Local

AMMAN — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s President Suma Chakrabarti will co-chair a meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Jordan this weekend when leaders gather to discuss challenges facing the MENA region. 

The meeting, titled: “Building New Platforms of Cooperation”, will serve to give participants a platform to exchange views on the global economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is being driven by the impact of new technology, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times. 

The meeting in Jordan will be dedicated to opportunities and challenges for development in the MENA region, and the cooperation that is needed to ensure that the benefits of development are distributed equally among all aspects of society.

More than 1,000 decision makers from government, business and civil society will convene at the Dead Sea in Jordan, including leaders from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the Levant and North Africa, as well as key international stakeholders from the US, Europe, East Africa and other regions, according to the statement.

EBRD President Chakrabarti will take part in the World Economic Leaders’ Panel on Saturday discussing “The Middle East in a Multiconceptual World”. He is expected to emphasise the key role the private sector has in economic development as an engine for growth, innovation and jobs, the statement said.

The bank president will outline how growth must not only be strong, but sustainable and inclusive. The creation of jobs and opportunities, especially for women and young people, can provide a boost to the economies in the MENA region, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), in cooperation with the Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics and the Arab Organisation for Agriculture Development on Thursday concluded a four-day national agricultural census workshop in Amman.

The workshop was attended by representatives from 22 countries across the MENA region. Done every 10 years, the census supports evidence-based policymaking with comprehensive statistics on issues such as land use, food production, agricultural productivity and agri-business development, a FAO statement sent to The Jordan Times said.

FAO Jordan Partnerships Officer Sally Berman said censuses are “critical” to planning interventions to help farmers, consumers and the environment. FAO also introduced new operational census guidelines during the event, as the organisation assists 128 countries with their censuses, including Jordan said Jay Castano, FAO agricultural censuses team leader.

AMMAN — The Higher Education Council has recently decided that the mandatory duration of residency for postgraduate students outside Jordan would be cut to one month from two months after the council received a recommendation last week.

The decision came after a group of doctoral students studying outside of Jordan sent a memorandum demanding a reduction in their stay in host countries.

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Walid Maani told The Jordan Times that a decision was made to facilitate students studying outside Jordan, with the remaining eight months remaining unchanged to maintain the quality of education.

“This decision was taken to take into account students’ conditions and the nature of their work in the public and private sectors,” he said, stressing that the decision only concerns students of social and human sciences.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education Ahed Wahdni underlined that the Council of Education took the decision to reduce the period without changing the full length of residency required for 8 months, because students need to meet with their supervisors face to face in their countries of study.

Wahdni added that the decision takes into account the need to expand students’ cultural immersion to help them develop their personality as a doctoral student.

Wahid Abu Haidar, a PhD student in Tunisia, expressed his satisfaction with the decision.

“The memo was based on two basic demands: the first was the minimum period of stay of two months which became a month; the second was the reduction of the full period,” he said, calling on the ministry to look into the mandatory full duration period and reduce it to less than 8 months.

AMMAN — The Jordan Media Institute (JMI) on Monday began accepting applications for its master’s programme in Journalism and New Media for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Dean of the JMI Bassem Tweisi said that the institute’s programme was “designed to meet the actual and growing needs of professional media practitioners by enriching their cultural knowledge and the diversity of their applied skills, in the belief of the role played by the journalist and media in the service and development of their communities through accurate and reliable information.”

The programme consists” of 33 credit hours and two tracks: The “comprehensive examination” track, designed to produce professional journalists with advanced print and digital media skills; and the “thesis” track, which focuses on developing research and writing skills.

The institute also offers scholarships for students from all academic disciplines. Jordanians and those of other nationalities from any academic discipline who wish to obtain a bachelor’s degree can apply for scholarships through electronic submission or at the institute in Amman.

A master’s degree is awarded after one full year in the comprehensive course. The thesis course is devoted to 9 hours of study plan. The application period will run until the end of June.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Thursday stated that the violations cited in the Audit Bureau’s 2018 report would be addressed in full by the authorities entrusted with rectifying them, and that work will continue until they are all dealt with properly, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

This comes in line with His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives to combat corruption, the premier underlined.

Secretary General of the Prime Ministry Sami Dawood reviewed the highlights of the report with the committee, stressing that Razzaz’ follow-up on the progress of the committee’s work has helped to enhance the rectification process and prevented the occurrence of violations. 

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Thursday delivered a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, expressing Jordan’s keenness to continue coordination and consultation between both countries on issues of mutual Arab interest.

In the letter, His Majesty voiced his pride in the “brotherly and historical” ties between the two countries and their peoples, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The King referred to the unstable circumstances currently facing the Arab world, which requires cooperation to preserve its interests and serve its just causes.

He also praised King Salman’s efforts in realising progress and prosperity for the Saudi people, as well as the efforts he exerts in supporting Arab and Islamic solidarity.

King Abdullah expressed the Kingdom’s gratitude to King Salman’s supportive stances towards Jordan, wishing him continued good health, and the Saudi people further progress and prosperity.

During his meeting with Fayez, the Saudi King expressed keenness to enhance bilateral relations in all fields to serve the two countries’ mutual interests.

The Saudi monarch commended King Abdullah’s role in developing and boosting bilateral ties in all fields, adding that “Jordan’s security and stability is Saudi Arabia’s security and stability”.

Fayez highlighted the “deep-rooted brotherly and historical relations” between Amman and Riyadh, noting that these ties are based on mutual respect, in a way that best serves the two countries’ interests and the Arab world’s causes.

Fayez also expressed the Kingdom’s appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s support for Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.

The Senate president said that Jordan considers the Gulf countries its strategic partners, and therefore denounces any attempt to undermine the unity and security of these states or interfere in their affairs.

He noted that Jordan has preserved its internal front and social fabric, despite political conflicts in the region, stressing that the Kingdom is now strong at the political and security levels.

AMMAN — Temperatures are expected to drop on Friday as cloudy weather and scattered showers are expected to affect the Kingdom, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD).

Rainfall may become heavy with hail and thunderstorms in some areas the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The JMD also warned of possible flooding in valleys. Temperatures are expected to warm up on Saturday in most regions with varying amounts of cloud cover and showers scattered throughout Jordan. 

AMMAN — Seven suspects, who were in possession of drugs, firearms and stolen vehicles, were arrested by Anti-Narcotics Department personnel in separate raids in Mafraq and Central Badia.

Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said that, in Mafraq, four suspects were arrested and two guns were seized, in addition to small quantities of narcotics, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The other raids were launched in the Central Badia region, and resulted in the arrests of three individuals, wanted in connection with drug-related charges. Authorities also seized four palm-sized sheets of hashish, 1,100 narcotic pills and three vehicles believed to be stolen, Petra added.

AMMAN — An operation room at the Prince Hamzah Hospital has been closed for sterilisation after four people reportedly contracted infections.

Hospital Director Bassem Zu’bi on Thursday said the facility was temporary closing for sterilisation and to adopt precautionary measures so as to avoid further infections from contamination in the future.

He said that the issue arose after four people underwent eye surgeries in an operation room at the hospital and suffered from severe infections, adding that the complaints were processed at once.

Zu’bi expressed his regret over the infections, stressing that the contamination would not reoccur, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The director said that streptococcus had been discovered in one of the three operations rooms of the hospital, and that room was closed as a precautionary measure to find out where the bacteria came from.

Zu’bi said that advanced sterilisation and other measures have been implemented.

He said that the bacteria are common and usually found in the mouths of humans at safe levels, but the people infected carried “very high” levels of the germ.

The hospital immediately formed two committees once the contamination was discovered, according to the director. The first panel included specialised doctors from the hospital itself who were tasked with taking samples from the three operation rooms, while the second panel was larger and formed in cooperation with the Health Ministry.

A third committee has since been formed to ensure that the hospital finds the cause of the incident and ensures similar cases are avoided in the future, he added.

The affected room has been used for some 2,000 surgeries in the past with no patients contracting infections, Zu’bi said, stressing that the bacteria is not usually dangerous and is present in all human bodies.

The director also addressed rumours circulating on social media saying that creating confusion at hospitals is unacceptable, stressing that complications arising from surgeries happen at hospitals around the world.

AMMAN — The women’s movement on Thursday said they will start a petition to lobby MPs ahead of an expected joint session on Monday to vote on amendments to the Personal Status Law.

The women’s movement also plans to head to the Parliament’s headquarters early on Monday to stage a sit-in for their demands of increasing the legal age of marriage and to demand more rights for female children, according to a statement from the Jordanian National Commission of Women (JNCW) on behalf of the women’s movement.

The women’s movement has also drafted a letter that will be sent to the representatives of both Houses with stories of girls who were forced to marry at a young age and suffered as a result, according to the JNCW statement.

On Sunday night, the JNCW maintained, activists will start an electronic campaign that will include several hash tags reflecting their demands.

“Leaders of the women’s movement will also reach out to the officials at Parliament to ensure that they will be present on the balconies on the day of the voting,” according to the JNCW statement.

In recent weeks, the Lower House voted to maintain the legal age of marriage exceptions for boys and girls at 15 years old.

But last week, the Senate upheld its previous decision to increase the age of marriage for women in exceptional cases to 16 years old and to amend an article related to the “mandated will” or “wasiya wajiba”, by giving inheritance rights to the grandchildren of female children, as well as male children; a right previously only given to male grandchildren.

The Lower House previously voted against giving female children the same inheritance rights as male children.

The differences in opinion between the two Houses have led to a joint session expected to be held on Monday.

The legal age of marriage in Jordan is 18 for men and women, but the law allowed for several exceptions for girls aged 15 and above if a judge deemed it in their best interests.

According to the Chief Islamic Justice Department’s official statistics, there were 77,700 marriage contracts issued in 2017, of which 10,434 (around 30 a day) involved marriages in which the wife was under the age of 18.

Government statistics indicated that divorce cases among individuals under 18 amounted to 5,335 in 2017, of which, 413 cases involved wives under the age of 18.