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Health Ministry on alert as cholera breaks out in Iraq

By - Sep 23,2015 - Last updated at Sep 23,2015

AMMAN — The Health Ministry has issued a communiqué to all health directorates and hospitals to conduct tests on 10 to 15 per cent of those who suffer from diarrhoea to check for suspected cases of cholera, as new outbreaks have been reported in Iraq.

 

Mohammad Abdullat, director of the ministry’s communicable disease control department, said Tuesday that although Jordan has had no cholera cases since 1982, the ministry still takes precautionary measures like diarrhoea testing and immediately reports if anyone is diagnosed with the disease. The necessary antibiotics and medicines are available, he added. Moreover, these measures include collecting and analysing samples of wastewater and checking water resources all over the Kingdom.

Anti-festive firing campaign yields fruit

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

Tribal leaders, civil society representatives and activists in Tafileh Governorate, some 180 kilometres southwest of Amman, sign an honour pact on Tuesday to put an end to firing bullets in the air as a means of celebration on various occasions (Photo courtesy of Amen FM)

AMMAN — The Public Security Department (PSD) on Tuesday said a recent campaign to curb festive shooting is paying off.

“We have not registered any major incident since we launched a serious campaign in August,” said director of Amen FM (89.5FM), the radio station of the PSD, Lt. Colonel Maen Al Khasawneh. 

Following the injury of a six-year-old girl, the radio station launched the initiative “Do not Kill With Your Happiness,” with the aim of highlighting the negative consequences of festive firing.

The campaign intensified following the shooting death of another child a few weeks later in an incident that was captured on a mobile and went viral in cyberspace.

“The aim behind our initiative was to make people aware that celebrations should not bring pain and sorrow to others,” Khasawneh said. 

The police official praised the cooperation shown by citizens, tribal and community leaders, associations, the media and activists for contributing to the campaign.

“We have sensed a high level of awareness within our community all over the Kingdom with many pledging to refrain from firing live bullets during their weddings to others who pledged to boycott any wedding that includes festive firing,” Khasawneh explained.

He added that many citizens took the initiative to report to police shooting incidents at weddings and other festivities.

“We even have witnessed in some places people hanging banners over streets near their weddings stating that wedding shooters were not welcome,” the police official said.

But the police official was quick to point out that this “dangerous phenomenon cannot end overnight”.

“The fact that the number of such incidents has dropped and more people are rejecting this practice is a success achieved not only through the efforts of the station, but also due to the awareness of the public,” Khasawneh stressed.
“It is also the beginning of the change that we hope will end this phenomenon forever,” Khasawneh stated.

During a meeting in late August with dignitaries representing Amman communities, His Majesty King Abdullah stressed that no one is above the law. “Even if it were my son who is shooting… I would ask security bodies to take the same measures against him.”

Also in August, the PSD announced stiff measures against violators, including locking up any groom whose wedding includes festive shooting.

The PSD pledged to conduct campaigns in various governorates and arrest any person who owns a gun without a licence and/or arrest people who fire weapons on any occasion, and individuals who sell weapons and ammunition for this purpose.

According to official figures released last October, three people were killed and 41 injured by festive firing in 2014.

 

At least 21 cases were registered last year against anonymous assailants, where shooters could not be identified, according to the PSD.

Gold sales ahead of Eid disappointing — association

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

Women look at golden jewellery on display in a shop window in Amman, on Tuesday (Photo by Osama Aqarbeh)

AMMAN –– Demand for gold in the days ahead of Eid Al Adha was described as “disappointing” by President of the Jordan Jewellers Association (JJA) Osama Imseeh. 

The syndicate’s chief attributed the slowdown in demand to expenses households have to cover for the occasion such as buying new clothes for children and other Eid preparations and obligations. 

“Gold is not an essential commodity for the majority of Jordanians,” he told The Jordan Times Tuesday, adding that gold gifts are presented or exchanged on social occasions and ceremonies such as weddings and marriage anniversaries. 

On expected business activity for the rest of the year, Imseeh said sales would be average and “no boost is foreseen.” 

The JJA president said that demand for gold this month has seen a tangible decline when compared with previous months due to the start of the academic year on September 1, adding that the drop in wedding events and the return of expatriates to the countries where they work also played a role in the slowdown. 

Wedding events usually peak between April and August, a boom period for jewellers, he added.

On the performance of the sector during this year’s summer, the jeweler said sales dropped by no less than 20 per cent compared to last year.

Gold prices for Tuesday, Imseeh said 24-karat gold was worth JD 28.40 per gramme, 21-karat was sold for JD 23.40 per gramme and the price of 18-karat amounted to JD20.40 per gramme.  

 

He said there are about 625 jewellery stores and around 100 gold factories across the Kingdom.

Officials drafting legislation to regulate use of electric vehicles

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — Authorities are preparing regulations for recharging of electric vehicles following incentives announced recently by the government to encourage the use of the environment-friendly vehicles. 

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources  Ibrahim Saif was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as saying on Tuesday that the government is preparing a set of measures to boost the purchase of electric cars in the Kingdom in a bid to reduce the Kingdom’s fuel bill and to protect the environment.

President of the Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission Farouq Hiyari told Petra that the commission began in August drafting necessary legislation and measures governing recharging electric vehicles to be ready when charging stations start operations. 

Manaseer Group, a leading fuel company in the Kingdom, announced last week that it has installed three electric recharging points in its gas stations on two major highways and in Aqaba, near the port city’s airport. 

Charging points on highways are installed near the Nueimeh intersection with Irbid and near Muwaqqar on the desert highway. 

Manaseer group said it plans to install 10 more recharging points across the Kingdom by the end of November.

As electric vehicles are tax and customs duties free, the government announced last week the exemption of such cars from registration fees, saving owners between JD8,000 and JD9,000. 

Several days later, the government decided to offer more incentives by exempting charging devices of fully electric vehicles from customs duties and sales tax. 

There are a number of Tesla electric cars in the Kingdom currently used by top officials including Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh, in addition to several ministers. 

A government official said that another batch of cars is expected to arrive to the Kingdom in the coming weeks to be distributed to some senior officials. 

 

Recharging points are also available at the Prime Ministry, Planning Ministry and a number of other ministries, said the official, who preferred to remain unnamed.

Social media users call for stiffer penalties against police attackers

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — Jordanians have taken to social media to express their outrage over the recent attacks on policemen, which resulted in the death of two and injury of another within the past two days. 

A policeman and an anti-narcotics agent have died in the line of duty, one on Monday while the other succumbed to wounds he sustained in an ambush Saturday.   

In a statement Monday, the Public Security Department announced that CID Warrant Officer Khaled Ahmad Bani Mefrej was shot and killed in Jabal Amman when his patrol responded to a situation where a person “acting suspiciously” was spotted in the area. 

The PSD also reported that Corporal Mohammad Atta Salaymeh from the Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) died of wounds he sustained in a shoot-out with drug dealers while on duty in an area in the south on Saturday.

“These incidents would not have happened if there was more firmness and stiffer punishment against anyone who breaks the law,” said Azizah Suleiman on Facebbok. 

Bassam Samaaneh, on the other hand, called for executing those who fire at policemen, saying that the government should enact “highly deterrent laws” to protect the safety of the country, especially from drug dealers.

Abu AlazzHomsi also expressed on Facbook his support for sentencing outlaws who attack security personnel to capital punishment.

“Imprisonment is not deterring anymore. Most of the wanted people have previously served jail sentences,” he said, adding that the government should also work for better social security to reduce the crime rate by increasing salaries.

MP Khalil Atiyyeh also called for sentencing those responsible for the death of the policemen to death. 

 

On Twitter, a hash tag was trending, mourning the death of the two policemen and calling for stiffer penalties against the assailants.

Masked men attack school in Maan, set official’s car on fire

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — Masked men burst into a school in Southern Badia District on Tuesday, burning tyres and setting an eduation officer’s car on fire. 

No injuries were reported among the 300 students at Prince Rashed School for Girls where the attack took place before the start of classes around 7:00am.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times the area had been unstable since the Ministry of Education school-merging programme began.

The ministry began merging public schools that had less than 20 students in an attempt to enhance the quality of education and the performance of teachers, but the decision was met with outrage by some parents as the new schools might be distant from their homes.

Some parents of students from some of the merged schools in Irbid, Zarqa and Jerash had earlier refused to send their children to school, citing the said reasons. 

The ministry merged 41 schools and vacated 33 rented buildings under this programme, which concluded before the start of this academic year on September 1st.

Director of the Southern Badia District Education Department Salem Mahayreh, who rushed to the scene after a call from the school headmistress, said the school “was like a warzone", adding that the attackers tried to hit him with clubs. 

"A number of teachers and parents surrounded me for protection and called the police.”

He took refuge in a nearby house, where he called Minister of Education Mohammad Thneibat. The minister told him to remain in the house until police arrived. 

“I felt like a hostage," noted Mahayreh, who estimated there were 20 attackers. He later knew that they set his car on fire.

Sartawi said the incident was being investigated, rejecting at the same time the official’s allegations that police’s response to the situation was late.

“Police responded immediately to the call,” the officer said. 

Mahayreh believed the reason behind the attack was the ministry's school-merging policies, as the school was "the only one in the area whose teachers refused to strike against the merging process". 

 

Mahayreh expressed support for the ministry's new measures, which he said were meant to improve the level of education in remote areas.

Execution Law amendments meant to shorten litigation duration — minister

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — Justice Minister Bassam Talhouni on Tuesday said the recent amendments to the Execution Law were made to shorten the long periods of litigation blamed on recurrent appeals, whose frequency was unlimited. 

Talhouni said the current draft law has addressed this shortcoming by limiting the right to appeal execution decisions to only 10 cases, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

One of the problems of the existing Execution Law is that it allows persons sentenced to pay financial dues to plaintiffs to deposit 25 per cent as a down payment from the total claim, and pay the rest of the sum in monthly instalments with no limited time frame, which could extend the payback period to 150 years or more in some cases, according to the minister.  

The 2015 draft execution law, however, raised the down payment to 50 per cent of the claim, while the remaining part should be paid in instalments within a period not exceeding three years, according to the draft’s text posted on the website of the Legislation and Opinion Bureau, the Cabinet’s legislation arm.

The new draft law fixed more issues by limiting the publication of notifications to “leading” newspapers in order to allow the public to exercise their right of appeal or contest, according to Talhouni.

In addition, the draft law includes articles that cater to human rights, preventing the imprisonment of those who are proved with no means to pay their debts or those who are aged 70 years and above, the official told Petra.

 

The Lower House began discussing the amendments to the present Execution Law in its extraordinary session, which concluded this week, and is expected to continue deliberations over the amended law in the upcoming ordinary session, expected to start in October.

Water Ministry continues inspections on violations of water resources

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — The Water Ministry on Tuesday said a person was suspended for 45 days on violation of water resources.

Inspection cadres have sealed illegal wells in Wadi Seer and detained several violators, the ministry said, noting some people sold the water for drinking although it was intended for agricultural purposes only.

The ministry underlined campaigns to combat violations on water networks and resources will continue in accordance with the Jordan Water Authority Law. 

Two deaths on Tuesday in separate accidents

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — A 22-year-old man on Tuesday was electrocuted to death while doing cabling work at a hotel under construction in the Dead Sea area, according to the Civil Defence Department (CDD). Balqa CDD cadres removed the body to Southern Shouneh Hospital.

Meanwhile, woman died on Tuesday after she was hit by a car at Khafasheiat Circle. CDD rescue teams rushed the woman to the Jamil Tutanji Hospital in Sahab, but she was pronounced dead on arrival. 

Labour Ministry schedules inspections on illegal labour

By - Sep 22,2015 - Last updated at Sep 22,2015

AMMAN — The Labour Ministry has intensified its inspection campaigns on the sectors of restaurants, supermarkets, clothing and confectionaries that employ illegal workers.

Ayman Khawaldeh, director of the inspection department at the ministry, said Tuesday that inspection teams checked 106 establishments during the past two days, where they found that 58 illegal guest workers were employed in these outlets.

They also issued warning notices to 47 violating businesses, and fined 58 others. Khawaldeh said the teams will hold intensive field visits during Eid Al Adha holiday to make sure all outlets are comply with the law.

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