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AMMAN — A Royal Decree was issued on Wednesday approving the resignation of Royal Court Adviser Issam Rawabdeh as of February 15, 2018, according to a Royal Court statement.

The resignation followed an incident in which the adviser had an argument with a bus driver working for JETT on the Amman-Irbid highway and reportedly used his influence to bring a punishment unto him. The story went viral on social media platforms, prompting intervention from the Royal Court to conciliate the two sides.  

After a probe, police commanders admitted that the decision to fine the driver was hasty and cancelled the JD500-ticket issued for “reckless driving”. JETT stood by its employee and cited a track system that proved he was abiding by the speed limit and road rules. 

Jordanians took to social media to laud the resignation of the official, who is the son of former prime minister Abdur-Rau’f Rawabdeh.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah departed for Moscow on Wednesday, where he is scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral ties, and the latest regional and international developments.

HRH Prince Feisal was sworn in as Regent, in the presence of Cabinet members, according to a Royal Court Statement.

His Majesty has said that the relationship between Amman and Moscow has been built on trust and confidence.

In an interview with the Russian TASS News Agency, which was released on Tuesday and will also be broadcast this week on Russia-24 Television, His Majesty also noted “the work that Russia and Jordan have done in southern Syria to bring stability to the south” is an important success story.

The King stressed the importance of cooperation between Jordan and Russia to fight terrorism and extremism around the world.

AMMAN — Although Valentine’s Day celebrations are typically marked by giving red roses to loved ones, flower vendors this year voiced their disappointment over the drop in sales. 

Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) officials and flower vendors cited the difficult financial conditions faced by Jordanians for this year's slow business, although they still imported a great number of roses to the Kingdom.

 Anas Mahadin, a GAM official and  president of the central market, said weather conditions that prevailed in the capital in addition to the financial hardship encountered by Jordanian citizens hindered this year's sales at the flowers bourse in Amman. 

“The low demand pushed vendors to decrease the prices of roses,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. Usually, the price of roses increases on Valentine’s Day compared to the rest of the year. 

Ossamah Wardah, a flowers merchant in Jabal Luweibdeh, noted that people’s demand for roses varies from one area to another in Amman. 

“Last year, around 350,000 roses were sold either through the bourse or other flowers stores. During Valentine’s Day, the price of roses ranges between JD2 and sometimes JD7,” he added. 

The merchant said that roses from different countries including the Netherlands, Ethiopia, India as well as Jordan are on display at the local market. 

“Roses are important but people are aware that they do not last forever so they prefer to buy other items such as chocolates,” Wardah said. 

Mohammad Al Atawnah, who has been working in the rose business for 30 years, said the problem this year is due to the great number of imported roses which resulted in a fierce competition in prices. 

“Roses are sometimes sold at the bourse at around 350 fils and this is not acceptable. One rose should be sold for no less than JD1 so that bourse merchants do not face any financial losses,” he stressed. 

Mahadin said that, according to statistics, around 400,000 roses were imported to Jordan this year, negatively affecting the market. 

For Wardah, Mother’s Day remains the "best occasion" for flower shops. “Valentine’s Day is designed for a specific segment of society and is not celebrated by everyone while Mother’s Day is celebrated by all,” he concluded. 

AMMAN — As soon as Jehad Ameri graduated from school 22 years ago, he began looking for a centre to further enhance his artistic skills. 

Since 1996, he has been frequenting Darat Al Funun, where he has attended a number of “high-quality” lectures. 

“There are many artistic centres in Jordan but the unique thing about Darat Al Funun was the advanced activities it usually hosts. Since I learned about the existence of Darat, I have remained in touch with it,” the Jordanian artist and professor recalled. 

On Tuesday, Ameri took part in an exhibition marking Darat Al Funun’s 30th anniversary, not as a student observing the works this time, but as an artist.

In the past 30 years, Darat Al Funun has become the hub for local and Arab artists to showcase their works and engage in discussions with other art enthusiasts. 

In 1988, Suha Shoman, founder and director of Darat Al Funun, launched the first activities in the field of art at the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation’s Scientific and Cultural Centre, which was initially founded ten years earlier as the first foundation in Amman designed to support science and knowledge. The centre then organised group and solo exhibitions for both established and emerging artists. 

“In 1988, the country was not able to support art because there were other priorities. The centre’s idea was to give artists a space to display their works in a professional way and discuss these works with the public,” she told The Jordan Times in an interview at Darat Al Funun. 

“Our idea was not just to create a place to display art, the vision of Darat Al Funun was more of a theory and a practice at the same time,” Suha recalled.

She said Darat came out of the need for artists to be discovered and learn about each other. 

“I came with Jordanian architect Ammar Khammash and saw the first house located at the heart of Jabal Luweibdeh. It was totally abandoned and the conditions were very poor,” the founder remember, adding “it was essential for us that the centre be located at the heart of the city. We also wanted public transportation to reach this house so it would be easy for anyone to reach this place, which is open to the public.”

Currently, Darat Al Funun consists of six historical buildings that were restored and divided into various sections. 

One of the buildings, “Beit Al Beiruti”, is a residential house built in the 1930s by Hafith Ghitani Al Beiruti from Lebanon, which was restored in 2013 and is now open to the public. 

“Dar Khalid”, another site, was dedicated to the memory and legacy of Khalid Shoman in October 2002. 

The “Blue House”, built by Circassian Ismail Haqqi Abdo in the 1920s, was named after the colour of its porch, doors and wrought-iron window bars.

For its part, the “Main Building”, originally built in the 1920s, was renovated by Khammash in 1992. 

Meanwhile, “Ghorfa” serves as an art display room, while “The Lab” was founded in 2011 as an experimental space and a hub for emerging artists and innovative projects, according to a statement by Darat Al Funun.

The “Artist’s Residence”, an apartment building adjacent to the lab, was added to the compound in 2013 to provide accommodation for visiting artists. 

In the southern gardens, the “Archaeological Site” houses the ruins of a 6th century Byzantine church and an old cave.

“Over 230 exhibitions have been hosted at Darat, every one of them running for three months in accordance with the international exhibitions system so people can have the opportunity to admire these works,” she said, adding that Darat Al Funun is an art centre with different kinds of artistic and cultural facilities rather than just an art gallery.  

In celebration of its 30th anniversary, Darat al Funun held an exhibition inspired by the poetry of Mahmoud Darweesh starting Tuesday.

“We received 100 people’s requests, 20 of them from Jordan. We will include a great number of young artists including a 15-year-old artist,” Suha said. 

She stressed that she is happy to receive any project inspired by Darat Al Funun, which she will welcome “with jubilation” as there is a great need for art activities, centres and exhibitions in Jordan. 

“Darat Al Funun is an oasis of knowledge and art is not a luxury, it is for all,” the founder concluded. 

AMMAN — The media cooperation agency of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (CFI) has announced the launch of "Youthroom", a 2 million-euro project aimed at empowering the Arab world's youth through digital media.

Funded by the European Commission, Youthroom will accompany 20 initiatives from Jordan, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon over the course of four years.

"Youth is at the heart of France's cooperation and development activities, which is reflected in CFI's ambition, through Youthroom, to offer young people from 9 countries in the Arab world the opportunity, means and training support to create and produce digital content for new generations," Jean Emmanuel Casalta, CFI chairman and managing director said in a statement. 

Divided into four phases, the project will start with a call for applications launched in March, during which 30 of the best projects dedicated to digital content will be selected, CFI regional coordinator, Louis Meunier, explained, stressing that the projects need to enable young people to "become involved in public and local life".

A hackathon step will follow, bringing the selected teams together around projects to develop innovative digital programmes in short periods of time ranging from one to a few hours.

Out of the 30 proposals, 10 will be awarded a grant of 60,000 euros and provided with personalised support from media professionals, which will help them incubate their invention, Meunier told The Jordan Times, noting that a second call for applications will be launched eight months later with the aim of retaining 10 additional projects following the same scheme.

 “The programme, during which young people will receive personalised coaching by media professionals, will also offer three thematic working sessions during which laureates will 'incubate' their project ideas," Meunier continued, noting that this will help in fostering a regional group dynamic in the field of media and development.

Later on, he explained that they will be invited to take part in a variety of events in the field including a conference dedicated to "Media and Youth".

"This initiative is part of our goal to strengthen young initiatives in the Arab world," the Youthroom statement said, citing the SafirLab project co-organised with the French Institute since 2012, which supports 20 young project leaders working on issues of civil society and the media.

The EU funded Ebticar project also contributed in supporting 20 innovative digital media projects in the Arab world between 2014 and 2016, to promote exchange and debate within societies and contribute to the economic development of the Southern Mediterranean, according to the CFI website.

Alongside local actors from the media industry, CFI works to strengthen the modernisation and democratisation processes in developing countries, according to its website, which noted that some 30 projects in the fields of pluralism, enterprise, development and human resources are currently ongoing.

AMMAN — A residency programme aimed at fostering artistic encounters and crossovers between artists from all over the world has recently launched a call for applications for its upcoming spring session.

“Born out of the desire to bring artists from all over the world together and gather all disciplines in a single location,” the programme is offered by the Cité Internationale des arts in Paris, the largest artist residence centre in the world, according to its website. 

Founded in 1965, the Cité Internationale des Arts has welcomed more than 22,000 residents since its creation, with over 1,200 Artists coming from 90 different countries each year.

In its 326 studios located in the heart of Paris’ Marais and Montmartre districts, artists in the fields of visual arts, music, writing and performing arts are encouraged to develop creative projects during residencies lasting between two months and a year.

“The residency at la Cité came at an important stage of writing and development for ‘Farha’, my first narrative film, a time where I really needed to immerse myself completely in the creation phase of the film’s life," recalled Darin Sallam, a Jordanian director and writer who benefited from the residency between April and July 2017.

"It was also a great opportunity to connect with French industry professionals through various film and cultural activities held in Paris and Cannes during the film festival, in addition to exchanging and connecting with other artists at la Cité," Sallam, who co-founded TaleBox, a Jordanian production and training company based in Amman, told The Jordan Times. 

Based on artistic projects of residents, artists and/or curators, the Cité internationale des arts offers a multidisciplinary cultural programme spread across its various venues around the capital.

“We also support projects outside our walls [‘hors les murs’] implemented by our residents who get the chance to be in contact with professionals in the field,” the residency organisers said.

In addition, the residents also benefit from French lessons and collective workshops such as engraving and silkscreen printing, among others.

Another resident of the programme, Jordanian Shadi Khries, was chosen for his work as a percussionist, DJ and producer.

Currently based in Paris, where he performs at several famous clubs, Khries is working on an electro festival project to be held in Wadi Rum on March 30 and 31.

Submission of applications, which are open to any French and foreign artists and curators over the age of 18, will run through March 1, according to the Cite des arts’ website, which indicated that results will be announced beginning in mid-April.

The selection process will be conducted by experts from the relevant disciplines including representatives of the French ministry of culture, the city of Paris, the French Institute, representatives of cultural institutions, heads of music conservatories and art schools, independent curators, and so on.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Employment and Training Company (NETC) to connect graduates of the Vocational Training Corporation (VTC) with public funds and programmes. 

The agreement, titled, "Networking Programme for Graduates of the Vocational Training Corporation and the National Employment Company with the Government's Financing, Credit and Advisory Programmes” was also signed by Minister of Labour Ali Ghezawi and Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat. 

“This MoU will provide sustainable job opportunities for graduates through maximising the use of available governmental means related to specialised training programmes, management of specialised projects, technical advisory and feasibility studies,” Planning Minister Imad Fakhoury said during the signing ceremony, noting that it will also provide graduates with “soft financing windows to enable them to establish their own production projects”.

“A package of interventions will be implemented starting from the initial stages of vocational training programmes provided by the VTC and the NETC,” he continued, adding that “in parallel, courses will be developed within the training packages related to project management, project construction and implementation requirements in cooperation with the 'Iradah' centres affiliated with the Planning Ministry.”

“New vocational training programmes will be introduced to meet the market's needs, along with other initiatives related to agricultural and agro-industrial mechanisations and the maintenance of hybrid vehicles,” the minister noted, explaining that “this will enable them to benefit from the lending programmes of the Agricultural Credit Fund and the Development and Employment Fund.”

For his part, Ghezawi said that “the government has taken the responsibility to provide job opportunities to job seekers in unconventional ways through making them business producers rather than employment seekers.”

“The Ministry of Agriculture is activating its financial mechanisms through the fund,” he continued, highlighting that the government is seeking to develop agricultural manufacturing and attract local workers in the agricultural sector. 

For his part, Director General of the National Employment and Training Company Brig. Gen.Sudki Rawashdeh noted the importance of promoting the culture of self-employment, stressing the need to “support employment initiatives through small and medium economic projects that contribute to the provision of decent living, serving a wide range of job seekers graduates”.

AMMAN — The Jordan Press Association on Tuesday said it received guarantees from the government that it will push to secure the return of Tayseer Najjar, who was sentenced to prison by a UAE court in March 2017, to complete his prison time in Jordan.

Najjar was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 500,000 dirhams (around JD96,000) after he posted Facebook comments deemed “insulting to the United Arab Emirates”, according to the court verdict.  

In September, the Jordan Press Association (JPA) sent a letter to the Jordanian government asking for its help in securing a pardon and a release for the journalist, said JPA President Rakan Saaideh.

“We have been following up on his case since he was arrested and have used all channels and means to try to secure his release and or pardon.  The government informed us that there is a possibility for something positive taking place in his case,” Saaideh told The Jordan Times.

The Jordanian Ministry of Justice has contacted the UAE justice officials to move him to spend the rest of his jail time in Jordan, according to Saaideh.

“We are working on all possible details to secure his release to a Jordanian correctional and rehabilitation centre so he can be closer to his family,” Saaideh added.

The UAE court also ordered that Najjar’s social media accounts be shut down and his equipment confiscated by authorities. The convicted journalist faces deportation after serving his sentence.

The Jordanian journalist was detained in December 2015 and charged with violating the UAE’s cyber crime law over Facebook comments criticising the UAE, among other countries, over the 2014 Israeli aggression on Gaza.

Article 29 of the UAE’s cyber crime law criminalises the online publication of information “with intent to make sarcasm or damage the reputation, prestige or stature of the state or... any of its symbols”.

Najjar’s detention drew condemnation from international rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. 

JPA board member Khaled Qudah, who is also head of the Freedom’s Committee at the syndicate, said the association will continue to exert efforts until the last day of his detention.

Qudah told The Jordan Times: “If we are unable to secure a pardon and he still has to pay the JD100,000 fine, then we will solicit our members and the public’s support to raise the funds to secure his release so he can return to Jordan after completing his three-year sentence.”

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Wednesday said it is looking at ways to restore dams' strategic reserves which have been depleted over the past few years in light of scant rain.

As the country's 14 major dams now hold 38 per cent of their total capacity of 336 million cubic metres (mcm) of water, the ministry is formulating a plan to minimise water use from the dams to protect the water storage from decreasing.

The ministry aims to restore the strategic reserve of water that should be kept at the dams during the dry season to prevent the quality of stored water from declining and to protect the infrastructure of the dams, an official source at the ministry said.

"By summer, the dams should be storing a minimum of 25 per cent of their capacity. This is the strategic reserve that we aim to have during the hot season," the official told The Jordan Times.

The dams now hold 127.8mcm of water, the official said, noting that the unstable weather condition that affected the country between Monday night and Thursday channelled some 2.2mcm into the dams.

"We are hoping that the dams will receive more rainwater as the wet season is not over yet and a depression is expected to bring some rain on Saturday," the official highlighted.

He noted that whether or not the dams will still have the strategic reserve by summer depends on how much rain the country receives before the wet season officially ends in late May.

During this time last year, the dams held 157.5mcm or 48.7 per cent of their total capacity, according to official figures.

A weather forecaster at the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said that the country will be affected by unstable weather conditions on Friday, while a wet and cold air mass is expected to prevail on Saturday.

The meteorologist said that the western parts of the Kingdom will witness heavier rain on Saturday, indicating that temperatures will drop back to their annual average for this time of the year.

Daytime temperatures on Saturday will be 10ºC during the day and 3ºC at night in Amman, according to the JMD.

AMMAN — Suffering from cerebral palsy since birth has not stopped 21-year-old Moutasem Billah Abu Mahfouz from writing two books by typing every single word using the only organ he can fully control, his nose.

Moutasem is a third-year software engineering student at Zarqa University. He is a writer, social media activist, member of the Jordanian Writers Association and the first Youtuber with a speech disability.

He has challenged societal norms by authoring two books in Arabic. One is a memoir titled "Alnathra Althaqeba" meaning "The Intense Gaze", and the other is a novel titled "Asheqat Saheb Alkorsi" meaning "The Handicapped's Lover".

When asked about the motivation behind writing his first book, Moutasem told The Jordan Times in an online interview — typed with his nose — that the answer lies in the book title itself: "The Intense Gaze".

"The way people looked at me was the spark that pushed me towards working harder and achieving success. I wanted to prove that being in a wheelchair does not make me less of a human. It is my soul and thoughts that define me, not my body," Moutasem said.

From a young age, Moutasem tried to use his hands or legs for writing, but he was unable to control his limbs. He then conceived a new method of writing: Typing letters on a tablet with his nose.

He began writing articles at the age of 16 when he launched a social media account where he published his compositions.

"People started reading what I write and they admired my ideas and writing style while unaware of my physical condition," Moutasem commented.

These writings were then compiled into his first book which he described as "the first book of its kind for being written with a nose, and tangible proof that steely determination is a powerful and unstoppable weapon which pushes individuals towards great accomplishments".

In addition to writing, Moutasem excelled at school. He got a full scholarship for higher education at Zarqa University, which provided him with "all the needed help to facilitate his education journey", he added.

Asked about where he sees himself in a few years, Moutasem said that he aims to be "a goodwill ambassador for people with special needs". He is also keen on utilising his knowledge as a software engineer "to develop programmes that facilitate the lives of people with disabilities", in addition to his "continued passion for writing and expressing his thoughts to the whole world".

Working towards achieving his goal, Moutasem has founded a virtual society on Facebook for people with special needs titled "Nahno Taqa La Eiaqa", meaning "We are Capable not Disabled". It is currently run by 40 people and is followed by almost 1,000.

The society publishes posts on Facebook, conducts talks, organises events and makes visits to schools for the purpose of spreading awareness among the community and motivating people with special needs to be engaged members in their communities. 

In the absence of societal support, Moutasem is voicing his encouragement for people with special needs to believe in themselves, emphasising that "disability is only a myth, the real power comes from our souls and hearts, not our bodies".