His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday bestowed medals of various types and orders on 40 officials, civil servants and representatives of various sectors in the country.

During a ceremony at the Royal Court, attended by Her Majesty Queen Rania, members of the Royal family, Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and senior officials, King Abdullah bestowed the Al Hussein Decoration for Distinguished Contribution of the First Order on HRH Princess Alia Bint Al Hussein, head of the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation.

Ibrahim Ezziddine, former information minister and chairman of the Higher Media Council, received the Kawkab Medal of the First Order in recognition of his distinguished efforts during his years of service, while Mohammad Raji Al Shura, who works as notary public and managed to foil a forgery attempt, was awarded the Istiqlal Medal of the Third Order.

Zeid Abdul Qader Assaf, an Audit Bureau employee who saved the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and other institutions JD15 million by detecting violations and unfair agreements, received the Istiqlal Medal of the Second Order.

Another recipient of the same decoration was Atef Zu'bi, director of the Jerash Water Department, which reduced the percentage of lost water to 23 per cent in 2006, the highest percentage compared to other governorates.

Wafa Abdullat and Nisreen Al Nasser, who head the Scientific Research Unit at the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, were awarded the Istiqlal Medal of the Second and Third Order respectively, in appreciation of their innovation, leadership skills and competence.

The King also bestowed the Istiqlal Medal of the Third Order on Jaser Mheirat, secretary of the political postal office at the Foreign Ministry, who upgraded the office and reduced expenditure by JD15,000, and Fatenah Bashiti, head of the Health Ministry Legal Office, in recognition of her efforts in upgrading the health sector in the country.

During today's ceremony, Itaf Halaseh, head of the working women's department at the Labour Ministry, received the Istiqlal Medal of the Second Order in appreciation of her efforts in creating job opportunities for women in remote areas.

Ashraf Kurdi was awarded the Al Hussein Decoration for Distinguished Contribution of the First Order for his research in the field neurology, while Taekwondo champion Mohammad Abbadi, who won a gold medal in the Doha Asian Games, received the Al Hussein Medal for Excellence of the First Order.

Hassan Ali Al Bir, better known as Abul Ali, who owns a kiosk selling books in downtown Amman was decorated with the Istiqlal Medal of the Fourth Order.

The honors' list also included employees from the Prime Ministry, the ministries of interior, finance, information and communication technology, tourism, Awqaf, energy, transport, environment, public sector reform, political development, social development, industry and trade, agriculture, municipal affairs, culture, housing and public works, as well as the Senate and the Lower House.

The Jordan Times