Local

AMMAN — The US administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital threatens the political solution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the establishment of the independent Palestinian state, and imposes demographic and geographic Judaisation risks of the Holy City, experts stressed on Wednesday. 

During a forum held by the Middle East Studies Centre (MESC) titled “Towards an effective Arab agenda to suspend the US decision regarding Jerusalem”, participants said that the move would encourage Israel to expand its “Zionist” policies in demolishing Jerusalem’s neighbourhoods and  villages  as well as withdrawing the IDs of its residents, and consider them illegal residents. 

Anees Qasem, international law expert, said that the Israeli Knesset is passing a by-law that will annex parts of Jerusalem to Israel in a bid to raise the ratio of Israeli residents of the holy city to 68 per cent which would threaten the life of around 200,000 Arab-Palestinian residents.

On the other hand, the decision puts the region at risk of instability as the US “embarrassing” its alliances in the Arab world and pushing them to accept the new situation.

US President Donald Trump’s decision is a breach to international conventions and the United Nation Security Council resolutions regarding the Palestinian occupied territories of 1967, Fahed Abu Athamneh, deputy president of the Constitutional Court said, underlying the need to “invest” in the international community’s rejection of the unilateral decision.

Qased Mahmoud, a military expert said that, despite the religious, political and national dangers of the decision, it would be the “beginning of the end of the Zionist influence” in the region under the American sponsorship and a turning point if Arabs stand together and take real measures that ensure the transformation.

The participants urged Palestinians to end the divisions, achieve a national reconciliation and consider new options to restore their rights such as the “armed and peaceful resistance”. 

The participants suggested that Palestine should refer Israel to the International Criminal Court and make a complaint against the US in the International Court of Justice. 

AMMAN — As part of the government’s plan to launch an e-government, the Ministry of Higher Education will complete digitisation of its services and departments by the end of 2018, ministry Secretary General Ahed Wahadneh told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

The ministry will launch an online equivalence certificate service on January 10, that will enable Jordanian holders of foreign certificates to obtain their equivalence certificates without the need to visit the ministry’s departments, Wahadneh said.

The new system will save time and effort for Jordanian expats and citizens, he noted. 

The online  procedure includes submitting an application from any part of the world, upload documents and send them to the ministry through an electronic system to receive an equivalence certificate. 

The service, which will be available on the ministry’s website (www.mohe.gov.jo), will also provide the applicant with regular updates through text and online messages. In addition, the ministry will also offer an online payment service. 

Wahadneh said that in 2017 the ministry certified and equalled 1 million certificates.   

Abdelmajeed Fauri, a holder of BA degree in Business Marketing from the University of Nottingham Trent University, the UK, said that since he graduated in 2013 he has been hesitant to apply for an equivalence certificate because of the long procedures, and it will be further delayed in case of any missing document.

Fauri is optimistic that the online system “would make things easier”.

Haya Mueen, a holder of Drama and Theatre degree from England’s University of Essex, said that she tried to obtain an equivalence certificate before but failed due to not fulfilling the requirements. She added that she might try again through the online service as the equivalence certificates is necessary to apply for a government job. 

Wahadneh noted that the ministry is developing an authentication system for certificates through (Quick Response Code) QR Code to prevent any forgery of certificates. 

‘Virtual university’

The government supports online courses in the universities which amount to 25 per cent of university programmes as the current legislation does not allow full-online programmes Wahadneh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He noted that the ministry might consider establishing a “virtual university” in the future, but for the time being it is not plausible as it requires legislation. 

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Wednesday attended the ceremony to launch the World Bank’s periodic report Jordan Economic Monitor, Fall 2017 under the title “Towards Stronger External Trade Performance”.

The report is prepared by the World Bank on the initiative of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to enrich the process of economic analysis to deepen the dialogue on the policies required for economic reform in Jordan, according to a ministry statement. 

The report presents an update on the important developments of economic policies during the last six months, and the impact of these developments on the future of the economy, according to the statement. 

It also covers the future prospects of the national economy at the level of macro indicators and “specifically” addresses export diversification strategies, especially in industrial and agricultural sectors.

During the ceremony, Fakhoury said that the government will take the recommendations and analysis of the report into consideration as inputs to the economic policy for the next phase.

He added that the economic growth rates in the years following the “Arab Spring” (2011-2016) dropped to an average of 2.6 per cent compared to 6.6 per cent between 2005-2010. This sharp decline in growth reflects the impact of the unstable situation and the conflicts in the region on Jordan, the statement said.

He stressed that the burdens borne by Jordan were mostly due to the regional turmoil and the consequences, such as the closure of the border crossings, which  disconnected Jordan from most of the major export markets, in addition to the increase in population, which led to great pressure on services, resources and infrastructure, resulting in fierce competition for job opportunities as well as the heavy pressure on the state budget, as a result of high costs of providing services, security measures, in addition to the outage of Egyptian gas and the high cost of energy. 

The government has taken measures to mitigate the impact of the crisis, including the construction of a gas port in Aqaba, diversifying sources of energy use such as renewable energy and modifying electricity tariffs, the minister added.

Fakhoury said that the ministry is currently working with the World Bank to prepare the “matrix of structural reforms” for the coming years, which is expected to be announced during the first quarter of next year, to boost growth and employment and attract funding and support from donors. 

Fakhoury explained that this matrix will form the roadmap that will lead to the required transformation in the Jordanian economy and implement the outputs and priorities of the Jordan 2025 and the Executive Development Programme (2016-2019). 

This plan represents the government efforts to achieve the 2025 Vision and is currently being updated to cover the years 2018-2020, Fakhoury said.

The minister said that ministry will submit the detailed programme of the plan to stimulate the economic growth of Jordan 2018-2022 to the Council of Ministers next week, which includes all sectors targeted by the plan.

For his part, Christos Kostopoulos, a World Bank lead economist in Central Asia, said that re-opening of trade routes with Iraq offers opportunities to improve consumption and investment prospects, but given that the current trend of the Jordanian economy tends to support markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Syria and Iraq, deflation at the regional level will continue to affect the economy, hence there is a need for efforts to open new export markets.

AMMAN  — The Court of Cassation has upheld an August Criminal Court ruling sentencing a Syrian refugee man to a maximum prison term after convicting him of molesting his daughter in the Zaatari refugee camp March.

The court declared the defendant guilty of molesting his 16-year-old daughter and handed him a five-year and four month prison term.

On March 14, the court said, the defendant was alone with his daughter at home and decided to molest her.

“He undressed the girl, placed his hand on her mouth and sexually assaulted her then asked her not to inform anyone,” court documents said.

When the victim’s mother returned home, the court maintained, the victim informed her of the incident and they filed a complaint against the father.

The defendant had confessed to the incident in front of the police and Criminal Court prosecutor and did not appeal the verdict to a higher court, the court said.

However, any verdict issued by the Criminal Court that is five years or over is automatically reviewed by the Court of Cassation within 30 days of its issuance.

The Criminal Court general attorney had asked the higher court to uphold the sentence.

The higher court ruled recently that the verdict was accurate and that the defendant deserved the punishment he received. 

The Court of Cassation tribunal comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Yassin Abdullat, Naji Zubi, Nayef Samarat and Bassem Mubeidin.

AMMAN — A moderate weather will prevail in most parts of the Kingdom on Friday and Saturday, with the possibility of fog formation causing low visibility, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said on Thursday.

According to the JMD, a depression on Sunday will bring down mercury levels in most parts of the country, with temperatures expected to reach 14ºC during the day and 6ºC at night in Amman, with the possibility of scattered showers accompanied by thunder and hail.

Also on Sunday, temperatures in the northern areas will range between 15ºC during daytime and 7ºC at night.

Mercury levels in the Gulf of Aqaba will reach 21ºC and drop to 11ºC at night.

On Friday, temperatures in Amman are expected to reach 21ºC during the day and to drop to 12ºC at night, the JMD added.

Meanwhile, mercury levels on Friday are forecast to range between 27ºC and 15ºC in Aqaba.

For Saturday, the weather will be same as Friday’s, and temperatures will start to decrease at night.

The JMD said it is following up on weather developments round the clock, and will continue issuing detailed weather forecasts as usual and sending them to media outlets and relevant institutions.

AMMAN — The Friendship Association for the Blind on Thursday signed a grant agreement with the Japanese embassy in Amman, under which the embassy will provide educational products worth $78,515 for the blind.

The agreement was signed by association president Ahmad Louzi and Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Hidenao Yanagi in the presence of Minister of Social Development Hala Lattouf, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Japanese ambassador said his country is committed to providing political and economic support to the Kingdom, adding that the total aid that have been provided by Japan to Jordan after the Syrian crisis stood at more than $1 billion.

He voiced hope that the project will help the visually impaired to get job opportunities and achieve self-reliance.

Louzi said the project will help in improving the educational performance of the blind and enable them to progress in the labour market. Lattouf expressed appreciation for the support extended to the association. 

AMMAN — Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi on Thursday attended the inauguration ceremony of the civil defence court. Zu’bi, in the presence of Civil Defence Department (CDD) Director Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bazaiah, said that the court is aimed at coping with the increasing number of CDD personnel, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Safasfeh, head of the legal affairs department, said that the court will alleviate pressure off the police court that examines cases of the public security, civil defence and gendarmerie departments.

AMMAN — A Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army official said the Northern Military Zone, in coordination with the Anti-Narcotics Department and the Military Security Department, on Wednesday foiled an alleged drug smuggling attempt from Syria to Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The military source added that two people were trying to cross the border to Jordan where the rules of engagement were applied, resulting in the death of one suspect and the other retreating into Syria.

After searching the area, 21,000 Tramadol pills and 240,000 Captagon pills were seized and transferred to the concerned authorities.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday sent a cable to Japanese Emperor Akihito greeting him on his country’s national day, a Royal Court statement said. In the cable, the King wished the emperor and the Japanese people progress and prosperity.

AMMAN — Amani Charity Association, with the support of the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation and the General Union of Voluntary Societies, on Thursday distributed 500 coats to Syrian and Jordanian students in Ajloun’s Anjara neighbourhood.

Maysoun Zeidan, head of the association, said that the aid was part of the association’s programmes and its humanitarian role in helping underprivileged families, especially Syrians, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.