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AMMAN — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected in Amman, as part of a regional tour that will also take him to Turkey, Lebanon, Egypt and Kuwait between February 11–16, a US embassy statement said.

In Jordan, Tillerson will hold talks with top officials and “will underscore the enduring strength of the US-Jordan relationship, engage with the Jordanian leadership on the conclusion of a new Memorandum of Understanding on bilateral assistance, and discuss key regional issues such as the ongoing crisis in Syria and Jordan’s support for Middle East peace,” the statement said.

The secretary will lead the US delegation to a ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS in Kuwait and participate in the Iraq Reconstruction Conference, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Health confirmed that it will continue to refer cancer patients for treatment at King Hussein Cancer Centre if “the condition of [the patient] requires that”, according to a Health Ministry statement. 

Head of the ministry’s health insurance department, Elham Khreisat, denied previous reports that claimed the ministry halted financial coverage of cancer and other chronic diseases’ treatment to reduce expenses.

One report quoted officials as saying the bill paid by the ministry and the Royal Court amounted to JD1.8 billion in five years, citing the deteriorating public finances as the reason behind the cessation. 

Khreisat stressed that the ministry has not stopped transferring insured patients to the centre, as well as those non-insured patients who receive support from the Royal Court. 

She pointed out Jordanian children under six years and citizens above 60 are all fully covered under the civil health insurance system at the ministry's hospitals and health centres.

If the treatment is not available at the state-run hospitals, the patient will be transferred to Prince Hamzah Hospital, army-run Royal Medical Services or King Hussein Cancer Centre, the official added. 

Also, she highlighted Jordanian citizens over 60 years of age are covered with free health insurance and are treated according to the civil health insurance system in the ministry's hospitals and health centres.

Khreisat said that if the treatment is not available for this age group in the ministry's hospitals, the regulations allow them to be transferred to treatment at Prince Hamzah Hospital and Royal Medical Services.

DEAD SEA — Local and international human rights activists and experts met on Wednesday to discuss the preparations for Jordan’s Universal Periodic Review 2018 that will be presented in Geneva later this year.

The two-day technical workshop on the 3rd Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Jordan-UPR submission for Jordanian civil society was held at the Dead Sea. The workshop was organised by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in Amman and UPR Info, Geneva, Switzerland.

During the opening session, Programme Manager at UPR Info Aoife Hegarty addressed the gathering saying that the work of FES and UPR Info is “to put dialogue and cooperation at the forefront of all its activities”. 

“We aim to be the facilitator and the partner who is ready to support national efforts with technical expertise on the UPR, as well as sharing best practices that we have learnt with over a decade of experience in this area,” Hegarty said.

Turning to UPS Info, Hegarty said it is a “specialised” NGO, whose role is to promote all human rights for everyone by strengthening multistakeholder engagement in the UPR process.

The focus of the organisation, according to Hegarty, is to work with all UPR actors, including the government, civil society, journalists, national human rights institutions, parliamentarians and international organisations. 

“A defining feature of our engagement with partners is that we do not seek to impose any pre-set agenda on national voices,” Hegarty stressed.

FES Director Tim Petschulat said on Wednesday’s meeting was the first effort to present a national platform where all relevant stakeholders, coalitions and NGOs are gathering to draw the roadmap for the submission of the UPR stakeholders’ report.

“It is quite a demanding undertaking but I am confident that with all stakeholders on board and with all the good preparation from various individuals, it has an excellent chance to achieve its goal,” Petschulat told the gathering.  

Also speaking during the opening session, Government Coordinator for Human Rights Basil Tarawneh told the gathering that the government of Jordan “is working closely with the local organisations to further strengthen the human rights concepts”.

“The government, through my office, is always extending its hand to local and international organisations to address any human rights concern, draft comprehensive human rights policies, and also to draft Jordan’s reports to be presented at international conventions,” Tarawneh said.

He added that he looks forward to the outcome of the meeting that “will hopefully beef up the Kingdom’s UPR report”.

The participants, including stakeholders, civil society organisations, local coalitions, national human rights institutions and international bodies, are expected to come up with recommendations and policies to be included in Jordan’s UPR report.

UPR Info is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council aimed at improving the human rights situation on the ground in each of the 193 UN member states, according to its website.

Under this mechanism, the human rights situation of all UN member states is reviewed every five years. Forty-two states are reviewed each year during three working group sessions dedicated to 14 states each. These three sessions are usually held in January/February, May/June and October/November.

The result of each review is reflected in the final report of the working group, which lists the recommendations the state under review will have to implement before the next review.

Meanwhile, FES, a German non-profit organisation, is committed to the values of social democracy and promoting and empowering democratic institutions by working towards strengthening human rights and social justice, contributing to international dialogue.

AMMAN — Security personnel on Thursday arrested the suspect who allegedly robbed a local bank at gunpoint in Amman's Sport's City area, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The suspect allegedly fired shots inside the bank, took a sum of money at gunpoint and then fled the scene. 

A video that went viral on the Internet purportedly showed people chasing the suspect and beating him. In a statement, the police source praised the “remarkable role of citizens that contributed to the arrest of the suspect” without referring to the lynching. 

A security source said that JD44, 968 and $25,025 of stolen money were seized from the suspect and the investigations were still ongoing in preparation to refer the case to the public prosecutor of the State Security Court (SSC).

The source added that the suspect who has a criminal record has confessed to planning and committing the crime. 

Meanwhile in Zarqa, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel arrested three suspects who allegedly committed the robbery that took place at a Post Office in Duleil, 90km east of Amman, on Wednesday morning.

CID was able to identify the three suspects, including one of the staff at the post office, and the full amount of stolen money was returned, according to a security source.

The source pointed out that Zarqa police received a tip on Wednesday that a man in woman's outfit stormed the post office and robbed JD24, 000 at gunpoint before fleeing in a vehicle with another person waiting for the suspect and a woman, who was not identified.

The source said that after the suspects were arrested, the amount of seized money was JD22, 321, as well as the weapon.

In a related development, security forces in Irbid arrested on Thursday a suspect in the robbery of JD18,000 from a citizen in Irbid who had withdrawn the amount from a bank on 30th Street, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

A source from the Irbid Police Department said that an investigative team of Public Security officers and the Criminal Investigation Unit were able to gather sufficient information on the suspect, and arrested him in less than 24 hours in the Hussein region during his attempt to flee, according to Petra. 

A wave of bank and other robberies has been reported, coinciding with price hikes that followed a government’s decision to lift subsidies on bread and dozens of commodities. 

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan, chairman of the Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST), on Thursday stressed the necessity for improved food provision criteria as per international poverty-eliminating efforts, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Opening a specialised workshop on the revision of food strategy as per the second goal of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Agenda’s “End Hunger”, Prince Hassan called for more cooperation among governments, the private sector, academic institutions, civil society and international organisations in efforts to eliminate hunger. 

He said that development cannot be achieved without investing in human recourses through empowerment.       

AMMAN — Their Royal Highnesses Prince Hamzah and Princess Basma on Wednesday welcomed a baby girl. They named the newborn HRH Princess Nafisah Bint Hamzah, a Royal Court statement said on Thursday. The Royal Court congratulated Prince Hamzah and Princess Basma, and wished the newborn good health and prosperity under the care of her parents. 

AMMAN — The Agriculture Ministry said it is “ready to fully cooperate” with the African-Asian Rural Development Organisation (AARDO) to implement four projects to help improve rural development opportunities.

The projects are to receive AARDO funding, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Thursday. During a meeting with AARDO Secretary General Wassfi Sreihin, Agriculture Minister Khaled Hneifat reviewed means of cooperation to develop the skills of underprivileged families.

Sreihin expressed the organisation’s readiness to finance such projects according to the laws of AARDO that can finance up to four projects in each country, providing that implementation is carried out through the government.

AMMAN — Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania on Thursday visited the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which sheds light on the history of mankind and art, and highlights the common values of various civilisations and cultures.

Their Majesties toured several halls at the museum, which is considered the first international museum in the Arab world, and had a first-hand look at showcased artworks that date back to pre-historic ages and include modern works that were especially designed for the museum, according to a Royal Court statement.

Among the exhibited items was a statute of Ain Ghazal, which was selected as a sample of 36 statutes that were found at Ain Ghazal in Amman and represent the ancient civilisations that inhabited Jordan, dating back to the Neolithic Revolution 10,000 years ago.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania listened to a presentation from the head of the culture and tourism department in Abu Dhabi, Mohammad Khalifeh Mubarak, on the facilities and items of the museum which houses more than 600 archaeological and modern pieces, in addition to 300 pieces borrowed from French museums. 

AMMAN — Two local initiatives have joined forces in Amman to launch a campaign to collect books for underprivileged children in Jordan. 

The campaign titled “Kitabi Kitabik” (my book is your book), in collaboration with “Ana Montij” (I am productive), aims to encourage children to read, according to the head of Ana Montij initiative Shan Tsay. 

“Our initiative is aimed at benefiting all family members, and children are the most important part of the family. These books will be distributed to refugees and children from underprivileged families,” she told The Jordan Times. 

Tsay said that they have established collecting points in four locations in Amman so that children can donate books for their less fortunate peers. 

“We asked children to donate books of scientific and cultural significance. Also we called on them to write a nice phrase in the book to encourage others to read. We thought that instead of people throwing away their used books they can donate them for a good cause,” she added. 

Tsay said Kitabi Kitabik is also planning to open a library in Jifar. 

The campaign will run until the end of this month. 

AMMAN — Over 200 youths and experts in the field of development on Wednesday gathered at Ras Al Ain Hangar to discuss youth-led initiatives conducted under the EU-funded NET MED Youth project.

During the event, held under the patronage of HRH Prince Faisal, the participants witnessed several group discussions led by experts and heard success stories of young Jordanians before moving on to a networking event, where they were acquainted with various initiatives and exchanged views on their respective youth activities.

Speaking on behalf of Prince Faisal, HRH Princess Ayah said: “I believe strongly that we must empower the voices of youth. We must ensure that young people throughout the region are provided with the multifaceted training, skills and support required to engage as active citizens and lead the global movement towards the creation of a peaceful world.”

The event started with a video featuring the journey of the UNESCO Networks of Mediterranean Youth project (NET-MED Youth), which has been implemented in partnership with youth organisations, institutions and partners, with the aim of “promoting the creation of an enabling environment for youth to develop their competencies, exercise their rights and meaningfully engage as active citizens”. 

Over the past three years, the project has facilitated a number of initiatives, such as the FOR9A platform by Sami Hourani, the creation of the first National Youth Organisations Coalition in partnership with UNESCO and the publication of the “Youth Media Perceptions” report presented by Ikhlas Al Khawaldeh, among others, all developed in accordance with the National Youth Empowerment Strategy (2017-2025). 

Hourani, who introduced the internship programme offered by FOR9A, a platform providing free educational advice, training, capacity building, and skill development opportunities for the youth, said: “We do not give you a job opportunity but we give you an opportunity to get a job, a better job or to create your own job.”

This focus on vocational training was echoed by EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana, who stressed the importance of such courses in helping the youth access the labour market.

“We need to invest in youth capabilities as youth is Jordan’s most valuable resource,” he said, reiterating the EU support to all the initiatives that enhance their involvement in good governance, citizenship, education, entrepreneurship and employment.

Fontana also announced an upcoming EU-funded and UNESCO led project focused on “media information and literacy which targets youth and their ethical use of social media literacy”.

In addition to celebrating the accomplishments of the NET MED Youth, the event also focused on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through a panel discussion featuring MP Wafa Bani Mustafa, Secretary General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women Salma Nims and General Director of Al Hayat Centre for Civil Society Development Amer Bani Amer

Before answering the audience’s questions, the speakers, who participated in the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July 2017 in New York, reviewed the implementation of SDGs in Jordan, the process of decentralisation, as well as the challenges faced by the local youth.

Nims also highlighted ways to increase participation of Jordanian girls in learning and obtaining economic opportunities.

Elaborating on the ambitions of the 2030 Agenda, UNESCO Representative to Jordan Costanza Farina stated: “As the world embarks on this new journey towards sustainable development, we must seize the unique opportunity to highlight the essential role of youth. We must reaffirm our commitment to work in a concerted and effective manner towards contributing to sustainable development, and towards achieving all 17 SDGs [sustainable development goals].”

During their tour of the 30 booths, participants got to exchange ideas and create new synergies between their initiatives. “As young people, we have great skills, and we love to go through new experiences to learn and develop our experiences, and we need to be in decision- making positions to learn even more,” an ILearn volunteer said.

This idea was reflected by another young volunteer who said: “Good education will create mature minds capable of dealing with the various difficulties facing young people and thus will positively reflect on society.”

A cultural note was added to the event, with an artistic performance by Jordanian and Syrian youth from the National Center for Cultural and Art.