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AMMAN — Minister of Higher Education Amin Mahmoud on Saturday met with UK Ambassador to Jordan Peter Millett and representatives of the British Council and discussed academic cooperation.

Discussions focused on challenges facing the higher education sector in Jordan, such as the increasing number of students who choose universities over technical training programmes and the need to encourage young people to enrol in technical education to meet the needs of the local and Arab Gulf markets for the next five years.

ZARQA — Ruseifa Municipality employees organised a protest at the municipality headquarters on Saturday to demand financial benefits.

Yahya Khalaileh, a spokesperson for the protesters, said the employees want higher salaries, end-of-service compensation and other financial benefits.

Ruseifa Mayor Osama Haimour listened to the protesters’ demands.

The mayor said he sent a memo to the Municipal Affairs Ministry asking for end-of-service compensation for the municipality’s employees and other demands.

AMMAN — The Indian embassy in Amman is holding a “flag hoisting” ceremony at the ambassador’s residence next Sunday, January 26, at 10:30am.

The ceremony marks the 65th Republic Day of India, an embassy statement said.

The embassy invited all Indian citizens and their friends to attend the ceremony, which will be held at 33 Tawfiq Abu Al Huda Street between the 3rd and 4th circles in the Jabal Amman area.

AMMAN — Energy Minister Mohammad Hamed on Saturday called for developing coordination between the Qatraneh Power Plant and the control unit at the National Electric Power Company (NEPCO) to ensure the safety of the power grid.

He made his remarks during a visit to the power station to examine the reasons behind a recent two-hour blackout that affected the Kingdom’s northern region and parts of the capital, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Last week, Hamed formed a committee to look into the reasons behind the power outage and present a report by Sunday detailing its causes and providing recommendations to avoid the recurrence of the incident.

AMMAN — Around 800 young Jordanians joined Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) teams in planting saplings in several locations in the capital on Saturday to compensate for the trees damaged in last month’s snowstorm. 

Dubbed “Let’s plant trees to make up for what was damaged,” the campaign included the Ghamdan and Mahmoud Al Qudah parks, as well as Jordan Street, Nebal Qattan, the director of GAM’s public parks department, said. 

“We launched this campaign in cooperation with several volunteer groups,” Qattan told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

He noted that thousands of trees were damaged in the snowstorm, which uprooted around 3,800 trees and damaged 28,000. 

“Participants planted around 1,800 trees in Ghamdan Park, 1,200 trees in Mahmoud Al Qudah Park and 2,000 trees alongside Jordan Street,” he said. 

“Around 200 participants planted the trees in Ghamdan Park, while 150 were in Mahmoud Al Qudah Park and 250 on Jordan Street,” Qattan added, noting that the municipality plants around 50,000 trees a year. 

“Trees are not only planted in parks, but also in several parts of the capital,” he added. 

In a GAM statement sent to The Jordan Times, Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said that the campaign is part of the municipality’s plans to increase Amman’s green cover.   

The municipality expects that around 500,000 trees will be planted by May this year, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The US embassy in Amman will be closed on Sunday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

In a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, the embassy said normal hours of operation will resume on Monday, January 20.

An American clergyman, activist and leader of the Civil Rights Movement, King led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president.

King’s efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where he delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech.

In 1964, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence, the statement said.

President Ronald Reagan signed a bill in 1983 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.

AMMAN — Arab tourists will pay the same entry fees as Jordanians when they visit tourist and archaeological sites under a recent Cabinet decision, Tourism Minister Nidal Katamine said on Thursday.

The decision went into effect at the beginning of this year and will continue until the end of 2014, he added.

The decision is part of the steps taken by the Tourism Ministry to encourage Arab nationals to visit the Kingdom, the minister said.

Katamine said the measure will benefit the tourism sector, predicting an increase in the numbers of Arab tourists due to the unstable conditions in other countries of the region.

AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben on Thursday met with UAE Ambassador to Jordan Abdullah Al Ameri.

Discussions covered bilateral ties and prospects for further cooperation.

AMMAN — Public Security Department Director Gen.

Tawfiq Tawalbeh on Thursday met with Canadian Ambassador to Jordan Bruno Saccomani and discussed means to develop cooperation and expertise exchange in security and police training.

Tawalbeh highlighted the importance of boosting cooperation between the two countries’ security apparatuses to combat crime.

AMMAN — The police said they are questioning one student in connection with a brawl at Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan between two tribes on Thursday.

The reason behind the brawl remains under investigation, Public Security Department Spokesperson Major Amer Sartawi said.

“We did not enter the university but were notified about the brawl and arrested one individual and our investigations are ongoing,” Sartawi added without further elaboration.