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AMMAN — Lower House Spaeaker Ataef Tarawneh on Sunday commended His Majesty King Abdullah's diplomatic efforts that obliged Israel to apologise for an incident when an Israeli embassy guard killed two Jordanians last July, and the 2014 killing of Jordanian judge Raed Zuaiter by Israeli troops, while crossing to the West Bank. 

Also on Sunday, the Lower House endorsed the draft higher education law, under which a scientific research and innovation fund will be established, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The fund will replace the previous establishment that was formed under the 2005 Higher Education and Scientific Research Law, which supported higher education.

Under the law, a higher education council will be established with the tasks of drawing policies and strategies for the higher education sector.

Also during the session, the House discussed 14 questions directed to the government, of which two were transformed into enquiries, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Operations Rogers Davis on Sunday discussed the process of terminating the services of some daily-wage labourers in the agency with heads of development committees in Jerash and Souf camps, the Jordan News Agnecy, Petra, reported.

Davis said that UNRWA’s budget is $60 million, which is less than expected due to the financial crisis emerged a year ago, and that the agency was working closely with the government to address these issues by holding intensive meetings with donor countries.

He pointed out that hopes are high for new donors. For their part, the heads of committees called on the international community and the UN to take action and rescue the agency.  

AMMAN — The International Women’s Peace Group (IWPG) on Sunday called on Jordanians to participate in the 10 million signature campaign for “Urging for a Peace Agreement  for the Cessation of War on the Korean Peninsula”.

“We, the IWPG, urge the people of Jordan to actively take part in this peace campaign in order to make their contribution to the expeditious unification of the divided nation of the Korean Peninsula and furthermore, world peace,” IWPG said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Sunday.

A total of 10 million signatures for the support of a peace agreement and denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula will be passed on to the governments of countries directly involved the UN, China, North Korea, and the Republic of Korea.

Online votes can be submitted through the link: http://bit.ly/2Bj2vZ0  

AMMAN — The Water Ministry said Sunday that its personnel have seized an illegal drilling rig on a farm at Duleil area. The owner of the farm brought a “sophisticated” rig and hid it in a warehouse in the farm, the ministry said in a statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Inspecting the premises, ministry personnel seized the rig and arrested the farm owner and referred him to the concerned authorities. Citizens can report any complaints related to water theft to the ministry on: 117116.

Meanwhile, Yarmouk Water Company Director Hassan Hazaimeh on Sunday said that company personnel had identified a citizen in Mafraq, who illegally used water to irrigate trees on his 10-dunum farm, Petra added.

Company personnel removed illegal fixtures and took legal procedures against the citizen after estimating the amount and cost of stolen water. 

AMMAN — Jordan has provided $10.3 billion as services for refugees until the end of 2017, Senate President Faisal Fayez said on Sunday.

During a meeting with a delegation of Spanish senators, headed by Senator Alberto Fabra, Fayez said that the international community did not shoulder its responsibilities in supporting Jordan and its general budget in response to the refugee crisis, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Senate president reviewed the latest regional unrests, noting that the Kingdom was the most affected by it, especially in light of the Syrian and Iraqi crises.

Jordan has managed to maintain its security and stability despite these events, he added, stressing however that the country is facing economic challenges due to hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

These challenges affected citizens’ living conditions, increased the budget deficit and unemployment rates, contributed to lowering economic growth rates, and raised the general debt by $11.5 billion, Fayez highlighted.

Reaching a just, comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue according to international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution is the key to solving all crises and conflicts in the Middle East, he underscored.

In this regard, Fayez commended the stances of Spain and the EU in denouncing the US decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, expressing Jordan’s appreciation for their belief that Jerusalem is a final status issue.

He also commended the “deep-rooted” relations between the two kingdoms at the political, economic and cultural levels, adding that Jordan is keen on further enhancing its relations with Spain, in a way that serves both countries’ interests and issues of mutual concern.

For their parts, the Spanish senators praised the Jordanian role in reaching regional security and stability, as well as the Kingdom’s humanitarian role towards Syrian refugees, despite scarce resources and economic challenges.

They also pledged to work with their government within the EU to increase the aid presented to Jordan.

AMMAN — The amount of electricity generated in 2017 amounted to about 19,283 GWh, 87.3 per cent of which was natural gas, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday. 

Amin Zaghal, assistant director general of production planning at the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO), said that the electricity demand increased by 3 per cent since 2016, when the total of generated electricity amounted to 18,721 GW.

According to Zaghal, renewable energy constituted 5.3 per cent of the total amount of electricity generated in 2017, while heavy fuel amounted to 6.6 per cent and diesel was 0.1 per cent. Water, for its part, amounted to 0.3 per cent of the total amount, while the electrical connection line with Egypt contributed 0.3 per cent. 

As for the maximum electrical load, it reached 3320 MW in 2017, compared to 3250 MW in 2016, with a growth rate of 2.15 per cent. 

The transition to imported natural gas for electricity generation and the introduction of renewable energy into the total energy mix contributed to a decrease of the consumed energy bill to around $2.6 billion in 2016, compared to $3.5 billion in 2015.

The annual growth in demand for electricity is estimated at around 3 per cent, while demand for electricity is estimated at about 3 per cent.

AMMAN — In response to the call of UNRWA’s Commissioner-General, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo has decided to allocate 19 million EURO over the next 3 years to UNRWA, the United Nations agency, which provides humanitarian help to Palestinian refugees, according to a Belgium embassy statement on Sunday. 

Belgium is one of the few donors that provides this kind of multi-annual funding. Considering the financial difficulties which UNRWA currently faces, the Belgian annual contribution will be disbursed immediately, the statement said. 

The US government decided last week to suspend half of its support to UNRWA.

“I have a lot of respect for UNRWA’s work, which has to operate in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances. Living conditions in Gaza, Syria, the West bank and elsewhere in the region are particularly tough. For a lot of Palestinian refugees the UNRWA is the last life buoy. With the help of UNRWA half a million of Palestine children are able to go to school. This prevents them from falling prey to radicalisation and extreme violence,” De Croo was quoted in the statement as saying.

Belgium is together with other EU member states and the European Commission by far UNRWA’s largest donor. 

In the coming months and years, Belgium, along with the EU and countries from the region, will continue to support UNRWA and the Palestinian refugees. The visit of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas next Monday in Brussels is a first opportunity to exchange thoughts in this regard, according to the statement.

UNRWA was established in 1949 in order to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees, who in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War numbered about 700.000. Today, UNRWA offers to approximately 5 million Palestine refugees services such as education, healthcare and housing. UNRWA is active in Palestinian occupied territories, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. UNRWA defends also the rights of Palestinian refugees, in line with international law.

AMMAN — The Senate on Sunday formed a special committee from heads of permanent panels to prepare a roadmap for implementing the guidelines listed in His Majesty King Abdullah’s seven discussion papers.

During a meeting headed by Senate President Faisal Fayez, senators agreed to review the outcomes of the special committee with the Chamber’s permanent committees that will refer their decision to the Senate, prior to referring recommendations to the King, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Fayez said that Senate’s initiative aims at finding mechanisms to implement the discussion papers. 

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) reopened Wasfi Al Tal Street (Gardens Street) on Sunday midnight, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Part of Wasfi Al Tal Street (Gardens Street) next to a large construction pit caved in on Friday, prompting authorities to close that portion of the street to traffic as they started investigating the reason for this collapse.

GAM also decided to maintain detours put in place to reduce any potential traffic jams.

AMMAN — The Hajj Fund in 2017 achieved a total profit of JD3.85 million, Awqaf Minister Wael Arabiyat announced on Sunday.

Arabiyat, who is also the chairman of the fund council, said that the net profit, after deducting the fund expenses, stood at some JD3.258 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He noted that the amount to be distributed to shareholders reached JD2.933 million, with a profit rate of 3.968 per cent. Arabiyat added that the number of depositors at the fund increased from 23,287 in 2016 to 28,718 in 2017.