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AMMAN — Royal Court Chief Yousef Issawi, head of the follow-up committee for the implementation of Royal initiatives, on Sunday inaugurated a King Abdullah II School for Excellence in Muqablin in Amman.

Establishing the school came within a holistic plan to build a school for excellence in each governorate “targetting gifted students”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The school comprises 30 classrooms, four laboratories and labs for computers and electronics, in addition to a painting hall, a music hall, a vocational training workshop and a theatre. 

AMMAN — Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg on Sunday visited the Amman Citadel and toured the archaeological attractions at the site.

Solberg had a first-hand look at archaeological pieces that showcase the history of the area and listened to a briefing on the various historical eras of the site, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Norwegian prime minister was accompanied by Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Sami Daoud and other officials.  

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry Secretary General Saja Majali on Sunday received the credentials of Roberto Rodriguez Hernandez and Ruy Pacheco de Azevedo Amaral, the newly appointed ambassadors of Mexico and Brazil, respectively, to the Kingdom,  the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Politicians and activists on Sunday said efforts should centre on minimising the effects of political violence against women to ensure stronger female representation in legislative processes. 

They also stressed the need to tackle cyber bullying, which many female politicians encounter during their political careers, and threatens to deter some women from running in elections.

The calls were made during a one-day roundtable discussion titled “Protecting Women from Political Violence in Jordan” that was held at Parliament. The event was organised by the Coalition of Women MPs from Arab Countries to Combat Violence against Women in cooperation with the National Democratic Institute (NDI).

Chair of the women MPs’ coalition Deputy Wafa Bani Mustafa said her peers are “always expected to prove themselves and exert more effort” to enter political life in Jordan, and often face cyber bullying while in office or while planning to run for a political position.

“We need to hold several workshops for women who plan to run in future elections to prepare them to face and handle the political violence that will likely be exerted against them,” Bani Mustafa said.

President of the Jordanian Women’s Union Amneh Zubi said there is an urgent need to draft a media strategy that tackles cyber bullying against women politicians.

“Social media has become the main enemy of women politicians, and this is surely a matter that we need to address seriously,” Zubi told the gathering.

Secretary General of the Jordanian National Commission for Women Salma Nims agreed with Zubi, stating that social media has contributed through “constant attacks on female politicians rather than emphasising their roles as decision-makers”.

Laila Naffa, a member of the Arab Women Organisation in Jordan, stressed the need to ensure that political violence is no longer tolerated by anyone, and to start planning now for the next 10 years to ensure stronger women’s representation in legislative bodies.

Naffa also pointed to the need for increasing women quotas for political posts, for example, in Parliament and municipal councils. 

During the opening of the event, the Lower House’s First Deputy Speaker Nassar Qaisi stressed the importance of adopting steps to empower women in all fields.

“The Parliament is obliged to provide all possible means and strategies to ensure the empowerment of women in all fields, especially in the political arena,” Qaisi stressed. 

EU Ambassador to Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou also addressed the gathering, saying that political violence against women has shown a “worrying surge” in societies today.  

“It is very encouraging for me to witness that, in view of Jordan’s new legislative elections, reflection is already taking place on the issue of political violence against women,” Hadjitheodosiou said.  

Jordan can be a leader in the region by addressing this concerning issue, she added.

Meanwhile, MENA Deputy Chief of Party of the NDI Jonas Cekuolis said that the world is accustomed to the concepts of “women’s empowerment” and “gender equality”, and probably, “we would find just very few among political elites who would be surprisingly against these objectives”. 

“But at the same time, surprisingly many women are still told that harassment, threats, psychological abuse, be it in-person or online, and physical and sexual assault are the cost of doing politics. We at the NDI say: ‘No, this is not the cost,’” Cekuolis stressed.

The NDI official pointed to a 2018 report issued by the Inter-Parliamentary Union about sexism, harassment and violence against women in parliaments. 

“Can you believe that 46 per cent of politically active women received death threats or threats of being raped or beaten… by their own society?” Cekuolis stated.

Two-thirds had been a target of comments related to their physical appearance or based on gender stereotypes, the official said, adding that the problem “needs to be discussed and joint solutions need to be found”.   

AMMAN — The Jordan Gaming Lab, one of the initiatives of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD), is scheduled to host the 2019 Pocket Gamer Connects on November 2 and 3. 

The conference, in cooperation with the Global Mobile Games Industry Conference, provides an opportunity for more than 650 game developers to become acquainted with new trends in the e-gaming industry through “the best international experts”, according to a statement from the organisers. 

The list of speakers includes representatives from companies like Zynga, iDreamSky, Epic Games and Wargaming, who will share their expertise, ideas and analysis, in addition to holding other activities such as demonstrations of independent games, and a “global connects ceremony”, among others. 

The conference is the “first of its kind” in the Middle East, with KAFD supporting independent Jordanian developers, effective members of the lab and Jordanian companies, said the statement.

The Jordan Gaming Lab was founded in 2011 in cooperation with key players in the digital gaming industry on the regional and international levels including Unity, Penguin, Microsoft and Sony, according to the KAFD website.

The lab aims to help young Jordanians by turning their ideas into success stories, creating a community that embraces game developers in Jordan and the region and developing an ecosystem that stimulates innovation and facilitates networking between young Jordanians interested in the digital gaming industry and international companies.

The lab seeks to raise awareness on the importance of the digital gaming industry in Jordan and to turn the Kingdom into a pioneering regional hub in this regard through supporting youth ideas and training them on how to design and develop digital games, the website added.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, met on Saturday with a delegation from the US Congress, headed by US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

The meeting, held as part of ongoing outreach with the US Congress’ Senate and House of Representatives, covered the cooperation and strategic partnership between Jordan and the United States, as well as regional developments, according to a Royal Court statement.

Speaking at the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal Bin Al Hussein, King Abdullah expressed appreciation for the United States’ continuing support for Jordan in a number of fields, commending the US Congress’ position towards the Kingdom, the statement said.

Discussing regional issues, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause, His Majesty stressed the need to reach just, lasting and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Turning to the Syrian crisis, the King urged a political solution that safeguards Syria’s territorial integrity and the unity of its people, while guaranteeing the safe and voluntary return of refugees, according to the statement.

The meeting also covered regional and international efforts to counter terrorism within a comprehensive approach.

For their part, the US lawmakers commended Jordan’s efforts, led by His Majesty, in pursuit of peace and stability in the region, praising the King’s wisdom.

They expressed keenness to hear the King’s perspective on regional and global developments, adding that they are pleased to be present in Jordan as the Kingdom marks 20 years since His Majesty assumed his constitutional powers.

 Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh and Adviser to His Majesty for Policies and Media Kamal Al Nasser attended the meeting.

WASHINGTON, DC — The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) relations with Jordan is “very deep” and the government's reform agenda is progressing, the global lender's Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour said. 

 “We have been supporting Jordan with two consecutive programmes. In addition to our support, we were able to mobilise the international assistance that Jordan needs,” Azour said in response to a question by The Jordan Times during a press conference Friday on the sidelines of the fund’s fall meetings.

On priorities Jordan needs to adopt at this stage, he said that it was important for the Kingdom to pursue two tracks in its economic reform programme.

“One is to strengthen macroeconomic stability which will allow Jordan to reduce any pressure on the public finance, allow the economy to attract investors and on the other hand address some of the structural issues,” he said.

“One of them is the reform of the energy sector, in particular, the reform for the electricity company, NEPCO.  Improve the business environment, reduce the cost of labour, as well as also the cost of energy; this will help Jordan benefit from its full potential in serving various markets in the region,” Azour said.

In August 2016, to support the Kingdom’s economic and financial reform programme, the IMF Executive Board approved a three-year extended arrangement with Jordan under the Extended Fund Facility for an amount equivalent to SDR514.65 million (about $723 million, or 150 per cent of Jordan’s quota).

The scheme aims at advancing fiscal consolidation to lower public debt and implementing broad structural reforms to enhance the conditions for more inclusive growth.

During the presser, he referred to the London initiative held in February this year, adding that the role of the fund was instrumental in the last conference that took place in London in mobilising the support that helps Jordan address macroeconomic stability issues, as well as attracting investments to promote growth.

In May this year, the IMF Executive Board announced the completion of the second review of the country’s economy and approved Jordan’s request for a waiver of non-observance of performance criteria on the net international reserves of the Central Bank of Jordan, extending the arrangement until March 2020 and rephasing access.

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May Criminal Court ruling sentencing four men to six years each in prison after convicting them of abducting and blackmailing a businessman with his nude photos in Amman in June 2016.

The court declared the defendants guilty of taking photos of the victim while nude on June 19 after abducting him and tying him up, then blackmailing him with the images, and handed them the maximum punishment.

The defendants published one of his photos nude with a shoe in his mouth on Facebook when the victim refused to pay them money, court papers said.

Court papers said the four defendants lured the victim, who worked in a construction business, to a meeting point, with the intent of robbing him.

When the victim arrived to the meeting area, the four defendants drew weapons and tied him up after undressing him by force, court papers said.

"The defendants took various photos of the victim with a shoe stuffed in his mouth while naked," court papers said.

The defendants also "stole JD40 from the defendant as well as his two mobile phones, and left", court documents maintained. 

"The defendants then started blackmailing the victim, saying they would publish the photos on social media if he did not pay them money. When he refused, they published one of the photos they took when they abducted him," said court papers.

The Criminal Court’s attorney general had asked the higher court to uphold the sentence, stating that the court had abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The defendants, through their lawyers, contested the ruling, arguing that they should be declared innocent since "the prosecution failed to provide any evidence to implicate the defendants with the charge".

"The Criminal Court relied on weak evidence and failed to allow our clients to submit defence evidence that would acquit them of the charges," the higher court's transcripts quoted the defendants' lawyers as saying.

However, the higher court ruled that the Criminal Court had followed the proper procedures and the defendants deserved the verdict they had received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Bassim Mubeidin, Hammad Ghzawi and Yassin Abdullat.

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a woman with the premeditated murder of her husband with the alleged help of one of his friends last week in Ajloun, official sources have said.

The 34-year-old Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) employee's body was found by the police in a cesspool in Sakhra town and his colleague reportedly confessed to his murder on Thursday.

"The victim's wife was always a person of interest in this case and upon cross-questioning by the authorities, she confessed to being part of the murder," a senior judicial source said.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Abdullah Assaf is currently questioning the suspect, the senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

On Thursday, Assaf charged the 33-year-old GAM employee after determining that "he stabbed and dumped the victim's body in the cesspool", official sources have said.  

The victim was reported missing by his wife almost four days before the body was found, an official source told The Jordan Times last week.

An autopsy performed last week at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine indicated that the victim died of a single stab wound to the chest and that he had been dead for at least four days.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Friday condemned the terrorist attack that targeted a mosque in Afghanistan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In a tweet on his official Twitter account, Safadi said: "We utterly condemn the cowardly terrorist attack that targeted a mosque in Afghanistan. May God have mercy on the victims’ souls and grant the injured a speedy recovery," Petra reported, adding that he offered his condolences to the Afghan people. 

At least 62 people were killed by a blast inside an Afghan mosque during Friday prayer, according to officials, a day after the UN said violence in the country had reached "unacceptable" levels, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Friday.

The attack — the year's second most deadly to date — took place in the eastern province of Nangarhar and wounded at least 33 people, the provincial governor's spokesperson, Attaullah Khogyani, told AFP.

The blast was carried out with "explosives that were placed inside the mosque", Khogyani said, though other sources — including the Taliban — said the building may have been hit by a mortar.

A spokesperson for the Taliban said the group has "condemned this atrocity in the strongest terms" and labelled it a "major crime".

The Daesh extremist group has also been active in Nangarhar, AFP reported, adding that witnesses said the roof of the mosque had fallen through after a "loud" explosion, the nature of which was not immediately clear.

About 350 worshippers were inside at the time, local resident Omar Ghorzang told AFP.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, through a spokesman, said children were among the injured.

"Those responsible for this attack must be held accountable," the spokesman said, according to AFP.