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Bundestag vice president briefed on refugee crisis

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Wednesday reiterated Jordan’s position on the crisis in Syria, stressing the need to arrive at a peaceful political solution that ends the bloodshed and guarantees the country’s unity.

At a meeting with Claudia Roth, vice president of the German Bundestag, Tarawneh also highlighted the effects of the continued influx of Syrian refugees on the social, economic and security conditions in the Kingdom.

In the northern Governorate of Mafraq for example, the number of refugees has exceeded its original population, Tarawneh said.

At the meeting, attended by Germany’s Ambassador to Jordan Ralph Tarraf, Roth praised Jordan’s efforts, adding that she will review, with her country’s parliament and government, procedures to help the Kingdom deal with these burdens.

‘Agricultural exports to Lebanon dropped in 2013’

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — Jordan’s agricultural exports to Lebanon dropped from 22,000 tonnes in 2012 to 12,000 tonnes in 2013, according to officials from both countries.

The Kingdom’s agricultural imports from Lebanon nearly doubled in 2013, rising to 91,000 tonnes, compared with 45,000 tonnes the year before, according to figures reviewed by Agriculture Ministry Secretary General Radi Tarawneh and Lebanese Agriculture Minister Louis Lahoud on Wednesday.

The two officials signed minutes of meetings of the Jordanian-Lebanese joint committee, which call for removing all hindrances to agricultural cooperation.

Jordan, S. Arabia to cooperate on peaceful nuclear energy projects

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed an agreement for cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy projects.

Under the agreement, which was signed by Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Khaled Toukan and President of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy Hashem Yamani, the two countries will increase cooperation in terms of research, technologies, designs and raw material exploration.

Toukan said the accord will add more support to Jordan’s projected nuclear programme.

During a three-day visit to Jordan, the Saudi delegation visited the nuclear research reactor at the Jordan University of Science and Technology near Irbid and a uranium exploration site in the central region.

‘Water supply to northern towns to be disrupted next week’

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

IRBID — The water supply to several towns in Irbid, Mafraq and Jerash governorates will be disrupted next week as the Yarmouk Water Company will begin cleaning the Zaatari-Um Loulou water pipeline, which extends from Mafraq to Irbid, on Saturday.

Company Director General Mohammad Rababa said the operation, which will take four days, aims at increasing the amount of water pumped in the summer.

Jordan, US discuss cooperation in combating drug trafficking

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — Minister of Interior Hussein Majali on Wednesday met with US Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs William R.

Brownfield and discussed bilateral cooperation.

Talks covered means to cooperate in combating crime and drug trafficking through training and expertise exchange, in addition to the latest developments related to the Syrian crisis and its impact on the Kingdom.

Cabinet reviews draft customs law

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday reviewed the 2014 draft customs law.

At a Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour noted that some of the bill’s articles require further examination.

The new law will work to preserve intellectual property rights and enhance the work of the Jordan Customs Department through the use of new technology.

The Council of Ministers was also briefed on the General Secondary Certificate Examination’s (Tawjihi) winter session, which ended on Tuesday.

Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat noted that the exam’s credibility and integrity rate was measured at around 90 per cent.

The Cabinet decided to increase the allowance for those who take part in organising the exam by 25 per cent.

Judeh, Saif to participate in 2014 WEF

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Planning Minister Ibrahim Saif are scheduled to participate in the 2014 World Economic Forum, which opened on Wednesday in the Swiss ski resort of Davos and continues until Saturday, upon an invitation from the forum’s founder Klaus Schwab.

This year’s theme is “The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business”.

French grant to support environment protection

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on Wednesday awarded a 300,000-euro grant to the government in support of environmental performance in Jordan.

The grant, which is within the framework of AFD’s ongoing Green Lending Programme, will be coordinated by the Environment Ministry, according to a Planning Ministry statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

Planning Minister Ibrahim Saif, French Ambassador to Jordan Caroline Dumas and Serge Perrin, acting director of AFD’s representative office in Jordan, signed the grant agreement.

This grant will complement AFD’s 40-million-euro (approximately $53 million) Green Credit Lines extended to Cairo Amman Bank and Capital Bank of Jordan by allowing for the implementation of technical assistance to the banks in the identification and appraisal of environmental performance projects, the statement said.

"It will scale up green investments in Jordan in the fields of pollution abatement and natural resource protection, in line with the Kingdom’s strategy in terms of sustainable environment."

France has supporting the Kingdom’s developmental efforts in several sectors, notably water and energy, according to the statement.

During the 2012-2013 period, the AFD provided Jordan with a 150-million-euro soft loan as direct support to the state budget linked to the development of policies benefiting the energy sector, in addition to the provision of financial assistance in grants for technical support in the water, energy and small and medium enterprise sectors, totalling 2.6 million euros.

In addition, the French treasury provided soft loans amounting to 82.8 million euros to support the Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) and the Yarmouk Water Company, the statement said.

Water authorities bracing for expected drought — Nasser

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

IRBID — Work on water networks in northern Jordan will address the country’s struggle to keep up with an increased domestic demand for water as it faces a flood of Syrian refugees and a looming drought, according to a senior official.

“We are facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis,” Water Minister Hazem Nasser said on Tuesday while handing over pumps and transformers provided by the UNHCR and Mercy Corps in Irbid Governorate for the rehabilitation of the northern region's water networks.

“One year ago we were in complete chaos; we did not know how to handle the refugee influx. At least now we know our roadmap. We know how to handle it," Nasser said.

"There is a lack of resources, especially financial resources, but this will hopefully come down the road,” he added.

Around 600,000 Syrians have found sanctuary in the Kingdom so far, putting a strain on the country’s health and education services and already scarce water resources in one of the world's 10 driest countries.

According to the UNHCR, less than a fifth of the Syrian refugees live in Jordan’s two official camps, Zaatari in Mafraq and Mreijeb Al Fhoud in Zarqa, with the largest concentration of refugees in the Kingdom’s northern region, due to its proximity to the Syrian border.

With the possibility of a drought over the next few months, the minister said he was considering approving an emergency plan for the summer.

“I was hoping this summer would bless us with less suffering, but unfortunately things [have turned out] to be negative. Since the cold spell hit the country in mid-December, we have not gotten any more rain and, according to weather forecasts, it will not be rainy in January or in February,” Nasser said.

“We will evaluate the situation on whether to proceed under normal conditions or approve an emergency plan by mid-February. Under drought conditions, our problems could multiply by a factor of five or 10,” he added.

UNHCR

The rehabilitation of water networks in northern governorates is expected to provide 30,000 persons with an additional 35 litres of water per day, UNHCR representative to Jordan Andrew Harper said, adding that the UN refugee agency had planned investments totalling about $20 million to support water and wastewater projects in 2014.

In collaboration with global humanitarian agency Mercy Corps, international agencies have already laid out a six kilometre pipe in the northern District of Ramtha and improved the sanitary facilities in 25 schools, Mercy Corps Deputy Country Director Raed Nimri said.

Noting that the vast majority of Syrians live in host communities scattered across the country, Harper said it made sense to start putting more resources into these communities and support projects tackling the country’s problems since these would not only help Syrians and Jordanians, but will also last long after the refugees have returned home.

“The materials provided will help us deal with the coming summer,” Yarmouk Water Company General Manager Mohammad Rababa said. “We are looking at next summer as a big challenge and trying to be prepared and have all water networks up and running while also searching for new sources of water.”

“… We will continue to do what we have been doing so far, ensuring that refugees receive assistance and protection together with the Jordanian government, but there are limits to that, given the lack of resources, water and international support,” Harper said while calling for more funds from donor countries.

“The one thing which we are going to strongly lobby for is that if there is a difficulty in getting agreements in Syria, then at least [the international community] should [agree] on the amount of international support a country like Jordan should receive.”

UJ students turn broken trees into works of art

By - Jan 22,2014 - Last updated at Jan 22,2014

AMMAN — Although more than 1,800 trees at the University of Jordan (UJ) were damaged in last December's snowstorm, the scene of destruction has now been transformed into an artistic wonderland.

Students and staff of UJ's faculty of fine arts created sculptural works using the trees that were damaged by the snowstorm.

"The university's administration and the students decided to launch an initiative to turn these trees into works of art," Fuad Khasawneh, assistant to the dean for student affairs at the faculty of fine arts, told The Jordan Times in an interview on Wednesday.

Dubbed "Cypress Memory", the initiative consists of three stages: Winter Memory, Spring Memory and Summer Memory.

"We chose this name because cypress trees are significant in this university. Previous students who have now become politicians and intellectuals once sat or studied under these trees," added Khasawneh, who also took part in the art initiative.  

Participants began working on the first phase on January 5, and it took them 10 days to finish creating 30 art pieces.

"The university's administration gave us its full support to make this project successful," Khasawneh noted.

He noted that time was limited, as they wanted to complete their creations before Her Majesty Queen Rania visited the university.

The Queen joined UJ students and faculty members in their celebration of Arbour Day on January 15.

"We were really honoured that Her Majesty visited the site, and she even posted photos of our work on social media," he said.

According to Khasawneh, a number of professors have contributed to the initiative by turning broken trees into sculptures.

"My work is called Ihtiwa (containment) and consists of coloured pencils. The idea behind it is to illustrate that several intellectuals, artists, writers, thin people, fat people and people with disabilities used to sit under the very same trees."

One of the sculptures was vandalised by unidentified people, Khasawneh said, adding that the university and the participants are not accusing any party.

"Because of that, the administration decided to allow us to create five new sculptures to make up for the one that was vandalised".

In addition to these, another 30 works are planned within the second phase, which will start on February 1 and is expected to take around a month.

Spring Memory's art works will be presented at an outdoor gallery, according to Khasawneh, while artists from around the world will be invited to contribute to the third stage.

"We will invite international artists from Europe, the US and the Arab world to take part in Summer Memory, which will be ready by Independence Day, May 25," he added.

Khasawneh said preparing the first phase cost around JD10,000 and UJ supported the initiative by donating JD3,000.

"Students and their families also covered part of the expenses," he added.

Students interviewed by The Jordan Times said they enjoyed working on the project, adding that art was a medium to convey messages.

Raad Zaben, one of the participants, said the initiative highlights the cultural facet of the university.

"Some people believe that most students at UJ are aggressive because they keep hearing about incidents of campus violence. We wanted to change this outlook through art," the 21-year-old added, noting that his family supported his participation in the project.

Students and staff members who worked on the sculptures were busy from 7am to 10pm, Khasawneh said.

"Some families used to take pictures of their children while they were working".

Yasmin Kurdi, another participant, presented an installation created on a 4-metre-tall tree.

"My work, called 'Authority', consists of a number of black chairs on the tree, with a white one on top," the 23-year-old said, adding that it reflects several themes.

"One idea is that any person needs determination to reach the top. The second suggests that there is one person at the top and he does not pay attention to the damage around him; the only thing he cares about is himself".

Kurdi noted that some people in society do not interact well with art because they do not believe in it or understand it.

Abdullah Asadi, who created an installation with his friend, said their aim was to expose more people to art.

"We wanted to let as many people as possible know about this kind of art. The only thing we are seeking is to give the audience a visual experience."

 

## UJ, trees, art

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