 6pm in the second half.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the Greater Maan Municipality on Sunday signed a twinning agreement to establish bilateral cooperation and exchange expertise in local administration, according to a statement from Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Group International which organised the signing ceremony.

Deputising for Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Municipal Affairs Minister Walid Masri attended the ceremony and thanked Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji and Maan Mayor Majid Sharari for their initiative aimed at serving local communities, the statement added. 

AMMAN — Eight people were injured on Sunday when their vehicle overturned on a road in Madaba, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

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

AMMAN — The embassy of the Netherlands in Jordan has granted Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) around $140,000 to run thematic workshops over the next two years to hone the skills of Arab journalists investigating oil extractives, political groups and human rights.

The grant agreement was signed at the embassy on Sunday, an ARIJ statement said.

ARIJ was set up in Amman in 2005 to promote investigative journalism among journalists in the region. It has trained over 1,600 journalists at 115 workshops and has helped 300 journalists produce investigations on issues of interest to the public.

AMMAN — A cold front accompanying a depression centred over the east of Cyprus is expected to start affecting the Kingdom Monday evening, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

Relatively cold weather is expected to prevail across the country, with mild temperatures in the Jordan Valley and Aqaba. 

On Monday night, the country is forecast to witness light to medium rainfall, accompanied by thunder, JMD Director General Mohammad Samawi said.

Temperatures in the capital are expected to reach a high of 18°C and drop to a low of 9°C.

On Tuesday, mercury levels are forecast to drop further, ranging between a maximum of 15°C and a minimum of 6°C, with the possibility of light rain and dust-laden winds, especially in the badia, as well as fog in hilly areas.

The JMD warned of slippery roads due to frost formation after midnight in hilly areas in the south as well as low visibility in the badia.

In Aqaba, temperatures on Monday are expected to range between a high of 24°C and a low of 16°C, while on Tuesday, they are forecast to be between 22°C and 14°C.

AMMAN — Karate has been gaining popularity among Maan residents over the past few weeks after the city's Maan International Karate Academy won several medals at the World Shotokan Federation World Cup in Istanbul late last month.

"After many families saw what we did in Turkey, they decided to send their children to our academy," Tareq Bazaiaa, the academy's director, recently told The Jordan Times.

"Since the beginning of this year, 80 young Maanis joined our academy to increase the total number of members to 220," he said in a phone interview. 

This newly gained popularity of karate comes despite the overwhelming popularity of football in Maan, and Jordan, Bazaiaa said. 

"We won four gold medals, five silver medals and seven bronze medals," he added. 

The academy, established in 2002, came in first place among Arab participants and was seventh internationally, according to Bazaiaa.

Raed Awajan, the academy's media officer, said Maan residents received the "champions" with great jubilation and these players became a source of pride for the city, some 220km south   of Amman. 

His Majesty King Abdullah commended the achievement of the academy when he met with representatives and leading figures from Maan earlier this month.