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AMMAN — Two died and three were injured on Saturday as a vehicle turned over in Theiban, according to a statement by the media office of the Civil Defence Department (CDD), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The CDD personnel in Madaba provided first aid to the injured and took them to Qatraneh medical centre where they were listed in conditions between general and fair. The cadres transferred the dead bodies to Princess Salma Hospital.

AMMAN — Jordanian Shadia Bseiso last week signed a contract with the World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE), becoming the first Arab woman to enter the US-based pageant.

“It has been really exciting, my life has changed,” she told to The Jordan Times over the phone. 

As a woman who always enjoys challenging herself, Bseiso reached out to the WWE when she auditioned to be a host for the WWE "Wal3ooha" show.

"When I finished the casting, I received an invitation for the Try Outs in Dubai in April. We trained for four days, three sessions a day which included ring work, wrestling, conditioning drills and camera auditions,” she explained.  

A month later, she received a call from the worldwide wrestling company. “They told me I was through and I couldn’t have been more thrilled,” Bseiso recalled.  

For this "new challenge", Bseiso is undergoing a full training programme. “I am preparing mentally and physically. I am doing rigorous training with my coach to get me in the best shape before I train full time at the WWE Performance Centre,” she said. 

Being the first Arab women to be part of the WWE is "an honour", she said, noting that "it is an absolute privilege to be the first woman from the Arab world to be signed to WWE. At the same time, I feel that it is a great responsibility because I will be representing the Middle East, not just myself”, the wrestler explained. 

Bseiso has been on stage for sport and celebrity events and has been representing world famous brands such as Pepsi and Nike in Jordan, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Lebanon.

In the domain of martial arts, she has been practising and competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, her favourite sport. In 2014, she competed in the Abu Dhabi World Pro Championship where she grabbed the silver in her weight category and bronze in the absolute division, according to her Facebook page.

Bseiso's next step is now to move to the WWE in Orlando, Florida, in January where she “will be training full time in the state of the art WWE Performance Centre”. 

AMMAN — The Lebanese Puppet Theatre presented this weekend its 21-year-old play “Let It Rain Chicks” at Haya Cultural Centre (HCC), highlighting the importance of children’s rights. 

Karim Dakroub, the director of the play and founder of the Lebanese Puppet Theatre, said that the play was first presented in 1996 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of UNICEF. 

 “The main theme of the story is about children’s rights and it is portrayed in a very simple way for children to understand. It also invites the audience to participate and interact in some of the scenes,” he told The Jordan Times at HCC on Saturday. 

Stressing the great significance of children in light of the regional instability, Dakroub said that when the troupe creates a play they try to convey a timeless idea. 

“Every play reflects on what we feel as artists at the time that we create it but, at the same time, we pay attention to the quality of the play so it can be performed at any time. Human problems never come to an end,” he stated.  

Dakroub said every now and then, they make arrangements to improve some parts of the plays. 

“Sometimes, there are scenes that need to be taken out or scenes that need to be included, so that the details of the play are in line with the latest developments,” he noted.  

Dakroub said that, despite its long history in the world of puppetry, the Arab world currently only has a limited number of people working in the sector on the international level. 

“But, hopefully, thanks to the efforts we exert in Lebanon and the efforts of the HCC, this art will become more developed. The puppet itself has to first be accepted by the artist who creates it, andlater be accepted by the child,” he noted. 

It is the second time the Lebanese Puppet Theatre participates at the HCC, although they have already performed many times in Jordan, the director said.

Founded in 1992, the Lebanese Puppet Theatre is a theatrical company specialising in puppet theatre production and puppet design, according to its website.

The company aims to spread and develop the art of puppetry and the puppet theatre in Lebanon and other Arab countries, along with its social and educational applications, the website showed.

The festival will run through November 11.  

AMMAN — The Jordan Valley Authority (JVA) has concluded its annual check-up on the country’s dams in preparation for the winter season, according to JVA Secretary General Saad Abu Hammour.

“A report detailing the situation of the dams, the needed maintenance and costs is expected to be ready on Sunday,” Abu Hammour told The Jordan Times.

Recent official figures indicate that the country’s 11 main dams hold approximately 85 million cubic metres (mcm) of their total capacity of 333mcm.

Around this time last year, the dams held 95mcm while they stored 132mcm in 2015, a year when rain started early.

The JVA examines the status of the country’s dams ahead of winter every year in order to prepare for rainwater storage in the upcoming wet season.

In addition to preparing the dams to store rainwater, the JVA also clears out dirt from the streams in the catchment areas that supply the dams with water to ensure they are not polluted or blocked with soil before the rainy season begins.

The authority removes sediment from the dams to ensure an optimal storage capacity and prevent water salinity, and they also clean up their shorelines. The Kingdom’s 11 major dams are: King Talal, Wadi Al Arab, Sharhabil, Kafrein, Wadi Shuaib, Karameh, Tannour, Waleh, Mujib, Wihdeh and Kufranjah Dams are one of the main methods the country uses to secure its water needs. The Kingdom relies mainly on rainwater, but only 1.1 per cent of its total area receives an average of 400-600 millimetres of rain a year, according to the ministry.

Approximately 91 per cent of Jordan’s total area of 97,000 square kilometres is situated in arid areas with an annual rainfall average of 50-200 millimetres, while 2.9 per cent of the country’s land is categorised as semi-arid.

The first rainfall is witnessed in mid-September or early October, while the wet season usually continues until February, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department.

AMMAN — Higher Education Minister Adel Tweisi on Saturday met with the Technical Support Mission of UNESCO to discuss the needs in the fields of vocational training and technical employment, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Tweisi said that technical education is a main component of the National Strategy for Human Resources Development for 2016-2025, noting that the ministry started implementing new programmes to improve the outputs of technical education last year, in accordance with the requirements of the industrial sector and the labour market.

He stressed that the ministry is determined to help increase the number of students enrolled in technical education to 45 per cent of the total number of university students, calling for the cooperation of all stakeholders, the private sector and donors. The UNESCO representatives commended the ministry's work and stressed their keenness to continue coordinating in the future.

AMMAN — Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of State Musa Maaytah on Saturday met with members of governorate councils, lawmakers and government officials and discussed challenges they are facing, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, organised by the Arab World Centre and the Hanns Seidel Foundation-Amman, Maayta said: "The current need is to raise and develop the capacity of the members of governorate councils with regard to development projects, services and the preparation of budgets." 

He said that meetings and training sessions will be held for all members of governorate councils with specialised institutions,  ministers and experts on development issues will tackle issues of each governorate.

AMMAN — The new office of the Italian Archeological Consortium hosted at the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh building was inaugurated on Thursday with the aim of safeguarding the Kingdom's cultural heritage, in collaboration with Italy and UNESCO.

A conference announcing the launch of a book titled “Precious Water; Paths of Jordanian Civilisations as seen in the Italian Archeological Excavations”, published by Universita' La Sapienza of Rome was held, in the presence of Italian Ambassador Giovanni Brauzzi, Chairman of Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organisation (TAG) Talal Abu-Ghazaleh and UNESCO Representative to Jordan Constanza Farina. 

“We are all well aware that the destruction of heritage affects societies in the long-term and that its protection is therefore critical,” Farina noted. 

During the conference, several history and archaeology specialists presented their latest findings. 

Roberto Gabrielli from the Italian Council for Scientific and Academic Research (CNR) outlined the innovative technology and training activities implemented at the historical site of Umm Ar Rasas while archaeologist Giorgio Sobra from the Instituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro referred to the various activities carried out at Petra.

A Roman tomb was discovered in the red-rose city which “appears to be one of the greatest findings in the site so far,” he said.

UNESCO is currently working in Petra to train Jordanian staff and the local community in conserving the site, said Giorgia Cesaro, UNESCO representative to Jordan.

A study of the Jordanian frontiers was also presented by representation of The Universita degli Studu di Firenze, stressing their great importance in world history and “the cultural heritage that they have produced”. 

Abu-Ghazaleh stressed the importance of the new office in preserving archaeological sties. 

“As a Jordanian, I am proud to be from a country so rich in history and I am delighted to have such great partners — Italy and the UNESCO — to help us explore and preserve archaeological treasures; Countries with great history are destined to have great futures,” he said. 

The office aims to implement a series of activities throughout the year, in cooperation with the Italian embassy, to better achieve coordination among Italian and international missions, a statement from TAG said, adding that it will be conducted with the guidance and control of the relevant Jordanian authorities.  

The participants also announced the upcoming 14th international conference of the history and archaeology of Jordan in Florence, Italy, which will be held in January 2019 under the title “Flow of people, goods and ideas”. 

AMMAN — Jordanian designer Hashem Joucka belongs to a new generation of creative artists whose research focuses on incorporating art, technology and science hybrids to create "sustainable and interactive environments”.

“Since the theme of the exhibition is about movement, I chose to exhibit my work under the title 'Ferromancy' — Animating the Inanimate. Electromagnetism surrounds us, it radiates from almost every electronic device we use in our daily lives,” Joucka said on the sidelines of the Amman Design Week (ADW) which concluded recently.

The idea behind his latest work is to be able to visualise the invisible energy by bringing it to life with a mixture of paints made of still yet responsive ferrous material using electromagnetic fields.

“I have combined different design techniques which include electronics design and production, physical computing and projection mapping to produce the installation, with the aim of raising awareness on the energy constantly surrounding us,” he continued.

The outcome could be applied into different mediums: as an educational tool to teach students about electromagnetism, as a source of inspiration for artists, graphic designers and architects through the patterns generated, or it could be simply used as a dynamic, mesmerising painting used as a tool to relax and meditate, he underlined

It is the second time Joucka participates in ADW. "Last year, the event was launching for the first time and I didn't know what to expect,” he said, adding that, thanks to the large turnout, he gained a lot of public exposure.

“This year, the event evolved radically: more people showed up, designers raised the bar, and we saw a much wider variety of activities and projects,” he noted.

For Joucka, ADW was a great opportunity to showcase his work and to get one on one feedback from people coming from different backgrounds and age groups, in addition to being an "excellent platform" to meet designers from different disciplines and interact with art-lovers.

“It also brings light to many manufacturers and artisans in town,” he stressed. 

Asked about his future plans, the designer said he will proceed with “making the best of the resources around him”, describing nature as his "eternal artistic inspiration".

AMMAN — As plentiful of tutorials covering various aspects of life from beauty to parenting and arts and crafts has flourished on the Internet, Sima Najjar realised the lack of Arabic content available for Arabic speaking women.

“I am a working mother and, whenever I was searching for tips or advice, I noticed that there was no Arab mother talking about her experience with kids online,” said Najjar, founder of “Mamasima”, an Arabic Youtube channel offering tips and tricks for millennium mothers and youth.

“I wanted to share my experience as a working mother in the Middle East, and to portray my daily struggles and joys in combining work life and parenting,” she told The Jordan Times over the phone, stressing that, although she speaks English, it has always been much easier for her to watch videos in her native language, Arabic.

Started a year ago, Mamasima built on the success of "Ekeif.com", a website she created in 2012 to enhance Arabic online content and create job opportunities in the MENA region.

“I feature simple and accessible topics that everyone is interested in: from morning routine tricks to beauty tips and arts and crafts tutorials,” she said, noting that all topics are shown in a culturally sensitive way.

“We have a lot of viewers living in Saudi Arabia, and it is important to provide them with content that is suited to their living environment,” Najjar continued, highlighting Arab viewers’ keenness on finding content that is related to their everyday needs, while respectful of their culture.

“I also make sure to use products and examples which you can find in the region,” she noted, citing the example of slimes’ tutorials which have generated a huge number of hits in the past few months.

An interactive online platform, Mamasima also offers viewers the chance to exchange and ask questions about the videos. “A lot of content I create is demand-based. I get inspired by the most asked questions women post in the comments,” Najjar explained, noting that this exchange is a great way to measure what info women viewers are lacking.

Although Mamasima primarily targets millennium mothers looking for tips on balance between work and family life, success has been growing in other segments of society.

“Many people want to learn by themselves these days,” the founder said, adding that single men and young girls constitute a large part of her viewership. 

Furthermore, the channel also seeks to help people realise the opportunities offered by their country and the region. “I share videos where I take my kids around Jordan, in Wadi Rum or at the Amman Design Week, in order to show people how kids friendly those places are,” she explained.

“This is a way to make a change in society by helping out Arab women and empowering them,” Najjar stated, noting that she provides help for women who want to learn or improve the skills they need on a daily basis.

As of October 2017, Mamasima counts 115,000 subscribers and over 12 million total views from all over the region, according to the founder, who said that the numbers keep rising, proving the importance of the audience’s demand.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani has said that the ongoing dialogue over subsidies heralds a new economic era where support goes to the individual not the commodity. 

Momani added that the government has been able to freeze the public debt ratio to GDP at 95 per cent and, despite local economic challenges and the regional situation, the government is working on reducing the public debt and fully bridging the budget deficit through sound economic policymaking and corrective measures. 

Momani, who was speaking on a Jordan TV morning show on Thursday, said the shift in support from the commodity to the citizen will be institutionalised through embedding the financial subsidy into the state budget law as of next year.

In response to a question on the bread subsidy, Momani noted that a total of JD140 million goes to subsidise bread, underlining the fact that there are millions of non-Jordanians living in the country who benefit from the government’s support of the commodity. 

There is also the waste and smuggling of bread to neighbouring countries, benefiting from the price difference.

Momani pointed out that there is a number of specialised governmental units that are constantly following the government plans and the progress made therein.

The minister added that the government takes into consideration all comments and findings of studies issued by independent and civil institutions on the economic situation.