الجمعيـــــة الانكليزيـــــة الاردنيـــــة
Anglo Jordanian Society

The Prince of Wales arrived in Jordan

The Prince of Wales arrived in Jordan at the start of an eight-day tour of the Middle East during which they will see for themselves the scale of the Syrian refugee crisis. For more information please see this link.

First batch of Jordanians departs for Hajj

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Salam Abbadi on Friday saw off the first group of Jordanian pilgrims leaving for Mecca to perform the Hajj (greater pilgrimage).
At a ceremony on Friday 12th October 2012, he stressed that the ministry has taken all the needed measures to support Jordanian pilgrims for this year’s Hajj.

New gov’t receives congratulations

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Cabinet members on Saturday 13th October 2012 received congratulations on their appointment from the public at the Guest House opposite the Prime Ministry.
Several Royal family members and senior officials also extended their congratulations to the government.

Princess Alia Tabbaa takes part in anti-hunger march

AMMAN — HRH Princess Alia Tabbaa on Saturday attended a march against hunger, organised by the Jordanian Food Bank on the occasion of World Food Day, observed annually on October 16.
The march, titled “Together… Against Hunger”, highlighted the need to combat hunger and enhance food security, head of the food bank Kawthar Qatarneh said.

The Nabateans

The latest title from Medina Publishing Ltd : The Nabateans:A brief history of Petra and Madain Saleh by David , is now available retailing at £14.95.

The AJS can offer members a special discount of 25% off this new issue. Please contact Kitty Carruthers quoting "Anglo Jordanian Society" for the discount at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Details on the publishing house can be found at: www.medinapublishing.com

Operation Smile founder in Jordan receives int’l award

Nov 15, 2012
AMMAN — The International Women’s Forum, a US-based international group founded in 1982, recently named Jordanian Amal Zureikat as one of this year’s recipients of the “Women Who Make a Difference” award, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.
Zureikat, founder and chairperson of the Jordanian branch of Operation Smile, received the award at an international gathering in San Francisco last month.
“Operation Smile is a global medical children charity that has treated thousands of children born with facial deformities,” the statement said. In Jordan, the organisation “has also treated hundreds of Palestinian and Iraqi children”.
“The Women Who Make a Difference Award is given annually to women of exceptional leadership whose achievements have helped overcome barriers to women advancement,” the statement said.

US backs King’s reform map, urges peaceful protests

WASHINGTON — The United States Thursday 15th November said it supported the roadmap for reform laid out by His Majesty King Abdullah and urged Jordanians to protest peacefully.
“There’s a thirst for change,” deputy US State Department spokesperson Mark Toner acknowledged, adding the Jordanian people had “economic, political concerns” as well as “aspirations”.
The United States was monitoring the situation closely, Toner added, saying the US was aware of “the difficult economic situation” and that protesters had a right to demonstrate “as long as they do so peacefully”.
“We support King Abdullah’s roadmap for reform and the aspirations of the Jordanian people to foster a more inclusive political process that will promote security, stability as well as economic development,” Toner said.
Jordan was “an important strategic partner and ally of the United States”, he added.

Fuel price riots enter 4th day

AMMAN – Peaceful protests took place in various parts of the country on Friday against a government decision to lift fuel subsidies, with some clashes between protesters reported in the northeastern city of Mafraq.
A mass rally was held in downtown Amman with the participation of leftist and Islamist activists who called for a general strike on Sunday, urging citizens across the country to take part in the protests, which on Friday entered their fourth day.
During the peaceful rally, which featured a heavy security presence, some 5,000 protestors called on the authorities to reverse the decision, chanting "the Jordanian people will not stand down."
In what marked a rare and provocative escalation in their slogans, a group of activists also chanted slogans calling for "regime change," claiming that it has "lost its legitimacy “with the measure. The Muslim Brotherhood, the main opposition group and a chief organizer of the protest, quickly distanced itself from such slogans.
Leading Islamist Zaki Bani Irshaid was quoted as saying his group’s demand is reforming the regime.
Also on Friday, thousands of citizens hit the streets in leftist- and Islamist-led rallies in the outlying governorates to protest the measure, with rallies in Salt, Tafileh, Karak, Maan and Mafraq.
All rallies ended peacefully, with the exception of the one in Mafraq where some clashes between protesters and counter-protesters were reported
Activists said they were planning to return to the streets in urban centers across the country this evening, including a mass rally planned at Amman’s Interior Ministry circle at 7:00PM. The Public Security Department on Thursday said it would not allow any rally that would disrupt traffic at any vital intersection.
The demonstrations marked the fourth straight day of protests over the decision to lift fuel subsidies which according to authorities have resulted in nearly 200 arrests, over 70 injuries and the death of one person which the police said was with a group of gunman storming a police station in the northern Irbid governorate.
Riots erupted within an hour of the government decision late Tuesday, which led to an immediate 33 per cent rise in fuel prices and a doubling in cooking and heating gas prices.
In the first 72 hours of the nationwide protests, some rioters torched government buildings, looted shops and banks and stormed police stations, with the PSD reporting over 100 separate riots during the period.
On Thursday, the authorities vowed a "firm response “to the violence, accusing vandals and criminals of taking advantage of public anger for personal gains.
Activists and opposition parties have distanced themselves from the violence- claiming that the bulk of the riots are being carried out by spontaneous mobs that have no ties to any political or social group.
Despite the rising violence, the Muslim Brotherhood and grassroots protest coalitions have vowed to continue their protests until the government reverses the measure.
The government has defended its decision, claiming that the slashing of the JD800 million in subsidies was necessary to prevent the country from tipping into a financial crisis.

HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein praises Nashama el Olympiad

From http://www.joc.jo/

HRH Prince Feisal Al Hussein, President of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC) has come out in praise for the members of the Nashama El-Olympiad competing in London 2012.

At the midway stage of the Games, HRH Prince Feisal has visited the delegation and spoke of the excellent way it has conducted itself over the past 10 days.

The Prince made it clear that the Olympic Games is not all about winning medals, but gaining vital experience which can be shared when they return back home with other youngsters coming into sport.

He attended the boxing where Ihab Darweesh lost to the Cuban World Champion but he highlighted the Jordanian boxer’s brave performance as typifying the attitude of the delegation as a whole.

 "Ihab did his best, and that’s all we expect of all of our athletes at any level,” he said. "These athletes in London are an inspiration to all and we hope they get the appreciation and support they deserve.”

Of the four five Nashame El-Olympiad members to compete to date, three achieved personal records while Ihab won his first round match in the boxing. Ibrahim Bisharat was the first to admit he did not reach his usual standards when he failed to qualify for the second day of the equestrian.

Jordan still has four athletes to come, three in the taekwondo and one in the marathon on the final day next Sunday.

Positive developments in sports can be seen and sensed

Published June 20 2012 by The Jordan Times

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), said on Tuesday that positive developments in sports in the Kingdom can be seen and sensed.
“Our aim is to build a better future for sports in Jordan through our partnership with sports federations and the media. This is the time to build better organisation and planning for the next generation of athletes,” Prince Feisal said to media representatives at the JOC headquarters.
The Prince focused on the work and effort of restructuring the JOC and the need to have experienced financial and HR managers who can work in attracting other resources to help sponsor sports in the Kingdom and ease the burden on the government.
“We are working on a comprehensive capacity-building project for staff which will guarantee a permanent evaluation in order to develop their work based on their qualifications and skills,” he said.
The new vision for the JOC covers major developments in relation to the federations, expanding sports in the Kingdom and working on the new generation of athletes.
The Prince stated that the JOC is planning to invest in a centre to serve athletes.
“The centre will include all major aspects of a sports centre such as training, sports medicine, dieticians in addition to others and will operate based on specific criteria that will assist the federations in upgrading their work and plans.
 
The Prince said the JOC wants to be a partner with the sports federations and not just be an observer.
“We want to have an open channel with the federations and establish a continuous dialogue to assist them to overcome the various challenges they are facing. The federations should work on their strategic plans based on the JOC’s vision of a better future for sports. We have some federations that work relentlessly to develop their work and others that work based on personal agenda. The JOC is a partner not an observer,” he said.
 
Recently there have been some controversies regarding suggestions to amend articles in the sports federations which were discussed technically and legally with the federations and sent to the Legislation and Opinion Bureau.
One of the most important issues was the need to have a college degree to be a member in the federation. 
“During the London Olympics we will have an excellent chance to meet with several international federations and study their regulations and benefit from them. We need to work as one team to overcome all challenges we face to have a better result,” he said.
 
Meanwhile, Prince Feisal said that Jordan’s participation in London Olympic is a great achievement and that the last four years were very exciting in preparing the athletes who will represent the Kingdom.
“We are really proud of our participation and we were so close in having the basketball team with us. The Olympic qualification programme assisted in qualifying athletes which was part of the comprehensive plan by the JOC,” he said.
 
London Olympics marks Jordan’s ninth appearance at the Olympics. Jordan’s delegation to the July 27-August 12 Games consists of Mohammad Abu Libdeh, Nadeen Dawani and Dana Haider (taekwondo), Ibrahim Bisharat (equestrian), Ehab Darwish (boxing), Talita Baqleh and Karim Enab (swimming), Mithqal Abadi and Reema Farid (athletics).
 
“We still have a long way in the organisation process, changing mentality and social culture towards sports but we have a vision and a message we need to fulfil for a better tomorrow,” the Prince said.
 
At the end of the meeting, the Prince stressed on the role of the media in developing and assisting sports in having a better vision saying that having an open and clear channel with the media is the key to success.
The planning stage will start after the London Olympics and will continue till the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Renovated Wasfi Tal Museum to open in July

by Muath Freij  "The Jordan Times May 03,2012"

The Wasfi Tal Museum will be rehabilitated over the next two months

and is expected to open to the public in July (Photo courtesy of GAM)

AMMAN — Renovation work on the Wasfi Tal Museum is expected to take two months and it will open to the public in July, according to a Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) official.
 Mohammad Kharabsheh, GAM’s executive director of engineering, told The Jordan Times that GAM had floated a tender for the restoration project two months ago and 10 contractors had submitted bids.
Last year, His Majesty King Abdullah instructed GAM to rehabilitate the museum, a historical and national heritage site located in the Kamalieh area that was the home of Tal, a key national figure who was serving as prime minister in 1970, when he was assassinated in Cairo.
The King also directed the municipality to evaluate the status of museums and homes of national figures with historical value in order to take the measures needed to preserve them.
“We wanted to renovate the house and show it to the public as it was when it was first built. The aim behind the project is to preserve the old image and heritage of the house,” Kharabsheh told The Jordan Times earlier this week.

The GAM official noted that the furniture used by the late premier was not removed and will be restored to let visitors see the house exactly as it looked when Tal lived in it.
 He indicated that renovations will include maintenance work on the windows and sewage network. Electricity will be also installed.
 The estate’s other buildings, which used to host guests, the guard and animals, will be also rehabilitated, along with its grounds.
 Kharabsheh added that GAM had signed an agreement with the Ministry of Culture in September last year to transfer responsibility for the property from the ministry to GAM.

AMMAN — Fifty per cent of the Disi Water Conveyance Project's production wells have been drilled, as overall progress in venture reached 76 per cent, according to a source involved in the implementation of the project.

Work on 28 production wells is completed, while the nine piezometer wells have been drilled, the source, who preferred anonymity, told The Jordan Times on Saturday.

The Disi project, which started in 2007 and is scheduled to be finalised next year, entails drilling 64 wells, 55 of which will be used for the generation of water, while nine will serve as piezometer wells to measure the elevation of water.

"Sixty-six per cent of the project construction has been completed, while 72 per cent of the 66-kilometre ductile iron pipes network connecting the wells in the southern Disi aquifer is finished," the source said.

Being carried out on a build-operate-transfer basis and implemented by the Turkish company GAMA, the Disi project seeks to provide the capital with 110 million cubic metres of water annually via pipeline, which starts at the ancient Disi aquifer in southern Jordan and ends in Amman, passing through several water stations in Maan, Tafileh, Karak and Madaba.

"More than 55 per cent of the steel conveyance pipeline, which totals 340 kilometres, is completed. Around 150 kilometres of pipes will be laid and backfilled in trenches before the end of this month," the source underscored.

In addition, more than 95 per cent of construction of reservoirs and project facilities is completed, according to the source, who noted that the project's workforce now stands at 5,500 personnel, more than 60 per cent of them Jordanians.

Jordan is well on its way to the future - King

Published: 17 November 2011 by The Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) - The Arab Spring represents a season of opportunity and growth, His Majesty King Abdullah said late Tuesday.
In a speech he delivered at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) in London on Tuesday night during a celebration to mark its 35th anniversary, the King reiterated that the Middle East is currently witnessing historic changes, with every country going through its own path.

"We meet at an historic time for my region. Each of our countries has had its own, distinct path. But one name has come to describe it all: the Arab Spring... a season of transition, growth, turbulence and hope," he said.

His Majesty elaborated that "much depends on what happens next", suggesting three reasons for "confidence": the inclusiveness of events, the centrality of human dignity and global awareness.