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AMMAN — Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi and Nepal’s Labour Minister Farmullah Mansoor on Wednesday signed an agreement on the employment of workers between the Jordanian government and the government of the Republic of Nepal, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

This came on the sidelines of an official visit by Mansoor to enhance cooperation regarding labour issues.

The two ministers discussed the benefits that migrant workers could offer to both countries. The agreement included the responsibilities of both countries in regulating the costs of employment and upholding the rights of workers, employers and employment agencies.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday commended the role of the National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) in highlighting the Kingdom’s efforts in boosting human rights in international events.

His Majesty made the remarks during a meeting at Al Husseiniya Palace with Chairman of NCHR’s Board of Trustees Mohammad Bakhit, who presented the King with a copy of the 2016 annual report of the centre on human rights conditions in Jordan, according to a Royal Court statement.

The King stressed the importance for the centre to continue coordination and cooperation with all relevant institutions to further develop human rights status in Jordan, especially that human rights constitute a main pillar in the comprehensive reform process. 

For his part, Bakhit, in the presence of NCHR Chief Commissioner Mousa Breizat, reviewed the most important issues the report addressed, the mechanism that was adopted in following up on tips the centre receives and forwarding them to relevant institutions. 

The report sheds light on issues related to human rights in the Kingdom, in addition to the necessary procedures required to follow up on and implement recommendations.

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh and the King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan attended the meeting.

The NCHR has announced it would hold a press conference to announce the details of the report on Thursday. 

AMMAN — The Mahali Lab has been recently inaugurated in Jordan, aiming to offer an innovative platform for identifying and solving challenges caused by long-term displacement of people due to regional crises.

Established by the global networks of NGOs Start Network and CDAC Network, the innovative lab is managed by the Airbel Centre, the innovation unit at the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Through the facility, local community members will propose practical solutions to daily problems they encounter as a result of forced displacement, which will be submitted through a “design challenge” format.

The theme of each challenge will be determined after consulting with Syrian refugees, leaders in host communities, and community-based organisations, according to a Start Network statement.

“The most exciting thing about this initiative is seeing people from the community come together and realise that they have the power to be active problem solvers and that we’re able to support them. We are creating a process and a platform that reflects their needs,” said Lillie Rosen, community innovation coordinator at IRC.

Once citizens’ proposals have been received, a community review board will select the projects to be developed with the support of IRC experts. 

The Mahali Lab will therefore help locals in creating innovative and personalised grassroots solutions to problems faced by vulnerable communities across Jordan

The Mahali Lab was launched along with three other platforms in Bangladesh, Kenya and the Philippines, all selected due to the countries’ vulnerability to natural and man-made disasters, the statement read.

The Airbel Centre, which will manage the entire project, aims to “jumpstart innovative thinking by designing, testing and driving large-scale adoption of innovations”, according to its website. 

Commenting on the launch of the four labs, Neil Townsend, innovation programme manager, said: “This programme is truly innovative and is a chance to support locally-driven change within the humanitarian system and to channel meaningful support to the people most affected by disasters. The labs will provide the mechanism to support lots of new projects across several countries, some of which will have the potential to take to scale and lead to system-wide change.”

KING HUSSEIN BRIDGE — The Ministry of Public Works and Housing is planning to renovate the King Hussein Bridge linking Jordan to Palestine with a project worth around JD50 million starting next year, Minister Sami Halaseh said during a visit to the bridge on Tuesday. 

The ministry will first carry out research by February next year prior to executing the project, and will later begin the two-year-long construction of a new passenger terminal along with a new road connecting the bridge to Amman, Halaseh said. 

For this purpose, the ministry will seek further cooperation from the Japanese government, which had provided a grant aid of JD7,700,000 back in 2000 for the reconstruction of the four-lane permanent bridge and the improvement of its access roads. 

The Japanese government pledged the aid in view of the importance of transportation over the Jordan River and the symbolic meaning of this project within the context of the Middle East peace process, according to embassy sources. 

Furthermore, Japan initiated the “corridor for peace and prosperity” initiative back in 2006 in order to promote interregional cooperation between Palestine, Jordan, Israel and Japan, aiming to increase the economic independence of Palestine and the development of the Jordan Valley region. 

“I want to thank the government of Japan for their contribution, because this bridge is the only place that connects us to our Palestinian friends in the West Bank,” Halaseh told The Jordan Times, adding that the bridge is “a sign of peace and prosperity”.

Masahiro Tada, deputy chief of mission at the embassy of Japan, told The Jordan Times that “Japan sees Jordan as a key country both in the Middle East and Asia,” noting that “the stability of Jordan is vital for the stability of Japan.”

“We are proceeding with the initiative to facilitate the peace process, assisting Jordan is a priority for us, and we will not hesitate in continuing to support the Kingdom,” he concluded. 

AMMAN — Jordan’s exports to the EU totalled JD120 million in 2015, which amounts to only 2.5 per cent of the total exports while Jordanian imports from the EU reached JD3.1 million, indicating a large trade deficit between Jordan and the EU countries, according to a recent report by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF).

The report, which detailed exports, imports and re-exports between Jordan and each country within the EU, looked at 20 industrial sectors with the aim of helping and supporting companies and industries willing to reach out to the EU market.

Italy topped the list of European countries importing from Jordan (JD33.7 million), followed by the Netherlands (JD21.4 million), United Kingdom (JD17.7 million), Bulgaria (JD11.7 million), Spain (JD11.1 million) and Germany (JD6.9 million).

Latvia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia were among the least EU-importing countries from Jordan with imports amounting to JD17,000, JD29,000, JD70,000 and JD80,000 respectively. 

The JSF described these countries as markets with “good opportunities”, especially after the “Relaxing Rules of Origin” agreement that took effect in July 2016, according to the report.

The chemical products sector was the largest in terms of export value (JD36 million or 30 per cent of the total exports to the EU), followed by textiles (JD27 million or 22 per cent of the total exports), precious metals (JD18.5 million), vegetable products (JD14 million). The least exported sectors to the EU countries were arts and antiques (JD10,000) and paper goods (JD27,000).

JSF stressed that there are many opportunities for Jordanian exports to the EU, as the access to any one country means the ability to reach out to the rest of the continent in terms of product quality, acceptance and possibly its competitiveness, according to the report.

The report also looked at the sophistication level for each sector which serves in identifying “high value” exported products from Jordan. 

The study also pointed out the importance of adopting an industrial policy in Jordan to promote exports with high sophistication levels, which in turn, will lead to stronger increases in real GDP and prosperity of the Jordanian economy at large. 

The report, which was based on the latest available data published by the UN COMTRADE and Department of Statistics, aims at increasing knowledge about trade opportunities with the EU as well as with the rest of the world.

AMMAN — The results of the Wadi Shu’aib Archaeological Survey Project (WSAS) were presented on Sunday, during a lecture by project director Alexander Ahrens under the title “WSAS: From the Jordan Valley Lowlands to Transjordanian Highlands”.

Initiated in 2016, WSAS has continued through 2017, according to the German scholar, who noted that the survey was carried out in the region of the Wadi Shu’aib, stretching from the town of Al Salt in the northwest to the Jordan Valley (Shuna) in the southwest of central Jordan. 

The two survey campaigns aimed to list archaeological sites, most of which were unknown until now, while others were already discovered but never documented thoroughly, Ahrens said at the event at the German Protestant Institute of Archaeology.

“In 2017, test excavations were conducted at the site of Tell Bleibil at the mouth of the Jordan Valley, aiming to implement a comprehensive soil sampling for macro-botanical analysis and radiocarbon dating of this important site,” said the researcher.

The site was known as an important archaeological location since the 1920s, but has never been the focus of archaeological excavations thus far, he continued, underlying that the ancient settlement of Tell Bleibil guarded the entrance to the Wadi Shu’aib and therefore controlled the traffic going in and out of the wadi.

“The survey highlights the importance of the region between Al Salt and the Jordan Valley as a transit location between these regions and the aim of the survey in future campaigns is to record all archaeological sites in this micro region connecting the fertile Jordan Valley with the Transjordanian Highlands,” Arhens noted.

Regarding the occupation and historical references of these sites, the German expert explained: “Tell Bleibil was a fortified settlement during the Iron Age, but we don´t know yet if this was also the case in the Bronze Age. Meanwhile, Wadi Shu’aib is perhaps mentioned in the Old Testament as the‘Waters of Nimrin‘, but that is not confirmed. Tell Bleibil is sometimes identified with the biblical site of ‘Beth-Nimrah‘, but that is also not verified.”

“There is an abundance of Iron Age pottery at Tell Bleibil at the entrance of the Wadi Shu’aib. We can also find some at some sites in the wadi up to Al Salt, which was also settled at least from the Bronze Age,” Arhens added.

The entire wadi connected the Jordan Valley with the Highlands of Jordan and Tell Bleibil which secured the entry into the wadi from the Jordan Valley during the Bronze and Iron Ages, according to the archaeologist.

“Of course, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, and Islamic pottery was also found at many sites in the wadi, attesting to the rich cultural heritage of the entire wadi system. Moreover, the important location named after the wadi itself [the Wadi Shu’aib neolithic site] is also well-known,“Arhens underlined

Arhens said that the  WSAS team plans to  excavate Tell Bleibil and continue its project in 2018, while maintaining  their survey inside the wadi, since “there are still  many more sites to be discovered”.

AMMAN — “Anything that makes sound can be used in our shows: barrels, buckets, metal, etc,” said Bashar Khries, the co-founder of Jordanian band Drum Jam that performed on Tuesday night at Abdali Boulevard.

The venue resonated with the harmonic pounding of the eight-member drumming band in a live performance held as part of the French Week 2017.

“Music is language: it helps you to express yourself and to convey your messages to the world,” Khries told The Jordan Times at the Boulevard, noting that it all started with him and his brother Shadi playing on buckets in the street.

Since its creation seven years ago, the band has become home to 10 permanent members, and performs shows that involve up to 20 drummers.

“Anyone can play whatever their age, background or nationality is,” Khries said, adding that the band has developed a wide variety of beats including the Eastern, African and Circassian beats.

Drum jamming includes harmony, euphoria, percussion and rhythm reflecting the chaos of every day’s life, according to the Drum Jam website.

“With drumming, people gain a positive energy, there is a new energy of life in every show, as the public is always welcome to interact with our drumming circle,” the co-founder added.

Drum Jam also aims to raise awareness about the musical potential of everyday objects, and uses recycled material to make instruments.

The band has gained widespread recognition performing solo or as an accompanying formation for other musicians and provides a number of classes and workshops at schools and cultural institutes around the Kingdom.

The members also recently represented Jordan at the world’s percussions festival in India. 

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Ahmad Faqih met with head and members of the Senate's citizens' freedoms and rights committee and discussed major security factors that impact citizens and their rights 

Senator Bassam Talhuni, head of the panel, said that laws should take into consideration the citizens' rights as stipulated in the Constitution and international standards, according to a PSD statement. 

Talhuni called on public and private institutions to cooperate and work collaboratively to present the best services to citizens. 

He also highlighted the need to uphold personal rights and freedoms, praising the PSD's role in contacting all stakeholders that contribute to supporting human rights in the Kingdom.

For his part, Faqih said that PSD's plans and strategies to develop police work are always meant to ensure comprehensive services to citizens, noting that such initiatives undergo periodic revisions to overcome any possible shortcomings.

He also reviewed police procedures taken to develop PSD work and achieve goals that aim at maximising security in society, adding that the department had signed many local, regional and international agreements to improve the efficiency of PSD personnel.

During a visit to the PSD headquarters earlier this month, His Majesty King Abdullah stressed that the relationship between police and residents must be based on respect, dignity and the rule of law.

Regarding the recent incident involving security personnel and a citizen, when detectives allegedly attacked a university instructor while caught on camera, the King said that it was an "isolated act" that did not represent the entire security personnel, ensuring that the assailants will be held accountable.

AMMAN — A 27-year-old man was sentenced to death on Tuesday by the Criminal Court after being convicted of sexually assaulting and murdering a Syrian child in an Amman neighbourhood in July.

The defendant stood motionless while hearing the presiding judge read the conviction and verdict, according to a senior judicial source.

“The judge asked the defendant if he made a settlement with the victim’s family and his answer was no.  So the judge sentenced him to death and he had no reaction,” the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The court found the defendant guilty of murdering a seven-year-old boy on July 6 to conceal his sexual assault after luring him to a deserted building in the Nuzha neighbourhood.

A few days later, a cleaning employee found the victim’s body unclothed and with his throat slit. The body showed traces of sexual assault with stains of paint found on the victim’s hands.

Court papers said that the defendant, a next-door neighbour to the victim worked as a painter on construction sites, saw the victim standing next to his door late at night on the day of the incident.

“The defendant lured the child to a deserted area where he sexually assaulted him after knocking his head against the wall,” the court said.

Fearing that the victim might expose him because he was aware of his identity, the court maintained, “the defendant grabbed a mug, broke it and slit the boy’s throat with it”.

The suspect then “took the child’s clothes and the broken mug and dumped them in a trash dumpster” according to the court documents.

The defendant was later arrested after police became suspicious that “he could have been the one who sexually assaulted and murdered the child”.

He reportedly confessed to the murder and sexual assault and provided details that “only the perpetrator could provide”, a second senior judicial source said.

“The court also relied on DNA evidence and on the defendant’s testimony to the police after he was brought in for questioning for the second time,” the second senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The child’s identity was revealed after investigators scanned missing persons’ files and discovered that the child was reported missing by his mother a day earlier.

His family later identified the victim as their missing son.

A postmortem conducted by a team of government pathologists indicated that the “child was brutally sodomised and that he also suffered from brain haemorrhage”.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Issam Haddidi had asked the court to inflict the maximum punishment on the defendant.

The tribunal comprised judges Hayel Amro, Azam Najdawi and Hassan Majali.

Tuesday’s verdict will automatically be reviewed by the Cassation Court within the next 30 days.

AMMAN — The emergence of bioarchaeology has enabled archaeologists and anthropologists to use more scientific methods to analyse the lives of previous generations, according to an American scholar.

“I actually use a number of methods, choosing them based on the type of research question I am trying to answer,” said Megan Perry, an American researcher who received her PhD in Biological Anthropology from the University of New Mexico.

“This is what makes bioarchaeology different from studying only the bones of a skeleton,” she told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview.

“For example, when I went to the Byzantine maritime port of Ayla, I was interested in finding out if there were many immigrants who moved to the site in order to know its ancient role in trade. Therefore, I used strontium isotopes found in teeth to identify people who were born outside of Ayla/Aqaba,” Perry, who is currently a professor of Anthropology at East Carolina University (ECU), explained.

At Khirbet Faynan, the American anthropologist used evidence of malnutrition and biological stress found in the bones, or paleopathology, to see if the people in the Byzantine mining camp had the poor health depicted in historical sources.  

Perry continued: “I used strontium isotopes to see if people from far away were indeed being brought to the mines for work or as punishment. At Petra, I also used a whole range of techniques to see if people had poor nutrition or biological stress for instance by looking at bone lesions, which showed them to be rather healthy and adequately nourished.”

Her team of graduate students also looked at the average mortality rates, and found out that people lived much longer than in other ancient cities. 

They further used carbon and nitrogen isotope found in bones to see if people’s diet was sufficient in protein and nutritious plants (wheat, barley, fruits, nuts, legumes). 

Moral dilemma

As a researcher who deals with human remains, Perry faces numerous moral questions: “This is [or should be] a profound issue for anyone working with human remains. I can think about this both as a personal dilemma and a legal/cultural dilemma.”

She stressed the importance of abiding by local laws and regulations while handling human body tissues and archaeological skeletal remains. 

In addition, the wishes and considerations of the local (possibly descendant) community is another factor to take into account, she highlighted, noting that her laboratory at ECU contains the remains of prehistoric Native Americans who have been linked to living groups. 

“We follow the Native American Graves Repatriation and Protection Act by contacting the descendant tribes to let them know that we have these remains, and we follow their directive for future disposition, which ranges from repatriation and reburial, remaining in storage but not being used for research or teaching, or being used as an active research and teaching collection,” Perry continued.

On the other hand, the rules in Jordan are quite different than those in the US, the anthropologist claimed, saying that the Department of Antiquities (DoA) treats human remains from ancient, pre-Islamic periods as artifacts, similar to pottery or other material objects recovered from an excavation, rather than as a separate category of ancient remains. 

“I actually raised the issue during a presentation at the last International Conference on the History and Archaeology of Jordan, held in Amman in May 2016, asking whether or not the DoA should develop specific regulations regarding human remains,” Perry stressed, adding that there are no formal restrictions in regards to the excavation of cemeteries, except for the typical archaeological permit process.

However, she said that there are unwritten rules which most researchers follow with regards to Muslim and/or recent cemeteries that essentially leave them untouched. 

The American scholar underlined that she also has a “personal moral struggle” over the excavation and study of human remains. 

“Of course, it depends on the cultural and historical context and on whether the deceased or mourners would have taken offence to the disturbance of the final resting place,” she added. 

On the other hand, documenting these “deliberate mortuary acts”, and those involved, memorialises the long-forgotten relationships and identities, she highlighted, adding that the careful and respectful study of the dead, followed by reburial of the remains, can “ethically honour those who lived in the past”.

“Cemeteries and tombs should be left unexcavated unless there is a clear research protocol that justifies disturbance of the dead,” she asserted, noting that unwarranted excavation of tombs and graves dishonours the deceased.