Local

AMMAN – Royal Medical Services Director Maj. Gen. Khalaf Sarhan on Thursday inaugurated three specialised clinics at the Prince Hashem Bin Abdullah Hospital in Aqaba Governorate.

During the ceremony, Sarhan noted that the hospital is a comprehensive medical facility that offers all specialisations, including a negative pressure unit for isolation rooms and an oxygen therapy unit, which makes it the only centre to possess such technology in the Middle East.

Murad Momani, the head of the gynaecology unit, noted that the success rate of test tube baby operations performed at the hospital reached 50 per cent.

Established in 2013 under Royal directives, the hospital serves around 1,500 patients a day.

IRBID — Sheikh Sultan Al Qasimi, a member of the Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Sharjah, has named Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) President Abdullah Malkawi as a member of the University of Sharjah’s board of trustees.

The board, in addition to Emirati national figures, includes a group of international academic figures.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday met with László Kövér, the speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary, and an accompanying delegation to discuss boosting cooperation in trade, energy, education and aviation.

Ensour called on the Hungarian government to contribute — through its EU membership — to finding solutions to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with international laws.

He stressed that the conflict is the main reason behind unrest in the region.

Kövér said Hungary understands the difficulties facing Jordan and that it sees the Kingdom as a strategic partner, adding that Budapest has decided to offer an additional 50 university scholarships for Jordanian students.

AMMAN – His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday denounced the terrorist attack that targeted the Bardo museum in Tunis and resulted in the death and injury of a number of innocents, a Royal Court statement said. 

In a telephone call with Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, the King expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims, stressing Jordan's support for Tunisia.

AMMAN — The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that its food assistance for Syrian refugees living in Jordanian communities will be prioritised further to make sure support goes to those most in need.

“These are difficult choices for WFP, but every dollar spent on a family who can manage without it is a dollar taken from a family who desperately needs it,” a statement quoted Jonathan Campbell, WFP emergency coordinator for the Syrian refugees operation in Jordan, as saying. 

“We need to focus on the most vulnerable people to make sure their needs are met, even if unfortunately it means reducing the level of assistance for others.”

The aim is to ensure the focus is on the most vulnerable, but it will also mean that from April, 34,000 people will no longer receive WFP food vouchers, said the WFP statement, which was released Thursday.

An additional 239,000 refugees will have the value of their vouchers reduced. 

"These people have been advised of the decision by SMS messages and other means. However, 180,000 people considered the most vulnerable should still receive the full voucher value," the WFP said.

The decisions on the prioritisation of food assistance are based on comprehensive interagency assessments and monitoring by UN agencies and NGO partners that measure the general living conditions of refugees and their ability to cope, according to the statement.

Factors taken into account include the number of children in the family, the gender of the head of the family, household expenditure, debts, whether family members have disabilities and general living conditions. 

WFP and its partners will monitor the situation "to ensure that families most in need are assisted".

“So vulnerable families do not fall through the cracks, Syrian refugees affected by these decisions can appeal as soon as they are notified, if they believe they are in need of assistance,” Campbell said. 

The WFP’s food voucher programme for Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries is the largest in the world, and is funded entirely by voluntary contributions, the UN agency said.

Nearly two million Syrian refugees, spread across five countries in the region, are assisted through WFP food vouchers every month. 

In Jordan, WFP currently supports some 450,000 refugees living among host communities and over 90,000 living in camps. 

From January 2015, because of funding shortfalls, eligible Syrian refugees living in communities have received a reduced monthly entitlement of JD13 instead of the original entitlement of JD20. Some families will now see the value of their vouchers diminish further, from the current JD13 per month to JD10 per month. 

This is not the first time that WFP has prioritised refugees on the basis of vulnerability assessments. 

In Jordan, the number of refugees receiving food assistance fell by almost 15 per cent around the turn of the year, while in Lebanon in 2013 and early 2014, almost 30 per cent of Syrian refugees stopped receiving assistance. 

Throughout the region, assessments are ongoing to prioritise those most in need who depend entirely on WFP assistance. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday sent a cable to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the occasion of Nowruz, the Persian New Year, a Royal Court statement said. 

The King expressed his best wishes to the Iranian people.

Nowruz marks the first day of spring or Equinox and the beginning of the year in the Persian calendar. 

The routine cable came almost two weeks after Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Nasser Judeh made a headline-grabbing visit to Tehran, where he met with Rouhani and his foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif.  

Judeh handed a written letter from His Majesty to Rouhani, conveying the Monarch's heartfelt wishes of progress and prosperity for the Iranian people.

Rouhani voiced his country's keenness on enhancing its relations with the Kingdom at all levels, commending the pivotal Jordanian role in the region and the world.

AMMAN — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to Jordan has completed its sixth review under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA), which is expected to allow the Kingdom to receive $200 million in the coming weeks. 

A statement issued by the IMF on Thursday said a team from the international financial organisation and the Jordanian authorities reached a staff-level agreement on policies that can lead to the completion of the sixth review under the SBA, adding that the agreement is subject to the approval of the IMF Executive Board. 

The completion of this review would allow for the disbursement of about $200 million, the statement quoted the IMF mission director, Kristina Kostial, as saying.

“Jordan’s economy is withstanding a difficult regional environment — most notably, the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, and the resulting high cost of hosting refugees, disruptions to trade routes and pressures on security spending,” Kostial said, adding growth has gradually increased to an estimated 3.1 per cent in 2014, supported by construction, mining and agriculture while inflation dropped to 0.2 per cent year-on-year in January, helped by lower global commodity prices. 

On the economic and financial reform programme sponsored by the IMF, she said the performance of the programme has stayed broadly on course as the central bank’s international reserves have continued to over-perform relative to programme targets and the government budget has been well managed. 

But Kostial said the fiscal deficit is estimated to have slightly exceeded the 2014 target owing to revenue shortfalls due to subdued activity in sectors that generate much of the tax revenue. 

On expectations for 2015, the IMF official said that Jordan’s economy would benefit from lower oil prices, including through reductions in the energy import bill and the current account deficit, which — excluding grants — is forecast to decline to 10.6 per cent of GDP in 2015. 

Savings from oil consumption will boost domestic demand, helping to increase growth to close to 4 per cent this year, she added, pointing out that the impact on the combined deficit of the central government and the state-owned electricity company (NEPCO) will also be positive. 

This saving, together with a prudent 2015 budget, the recently approved Income Tax Law, and other measures can help put public debt firmly on a downward path from 2016 onwards, Kostial noted, indicating that international reserves are expected to stay at comfortable levels.

“Regarding the medium term, discussions focused on the need to persevere with Jordan’s programme of reforms. Much has been achieved to date, and the decline in oil prices has given a welcome boost to Jordan’s adjustment efforts. Monetary policy will continue to preserve monetary stability and maintain the attractiveness of the dinar,” she said. 

Because Jordan’s public debt remains very high, there is a need to steadfastly adhere to the planned public sector adjustment, including continued deep tax reform and sustained implementation of the medium-term energy strategy, according to Kostial.

AMMAN – Employees of the Jordan Oil Shale Company (JOSCO) started a work stoppage on Thursday until the fate of their laid-off colleagues is resolved. 

Sufian Nimri, one of the employees who were laid off this week and the protesters’ spokesperson, said a meeting between representatives of the JOSCO management, the Ministry of Labour and the employees did not produce an agreement to resolve the issue. 

“We heard that other employees will be laid off as well so all our colleagues decided to go on strike,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

President of the Trade Union for Workers in Mining and Metal Industries, Khaled Fanatsah, who was asked by the employees to be among their representatives, said the lay-offs are illegal.

“The Labour Ministry representatives told the management that the decision is illegal and urged them to reconsider; but they said the employees in question are no longer part of the company,” Fanatsah added. 

The management has laid off 82 out of its 200 employees, Labour Ministry Secretary General Hamadah Abu Nijmeh told The Jordan Times on Wednesday, confirming that the decision is illegal.

Abu Nijmeh noted that under the law, any company which wishes to lay off a substantial number of its employees has to do so through a tripartite committee that consists of representatives from the government, employees and the management.

A spokesperson from Shell, which owns
JOSCO, said the company has “decommissioned one drilling rig as it transitions from a drilling phase to a piloting stage of operations”, noting that WTS Energy Jordan employs the majority of onsite JOSCO staff.

A representative of WTS Energy Jordan said there are no details so far regarding the issue as meetings are still ongoing. 

Nimri said a tent will be set up outside the company’s office and all the employees, including those who are still at their positions, will take part in an open-ended strike. 

AMMAN — The General Secretariat of Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST) on Thursday announced the results of the El Hassan Bin Talal Award for Scientific Excellence, which was allocated this year to higher education institutions.

The recipient of the first prize, valued at JD7,000, is the Hashemite University, according to a HCST statement.

The German Jordanian University won the second prize of JD5,000, while the JD3,000 third prize went to Yarmouk University.

The HCST said 25 applicants representing 12 institutions of general education participated in the award.

The winners will be honoured at an award ceremony held under the patronage of HRH Prince Hassan on April 23 at the Royal Cultural Centre, the statement said.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hassan Friday marks his 68th birthday.

The past year has seen the prince undertake numerous engagements and initiatives in Jordan and the West Asia–North Africa (WANA) region, as well as internationally. His focus remains firmly on regional issues, interfaith dialogue, water, energy and the human environment, and central to all of these is the overarching issue of human dignity.

Through Prince Hassan’s institutes: The Royal Scientific Society, the Royal Institute of Inter-Faith Studies, the Arab Thought Forum, the Higher Council for Science and Technology, the WANA Institute and the El Hassan Youth Award and many of their umbrella organisations, he dedicates a large portion of his efforts to serving Jordanians and the broader interests of the region. 

The prince is an outspoken advocate of human dignity for all and believes in the importance of resilience, good governance, inter-regional cooperation and intra-regional understanding and open dialogue between different faiths.

Over the past year, he has continued his tireless commitment to bolstering understanding and dialogue between the adherents of religions and cultures throughout the world, at a time when violence has dramatically increased and exclusion of the other is rampant. 

During his meeting with Pope Francis last September, the prince presented a proposal laying out steps towards a more cohesive future for humanity and the coming generations. Most prominently, he urged influential religious leaders in all corners of the globe to work together towards a pluralist society and bolster the idea of “human dignity” and render it the core of all developmental efforts. 

In December last year, Prince Hassan led the Muslim delegation at the third Christian-Muslim Summit held by the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue in Rome at which they developed a Call to Action to address the rising tide of violence throughout the world.

As part of his work in the area of human security, the prince was once again invited to address the NATO Defence College in Rome, where he called for countries in the Arab world to work together to respond to the pressing security problems facing the people of the region.

At a meeting of high-level experts on Global Justice in Syracuse, Italy, last September, he addressed an audience of international human rights experts and lawyers on legal empowerment issues and their impact on the future of human rights and international criminal justice.

Last year also saw Prince Hassan continue his role as Chairman of the High Level Forum for the Blue Peace Middle East Plan. The initiative addresses trans-boundary water issues in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Turkey and proposes cooperation policies. In Vienna, during the Conference of the Security Days of the European Security and Cooperation Organisation, he delivered a keynote address calling for improved security through water diplomacy.

During the past year Prince Hassan has been honoured multiple times at an international level. He was the recipient of the Four Freedoms Award for freedom of worship from the Roosevelt Foundation during a ceremony held in the Netherlands. The award was in recognition of his contributions and long-term commitment to deepening mutual understanding between the Muslim and Western worlds, and for his pioneering role in promoting dialogue between the adherents of the three monotheistic religions. 

The prince was also honoured by the European Academy for Sciences and Arts who conferred on him the 2014 Tolerance Award in recognition of his continuing efforts to promote the values of human tolerance, acceptance of the other and the reinforcing of universal commonalities. 

Prince Hassan will be spending his birthday quietly with his family.