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AMMAN — An Israeli court on Wednesday sentenced a Jordanian prisoner, Osaid Abu Khudair, 29, for six years in prison and a fine of 2,000 shekels, according to a statement by the media team supporting Jordanian prisoners in Israel, Fedaa.

Israeli forces arrested Abu Khudair on June 6, 2016, and the trial has been postponed for several times. Abu Khudair’s two siblings were freed from the Israeli prisons in the past. There are 23 Jordanian prisoners in Israel, according to Fedaa. 

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) on Wednesday reduced the sentence of a woman who was convicted of promoting Daesh ideology, from three years to one-and-a-half years, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The General Intelligence Department  arrested the woman in February 2017 for promoting Daesh ideology via social media, and for publishing Daesh-related photos and videos on her Facebook account. 

AMMAN — The second “Jordan Cyber Security” conference started on Wednesday, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  The two-day conference will focus on information and system security, according to Petra. Director of National Information Technology Centre Bahaiddin Khasawneh said that Jordan is implementing important steps in the IT sector to benefit the national economy. 

AMMAN — Amman Governorate Council on Wednesday passed its budget for 2018, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Amman’s budget will amount to JD34.5 million, which covers all sectors and areas in the capital’s districts, according to Petra.

AMMAN ­­— Participants at the “Internet and Technology” workshop on Wednesday agreed that Jordan is an advanced country in Internet infrastructure in the region. Panelists in the workshop, which was organised by the Internet Society in the Arab world, in collaboration with the ICT Association of Jordan (int@j), discussed various aspects of the sector, notably the need for infrastructure and its support in increasing the role of fibre optics.

CEO of “int@j” Nidal Bitar said: “Strong Internet infrastructure helps in reaching efficient digital economy, and that Jordan is one of the countries that made a quantum leap in building solid and effective infrastructure for a digital economy.”

Regional Director of the Internet Society in the Arab World Salam Yamout noted that the IT sector and its infrastructure in Jordan is expected to witness substantial growth in the next 10 years.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah has stressed the importance of building the institutional capacities of governor offices, executive councils and governorate councils to be able to formulate strategies to determine development and service priorities, according to a Royal Court statement.

During his meeting with sitting governors at Al Husseiniya Palace on Tuesday, attended by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, His Majesty addressed the governors saying: “You have a national responsibility and a key role in the development of governorates through building these strategies and follow up on their implementation.”

His Majesty noted that the next stage should see established cooperation between the executive and governorate councils, which, he said, work in the spirit of one team in serving the public interest.

Governorate councils, which were elected on August 15 along with municipal councils and mayors, have replaced assigned consultative councils to work side by side with local executive councils, in a bid to enhance the oversight role of citizens and public participation in decision making as developmental planning and allocation of funds will be vested in the new councils.

The King also stressed the need for citizens to feel the effects of decentralisation through improving the quality of services provided and the distribution of development gains.

King Abdullah pointed out that the first experience of Jordan in decentralisation, as part of a reform package, would accelerate the pace of achievement at all levels.

His Majesty urged cooperation with the private sector in the capital projects endorsed by the governorate councils as such a partnership would help reduce the rates of poverty and unemployment.

Governors are expected to be in continuous communication with the local community to identify the needs of residents and to identify their problems, along with their job to enhance the rule of law in the districts under their jurisdiction.

The King said that genuine partnership between governors and governorate councils is key to the success of the decentralisation experience.

For his part, Mulki said that the relationship between governorates and executive councils is an organic one aimed at providing the best services to citizens, pointing to the importance of training programmes for the councils to clarify their roles and responsibilities.

Mulki pointed out that the government has allocated JD220 million for governorates to spend on capital projects next year.

For their part, governors agreed that the success of the decentralisation process is based on building a participatory relationship between their offices, the elected councils and local communities.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Director of the King’s Office Jafar Hassan and the Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan on Monday inaugurated the newly renovated Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST), Jordan’s “first ever comprehensive green building”, in the presence of HRH Princess Sumaya, President of the Royal Scientific Society, and several high ranking officials.

Started in early 2015, the building renovation included using solar energy technologies to generate electricity, employing geothermal energy in the heating, cooling and water heating processes in the building, enhancing thermal insulation and using energy-saving LED bulbs.

Prince Hassan, who is the chairman of the HCST, said that the green building serves three purposes: it helps in reducing trash, pollution and degradation of the environment; it uses energy, water and other natural resources efficiently; and it contributes to protecting the health of occupants of the building, therefore increasing their productivity.

“In the same way as we enable citizens to become empowered and productive, we enable our infrastructure to be productive,” Prince Hassan noted.

HCST Secretary General Khaled Shuraydeh said that the renovation of the building, which was established back in 1990, was a project conducted under the EU - funded Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Demonstration Programme (REEED) to test renewable energy technologies’ efficiency in office buildings.

The project aims at reducing the total energy bill of the HCST by minimising its environmental footprint, improving its functionality and level of comfort for better employee productivity, in addition to enhancing the life span and aesthetics of the building, Shuraydeh said at the launching ceremony, which was attended by Prime Minister Hani Mulki and several ministers.

“I can proudly say that the HCST building is the first comprehensive eco/green building in both the private and public sectors,” Shuraydeh said.

The building will be open as a showcase for scholars, researchers, engineers and builders to assess the technical feasibility of renewable energy technologies in commercial and office buildings and their economic efficiency, he underlined.

“Moreover, the HCST and the Royal Scientific Society will endeavour to conduct a comprehensive study to assess the technical and economic feasibility of duplicating this project for all existing government buildings on one hand, and to provide for the required geothermal energy infrastructure in newly-built buildings…[on the other],” Shuraydeh announced at the event.

The project was funded with a 750,000-euro grant from the REEED programme, which is financially supported by the European Union and administered by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, according to Shuraydeh, who noted that the project is also partially funded with JD110,000 from the Gulf grant and administered by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation as well as a JD75,000-grant from the Jordan Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Fund.  

EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Fontana voiced his appreciation of the cooperation between the council and the EU, expressing hope for further cooperation in the future.

The opening ceremony saw the attendance of a number of ministers, Amman Mayor Yousef Shawarbeh, and the mayors of the municipalities of Karak, Tafileh, Maan, Madaba, Salt, Jerash, Irbid and Mafraq. 

AMMAN — A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report “erroneously stated” that there was a discrepancy in the accounting of donor funds — including from the US — for education, according to a statement from the US embassy on Tuesday.

“Let there be no doubt, there is no discrepancy in funding. The perceived difference comes from the HRW researcher conflating systems that track different funding goals,” the embassy spokesperson said in the statement.

The US has “exceeded all commitments” made at the February 2016 London conference, the spokeperson added.  “The US affirms a similar statement on this subject by the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury from September 25,” the spokesperson noted.

The US is “firmly committed” to Jordan’s security and economic stability and continues to be the largest single donor to the overall Syria response. Humanitarian assistance has totalled nearly $7.4 billion since the start of the Syria crisis, including assistance to those suffering inside Syria, as well as in the region, the spokesperson said.

AMMAN — Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Zaid Lozi on Monday inaugurated a seminar on “Jordanian-Turkish relations” on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Senior adviser to the Turkish Prime Minister Ali Osman Ozturk, the Turkish Ambassador to Jordan Murat Karakus and several politicians, academics and media representatives attended the ceremony. Lozi commended the distinguished relations between Jordan and Turkey, calling them a “model” of mutual understanding and coordination on regional and international issues. For his part, Ozturk said that Turkey and Jordan face common challenges, adding that Ankara supports Jordan’s efforts in protecting Islamic holy sites in Jerusalem.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Tuesday discussed bilateral ties and issues of mutual interest with Hungarian Ambassador to Jordan Chaba Tsebeera. Tarawneh expressed Jordan’s eagerness to strengthen ties with Hungary, mainly in the fields of water desalination, renewable energy, railway, tourism and cultural exchange, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He also commended the ambassador’s efforts to further boost relations between the two countries, mainly in parliamentary fields.

For his part, the diplomat praised Jordan’s stance on regional issues, voicing Hungary’s interest in enhancing relations with the Kingdom in the fields of economy, culture and tourism.