Local

AMMAN — A postmortem conducted on a prisoner who passed away on Monday indicated that he died of a massive heart attack, according to official sources.

The 38-year-old Swaqa Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre (SCRC) inmate suffered chest pain early Monday morning, a senior official source said.

Prison officials rushed the inmate to a nearby hospital but he died on the way, the source told The Jordan Times.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Mamoun Dmour issued orders for the body to be transferred to the Karak National Institute of Forensic Medicine for an official autopsy, the source added.

A committee headed by government pathologist Iwad Tarawneh performed the autopsy on Monday afternoon and concluded that the inmate died of a “severe heart attack”. 

The victim had a medical history of cardiac disease, a medical source told The Jordan Times.

His family was notified and summoned by Dmour to receive the body for burial, the medical source said.

The victim was convicted on charges related to financial debts and had spent half of his three-year prison term at the SCRC.

AMMAN — Her Majesty Queen Rania on Monday visited Darat Al Funun, marking the 25^th anniversary of its establishment as a home for the arts and artists of Jordan and the Arab world.  During the visit, Queen Rania met with a number of women from Amman; several Royal family members also attended the meeting, according to a statement released by Her Majesty’s office.

Darat Al Funun is part of the Khalid Shoman Foundation and serves as its headquarters.

Queen Rania toured the facility accompanied by its founder and director, Suha Shoman.

Shoman said Darat Al Funun is celebrating this occasion by organising a programme called “HIWAR/Conversations”. 

The programme brought together 14 artists from the Arab world, Africa, Asia and Latin America who were offered two-month residencies in Amman in 2013. The initiative culminated in an exhibition showcasing the artists’ work as well as pieces from the Khaled Shoman Foundation collection, the statement said.

Darat Al Funun consists of six historical buildings that were restored and divided into various sections to attract talented and creative artists. 

One of the buildings, “Beit Al Beiruti”, is a residential house built in the 1930s by Hafith Ghitani Al Beiruti from Lebanon, which was restored in 2013 and is now open to the public. “Dar Khalid”, another site, was dedicated to the memory and legacy of Khalid Shoman in October 2002. 

The “Blue House”, built by Circassian Ismail Haqqi Abdo in the 1920s, was named after the colour of its porch, doors and wrought-iron window bars.

Also part of the sites that make up Darat Al Funun is the “Main Building”, originally built in the 1920s and renovated by architect Ammar Khammash in 1992. 

“Ghorfa” serves as an art display room, while “The Lab” was inaugurated in 2011 as an experimental space and a hub for emerging artists and innovative projects, according to the statement.

The “Artist’s Residence”, an apartment building adjacent to the lab, was added to the compound in 2013 to provide accommodation for artists. The ground floor dates back to the late 1920s while the upper floors were built in 1949 by Sherif Fawaz Muhanna. 

The “Archaeological Site” is located in the southern gardens of the main building, which houses the ruins of a 6^th century Byzantine church and an old cave.

Darat Al Funun also includes the headquarters of the Khalid Shoman Foundation (Al Maqar), an old house built in the 1930s by Syrian Abdol Majeed Ajami where artworks from the Khalid Shoman collection are usually on permanent display.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday reasserted that Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine, stressing that talk about Jordan “a substitute homeland” for Palestinians is baseless, a Royal Court statement said.

At a meeting with senior government officials and leading lawmakers, the King reassured Jordanians, that the substitute homeland notion “exists only in the minds of few people who want to create some sort of confusion”, repeating that every year.  

Media, political and grass-roots circles have recently witnessed a debate over the fate of Palestinian refugees, amid rumours that a US peace plan in the making will ignore the right of return for around five million Palestinians whose families were forced out of Palestine in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, which ended in the creation of Israel. Jordan is the largest host of Palestinian refugees, most of whom have acquired citizenship. 

The King told the senior officials and legislators that whenever there is a serious effort to push forward the peace process, talk about “a substitute homeland” for the Palestinians re-emerges”. He noted that the idea will never materialise and is no more than an “illusion”.

The King said that he wanted to discuss the issue before he left for his recent visit to the US, but then he thought it would be better to raise it after he was back. 

“I decided to raise the issue after my visit, so it would not be possible for anyone to say that things changed after my visit to the US,” the King said. 

His Majesty said Jordan’s position has always been clear on the issue, noting that despite frequent assurances, the rumours have been re-emerging over the past 15 years or more by the same group who harbour ill intentions for the country. 

It has been raised by the same group that seeks to destabilise the country, saying that usually, those persons start spreading rumours in spring, but this year they came out earlier.

Next year, the King warned, the names of those individuals will be disclosed if they insist on repeating the same behaviour.

“Jordan has more important issues that it must focus on, particularly political and economic reforms,” the Monarch said, calling on Jordanians to act collectively to confront rumour spreaders. 

His Majesty also underlined the support of US President Barack Obama and the UK to Jordan. 

The King said he is shocked at the fact that some people link the assistance provided to Jordan to pressures by the donors to extract concessions from Amman, noting that Jordan would never trade its interests for any amount of money. 

The King described the US visit as very successful, especially regarding the economic situation and challenges facing the Jordanian government and people. 

Underscoring international appreciation of Jordan’s regional role, the King commended the support of the US administration to Jordan and its assistance to it in facing various challenges. 

Jordan has been fully aware of all the details of the negotiations on the final status issues, especially in relation to “Jerusalem, refugees, borders, water and security”, the King said, noting that Jordan is helping all parties to boost chances to achieve Middle East peace.    

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh and other senior Jordanian officials, as well as members of the permanent office of the Senate and the Lower House. Participants reviewed the outcome of the King’s visit to the US and Mexico. They also focused on the latest developments of the peace process and the peace negotiations that are currently under way between the Palestinians and the Israelis. 

Meanwhile, King Abdullah left for an official visit to Singapore and Indonesia during which he will hold talks with senior officials from both countries on ways to strengthen economic ties and discuss regional and international political developments, the Royal Court announced.

In Indonesia, King Abdullah will deliver a speech at the Nahdlatul Ulama Interfaith Conference: “Islam for Peace and Civilisation” in which he will highlight the role of Islam.  

AMMAN — The  Council of Ministers on Sunday approved a recommendation by the economic development committee to expand the western border of the Dead Sea Development Zone to reach the waters at the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.

The Cabinet also approved leasing plots of land  between the sea and the hotel area to investors.

## Dead Sea, development

Cabinet expands border of Dead Sea Development Zone

AMMAN (Petra) — The  Council of Ministers on Sunday approved a recommendation by the economic development committee to expand the western border of the Dead Sea Development Zone to reach the waters at the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.

The Cabinet also approved leasing plots of land  between the sea and the hotel area to investors.

AMMAN — Social Security Corporation (SSC) Spokesperson Musa Sbeihi on Sunday said the new Social Security Law will curb insurance evasion and help achieve social justice.

Sbeihi noted that insurance evasion is a major hindrance to the government’s efforts to achieve social and economic security.

He said curbing the phenomena is a basic component of the SSC’s 2014-2016 strategy, adding that the number of subscribers to the corporation’s insurance coverage has reached 1.052 million active subscribers, constituting around 70 per cent of the Kingdom’s labour force.

AMMAN — New expansion work at the Prince Hashem Military Hospital in Zarqa officially concluded on Sunday.

The work included building two more floors to receive a greater number of patients, with 114 beds added to the hospital’s total capacity, in addition to six operating rooms.

Royal Medical Services (RMS) Director Maj. Gen. Khalaf Jader Al Sarhan said the RMS will also conduct maintenance work on the Queen Alia Military Hospital to enable it to cope with the latest developments in the field of special medical services and accommodate the growing number of patients.

The hospital will stop receiving patients as of Saturday, referring them temporarily to the Marka Healthcare Centre, but the hospital’s radiation oncology centre will continue to receive patients.

AMMAN — The Jordan Teachers Association (JTA) is scheduled to hold a sit-in outside the Prime Ministry on Saturday in protest against the new civil service bylaw.

The association perceives the law as “unfair” and claims that it violates the rights of middle- and low-income employees, especially teachers, as it entails delaying annual incentives and promotions, according to a JTA statement issued Sunday.

Under the bylaw, employees need around 37 years of service to be classified under the “first category”, which enables them to enjoy certain benefits.

The syndicate underlined that this kills “energy” and “innovation” among workers, stressing that the protest will be the first measure of a series of escalatory activities to be held against the bylaw.

RAMTHA — Health Minister Ali Hiasat on Sunday visited Ramtha Public Hospital and checked on services provided for citizens and Syrians.

During the tour, Hiasat said the ministry covered the shortage of physicians and nurses at the hospital, noting that 20 nurses were sent to work at the facility, which receives tens of injured Syrian every day due to its location near the border with Syria.

AMMAN — Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji on Sunday said the infrastructure of Amman is designed to accommodate 1 million inhabitants, not 3.5 million.

Dealing with the population increase requires joint efforts by the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and other institutions, Biltaji noted.

During a meeting with the president and members of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, and representatives of commercial associations and unions, he added that GAM allocated JD40 million to from the Gulf Cooperation Council grant and other sources to develop parks, parking spaces and historical buildings downtown.

DOHA — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Sunday dismissed as baseless any plan to carry out a government reshuffle anytime soon.

In an interview with the “Watan” Qatari newspaper, to be published on Wednesday, Ensour stressed that Jordan will refuse to resolve four main issues: Jerusalem, borders, refugees and water by the Palestinian, Israeli and US sides without its approval, noting that Jordan will not accept becoming an alternative land for Palestinians.