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AMMAN — Higher Education Accreditation Commission (HEAC) President Bashir Zu’bi met with Mazen Jafri, deputy of the Yemeni Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research on Monday.

The two met to discuss the potential of Yemen benefitting from Jordan’s expertise on issues of accreditation and quality assurance within higher education.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the two officials discussed ways in which Jordan could help Yemen’s higher education institutions rank universities and hold university qualification examinations.

Zu’bi called for an increase in the number of Yemini students studying at Jordanian universities, in light of the HEAC and ministry’s plan to attract foreign students to the Kingdom.

AMMAN — The US embassy in Amman on Monday announced an April 21-27 tour and outreach effort featuring musician Tony Memmel, his band and Jordanian musicians.

Memmel was born without a left forearm and hand, but taught himself how to play music by building a cast out of duct tape to secure a guitar pick to his arm, according to a statement sent from the embassy. He now tours as part of the US’ American Music Abroad programme and is an ambassador with the “Lucky Fin Project”.

The musicians will lead outreach sessions at schools in Amman, Salt, and Marka. The group will also perform for the Al Nahda Association for the Physically Challenged in Irbid, as well as at a public concert in Irbid’s Arabella Mall on Thursday.

The tour will conclude with performances at Zaha Cultural Centre’s International City Festival in Amman on Saturday, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The Cassation Court has upheld a December Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to over seven years in prison after convicting him of attempting to rape a woman in Amman in June of last year.

The Criminal Court declared the defendant guilty of attempting to sexually assault the victim on June 19, after threatening her with a knife and handed him seven years, and six months in prison.

Court papers said the defendant climbed through the victim’s window and entered her house at dawn and saw her sleeping.

”The defendant entered her room waving a knife and attempted to undress her, but she resisted and one of her children, who was sleeping in the next room, woke up and went to his mother’s room to check the matter,” the court documents said.

The defendant waived the knife at the child and asked him to return to his sleep, the court documents said.

“The victim begged the defendant to leave her and her children alone and eventually, he left the house out of fear that he might be caught,” court transcripts added.

The victim immediately contacted her husband and the couple filed a complaint at a police station and the defendant was arrested, the court added.

“The victim was able to identify the defendant from a police line-up and as a result he was charged with attempted sexual assault, among other charges,” court transcripts added.

The higher court that the Criminal Court proceedings were accurate and correct and the defendant received the appropriate sentence.

The court comprised former judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Naji Zu’bi, Saeed Mugheid, and Hamad Ghzawi.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation is currently building a database of the civil society organisations operating in the Kingdom, Planning Minister Mary Kawar said on Monday.

Kawar said that the platform aims to boost partnerships and communication between the government and the organisations by supporting networking and minimising conflict in organisations’ work.

The minister’s came during a meeting held at the Jordan River Foundation to promote alliances among non-governmental and civil society organisations, according to a statement released by Planning Ministry.

During the meeting, the minister stressed the importance of civil society organisations’ partnerships with governmental, private and international institutions to achieve development goals and support citizens from all segments of society.

The minister said that networking between NGOs and civil society organisations could bring about the exchange of experiences, resources, knowledge, skills and creative ideas, which is essential to accelerate efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Kawar noted Jordan has been keen to keep abreast of global efforts by framing national mechanisms reflecting national characteristics, challenges and priorities, participating in all international conferences on sustainable development, according to the statement.

Director General of the Jordan River Foundation Anam Barishi and a number of representatives from NGOs and civil society organisations attended the meeting.

AMMAN — INJAZ and the Centre for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution on Monday launched a development and expansion laboratory in Jordan. The lab aims to help develop tools and instructions for policymakers on how to expand the scope a financial education programmes in schools.

The endeavour was the result of a partnership between the Education Ministry, the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) and INJAZ, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The financial education programme was launched in 2015 with the aim of providing students with knowledge and skills to enable them to make effective and appropriate financial decisions in their daily lives, according to Petra. INJAZ CEO Deema Bibi said that the laboratory was the first of its kind in the region, noting that the programme will provide opportunities for students in the early stages of their work towards entrepreneurship.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts and stances in defending the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem have regained momentum, Lower House Assistant Speaker Ibrahim Abul Sayyed said on Monday.

While participating in meetings of the Asian Parliamentary Assembly’s Standing Committee on Economic and Sustainable Development, Abul Sayyed called on member countries to support His Majesty’s Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Head of the Lower House’s Foreign Affairs Committee MP Nidal Taani, who also participated in the meeting held in Naryan-Mar, Russia, said that the international community has to support the Kingdom, which plays a pivotal role in regional and international causes, referring to the political and economic challenges facing Jordan.

AMMAN — The Jordan Aviation Company (JAC) on Monday signed an agreement to support the Crown Prince Foundation’s (CPF) youth initiatives. According to the agreement, JAC will support the CPF’s initiatives with JD500,000 over five years.

Half of the value will be delivered in cash, while the other 50 per cent will be presented in the form of in-kind donations for initiatives. JAC Director General Captain Zuhair Khashman and CPF CEO Tamam Mango signed the agreement, which focuses on supporting initiatives related to developing leadership skills, youth participation, innovation and voluntary works, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Khashman said that the support aims at developing the capabilities of Jordanian youth, which accords with the beliefs of HRH Crown Prince Hussein.

AMMAN — Refugee teenagers recently showcased their photoshopped realities in a “What If?” exhibition organised by Plan International, which concluded on Monday at the Haya Cultural Centre.

Mohammad Khattab from Humus, who has been living in Azraq camp for the past three years, participated with a picture reflecting his desire to find a place to express “musical talents”.

“The caravans where I live are close to each other, and neighbours get annoyed and complain when someone plays music. Some of those who play instruments end up buying them and staring at them,” Mohammad told a small crowd attending the exhibition.

“What if, we had a small place that encourages and develops this talent?” he asked. “It’s true some play music, but it would be great if they could read musical notes.”

As part of the exhibition, teenagers between 14 and 16 years of age were trained by Plan International on the basics of photography.

“Each one was given a small camera and taught to take photos from different angles. The pictures reflected the harsh reality in which these young boys and girls live,” said Mona Abbas, head of Plan International in Jordan.

“The kids then projected their imagination into Photoshop and with the help of an expert, produced photos that showed how they could suggest an idea to improve their vulnerable reality,” Abbas added.

She told The Jordan Times: “Kids can now reflect on their reality and they started by analysing their surroundings to imagine how small changes can make a big difference.”

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz and Cabinet members on Monday signed a petition aimed at gathering 1 million signatures to counter the threats of narcotics and celebratory gunfire.

During the signing, Razzaz affirmed the government’s support for all initiatives that aim at protecting and fortifying communities, especially against the dangers of narcotics and celebratory gunfire, which take the lives of innocent Jordanians.

Cabinet members also expressed their appreciation for the efforts of the Public Security Department in raising awareness and combating unethical practices.

The PSD recently launched two initiatives targeting narcotics and celebratory gunfire, including the petition in question, which is seeking to collect 1 million signatures to counter and combat their threat.

“The aim is to cultivate a sense of social responsibility towards the need to take a stand against these phenomena, raising awareness of them and eventually eliminating them,” a PSD statement released earlier in April said.

“The campaign was built on the foundation of duty towards the community, which requires citizens to spare no effort in helping the community and its members, by protecting them from the dangers of the practices in question,” the statement added.

AMMAN — The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) adjusted the interest rate as needed to protect the national economy from the challenges resulting from unstable regional conditions, CBJ Governor Ziad Fariz said on Monday.

The CBJ is looking to establish other instruments to lower costs and maintain monetary and financial stability, he noted, as reported by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

When adjusting the interest rate, the CBJ takes into consideration a wide array of accurate and independent scientific data, facts and analysis, Fariz underlined.

He added that national economy indicators are also factored into the CBJ’s decisions, along with regional and international economic indicators.

Since 2012, the CBJ has been going forward with the refinance programme aimed at facilitating soft loans to banks at low and fixed interest rates, Fariz underlined.

The aim of issuing these loans is to lower the costs of facilitating credit in the governorates and areas outside Amman, with a repayment period that can reach 15 years, he explained.

Fariz said that the finance volume available under this programme stands at some JD1.2 billion, where more than JD600 million of which has been granted to the targeted sectors of industry, tourism, renewable energy, agriculture, ICT, engineering consultation, health, transport and education.

He added that the CBJ also provided licensed banks operating in Jordan with a $440 million credit line to reissue in loans for SMEs, in cooperation with regional and international institutions.

Since then, $252 million has been facilitated to these banks and financial institutions, the governor reaffirmed.

Overall, the credit and loans facilitated by the two programmes have contributed to providing some 14,000 jobs so far, he said.

Those programmes have helped maintain the interest rate offering within appropriate “limits”, Fariz stated.

The CBJ currently enjoys a high level of foreign reserves that exceeds $13 billion, which is enough to cover the Kingdom’s imports of goods and services for 7.2 months and is double the internationally accredited requirement of three months, he pointed out.

Public expenditure is declining to 17.1 per cent of the average GDP of the years 2009-2018, down from 21.8 per cent during the 2000-2008 period, he said, adding that this downtrend is not a negative indicator, where the private sector has to play its role.

Notably, the contribution of national exports to the GDP dropped from 25 per cent to 19.4 per cent in the past years, due to the border closures, Fariz elaborated.

The closures, he followed up, in part closed Jordan off from important export destinations, such as Iraq, Syria, Turkey and the EU.

CBJ studies indicate that these last eight years have lost Jordan an equivalent of some 20 per cent of its GDP in export opportunities, he highlighted.

All sectors were affected, Fariz noted.

There is a dire need to revisit the Kingdom’s free trade agreements with several countries, he said, according to Petra.

The CBJ estimated the value of customs exemptions granted to Turkey alone at some JD322 million for the years 2011-2017 period, Fariz said.

The governor added that national exports to the EU countries remain unchanged for years and do not exceed 3 per cent of the Kingdom’s national exports, despite the simplified rules of origin agreement.

For his part, Jordanian Businessmen Association President Hamdi Tabbaa stressed that having a developed and competent financial system is integral to improving and stimulating the economic growth.

The Kingdom enjoys a well-structured banking system that can absorb shocks due to the fact that banks have high levels of capital adequacy, he concluded.