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AMMAN — Construction work on a new dam in Karak Governorate has commenced, according to government officials.

The 4-million cubic metre (mcm) Ibn Hammad Dam, to be built at a cost of JD26 million, will provide drinking water for residents of the southern Karak and Tafileh governorates among other towns in the region, according to Water Minister Hazem Nasser.

Under an agreement signed between the ministry and the Arab Potash Company, the former will provide the company with 2.5mcm per year for industrial use over 12 years at preferential prices, while the latter will fund the construction of the dam, a ministry statement said.

In addition to providing drinking water, the dam will also develop the surrounding land and recharge underground water, Jordan Valley Authority Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour said.

Named after the Ibn Hammad Valley, the 52-metre-high dam will help meet the increasing demand for water in the country, according to Water Ministry Spokesperson Omar Salameh, who noted that construction will be completed within three years.

A total of 10,000 people reside in villages scattered across Ibn Hammad Valley, which attracts hundreds of tourists from across the world every year. 

The 86-square-kilometre valley, announced in 2010 as a special conservation area, stretches from the mountains of Karak to the Dead Sea, at altitudes ranging between 800 metres above and 400 metres below sea level.

Dams, though expensive to build, are vital for the Kingdom to secure its water needs, according to experts.

The Kingdom’s 10 major dams are: King Talal, Wadi Al Arab, Sharhabil, Kafrein, Wadi Shuaib, Karameh, Tannour, Waleh, Mujib and Wihdeh.

Jordan, which is considered the world’s fourth water poorest country, suffers an annual water deficit of 500mcm, while per capita share of water does not exceed 150 cubic metres annually, well below the water poverty line of 500 cubic metres per year.

According to official figures, 91 per cent of the Kingdom’s total area of 97,000 square kilometres is arid land with an annual average rainfall of 50-200 millimetres (mm), while 2.9 per cent is categorised as semi-arid with an annual average rainfall of 400-580mm.

AMMAN –– The government on Friday lowered the prices of main oil derivatives by 1 to 2 per cent for February.

Under the decision taken by the government’s pricing committee, effective February 1, one litre of unleaded 90-octane gasoline is now being sold at JD0.820, down from JD0.830 in January, while one litre of 95-octane costs JD1 compared to JD1.010 last month.

On the new price list, both diesel and kerosene are JD0.670 per litre, down from JD0.685.

The price of cooking gas, which is also used by households for heating purposes, remains unchanged at JD10 per cylinder under the committee’s decision, which was announced by Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Hatem Halawani.

Fuel prices, except those of gas cylinders, are no longer subsidised by the government, which lifted oil subsidies in November 2012.

A government pricing committee meets monthly to adjust fuel prices in a manner that corresponds to changes in the international market.

The committee, comprising representatives from the ministries of energy and finance and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company, calculates the updates based on average international prices during the preceding 30 days and other costs, such as freight and handling, and announces a new price list every month.

AMMAN — A newly founded youth initiative was officially launched on Saturday with the goal of eliminating social violence in Jordan.

Action on Societal Violence, KAFA (enough), comprises 45 young Jordanians from nine governorates and is organised in cooperation with the German Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) office in Amman.

During the launch, KAS Representative in Jordan Otomar Oehring said community violence is a universal phenomenon that is not restricted to specific countries or societies. 

Jordan has recently witnessed a noticeable rise in incidents of societal violence, he added, noting that acts of aggression will diminish the rule of law, which is not in anyone’s best interest. 

Oehring said there is a dire need for holding seminars and dialogues to raise public awareness on this issue.

Lina Abu Nuwar, the director of KAFA, said societal violence, whether at universities or local communities, has become a worrying phenomenon.

She stressed that the responsibility for resolving this issue does not lie with just one party, but rather on all components of society. 

Violence will only end if all parties concerned cooperate to end it, including young people, Abu Nuwar said. 

“This is why KAFA Youth was born.”

Muthanna Arabiyat, one of the people behind the initiative, said the institutionalised campaign aims first and foremost to eliminate social violence based on a scientific and legislative approach that examines the reasons behind the phenomenon and comes up with solutions.

For the initiative’s organisers, there are basic concepts on which any endeavour to combat social violence should be based, including peaceful and democratic dialogue, the belief in Jordanians’ “collective” identity, institutionalised voluntary work, and the freedom of speech aside from defamation and character assassination.

One major step to combat community violence is to revisit related laws, they said. 

Responding to a question by The Jordan Times on how to tackle the legislative side, which is the responsibility of Parliament, Abu Nuwar said members of the initiative will target the Lower House and will engage in dialogue with MPs on laws that need to be revisited to eliminate social violence.

“We will lobby for amending these laws,” Arabiyat said. 

AMMAN — Authorities are investigating a stabbing incident that left one teenager dead in Northern Shuneh on Friday evening, according to official sources.

The 17-year-old boy was allegedly stabbed by his cousin, also 17, in the town of Manshieh, a senior official source told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival due to a stab wound to the stomach.

“We are still trying to determine the motive behind the stabbing since the suspect and the victim were good friends,” a second source said.

A team of pathologists headed by Ali Shotar of the Irbid National Institute of Forensic Medicine performed an autopsy on the victim and indicated that he died of a fatal stab wound to the stomach.

“The knife penetrated the stomach and the kidney causing internal bleeding,” the pathology report said.

The suspect reportedly fled from the area and turned himself in to the police two hours later, according to the source.

He is being detained at a juvenile correctional centre pending further investigation, the source added.

AMMAN — Jordanians and Palestinians from different walks of life took part in a forum on Saturday to voice their rejection of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposed “framework” for a final peace deal between Palestine and Israel.

Several intellectuals and representatives of the Kingdom’s political parties took part in the event, which was held on an empty plot of land near one of the capital’s hotels.

Zaki Bani Rsheid, deputy overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, said Kerry did not come to the region for tourism purposes, charging that he has a dangerous political agenda that will harm the Palestinian cause and threaten Jordan. 

“He [Kerry] wants to find what he says is a solution to the Arab-Zionist conflict at the expense of Palestinians’ right of return by resorting to the alternative homeland project,” Bani Rsheid told The Jordan Times during the forum.

He stressed that if past deals like the Wadi Araba Peace Treaty passed unnoticed, no new compromise would be accepted by the public.

Saturday’s meeting might lead to an ongoing programme of events to voice rejection of Kerry’s plans.

Ziad Masri, one of the participants, noted that Palestinians are fully aware of the conspiracy against them.  

“It is pretty obvious that the main aim behind these schemes is to further emphasise the presence of Israelis in Palestine,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Masri said such events are important because they raise public awareness and send a message to the whole world that Jordanians are aware of all these schemes. 

Saeed Jameel, another participant, said there should be no compromises on the right of return.

“If these speculations that media outlets published are true, both Palestinians and Jordanians will lose their rights,” he said.

Dalal Ashour said she will not accept the solution of creating an alternative homeland for the Palestinians in Jordan, stressing the importance of Palestinians’ right to return to their country.     

She noted that people have to learn from the past. 

“Some people say these media leaks are only speculation. In the past, we used to hear the same claims, but then all the reports came true,” Ashour added. 

AMMAN — Two brothers died of suffocation on Saturday while cleaning a well in the town of Sarih in Irbid Governorate, official sources said.

A third person, who was also in the well helping the brothers, suffered from suffocation and was listed in fair condition, a Civil Defence Department (CDD) official told The Jordan Times.

The three men went down the nine-metre deep well to clean it and took a diesel-operated water pump, the CDD official said.

“It seems that there wasn’t enough oxygen in the well and it caused them to suffocate,” he added.

The family of the 35- and 29-year-old victims were alerted to the incident after noticing that the well-cleaning operation was taking a long time and went to check on them, a second source said.

CDD rescue teams pulled the three men out and provided first aid, the source added.

“They were then rushed to a nearby hospital where one brother was pronounced dead on arrival and the second died an hour later,” he noted.

The source explained that deep water wells usually lack oxygen and need to be opened for a few days before cleaning to allow gases to be released from the closed area and allow oxygen in.

The fact that the men used a water pump that runs on diesel also contributed to decreasing the little oxygen that was in the well, the source pointed out.

Ali Shotar, who heads the Irbid National Institute of Forensic Medicine, told The Jordan Times that autopsies are expected to be performed on the victims on Sunday.

AMMAN — Jordanians participating in an open debate were split over the Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) recent decision to stop issuing and renewing licences for cafés serving water pipes (argileh). 

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji said the municipality’s decision came in response to a demand by the Ministry of Health, which sees smoking as “a plague”.

“The [Public Health Law] was passed in 2008, and ever since then, GAM has been considerate of the demands of restaurants and café owners to delay its enforcement,” Biltaji said last Thursday at the debate, organised by the Diwanieh initiative. 

The application of the law will go into effect April 1, 2014, since all licences issued to restaurants and cafés that offer argileh expire by March 31, according to the mayor.

Deputy Hind Fayez said she is not against prohibiting smoking in public areas, but she is against the method used to ban it.

“The decision was abrupt and lacked a clear plan,” she said, noting that the application of this law should have started under the Dome of Parliament and in Health Ministry and GAM facilities.

Fayez proposed launching anti-smoking awareness campaigns for children and incorporating related material in school curricula.  

For his part, former health minister Zeid Hamzah said it shocks him that some people are against banning smoking in public areas, despite the well known health risks associated with smoking and passive smoking.

He added that there is a difference between enjoying personal freedom and harming others.

Issam Fakhr Eddin, head of the Jordan Restaurants Association, said the association respects the Kingdom’s commitment to international health agreements that ban smoking in public areas.

“The smoking ban in public areas should be gradual… and it took first world countries a minimum of 10 years to enforce such a law,” he said, calling for a systematic plan with a time frame to enforce the ban.

Fakhr Eddin highlighted the economic repercussions of GAM’s decision.

“Cafés and restaurants that offer argileh contribute about JD40 million annually to the Treasury in taxes and fees and they provide jobs for around 12,000 individuals,” he said, calling for a new definition of “public places”.”Cafés should be listed as private places for smoking argileh,” Fakhr Eddin said, adding that most café goers smoke the water pipe.

The Public Health Law, which prohibits smoking in public places, was enforced in the Kingdom’s shopping malls and Queen Alia International Airport in March 2009, and in fast-food restaurants in June of the same year.

A Cabinet decision prohibiting smoking in ministries and public institutions went into force May 25, 2010.

According to the law, smoking is prohibited in public places, which include hospitals, healthcare centres, schools, cinemas, theatres, libraries, museums, public and non-governmental buildings, public transport vehicles, airports, closed playgrounds, lecture halls and any other location to be determined by the health minister.

Thursday’s debate was followed by a round of questions and comments from the audience.

Maan Awwad, who owns a café that serves argileh, said he renewed his licence two years ago and was not notified about the ban.

“As a café owner I have no problem with choosing another area to invest my money, but I was not told beforehand about the application of this law,” he told The Jordan Times during the debate, which was sponsored by the Young Arab Voices project, the British Council and the Anna Lindh Foundation.

“I am used to a certain lifestyle, which authorities cannot take away from me overnight,” he added, noting that he had the opportunity to open a café in another Arab country.

Biltaji said GAM is willing to facilitate the licensing of other businesses for owners of argileh cafés.

Sami Hourani, the founder of Diwanieh, told The Jordan Times that the issue is important because it tackles social, economic, health and legal aspects, in addition to touching on personal freedoms. 

“We are here to discuss facts and research results on the debate topic,” he said, noting that a Facebook poll shows that around 55 per cent of young Jordanians believe this ban trespasses on their personal freedom.

AMMAN — Criminal Court Prosecutor Ramzi Nawayseh on Saturday charged a 44-year-old woman and her two daughters with the murder of their husband/father on Friday in the town of Jiza near Queen Alia International Airport, according to an official source.

The mother and her daughters, aged 17 and 19, allegedly confessed to the murder, a senior official source told The Jordan Times.

“The suspects claimed that the victim returned home drunk and they had a heated argument about the matter,” the source said.

In their initial confession to the police and Nawayseh, the suspects claimed that one of them pushed the victim and he fell and hit a gas heater.

“The three then jumped on him and strangled him to death with their hands,” the source added.

“Family problems could be behind the killing but further investigations will help us learn more about the incident,” he noted.

The victim’s body was sent to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for an autopsy, and blood and tissue samples were sent to the criminal lab for further analysis, according to the source.

Nawayseh issued orders for the woman and her 19-year-old daughter to be ordered detained at Jweideh Women’s Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre. While the 17-year-old was sent to a juvenile correctional centre pending further investigations.

AMMAN — Jordan ranked among the worst countries of the world in terms of obesity, with 33 per cent of its population being obese, according to a report issued recently.

Oxfam’s World Food Index 2013 showed that the worst on the index in terms of obesity alone is Kuwait, with 42 per cent of the population being obese. 

Saudi Arabia came in second place with the United States and Egypt, where one in every three of their population is obese.

The study ranked Saudi Arabia as the worst in the unhealthy eating index, while other countries in the bottom of the index also include Jordan, Fiji, Kuwait, Mexico and the US.

According to the report, 14.4 per cent of Jordan’s population are diabetic, while 17.9 per cent of the population in Saudi Arabia have diabetes.

According to Oxfam, around the world, one in eight people go to bed hungry every night despite there being enough food for everyone. 

“Over-consumption, misuse of resources and waste are common elements of a system that leaves hundreds of millions without enough to eat,” the organisation said in a statement posted on its website.

To better understand the challenges that people face getting enough of the right food, Oxfam has compiled a global snapshot of 125 countries indicating the best and worst places to eat. 

“It is the first of its kind and reveals the different challenges that people face depending on where they live,” the organisation said.

The index listed the Netherlands as No. 1 in the world “for having the most plentiful, nutritious, healthy and affordable diet, beating France and Switzerland into second place”.

Chad is last in the 125th spot behind Ethiopia and Angola, according to Oxfam.

European countries occupy the entire top 20 bar — Australia ties in eighth place — while the US, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil and Canada all fall outside. African countries occupy the bottom 30 places in the table except for four. Laos, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India are there too.