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AMMAN — Jordan Housing Developers Association (JHDA) President Fawaz Hassan on Wednesday discussed with his Palestinian counterpart Nizar Rimawi cooperation in the housing and real estate development field.

The two sides talked over the articles of a memorandum of understanding signed earlier between the two sides, and the preparations for a Palestinian exhibition to take place in Amman in October.

MANAMA — Jordan took part in the fifth Arab Photographers Forum, organised by the Bahrain Journalists Association Sport Media Committee with the participation of 16 different countries.

The forum lasted from Monday to Wednesday and included a workshop on sports photography.

AMMAN — A 67-year-old man died and two were injured on Wednesday in a two-vehicle collision in Marka, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said. East Amman CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Marka Military Hospital where they were listed in critical condition.

A 23-year-old Egyptian guest worker was shocked to death on Wednesday by a loose cable that fell off a pole after it was hit by a pickup track in the Jawasreh area.

Also on Wednesday, 15 people were injured in two separate traffic accidents in Jerash and Irbid. CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to hospitals where they were reported in fair condition. 

AMMAN — The Senate’s legal and administrative committees insisted on Wednesday on the senators’ amendments to the 2015 decentralisation law under which 10 per cent of the elected governorate council seats would be allocated for women.

The Senate is scheduled to convene on Thursday to discuss the law which was twice referred from the Lower House. Earlier this week, MPs rejected the Senate’s amendments to the 2015 decentralisation bill, insisting on a law free of a women’s quota in local governing bodies.

If the Senate insists on its amendments for the second time, then constitutionally, the two Houses of Parliament have to meet in a joint session to resolve the matter in dispute by a two-thirds vote.

AMMAN — Germany’s Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle on Wednesday visited the German-Jordanian University, where the ambassador met the university’s president, Nathir Abu Obeid. They discussed ways to increase cooperation between Germany and the university.

Abu Obeid highlighted the role that the university plays in building bridges between Jordanian and German culture, underlining the significance of the academic fourth year that university students spend at German educational institutions.

The ambassador commended the university’s performance and underlined his government’s willingness to boost coordination between the two sides.

AMMAN — French Senator and member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Josette Durrieu on Wednesday visited the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) as part of her visit to the Kingdom in order to  examine aspects for Jordan to join the council as a partner.

Mohammad Masalha, an IEC board member, met with Durrieu and reviewed IEC achievements, such as administrating the 2013 parliamentary elections, an IEC statement said.

National Centre for Human Rights Chief Commissioner Mohammad Bakhit received Durrieu and discussed the centre’s role in safeguarding and enhancing human rights, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Durrieu also met with presidents of Lower House blocs and discussed means for Jordan to join the Council of Europe, Petra reported. President of the Islamic Centrist bloc MP Mohammad Qatasheh said the discussions tackled the draft elections and administrative detention laws, the death penalty, minority rights and refugee issues.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma on Tuesday launched a campaign to end littering and preserve the environment.

Launched at the Haya Cultural Centre, “Throw it Right” is part of a project to protect the environment implemented by the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) in cooperation with governmental and non-governmental organisations in Jordan. 

The campaign targets students and families to raise their awareness on the importance of preserving the environment and getting rid of garbage through proper and sanitary means. 

During the launch ceremony, attended by Environment Minister Taher Shakhshir and Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji, Princess Basma said talking about the importance of preserving the environment is not enough and measures should be implemented in everyday activities to become a lasting habit.

HRH also called for intensifying official and civil national efforts to achieve the goals of protecting the environment.

Shakhshir said only 20 per cent of 3 million plastic bags used in Jordan reach landfills for proper processing, which he said requires urgent action. 

The minister also cited Agriculture Ministry statistics saying 200,000 sheep die annually after swallowing plastic bags, adding that in the next few months the Environment Ministry will target 500 schools and tens of hospitals, hotels and government buildings to execute activities facilitating gathering waste.

The development counsellor at the German embassy, Nina Lutter, referred to Jordanian-German cooperation during the past decades to preserve biodiversity and combat desertification as part of the German government’s efforts to support the Kingdom in facing environmental challenges.

Princess Basma signed a letter of commitment with attendees to preserving the environment and throwing trash in designated places, and noted that the campaign aims at reaching 1 million signatures.

AMMAN – The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) said on Wednesday it would expand its campaign to tidy the roofs of Amman’s buildings to include awareness-raising sessions at schools.

Raed Haddadin, director of the building control department at GAM, said the municipality will start the awareness campaign right after the Eid Al Adha holiday, which will start on Wednesday and wrap up on Sunday.

“Students make up 65 per cent of the total population of the Kingdom and they are one of the important segments that need to be targeted on this issue,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Wednesday. 

The campaign, in its first phase, was launched in June when GAM officials paid field visits to houses they deemed in need of additional cleaning, and encouraged residents to clean them. 

As part of those visits, GAM issued 300 warning notices to residents around Amman, and 80 per cent of the people who were warned cleaned their rooftops, officials reported.  

When the campaign was launched in June, Haddadin said residents would be given until the end of the holy month of Ramadan to do the cleaning, after which GAM would “issue warnings against those who do not abide by the instructions”, before sending a  team to clean the rooftop, with the owner covering the expenses. 

The municipality official said GAM has also started conducting field visits to remove abandoned cars from the Suweileh area in the north of the capital. 

In earlier remarks to The Jordan Times, Haddadin said the campaign also included clearing 300 abandoned cars from the industrial areas in Wadi Al Seer and Qweismeh.

AMMAN — The cost of treating around 250 war injured Yemenis has nearly reached JD10 million, a sector representative said Wednesday, as 300 others were still receiving medical attention in Jordan.

Private Hospitals Association (PHA) President Fawzi Hammouri said Yemeni Health Minister Nasser Baoun on Tuesday visited Yeminis receiving medical care in Jordanian hospitals and discussed payment methods with concerned parties.

“Baoun commended the quality of health services provided to Yemeni war patients in Jordan and said the Yemeni government, with the support of Gulf Cooperation Council, is committed to reconciling part of the bill in the upcoming few days,” Hammouri told The Jordan Times over phone. 

On Wednesday, an aircraft carrying around 90 treated Yemenis left the Kingdom for Yemen, according to the physician, who added that the “relatively short” treatment periods for Yemenis are allowing Jordan to receive new war patients without putting pressure on its medical facilities.

The fighting in Yemen has so far killed more than 4,500 people, many of them civilians, according to Reuters.

The majority of the remaining 300 cases were received after being handled incorrectly in Yemen or were infected due to the sanitary standards in the previous healthcare facilities in which they were treated.

“We expect to receive thousands more injured Yemenis,” Hammouri said, as the medical expertise, high quality hospitals and competitive prices of healthcare services in Jordan stand as the competitive edge that lead Yemenis and Arabs citizens to seek treatment in the Kingdom.

Over 55,000 Libyans had also been treated in the Kingdom’s hospitals, with a total cost of over JD140 million.

“It is our duty to provide quality services that save lives,” he said, adding that Jordanian doctors and medical staff have built their expertise in dealing with war patients throughout years of receiving such patients from various hot zones in the region.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya on Wednesday attended the graduation of 400 students who participated in the Universal Concept of Mental Arithmetic System (UCMAS) Jordan competition.

UCMAS General Manager Moataz Azar commended Princess Sumaya’s support, as the princess presented certificates to the graduates who finished all 10 levels of the UCMAS programme. UCMAS utilises the “Abacus Mental Arithmetic” skills as a training tool for the mental development of children aged 4-12.