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AMMAN — A 24/7 hotline newly established by the Ministry of Agriculture has started receiving phone calls from individuals providing information on forest violations, a ministry official said on Saturday. 

Eid Zu’bi, the head of the Forestry Department at the ministry, expressed optimism that the public will be more encouraged to use the hotline to report such incidents, although the number of phone calls has been limited so far. 

“Many people are not using the hotline for this purposes... citizens have to feel more responsible about this issue,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

The public can call the ministry any time on 06/5341116, 06/5342752 and 0799059362, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Agriculture Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said the initiative was launched to create a sense of collaboration between the ministry and the public.

“Agriculture Minister Akef Zu’bi has stressed that all Jordanians have to protect the Kingdom’s forests because they are a national treasure,” Haddadin told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Forests in Jordan constitute less than 1 per cent of the country’s total area of 97,000 square kilometres.

The Kingdom is among the poorest countries worldwide in terms of forest cover, with the internationally accepted average of land covered by forests standing at 15 per cent of the total area.

The ministry official said amendments to the Agriculture Law endorsed by the Lower House last week will contribute to curbing the trend of illegal logging and violations in forests.

The 2015 amendments aim, according to their validating reasons, at curbing this practice. 

Under the law, logging of perennial trees can only be carried out after the Agriculture Ministry issues special permits. This guarantees that no damage comes to the Kingdom’s environment or forests.

Haddadin said Rangers have to work harder to combat illegal logging. 

“Most of the illegal logging happens either after the end of working hours or late at night,” he noted. 

Forestry lands amount to 1.5 million dunums, of which 250,000 dunums are bare, 400,000 dunums are natural forests, 500,000 dunums are planted forests and 350,000 are nature reserves, according to the Forestry Department.

AMMAN – HRH Princess Basma on Saturday underlined that education remains a "decisive" factor in achieving sustainable development and reducing poverty and inequality.

At the opening of the Private Schools' Cultural and Education Council's 24th Educational Conference, the princess cited the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which tackles several aspects related to education.

"The agenda focuses on education as a means to equip learners with the needed knowledge and skills to improve sustainable development and human rights, and promote a culture of peace, non-violence, global citizenship and the appreciation of cultural diversity," said Princess Basma, who is honorary president of the council.

She added that the plan also reflects the enormity of challenges in the current era, which is witnessing major transformations, chief among them wars and unrest causing poverty, hunger, exclusion and social inequality.

Today, nearly 58 million children around the world do not go to school, while 100 million others do not complete their primary education, Princess Basma noted, citing figures from UNICEF, which also reveal that 250 million children have left school due to the poor quality of education.

In addition, around 782 million adults, mostly women, lack basic reading and writing skills, she said.

On the other hand, education remains a priority in Jordan despite the many challenges involved in improving its quality, the princess added.

Participants in the two-day conference, held under the theme "Smart Education", are discussing strategies for smart education and tools to evaluate students' progress, while also looking into ways to develop the education field in Jordan.

"Smart education is an integrated education system that paves the way for an interactive platform through which students are able to access educational resources. This can only become a reality through effective management that treats teachers as facilitators," educational expert Tariq Rasheed told The Jordan Times.

Smart education, he said, is linked to human, financial and environmental capital.

While agreeing that Jordan has a long way to go before implementing smart education due to the lack of adequate infrastructure, Rasheed noted that the "strategic cost of smart education is low, though the start of the process is costly".

Omar Tayeh, chairman of the council, noted that the theme of this year's forum is in line with the advanced technology and accelerated influx of information in today's world, which make it necessary to restructure the educational process in line with international developments.

At the end of the opening ceremony, Princess Basma honoured educators and supporters.

Established in 1989, the council aims at providing an annual platform for teachers and educators from around the region to exchange expertise on developments in the sector.

AMMAN — "The Martian" has been topping moviegoers' choices at local cinemas over the past few weeks, prompting theatres to hold additional showings to accommodate a "high" number of spectators.

Representatives of cinemas in Amman said the spectators were interested in seeing how Ridley Scott’s film, which stars Matt Damon, depicted Wadi Rum as Mars using an "advanced three-dimensional technique".

"It was not until two or three weeks after the movie opened in cinemas that Jordanians developed an interest in watching it," said Khaleel Shahin, manager at Grand Cinemas Jordan, attributing the uptick in demand to the media attention given to the Wadi Rum filming location.

The film's "strong" performance at the US box office, where it has been one of the 10 best-performing productions of the year so far, was not the sole reason for the strong interest in Jordan, where theatres are showing this film up to 35 times per week, he told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

Shahin said schools are taking students to see the film, and some students return again the next day with their family.

“‘The Martian' is the best-performing movie we have shown for the past month-and-a-half," he added.

The film has been witnessing "fully booked theatres", especially on the weekend, according to Israa Ahmad, a booking agent.

Rami Raei, manager of Taj Cinema, said the film has been screened for a month and is not likely to leave the list of movies anytime soon as spectators want to see it.

"What is special about the audience of 'The Martian' is that they are from all age groups," he told The Jordan Times over the phone, adding that many visitors see the movie more than once.

Raei said the film is being shown four to five times a day, with additional shows for special groups from companies.

Many moviegoers refer to the film as "the one shot in Jordan", he added. 

Meanwhile, an employee at another major cinema in the capital said additional screenings were organised to accommodate viewers who missed out on "fully booked" shows.

Dania Hammad, a university student, said she tried to watch the film in a local cinema over the past two weekends but was unable to find a suitable show, as almost all seats were booked.

But Hammad said she is determined to watch the film and would be willing to skip a day of classes during the week if need be.

"Many of my friends and university colleagues have seen the movie and reported a really good experience," she told The Jordan Times over the phone.

"The Martian" was released in theatres in September this year and has so far made around $217 million at the US box office and some $274 million internationally.

Wadi Rum has been a popular filming location for other films set on Mars, such as the 2000 features “Mission to Mars” by director Brian De Palma and “Red Planet” by director Antony Hoffman, according to the Royal Film Commission.  

AMMAN — The Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) on Saturday launched a campaign in the southern governorates to educate the public on the dangers and consequences of electricity theft.

Under the campaign, which covers the governorates of Tafileh, Maan and Karak, more than 25,000 brochures are being distributed to raise awareness on the need to combat the phenomenon, which is estimated to cost the country about JD60 million annually, EMRC Chief Commissioner Farouq Hiari told The Jordan Times.

In Aqaba, some 330km south of Amman, more than 7,000 brochures were distributed to raise awareness among the public on the dangers of electricity theft. In addition, a performance was held highlighting the risks and penalties in cases of electricity theft.

“Such awareness campaigns play a key role in fighting this phenomenon, which has been on the decline lately due to enforcement of the law and monitoring of violations,” Hiari said.

Raids carried out by the commission in cooperation with power companies detected 3,900 cases of electricity theft across the country since the beginning of this year, he added.

More than 50 per cent of those cases were referred to court, Hiari noted, stressing that the commission will continue its efforts to combat electricity theft in cooperation with involved partners.

He pointed out that electricity theft causes power cuts for a large number of subscribers as it increases the load on the national grid.

Hiari underscored the key role citizens play in combating this phenomenon by reporting any violations to power companies.

Current laws stipulate that any persons involved in stealing electricity face between six months and two years in prison and a fine of no less than JD2,000 and no more than JD10,000, or both penalties. 

AMMAN — The Social Development Ministry has started utilising iPads in the process of detecting and detaining beggars around the Kingdom, its spokesperson said on Saturday.

Fawaz Ratrout added that using iPads in tracking the location of beggars would make the process of keeping them in police custody easier in a shorter time.

The devices were distributed to anti-vagrancy teams in Amman two weeks ago, according to Ratrout. 

“These gadgets will ensure the rapidity of exchanging and documenting information and locations of beggars, via the Internet, and contacting authorities accordingly,” he told The Jordan Times.

The tablet computers will be used to identify the most common areas and hours when beggars take to the streets, the spokesperson noted. 

Some 4,000 beggars, including 1,300 children, have been apprehended this year, the majority of them in the capital, followed by Irbid, Zarqa and Aqaba, Ratrout said.

Adult beggars detained by authorities are referred to police stations and then to court in accordance with the Penal Code, while juveniles are referred to care centres affiliated with the ministry, where they are rehabilitated. 

He added that another stage of the programme will be launched within the next few weeks in coordination with UNICEF to evaluate the phenomenon of beggars and formulate a structured plan to rehabilitate children caught begging on the streets. 

“It is not only considered begging, it is a form of child labour,” he noted.

AMMAN — Police on Saturday said they were searching for suspects who reportedly murdered an Egyptian guard working at a farm in Madaba earlier in the day.

A relative of the farm owner found the 28-year-old victim, a senior judicial source said.

"Coroners at the scene determined that the victim was shot a few hours before he was found at 4am," a medical source said.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times that it was likely that more than one person was involved in the incident.

"There were reports that 11 gas cylinders were stolen from the farm, which means that most probably more than one person was involved in the robbery and murder," Sartawi said.

Pathologists Issa Gheishan and Seif Hamarneh performed an autopsy on the victim on Saturday and determined that he was shot twice in the head and chest, the medical source told The Jordan Times.

"One bullet penetrated the heart and exited his chest, while the second bullet remained in his skull," the medical source explained.

The pathologists had to X-ray the skull to locate the bullet and after it was extracted, "it was sent to the crime lab along with other samples for analysis and match," the source added,

 "We still do not have any suspects and will wait for criminal lab results on ballistic matches and other evidence to learn more about the incident," Sartawi said.

AMMAN — A man who was shot dead in Amman’s Tlaa Al Ali neighbourhood last Thursday was a Palestinian journalist, according to his relatives in Jordan who want the shooter to be sentenced to death. 

The victim, who was wandering around a residential building in the area, was identified as Mohammad Ahed Samhan, from the village of Ras Karkar in Ramallah.

His relative, Ziad Samhan, told The Jordan Times on Saturday that the Jordanian Majali tribe, to which the shooter belongs, has signed a confession document and delegated tribal leaders and parliamentary figures in the presence of security officials to complete the tribal procedures in this case.

Under tribal law, a killer’s tribe should sign a document addressed to the family of the victim requesting reconciliation and prevention of retribution. 

Ziad said his 30-year-old relative was in Amman to renew his Jordanian passport and rented an apartment in Tlaa Al Ali. 

“At dawn on Thursday, Mohammad was trying to return to the apartment but could not find it because he was unfamiliar with the area,” Ziad said, adding the young man went to the building where the shooter resides by mistake believing his rented apartment was located there. 

“He was told by the janitor that it was the wrong address but kept wandering around in the area and returned to the same building,” he added, indicating that a man in his fifties and his four sons went down to see what was going on. 

According to a statement released by the Public Security Department (PSD) last Thursday, “the victim was wandering around in the area… and the building guard notified the residents.”

The 50-year-old suspect and other residents asked the victim to leave “and he did leave briefly but returned to the building, so the suspect shot him with his gun, striking him in the head”, the PSD statement said, adding that the suspect claimed that he “did not intend to kill the man but rather scare him away”.

In his initial testimony, the suspect claimed the victim was wandering around in the area near the building in order to rob it and that is why he fired his weapon, a judicial source told The Jordan Times.

A check was run on the victim and it was established that he had no criminal record and was not convicted of any robberies, the judicial source added.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Issam Haddidi, who questioned the suspect, decided to charge him with manslaughter. 

But Ziad said the man shot Mohammad immediately in the head without asking him what he has doing. 

The journalist was laid to rest in his hometown in Palestine, Ziad added.

The Majalis, a prominent tribe in the southern governorate of Karak, issued a statement on Saturday apologising for the incident.

AMMAN — Seven members of the Islamic Action Front (IAF) resigned Saturday after joining the recently formed Muslim Brotherhood Society.

The latest resignations increased to 14 the overall number of IAF members who have resigned and joined the new Muslim Brotherhood Society, which was founded by a group of “reformers” led by Abdul Majeed Thneibat. 

The reformers re-registered the movement as a Jordanian society and severed its affiliation with the mother group in Egypt. 

“Every few months some members announce their resignation from the IAF through media outlets and they join the newly formed movement,” said Murad Adayleh, spokesperson of the IAF, the political wing of the old Muslim Brotherhood group, which is not legally registered with local authorities.

“It seems the members joining the new group are just seeking media attention. They resign in small waves of seven people each time. We expect more to resign, as this is part of their efforts to generate media buzz,” Adayleh told The Jordan Times.

The resignations, he said, will not affect the IAF or its performance.

“The IAF’s membership rose by about 20 per cent this year alone. Its popularity is on the rise and these resignations will not affect us at all,” Adayleh added.

He said the number of IAF branches across the country rose from 25 to 34 this year.

In June, the new society sent a “legal notification” to the old group asking it to hand over all belongings to the “legitimate” society, but no response has yet been received.

The unlicensed movement has repeatedly charged that the establishment of the new Muslim Brotherhood Society is a “government conspiracy” against the Islamists, but authorities have said it is merely an “organisational” issue.

Members of the newly licensed society are planning to join a political party the National Initiative for Building, “Zamzam”, plans to establish soon, the society’s spokesperson said earlier this month.

Jamil Dheisat told The Jordan Times that the group does not plan to establish a political party but will join the party planned by Zamzam, adding that the society, and other political figures and organisations will support the initiative to set up a national political party.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma, president of the Jordanian Association of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, honoured leaders and supporters of the 31st Arab Scout Camp, which Jordan hosted in September, at a ceremony on Thursday.

Princess Basma voiced her appreciation for public and private institutions’ efforts and contributions to the camp’s events, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The cooperation of all stakeholders in organising the camp and attending it reflects the strong character of the Jordanian family, the princess said, describing the success of the camp as a source of pride for Jordanians.

She also commended the association and its members, who represent its continuity and “excellence” at the regional and international levels, Petra added.

Samir Murad, secretary general of the association, and Munthir Zamili, commander of the camp, delivered speeches at the ceremony, highlighting that participating heads of Arab delegations expressed their pride in the camp’s activities.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat, who is also vice president of the association, Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji, Higher Youth Council Secretary General Sattam Awad and Amman Chamber of Industry President Ziad Homsi also attended the event.

At the end of the ceremony, Princess Basma honoured participants and representatives of supporters of the camp, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Royal Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi on Saturday inaugurated a solar energy project at an Azraq tourism facility, implemented under a Royal initiative.

Touring the project, Issawi, who heads a committee entrusted with following up on Royal initiatives, was briefed on the project that will produce 570 kilowatts of electricity.

Issawi also checked on several Royal projects in Azraq, Duleil and Zarqa, where he was briefed on their progress, and the job opportunities they provide to the local community, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.