US embassy to close on Sunday

AMMAN — The US embassy in Amman will be closed on Sunday, January 18, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

The embassy will resume normal hours of operation on Monday, January 19, it said in a statement.

King was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader American Civil Rights Movement, known for his advocacy of using peaceful, non-violent means to achieve social and political change, the statement said.

 On November 2, 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed a bill creating a federal holiday to honour King.

 Observed for the first time in 1986, it is celebrated each year on the third Monday of January in the United States.