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AMMAN — The authorities have arrested five men who were allegedly manufacturing illegal narcotics known in the local market as "joker", an official said on Saturday.

The five men were arrested following a raid on two apartments in an east Amman neighbourhood led by Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) agents, a senior official source said.

"The department received a tip a few weeks ago that the group was manufacturing illegal narcotics by using dangerous, poisonous and cancerous substances," the source said.

The suspects were monitored by AND agents and arrested following the raid, he added, noting that no one was injured in the operation.

"A search of the apartments yielded 3,000 bags of the illegal substance known in the market as ‘joker’, the official explained.

Agents also found various chemical substances and equipment believed to be used in "illegal drug operations", the source added.

The suspects are being questioned by authorities and are expected to be "referred to the State Security Court prosecution for further questioning", he said.

AMMAN — The Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) is seeking to join the efforts of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), service providers and governmental bodies at a regional conference in April, organisers said on Saturday.

The conference will highlight the role of chambers and business associations as “drivers of change” that can bridge the gaps between the three parties in a way that improves the performance of SMEs in the Middle East and North Africa, the organisers said.

JCI Chairman Ayman Hatahet said the conference will review the experiences of countries that succeeded in supporting SMEs.

“The conference is to open the discussion for all parties to discuss the challenges that SMEs face and the future of these enterprises,” Hatahet told reporters. 

SMEs usually face difficulties in securing the needed financing and government support, in addition to their need for consultation services, he added.  

“The JCI has established a technical support unit for SMEs, in cooperation with the Amman, Zarqa and Irbid Industry chambers, to push for better decisions,” Hatahet said at a press conference.

JCI Director Maher Mahrouq said the April conference, which is expected to host over 250 participants from several countries, will include keynote speeches by local and international experts on topics that include non-financing services to SMEs and possible creative fields for projects.

“The two-day conference, which is scheduled to start on April 28, will provide recommendations for decision makers in all concerned sectors to help in drawing up a road map to support SMEs further,” he added.  

Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Hatem Halawani said SMEs have proven their stability, adaptability and ability to grow after the global financial crisis, where larger enterprises were substantially affected. 

“One of the main pillars of the fiscal reform project is enhancing economic growth by supporting SMEs,” Halawani said, adding that the ministry seeks to promote the culture of medium- and long-term financing.

“The ministry also provides managerial and technical assistance to owners of SMEs, and constantly seeks to find new markets for Jordanian products,” he added.

Halawani noted that Jordan’s SMEs provide nearly 70 per cent of jobs and contribute 60 per cent to the Kingdom’s exports.

The conference will be held in partnership with the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation, the Arab Planning Institute, the Jordan Trade Facilities Company, the United National Industrial Development Organisation and the Economic and Social Council of West Asia.

AMMAN — Cisco on Saturday announced a $6 million investment in the Badia Impact Fund to support early-stage online and mobile innovation, healthcare technologies, e-commerce, consumer Internet and digital media services in Jordan. 

The investment, which is the first allocation from the $10 million venture capital investment commitment initially outlined by the international network company in May 2011, targets small businesses that provide innovative products, services and solutions in the Kingdom, Alan Chelko, business development manager at Cisco, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The Badia Impact Fund is jointly funded by Cisco, as an anchor investor, along with the European Investment Bank, the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), and the fund sponsor, Accelerator Technology Holdings.

The fund is dedicated to investing in early-stage start-ups in the technology sector in Jordan. It provides support, networks and capital for entrepreneurs to achieve global impact, according to a Cisco statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

“The money will be used to invest in Jordanian ICT companies. Our investment in the fund will help mobilise capital, create jobs in the Kingdom and accelerate tech- innovation,” Chelko said.

“It is the first time that we have invested in a fund in Jordan,” he said.

Commenting on the announcement, Fawaz Zu’bi, the founder and CEO of Accelerator Technology Holdings, said: “This is a big win for Jordan and a very big win for the ICT sector.”

“Cisco’s contribution will help the fund invest in 12-15 companies in Jordan, where the ICT sector witnessed several setbacks and challenges over the past few years,” Zu’bi told The Jordan Times.

“We will invest in early-stage existing companies. We will look for companies that can go global. We are building the bridge for them to go global and enter new markets,” he added.

KAFD Chairman Omar Razzaz stressed the key role the fund will play in supporting small businesses.

“We are hoping that this endeavour will help enhance national production in this sector and succeed in motivating local talent,” Razzaz said in a statement.

“The information and communications technology sector in Jordan has witnessed significant year on year growth, now forming nearly 13 per cent of the country’s [gross domestic product] and therefore primed to be a key source for job opportunities as well as economic growth in the region,” he added.

AMMAN — Fifteen Crown Plaza Hotel employees were evacuated from its spa at the Dead Sea on Saturday after a minor blaze gutted the sauna area, according to hotel and rescue officials.

No one was injured in the fire, which started at 10am in the ladies four-square-metre sauna on the second floor of the spa, a hotel official told The Jordan Times.

“There was a woman in a different section in the spa who was escorted out by our staff  without any incident,” the hotel official said.

The Civil Defence Department (CDD) issued a statement saying that 15 employees were evacuated following the minor blaze.

“Firefighters managed to contain the blaze and prevented its spread to other areas of the spa,” the CDD statement said.

A committee was formed by the CDD and other agencies to investigate the incident.

“The cause of the blaze was — most probably — an electrical short circuit, but we will wait for final investigation results by the authorities, which will be out within a week’s time,” the hotel official said.

The official added that the damage was only in the sauna area and “we estimate that business will be back to normal in the spa within a week,” he added.

The official said that smoke covered the area, forcing evacuation of the staff after the alarm was triggered.

“Our main priority is the safety and security of our staff and guests, and the evacuation was just a precautionary measure that we train our staff on, on a regular basis,” he added.

AMMAN — The Central Traffic Department (CTD) has not taken a decision to increase the ticket for crossing a red light to JD500, an official at the department said on Saturday. 

Responding to news reports that the authorities plan to increase fees for several traffic tickets, including crossing a red light and using a mobile phone while driving, Lt. Col. Muawiah Rababaa, director of the CTD’s public relations team, said no such decisions have been taken.

Rababaa said a committee is currently revising the 2008 Traffic Law in general to introduce some changes, but no final decisions have been agreed on yet. 

“The committee, which was formed nine months ago, is revising the whole law, including the regulations on tickets, but it is still too early to say whether some ticket fees will be increased or not. These claims are baseless,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Under Article 29 of the current Traffic Law, motorists who cross a red light are to pay a ticket between JD100 and JD200 and face between one week and one month imprisonment.

Rababaa said the panel seeks to update the law to account for the use of modern technology. 

“There are issues that need to be revised besides traffic tickets, like the regulations on insurance and car licences,” Rababaa added. 

“For example, when someone wants to renew his/her car license, he/she can only pay in cash, because the law does not allow for credit card payments. These issues are being taken into consideration by the committee,” he said. 

Rababaa did not provide details on when the panel will conclude its work.

“First, the outcomes will be submitted to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau for approval, and then they go through several channels before a decision is taken to amend the law,” he added.  

AMMAN — The Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) on Saturday announced the recommendations of a round-table discussion on football medicine, with the aim of improving services provided to athletes in emergencies.

HRH Prince Ali, founder of the AFDP, said the recommendations will serve as guidelines that will “hopefully” contribute towards lowering the number of deaths and injuries on the football pitch.

“Efforts to control such collapses are being exerted in Asia and the entire world, not only in Jordan,” he said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the round-table discussion. 

International experts on football medicine — in addition to English footballer Fabrice Muamba, a former Bolton Wanderers player who survived a cardiac arrest during a live match in 2012 — participated in the discussion, held under the name of Qusai Khawaldeh, the under-22 national team footballer who passed away during a Faisali match last year.

The recommendations of the discussion tackled administrative and educational issues, in addition to topics related to prevention, infrastructure and research.

Participants suggested including minimum health requirements under club licensing in order to make them obligatory, according to British cardiologist Andrew Deaner, who helped save Muamba’s life.

“We also recommend establishing effective screening procedures at all levels and making them mandatory at both the club and national team levels,” he told reporters.

The discussion also suggested cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training through partners like the Red Crescent and the Red Cross for medical and non-medical personnel, said Deaner, who spoke on behalf of the discussion committee.

“There should also be easy access to equipment, ambulances and related emergency responders,” he added, encouraging national and regional research projects to have more data available with regards to athletes.

Chairman of the medical committee at FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations Michele D’Hooghe said an average of one player passes away every month due to cardiac arrest.

He added that all players participating in world championships undergo a pre-competition medical assessment, but that does not mean that athletes screened will not experience cardiac arrest.

Muamba urged all athletes to undergo the medical screening, adding that he is thankful for “having the right medical team at the right place and time”.

AMMAN – The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) on Saturday warned the public against the use of virtual currencies, particularly bitcoin, saying they are not legal tender.

The CBJ said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times that investing in virtual currencies carries high risks of devaluation as users could be hit by severe fluctuation and volatility of its value and risks of financial crimes, hacking and electronic piracy, along with the potential risk of the total loss of its value due to the absence of guarantor or underlying assets.

“Recently, a global phenomenon of trading a virtual currency called bitcoin became active around the world. CBJ seeks to protect citizens and the investors, by warning them that virtual currencies are not legal tender and there is no obligation on any central bank in the world or any government to exchange its value for real money issued by them nor backed by underlying international commodities or gold,” the bank said.

The CBJ urged people to make prudent decisions regarding any investment instrument that lacks adequate transparency and disclosure, and which does not entail consumer protection measures.

Maha Bahu, executive director of the payment services department at CBJ, told The Jordan Times over the phone that the central bank had issued a circular to all banks operating in the Kingdom, currency exchange companies, financial companies and the payment service companies prohibiting them from dealing with virtual currencies, particularly in bitcoins.

She added that the bank has been following the issue of bitcoin very closely over the past two months, adding it was important to warn the public against it in order to avoid any fraud problems in the future.

Bahu added that many countries worldwide have banned trading in bitcoins, adding that Lebanon has also warned against the virtual currency.

An official source said that there are some people in Jordan and other countries in the region –– using phony names –– are already trading in the currency.

Bitcoin is affiliated with no country or bank. It is based on an open-source computer code designed by an anonymous person or people five years ago, international reports said.

As a crypto-currency, bitcoin is passed between two parties digitally and can be traded on exchanges for real-world currencies. Its value fluctuates according to user demand but it is not backed by any government or central bank.

According to Reuters, bitcoin was hit by attacks from unknown computer hackers in recent weeks that led to problems at two exchanges. They had to temporarily halt withdrawals by customers who stored bitcoins in digital wallets provided by the exchanges.
This week, a single bitcoin unit is worth about $635, down from around the $1,000 mark in late 2013. However, it was worth only about $150 as recently as last September.

MADABA — Britain’s Ambassador to Jordan Peter Millett on Thursday launched a project in Madaba which seeks to strengthen residents’ involvement within municipalities and support decentralisation.

Through the project, community groups in 11 governorates will be trained to monitor the performance of 21 municipalities, the ambassador said, describing the project as a small contribution to political reform in Jordan.

At the launch ceremony, the ambassador said Jordanians are the ones who determine the political reform they need in their country.

With the participation of several charitable societies from 11 governorates, the project is implemented by the “Identity Centre” through the Arab Partnership programme.

MAFRAQ — The Saudi National Campaign to Support Syrians in Jordan, in cooperation with Jordan Relief Commission in Mafraq, on Thursday distributed winter clothes to Syrian refugees living in Ribaa Al Sarhan.

The director of the campaign’s office in Jordan, Saad Sweid, said the initiative has been distributing clothes since the beginning of winter in Ramtha, Irbid, Jerash, Ajloun and Madaba, noting that winter clothes were distributed to 1,300 families in Maan and 40,000 families in the Zaatari Refugee Camp on Tuesday.

Sweid added that the distribution was in line with directives by King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia.

AMMAN — A guest worker was in critical condition on Thursday after he fell from the fifth floor of an building under construction in Amman’s Tabarbour area, according to the Civil Defence Department (CCD).

The worker fell on steel bars used in construction, and two bars penetrated his chest.

East Amman CDD rescue teams had to cut the bars using special equipment to release the injured man and  administer first aid.

The worker was admitted to Prince Hamzah Hospital.