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AMMAN — Border guards received 58 Syrian refugees during the past 48 hours, an army source said Thursday.

The border guards offered humanitarian assistance to the new arrivals and medical cadres treated the injured.

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) Director Gen. Tawfiq Tawalbeh on Wednesday praised EU support for and cooperation with the PSD in development projects.

At the conclusion of the EU-funded “Strengthening the Capacity of the Public Administration to Combat Cybercrimes in Jordan” project, Tawalbeh said modernisation and keeping up with developments in this field requires openness to the experiences of other police departments.

EU Chargé d’ Affaires Imma Roca I Cortes said that current Jordanian-EU ties are becoming more deep-rooted in various spheres, reflected by the Kingdom’s keenness to develop the abilities of its public institutions.

AMMAN — The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) and political parties on Thursday formed a committee to maintain contact.

IEC President Riyadh Shakaa said establishing a link between IEC and political parties is an important step in developing the administration of elections and achieving public participation in decision making.

AQABA — Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority’s (ASEZA) new administrative by-law will stipulate appointing a commissioner for the city’s affairs in charge of an advisory board consisting of Aqaba residents, ASEZA Chief Commissioner Hani Mulki said Thursday.

The new by-law also stipulates appointing commissioners for economic affairs, the region’s affairs, and finance and revenue, Mulki added at a meeting with the Senate’s Administrative Committee.

The new bylaw will go into effect as soon as it is endorsed by a Royal Decree, the chief commissioner said.

AMMAN – Jordan on Thursday expressed its condolences over the victims of the German aircraft that crashed in the French Alps on Tuesday.

In a phone call with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh voiced his deepest sympathies over the loss of life.

Discussions also covered bilateral ties and prospects for further cooperation.

AMMAN – HRH Prince Feisal on Thursday met a US military delegation headed by Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie.

Discussions at the meeting, held at the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army headquarters, covered prospects for further cooperation to best serve the interests of both countries, in addition to issues of mutual concern.

AMMAN — University of Jordan (UJ) students marked the 47th anniversary of Karameh Battle on Thursday, stressing that dedication to building the country is a sign of true patriotism.

During a ceremony organised by UJ’s Student Union, Mahmoud Abu Wendy, a retired Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF) officer who fought in the battle shared some of his memories.

“In 1968 just like today, we lost our martyrs — the martyrs of our land, Jerusalem, Jenin and Golan.”

“We are proud of our martyrs, who taught us that land is something to fight for. If we don’t fight for our country, we don’t deserve to be living in it,” he added.

“After we lost the [1967 Arab-Israeli war], our Arab Army restored the pride that was lost then,” Abu Wendy said.

He recalled the prominent events that took place during the battle and skirmishes fought by JAF that showed real courage until victory was achieved.

On March 21, 1968, Jordanian soldiers repelled an Israeli attack on the small town of Karameh in the Jordan Valley, whose name means “dignity”.

Eighty-six Jordanian soldiers lost their lives in the battle and 108 were wounded, while 250 Israeli soldiers were killed and 450 were wounded.

UJ Dean of Student Affairs Ahmad Owaidi said the Karameh Battle is “immortal in Jordan and in Jordanians’ memories”.

“It is a day to honour the heroes of the Jordan Armed Forces, who were led by the Supreme Commander, the late King Hussein,” he added.

Thursday’s ceremony included screening of videos and pictures from the battle, an exhibition of military photos and private battle photos, in addition to a performance and march by the JAF band on campus.

“So many of our soldiers have been lost in battle; Muath Kasasbeh is our most recent martyr. We should all honour his memory and face death with our chins up,” Abu Wendy added.

“I remember when I was on a mission, a friend of mine was stationed in a specific position. At dawn, the enemy occupied his position. The soldier immediately called the command centre and told them to bomb his position,” the retired serviceman recounted.

Abu Wendy said the soldier’s last words were: “Kill me and the enemy. They must not be allowed to set foot on this sacred land.’”

AMMAN — Police on Thursday announced the arrest of 18 Jordanians on charges related to illegal narcotics and car thefts in raids on four homes in an Amman neighbourhood.

The dawn raids on Thursday occurred smoothly and without any major incidents, a senior Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) official said.

“We used the surprise element in the raid on the four homes that belonged to the suspects, who are brothers or relatives, and this prevented any major incidents or casualties,” the AND official told The Jordan Times.

He added that two of the suspects attempted to escape but “we managed to corner and arrest them.”

The joint operation also included Gendarmerie forces, in addition to agents from the preventive security and criminal investigation departments, according to the AND official.

“Our agents have been monitoring the group for a while and the force decided to conduct the raid at dawn so that we would not face any resistance,” he added.

Agents found seven stolen vehicles, dozens of stolen licence plates, marijuana seedlings, four automatic rifles, weapons and a large number of cell phones, according to a statement released by the Public Security Department (PSD).

Fifteen of the 18 arrested suspects were wanted on various charges including car theft, and weapons and drug trafficking, the PSD statement added.

Last year, AND Director Brig. Gen. Sami Askar said the department dealt with 7,713 cases involving illegal narcotics, including 712 cases of drug trafficking, between May 2013 and May 2014. A total of 10,792 individuals were arrested during this period, 1,296 of them non-Jordanians, according to Askar.

Illegal narcotics seized during the same period comprised 664 kilogrammes of hashish, 6,719 kilos of marijuana, 2,466,918 Captagon pills, 331 kilos of cocaine, 219 kilos of heroin, 24 kilos of opium and 43,107,011 other illegal drug pills.

AMMAN — Students of Sama Sarhan Municipality in Mafraq are expected to go back to their schools on Sunday after a week of not attending over fear of catching H1N1 (swine) flu, an official said on Thursday.

Mafraq Governor Qasim Mheidat said he and a specialised medical team from the Health Ministry on Thursday met with residents and community leaders of Sama Sarhan, some 80km northeast of Amman, and reached an understanding that the disease “is not a threat”.

“Residents felt better about sending their children to school after health officials explained to them that the disease is seasonal and not dangerous,” Mheidat told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He added that anyone across the Kingdom could be infected by the “seasonal” virus, which might negatively affect only those who already suffer from chronic diseases.

“Registered cases in Mafraq were limited to an eight-member family and two other individuals,” Mheidat said, adding that all patients were discharged from hospital within hours after receiving medication.

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, Sama Sarhan residents said they were not sending their children to school to prevent them from catching the virus, and criticised authorities’ denial of the “seriousness” of the issue.

No official data is available on the number of patients diagnosed with H1N1 in the Kingdom this year, according to the Health Ministry, but mortality rates among patients globally are up to 3 per cent of diagnosed cases.

The World Health Organisation has been dealing with H1N1 as a type of “seasonal virus” since 2010, Health Ministry Spokesperson Hatem Azrui said in previous remarks.

The H1N1 virus first emerged in Jordan in June 2009 with 3,049 cases and 16 fatalities registered that year. The strain re-emerged in December 2010, causing 289 illnesses and 17 deaths.

The Health Ministry has said that since the first outbreak of the disease in the country, all H1N1-related deaths in Jordan occurred among patients in high-risk groups such as the elderly, children, pregnant women and those with respiratory diseases. 

AMMAN — The number of visitors to the Dana Biosphere Reserve is expected to increase this year due to plans to support local and foreign tourism, Dana Biosphere Reserve Director Amer Rfou said Thursday.

With the number of tourists to the reserve gradually dropping over the past five years due to regional instability, Rfou highlighted that the government’s plan to encourage local and foreign tourism will improve the situation.

“The reserve has lost more than one-third of its tourists since 2010 due to safety concerns in the region, especially since the majority of visitors to Dana reserve come as part of a package that includes other countries like Syria and Egypt,” he told The Jordan Times.

In 2010, the reserve received 50,000 tourists, according to Rfou, who said that the number of visitors dropped by 33 per cent since then.

But despite the drop, the reserve has been able to cover its operational costs and benefit the local community.

“We have covered the majority of our budget, while the local community around Dana Biosphere Reserve generated JD1.2 million,” Rfou underscored.

He noted that the reserve’s 85 employees are all from the local community, which also supplies the reserve with its needs.

Rfou said the reserve’s Rummanah campsite reopened last week with the start of spring, noting that it opens for tourists in spring and closes in November every year when temperatures drop.

The Dana Biosphere Reserve, which features steep mountains, deep valleys and plains, houses a range of tourist facilities, including a guesthouse and an ecolodge, Rfou said, underscoring that only the campsite is shut down during winter.

Spread over 300 square kilometres, the reserve is located in Tafileh Governorate, 180km southwest of the capital.

Dana is Jordan’s largest and most diverse nature reserve with 833 types of vegetation constituting 50 per cent of the total flora in the country.

Established in 1989, the nature reserve is globally important for being the southernmost remaining forest community of pencil pine and for containing three rare plants that exist only in Dana and are named after the area: Silene danansis, Micromeria danaensis and Rubia danaeansis.

Dana is also an important bird-watching site as it is home to 216 kinds of birds, many of which are globally threatened, and 38 mammals, mainly the Nubian ibex, Eurasian lynx, hyenas and Blanford’s fox.