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AMMAN — The Public Security Department (PSD) on Wednesday announced the arrest of 39 individuals in various parts of the Kingdom during the 16th week of its ongoing campaign against illegal firearms and festive firing.

The arrested suspects were reportedly found in possession of 49 unlicensed firearms, the PSD said in a report by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

In total, 1,229 suspects have been arrested since the start of the campaign on June 27, with a total of 1,448 illegal weapons found, the PSD added.

All of the suspects were referred to the concerned authorities for prosecution, the department added.

According to the PSD, the campaign is ongoing. The department urges the public to anonymously report any incident of shooting to its unified number, 911.

The PSD recently renewed its campaign targetting celebratory firing and possession of unlicensed firearms in an effort to curb the phenomenon, with authorities pledging to adopt the “most severe legal and administrative measures possible” against perpetrators of festive firing.

The department promised to conduct campaigns throughout the governorates, ready to arrest any person in possession of a firearm without a licence, as well as those selling weapons and ammunition specifically for celebratory firing.

Additionally, the PSD thanked the “many citizens who cooperated with the authorities by reporting illegal festive shootings, which helped authorities capture many violators”.

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling sentencing a man to four years in prison after convicting him of promoting terrorist ideology in Jordan over the past two years.

The defendant, who was arrested in July 2018, was convicted of promoting Daesh ideology since 2016 and received the maximum punishment.

Court documents said the defendant adopted the takfiri ideology in 2016 after monitoring Daesh’s activities on social media.

“The defendant was convinced that Daesh applied the proper Sharia [Islamic law] and he decided to convince his relatives and neighbours that it was a justified organisation,” court papers said.

The defendant created a Facebook account named "Eruption of storms" and used it to spread news related to the terror organisation, court transcripts said.

"The defendant's ultimate aim was to gain more sympathisers and supporters for Daesh," court papers added.

The SSC general prosecutor asked the higher court to uphold the sentence, stating that the SSC followed the proper procedures in sentencing the defendant.

The defendant, however, contested the SSC ruling through his lawyer, claiming that he was "illiterate and does not know how to use social media".

The lawyer also claimed that the SSC prosecutor failed to present “any solid evidence that would implicate his client with the charges”.

"My client did not use social media and there was no proof that he sent videos or any other material via social media that promoted terrorist ideologies," the lawyer said.

The lawyer also asked the court for a reduced sentence, since "my client is a father of five children, all under the age of five, and is a poor man".

However, the higher court ruled that the SSC followed the proper procedures and the defendant deserved the verdict he received.

“It was clear that the defendant confessed willingly to the charges and that the authorities’ investigation procedures were correct and within the law,” the Court of Cassation said.

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

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mohamad Al-Ississ is participating in the World Bank Group’s (WB) annual meetings currently being held in Washington, DC.

Al-Ississ, who heads the Jordan delegation to the meetings as the Kingdom’s governor at the WB, held meetings with WB Dean of the Board of Executive Directors Merza Hassan, WB Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa Ferid Belhaj and Managing Director of Operations Axel van Trotsenburg, according to a Planning Ministry statement.  

The minister also met with members of the mission to Jordan, where he acquainted them with the government’s priorities for the next phase aiming towards economic growth, increasing the level of public services and creating more jobs, mainly for youth, according to the statement. 

During the meetings, he shed light on challenges the Kingdom is facing due to hosting Syrian refugees, highlighting the important role the Kingdom plays.

In this regard, Al-Ississ underscored the significance of other nations “sharing these burdens fairly” with Jordan and continuing to provide assistance to Amman to help it sustain basic services for Syrian refugees and host communities, mainly in the educational and health fields, read the statement 

WB administration members praised the economic reforms recently implemented by Jordan, and stressed the significance of cooperation in implementing reforms by securing financial and technical support.

They also called on the international community to honour pledges to assist Jordan and provide more support to help the Kingdom face challenges resulting from regional instability.

Al-Ississ called for finding soft financing mechanisms that mix between soft loans and grants to cover the financial needs of the Kingdom during the next phase.

On the sidelines of the annual meetings, the minister also took part in a roundtable meeting organised by the US Chamber of Commerce with the participation of US investors and representatives of major companies, which aimed at promoting the Kingdom and calling on firms to start investments in Jordan. 

AMMAN — Jordan and Turkey play a key role in enhancing regional security and stability and in combatting terrorism and extremism, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State Rajai Muasher said on Wednesday.

During a meeting with a Turkish parliamentary delegation, chaired by the Head of the Turkish-Jordanian Friendship Committee Hulya Narges, Muasher highlighted the Kingdom’s stances towards various regional issues, mainly supporting Palestinians in their legitimate rights to statehood, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In this regard, the deputy prime minister praised Ankara’s support of the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. 

As for the Syrian crisis, Muasher underscored the importance of reaching a political solution that maintains the unity of the country, highlighting the toll of hosting Syrian refugees on Jordan, mainly regarding the infrastructure, health and educational sectors. 

Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maayta also called for exchanging parliamentary visits between Amman and Ankara in a way that boosts bilateral ties at various levels.

For her part, Narges expressed her country’s appreciation for Jordan’s foreign policies on various issues under the “turbulent” situations prevailing in the region.

Also on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with the Turkish delegates to go over the latest regional developments, and the means in which to overcome challenges in a way that can preserve security and stability in both countries and the region as a whole. 

Discussions also reviewed the “brotherly ties” between Amman and Ankara, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. 

AMMAN — Under Royal directives, the Jordan Armed Forces – Arab Army on Tuesday dispatched two Super Puma helicopters to help with battling forest fires that have erupted in large swathes of land in Lebanon.

Civil defence firefighters flew with the Royal Jordanian Airforce's bucket-equipped helicopters, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

Lebanon has turned to its neighbours for help with extinguishing the forest fires that have ravaged homes and killed a volunteer firefighter in the Mediterranean country, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in comments carried by national news agency NNA.

Dozens of fires have erupted around Lebanon in the past few days, the head of civil defence Raymond Khattar told NNA, amid unusually high temperatures and strong winds.

Thick smoke has been seen drifting over the outskirts of Beirut, over the mountainous Chouf region to its southeast, and the southern city of Saida, according to AFP.

In the Chouf, an area known for its trees, a volunteer firefighter lost his life trying to put out the flames, his family said.

In an area south of Beirut, firefighters have for two days been unable to stop the blaze, which has burnt four homes to the ground and caused dozens to suffer from breathing difficulties, NNA said.

Interior Minister Raya El Hassan said Cyprus and Greece had responded to Lebanon's call for help.

“Two Cypriot planes have been working to put out the fires since yesterday,” she said on Twitter.

“Greece has responded to our request and will send two planes to help us,” she added, while Jordan also said that it was ready to help.

NNA said the army was working together with helicopters and the Cypriot planes to fight the blaze, with access sometimes impeded by thick smoke and high-voltage power lines.

UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL has also joined in the efforts, the agency said.

In neighbouring war-torn Syria, fires also killed two people, Syrian state media said.

Flames have ripped through parts of the coastal provinces of Latakia and Tartus, as well as the central province of Homs, but most have been brought under control, state news agency SANA said.

Two members of the Latakia forestry department were killed while fighting the blaze, it said.

In Tartus, the fires — mostly stamped out — coincided with the olive harvest, the governor told SANA.

In Homs, trees were burnt and electricity networks disrupted in mountainous areas, the agency reported.

WASHINGTON, DC —The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday kept its forecast for economic growth in Jordan in 2019 at 2.2 per cent, the same percentage projected in April, despite its expectations of a synchronised slowdown in the global economy this year.

In its October World Economic Outlook, launched in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, the IMF expected Jordan’s economy to grow by 2.2 per cent, 2.4 per cent and 3 per cent in 2019, 2020 and 2021 respectively. 

The global lender's projections for Jordan’s consumer price index stand at 2 per cent for 2019 and 2.5 per cent for 2020.

According to the Department of Statistics (DoS), Jordan’s economy grew by 1.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2019.

Unemployment in Jordan reached 19 per cent during the first quarter of 2019, up by 0.6 per cent from figures recorded during the same period of 2018, according to a report released by the DoS in June.                                    

A report released by the DoS on the National Population and Housing Census, carried out by the department late 2015, showed that the Kingdom’s population in 2004 was 5.1 million, increasing by 4.4 million to reach 9.5 million in 2015.                                                                                                     Jordan's population reached approximately 10.309 million by the end of 2018.

“The global economy is in a synchronised slowdown and we are, once again, downgrading growth for 2019 to 3 per cent, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis. Growth continues to be weakened by rising trade barriers and increasing geopolitical tensions,” IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath told reporters Tuesday.

In 2020, the IMF projects a global growth of 3.4 per cent, a downward revision from 3.5 per cent as forecast in July.

“We estimate that the US-China trade tensions will cumulatively reduce the level of global GDP by 0.8 per cent by 2020. Growth is also being weighed down by country-specific factors in several emerging market economies, and by structural forces, such as low productivity growth and ageing demographics in advanced economies,” she said.

“We welcome any step to de-escalate tensions and to roll back recent trade measures, particularly if they can provide a path towards a comprehensive and lasting deal,” Gopinath said.

Geopolitical problems outside of the trade war pushed the IMF to downgrade GDP projections in many regions around the world. The IMF has lowered GDP forecasts for the Middle East because of tighter US sanctions on Iran and the impact of a weak global oil market on Saudi Arabia. The IMF also lowered expectations in Latin America due to mining supply disruptions in Brazil and weak investment and consumption in Mexico.

Among the large countries, the IMF projects sub-1 per cent GDP growth for 2019 in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and Saudi Arabia.

The weakness in growth is driven by a sharp deterioration in manufacturing activity and global trade, with higher tariffs and prolonged trade policy uncertainty damaging investment and demand for capital goods. In addition, the automobile industry is contracting owing also to a variety of factors, such as disruptions from new emission standards in the euro area and China that have had durable effects. Overall, trade volume growth in the first half of 2019 has fallen to 1 per cent, the weakest level since 2012, she said.

“In contrast to extremely weak manufacturing and trade, the services sector continues to hold up almost across the globe. This has kept labour markets buoyant and wage growth and consumption spending healthy in advanced economies. There are, however, some initial signs of softening in the services sector in the United States and euro area,” she added.

Growth in emerging markets and developing economies has also been revised down to 3.9 per cent for 2019 (compared to 4.5 per cent in 2018), owing in part to trade and domestic policy uncertainties and to a structural slowdown in China, she said.

For sustainable growth, it is important that countries undertake structural reforms to boost productivity, improve resilience, and lower inequality. Reforms in emerging market and developing economies are also more effective when good governance is already in place.

“The global outlook remains precarious with a synchronised slowdown and uncertain recovery… The global trading system needs to be improved, not abandoned. Countries need to work together because multilateralism remains the only solution to tackling major issues, such as risks from climate change, cybersecurity risks, tax avoidance and tax evasion and the opportunities and challenges of emerging financial technologies,” she said.

The IMF expects a slight rebound in 2020 but warns of threats ranging from heightened political tensions in the Middle East to the threat that the United States and China will fail to prevent their trade war from worsening.

AMMAN — Adhering to guidelines and regulations decreases the impact of a natural disaster, according to the chief weather forecaster for Arabiaweather.com Omar Dajani.

Every year during October, the chances of unstable weather conditions increase, and people should especially avoid entering valleys, where floods caused by heavy rainfall could sweep them away, Dajani told The Jordan Times on Tuesday over the phone.

"We can predict the general area of rainfall, but it is hard to know which valley will flood, because even the type of cloud is different over each area," Dajani said. 

On Monday, several areas in Amman witnessed rainfall, Dajani said, noting that Marj Al Hamam and Naour areas witnessed very intense rainfall, while other areas in Amman only witnessed lightning and thunder without rain.

"Rainfall could be heavy in one area and not even reach another area only five to ten kilometres away, and people need to understand that even if the weather is still warm or hot, it does not mean there is no rain," he said.

He noted that many valleys are now blocked off to prevent people from entering danger zones. 

The new guidelines came into force following what has become known as "Black Thursday", when at the end of October 2018 the Dead Sea area witnessed flash floods after the country received heavy rain.

Rainwater from the mountains of the capital, Maeen and Madaba, among other areas, found its way through valleys before reaching the Dead Sea area.

At the time, a group of students, their teachers and tour guides, as well as family members, were swept away in a flash flood that suddenly submerged the Zarqa-Maeen Valley, where the schoolchildren were hiking. 

Twenty-one people, 16 of whom were children from the same school, were swept to their deaths while 43 others were injured.

Dajani said that the current weather instability is likely to continue on Wednesday and gradually decrease towards the weekend, noting that there is a chance of local rain showers, which could be intense in certain areas. 

However, the temperatures remain above their annual average, with mercury levels in Amman between 30°C and 31°C, with the normal average at 26°C, according to Dajani.

AMMAN — The irrigation system in the terraced gardens of the Black Desert, according to scholars, was probably the outcome of an indigenous (basalt desert) technology, which was also discovered at the earlier sites like Tulul Al Ghusayn, Khirbet  Al Jabariya and Khirbet Abu Al Husayn, said a German archaeologist.

“It is characterised by a full dependence on local surface run-off, which means precipitation fell directly on the gardens and on nearby elevations and slopes from which it was collected and transported via long canals into the terraced gardens,” said Bernd Mueller-Neuhof from the German Archaeological Institute, Berlin.

With this system, it was possible to enlarge the area for water collection, he added.

Mueller-Neuhof has worked for years in the Eastern Desert, but has not explored the fortification system at Jawa, a site some 60 kilometres east of Azraq.

In the future, the scholar and his team plan to continue excavations at Jawa and focus on the development of a detailed chronological sequence, he said.

“We have no idea yet about the organisation of the construction and maintenance of these gardens, or about their ownership,” the archaeologist stressed.

Excavation and radiocarbon dating at the nearby Thulul Al Gusayn have assigned it to a period slightly earlier than Jawa, around the first half of the 4th millennium BC, and “probably overlapping with the earliest phase at Jawa”, Mueller-Neuhof explained.

The gardens at the site were irrigated with surface run-off, and even though the catchment area at Tulul Al Ghusayn was smaller than the one at Jawa, “it worked”, noted Mueller-Neuhof.

“Khirbet Al Jabariya is also a fortified site like Tulul Al Ghusayn and Jawa. Radiocarbon measurements from the single-room dwellings at Khirbet Al Jabariya date the dwellings to the late 5th millennium, so it is older than Jawa,” the archaeologist said.

The fortification, he added, appears to be much more advanced than the Tulul Al Ghusayn fortification. 

“Unfortunately, we have no clear date yet from the Khirbet Al Jabariya fortification, but my assumption is still that it dates into the late 5th or early 4th millennium BC,” Mueller-Neuhof said.

Terraced gardens also exist at Khirbet Al Jabariya and are located close to the foot of the slopes, consisting of a single line of gardens, he stated.

Hydrological features such as sluices and overflows could also be detected here, as in Jawa and Tulul Al Ghusayn, the archaeologist said.

In the future, the plan is to concentrate on the Jawa gardens within the framework of a multi-disciplinary project involving archaeologists, hydrologists, sedimentologists and specialists for terraced agriculture, Mueller-Neuhof explained, adding that within this project, they will also carry out specific explorations in the garden areas of the other sites.

AMMAN — A short documentary published on YouTube on Friday titled “Jordan Speaks Up” stirred conversation about sexual harassment in Jordan and inspired many to share their stories under #JordanSpeaksUp on Twitter. 

On Tuesday, the video had more than 17,000 views. 

Rama Hamad, a 17-year-old girl from Amman, directed the movie, in which young people read stories in English of sexual harassment others had experienced and were given the chance to comment on those stories. 

The documentary, filmed by Khaled Ghobish and edited by Omar Fathallah, calls for “breaking the silence and overcoming the fear of disclosing harassment incidents”. 

What followed were many more stories shared on Twitter just like the ones read in the film. 

In the film, the victims describe their inability to react, say “no” or defend themselves due to shock and fear. 

“This topic is taboo in Jordan and in Arab and Middle Eastern culture,” Hamad told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

“We made the film in English, because this is a local issue, but it is also much bigger — a global issue in every place in the world. So I thought using a universal language like English would reach more people and have a bigger impact, while at the same time, the film also targets the Jordanian community, as we included Arabic subtitles,” Hamad explained.

“The idea for the film began when I noticed more and more stories of people who were put in situations they had no control over. They were traumatised forever, while the perpetrators go on with their normal daily lives without shame,” Hamad noted.

Asma Khader, president of Sisterhood Is Global Institute Jordan (SIGI/J), said: “This topic is not new, neither to Jordan nor to humanity. We need young people to talk about this topic and all those who are struggling for human rights.” 

“I feel there is a culture of victim-blaming in Jordan and more conservatism as a solution. There is culture of placing the burden on the shoulders of the victim, whether boy or girl, because men can also be victims of sexual harassment,” Khader told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

In December 2018, SIGI published a report indicating that, according to figures released by the Criminal Information Department, there were 145 rape cases and 1,001 sexual assault incidents in 2017 in Jordan and as most incidents are not reported, the numbers are probably much higher.

#JordanSpeaksUp resembles the #MeToo movement, which went viral in October 2017 around the globe after sexual-abuse allegations by actresses emerged against former American film producer Harvey Weinstein.

“I think the authenticity and rawness of the video allowed a lot of people to relate to it, more than when celebrities are involved,” said Hamad.

Hamad told The Jordan Times that the film also received negative feedback, and that the most prominent critique voiced was that it “tarnishes” Jordan’s reputation.

“I prepared myself for critique because it is a controversial topic,” Hamad said, explaining that “the main controversy is that we have our traditions and we have our culture, and we would like to believe that our values prevent such things from happening, but in reality they are happening”.

“No, the image of Jordan will be harmed if we continue denying the fact that there is such a problem, and if we don’t support victims to speak up and ensure that they get the appropriate support and help. And the perpetrators need to be stopped through clear, legal measures,” Khader emphasised.

AMMAN — Aziza Abu Ayash, 22, didn’t know much about cartooning when she heard about a workshop taking place not too far from her home in the Nuzha area of Amman. She had no background in drawing but wanted to learn a new skill. 

“I was surprised to learn that cartooning can spread awareness about sensitive issues and that it can be used to spark debate surrounding social issues,” she said.

The training represents a key component of the joint UNESCO-UNOCT “Youth Peacebuilding” project, co-funded by Canada. 

In Jordan, the project is being implemented by the UNESCO Amman office. During the past few weeks, the workshops have taken place across the Kingdom in Maan, Zarqa, Amman, Irbid and Mafraq.

“Today, I have been drawing about children’s rights,” Ayash shared. “I illustrated this by drawing a broken heart. In one half of the heart, the kids are smiling and have access to education and healthcare. In the other half of the heart, you see children who have been abused and those with no school or healthcare. I see this inequality around me in Jordan.” 

Ayash has known young girls who were forced to leave school to get married.

The workshops have been led by Omar Abdallat, a cartoonist from Jordan whose talents have been recognised throughout the Middle East and Europe. 

Abdallat has been drawing cartoons since he was a child. He started his career in graphic design, but soon became a professional cartoonist. 

“While teaching these cartooning workshops, I saw talent everywhere I went around Jordan,” Abdallat said. 

“In Zarqa, all of the youth who attended the workshop had dropped out of school. They were children who had left school early to seek employment and help support their families. I felt like these were people that should learn how to do cartooning the most; they are suffering and have hard stories to tell. I told them to keep believing in themselves and that there is always time to start over,” he said.

At the workshop in Amman, over 20 eager youth gathered on a Saturday. Mahmoud Sharif Alamairah, 17, came to the workshop wanting to learn a new skill. 

“I was surprised to learn that cartoons can spread awareness about human rights issues and help people. I developed a cartoon that showed that violence is not OK. I also tried to highlight how children have a right to go to school,” he said. 

Seeking to motivate participants, Abdallat shared inspirational stories with the group. He told them about how the late activist Aya Aghabi overcame her circumstances and worked tirelessly to make Jordan a more inclusive, accessible place.

“I am trying to show young people how they too can be strong, sharing motivating stories with them about people who aim high, despite their circumstances,” he said. 

Through this innovative project, UNESCO aims to create opportunities for young women and men to engage as change-makers and peacebuilders in their immediate communities and wider societies, and to promote a constructive vision of young people as leaders, addressing hate-related issues.

Including a pilot cartooning session that Abdallat led in 2018, 92 young people from across Jordan, nearly 70 per cent of them female, have participated in the cartooning training. 

Abdallat tries to impress upon the youth that cartooning is a universal language, a simple kind of art that doesn’t require much equipment. 

“I remind youth that every story is important. I see cartooning as a peacebuilding tool. You are not only drawing images; you are sending a message, and you can be the change,” he said.

UNESCO contributed this article to The Jordan Times