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AMMAN – Jordan advanced significantly in the Global Financial Inclusion (Global Findex) in 2017 compared to 2014. 

The World Bank's triennial index showed that Jordan advanced 42 per cent among adults (15 years old and older) in 2017 compared with 24.6 per cent in 2014.

According to index, the number of mobile payment accounts increased to 1.1 per cent compared with 0.5 per cent, while the number of women who have bank accounts rose to 26 per cent.

The indicator of financial inclusion for low income adults also increased to 32.9 per cent, which is in line with the Central Bank of Jordan's strategy that aims to empower this tranche economically and socially, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

For rural areas' residents, the inclusion went up to 46.1 per cent, significantly higher than the Middle East and North Africa's rate, which stood at 36.9 per cent.

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Friday stressed the importance of preserving the de-escalation zone in southwestern Syria to stop the bloodshed, and as a step towards a complete ceasefire all over the country and political solution.

Mohammad Al Kayed, the ministry's spokesperson, said that maintaining the zone, which was agreed upon through coordination between Jordan, the US and Russia, is a Jordanian priority, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On the convoys that enter Syria from the Jordanian side, Kayed said that they are UN convoys that carry humanitarian and relief aid to the Syrian people under the UN resolution 2165 with a direct supervision of the concerned UN organisations.

The diplomat underlined ongoing Jordanian-US-Russian coordination through the Amman Control Centre to ensure the commitment of Syrian factions to the ceasefire, and detect and tackle any breaches.

He said that there is also bilateral coordination between Jordan and Russia, noting “solid bilateral ties”, which are improving and allowing "clear" discussions over the crisis.

Kayed referred to the Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent remarks, in which he commended the Jordanian-Russian ties and the Kingdom's efforts to sustain de-escalation in the designated zone.

The spokesperson noted that Jordan has notified Russia about a number of violations and movements of terrorists in the south of Syria that must be stopped.

He stressed that “Jordan does not want terrorist organisations or sectarian militias present at its borders and will take the necessary action to protect its security and interests.”

The official reiterated Jordan’s consistent stance that supports the unity of Syrian lands and people.

Jordan is continuing work with the US, Russia and the other concerned countries to reach a political solution on the basis of the UN resolution 2254.  

Last year, a tripartite agreement reached between the US, Russia and Jordan in Amman entailed a ceasefire along a line of contact agreed upon between Syrian government forces and associated troops on one side and rebels on the other.

The three parties agreed that the ceasefire aims to permanently de-escalate the tensions in southern Syria, ending acts of hostility, restoring stability and allowing free access of humanitarian aid for this key area in Syria.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday attended concluding ceremony of Al Faris International Horseback Archery Championship III, which was held at Al Rayah Parade Grounds in the Royal Hashemite Court with the participation of 48 contestants from 25 countries.

His Majesty, in the presence of HRH Prince Hashim, the chief Royal councillor and honorary chairman of the championship, handed awards to the winners in the three styles of the tournament, according to a Royal Court statement.

The three styles are the European style, known as the Hungarian style; the Asian style, known as the Korean style; and the Oriental style, known as Al Ghara (Arabic for “raid”), a newly developed Jordanian style that combines archery with tent-pegging.

During the concluding ceremony, His Majesty attended the final competition of the Oriental style.

The concluding ceremony also included a show by a group of Jordanian and Turkish knights, which adopted the Turkish Qabaq style that includes horseback archery on a target at a high tower.

King Abdullah watched a short film that showcased a summary of the two-day event, and was accompanied by music performed by the Public Security Department (PSD) band.

On Friday, Prince Hashim opened the championship on behalf of His Majesty. 

Several Royal family members and senior civil and military officials attended the opening ceremony, as well as enthusiasts of the sport.

Jordan hosted Al Faris III in an effort to "preserve and revive the intangible cultural heritage of horseback archery, which has deep roots in Arab, Islamic, European, Asian and Turkish cultures", according to its organisers.

The championship promotes interest in equestrianism and the values, arts and sports it encompasses, according to the organising committee of Al Faris III.

Jordan hosted and organised the first two Al Faris championships in 2011 and 2012.

The PSD's mounted police team represented Jordan for the third time in this championship. 

On the sidelines of the ceremony, King Abdullah met with Maj. Gen. Abdul Rahman Mahdi, assistant of the Sudanese president and chairman of the Sudanese equestrian federation. 

Winners of the first three places at the European style are Mihai Cozmei of Romania, Lukas Novotny of the USA and Christoph Némethy of Hungary. 

Winners at the Asian style are Robin Descamps of France, Mihai Cozmei of Romania and Christoph Némethy of Hungary.

Winners at the Oriental style are Christoph Némethy of Hungary, Daniel Griffin of South Africa and Emil Eriksson of Sweden.

AMMAN — The associate director of the American Centre of Oriental Research (ACOR), Jack Green, on Wednesday delivered a lecture on the rich and various burial customs of the Jordan Valley, from dolmens and cave tombs to inhumation cemeteries, under the title “Continuity and change in mortuary customs: the Jordan Valley in the second and first millennia BC”.

Noting the importance to first situate the archaeology of death and burial in anthropological and ritual terms, Green said: "It’s very important to remember that regardless of who we are, where we come from and what we believe, everyone dies; and there are practical as well as social and cultural factors that play a role in how the living deal with the dead. From treatment of the physical body, preparation of the burial place, to the funerary rituals and customs that help the living to gather and honour the dead, a number of activities exist to allow us to remember and to some extent forget the dead.”

"Death is a very disruptive event: everyday life stops and families and communities have to prepare for the funeral and begin to grieve," the scholar continued, noting that dealing with death is closely tied to memory and “a sense of place, identity”. Death also provides opportunities to reflect on religious or cosmological belief, generating strong feelings and emotions, he added. 

Regarding burial sites in the Jordan Valley, he said the region has been important for human settlement and interaction throughout human history. 

Bab edDhra (on the south bank of Wadi Karak) is a very important site from the Early Bronze Age, excavated by Paul Lapp in 1960s. Recent research by Meredith Chesson yielded excellent preservation of mortuary remains especially of secondary burials, Green outlined.

“Secondary burials mean the movement of already decayed human remains to a new location either within the same tomb or in another location,” the director explained, adding that what is most interesting about Bab edh Dhra is “the very careful selection of parts of the human body, especially long bones and skulls, and the neat arrangement of these remains”.

Another structure of shaft tombs physically cut into the rock is the charnel house, which contained evidence of human remains, according to the archaeologist who said “they all appear to have been placed carefully on shelves within the building itself, and so it is quite plausible to follow the description of these as ‘body libraries’ for housing the disarticulated remains of the dead”.

Another significant site is Tell Al Sa’idiyeh, which contains 45 graves that belong to the Iron IIC/Persian and Early Hellenistic period. 

“Single primary burial was the predominant burial mode at the site, which is echoed at many other sites in the Levant," he explained, noting that such cases only involved single adults with one or two infants or children.

A few children of above infant age were interred in their own graves, which indicates the reuse of graves for infant burials over relatively short periods of time and may explain the apparent lack of infant burials, Green maintained.

“At Tell Al Sa’idiyeh, we may see the deliberate planning of the cemetery and careful management of burial plots, taking into consideration the boundaries between individual burials and a limited amount of reopening of burials for reuse,” he underscored.

Consequently, the trend towards the individual pit grave cemeteries in the Late Bronze Age has been theorised as related to the impact of the Egyptian empire on the local population, Green said.

“Yet, ultimately, what we see throughout these waves of changes and continuity are changes in the ways in which the living interact with the dead — from phases of more intense contact, in which the living and the dead have a close physical connection and relationship that helps reinforce a communal identity, to the expression of individuality in death on social and political identity,” the scholar concluded.

AMMAN — A local organisation is helping young children improve their well-being through storytelling, aiming to develop mental health awareness from an early age.

Existing in 30 countries worldwide, Zippy's Friends programme was established in Jordanian schools and kindergartens in 2016 under the title “Labeeb's Friends”, in partnership with Umnyat, a local organisation run by Amani Attili. 

“When kids go to school, they are usually taught theoretical knowledge or practical skills, but rarely psycho-social aspects of life,” Labeeb’s communication officer, Hiba Ibrahim, explained, stressing that “part of ‘being well’ as a child entails knowing how to communicate whether with your parents, your peers or yourself”.

Ibrahim, who is also Attili's daughter, said growing up with a mother who is an expert in the field of mental health and education provided her with evidence for the effectiveness of the vision behind Labeeb’s Friends. “Children often do not know how to deal with their emotions, how to recognise them even and it is crucial to help them learn how to identify and communicate them effectively to be able to cope with their anxieties and difficulties, and to develop skills that will help them in all aspects of life,” she told The Jordan Times.

The programme, which is run by Partnership for Children, an independent UK charity that promotes children’s mental health and emotional well-being around the world, is tailored to each country through partnerships with local entities such as Jordanian Umnyat.

“We are very careful about taking local specificities into account when designing the programme,” Ibrahim explained, noting that the Jordanian design even differs from the one in Kuwait or the upcoming one in Palestine.

Labeeb’s Friends runs for 24 weeks, with one 45-minute session each week. “Instead of abstracting it as an extra-curricular activity, we integrated Labeeb into the curriculum like any other module,” Ibrahim said, noting that the sessions are “highly engaging and interactive” and “not just passive storytelling”.

Each session begins with the teacher reading part of the story, followed by activities with the children such as drawing, role playing, games, etc, she explained. “We introduce mental health promotion concepts and skills through six modules which follow the stories of several characters going into struggles, emotional problems in a realistic school environment. This is a way to teach children how to learn about their emotions such as anger, jealousy, sadness, while teaching them how to deal with situations such as bullying, loss, change, among many other issues,” she said. 

Although the programme focuses on kids' well-being, the work is also including every single member of the child's surroundings, including teachers, parents and peers.

“We sometimes give them activities to do at home to share what they learned with their family. We consider it our duty to raise teachers’ and parents’ awareness about concepts and skills of emotional and social learning, to ensure sustainable benefits for the kids,” Ibrahim underscored.

A coordinator at a school which is part of the programme recalled: “I attended a class where a student was shouting and crying while trying to express her feelings, where another student in the class said : ‘You mustn’t shout, you have to talk in a clear voice if you’re nervous, so we can understand and help you like we learned in Labeeb’.”

Meanwhile, several parents expressed their improved understanding of their children's needs, with a mother saying "I have learned that I need to create times of listening, dialogue and sharing within our family."

So far, the results have been overwhelmingly encouraging, according to Ibrahim, who cited the 2017 annual survey showing that 100 per cent of teachers said Labeeb helped them recognise and support most vulnerable children in the classroom, while 91 per cent said students developed empathy and compassion towards their peers.

For 86 per cent of the teachers involved in Labeeb’s Friends, "a concrete shift happened in terms of conflict resolution and problem solving among children". 

Currently implemented in eight schools across the Kingdom, Labeeb's Friends is working on expanding its model to reach out to schools in refugee camps, host communities, and the public sector as a whole.

Meanwhile, Attili, who is also the regional coordinator for Partnership for Children, is working on expanding the programme to Palestine, Oman and Lebanon in the near future, her daughter explained.

AMMAN — Jordan on Friday strongly denounced targeting Saudi Arabia with a ballistic missile that was fired by Yemen's Houthi militias and shot down by Saudi air defence.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani stressed the Kingdom’s support for Saudi Arabia in defending itself against recurrent attacks by Houthi militias, renewing Jordan’s condemnation of all military actions that target urban areas and threaten civilians, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

"As it renews its stances in support of Saudis' efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Yemeni crisis, Jordan calls on all conflicting parties in Yemen to renounce violence and fighting," Momani, who is also the government's spokesperson, said, urging all parties to resume negotiations leading to a peaceful solution that spares the country the woes of war.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sarvath, honorary president of the Young Muslim Women’s Association, on Saturday inaugurated the annual exhibition of the products of the vocational students at the association’s special education centre.

The three-day exhibition, which displays the work of students with mild to moderate mental disabilities trained at the centre, showcases agricultural products, ceramics, textiles, wood artefacts and mosaics that were made with the contribution of the centre’s students.

TRH Prince Raad, Princess Majda and Princess Wijdan attended the inauguration ceremony.

AMMAN — West Amman Court issued a ruling on Thursday banning taxi hailing app Careem from operating in the Kingdom.

Mahmoud Kharabsheh, a lawyer hired by several owners of yellow taxis’ offices who filed lawsuits against Careem last month, said the court ruling entails blocking the application on all app stores and banning “those who work with Careem” and app users from accessing the application.

“I got a copy of the court ruling today and I sent a letter to the Ministry of ICT and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission asking them to implement the decision,” the lawyer told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Under the court ruling, Careem cannot operate in Jordan until it obtains necessary licences.

According to the lawyer, tens of thousands of those who work with Careem using their personal cars will be banned from working.

“This is a fair decision as owners of yellow taxis are investors who paid millions for their investments and they pay income tax and they pay fees for licensing their cars…yellow taxis pays registration fees and other investment fees as registered companies unlike drivers with Careem and other apps,” said the lawyer.

He said the prices of taxis dropped from JD60,000 to around JD40,000-JD45,000 after the apps were allowed and started to be used by passengers.

There are around 17,000 yellow taxis currently operating in Jordan.

Owners of yellow taxis said they were happy with the court ruling.

“This is a logical decision by the court…The sector should be regulated and not anyone should be allowed to turn his car into a taxi,” Mohammad Hajj Abed told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

“We as taxi owners are satisfied with the decision,” he said.

Sweilem Abu Eid, another taxi driver, echoed similar remarks.

“This decision came late. We were waiting for it for a long time…for us this is our career and this is how we make living for many Careem drivers they do it in their extra time and just for making some extra money,” he said.

Hamzeh, a Careem driver who preferred to go with his first name, said he was disappointed with the decision.

“I am a third year student and I use my father’s car to work with Careem and I make some good money that help me pay for the tuition,” he said.

“For me as a student it is convenient to work with Careem as I work when I have time because I also need to focus on my study. I hope this court ruling is reversed soon,” he said.

AMMAN — Airport International Group (AIG) and international airport operator Groupe Aéroports de Paris (ADP) on Thursday announced a new acquisition deal whereby the French group acquired a majority stake of 51 per cent.

Group ADP, which offers expertise on international airport investment and operation, with airports such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport among its enterprises and managed 26 airports worldwide, owned a 9.5 per cent stake in Airport International Group via a subsidiary since 2007, when Airport International Group was awarded a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession agreement to rehabilitate, expand and operate Queen Alia International Airport through a $850 million public-private partnership (PPP) plan. 

Following Thursday’s acquisition, Groupe ADP now owns 51 per cent,  with the remaining shares distributed among Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments — 32 per cent, Mena Airport Holding Ltd. — 12.25 per cent and Edgo Investment Holdings Ltd. — 4.75 per cent.

“This is great news to Jordan and it is a testimony to the country’s inviting business environment and that investments in Jordan are lucrative,” Muhannad Shehadeh, minister of state for investment affairs and chairman of the Jordan Investment Commission, said during a press conference where the deal was announced.

“Jordan is open to businesses and investors and having one of the largest investors in the field coming to invest in the airport is very positive for the entire country,” said Shehadeh.

“What we have today goes beyond a simple buy-and-sell agreement as it carries a strong message which states that the Kingdom has been able to prove, once again, that it can be an investment destination and a trusted stronghold for the most important of foreign investments,” said Shehadeh.

 He added that in the first three quarters of 2017, the Kingdom witnessed a tangible increase of 19.3 per cent in foreign investment, which ultimately benefits economic growth rates. 

“When we manage to attract a prestigious fund like Meridiam Eastern Europe Investment, this sends a very strong message about the business and investments potential in the Kingdom,” said Shehadeh.

Groupe ADP Chairman and CEO Augustin de Romanet said the total value of the acquisition deal by the group’s investments stand at $265 million.

“Queen Alia International Airport is one of the best airports in the Middle East, and Groupe ADP, having already been a shareholder of Airport International Group through ADP International, has contributed to the superb performance and growth of the airport over the last ten years.  By acquiring control of Airport International Group, Groupe ADP will be able to fully spread its limitless know-how, expertise and offerings,” De Romanet told reporters Thursday.

“Alongside our co-shareholders, Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments and Edgo Investment Holdings Ltd., we aim to reinforce the routes network, departing from Amman, and improve the quality of service for passengers and the performance of aeronautical and retail activities, for the benefit of all stakeholders,” he said.

De Romanet stressed that the group was keen on improving services and introducing innovative solutions in Queen Alia International Airport, adding that there is a growth in airport passenger traffic globally and that this traffic is expected to triple in the Middle East and North Africa.

Minister of Transport and Municipal Affairs Walid Masri said the project is the result of cooperation and hard work, aided by support from all official security bodies.

“It symbolises an important milestone for the partnership between the public and private sector; a partnership between the Government of Jordan and the investor, Airport International Group, which has been lauded as one of the top 40 PPPs in the world,” said the minister.

Airport International Group CEO Kjeld Binger said that, in recent years, Jordan has been in the global spotlight, evoking the interest of foreign investors with its investment-friendly environment and policies, which in turn contribute to the Kingdom’s economic growth. 

“We are proud to be working with Groupe ADP, as they possess a repertoire of internationally acclaimed airports and worldwide experience in airport management. This step marks a pivotal moment in our journey with Queen Alia International Airport, as we aspire to build on the substantial success we have achieved thus far, and reach unprecedented levels of excellence and innovation in the years to come,” Binger said.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Groupe ADP will be implementing strategies in the near future to further enhance the services and traveller experience offered at QAIA. 

AMMAN — HRH Crown Prince Hussein on Thursday paid a check-up visit to the Royal Court’s public service department which handles the medical exemptions granted to Jordanians with no health insurance and cash assistance for underprivileged families.

The Crown Prince checked on the services provided by the department, which receives around 1,000 Jordanians and extends medical exemptions to some 750 citizens on a daily basis, according to a Royal Court statement.

Crown Prince Hussein was briefed by the department’s Director Khalil Abdallat and a number of its cadres on the measures they follow in extending services to citizens, and on the section’s e-connection with relevant national institutions using the latest administrative and technical systems and the best management and social services practices, the statement said.

The Crown Prince stressed the importance of maintaining quality services, voicing his appreciation for the efforts exerted by the department cadres in handling citizens’ transactions, according to the statement.

Prince Hussein also toured the financial assistance, social studies, and medical exemptions sections, and followed up on the work carried out there from the submission and assessment processes of applications until their execution, the statement said.  

The Crown Prince also met with a number of beneficiaries who expressed their satisfaction with the level of services they receive and the department’s facilitated measures, according to the statement.

Prince Hussein was accompanied by the King’s adviser, His Majesty’s office director and the secretary general of the Royal Court.