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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday held talks with Lt. Gen. Abdulrahman Mohammad Al Othman, chief of the general staff of the Kuwaiti army.

Discussions covered bilateral cooperation and the latest regional developments.

King Abdullah voiced his pride in the advanced level of Jordanian-Kuwaiti relations, stressing his commitment to further enhance cooperation in all areas.

Othman conveyed the greetings of Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah to King Abdullah.

Also on Tuesday,  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben met with Othman, who is on a several-day visit to the Kingdom, and discussed ways to develop military cooperation.

During the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, the two sides reviewed issues of mutual concern.

AMMAN — A total of 767 Syrians, mostly women, children and elderly people, entered the Kingdom through various border points over the past 48 hours.

Border guards stationed along the 376-kilometre border between Jordan and Syria received the refugees and provided emergency aid to the injured before transferring them to the Zaatari Refugee Camp, over 80km northeast of Amman.

AMMAN — The unprecedented growth in the adoption of smartphones in Jordan represents an opportunity for businesses such as retail and restaurants to increase their clients and revenues, social media and IT experts said Tuesday.

They noted that businesses need to invest in social media campaigns, which will help them reach out to a wider audience and directly interact with clients.

The experts made the remarks at the MediaME Forum 2014 “The Jordan Digital Media Event”, which attracted hundreds of representatives of the social media, marketing, telecom and ICT sectors.

“Smartphone penetration in Jordan stands at 41 per cent and is rising. The increase in usage of smartphones is changing the behaviours of Jordanians and this represents an opportunity for businesses,” Ali Toukan, research manager at Ipsos, said at the event, which concludes on Wednesday.

Toukan added that the second-hand smartphone market has made it possible for Jordanians to own such devices at “very” affordable prices.

The adoption of smartphones in the country has surpassed the usage of laptops, he noted.

“I expect smartphone usage in Jordan to also surpass PCs by the middle of this year.”

Citing a study by Ipsos, Toukan said about 43 per cent of mobile users in Jordan have broadband.

The study showed that eight in 10 smartphone holders in the Kingdom have data subscriptions on their devices.

Businesses need to invest more in mobile advertising which will help increase their revenues, experts said during the event.

In a presentation, Rasha Rteil, regional digital strategist at Mindshare MENA, said it is important that social media campaigns are adapted to address local communities.

Data about mobile users, including their locations and interests, can be effectively utilised by businesses to target a certain segment of clients and increase their customer base, Rteil added.

Participants at the event discussed several issues including the latest digital trends in the Kingdom and the region, and digital content development.

Smartphones in numbers

Smartphone penetration in Jordan stands at 41%.

The majority (78%) of smartphones use Google’s Android operating system.

9% use Nokia’s Symbian operating system, while iOS phones constitute 6%.

7 in 10 iPhone users are residents of Amman.

6% of smartphone users are on Twitter, while 70% are on Facebook.

About 70% of smartphone holders use social networking sites, 71% download applications on their devices.

About 50% of smartphone holders in Jordan are between the ages of 15 and 24.

More than half of iOS and Android users prefer English applications, while 60% of Symbian users prefer Arabic apps.

Symbian users are more likely to be housewives, while Android users are more likely to be students.

AMMAN — The Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) has started issuing notifications to owners of illegal agricultural wells, demanding that they pay their dues, which exceed JD24 million, officials said on Tuesday.

WAJ has so far notified 1,493 owners of illegal wells, used for agricultural purposes, Water Minister Hazem Nasser said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

A total of 680 notifications were issued to farmers in Deir Alla in the Jordan Valley, 495 in Azraq, 196 in Maan, 62 in Amman and Zarqa, 46 in Jiza, seven in Mafraq and six in Ramtha, Nasser added.

The notifications detail the name of the debtor and the demanded cost, which is either estimated according to the terrain of the agricultural unit, the type of crops, the energy consumed, satellite images, or according to the readings of the water gauges, he noted.

The dues must be paid within 15 days, otherwise the names of the debtors will be published in newspapers within 60 days, Nasser said.

If owners of the illegal agricultural wells fail to pay their dues by August 15, authorities will seize their movable and immovable assets and take other legal measures, which also include a travel ban, a source at the Ministry of Water and Irrigation told The Jordan Times.

The Cabinet issued a decision earlier this year allowing owners of illegal agricultural wells to continue pumping water for irrigation, provided they pay for it and stop cultivating crops that depend on the illegal wells by the end of this year, the source noted.

“All the illegal wells used for the irrigation of crops have been identified. The ministry will launch a campaign later this year to make sure that all illegal wells are sealed,” the source said.

The ministry statement said owners of illegal wells pay 150 fils per cubic metre for the first 10,000 cubic metres pumped, while the price rises to 250 fils for 10,000-30,000 cubic metres and 500 fils for over 30,000 cubic metres.

AMMAN — The US signed a $165 million water assistance agreement with Jordan on Monday, according to a statement released by the US embassy.

The funds will assist the government over the next five years with infrastructure development, water sector reform, water management and conservation, and outreach programmes at the household, institutional and industrial levels. 

US Ambassador to Jordan Stuart E. Jones signed the agreement with Water Ministry Secretary General Basem Tulfah in Aqaba.

In his remarks at the ceremony, Jones noted that the US has invested more of its assistance in the Kingdom’s water sector than in any other sector.  

Since 2000, US assistance in the water sector has reached nearly $700 million, according to the US embassy.

During his visit to the port city, Jones also donated a $183,000 “scan van” to Jordan Customs Department (JCD) Director General Munther Assaf. 

The donation was made possible by the US Government’s Export Control and Border Security Programme, the statement said.  

The van will assist JCD efforts to detect illegally trafficked items. 

In addition, the ambassador inspected equipment that is part of the US Container Security Initiative (CSI).  

Launched in January 2002, the CSI is aimed at securing maritime cargo shipments, facilitating trade and encouraging investment.  

Jones recognised the government for its “significant progress” as it continues to enhance its export control system, the statement said.  

Over the past several years, the United States has provided more than “$14 million in assistance with expertise, equipment, training, and software to support Jordan’s border security, export controls and non-proliferation efforts through the Export Control and Related Border Security Programme”. 

Later on Monday, Jones met with Aqaba alumni of the US-sponsored English Access Microscholarship Programme.  

The programme teaches English language skills to talented 14- to 18-year-olds from underserved communities.  

In cooperation with the government of Jordan, the programme has awarded scholarships to nearly 3,500 Jordanian high school students from underserved areas to help them improve their English through classes and an annual summer camp.

AMMAN — Both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday agreed to merge  the Insurance Regulatory Commission with the Trade Ministry and to keep the Ombudsman Bureau as an independent institution.

Senators and deputies endorsed these decisions at a joint session held to resolve their dispute over the draft law that seeks to restructure independent public agencies.

The lawmakers endorsed the entire bill after they ended their disagreement over certain provisions.

Last year, the Lower House concluded deliberations over the draft bill cancelling certain institutions and merging others, and keeping some agencies independent.

However, the Senate did not agree to the cancellation of five independent institutions, introducing amendments to the Lower House’s decisions.

In September last year, deputies approved the Senate’s amendments to maintain the status of the National Information Technology Centre and the Agricultural Risks Management Fund for their “importance and satisfactory performance”.

But they stressed the need to reduce the number of independent institutions to decrease the burden on the budget, insisting on their previous decision to scrap the Insurance Regulatory Commission and the Ombudsman Bureau.

The joint session was held to resolve the dispute in line with Article 92 of the Constitution, which reads: “Should either House twice reject any draft law and the other accept it, whether or not amended, both the Senate and the Chamber shall hold a joint meeting under the chairmanship of the president of the Senate to discuss the matters in dispute.” 

“Acceptance of the draft law shall be conditional upon the passing of a resolution by a two-thirds majority of the members of both Houses present. If the draft law is rejected as described above, it shall not be placed again before the House during the same session.”

With Tuesday’s session, the 17th Parliament now holds the record for the highest number of joint sessions at four. The meeting was the 14th such session over the course of 67 years, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The 16th and 13th parliaments each held three joint sessions.

AMMAN – The government on Tuesday survived a no-confidence motion over what some deputies described as its failure to properly respond to the killing of Judge Raed Zuaiter, who was shot dead by Israeli soldiers last week. 

After a week of lobbying, a majority of the MPs present on Tuesday afternoon voted in favour of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour’s government following a heated session, particularly after Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh earlier decided not to hold a vote of no-confidence.

The speaker then agreed to the demands of deputies and went ahead with the vote.

A total of 81 deputies voted “yea” for granting confidence to the government, while 29 withheld confidence and 20 MPs abstained. A total of 130 deputies out of the 150-strong House attended the session.

The no-confidence motion was presented due to what some deputies described as the government’s inadequate response to the shooting of 38-year-old Zuaiter on the King Hussein Bridge crossing that links Jordan with the West Bank. 

Following the incident, several MPs called for expelling the Israeli ambassador and abolishing the peace treaty with Israel, signed in 1994.

Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed their “deep regret” over the death of Zuaiter, who was going to visit Nablus, in separate telephone calls with His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday.

In response to Tuesday’s confidence vote, MP Yihya Saud (Amman, 2nd District) announced his resignation “from this weak House”.

After the Lower House granted its confidence to the government, minor clashes broke out between security personnel and protesters outside Parliament.

Some were wounded and others arrested, but no exact figures were available. 

The demonstrators raised their shoes to express their rejection of the Lower House’s decision, chanting slogans against the government and Ensour.

Addressing MPs prior to the vote, the premier said the government has started a joint investigation with Israeli authorities into the incident, noting that this was one of the demands and “it has been achieved”.

In light of the ongoing joint investigation, the premier said the government believes that a decision to expel the Israeli ambassador and recall Jordan’s ambassador from Tel Aviv would jeopardise the entire case, as it would give the Israelis the pretext to cancel the joint investigation and “then we will not be able to get to the bottom of the incident”.

An escalatory move like that would encourage Israelis to expedite unilateral actions in Jerusalem targeting all Islamic and Christian shrines there, and block “our ambassador’s efforts to help the Jordanian prisoners in Israeli jails”, he noted.

The joint investigation is being held amid ongoing efforts to draft a framework for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict, Ensour added, citing US Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace plan.

“This will negatively affect our chances to follow up on the negotiations and reduce our ability to safeguard our higher national interests,” he said.

The premier pointed out that the peace treaty with Israel draws final and fixed borders between Jordan and Israel, a matter of great importance to the Kingdom.

By cancelling the treaty “we recreate the danger of the alternative homeland option”, he warned.

At the start of the session, Tarawneh told MPs that he sent letters to several international parliamentary unions calling on them to condemn the “crime” against Zuaiter.

Ensour won a previous vote of confidence in his government last year, when he first formed his Cabinet on April 2013. At the time, 83 MPs voted “yea”, while 65 voted “nay”.

AMMAN — Palestinian Affairs Department Director General Mahmoud Aqrabawi on Monday met with outgoing UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi.

Aqrabawi thanked Grandi for the work he did during his tenure, commending the agency’s role in providing Palestinian refugee camps in the region with healthcare, education and social relief.

Grandi commended the Kingdom’s services to Palestinian refugees.

AMMAN — Jordanian-Qatari relations are witnessing continuous development in all fields, Interior Minister Hussein Majali said on Monday at a meeting with Qatar’s Ambassador to Jordan Zayed Bin Saeed Rashid Al Khayarin.

Discussions covered cooperation in exchanging security and police expertise.

Majali said Jordan is ready to provide one-year training courses for Qataris in the areas of forensic science and investigation.

The Qatari ambassador commended Jordan’s security and police expertise.

AMMAN — Around 31,586 students benefited from university loans and scholarships during the 2013-14 academic year, while the number of beneficiaries stood at 30,438 in the previous year, according to the Higher Education Ministry.

Minister Amin Mahmoud noted that 44,821 students applied for scholarships in 2013-14, compared with 36,717 in the 2012-13 academic year.

He said several entities are covering the grants and scholarships, including the Royal Court, the King Abdullah II Fund for Development, the Princess Muna Fund to support nursing and Royal Jordanian.