Local

AMMAN — The Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) marked Land Day on Monday, stressing that Palestine is an Arab country.

In a statement released on the occasion, JEA stressed the importance of supporting the Palestinian resistance since it is “the only way” to free Palestine.

Land Day commemorates the events of March 30, 1976 when a general strike and marches were organised in Arab towns from the Galilee to the Negev after the Israeli government announced a plan to expropriate thousands of dunums of Palestinian land.

TAFILEH — Police on Monday detained five suspects who were reportedly taking drugs in Al Eis area, according to Brig. Gen. Mohammad Hadid, Tafileh police department director.

The five men, most of them university students, were found taking drugs at a furnished apartment, Hadid said, adding that the police raid is part of a security and an awareness campaign by anti-narcotics and security bodies to combat the use of illicit drugs.

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) held on Monday a public hearing in the trial of 16 suspects, four of them still at large, in the “Hamas case”, The Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The defence disputed the constitutionality of the anti-terrorism and the state security laws and argued that the SSC is not specialised to look into the case, Petra reported.

The SCC adjourned the session until Sunday, Petra reported.

The defendants are accused of making explosives for the purpose of disrupting public order and jeopardising the safety of the community.

They are also charged of joining and recruiting persons to join armed groups.

The Jordan Engineers Association (JEA) said in a statement it organised a demonstration outside the SCC during Monday’s hearing.

The defendants are members of the JEA.

AMMAN — The National Goodwill Campaign provided assistance to 1,100 poor families in various areas during the past two days as part of the emergency aid programme.

The campaign distributed food packages to underprivileged residents in the Jordan Valley, Tafileh and Maan.

The emergency aid programme benefits around 13,000 people annually.

Last year, it helped some 17,000 beneficiaries.

AMMAN — The Lower House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Jordanian-Indonesian Parliamentary Friendship Association on Monday met with Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Teguh Wardoyo.

Head of the committee, Deputy Bassam Manaseer, commended the Indonesian role in supporting Arab and Muslim causes, stressing the importance of bilateral cooperation at the political, economic and social levels.

Head of the association, Deputy Maddallah Tarawneh, called for enhancing Indonesian religious tourism to Jordan, inaugurating direct flights between Amman and Jakarta and increasing the number of Indonesian students at Jordanian universities.

Wardoyo expressed his country’s readiness to help Jordan economically, enhance tourism and boost parliamentary cooperation.

AMMAN — Minister of Public Sector Development Khleef Al Khawaldeh on Monday inaugurated a workshop on instilling innovation and excellence in the performance of public agencies.

According to a statement by the ministry, the workshop saw the participation of directors of human resources and organisational development from over 100 government departments.

The minister said the executive plan to develop the performance of government agencies includes a pillar that focuses on spreading innovation, adding the ministry has launched an incubator for innovation to receive and develop ideas by civil servants.

Khawaldeh highlighted the need to develop the quality of government services as a means to attract investors and tourists, said the statement.

AMMAN — The Education Ministry’s general examination committee decided Monday to release the final draft of the General Secondary Certificate Examination’s summer session schedule.

Education Ministry Spokesperson Walid Jallad said according to the new schedule, exams will start on June 15 and end on June 28.

The schedule is available on www.moe.gov.jo.

HANOI — The international community’s assistance to refugees in Jordan does not equal a third of what the Kingdom offers them, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said on Monday.

At a meeting with Kazakh Parliament Chairman Kabibulla Dzhakupov on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s assembly meeting, Tarawneh highlighted Jordanian-Kazakh relations, noting that the Lower House will support activating parliamentary friendship committees between the two sides.

Dzhakupov voiced an interest in developing relations with Jordan.

AMMAN — The Foreign Ministry on Monday urged Jordanians in Yemen to contact the ministry or the embassy there to give details on their address, telephone number and area of residence.

In a statement, the ministry asked Jordanians residing in Yemen to call the embassy on 00967733820073 or to contact the Foreign Ministry’s operations department on 0096265735166 or 0096265501444.

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and a World Bank delegation on Monday discussed ways for Jordan to benefit from the bank in terms of governance.

Fakhoury briefed the delegates on key economic, social and financial challenges the Kingdom is facing due to regional political instability.

Senior Director of the World Bank’s Governance Global Practice Mario Marcel voiced the bank’s readiness to provide the government with technical and financial assistance to enhance reform.