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AMMAN — British Ambassador to Jordan Edward Oakden on Thursday officially opened the Turrah gym established at the end of last year in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth, an embassy statement said.

The gym, which is a result of an assessment study of local needs carried out by community leaders living in Turrah, aims to enhance the physical and physiological abilities of women, create a safe environment for them to practice sports, establish effective relations among Jordanian and Syrian users, and provide their children with a creative play area while sporting.

The tour also included a visit to Sahel Houran Health Centre to check the extension building completed under the Leadership and Community Development Programme to increase the quality and scope of services to Jordanians and Syrian refugees living in Sahel Houran. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday discussed with President of Austria Alexander Van der Bellen means to enhance bilateral cooperation and the latest regional and international developments.

Following a one-on-one meeting, His Majesty and the president held expanded talks that were attended by Her Majesty Queen Rania, the president’s wife Doris Schmidauer and senior officials.

The talks, held at Al Husseiniya Palace, covered opportunities to increase trade exchange and enhance economic cooperation, especially in the field of technical education, agriculture and tourism, a Royal Court statement said.

King Abdullah and  President Van der Bellen stressed the importance of building public-private sector partnerships in both countries and benefitting from the Austrian expertise in the fields of vocational training, business incubators and entrepreneurship, in addition to opening new markets for Jordanian products.

The talks also covered coordination between the two countries over issues of mutual interest to contribute to realising peace and enhancing security in the region and the world.

In his remarks, His Majesty welcomed the president, his wife and the accompanying delegation, saying: “On behalf of myself and Rania and the entire Jordanian government and people, we welcome you to Jordan, and we are delighted to have you here on your first visit.”

“Our bilateral ties go back almost 60-odd years,” His Majesty said, noting that the two countries see eye-to-eye on issues of mutual concern.

The King commended Jordanian-Austrian political, military and security ties.

“We have good economic ties, but we could always, as most countries could say, try to improve that,” His Majesty noted, citing the Austrian president’s meeting in Amman with Jordanian and Austrian businesspeople as a good example of ways to strengthen economic cooperation.

“I wanted to thank you very much for your country’s support of our refugee challenges and looking after Jordan, speaking up for us whenever there is a chance in the international community,” the King said.

For his part, President Van der Bellen thanked His Majesty for the warm hospitality during his first visit to the region after assuming his office.

“We realise, of course, what challenges that Jordan had to deal with… in particular, in the last seven years. And your geographical position is, to say the least, not particularly easy, also concerning the most recent developments, around… your country, so we are full of admiration for what you handled all over those years,” the president said.

Also during the talks, which continued over a working lunch, His Majesty stressed the need to intensify efforts to relaunch the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations on the basis of the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

His Majesty noted the importance of the Austrian role in realising peace in the Middle East, given that Austria is scheduled to take over the presidency of the EU Council during the second half of this year.

In regard to Jerusalem, the King underscored the significance of the holy city for Muslims and Christians, describing it as “the key to achieve peace and stability in the region”.

The talks also covered the role of UNRWA and the need to support the organisation in providing its educational, health and relief services to the Palestinian refugees. 

As for the Syrian crisis, King Abdullah stressed Jordan’s support for efforts and initiatives that aim to find a political solution in line with the path of Geneva talks and undertandings.

The two leaders exchanged views over several other issues including the war on terrorism within a holistic approach.

Earlier during the day, President Van der Bellen attended the Jordanian-Austrian business forum with the participation of companies and businesspeople from both countries (see story on page 4).

During the forum, the president called on Austrian companies to benefit from the available investment and trade opportunities in the Kingdom.

Later Wednesday, the president and his wife paid a visit to the ancient city of Petra, 220km south of Amman.

During the visit, they toured the red-rose city, viewing its main monuments including the Treasury, the Siq (the natural gorge that leads down to the city) and the byzantine church.

Upon arrival, he was received by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority  Chief Commissioner Falah Omoush and Deputy Chief Commissioner and Commissioner of Tourism Affairs Suleiman Farajat.    

AMMAN — The Social Security Corporation (SSC) in 2017 achieved a surplus in subscription insurance that amounted to JD611 million, while insurance expenditure stood at JD965 million, SSC spokesperson Musa Sbeihi said on Wednesday. 

During a visit to SSC Salt branch, Sbeihi said the corporation expects the subscription insurance to achieve a surplus of JD645 million in 2018, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

He added that the value of the SSC’s investment portfolio stood by the end of 2017 at JD9.239 billion, compared with JD8.325 billion by the end of 2016, marking an 11 per cent increase of JD914 million. 

SSC investments in 2017 generated an income of JD360 million, up by JD44 million when compared with the 2016’s figure of JD315 million, marking a 14 per cent hike, Sbeihi added.

The spokesperson cited an SSC study indicating that retirement incomes contribute to limiting poverty in society by 7.7 per cent, noting that SSC pensioners total 213,000 people whose salary bills stood in March at JD82 million. 

AMMAN — A day after the World Bank forecast that Jordan’s economy is expected to increase by 2.4 per cent in 2018, economists on Wednesday said that such a “low” prediction is “realistic” as there will be no breakthroughs ushering in better economic performance this year.

The World Bank report, e-mailed to The Jordan Times, indicated that Jordan’s gross domestic product is expected to increase by 2.5 per cent in 2019 from 2.1 per cent in 2017

The report said that improvements seen in tourism, mining and quarrying are expected to have driven a timid improvement in growth in 2017. 

However, the economy remains burdened with ongoing uncertainty in Syria, slow revival of economic cooperation with Iraq and an economic slowdown in the Gulf Cooperation Council. In addition, the economy is subject to a slow pace of structural reforms that is impeding a strong recovery in growth, the report indicated.

“Over the past 10 years, economic growth was between 2-3 per cent, and this year nothing major is expected to boost the economy,” economist Mazen Marji told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

“The closure of the borders with Syria remains a major issue and the reopening of the borders with Iraq has not been fully utilised as there are still some challenges,” Marji said.

Even if the borders with Syria are reopened, there will be no immediate major positive impact on the economy.

“There are other players and countries in the markets whose products will be competing with ours,” said Marji.

“In Iraq, our trucks are still not allowed to enter the market and there is fierce competition, too,” he said.

Economist Wajdi Makhamreh agreed.

“If the Syrian market is not reopened to our products and there is no substantial and concrete increase in foreign direct investments in the Kingdom, we cannot expect economic growth to  exceed 2.4 per cent, aware that our market is small and vulnerable to external factors,” Makhamreh said.

The World Bank report indicated that poverty is likely to have risen in Jordan given the upward trend of inflation and unemployment and sluggish growth.

Economists agreed, saying there are many factors to why poverty rose in Jordan over the past years.

“There has been no significant increase in salaries over the past years either in the public or the private sectors…the cost of living has been on the rise after taxes and customs fees went up,” Marji said.

“The fuel prices, which affect all other products, have been rising after the government ended its subsidy, and the purchase power of Jordanians has consequently declined,” he explained.

He added that unemployment rates in Jordan have also increased. The unemployment rate remained elevated at 18.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to official figures.

“Higher rates of unemployment mean that are fewer Jordanians working and thus more are becoming poorer,” he said.

Makhamreh noted that the public sector remains the largest employer.

“A large percentage of salaries of workers in the public sector are in the range of JD450 to JD550, and this is not enough amid rising costs of living, rent, transportation and other commodities,” the pundit said.

Official figures estimate that 14.4 per cent of the population lived in poverty during 2010. 

The national annual poverty line for 2010 was set at JD813.7 per individual per year. 

The World Bank report indicated that Jordan has not released poverty estimates since 2010 due to issues with data quality for the 2013-14 Household Expenditure and Income Survey (HEIS). 

The 2017-18 HEIS, which will be representative of Jordanian, non-Jordanian and Syrian nationals was initiated in August 2017.   

AMMAN — After spending 11 days struggling in temperatures so freezing that he “could not feel his face”, 22-year-old Jarrah Al Hawamdeh finally made it to the Everest base camp.

The young Jordanian, who lost his right leg to bone cancer at 15 years old, said his outstanding performance aims to “show people that nothing is impossible”.

He took on the challenge of climbing 5,364 metres up the face of Mount Everest to raise money to save his former UNRWA school.

Located in east Amman, Al Jofeh Boys School is in danger of closing because of drastic funding cuts to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. With this new challenge, he expects to raise $1 million to keep the school open.

Despite the terrible weather conditions and his body being wracked with pain, the young man continued climbing. “We started with a group of 11 people, but nine of them had to be medevaced  off the mountain after suffering breathing difficulties,” Hawamdeh explained.

He is currently stranded at the base camp, following a huge snowstorm and nearby avalanches that saw temperatures drop to -30 degrees Celsius. Helicopters are on standby to take him and his fellow climber down from the camp, still unable to reach them, according to Natalie O’Brien, a friend of Hawamdeh.

“They may be stranded on the mountain for at least three days until the weather clears,” she told The Jordan Times, adding that the Jordanian mountaineer is in good condition and that he is listening to the music of Palestinian rapper Tamer Nafar to keep his spirits up and drown out the sound of avalanches around him, according to his text messages.

“It is almost unbelievable the depth of his drive and determination,” O’Brien commented, echoing the comments of Pasang, one of the Sherpas who helped him on his trek. “He is incredibly brave,” he stated.

Hawamdeh recalled how he used to dream about his future as a mountaineer as he was undergoing cancer treatment at the King Hussein Cancer Centre.  

“After they amputated my leg, I refused to let this ruin my life. I decided to turn my situation around, and I got certified as a climber,” he recalled, noting that his amputation has become an strength rather than an impediment.

“Not everyone has one leg, and I am using my story to show the world that, even if you are facing problems, you can overcome them,” the young man said.

This is not the first time the 22-year old makes history: A few years back, he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro with an artificial limb. 

“For me, that was a first message of hope for cancer patients,” he recalled. “I wanted to make a strong statement. To be a climber, you need to push yourself a lot. Not everybody can be a mountaineer. Let alone someone with one leg.”

This determination has long been a defining feature of the young man’s personality, who recalled how he used to try and attend school as often as he could, even while undergoing treatment.

Hawamdeh started his current climb, which is about 17,500 steps, on April 2 and is expected to return to Amman by the end of the month.   

Donations to Hawamdeh’s fundraising campaign for Al Jofeh school can be made at https://getinvolved.unrwausa.org/myfirststep.

AMMAN — Jordan's first International Medical Emergencies Conference kicked off on Wednesday under the theme "From the Scene to the Hospital: Your Life is Our Mission", the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Held under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna, patron for nursing and midwifery in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and president of the Jordan Nursing Council, the three-day event is organised by Jordan Paramedic Society.

During the opening ceremony, attended by Health Minister Mahmoud Sheyyab, the Chairman of Consultative Committees Rami Farraj said that the conference seeks to shed light on the increased rates of accidents, armed conflicts, natural disasters, violence, and epidemics both regionally and globally, which all require administrating urgent medical care on the spot. 

"The world is currently witnessing a huge development in emergency medicine, which has become a fundamental part of any effective health organisation," said Farraj, noting that "Jordan has made a noticeable progress in this field, yet more efforts should be exerted to enhance educational training and to find new policies and strategies". 

Farraj stressed that the present conference represents the joint national efforts aimed at setting new criteria for patients' medical care, adding that the conference will update participants with the latest theoretical and practical skills of emergency medicine.

For Yanal Ajlouni, president of Jordan Paramedic Society, the importance of the conference lies in the participation of a number of experts and professionals from various international organisations and institutions specialised in first aid, medical emergencies and medical evacuation.

The three-day conference will include the presentation of research papers covering various issues including wars and disasters medicine, recent technologies in emergency medicine, pre-hospital care, flight ambulance, safety and occupational health, medications and toxins, infectious diseases in emergency, training and simulation, as well as other related topics, according to Petra. 

AMMAN — Participants at the Archeology and Cultural Heritage in the Arab Region Conference on Wednesday stressed on the importance of raising youth’s awareness about heritage due to its close relation to Arab identity.   

Organised by the Arab League Education, Culture and Science Organisation (ALECSO) under the title "The latest technologies used in projects to introduce cultural heritage and to raise awareness on its protection in the Arab World", the conference gathered representatives from 14 countries, who will share their experiences in technology usage in archeology and heritage protection. 

Inaugurating the two-day event, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Lina Annab highlighted the importance of using technologies like geophysical imaging and nanotechnology applications to "discover, restore and document cultural heritage". 

She noted that Jordan was one of the first countries to use technology to discover archeological sites and recently started working on an archiving system to make the Department of Antiquities' (DoA) data on archeological sites available to researchers and anyone interested in archeology. 

“But the road is long to make the best use of technology in archeology,” she acknowledged.

The conference corresponds with the International Day for Monuments and Sites (World Heritage Day) which is held annually on April 18th with the aim of promoting awareness on the diversity of cultural heritage, its vulnerability and the efforts required for its protection and conservation, according to the minster. 

DoA Director and President of the 23rd Edition of the Congress Munther Gamhawi stressed on the need to protect human heritage by establishing its importance in the minds of all society members through education. 

Despite all efforts to protect the human heritage, it is being destroyed intentionally and unintentionally all over the world, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) representative to Jordan Costanza Farina, who noted that heritage has become a victim to conflict across the Middle East and around the world. 

 “We have borne witness to culture becoming a victim of conflict as UNESCO world heritage sites are attacked and destroyed intentionally or as collateral damage," she said, noting that "these sites represent the historical fabric of our societies and exemplify the concept that heritage carries outstanding universal value”.

ALESCO Director General Saud Hilal Harbi echoed similar remarks, condemning the systematic destruction of the Palestinian heritage. “The Palestinian cause is considered central to the ALESCO and protecting the Palestinian identity is among one of our main goals,” Harbi stressed.

AMMAN — The population of waterbirds in Jordan’s eastern desert, one important route for migratory birds, is declining "remarkably" with the passing of years, an ornithologist said on Wednesday.

Cycles of drought across the region is among the main reasons for the decline, the ornithologist said, citing results of an annual waterbird census that detected the dropping trend.

“In addition to drought and dropping rainfall, the number of waterbirds in the eastern desert is also declining because of habitat destruction and depletion of desert mudflats and water surfaces,” said Mohammad Zu’bi, an ornithologist with the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN), which conducts the annual census.

Birds are normally attracted to the reflection of water across the country, according to researchers, who said that the number of migratory birds that stopover in Jordan every year depends on several factors, on top of which is the availability of water.

Jordan is home to 434 bird species, around 33 per cent of which are water birds, living on or around water.  The census counted 143 species of waterbirds belonging to 23 families.

The census, which was first carried out in 1999, is implemented in January every year with the aim of identifying the number and species of waterbirds and their places of distribution. Local figures are used in international bird censuses used to identify the status of birds globally. 

"Jordan remains the only country in the Middle East that annually implements the census. It covers 21 locations, including all dams in the Jordan Valley, major water treatment plants and mudflats," Zu’bi told The Jordan Times.

This year, the census also showed that the Azraq Wetland Reserve attracted half of the waterbirds population in Jordan, Zu’bi said, highlighting that 30 per cent of waterbirds in Jordan were recorded during January.

“Against this backdrop of declining waterbirds in the eastern desert that is associated with drought cycles, the importance of the Aqaba Bird Observatory strongly stood out this year. A total of 55 per cent of all birds registered during a drought season were in the observatory,” the researcher noted.

Results of the census highlight the importance of migratory waterbirds stations across the country, especially Azraq and Aqaba, as an attraction for birds in the middle of the desert, Zu’bi noted.

“Protection of migratory birds can only happen if the routes they use during migration are protected, and this is what the RSCN aims at; to sustain and protect migratory birds' attraction sites to ultimately protect them,” Zu’bi concluded.

AMMAN — Despite the increasingly difficult challenges they face, most Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon are still unwilling to return to their homelands unless a political transition takes place, according to a report launched by the Carnegie Middle East Centre (CMEC) in Amman on Wednesday. 

“As the Syrian regime regains territory, there have been growing calls in neighbouring countries for refugees to go home. Yet, refugees stick to some conditions for a return — conditions that political efforts to resolve the Syrian conflict have largely ignored,” Director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre Maya Yahya said, pointing out that “what is most striking is that, despite the negative experiences they have as refugees, they are still reluctant to go back until their safety and security, access to justice, and right of return to areas of origin are ensured”.

Former minister of justice Bishr Khasawneh said: “The Jordanian government believes that the conditions required for the voluntary return of refugees to their homeland are achievable,” noting that “the deescalation zones established in Syria might be a good first step on the way to creating good return conditions”.

However, the Carnegie report was not optimistic about this solution, stating that “refugees reject any proposals that could lead to Syria’s fragmentation, oppose the idea of de-escalation zones, and have no confidence in safe zones”.

On the situation of Jordanian people in light of the refugee crisis, Khasawneh said: “The host communities have been exerting great efforts to absorb the refugee influx, but the international community is not bringing enough attention to the improvement of their conditions,” calling on the concerned institutions to focus on the welfare of the host communities. 

Regarding the views expressed by refugees living in Jordan and Lebanon, Yahyia explained that “they have no confidence in the political actors involved in Syria, and most anti-regime refugees do not believe the opposition truly represents them”.
“Women and young men are among those most fearful of returning to Syria, as they are concerned about the lack of security and possible persecution,” the expert continued, adding that “as the war drags on and conditions in their host countries worsen, an increasing number of refugees are considering resettling outside the region — particularly in Europe”.

“Unheard Voices: What Syrian Refugees Need to Return Home” is the culmination of 14 months of research started with CMEC’s “Triggers of Return” project, which sought to improve the understanding of Syrian refugees' requirements for a potential political solution to the conflict.

Based on focus group discussions with Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan and a series of workshops with NGO professionals, the study offers policy recommendations that place refugees' demands at the centre of any sustainable political resolution of the conflict. 

“A safe and sustainable return of refugees requires a framework that acknowledges the political roots of the Syrian crisis rather than just its humanitarian dimension, concedes that peace is not possible without justice, and recognises the right of refugees to return to their areas of origin,” the report said, pointing out that “safety and security can only be guaranteed through a political process that creates inclusive governance mechanisms, ends criminal impunity, and facilitates reintegration, demilitarisation, and access to justice”.

“While this process will take time given the many forces operating in Syria, efforts to prepare refugees for a return should begin now,” Yahyia pointed out, recommending the creation of a cadre of Syrian lawyers and paralegals to inform refugees of their rights and help resolve the many anticipated local disputes. 

In addition, the report called for the establishment of networks of trusted community mediators, warning that reconstruction funding should not “inadvertently empower the Syrian regime”.

AMMAN — Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) on Wednesday launched its updated website which provides full data and information on the inability to help researchers and policymakers enhance the lives of people with disabilities.

HCD Secretary General Mohannad Azzeh said that the website fosters communication among the council, its partners, and the public to keep them updated on the projects and activities the council conducts, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.