Jordanian security arrested three activists for distributing leaflets calling for a general strike to protest food prices and government policies that fail to help the poor, activists said on Sunday.
Khalid Kalaldeh, head of the leftist “Social Jordanian Movement”, told Reuters the arrests took place on Saturday when members of his small group handed out leaflets […]

“In order to prevent unemployment rates from rising in Jordan, we have to create 80,000 jobs annually, or, in other words, a job every seven minutes,”. These words were recently spoken by HM Queen Rania at the opening of a conference in Amman on unemployment.
I always found labor day in Jordan to be a […]

Sometimes, when I read up on developments in Dubai, I get the feeling it’s a city that consists of a giant tub of money. Just a casual glance at some recent news might lead you to that conclusion:
- A Dubai-based Arab company has become the first ever in the world to charter a space craft […]

If you haven’t read Khalaf’s primer on the issue, definitely check it out. The new Salt Document is a pretty stunning and rare act of cultural and social reform on the ground level, specifically in adherence to the new socioeconomic realities. Some of the highlights focus mainly on wedding festivities:
- A bride’s jewelry (as part […]

I wanted to point to a recent piece of local news where the government is expected to remove both the 16% sales tax and customs duty on renewable energy devices like solar panels and windmills. It was interesting because a few days ago I was in a meeting where Ahmad Humeid noted the high prices […]

Here’s a selection of my delicious pickings for this week:
Hilary Death Watch Update: Hilary drops from 12% to a 9% chance of winning the Democratic nomination on Slate’s Death Watch. From Barack endorsements and superdelegates lead, Slate boils down what went wrong for Hilary this past week.
USA 2008: The Great Depression: Food stamps are the […]

There has been a tremendous move since 2005, for the government to build public housing for the homeless and the less fortunate, under the directives of HM King Abdullah. The fruition of those directives are only now beginning to emerge as some of the projects are in the processes of being finished. The first phase […]

Apparently, there were “secret” plans, headed by the Bakhit government, to build a Casino at the Dead Sea; a project that was supposedly funded in the millions by an unnamed “British Kurd” investor (don’t ask me why his nationality is important, you know how the Jordanian media is). Upon discovering these plans, it also seems […]

It’s like I’m living in the Twilight Zone:
The Jordanian government said Monday it had terminated an agreement signed with a Pakistani-Chinese coalition of firms to build a light railway between Amman and the industrial city of Zarqa for legal reasons. “From a legal viewpoint, the documents presented by the coalition included a number of issues […]

Entitled the “Sarhan Well” - with the word sarhan meaning “daydreaming” as well as the name of the oil well in the valley known as “Wadi Sarhan” - I think Emad Hajjaj’s latest caricature perfectly describes this country’s pipe dreams when it comes to oil production; a topic that has picked up some steam recently […]

Two articles of interest caught my attention today, both related to water in Jordan, or the lack thereof:
Jordan has invited private firms to tender for the Disi project — estimated to cost 944 million dollars — on a build, operate and transfer basis under a 25-year-concession agreement.
“The treasury will handle around 220 million dollars […]

The latest draft of the new traffic law has been given urgent status in the Lower House, and will likely be put up for discussion but seeking an endorsement after the recess. Running a red light will now cost you 250JDs, that’s twice the average monthly minimum wage, which the average Jordanian earns. If you’re […]

Folks, I know that those of us who are still sane have been massively affected by the “Messenger of Allah Unites Us” campaign in Jordan that is boycotting Danish products. Suddenly, Lurpak, our favorite butter is no longer sold in stores, and I know, I know, we were all shocked to our core when we […]

As most people know by now, there is a massive shortage of bread in Egypt these days with reports of actual deaths as many Egyptians line up in long bread queues. Mubarak has even declared a sort of martial law on subsidized bread, by ordering the army to increase production and aid in the distribution […]

This issue regarding the Danish cartoons is like a monkey on the nation’s back: it just won’t go away! The redundant quality to it has rendered it even more absurd than the first time around, which by now feels like ages ago! It’s like beating a dead dog with a stick.
On the front page […]

With the approved budget expanding by leaps and bounds this year, the deficit is on the rise. The lifting subsidies may end up helping the government save a decent amount of money (close to $1.5 billion according to officials) but then the likely question becomes: what good is all that money if it’s outmatched by […]