Local

AMMAN — A total of 8,399 people visited the tombs of Prophet Mohammad’s companions in the Southern Mazar in April, Mohammad Sarairah, the supervisor of the shrines, said on Sunday.

Sarairah noted that 485 of the visitors were Arab, 3,088 were from other foreign countries, and 4,826 were Jordanians, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Thirty six teams from various Jordanian universities took part in the Hult Prize national competition held on May 4-5 at King Hussein Business Park, hoping to seize $150,000 in seed funding for their innovative projects in the field of energy.

The world’s largest student competition and crowd-sourcing platform for the creation of new social businesses, the Hult Prize launched the national challenge in various countries across the globe, aiming to “leverage in-country university students to solve global challenges with a dedicated local accelerator and a prize to be awarded to the winning startup”, according to a Hult Prize statement sent to The Jordan Times.

“Throughout these two days, we have witnessed incredible talents who presented a wide array of innovative solutions to instill change in millions of lives by 2025 through harnessing the power of energy, which was announced as this year’s challenge by former US president Bill Clinton ” Mohammed Sammour, head of campuses at Hult Prize Jordan told The Jordan Times.

Solutions in the fields of connectivity, education, health, mobility, water or agriculture were presented to a jury of 12 experts in the field of energy, businessmen and corporate representatives, who assessed the students' idea's potential to develop into a viable startup fostering sustainable change.

"What makes the Hult Prize really different is that we look for early-stage entrepreneurs; any student with an idea can apply and take a place in this journey. By time, and after the training and the networking events, those teams can improve their ideas and start building them as real startups,” Sammour said.

Team Plutonium, which was selected as one of the seven finalists in the second day of the competition, displayed an invention allowing the production of electrical power from the flow of water in pipelines while Team S-Toilet developed a tech-solution for public bathrooms to improve health while reducing cost of sanitation.

"It is the solution that will change people's lives and perspectives towards public facilities, especially bathrooms," said Jordanian student Sinan Abderrahim Assaid, who came up with the idea, adding "S-Toilet is a bathroom that works like a vending machine to be installed in crowded public areas such as malls and companies. With its smart sensors that assess the bathroom's cleanliness levels, S-Toilet will nudge the user's behaviour and help keep the bathroom clean".

“We are living in a time where economic disparities between the rich and the poor are greater than ever… in a world where war and conflict are the standard not the exception. While we have advanced technologically as a society and global interconnectivity has made us more empathetic — we have collectively failed to rise up and take action against these global atrocities even though we are more equipped today than any other generation before us to solve them,” said Ahmad Ashkar, Hult Prize CEO.

“Today is not the beginning, today is not the end. Today is a dynamic change to the future," he said in his opening speech, calling all participants to "be a generation of change" by focusing on ideas rather than financial statuses.

Other finalists included Netsia, University of Jordan's SEE, Supermind from the Hashemite University, Eco-Friendly, 4 Wheels, and Here for Heat, according to Sammour.

The winning team, Here for Heat was awarded the $150,000 prize to further develop their pharmaceutical heating formula, which already had them selected as one of the six best teams in the regional finals held in Melbourne, Sydney, in March.

“The idea behind our project was to serve the health sector in producing a safe pharmaceutical formula that generates thermal energy inside the human body in order to combat cold weather and increase the feeling of warmth,” pharmacy student at the University of Petra Ramah Abu Safieh told The Jordan Times, noting that the formula is made “only from natural plant extractions and is alcohol free”.

The four-member team is now preparing for the intensive start-up accelerator training held at the UK Ashbridge Castle along with 49 other teams from around the globe. They also hope to become one of the six international teams to be selected to attend the global finals held at the UN headquarters in New York, where they will compete for the $1 million prize to be handed out by Bill Clinton as a capital investment for their innovation.

"We are so proud of what we have accomplished and we are even fuller of enthusiasm for the next stages of the competition," said Abu Safieh, after her and her teammates Shaden Thwieb, Duha Ghazi and Murad Balqar were awarded the prize.

The competition was organised with the support of Zain Jordan, FMO Dutch Development Bank, Blombank Lebanon and the United Nations, according to Sammour.

AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) and the Arabian International Construction and Contracting Company (AICC), owned by the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, on Sunday signed an agreement to rehabilitate the Great Arab Revolt Square in Aqaba, at a cost of JD7 million.

ASEZA Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh said that the agreement aims at renovating the square and the flagpole in it, as well as adding several buildings of a total area of 4,500sq.m that include five museums to house Aqaba historical and archaeological pieces, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AICC representative Col. Sami Sawair said that the company will implement the job within 360 days of beginning of work as mentioned in the contract.

AMMAN — The destruction of cultural heritage and historical sites is one of the region's main challenges, according to Professor Emeritus Muawiyah Ibrahim, who recently delivered a lecture titled “Architectural Heritage of Yemen and the Effect of the Current War”.

Held at the Friends of Archaeology and Heritage society, the event attracted an audience of scholars and heritage lovers, including Sharifa Nofa Bint Nasser and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Lina Annab.

Ibrahim, who used to be the Jordanian representative at UNESCO, spoke about the most well-known sites in Yemen, stressing that “he never believed in borders and, instead, jumped over them”.

In 1977, he led an international team of scholars to Timna and Marib, two ancient towns on the trade route between the south of the Arabian Peninsula and the Levant. “From the very beginning I was impressed with the Yemeni heritage," Ibrahim said, adding that the first Africans came to the Arabian Peninsula via Yemen as the country was the centre of commerce in ancient times.

Compared with other parts of the peninsula, Yemen is relatively populous, and recent research showed that Omani population migrated to modern day Yemen, the expert pointed out.

The kingdom of Awsan (southwestern Arabia) was the first Arab state, dating back to 13-12 centuries BC. As time moved closer to the early Islam period, the region came under political influence of the Sassanian Empire, Ibrahim continued, citing some 20 churches that were excavated from that interlude period.

One of characteristics of the Yemeni heritage is the mud-brick architecture and the craft which enabled Yemenis to erect 13-storey buildings or “ancient skyscrapers”, Ibrahim underlined.

Four UN World Heritage sites are present in Yemen including Sanaa’s Old City, Zabid, Shiban and Socotra Island, he said, noting that many archaeological locations are not on the list.

"I established contacts with Yemeni scholars and foreign missions," Ibrahim elaborated, outlining 61 sites with a different percentage of destruction. One of the historical monuments affected by the ongoing conflict is Imam Hadi Mosque, which was built in Sa'ada in 897.

Kawkaban, a town on the northwestern part of the country has also been exposed to systematic bombardment and the old citadel was heavily damaged, he continued, adding that "even before the war, some sites were subject to bulldozing and looting".

For Ibrahim, one of the engineering wonders of the ancient world is the Marib Dam, constructed in the 8th century BC in the valley of Dhana in the Balaq Hills. 

He also referred to the town of Sirwah, saying "The strong cultural and commercial connections between the Nabataen Kingdom and south Arabian states are proved by remains of pottery and inscriptions".

In Sirwah, archaeologist from the German Archaeological Institute have found and salvaged an inscription that is longer than seven metres, "providing abundance of information on state affairs, religious beliefs and trade"  the veteran archaeologist underscored.

He called on the whole international academic community and local stakeholders to protect and conserve the rich Yemeni heritage and to "initiate urgent action before the sites are destroyed beyond recognition".

AMMAN — The first ever "Start-Up Zaatari" event concluded last week, following two days of social innovation exhibitions and workshops held by The One Foundation and UNICEF to showcase and unleash the talent and potential of young people in Zaatari refugee camp, a UNICEF statement said. 

"Start-Up Zaatari" is part of the UNICEF X ONE humanitarian change makers lab, a new partnership to equip vulnerable youth in Jordan with the knowledge and business skills needed to design their own solutions to everyday challenges and to promote entrepreneurship and jobs.

Over 100 young people participated in skills workshops — including robotics, creative visioning, fashion design and artificial intelligence —esigned to foster their creativity and empower them to become co-creators, rather than recipients, of the products and services that impact their lives in the camp, the statement read. 

“We are very excited to be part of this event celebrating the energy and innovation of youth in Zaatari,” said The One Foundation, adding “this lab is providing talented young people in Jordan with transferrable skills and a path to contribute economically to a better future for themselves and the region.”

The event was made possible by a The One Foundation grant provided through UNICEF Ireland, allowing talented youth to develop their skills and ideas on how be change makers in their communities, while transforming services that are provided for vulnerable and crisis-affected populations. 

Joining the event, the executive director of UNICEF Ireland, Peter Power, said: “UNICEF Ireland is very proud of our association with The One Foundation and what it has achieved for Syrian children affected by the ongoing conflict inside Syria.  Youth are at risk of becoming the forgotten victims of humanitarian crisis. By providing them with innovative social entrepreneurship skills they need to make a lasting sustainable impact for many years, we can prevent a lost generation.”

UNICEF’s newest youth goodwill ambassador, Muzoon, who used to live in Zaatari camp, sent a message saying: "This is exactly the type of opportunity I was looking for when I was in Zaatari. Young people in this camp will benefit enormously from this development. They particularly need this support to help them cope and learn the skills needed to rebuild Syria,” expressing admiration for the project. 

For his part, UNICEF Jordan Representative Robert Jenkins voiced his excitement for the partnership and the positive change it will create in these communities.

The event was supported by a dozen national organisations and individuals who volunteered their time to inspire and motivate young people in the camp. Exhibitions, pitch competitions, performances and inspiring talks demonstrated how social innovation can contribute to building an inclusive and resilient community, the statement concluded.

AMMAN — Jerash is garnering a reputation as a "must see" destination for international visitors to the Kingdom, thanks to collective efforts by stakeholders, according to a tourism expert.

In April, Jerash recorded a 100 per cent hike in the number of visitors compared to the same month of 2017, Jerash antiquities director Ziad Ghunimat said.

The number of visitors from all nationalities in April reached 39,000 with entry-ticket revenues reaching JD265, 675, compared with 23,150 visitors in April 2017 and JD133, 175 in ticket revenues, according to Ghunimat.

Yousef Zreiqat, a tourism expert, said that Jerash, located one-hour drive to the north of Amman, used to be excluded from most touristic itineraries as visitors were not very keen on visiting the site.

"The way the ancient city was promoted did not represent it as the special Roman city it is in terms of preservation and diversity of cultures," Zreiqat told The Jordan Times.

Jerash the "Pompeii of the East" is considered one of the most complete Roman cities in the world and has monuments that were built by many civilisations including Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Umayyad, Abbasids, Ottomans and more, Zreiqat said, adding that "the Roman era was the golden age of the city, but it was only one among many civilisations that settled in it over thousands of years".

"Touring the archaeological park of Jerash, a visitor can see Greco-Roman temples, over 15 Christian churches, a synagogue and two 8th century mosques," the expert said.

He called on stakeholders to improve the promotion of the ancient city based on deeper understanding of the city's significance.

Sleiman Abu Dalu, a travel agent, said that most international travel agencies have started to include Jerash in their trips upon clients' requests.

"When my clients arrive to the archaeological site, they carry little expectations, but they are usually surprised by the uniqueness and size of the preserved city," tourist guide Amer Nizami said.

AMMAN — Planning Minister Imad Fakhoury and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) President Suma Chakrabarti on Sunday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) establishing a Sector Skills Organisation in hospitality and tourism, according to an EBRD statement.

The organisation, formed by the private sector and professional associations with public sector participation, will promote the development of specific skills needed to boost the local tourism and hospitality industry.

With its world heritage sites and natural and cultural attractions, including a distinctive cuisine, Jordan’s tourism and hospitality sector is worth more than 10 per cent of the country’s GDP (over JD2.8 billion in 2016), creating many job opportunities across the country. 

However, according to sector employers, Jordan’s formal education system is currently unable to provide the skills required to further improve service quality and help the industry grow, the statement said.

The Sector Skills Organisation will not only help hotels, tour operators, guides, food services and restaurants to invest in their staff’s development but also help potential employees gain the skills that are most in demand by the industry, the EBRD said.

The organisation will promote tourism and hospitality careers, identify gaps in technical skills and help set up training programmes in coordination with vocational institutions and schools. It will also help introduce specific qualifications and certifications of standards.

During the ceremony, Fakhoury expressed appreciation for the Bank’s initiative, which he described as “timely” and coming in response to actual needs on the ground, a Planning Ministry statement said. 

He said it contributes in translating some urgent priorities under the different strategies (including the National Human Resource Development Strategy and the National Employment Strategy) into “actions and tangible results”. 

The two training facilities already supported by that EBRD — the Abdali Mall Recruitment and Training Centre and the Ayla Academy — have produced more than 250 qualified youth, 65 per cent of whom found permanent jobs, Fakhoury noted.

In addition to supporting the tourism sector, which constitutes 10 per cent of the Jordanian economy, the organisation’s creation is in line with strategies to further develop and upgrade the technical vocational education and training sector, by reforming and applying best practices in the field, providing accreditation and certification and establishing centres of excellence in niche areas to bridge the growing gap between supply and demand in the market, the minister said.

Minister of Tourism Lina Annab, EBRD Director of the Eastern Mediterranean region Heike Harmgart and Ministry of Labour Secretary General Hani Khleifat attended the ceremony.

In preparation for the 27th Annual Meeting of the EBRD’s Governors and Business Forum set to kick off at the Dead Sea on May 9, Fakhoury also held a meeting with banks officials.

Themed “Energising Economies”, the meeting will engage participants in discussions on a variety of issues including efforts to support economic growth and enhance the business environment in the countries and regions targeted by the Bank’s operations and investments, the minister explained.

Debates will also focus on a number of sectors such as energy, infrastructure, finance and modern techniques in the provision of financial services and participation in capital financing, among others, according to Fakhoury.

 The event, which will be held under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah, will see the participation of more than 2,000 members of official delegations and local and international representatives from the private sector, Fakhoury said.

AMMAN — The Lower House, during its last meeting of the second ordinary session on Sunday endorsed amendments to the 2009 roads law.

The legislation allows the Public Works and Housing Ministry to install road surveillance cameras and accredit their data for judicial procedures, unless proven otherwise, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The law is based on the ministry’s role in establishing and renovating roads, and implementing all works that can guarantee their sustainability and the safety of street users so as to avoid any violations.

A Royal Decree was issued on Wednesday, proroguing the Parliament’s second ordinary session as of May 12.

Under Article 34 of the Constitution, the King has the power to convene, inaugurate, adjourn and prorogue the Parliament.

Also during Sunday’s session, headed by Speaker Atef Tarawneh and attended by Cabinet members, MPs rejected the 2010 temporary law of the Jordan Railway Corporation for its contradiction to the 2016 Investment Fund Law and for the fact that the corporation does not even exist.

The Lower Chamber also endorsed the 2018 amendments to the law on accreditation of higher education institutions, which is aimed at preparing a national framework for qualifications under a classification that shows the level of each qualification.

The amendments are also aimed at narrowing the gap between educational institutions and employers on the concept of “qualification”, in addition to finding a reference to organise academic expertise.  

AMMAN — A delegation representing the Jordan Europe Business Association (JEBA) will visit Poland at the end of June to explore boosting trade ties and maximising benefit from the EU relaxed rules of origin deal for Jordanian exports to Europe, Polish Ambassador in Amman Andrzej Swiezaczynski said.

“We are very optimistic about this visit and that it will help business delegations from both sides to look into increasing cooperation in various sectors, which will reflect positively on trade ties,” the ambassador said on Sunday on the occasion of Poland’s national day that falls on May 3. The embassy will observe the national day on Monday, May 7.

Representatives from both sides will also look into benefiting from the EU relaxed rules of origin agreement signed between the EU and Jordan in 2016 under which manufacturers in Jordan can import up to 70 per cent of the raw materials used in production, and still label the finished products as “Made in Jordan”, qualifying them for trade concessions. The agreement is valid for ten years.

According to the ambassador, trade exchange between the two countries reached around 12 million euros in the first two months of 2018 compared with 14.4 million euros in the first two months of 2017.

“The drop followed recent measures by the Jordanian government that entailed increasing sales tax and some fees… but we are optimistic that trade will go back to normal and increase soon,” Swiezaczynski said.

On tourism, the ambassador said that the number of Polish tourists coming to Jordan is expected to increase largely starting this year as budget operator Ryanair will start operating flights from Warsaw and Kraków in October 2018.

“The number of Polish tourists coming to Jordan rose by about 30 per cent in 2017… Jordan enjoys many beautiful places such as Jerash, Petra, Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and others,” he noted.

Commending Jordan’s role in providing help to the Syrian refugees, the ambassador said that Poland is currently discussing with Jordanian authorities the establishment of a hospital to benefit Syrian refugees and host communities in the Kingdom, noting that Poland will boost its aid to Jordan this year to reduce the pressure caused by the presence of large numbers of refugees, with a special focus on education and medical services.

Poland and Jordan enjoy “excellent” cooperation in the political and security fields, the ambassador stated, stressing: “Jordan plays a key role in regional stability and peacemaking efforts and we appreciate this role and will continue to support Jordan.”

According to the ambassador, several bilateral agreements are ready to be signed in the areas of science, culture, students exchange, archaeology, visa exemption for diplomats, among other areas.

AMMAN — Jordan Nurses and Midwives Association (JNMA) on Saturday condemned the recent alleged physical assault on four nurses at Al Bashir Hospital, describing the incident as a “barbaric” way of dealing with the medical cadres, according to a JNMA statement.

“Attacking medical staff is becoming a phenomenon, not just one or two cases that we rarely witness,” Khaled Rababaah, JNMA’s president, said in the statement, calling for “all health syndicates to take a unified stand to fight this phenomenon through calling for legislative measures that protect the medical providers”.

“It might be even necessary for the Ministry of Interior to interfere by ensuring that there is a security unit inside each hospital,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Several news websites on Friday reported that four nurses had allegedly been beaten up by visitors of one of the patients, who got angry after being told that visits were not allowed at that time.

The Kingdom’s two other health syndicates, the Jordan Medical Association (JMA) and the Jordan Pharmacists Association (JPhA), have recently announced that they will take “escalating measures” if their demands are not met, one of which requires setting regulations and legislation that protect doctors against violence.

In a recent statement, JMA said that none of their demands had been met despite having been under discussion over the past two years. These included improving doctors’ income and work environment, applying amendments to the association’s laws, and increasing the employment rates of doctors.

A source at Al Bashir Hospital told The Jordan Times that two incidents took place in the same day where four nurses, three males and one female, were allegedly beaten, while another male nurse was attacked later in the day.

Victims are suffering from various symptoms following the attack such as bruises, contusions, dizziness, and concussion, adding that one of the victims is suffering from retinal hemorrhages.

The Health Ministry reiterated its “strongest rejection” to any physical or verbal assault on medical staff. 

“We do not accept any justification to such violent acts. The patients and their families can report their complaints to officials through the various media channel available, but violence should never be an option,” Health Ministry Spokesperson Hatem Azrui told The Jordan Times.

Azrui said that the Health Ministry filed a complaint against the perpetrators and reported the issue to all concerned authorities to ensure that victims will claim their rights. 

According to official statistics, 56 cases of attacks on medical cadres were registered in 2017, and 21 cases in the first quarter of 2018. 

A nurse at a public hospital, who preferred to remain anonymous, said that the sector is witnessing similar attacks nearly every day, but the official statistics do not show that because most cases are not registered as the victims are “forced to rescind”.

He explained that in all previous cases, assaulted cadres file a personal complaint, not a complaint from the institution itself, which creates “an easy exit” for perpetrators if they have a “good go-between person” to solve the problem.

“Doctors and nurses are keen on ensuring a good reputation, so the absence of an institutional intervention makes them less likely to file a complaint themselves, as they fear to have a ‘black dot’ on their record,” the nurse continued, adding that “filing the complaint by the hospital itself and the intervention of the ministry was the right step to take in order to deter people from committing violations against medical providers”. 

For Zuhair Musallam, JNMA deputy secretary-treasurer, “the patients’ relatives should be aware that managing the visit times serves the patients in the first place as it ensures their privacy, and is not a way to prevent families from seeing their loved ones”.  Hussein Khuzai, professor of sociology at the University of Jordan said the reason behind such acts is “the lack of appreciation of the psychological and physical pressure care providers face in their job”. 

“People tend to use violence as the easiest tool if their demands are not met,” he said, stressing that “aggravating the punishment alone is not enough. There should be more social awareness among people to respect medical providers”.