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AMMAN — The information and communication sector’s contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) ranges around 12 per cent, a sector leader said, reporting an improving performance. 

Quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Tuesday, Bashar Hawamdeh, chairman of the Information and Communications Technology Association (Int@j) said that the investment volume in the industry is “considered good”, especially when compared with previous years. 

He stressed that the sector's exports have achieved a growth, citing the association's most recent study, without elaboration. 

During a press conference attended by Int@j board of directors, Hawamdeh noted that the investment volume in ICT enterprises in Jordan is four times the average in the Middle East region, noting that the investment volume of the entrepreneurship in Jordan equals $420 for every $1million of GDP, compared to the regional average of $120.

However, Int@j’s chief said that the ICT business in Jordan is facing several challenges and obstacles, calling for a clear and integrated vision for the sector in the Kingdom that covers all governorates.    

Hawamdeh said that local companies have developed the current e-payment systems in cooperation with the Central Bank of Jordan, while it has successfully developed the governmental electronic systems in neighbouring countries.

AMMAN — Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Andy Rachmianto on Monday presented the “Ambassador Award” to a number of Jordanian and Palestinian companies, in recognition of their commitment and outstanding performance in doing business with Indonesia. 

More than 70 prominent Jordanian and Palestinian business figures attended an event by the embassy of the Republic of Indonesia, the embassy said in a statement on Tuesday, a copy of which was e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Speaking at the event, Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Supply Yousef Al Shamali, delivered a remark on the ways to enhance the bilateral trade between Jordan and Indonesia and to congratulate the awardees. 

Last month, Indonesian embassy successfully managed a business trip to Jakarta to participate in 2017 Trade Expo Indonesia. The embassy was able to bring and invite a large delegation from Jordan and Palestine. Last year, the embassy brought 40 Jordanian businessmen, and this year, the embassy managed to bring 60 Jordanian businessmen, the statement said.

As a result of the trade mission, the embassy recorded a total of $22 million in business transactions. Mostly, the transactions are in the food sector, in which Jordanian buyers contribute about $14 million. This amount exceeded the transaction at the previous expo in 2016, in which the embassy only recorded $12 million in transaction, according to the  statement.

The bilateral trade volume between Indonesia and Jordan in 2016 reached $256 million, which was a 50 per cent drop from $500 million in 2012.

“This is not a good sign and it is believed that this amount does not reflect the true potential of the commerce between the two friendly countries. The two nations must work together to improve the bilateral ties and cooperation, especially in the field of economy, trade, tourism, and investment,” the statement read. 

AMMAN — The Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) has launched a mobile application providing users of smartphones with a four-day forecast and up-to-date weather-related warnings, among other atmospheric data.

The application, called “JMDWeather”, seeks to provide accurate weather forecast for all of the country’s governorates, as well as live details on temperature, wind speed and direction, and humidity levels, among other information, according to a weather forecaster at the JMD.

“The application provides users with four-day weather forecast, temperatures and any urgent weather-related warnings. The application also covers the weather conditions in the country’s tourist locations,” meteorologist Raed Rafed told The Jordan Times.

Weather forecast for all of the governorates are provided to the users via “an interactive map”, the department official said, noting that the application offers detailed forecast for the current day and the next three days when clicking on a given city, in addition to maximum and minimum temperatures.

JMDWeather, which is currently available in Arabic, while the English version is expected to be released soon, also provides aerial weather images, information on the JMD and data on the user’s live location.

“The option on the user’s location is the highlight of this new application as it identifies the user’s live altitude above sea level; a detail that is very much sought after by people during winter, when snow fall is expected,” Rafed said.

As the department specifies on which altitudes snow is expected to fall, it usually receives several calls from people inquiring about the altitude of the area where they live in regard to sea level, the official added.

Since the department experimentally launched the application last week, some 500 users have downloaded the app.

On the department’s Facebook page, social media users have welcomed the release of the JMDWeather app, saying that it is a useful tool to receive trusted and accurate weather forecast and warnings.

Raed Abu Saadeh commented on the department’s Facebook page,  saying “great step, well done and good luck”.

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Tuesday sentenced five defendants, three of whom are non-Jordanians, to jail terms ranging between two and 15 years of hard labour after convicting them for drug related crimes.

The charge sheet said that the defendants had concealed three kilogrammes of liquid cocaine in their intestines, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Three of them, including a woman, were sentenced to 10 years and a fine of JD20,000 for transferring narcotics with the intention to sell it. One defendant was sentenced to two and a half years and the fifth, who remains at large, to 15 years with a fine of JD20, 000.

The court also issued a sentence of four years of hard labour against two defendants for possessing and transferring 80,000 narcotic pills and shooting at the security agents and resisting arrest.

A third defendant was acquitted, according to Petra. 

Also on Tuesday the SSC charged a defendant with two cases of promoting terrorist ideologies and attempting to join a terrorist organisation, Petra reported.

According to the indictment, the defendant followed news and publications of terror organisations in Syria, especially Daesh and Jabhat Al Nusra, and discussed them with his friends and acquaintances.

He also allegedly contacted a person through a phone number he found on a terrorist’s social media account and inquired about the way to enter Syria.

AMMAN — Ministry of Social Development (MoS) officials on Tuesday said a building has been located to house women whose lives are in danger due to reasons related to “family honour”.

“A special committee decided today to allocate a suitable building and the staff will be chosen and trained in December,” said the legal adviser of the MoS Ayesh Awamleh.

Awamleh’s announcement came during an event at the Sisterhood is Global Institute (SIGI) on “Violence against women and the regulations of the shelter that will house women whose lives are in danger”. 

Social Development Minister Hala Lattouf told The Jordan Times in a recent interview that the shelter is expected to be opened in March.

The government in August allocated JD1 million to start housing women whose lives are in danger instead of placing them in the women’s correctional and rehabilitation facilities for indefinite periods without any charges laid.

Raghda Azzeh, who will be the director of the shelter, said the building “is special and includes apartments for these women so that they would feel at home, not in prison”.

“Women will be supported with all kinds of daily life necessities such as food, clothes and recreational facilities,” Azzeh said. 

Azzeh added that a special committee will be in charge of running the shelter and will be routinely examining cases of the women admitted “so that cases of these women will not take a long time and they could leave and enjoy their lives once the danger is over”.

MoS officials have said recently that there are around “70 women who are in prison for administrative detention and the number could decrease or increase”.

 “We want to ensure that women who are in prison will have a better and safe life.  Staying in prison is a form of punishment not protection,” Awamleh told the gathering.

The regulations of the shelter, Awamleh added, are considered a “very positive and important step towards protecting Jordanian women and ensuring justice and equality”.

Awamleh stressed that women will “be admitted willingly to the shelter and it is a temporary stay until their case is resolved and we ensure that they will live in a safe environment when they leave”.

In the event that a woman, whose life is in danger, decides against staying at the house, Awamleh maintained, “then we will refer her to the civil society organisations that can help in this matter”.

He noted that the ministry is currently working on the by-law governing the sheltering in cooperation with the civil society organisations and will announce it to everyone once it is ready.

Executive Director of SIGI former minister Asma Khader stressed during the two-hour event the need for “the by-laws to ensure that women will have the freedom of mobility”.

“We welcome the establishment of this shelter because women have been imprisoned for indefinite periods without a crime and they were mixing with other inmates who have committed major offenses,” Khader told the gathering.

Currently, any woman whose life is in danger for reasons related to so-called family honour, and whose case is known to the authorities, is placed at the women’s correctional facility by the administrative governor in what is termed as “protective custody”.

Many of these women spend indefinite periods in the centre, sometimes exceeding 10 years, without any charges levelled against them. The women can not leave the facility without the administrative governor’s permission, according to activists.

Most of the women in the facilities are inmates held on cases such as rape, adultery, incest and for going missing from home, according to officials.

On some occasions, women were reported to have been killed once they are bailed by family members even after they had signed a guarantee not to inflict harm on them. 

Around 20 women are murdered annually for reasons related to cleansing “family honour” in Jordan.

AMMAN — The 10th Annual Forum for Arab investigative reporters opening at Jordan’s Dead Sea on Friday has attracted more than 400 participants from the region and beyond who will benefit from 45 training sessions and workshops, a statement from the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) said on Tuesday.

The scope of the gathering, “the only one of its kind in the Arab world”, has prompted seven international media support groups seeking contact with Arab media practitioners, especially from war-torn countries, to schedule their own meetings and trainings at the venue during the same time between December 1-3, the statement said.

These support group sessions highlight the important role Amman-based ARIJ is playing in promoting investigative reporting and supporting the practice. 

Networking at the Middle East and North Africa  annual event, along with “record attendance” this year,  Jordan’s central location, and the ease of obtaining visas  in the Kingdom for Syrians, Libyans, Iraqis and Yemenis, has made the forum a vital event for media and media providers, the statement read. 

The conference is by invitation only. 

The 2017 event has taken as its theme “Investigative Journalism: Battling Fake News”, a cross-border issue of enormous prominence in our post-truth era.

Coinciding with the forum, International Media Support based in Copenhagen will host a meeting of journalists from Yemen, including those forced to flee the war to neighbouring states, to discuss how best to support journalists in a country facing the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

“For us the ARIJ Forum is a perfect place to arrange meetings with important partners and colleagues,” Henrik Grunnet from IMS, who is organising media support meetings with Yemeni and also with Palestinian partners, was quoted in the statement as saying.

“It is totally impossible for us, as Westeners, for example, to enter Yemen. But because Yemeni editors, media trainers and journalists have been allowed to travel to attend the ARIJ Forum, we have the perfect venue for making the start-up meeting for what will hopefully be a new era for Yemeni media using new tools to come through with reports and stories for Yemenis inside their country and for the international community,” he said. 

“This would not have been possible had it not been for ARIJ and its forum.”

David Cay Johnston, an investigative reporter in the US and author of the book “The Making of Donald Trump” will deliver the keynote address at the first plenary session of the forum.

Other sessions will feature seminars on innovative storytelling, digital investigations, digging out hidden facts online, cross-border investigations, cyber security, tracking dirty money, data journalism and investigating gender issues, miscarriage of justice and human rights abuses.

ARIJ Executive Director Rana Sabbagh thanked the Jordanian government for facilitating the obtaining of visas and travel permits for participants coming from “restricted states”. 

“Due to the integrity and commitment of brave independent Arab journalists, many trained and funded by ARIJ over the past 11 years, investigative journalism is growing in a region where growing restrictions have stifled free speech and independent media like never before in the last decade,” Sabbagh said in the statement.

“Worse, the war in Yemen, Libya and Syria, and instability in Egypt have polarised the media scene, a reflection of the region’s divided societies,” she said. 

“On top of that came the Gulf crisis with Qatar, turning powerful regional state-run satellite broadcasters into additional sources of fake news, propaganda and cheap lies and strangling whatever is left of independent media trying to give a third story.”

ARIJ is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, IMS and the Danish Arab Partnership Progra, the Foundation for Open Society and the Norwegian and Dutch embassies in Amman, according to the statement. 

Its 2017 conference partners include Facebook, the Norwegian Institute of Journalism, Ethical Journalism Network, Bellingcat, the International Centre for Journalists, WANA-IFRA, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, DW Network and the French and German embassies in Amman. Local sponsors are Orange Jordan, Royal Jordanian, and the Jordan-Kuwait  Bank, the statement concluded.

AMMAN — “Fear drives confusion and hate and is bred by ignorance. The only way to counter hate is through education and culture,” said Devon Akmon, director of the Arab American National Museum (AANM) which was recently awarded for its work in promoting cultural excellence globally by TAKREEM. 

Currently on an official visit to the Kingdom, the museum’s director highlighted the need to spread knowledge about Arab culture and “tell the story of Arab diversity” to foster a better understanding of the Arab world.

The first and only museum devoted to Arab American history and culture in the US, the AANM was launched in 2005 to “document, preserve and present the history, culture and contributions of Arab Americans”, according to its website. 

“When I arrived to the US, I realised the persistence of negative stereotypes about the Arab and Muslim communities. This was a stark change compared to what I experienced during my life in Amman, where I was surrounded by a group of friends from Syria, Armenia, Lebanon,… who were from all walks of life and religious backgrounds,” Anan Ameri, the founding director of AANM told The Jordan Times over the phone.

“The issues encountered by Arab Americans are shared by all immigrants who came to the US, and this is why this museum is important for all,” she continued.

“There are a lot of Arabs or people of Arab origin in the United States, and we want to create a sense of unity among them, as well as with other communities,” Akmon told The Jordan Times in Amman, adding “our impact isn’t only focused on Arab communities, but on all of the minorities in the US.”

Citing a “critical time” in global affairs in general and American politics in particular, he stressed the need to enhance cohesion within and with the Arab population in the country through “a culture that brings us all together”.

According to the Arab American Institute, there are an estimated 3.7 million Americans of Arab origin currently living in the US, coming from 22 different Arab countries.

“The diversity of people living in the US is reflected in our traditions. For instance, we just celebrated Thanksgiving and, on the dinner table of our different families, you could find the traditional Turkey, along with hummus or couscous,” Akmon explained.

“Because we consider ourselves a ‘living museum’, we are very responsive to the public and to the events happening on a daily basis,” he said, noting that the AANM has recently held exhibitions on the refugee crisis, the travel ban and Syrian refugees in the US.

Referring to the current political situation, Akmon highlighted that the US has witnessed more hate crimes in the aftermath of the latest presidential elections than after 9/11.

“Before 9/11, I had never been confronted to racism or xenophobia on a personnal level,” Akmon, who is of Lebanese origin, recalled, adding “my mother and my sister though, because they have more ‘Arab looking’ features, started being subject to discrimination and prejudices. This is when I realised I had to do something”. 

Aimed at dispelling misconceptions about Arab Americans and Arab culture, the AANM also seeks to spread knowledge about the culture worldwide, offering virtual tours and online experiences, Ameri said, noting that she receives lots of calls from Arabs living abroad telling her about their personal experiences with migration.

Located in Dearborn, Michigan, amid one of the largest concentrations of Arab Americans in the US, the AANM showcases exhibitions and presents a wide range of public programmes in cities across the US, encompassing topics as diverse as gender, identity, music, literature, among others.

In addition to the periodic events which are deeply linked to the latest geopolitical developments, the museum features two permanent exhibitions: one on the contributions of the Arab civilisation to science, medicine, mathematics, architecture, and the decorative arts, while the second focuses on the Arab experience in America.

Her Majesty Queen Noor is one of the honorary members of the museum.

AMMAN — Jordan has ranked 4th in the Arab region and 63rd worldwide in the 7th  EF English Proficiency Index (EF EPI) issued by Education First on Monday, which measures the English language skills in a total of 80 non-English speaking countries around the world.

This year’s edition was based on data from more than one million test takers who completed three different versions of the EF Standard English Test (EF SET) in 2016, according to the index report.

Despite having achieved a good position in the region, the Kingdom was still listed among the countries with a “very low” English proficiency score, standing at 47.40 points out of 100.

“Average English proficiency in the Middle East is very low,” the report stated, noting that “in most of the countries included in this year’s index, low-quality public education and fragile labour markets are slowing improvement in adult English proficiency.” 

“Especially in conflict zones, basic access to education remains a problem. And, although the Middle East’s relatively young population allows great potential for growth, it also strains already-weak education systems,” the report continued.

Regarding the English proficiency level by gender, Jordanian females showed a slightly better performance than their male counterparts, with 48.37 and 46.91 points respectively.  

“Women in most countries are more educated than men, more likely to complete general-track secondary school rather than vocational-track, and more likely to attend university,” the report stated, pointing out that “however, the gender gap is narrowing in some regions such as Latin America and the Middle East, where men are on par with women”.

Regarding the position of other countries in the Arab world, Tunisia was ranked first in the region and 56th globally, followed by the UAE (57th) and Morocco (60th).

Egypt stood close to Jordan at position 66th, followed by Saudi Arabia (72th) and Algeria (76th).

Several students at Jordanian universities have stressed the importance of English proficiency as a tool for international communication, and as a valuable skill upon entering the job market. 

Yazan Jamel, an English graduate at the Hashemite University, told The Jordan Times that “it is essential to learn English whether you plan to live in Jordan or abroad,” noting that “English is widely spoken in all professional fields and it is vital to speak it when it comes to build a profitable career, plus it is an advantage at the personal life level”.

English proficiency was also described as “beneficial” by Rama Al Khateeb, a Russian and English student at the University of Jordan who said she chose to study English not only to satisfy her literary vocation, but also “it is an international language that can help you in communicating anywhere in the world”.

“English works as a bridge between cultures,” the student continued, adding that “it is still important even if you decide to stay in Jordan, because it multiplies your chances of getting a job.”

Ghazal Aburaad expressed similar views, telling The Jordan Times that “language is the key to success”. She expressed how she “wouldn’t have been able to achieve anything without knowing English”.

“Every work field in Jordan requires English, and being proficient in languages is a great way to secure a good job,” the student pointed out. 

However, achieving a high English proficiency in the Kingdom also requires improving the skills of the instructors, according to Ghada, a teacher at a public school for girls in Ashrafieh in East Amman. 

“The problem that we have in Jordan is the difference of levels between public and private schools, and, while private schools offer international programmes, many English teachers at public schools lack the necessary qualifications,” Ghada said. 

“There is a need to focus on enhancing the skills of our English teachers, because only when this is achieved will we be able to advance the English skills of Jordanian students,” the teacher said. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday sent a cable of condolences to Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz over the death of Princess Madawi, according to a Royal Court statement.

In his message, King Abdullah expressed his deepest sympathy and condolences to the Royal family and the people of Saudi Arabia.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Tuesday said that 5,125,000 Jordanians will benefit from government financial support after the removal of subsidies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The PM noted that the subsidies will be granted to those whose annual income is below JD12,000 for families and JD6,000 for individuals.

Also, beneficiary families must not own properties worth more than JD300,000 or more than two vehicles, Mulki said.

He stressed that the financial reform measures will consider supporting and protecting the low- and middle-income segments, noting that the government has allocated JD171 million from the budget for this purpose.

The premier said that the bread subsidies, which reach JD200 million annually, have been granted to all including non-Jordanians, who constitute one-third of the population, and has caused a “huge waste” of bread.

He stressed that the government wants to support Jordanians “not commodities”.

The remarks came during Mulki’s meeting with presidents of professional associations at the Prime Ministry.

During the meeting, the PM and the presidents discussed the challenges facing Jordan, especially economic ones.

The prime minister outlined the main economic challenges including the public debt ratio to the GDP during the last six years, which the government has managed to stabilise.

He noted that the ratio covering the current spending by local revenues increased in 2018’s general budget to 98.2 per cent compared to 92.9 in the previous year’s budget, expressing hope that it would reach 100 per cent in the next budget.

For unemployment, the premier noted that the government has allocated JD100 million for technical training and replacing foreign labour with Jordanians.

He stressed the need to restructure the public sector in terms of employees, noting that 75 per cent of the budget’s current spending goes to salaries and pensions.