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AMMAN — The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) said Saturday it is scheduled on Sunday to receive human rights complaints from residents of Balqa Governorate in Salt Municipality Hall between 9am and 4pm.

An NCHR team will be receiving complaints related to the rights of women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities, in addition to complaints in the fields of health, education, food, environment, work, housing and physical safety, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Jordan will switch to wintertime on Friday, October 30, according to a Cabinet decision, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported Saturday.

Clocks are to be set back by 60 minutes at midnight Thursday, making Jordan two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.

Under a Cabinet decision taken in December 2013, Jordan switches to wintertime on the last Friday of October every year, while clocks are set forward one hour on the last Thursday of March every year to mark the start of summertime (GMT+3).

AMMAN — MP Eteiwi Majali died on Saturday, leaving Karak 2nd District’s Lower House seat vacant. House Speaker Atef Tarawneh paid tribute to the late lawmaker in a statement Saturday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Following an MP’s death, the House must inform the government and the Independent Election Commission in order to carry out a by-election in the district, in accordance with Article 88 of the Constitution.

According to the said article: “When a seat becomes vacant in the Senate or in the Chamber of Deputies by death or resignation, or for any other reason, it shall be filled by appointment in the case of a Senator and by the holding of a by-election in the case of a deputy within a period of two months from the date on which the Government is notified of the vacancy by the House. The term of the new member shall be for the remaining part of the term of his predecessor.”

AMMAN — Royal Court Secretary General Yousef Issawi on Saturday checked on a number of projects in Maan’s Shobak and Petra regions implemented under Royal initiatives.

The projects include schools, sports complexes, a comprehensive development centre and military medical centres, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Issawi, who was accompanied by several concerned officials, is the president of a committee entrusted with following up on the implementation of Royal initiatives.

AMMAN — Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani on Friday expressed condolences to France over the deaths in a truck-bus crash in southwest France.

Momani, who is also minister of state for media affairs and communications, wished the injured a speedy recovery, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Forty-three people died and several others were badly injured in the accident, The Associated Press reported.

AMMAN — Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez has met with Hungarian National Economy Minister Mihály Varga in Budapest as part of a tour of East Europe.

The two officials discussed economic and tourist cooperation to increase the number of Hungarian tourists in the Kingdom, according to a ministry statement released Saturday and carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Director General Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, who is accompanying Fayez, stressed the importance of cooperation from tourism agencies. Fayez concludes the tour, which started on October 18, in Romania, the statement said. 

AMMAN — The public service broadcasting station’s board of directors on Thursday held its first meeting to discuss legal, administrative and technical procedures to start establishing the television channel, after a Royal Decree was issued to form the board of directors.

At the meeting, headed by station president Fahed Khitan, board members pledged to work towards providing a media service that commits to professional and ethical standards, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported Friday.

The board unanimously agreed to appoint Jordan Media Institute (JMI) Dean Basim Tweissi as the channel’s vice president. Board members decided to donate their salaries to a special account run by the Jordan Press Association and the JMI to offer Jordanian students scholarships to pursue their MA degrees at the institute, Khitan told Petra.

AMMAN — Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner Hani Mulki on Saturday agreed to the General Association for Foodstuff Merchants’ request to allocate an area to store foodstuff in Aqaba to provide a strategic stock for the Kingdom and re-export food.

The area will be “the largest in the Kingdom” to be allocated for this purpose, under a memorandum of understanding between the two sides, an ASEZA statement said. 

AMMAN - Jordan and Russia have agreed to coordinate their military actions on Syria by setting up a "special working mechanism" in Amman, according to senior officials from the two countries.

"The military coordination mechanism between Jordan and Russia concerns southern Syria and aims to ensure security of the Kingdom's northern frontiers," Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani said.

Momani said coordination between the two countries  is not new as it takes place at all levels.

"Jordan remains an active member of the international coalition fighting Da'esh terror group," the minister told The Jordan Times Friday.

This statement was echoed the same day by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Vienna.

Russia, which is bombing rebel targets in Syria in support of its ally President Bashar Assad, has already forged close cooperation with the governments of Iraq, Syria and Iran, which are all part of a loose Shiite alliance pursuing different aims from those of the United States and its allies.

So Moscow's deal with Jordan could mark a shift in the alliances engaged in the Syria conflict, according to a dispatch by Reuters news agency from Moscow.

"The military of the two countries have agreed to coordinate their actions through a working mechanism in Amman, capital of Jordan," Lavrov said in comments broadcast by Rossiya-24 television channel.

"We think that other states that participate in the anti- terrorist fight can join this mechanism as well," Lavrov added.

Lavrov, who gave no further details, was speaking in Vienna, where he was attending talks with senior officials from the United States, Turkey and Saudi Arabia to explore a political solution to Syria's civil war.

Russia has rejected Western calls for Assad to step down, saying Syria's leadership can only be decided by the Syrian people via elections, and in the clearest sign of its backing, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted him in Moscow this week.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday highlighted the Jordanian role in defending Jerusalem in line with the Kingdom’s religious and historic duty and the Hashemite custodianship of the city's Islamic and Christian holy sites.

At a meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, His Majesty warned against any attempts to change the status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque and Al Haram Al Sharif, according to a Royal Court statement.

The King noted that reaching a comprehensive and just peace according to the two-state solution is the only exit from regional crises, a goal that requires all parties to exert their utmost efforts in support of achieving the envisioned solution. 

For his part, the secretary general briefed the King on the outcome of his tour of Palestine and Israel, stressing the important Jordanian role and the Hashemite custodianship of Jerusalem's holy sites, the statement added.

According to a UN statement, the UN chief “briefed the King about his meetings with Israeli and Palestinian leaders in which he appealed to them to put an end to the continuing violence in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Israel”.

“The secretary general noted the responsibility of Arab leaders to encourage calm and to ensure that this crisis does not get out of control. He reiterated the importance of reducing tensions at the holy places in Jerusalem and called for upholding the status quo in line with previous understandings between Israel and Jordan, and with respect to Jordan’s special role.”

The UN official referred to the international community’s responsibility for reaching a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian issue.

Both sides also stressed that the lack of a vision for solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict increases tension, and is likely to inflame a religious war in the region and lead to worsening of a situation whose repercussions would affect all, according to the statement.

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh and King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan also attended the meeting.