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AMMAN — A 14-year-old Syrian boy died on Wednesday when a ceiling collapsed on him while he was doing renovation work in a house in Abdoun, according to the Civil Defence Department.

LONDON — Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh will participate in the “London 11, Friends of Syria” meeting that will be held in London on Thursday to discuss the latest developments pertaining to the Syrian crisis.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, the US, Britain, France, Germany and Italy — the core group of the Friends of Syria — will also attend the meeting, hosted by the UK.

AMMAN — HH Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation (KHCF), on Wednesday visited Zarqa Private University and highlighted KHCF’s efforts in providing healthcare services to cancer patients.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday endorsed a decision to annul the 2014 privatisation draft law.

The decision was taken in implementation of the independent public agencies restructuring law, which entails abolishing the Privatisation Executive Commission and referring its assets to the Finance Ministry.

The Cabinet also endorsed a draft amendment to the 2014 Press and Publications Law, under which the Press and Publications Department will be scrapped, with the new Media Commission to be tasked with the department’s responsibilities.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, the Regent, on Wednesday attended the 8th Annual Falcon Air Meet and watched air manoeuvres and training drills carried out by the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF), the US Air Force and US Marines.

During the event, attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben, members of the RJAF and the US Air Force demonstrated several exercises, including live ammunition shooting from F16 and F18 fighter aircraft.

Jordanian Special Operations forces and US Marines dropped paratroopers from a Black Hawk aircraft, supported by Cobra planes in a building-clearing drill.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday sent a cable to Turkish President Abdullah Gul to offer condolences over the loss of life in an explosion at a mine in western Turkey, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The King also extended his condolences to the victims’ families.

At least 205 people were confirmed dead in the explosion, Agence France-Presse reported.

AMMAN — Participants in the UN International Meeting on the Question of Jerusalem, held in Ankara during the period May 12-13, concluded with some recommendations, supporting His Majesty King Abdullah’s custodianship of the holy sites in occupied Jerusalem. 

The participants rejected Israel’s adoption and implementation of the plans of Jewish extremists to “sever  Al Aqsa Mosque from its historical and geographical roots”.

“The participants support His Majesty King Abdullah, the custodian of the holy sites, and His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the State of Palestine, which has sovereignty over the holy sites, to take all available legal measures to defend the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque and to intervene with a view to putting an end to Israeli violations, in accordance with the rules of international law and international resolutions concerning Jerusalem,” the conference’s final communiqué said.

The participants welcomed a call by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to the Turkish people “to support their Palestinian brothers and other Muslims in defending the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque”. 

The Turkish people should protect the mosque’s Islamic identity by visiting it and praying there, “just as they visit the sacred Kaaba and the blessed Mosque of the Prophet Mohammad”.

Al Haram Al Sharif (or noble sanctuary) is Islam’s third holiest place. A fatwa by a conference in Amman last month sanctioned visiting Al Aqsa, even when it is under occupation.

The fatwa was supported completely by the Ankara meeting.

“The participants endorse the consensus arrived at by the scholars and jurists who participated in the Road to Jerusalem Conference, which was held in Amman in late April 2014, to call on all Palestinians, regardless of their nationalities, and Muslims around the world to affirm their right to defend their sacred Islamic and Christian sites and to do so by paying a religious visit to the blessed Al Aqsa Mosque and praying there and by maintaining contact and support of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people”.

The call was also adopted by Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Iyad Madani, who said all Muslims and Christians should try to reach Jerusalem “by any means possible”, according to the statement, “in order to express their right to freedom of worship and to preserve their sacred sites and support the people of Jerusalem and help them to develop their community”.

They also expressed their support for the Palestinian people’s struggle and insistence that Jerusalem should be the capital of their future state.

Madani, supported by the participants, also called on the secretary general of the United Nations to search for “innovative and effective ways of confronting Israel’s flagrant violations of international law and ending the racist system of government”.

Participants urged the international community, academic and media institutions, schools and universities to reject the Israeli “Judaisation narrative” of Jerusalem and Palestine, and to “hold fast to the Muslim and Christian narrative concerning Jerusalem”. 

In another recommendation, the conference adopted Davutoglu’s suggestion to convene a special meeting on the status of Jerusalem and the right of refugees to return to their homes under the rubric of the United Nations Conciliation Commission for Palestine.

Echoing Amman conference’s outcomes, the participants in Ankara meeting called on the US to end its support and withdraw the cover it provides for Israel.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday met with a number of investment leaders from the US Angel Investment Group (AIG) in San Francisco who are interested in funding innovative start-ups around the world.

His Majesty delivered a speech at the “Innovative Jordan” Conference held the same day at the University of California at Berkeley, in which he highlighted Jordan’s creative youth, especially in the ICT sector (see full speech).

Discussions at AIG covered economic cooperation and the possibility of investing in emerging Jordanian companies and transforming them from local to leading regional and international corporations, especially those operating in the telecommunications and ICT sectors, according to a Royal Court statement. 

The King stressed the importance of fostering cooperation and partnership between investors and companies from both countries, inviting American businesspeople to visit the Kingdom to have more insight into its investment experience in light of the "quality" economic environment that is backed by a series of laws and measures that facilitate the mission of investors and help them advance their businesses. 

The Monarch cited the competitive features of the ICT sector and other investment advantages provided by the Jordanian economy as well as the Kingdom's strategic location and the free trade agreement with the US and other strong and emerging economies. 

He noted that Jordan has managed to make many strides in the recent years through transforming challenges into opportunities and building on them, a thing that contributed to creating an attractive investment atmosphere. 

The King also pointed to the benefits provided by Jordan’s geographical location as a gateway into Arab markets, which include more than 350 million customers, and a link between Asia, Africa and Europe.

He invited angel investors to invest in pioneering schemes that have been initiated in the Kingdom. 

Also at the meeting, representatives of six Jordanian companies working in the ICT and telecommunications sectors presented a briefing on their experience in front of 30 leading investors. 

Minister of Industry and Trade Hatem Halawani said that the development witnessed in these sectors had reflected on the rest of Jordan’s economic activities and the volume of exports.

He highlighted incentives provided to foreign investors, especially in development zones, to enable companies to thrive.

ICT Minister Azzam Sleit noted that the government has enacted laws governing the information technology sector, ensuring the availability of a proper infrastructure in line with international requirements. 

For their part, the investors noted that US companies operating in the ICT sector are interested in Jordan’s investment opportunities for they provide the chance to penetrate the rest of the regional market.  

The Angel Investment Group includes a number of international investors who work to develop investments that have the potential of exceptional growth, providing funding to promising start-ups, according to the statement. 

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Mitch Kapor, president of the Kapor Centre for Social Impact, said that there were huge investment opportunities in Jordan’s ICT start-ups.

The Silicon Valley investor noted that the valley’s companies are interested in navigating the Jordanian market.

At the University of California in Berkeley, which hosted a conference for Jordanian ICT and telecommunications investors, King Abdullah met with university Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks and discussed academic and scientific cooperation between the facility and the University of Jordan. 

The King voiced his appreciation of the scientific achievements realised by the University of California at the international level. 

Dirks said the institution will extend all possible support to Jordanian entrepreneurs and provide them with the necessary tools to empower them to contribute to the economic and social development. 

The conference was attended by several representatives from Jordan, including Oasis500 deputy chairman, Marwan Jumaa, Jawad Abbasi, chairman of the int@j board and Wael Attili, founder of the Amman-based Kharabeesh Network.

On the sidelines of the event, a documentary was screened featuring the experience of first Jordanian companies operating in the ICT sector and their development to move from the local to regional markets, particularly in the Gulf. 

Established in 1868, the University of California, envisioned as “city of learning”, provides 350 vocational, bachelor’s, master’s and PhD programmes. 

Also on Tuesday, His Majesty met with a number of executive directors of large US companies and discussed ways to further improve bilateral investment ties. 

The King invited the companies’ representatives to visit the Kingdom to familiarise themselves with investment opportunities and cooperate with their Jordanian peers, pointing to the ICT forum for the MENA region, slated to be held in Amman in November. 

The executive directors underlined their keenness to benefit from Jordan’s economic competitive advantages, build partnerships that rely on the competence of  Jordanian manpower.

In an interview with Petra, President of the eBay Inc. John Donahoe stressed that any investment targeting the Middle East should take Jordan’s potential into account due to the economic and political stability it enjoys.

Meanwhile, the Monarch also met with Eric Schmidt, executive chairman of Google, and Mike Cassidy, director of Google[x] project, and talked about  new applications Google is working on. 

The King cited investment opportunities in Jordan’s ICT sector, mainly in the qualified cadres who are capable of developing applications and programmes that go in line with  Arab and regional market needs. 

He noted that Jordan has started to witness a rise in the ICT industry and associated services, especially in the areas of health, education and content industry.

He called Google company to explore opportunities in Jordan, particularly in relation to developing the Arabic web content, of which 75 per cent is managed in the Kingdom.   

On the other hand, King Abdullah paid a visit to the Plug and Play Tech Centre in Sunnyvale, which incubated large US companies, such as PayPal and DropBox. 

The Monarch was briefed on efforts to incubate start-up ICT companies before visiting the Jordanian pavilion at the centre, which includes a number of emerging local companies in the field. 

His Majesty stressed the importance of benefiting from the centre’s experience in supporting entrepreneurs, especially through business incubators and accelerators that provide a suitable atmosphere to develop the ICT sector. 

He underlined the importance of the sector in contributing to the GDP, which currently stands at 12 per cent, adding that it also provides around 80,000 direct and indirect work opportunities.  

Plug and Play’s global network signed an agreement with Umniah mobile operator two years ago to rehabilitate Jordanian companies in California. 

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, the Regent, on Wednesday met with US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel and discussed bilateral cooperation, especially in military and defence areas. 

Hagel’s visit to Jordan is part of a regional tour that has already covered Saudi Arabia and he is expected to wrap it in Israel. 

During the meeting, which was attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben and delegates accompanying the defence secretary, Prince Feisal and Hagel discussed ways to boost the capabilities of the Jordan Armed Forces in securing the country’s borders. 

Discussions also focused on the latest regional developments and issues of joint concern. 

In Saudi Arabia, Hagel reassured Arabian Gulf allies Wednesday of US commitments to defend them amid tensions in the US-Saudi relationship, including differences over how to help moderate rebel forces remove President Bashar Assad from power in Syria, the Associated Press reported. 

Hagel’s visit - his third to Saudi Arabia in the past year - was designed to calm Gulf states that feel vulnerable to Iran’s influence and are frustrated at US policy on Syria, which has not yet included weapons or other lethal aid in the three-year civil war. Washington also wants to foster more effective, practical forms of defence cooperation on the Arabian Peninsula by integrating their air and missile defence systems.

Hagel addressed the Iran issue at the outset of a meeting of defence ministers from the Gulf states allied with Washington, including Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He made only glancing mention of the Syria problem, which is viewed by the Saudis as a worrying sign of US hesitation to confront Iranian influences in the region. Hagel said Syria reflects a confluence of violent extremism, fragile states and humanitarian emergencies, the AP reported.