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AMMAN — The University of Jordan, Al Quds University and the Munib R. Masri Development Foundation (MDF) on Sunday signed an agreement on Al Quds Waqf project for scientific research and quality education, in the presence of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour. 

The project seeks to provide an institutional framework to secure funds for qualifying technicians, scientists and researchers from Jordanian and Palestinian universities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier thanked the MDF for the initiative that stresses the strong ties between Jordan and Palestine. 

AMMAN — Border Guards received 149 Syrian refugees during the past 72 hours and transferred them to shelters and camps set up for this purpose, an army source said on Sunday.

Royal Medical Services cadres provided healthcare services for the sick and injured, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

AMMAN — Irbid Police Department personnel, in cooperation with the Civil Defence Department, on Sunday persuaded a man in his twenties against committing suicide, according to Irbid Police Director Brig. Gen. Ammar Tarawneh.

Security personnel convinced the man to get down from the top of a communications tower in downtown Irbid, Tarawneh told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, adding that the man was then taken to a police station for questioning.

AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Customs Department on Sunday foiled an attempt to smuggle 11 tonnes of coffee at the Wadi Al Yutum Customs Centre, according to ASEZA Customs Director Col. Sari Jaradin.

Customs cadres inspected a truck at the centre and found that its driver reportedly stashed coffee without declaring it, Jaradin told the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He added that the substance was seized and will be kept until legal actions is taken. In another incident, ASEZA customs personnel seized a container laden with goods worth JD70,000, foiling an attempt to smuggle them through Wadi Araba Customs Centre with counterfeit documents, Petra quoted Jaradin as saying.

AMMAN — All UNRWA premises are now 100% Smoke Free", the agency announced at an event on Sunday at its field office in Amman.

Roger Davies, director of UNRWA operations in Jordan, who announced the new initiative, described tobacco as "probably the worst epidemic in the world today".

He also emphasised the dangers of second-hand smoke, stating that the agency's new policy aims to protect its staff and community, guaranteeing a space free from smoke.

"When you go to the [refugee] camps and you see children aged seven or eight smoking, it's terrible," Davies told The Jordan Times, emphasising that the project aims to target young people in particular.

He noted that the aim is to ensure smoke-free interaction with the refugee community in schools, clinics and the like. 

Ishtaiwi Abu Zayed, chief of the field health programme, said the policy was implemented in line with UN resolution 68/3 banning smoking and tobacco sales at its headquarters.

He added that a circular explaining the new ban has been distributed to all UNRWA affiliates in the country — including schools, cafeterias and transportation services — and the agency will help all its employees trying to kick the habit.

Riyad Zeighan, chairperson of the Area Staff Union, said the agency hopes to launch a campaign about the ills of smoking, particularly targeting 10th graders in UNRWA schools.

Speaking at the launch, HH Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, lauded UNRWA's new initiative saying: "You will be saving lots of lives." 

She also noted that countries in the West have "closed the tap on the tobacco companies… [so] now they have us… they want to steal our youth", emphasising the need to address the culture of smoking in the Kingdom. 

The princess said it is absurd that the country continues to have to fight to keep smoking out of clinics and schools. 

Princess Dina voiced hope that Sunday's launch will empower non-smokers to speak up and have the confidence to demand a space free from tobacco.

Feras Hawari, director of the King Hussein Cancer Centre’s cancer control office, told The Jordan Times that UNRWA's decision has come at a "critical" time, with tobacco use "spreading fiercely" in the Kingdom.

The oncologist said he hopes the message will be "contagious" to other institutions.

"We cannot wait any longer, we have the number of cancer patients rising, not just cancer but also heart disease, respiratory illnesses and diabetes… Jordan has limited resources [and] will not be able to provide health insurance for every single person... if we don't lead with prevention."

Students from UNRWA schools performed songs and plays at the event, and an agency employee who recently quit smoking gave a testimony in which he emphasised the role love plays in helping people kick the habit: love for family and one's children and the desire to be a good role model.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Sunday met with Mexican Ambassador to Jordan Enrique Rojo and Pakistani Ambassador to Jordan Shafaat Ullah Shah, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Discussions at the meetings, held separately, covered issues of mutual interest, especially the repercussions of the situation in the region, the Palestinian cause and ways to enhance relations.

Tarawneh reviewed the role of the House in Jordan’s reform efforts. The speaker stressed the historic relations with both Mexico and Pakistan, especially in the parliamentary field, stressing the importance of exchanging expertise. 

AMMAN — The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Centre for Environmental Health Action is scheduled to begin a meeting on Monday in Amman that will be attended by more than 60 experts from the region, Europe and the US, according to a centre statement released Sunday and carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The four-day meeting will study the effect of air pollution caused by dust on health in the Middle East and North Africa. The results of the meeting could contribute to updating the guidebooks of WHO for air quality.

AMMAN — Two people died on Sunday in two separate vehicle collisions in Zarqa Governorate, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted the Civil Defence Department (CDD) as saying.

Also on Sunday, a man died and four people were injured in a two-vehicle collision in Amman’s 7th Circle area.

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

AMMAN — A nurse working in Yarmouk Public Hospital was assaulted by five people who had brought their father to the hospital, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

Bani Kinanah District Director Ziad Rawashdeh said the nurse is hospitalised and in good condition but needs supervision until he recovers, calling for strict measures against the violators.

Yarmouk hospital cadres were offering medical assistance to the hospitalised father when one family member attacked a doctor, Jordan Nurses and Midwives Association President Mohammad Hatamleh said, adding that employees intervened to protect the doctor but the fight escalated leading to an assault of the nurse.

Hatamleh said the nurse filed a complaint against the alleged assailants, who were arrested. An investigation is under way.

AMMAN — The Jordan Interpol office on Saturday received a Jordanian suspect from Omani Interpol, who is wanted in the Kingdom for several scam cases, the Public Security Department (PSD) said Sunday.

The suspect had previously established a financial institution in Jordan that was advertised through TV channels as an Islamic investment institution that would bring “huge financial profit”.

Several citizens fell for the scam, with the suspect reportedly taking their money, then closing the institution and fleeing the country.

The office received the suspect after his location was identified and he will be referred to court after the investigation concludes.