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AMMAN — Al Rai’s Media Training Centre on Monday held a graduation for Jordanian and Kuwaiti army officers who completed a social media campaign management course. 

A total of 16 officers, four of whom are Kuwaiti, completed the course organised by Al Rai in cooperation with the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army’s (JAF) Moral Guidance Department. 

The course focused on social media design and management, campaign implementation, content analysis and legislation on publishing through these platforms. 

“This form of cooperation between national institutions is part of our responsibility to develop performance and further joint efforts towards the achievement of development goals,” Jordan Press Foundation (JPF) Chairman of the Board Ayman Majali said during the ceremony. 

Majali noted that Al Rai’s training centre and the JPF possess the necessary skills to train and develop human resources, adding that the centre has signed various agreements with a number of universities to enhance investment and partnership prospects. 

The JPF chairman applauded the foundation’s effort to launch a broadcast channel, which would offer “rich media content” that addresses community service and is scheduled to launch in two or three months. 

He highlighted the necessity for print outlets to produce content addressing and proposing solutions for social problems, which would boost readership and allow them to face the challenges posed by new media. 

Director of the JAF’s Moral Guidance Department, Col. Omar Rababaah commended Al Rai’s role in informing the public, and expressed hopes of further cooperation between the JAF and Al Rai. 

AMMAN — Germany, the second-largest bilateral donor to Jordan, will hold talks this week to provide a record volume of 729.4 million euros in support to the Kingdom, German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Maria Siefker-Eberle said on Monday.

The ambassador stated that the total includes 400 million euros for budget support, water and education. In addition, Germany will offer 100 million euros of humanitarian aid and further support in the military and security field, she added during an interview with The Jordan Times on the occasion of Germany’s national day, which she said the German embassy will mark on Tuesday.

“You can clearly see that there is no donor fatigue on our side,” she said.

Since 2012, the German Government has supported the Government of Jordan in dealing with the enormous challenges related to the influx of Syrian refugees. It has “considerably increased” support to more than half a billion euros of annual funding, the envoy said.

“We think that Jordan is accomplishing extraordinary results in a conflict-ridden region and has been shouldering a great humanitarian responsibility,” Siefker-Eberle added.

Touching on “stronger than ever” relations of 66 years, the ambassador said: “We view Jordan as a close partner, as a voice of reason in a troubled region.”

Pointing to the high priority both sides attach to their relations, she highlighted the recent number of “high-ranking” bilateral visits, including His Majesty King Abdullah’s recent visit to Berlin, where he held talks with President Steinmeier and Chancellor Merkel ahead of the UN General Assembly and the German president’s 2018 visit to the Kingdom with Merkel. 

Touching on cooperation in a wide spectrum of fields, the Ambassador highlighted ties in the security sector, especially in the fight against the Daesh terror group and violent extremism. 

Further elaborating on ties, she mentioned cooperation in civil defense to establish volunteer-based disaster response structures and enhance capacities to deal with disasters.

“In the cultural field we have our Goethe Institute in Amman that is also offering high quality German language classes. And then there is of course the flagship project of our educational policy: The German-Jordanian University that is now entering its 14th year and has managed to rise to the top in all rankings,” she said.

Germany, she added, has contributed to archaeological field work in the northern region, especially in and around Umm Qays.

“The largest part of our support though is in the field of development cooperation. This year is a very special one since we celebrate 60 years of German-Jordanian development cooperation. Throughout the year we have marked this anniversary in various events, with a big celebration coming up on October 12,” Siefker-Eberle said.

She traced the history of development cooperation between the nations to 1959.

“Ever since,” she continued, “our countries have worked intensively together to promote sustainable development in Jordan — and have achieved significant results in the area of water and wastewater, education, employment promotion, environmental protection and solid waste management.”

2.8 million people in Jordan now have improved access to water after the implementation of projects funded by the German government, she elaborated. 

“Another example is cash-for-work opportunities for vulnerable Jordanian citizens as well as Syrian refugees, targeting 50 per cent Jordanians and 50 per cent Syrians,” she said, adding, “these projects improve infrastructure focusing on maintenance and cleaning of roads and highways as well as municipal work.”

Regarding employment, she noted that a challenge for the future is to focus on more sustainable and long-term solutions. 

Most projects are being implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), KfW Development Bank and the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) as well as international and local institutions, she added.

With regard to the Middle East Peace Process, the ambassador said, Germany “clearly supports a two-state solution”.

“For us, this is the prerequisite for peaceful coexistence. It presents the best way to meet Israeli and Palestinian needs and aspirations. We must not let up in working towards this goal to achieve lasting peace,” she stressed.

She referenced the current times, “when key principles of international order and essential instruments of international cooperation are challenged”.

“To counter this trend, in April 2019, the French and German Foreign Ministers launched the ‘Alliance for Multilateralism’, bringing together those who believe that strong and effective multilateral cooperation, based on the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and justice, are indispensable foundations to secure peace, stability and prosperity,” she said.

 Two weeks ago, the ambassador explained, during the UN General Assembly, Germany and France alongside Canada, Mexico, Chile, Singapore and Ghana organised an “Alliance for Multilateralism” event, which saw the participation of more than 50 Foreign Ministers, among them Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi. 

“We are thus standing side by side.”

AMMAN — Under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna, the Amman Opera Festival (AOF), the first opera festival in the Arab world, will host its third show with the opera “Barber of Seville” by Gioachino Rossini, a co-production with the Bologna Opera House.

Jordanian soprano Zeina Barhoum will be cast as Rosina, the opera’s leading role, Yuma Shimizu as Figaro, and Fabrizio Daluiso as Il Conte. They will perform with the full Opera House of Bologna cast, according to a statement by the organisers.

 They will be accompanied by the Bologna Opera House Orchestra featuring musicians from the National Music Conservatory Orchestra in Jordan and the Rimini Opera House Choir led by conductor Massimo Taddia. The show will be directed by Fabio Buonocore. 

This edition of the AOF will also feature a costumes workshop through its educational programme “An Eye on Music in Education”, which supports “promising talent” in partnership with SOS Children. 

In coordination with the UNHCR, two Syrian refugee tailors will be working with the Italian costume designer for the opera, according to the statement. 

Barhoum founded the AOF in Jordan under the patronage of HRH Princess Muna. In July 2017 it featured “La Traviata” in July 2017 and in 2018, “La Boheme” was showcased at the Roman Theatre in Amman. 

The founder’s motivation is to “plant the seeds towards growing the opera culture” in Jordan and the Arab world, and inspire the opening of an opera house in Amman similar to those in other Arab states such as Oman and the UAE, the statement said. 

“Barber of Seville” will be showcased on October 17 and 19 at the Cultural Palace in Amman. “A bit of Italy” opens its doors at 5:30pm  for opera-goers to enjoy a snack before the show begins. Gates open at 7pm and the show begins at 7:30pm. 

A costumes exhibition by Italian fashion designers of the Bologna Opera House will be featured in the foyer of the theatre. 

Part of the proceeds will go to a scholarship fund and to benefit underprivileged children, according to the statement.

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, HRH Prince Ghazi, His Majesty’s Chief Adviser for Religious and Cultural Affairs and personal envoy, on Monday opened the 18th General Conference of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought. 

In his opening address, Prince Ghazi, who is chairman of the institute’s board of trustees, paid tribute to the “colleagues who passed away since the previous conference in 2016” and welcomed new members of the institute by name, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

During the inauguration, the prince announced the first award on Islamic thought will be won by the best researcher on the topic in English or Arabic, noting that the application deadline for the prize is January 1, 2020. 

At the inauguration, Prince Ghazi presented the winner, Mohammed Othman from Pakistan, with the King Abdullah I Bin Al Hussein International Award.

The three-day event, held every three years, will bring together 70 scholars from 30 Arab and foreign countries to discuss 31 research papers.   

The Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought was established in 1980 and comprises 120 members who are senior scholars from 36 countries. 

AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) advised merchants in downtown Amman to get insurance that covers natural disasters like floods, fires and earthquakes for their shops, in a bulletin distributed on Monday.

The ACC circulated its “guidance and awareness” instructions to traders in lieu of the upcoming winter season, with the aim of preserving lives and properties and avoiding accidents that may result in financial losses.

ACC President Khalil Hajj Tawfiq said that the chamber prepared the instructions after considering the flash floods last winter that damaged some shops in downtown Amman, where the chamber found some missing public safety measures, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.   

In mid-August, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the ACC pledged to reimburse the traders with a total of JD3 million, JD2 million of which would be supplied by GAM, and the remaining amount by the ACC.

In March, heavy rain flooded downtown Amman and caused “extensive damage”, prompting citizens to express their frustration over the country’s “poor” infrastructure.

At the time of the incident, GAM said that “unprecedented” rainfall had led to soil erosion in the capital’s Jabal Al Joufeh area and manhole closures in Quraish Street in downtown Amman.

In its instructions, the ACC called on traders not to store their merchandise in warehouses whose levels are below the level of streets and to avoid storing large amounts of goods in basements. 

The chamber also urged downtown Amman traders to raise the level of the doorsteps to their shops to guarantee that water would not enter their property, according to Petra.

AMMAN — High taxation has led to the rise of unregistered work, according to a recent study by the Quds Centre for Political Studies.

Unregistered work accounts for 25 per cent of the Kingdom’s GDP, stated the centre.

Whether in tourism, construction or agriculture, unregistered work “depends on the labour of unregistered foreign workers or citizens who are willing to take the risk in exchange for a source of income”, according to Mahmoud Sarayrah, an inspector in the Public Security Department’s anti-random work department.

“When caught and asked if they knew their workplace or work procedures were illegal and unregistered, most reply with ‘yes, but we have been unemployed for a long time’,” he told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview.

According to the study, almost 39 per cent of the sample “chose to partake in unregistered work because of strained financial situations”. Unregistered Jordanian workers made up 18 per cent of the workforce, while 50 per cent of foreign workers were unregistered.

The “high registration fees, taxes and foreign labour licences” were the main factors that led employers to keep their businesses unregistered, it stated.

“I am fully aware of the consequences of operating an unregistered commercial complex. However, I only lost my shop licences because I couldn’t keep up with ridiculously high taxes,” said a shopping complex owner, who preferred to remain anonymous.

He added: “I will have a huge problem to deal with if I ever want to sell the complex, because the accumulated taxes might be hundreds of thousands. I can deal with that problem later. For now, I have kids to feed.”

AMMAN — Despite being one of the best-preserved crusader castles in Jordan and the Near East, Karak Castle is “certainly one of the least studied”, said an Italian archaeologist.

“The historical importance of this site, especially in the 12th-14th centuries, is evident. It was built in 1142 by Payen le Bouteiller, a French nobleman, crusader and lord of Outrejourdan until 1148,” Lorenzo Fragai told The Jordan Times in a recent e-mail interview. 

He added it was conquered by Saladin and the Ayyubids in 1188 and subsequently passed into the hands of the Mamluks in 1260.

During seven centuries of Islamic rule, Karak Castle was converted from a purely military outpost to a proper fortified residence, Fragai elaborated,  stressing that  it served various functions such as an arsenal, a "strong-box" for the sultan’s treasure, a prison and, for a brief period in the 14th century, the capital building for an entire empire. 

“As far as the crusader phase is concerned, more in-depth investigations of the still-extant buildings inside the castle will be absolutely necessary in the future,” Fragai said.

More advanced, although still quantitatively limited to some portions of the fortress, are the investigations of the Ayyubid and Mamluk phases that Fragai conducted during and after his PhD at the Sapienza University of Rome and as a member of the University of Florence’s archaeological mission in Jordan. 

“Karak Castle is a ‘jewel’ in this region; a perfect summary of the military and architectural genius of the Crusaders, the Ayyubids and the Mamluks,” Fragai said.

Directed by Professor Guido Vannini, the University of Florence’s archaeological mission in Jordan has been working for over 30 years on crusader sites in this region, Fragai said.

“The mission’s objectives have included performing a stratigraphic excavation in the southern portion of the castle near the palatine complex of An Nasir Dawud, Ayyubid prince of Karak (1229-1249),” the archaelogist said. 

Future investigations in Karak will cover three areas of research: Stratigraphic excavations, stratigraphic readings of the buildings and architectural surveys, he continued.

“Most of the surveys will concern the Ayyubid and Mamluk phases, whilst including the crusader one, albeit to a lesser degree,” Fragai noted, adding that human and economic efforts to redesign and expand such a large castle must have absorbed a vast amount of resources and energy. 

“However, we currently understand only a small part of it. Evidence of these interventions must therefore be recognised and interpreted so as to clarify the site’s evolution over the centuries,” Fragai concluded.

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a February State Security Court (SSC) ruling that sentenced two cousins to four years in prison each for spreading terrorist ideologies in the Kingdom.

The SSC declared the two defendants guilty of spreading Daesh terror group videos and material using their cell phones and computers, and handed them the maximum punishment.

The same court declared the two defendants innocent of plotting subversive acts in Jordan due to lack of evidence.

Court papers said the defendants adopted a takfiri perspective and when Daesh surfaced, they adopted its ideology.

"The two cousins used all technological means available to spread material that Daesh was broadcasting in order to gain more sympathisers for the terrorist group," court documents said.

Later on, the defendants sought out a university at which to spread their ideology, court papers said. 

The two were arrested in July 2017 after the campus security became suspicious of their presence and alerted the authorities.

While in custody at a police station, court documents added, “the defendants spoke to a man who was arrested on a different charge and attempted to convince him to adopt the Daesh terror group’s ideology”.

“The defendants also asked the man who was with them about how to erase material that was related to Daesh on their mobile phones that were seized by the police,” court transcripts said.

The man immediately alerted police about the conversation with the men and they were sent to the SSC prosecution office for further questioning, court papers added.

The defendants contested the verdict through their lawyers, asking to be declared innocent because “they did not commit any acts that were in violation of the law”.

“The court relied on weak evidence and failed to provide any solid evidence that would implicate our clients,” the defence argued.

Meanwhile, the SSC’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the prison terms given to the defendants.

The higher court dismissed the defence claims and ruled that the SSC proceedings were accurate and the defendants were given the appropriate punishment.

“The two defendants owned electronic devices that contained material related to the Daesh terror group, including their activities, videos and lists of people they planned to target in Jordan,” the higher court stated.

The Cassation Court bench comprised judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Nayef Samarat, Bassem Mubeidin, Yassin Abdullat and Naji Zu’bi.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday attended the annual ceremony of the King Abdullah II Fund for Development (KAFD) at the King Hussein Business Park.

The ceremony featured a showcase of KAFD’s achievements and success stories involving young beneficiaries of the fund, which was established in 2001 to promote sustainable progress and elevate the socioeconomic status and prosperity in Jordan, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the ceremony, attended by KAFD Chairman Alaa Bataineh, King Abdullah presented the King Abdullah II Award for Youth Innovation and Achievement to Laith Abu-Taleb for his paper art project Waragami.

A total of 1,362 young Arabs from 16 countries applied to the award this year, 10 of whom were shortlisted for the final stage of the competition, the statement said.

Waragami is the first project in the Middle East to specialise in the paper art of Origami and Quilling, aimed at developing creativity, patience and motor skills among its practitioners, as well as assisting in the rehabilitation process of people with disabilities.

Also during the ceremony, a number of youth beneficiaries of KAFD’s programmes highlighted their success stories and experiences, outlining the impact of the fund on their projects, the statement said.

The ceremony also included a celebration of the10th anniversary of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, as a success story in vocational education and a positive influence on the social perception of vocational training.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh and Adviser to His Majesty for Policies and Media Kamal Al Nasser attended the ceremony.

AMMAN — Tunisians are now exempt from entry visas to visit the Kingdom, according to a Ministry of Interior announcement on Sunday.

Back in February, visa fees were waived for Tunisians entering the Kingdom.

In July of 2015, Tunisia decided to waive visa fees for Jordanians, citing “enhancing bilateral relations” as their reason. Later on, Tunisia exempted Jordanians from visas altogether.

“This is good for tourism, trade and education. Now, tourists, businessmen and students can travel freely between the two countries, therefore bringing in money for both countries,” Mohammed Husseini, a travel agent told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He added: “We have already seen more people willing to trade Turkey for Tunisia this summer, so I would say the Tunisian exemption for Jordanians worked.”

Cooperation between the two countries is “still below the desired levels”, said Tunisian Ambassador to Jordan Khalid Suhaili earlier this year at a press conference covered by The Jordan Times. He noted that “trade between the two countries can be boosted to reach $200 million annually”.

During his latest visit to Jordan, Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui called on Jordanian businesspeople to “benefit from the various advantages of accessing new markets through Tunisia”, according to a Royal Court statement.

Spokesperson for Jordan’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Supply Yanal Barmawi told The Jordan Times over the phone that he hopes “Jordanian businesspeople will take this as an invitation to explore what Tunisia has to offer”.