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AMMAN — A 16-year-old died on Saturday of a gunshot wound to the heart, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted a medical source at Southern Shuneh Hospital as saying.

The source said the juvenile was dead on arrival and his body was referred to forensics to identify the exact cause of death. Security bodies have initiated an investigation into the incident.

AMMAN — A 34-year old driver of a private bus died as a result of a collision with a public transport bus on the Amman-Zarqa highway, according to Zarqa Civil Defence Department (CDD) Director Brig. Gen. Adnan Abu Jassar.

CDD personnel took the young man to Prince Feisal Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Abu Jassar told the Jordan News Agency, Petra. The body was sent to the forensic department for an autopsy, Petra reported, adding that relevant authorities started investigating the incident.

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s economy is on track for better growth, and the dinar is at its strongest level despite the heavy toll of regional turmoil, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Saturday. 

Speaking at a press conference to announce a package of investment incentives, Ensour noted that the instability surrounding the Kingdom has affected the performance of the national economy, stressing that economic issues are the government’s top priority.

“Our economy’s performance is solid. International organisations have strong confidence in it,” he said, adding that the Kingdom is on the right track for economic improvement. 

“We don’t want to blame all our economic problems on the wars around us, which are hundreds of kilometres away from the heart of the country, but we cannot ignore their consequences on the economy,” the premier said.

The first toll of regional instability is assumptions by investors that Jordan has an uncertain investment climate, Ensour told reporters.

Due to wars in the region, Jordan’s national carrier — Royal Jordanian — cannot fly north or east. 

The Kingdom’s land cargo fleet, which the premier said is one of the biggest in the region, cannot go to Syria, Turkey and Iraq. 

Iraq, he noted, used to be Jordan’s biggest importer. 

Another example Ensour cited is the fact that over 160,000 jobs in the domestic market are currently occupied by Syrians, resulting in higher unemployment among Jordanians. 

Hosting around 1.4 million Syrians has also had a negative impact on the Kingdom’s trade balance as the country has had to import more goods to meet the needs of the rising population, he pointed out. 

Reiterating that the economy and the dinar remain strong, the premier said the draft state budget law, that will be released in the coming days, will show that the deficit is under control, revenues are higher and spending is up slightly due to natural growth. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday sent a cable of condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin over the loss of life in a plane crash in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula earlier in the day. 

In the cable, the King expressed his deepest condolences and sympathies to the Russian president and people over the incident, according to a Royal Court statement. 

Egyptian officials say all 224 people — 217 passengers and seven crew members — on the flight were Russian and there were no survivors in Saturday’s crash, according to news agencies. 

AMMAN – The government on Saturday announced a package of tax incentives to stimulate investments in certain sectors.

At a press conference, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said the Investment Council, which he chairs, decided to grant tax incentives and exemptions to the ICT sector to increase its contribution to the economy.

The sector’s contribution is currently estimated at 12 per cent. 

The incentives, Ensour told reporters at the headquarters of the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC), are also aimed at creating new jobs and boosting ICT exports. 

Under the decision, services related to software development, mobile apps, website portals, outsourcing, digital content and electronic games, information technology training and e-learning will be exempted from sales tax and customs duties, the premier said. 

Goods and services necessary for ICT services will also be subject to a zero sales tax rate, ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh said, adding that income tax rates on such services will be reduced by 30 per cent for 10 years, a move that could be extended. 

Ensour also announced a package of tax incentives for the transportation sector in an attempt to improve its performance and passenger experience. 

Companies operating Bus Rapid Transit services between cities will be exempt from paying sales tax and customs duties, he said, explaining that similar exemptions will be given to firms operating at least 20 public transport buses that are brand new at the time of applying for registration, and the vehicles should be environment-friendly. 

The companies must also enjoy a clean record with regard to traffic accidents and violations.

The premier said the Kingdom’s public transport system lags behind other nations and the incentives would encourage private sector investment that would in turn improve services. 

Tax exemptions and incentives were also extended to a number of projects that benefited from the previous tax law, enabling the purchase of fixed assets to establish the projects, according to Ensour. 

JIC President Montaser Oqlah said there are 76 such investments. 

The council also decided to exempt profits generated from commercial activities in free zones from income tax.

The prime minister said in the next 10 to 20 years, income tax on investment projects in remote areas will be reduced by between 30 and 80 per cent, explaining that the measure seeks to encourage investors to expand into areas considered less developed. 

He elaborated that these less-developed areas were classified into four zones. 

The Investment Council also decided to allow non-Jordanians to have ownership in land transport provided their share does not exceed 49 per cent. 

Ensour added that the latest decisions also included new regulations for labour and work permits in free and development zones, limiting some professions to Jordanians only. 

One of the main measures Ensour announced was exempting insurance firms willing to merge, from income tax for three years in addition to exemptions on fees for registering ownership, and transferring and raising capital. 

The council also approved a request by the Hashemite Fund for Development of Jordan Badia to establish a development zone in Maan for livestock. 

The project will be built on 1,500 dunums of land in the Mohammadiya area in the southern governorate to set up a regional hub for livestock trading and marketing animals, with the first phase implemented in coordination with Saudi Arabia, the premier explained. 

The second phase will include breeding and facilities for re-export, slaughterhouses, factories for preparing meat for domestic and international markets, a recycling plant laboratories, and large livestock yards. 

Oqlah said the value of the project would be around $1 billion (around JD700 million) and it is expected to generate over 700 jobs. 

Jordan participated in the international ministerial meeting held in Vienna on Friday to discuss the current situation in Syria and ways to arrive at a political solution.

At the meeting, participants agreed on the fundamentals in pursuance of the 2012 Geneva Communiqué and the need to arrive at a ceasefire.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh re-asserted Jordan's fixed position in support of a political solution that guarantees the safety and unity of Syria with the participation of all components of the Syrian community.

Judeh voiced the Kingdom's continued support of all efforts to reach a political solution to the conflict that will lead to restoring stability in Syria and the voluntary return of displaced Syrians and Syrian refugees to their homeland, stressing the need to counter terrorism as well, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan’s support is in accordance with the fundamentals of the Geneva Communiqué.

Ministers from Jordan, the US, Russia, the UK, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Iran, Egypt, China, Iraq, Lebanon, Oman, the EU and the UN agreed to reconvene within two weeks to continue discussions.

According to the UN website, the Geneva Communiqué commits parties to the “immediate cessation [of] violence in all its forms; agreed on guidelines and principles for a political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people”.

On Saturday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “encouraged” by the Vienna talks in bringing together the main outside players in the four-year-old Syria crisis for the first time.

“I am encouraged that the participants have reached a mutual understanding on a number of key issues,” Ban told a press briefing in Geneva after meeting the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, Agence France-Presse reported.

The Syrian regime and the opposition were not represented at the Vienna talks, according to AFP.

Senior diplomats at the gathering sought common ground over a conflict that has claimed a quarter of a million lives and triggered an exodus of refugees to Europe.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said they had agreed that Syria must emerge from the conflict as a unified secular state.

However, he and Lavrov disagreed over whether President Bashar Assad should step down immediately.

AMMAN — The government on Saturday decided to keep the prices of fuel derivatives unchanged in November. 

The decision, issued by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali, was taken based on the government pricing committee’s review of international oil prices, according to a ministry statement. 

One litre of unleaded 90-octane gasoline will continue to be sold at JD0.555, a litre of unleaded 95-octane gasoline at JD0.720, and diesel and kerosene at JD0.410 per litre, as in October.

The price of a 12-kilogramme gas cylinder, used for cooking and in winter for heating purposes, remains at JD7. 

A government pricing committee meets monthly to adjust prices in a manner that corresponds to changes in oil prices on the international market.

Prices of oil derivatives in the local market are calculated based on international oil prices, taking into account other costs such as shipment, handling and taxes. 

“The international prices of fuel derivatives are fluctuating very slightly, not exceeding 0.5 per cent,” Gas Stations Owners Association (GSOA) President Fahed Al Fayez said last week. 

“As for December, I project a slight increase in prices, particularly gas,” Fayez told The Jordan Times, noting that local demand for gas and diesel for heating purposes has already risen by 20 per cent in October.

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a 40-year-old bus driver with premeditated murder in connection with the death and burning of his divorced sister in Irbid Governorate, official sources said.

The suspect, who was not identified, reportedly struck his 25-year-old sister with a shovel then poured gasoline on her body and set it ablaze at their home late Friday night, a senior judicial source said.

“The suspect told investigators he waited until he made sure his sister was dead and her body was completely burnt before surrendering to authorities, claiming family honour as his motive,” the source said, quoting initial questioning of the suspect by investigators.

In his initial testimony to Criminal Court Prosecutor Qahtan Qawaqzeh the suspect claimed that his sister “brought the family disgrace because she got divorced twice over allegedly illicit behaviour and was known in their village for her bad behaviour”, the judicial source added.

“The suspect said everyone in his village looked down on him because of his sister’s disgraceful acts and he felt like an outcast,” the source told The Jordan Times.

The suspect reportedly told Qawaqzeh “that he found no other solution but to kill his sister to cleanse his family’s honour and stop people from talking about his reputation and that of his family”, the source maintained.

On Friday night, the judicial source said, the suspect grabbed a shovel and “struck his sibling on her head then poured gasoline that he bought almost a month ago for this purpose and set his sister on fire”.

The victim’s remains were transferred to Irbid’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine for a government autopsy, a second source told The Jordan Times.

 “It seems from initial examination of the body that the woman was struck on her head with a blunt object and then set ablaze,” the second source said.

Pathologist Ali Shotar and a team of physicians will perform the autopsy on the victim on Sunday, the second source added.

The victim is survived by four children from two previous marriages, according to the judicial source.

It is not clear if the victim was still alive when she was burned, according to the judicial source, but the autopsy will determine that.

Qawaqzeh issued orders for the suspect’s detention at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation, the source said.

Qawaqzeh is expected to hear the testimony of more witnesses in the case this week, he added.

AMMAN — Economic ties between Jordan and Sweden have “huge” potential for growth, especially as the two countries capitalise on their different strengths, a senior Swedish official said.

In an interview with The Jordan Times late last week, Sweden’s Minister for Public Administration Ardalan Shekarabi expressed his optimism over the future of Jordanian-Swedish ties at all levels.

“Jordan and Sweden have great relations. Jordan is one of our good friends in the region,” he said, citing Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour’s visit to Stockholm in August as part of the two countries’ commitment to boosting cooperation.

Shekarabi was in the Kingdom last week as head of a business delegation.

The main aim of the visit, according to the minister, was to enhance bilateral trade relations and broaden Stockholm’s knowledge about the UN’s current needs and procurement system in the Middle East.

The delegation, the third of its kind to visit Jordan since 2009, comprised 16 Swedish companies working in ICT, water, health and energy.

“These companies represent broad aspects of the economic activities of Swedish businesses. We have the ambition to strengthen our economic ties. We want to give better opportunities for Swedish companies to cooperate with the Jordanian private sector,” Shekarabi said.

The minister also cited “big opportunities between the two countries concerning UN procurement”.

“It is a win-win situation to cooperate with Jordan within the UN system,” he noted.

However, Shekarabi highlighted that the existing trade cooperation between Amman and Stockholm is “quite limited”.

Swedish Ambassador to Jordan Helena Gröndahl Rietz agreed, noting that Swedish exports to the Kingdom stand at $100 million.

Shekarabi said there are “big” Swedish companies in “being active in the Jordanian economy”, particularly those operating in the areas of ICT, water supply and energy.

The minister also addressed the Syrian refugee situation, stressing the need for more international cooperation to reach short- and long-term solutions to the crisis.

The Swedish delegation also paid a visit to the Azraq Refugee Camp, some 100km east of Amman and 20km west of the town of Azraq in Zarqa Governorate, and met with several UN representatives.

“Jordan has been carrying a heavy burden since the start of the Syrian conflict,” Shekarabi said, adding that the number of Syrian refugees in Sweden is also on the rise, reaching 90,000 since the beginning of the crisis. “And the number is increasing every day.”

The Swedish official noted that in the previous week, Sweden witnessed the highest influx of asylum seekers in one week, receiving over 9,000.

Shekarabi said he was “impressed” with the level of cooperation between the Jordanian government and UN agencies.

While the Kingdom and Sweden are not signatories to aid agreements, Gröndahl Rietz said Sweden has made “big humanitarian donations to the Syrian crisis”.

“We also have development cooperation programmes that include Jordan, but they are regional. The idea is to bring added value on a regional level and we are working on [files related to] human rights and democracy, supporting economic integration and the management of water resources,” the ambassador told The Jordan Times.

Shekarabi expressed hope that the delegation’s visit would be a starting point for broader cooperation and exploring new investment opportunities.

During the visit, he met with Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and discussed economic ties and the need to increase the bilateral trade volume.

“The talks were very constructive and we hope to have more talks on the political level,” Shekarabi said.

AMMAN — More renewable energy projects will be implemented in the Kingdom after the government on Saturday announced plans for expanding the national power grid.

Due to the limited capacity of the power grid, the government had cancelled plans for several solar and wind plants geared at power generation over the past few months.

On Saturday, the government floated a tender to expand the grid’s capacity by an additional 1,000 megawatts (MW).

The JD100 million project, referred to as the Green Corridor, will help absorb power to be generated by renewable energy plants already under construction, and soon-to-be operational plants, Haidar Gammaz, spokesperson of the Energy Ministry, told The Jordan Times.

Financed by the European Investment Bank, French Development Agency and the EU’s Neighbourhood Investment Facility, “the project is strategic and vital for Jordan’s strategy to increase reliance on clean and environment-friendly sources of power,” the official said.

The project, which will be completed in 2018, will create some 1,000 jobs, Gammaz added.

According to the national energy strategy, renewable energy projects are expected to generate 1,500MW of electricity by 2020. 

The Kingdom imports about 97 per cent of its energy needs annually at about 18 per cent of the gross domestic product, according to the ministry’s figures. 

Jordan has one of the highest annual daily averages of solar irradiance in the world, with an estimated 330 days of sunshine per year. Wind speeds in the country are as high as 7.5 to 11.5 metres per second in hilly areas.