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AMMAN — Jordan and Iraq on Thursday discussed a cross-border highway project plan, suggested to be funded by the World Bank to link Aqaba Port with Um Qasr Port in Basra.

During a meeting between Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Iraqi Minister of Construction and Housing Mohammad Al Daraji, talks covered the need to activate agreements signed between the two countries in the area of housing and public works.

The highway project entails revamping the Azraq-Safawi road that links Jordan to Iraq and streamlining procedures at border crossings.

AMMAN — Jordan is a special partner for the EU, and the two see eye-to-eye on foreign policy and human rights, the union’s ambassador to Jordan, Joanna Wronecka, said on Thursday.

Delivering a lecture at the Royal Jordanian National Defence College, Wronecka said the EU is currently working on financing a number of reform initiatives in Jordan in the fields of education and employment by providing direct support to the state budget, and offering assistance in the development of municipal services in the northern region, which is most affected by the Syrian refugee crisis.

KARAK — Southern Jordan Valley District Governor Abdullah Maaitah on Thursday stressed that a limited gas leak occurred at one of the facilities of the Jordan Bromine Company (JBC) in the Southern Ghour, dismissing as baseless reports of an explosion at the site.

Maaitah said that JBC safety staff contained the leak before the arrival of Civil Defence Department personnel, adding that no injuries or damages were reported as a result of the leak, which only lasted for a few minutes.

AMMAN — The military attaché at Jordan’s embassy in Cairo, Brig. Gen. Abdullah Khreisat, visited the Jordanian field hospital in Ein Shams in the Egyptian capital on Thursday.

The hospital offers healthcare services to Egyptians to help reduce the burden on the Egyptian medical sector.

The hospital’s director, Brig. Gen. Okab Maaita, briefed Khreisat on the hospital’s departments and clinics.

Maaita said the current medical team at the hospital, “Egypt 3”, has treated 17,654 patients since its arrival in mid-December 2013.

Khreisat also met with the hospital’s personnel and thanked them for their humanitarian efforts.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday met with Sima Bahous, director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States, and discussed bilateral cooperation.

 Ensour voiced his appreciation of the UNDP’s support to Jordan’s development efforts, citing challenges facing the Kingdom due to receiving a large number of Syrian refugees.

 Bahous said the UNDP appreciates Jordan’s humanitarian efforts, adding that the programme is developing a project to provide aid to Syrian refugees in a more practical manner.

RIYADH — A firefight in a mainly Shiite area of eastern Saudi Arabia killed four people — two policemen and two people wanted over violence — on Thursday, the interior ministry said.

The police came under fire when they attempted to arrest the two wanted activists in the flashpoint Awamiya district of the oil-rich Eastern Province, said a ministry statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The activists, named as Hussein Ali Al Faraj and Ali Ahmed Al Faraj, were both also killed.

Two other police were wounded and required hospital treatment.

Security forces who tried to arrest those suspected of being behind “armed unrest” were shot at and retaliated, a ministry spokesman was quoted as saying.

They seized “two weapons, a large quantity of ammunition, a bulletproof vest and weapons sights”, he added, warning the authorities would crush any such resistance with “an iron fist”.

Awamiya has continued to experience problems despite the end of mass protests that erupted in the eastern region in March 2011 in the wake of the Arab Spring.

In January, the US embassy in Riyadh warned its citizens against travelling to the district after gunmen attacked the car of two German diplomats.

Demonstrations in Eastern Province, where most of the kingdom’s two million Shiites live, erupted simultaneously with a protest movement in neighbouring Bahrain in 2011.

They took a violent turn in 2012 and clashes between police and protesters have so far killed 24 people, including at least four policemen, according to activists.

Of more than 950 people arrested since 2011 for involvement in the unrest in the province, 217 are still being held.

The clash came a day after a Saudi court jailed seven protesters for up to 20 years for joining a demonstration and chanting anti-government slogans in the Eastern Province.

AMMAN – Jordan will reject any proposal to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that does not take into account the Kingdom’s national interests, politicians and analysts agreed.

They said His Majesty King Abdullah made this stand clear to American decision makers during his recent visit to the US, which is not likely to leave Amman out in the cold when the Palestinians and the Israelis reach a deal to resolve the region’s oldest issue. 

In separate interviews with The Jordan Times on Wednesday, experts highlighted the importance of the King’s summit meeting with US President Barack Obama –– in California that lasted for two-and-a-half hours –– and administration officials in addition to Congress members, saying the officials in Washington trust the vision and “wisdom” of His Majesty regarding regional issues. 

Former prime minister Samir Rifai said that finding a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that guarantees the establishment of a viable state for Palestinians on their national soil has always been a Jordanian cause. 

“The timing of the visit and what the King said during the talks were very significant,” Rifai added in a phone interview.  

“Jordan’s national interests have always been on top of the discussions His Majesty has held with world leaders,” Rifai said, adding that the Kingdom traditionally supports any all-win peaceful resolutions that would protect its interests and enable Palestinians to establish their independent and sovereign state. 

On US Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to push the Mideast peace process forward, the former premier said it would be still premature to talk about Kerry plan before the envisioned framework agreement sought by Washington is drafted and publicised. 

The King, Rifai said, was outright in his discussions with US officials, making it clear that Jordan supports peace efforts as he stressed the need to find a solution to all final status issues, such as refugees, borders and Jerusalem but without compromising Jordan’s interests. 

The US administration respects and listens to the views of the King regarding regional issues, he said, adding that Jordan was the first country to talk about the need for a political solution to end the Syrian crisis. 

“Since the start of the Syrian crisis Jordan said that a political solution was the only way to end the almost three-year conflict and the world has realised that lately,” Rifai noted.  

Former Royal Court chief Jawad Anani said the relentless efforts of His Majesty to bring peace in the region are appreciated in Jordan and elsewhere in the world. 

On the visit to Washington, Anani said that lobbying to protect Jordan’s interests is very important, particularly within decision-making circles in the US. 

“The King enjoys the respect of the American people and administration,” Anani agreed, adding that the relation between Jordan and the Palestinians is also deep. 

As long as final status issues –– particularly the fate of refugees –– remain unsolved, the domestic situation in the Kingdom will continue to be confused, he explained, indicating that political and economic reforms in Jordan are linked to the seven-decade conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. 

On the Kerry plan, which has been the topic of heated public debate involving politicians, lawmakers, opinion leaders and the average man in the street over the past weeks, Anani said that the US top diplomat is still in the stage of testing the waters.

He stressed that King Abdullah is working to protect both the interests of Jordan and the Palestinians. 

“It is good that Jordanian politicians are warning against any plans that would touch the country’s interests. People here are on their tiptoes, and the state of confusion is fuelled by lack of information from the US regarding the plan,” he added. 

Anani indicated that Jordan might come under pressure to offer compromises, but no one can force the country to accept anything that could hurt its interests.

“Jordan is a key player to any solution,” he said. 

Former minister of state for media affairs and communications Samih Maaytah said the US’ consistent support for Jordan proves that Washington holds Amman in high esteem.  

“The US is Jordan’s biggest supporter in terms of financial and military aid, and this support is increasing,” Maaytah said.  

The King’s visit to Washington coincided with the conclusion of Geneva II conference –– aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis –– and amid US efforts to achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis, the former minister and veteran columnist said. 

Fahed Kheitan, political analyst and columnist at Al Ghad daily, said Jordan’s stability is essential for the US’ interests in the region in the first place, adding that the Kingdom, at the same time, is keen to guarantee Palestinian refugees the right of return or compensation and the right of Jordan to be compensated for hosting millions of Palestinian refugees for decades. 

Hashemite custodianship to holy places in Jerusalem is also a top priority for Jordan that should be taken into account of any peace proposal, Kheitan said. 

Jordan’s views regarding peace and other regional issues are important to the US administration, which will consider the Kingdom’s interests when offering any plans for political settlement, according to the analyst. 

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh has echoed the same remarks of the politicians when he told MPs early this month that Jordan will not accept any solution to the Palestinian refugee issue without taking into consideration its national interests including those of its citizens of Palestinian origin. 

Judeh said that the Kingdom retains its right “to reject, accept or express reservation” over any solution that comes at the expense of the country’s national rights. 

AMMAN — The Senate on Thursday rejected for the second time deputies’ amendments to the draft 2013 State Security Court (SSC) Law that exclude “acts of resistance against Israel” from the SSC’s jurisdiction, which is concerned with handling terrorism cases.

During their deliberations of the law, deputies added the provision to the bill, which was then removed by the senators.

But the Lower House insisted on its version of the bill and sent it back to the Senate.

According to Article 92 of the Constitution, the two Houses of Parliament will have to meet in a joint session to resolve their dispute.

The said article 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.”

The Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh as saying that “resistance against Israel” should be removed from the SSC’s jurisdiction in order not to be viewed as a “crime”. 

“It is never a crime and never to be looked into by any court.”

Two weeks ago, the Senate’s Legal Affairs Committee recommended that the provision in question be scrapped, with its head, Senator Mohammad Raqqad, describing MPs’ amendments as “unnecessary”, saying that all international laws, including UN Charter, do not consider resistance against occupation as an act of terror.

Jordan is at peace with Israel as the two countries signed a peace treaty in 1994, ending 27 years of a state of war.

The amended SSC Law limits the jurisdiction of the court to five crimes specified in the Constitution: treason, espionage, terrorism, drugs and money counterfeiting.

AMMAN — Jordan’s first wastewater master plan was launched on Thursday to help the government determine investment priorities in wastewater services across the country through the year 2035.

The National Strategic Wastewater Master Plan identifies investment needs and priorities for wastewater collection and treatment in every governorate to enable the Ministry of Water and Irrigation to better direct donor and government resources to areas with limited wastewater services or overloaded capacities.

Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) Secretary General Tawfik Habashneh said at the launch of the master plan that the water sector faces unprecedented challenges that have worsened dramatically with the Syrian refugee crisis.

“This master plan is very important because it takes our national policy goal to provide wastewater services to all areas with more than 5,000 residents and turns it into an action plan for investment, development and donor support through 2035,” Habashneh said.

He added that the water and wastewater sectors are under increasing pressure due to a massive population growth, high energy costs and climate change impacts, among other challenges.

“It is the first time that WAJ has an accurate and up-to-date map for wastewater information using Geographic Information Systems tools. Based on the findings, the authority intends to draw up its plan to develop priority projects,” Habashneh underscored.

The USAID-funded Jordan Institutional Support and Strengthening Programme prepared the plan upon a request from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. 

The plan indicates that although the country has 27 operating wastewater facilities owned by WAJ and a tremendous number of studies on wastewater treatment and reuse, no such strategic master plan has even been prepared at the national level.

Melissa Knight, director of the water and environment office at USAID mission, said the agency is pleased that the master plan will be used as an important tool for Jordan’s water sector policy makers as well as the donor community.

“… This allows new projects to save months of time in the planning stage,” Knight said during the launch of the master plan.

The four-year USAID Institutional Support and Strengthening Project works with the Ministry of Water and Irrigation and water utilities in the Kingdom to support improved planning, management and implementation of water sector activities.

AMMAN — Arabs need to do more to contribute to efforts seeking to increase the volume of Arabic content on the web, which does not exceed 3 per cent at present of the overall volume of online content, experts said Thursday.

The experts made their remarks during the second Arabic Digital Content Conference, which attracted several entrepreneurs and experts in the fields of ICT, digital games and applications. 

Participants said Arab governments needs to do more to help in efforts seeking to increase Arabic content on the web.

“There is a huge gap in the volume of digital Arabic content when compared to other languages on the web… and there are no practical efforts to address this gap,” Tareq Bitar, corporate communications manager at Zain Jordan, said at the event.

He called for coordinating efforts between all stakeholders to increase Arabic content. 

“The Arabs’ contribution to increasing the content in their language on the web is modest. We need to have strategies in place to address this issue,” Bitar said.

The experts said the increase in the number of Internet users, especially mobile Internet users, makes it crucial to increase the volume of relevant Arabic content on the web.

Amira Rashad, chief-of-staff and head of media and research at Yahoo! Middle East and Africa, agreed.

“The young generation go to the Internet when seeking information or entertainment… Therefore, we need to create the proper Arabic content for them,” she said.

“People need rich, short, relevant and informative content in Arabic on the Internet,” Rashad said at the event, which was held by Content Arabia.

She called for creating content that is relevant to the culture, traditions and faiths of those living in the Arab world.

Experts at the conference said Arabic web content ranks eighth in volume compared to content in other languages, which is a serious issue that needs a clear vision to address it.

Arabic speakers account for 5 per cent of global Internet users, according to Google, while about 65 per cent of Arab Internet users look for Arabic content.