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AMMAN — HRH Princess Muna on Saturday attended a reception by the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) to honour the princess’ contributions to global health. 

The event, which was also attended by Health Minister Mahmoud Sheyyab, celebrated the impact of SAMS medical missions in the region, according to a statement from the medical society.

SAMS, a global humanitarian organisation working on the frontlines of crisis relief inside Syria, neighbouring countries, and beyond, is hosting its fourth medical mission to Jordan this year, the statement said.

From November 18-23, 53 medical volunteers from five countries will be working in various locations throughout Jordan to provide high-quality, “dignified” healthcare to  Syrians and underprivileged Jordanians, in specialties ranging from obstetrics and gynaecology, cardiology, primary care and more, the statement read.

The Medical Mission Reception was attended by SAMS Chairman Amjad Rass, Abdul-Aziz Ziadat, president of Jordan University Hospital, Wael Husami, Medical Mission Cardiology team leader, and Mohamed Saleh, medical mission leader. Salim Yamani, VP of the American Jordanian Chamber of Commerce, and John Lombard, first secretary of the US embassy, were also in attendance, according to the statement.

During the event, medical mission volunteers expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to help underprivileged people fleeing conflict, and thanked Princess Muna for her global health advocacy, particularly

strengthening nursing and midwifery initiatives.

“We offer our sincerest gratitude to the Jordanian government both for their support, collaboration and for the generosity they have shown the Syrian people,” Rass said during the event.

Rass presented to Princess Muna an honorary award and a painting specially created for her by a refugee from the Zaatari camp.

The  medical mission will be providing care in SAMS’s new multi-specialty medical centre in the Zaatari camp, home to 80,000 Syrian refugees. 

Deputising for Princess Muna, Sheyyab inaugurated the medical centre on November 15.

AMMAN — A group of MPs on Sunday urged the government to intervene and stop what they described as the “partiality” of UNRWA, accusing the UN relief agency of “purposely and systematically” decreasing its services to Palestinian refugees.

In a memo they signed and submitted to the Lower House’s permanent office, 22 deputies called on the government to verify reports about UNRWA director in Jordan “ordering the removal of Palestine map and pictures of occupied Jerusalem from schools administrated by the relief agency”.

In the memo, a copy of which was seen by The Jordan Times, signatories argued that their demand came in response to a number of “violations” by Director of UNRWA Operations in Jordan Rogers Davis, including “harming the Palestinian identity” and “systematically reducing the agency’s services”.

“The agency [UNRWA] is supposed to be impartial, though not supportive, with the suffering of its staff in Jordan and turning a deaf ear to their rights being the proof,” the memo said.

Initiated by MP Khalil Atiyyeh, the memo also charged that  UNRWA’s protection and inspection teams have removed the map of Palestine and pictures of Jerusalem from the walls of schools, igniting “reservation and doubts” among students and instructors. 

The 22 lawmakers requested “swift and strict” measures by the government against the agency director to oblige UNRWA to abide by the principle of “impartiality”.

AMMAN — Public Works Minister Sami Halasa on Sunday held several consultations with a technical delegation from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) headed by Abdullah Khowaitir, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

They discussed a number of projects currently under way under the supervision of the ministry and funds from the SFD in the sectors of health, education, transportation and industry.  

Regarding the Desert Highway, Halasa pointed out that the contractors who signed the tender agreement in July started implementation last September.   

As to the Zarqa-Azraq-Saudi border project, Halasa noted that more than 85 per cent of the project has been completed, noting that four industrial cities are currently being built in the governorates of Tafileh, Madaba, Balqa and Jerash.

He mentioned that some healthcare centres are under construction while some are being renovated and refurbished. 

As for the education sector, a project involving the construction of eight schools is being studied by the SFD. 

Halasa stressed the importance of these projects, worth a total of JD530 million, for the construction, engineering and housing sectors, and the positive impact they will have on the economy.  

He also praised the SFD’s “trust” in the Public Works Ministry and its “constant” follow up with the projects. 

AMMAN — A local online platform has launched a project to document traditional Jordanian and Palestinian songs, and teach them to music enthusiasts through online courses. 

The website, called Izif, has brought together 190 songs out of 250 songs they are planning to document, according to its founder Bisher Abu Taleb. 

“I founded Izif in 2012, making it the first online Arabic musical school. One of Izif’s projects is to document Jordanian and Palestinian songs,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Sunday. 

Abu Taleb said that he and his team started this project at the beginning of 2017, adding that they will wrap up by the end of this year. 

“Around six full time staff members and five freelancers have been working on this project, meeting with people who are interested in this field and conducting research on the existing literature,” he added.  

Abu Taleb said that the website displays two videos, one screening the song and the second showing an instructor teaching how to play this song. 

He added that they have posted 2,000 videos on their website so far, covering 37 courses and eight musical instruments. 

“There are around 13 instructors and 4,000 subscribers from 55 countries,” he added. 

 Rim Qutishat, Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation’s (AHSF) grants coordinator, said that the foundation has been supporting Izif’s project to document traditional songs, as part of AHSF’s literature and art project. 

“Many people in the Arab world are interested in learning such songs,” she told The Jordan Times at her office, describing the project as “significant”. 

If they are not documented, she continued, “these songs would vanish and the new generation might not know about them”. 

AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat on Sunday met his Tanzanian counterpart James Mwakibolwa and an accompanying delegation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, they discussed ways of improving bilateral ties and cooperation between the armed forces of both countries in various fields.

Mwakibolwa was briefed on the Jordanian military’s tasks and duties in various areas. 

AMMAN — Jordan has held parliamentary, local and municipal elections in less than one year, which highlights the political stability enjoyed by the Kingdom and the security apparatuses’ ability to ensure a safe environment for practicing political rights, Amman Governor Saad Shihab said on Sunday. 

During a meeting with Bethlehem Governor Maj. Gen. Jibrin Bakri, Shihab noted that the reform process in Jordan is governed by a national agenda that takes into consideration the inclusion of all components of society, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. He also went over the governors’ duties, the political reforms and the repercussions of the Syrian refugee influx.

For his part, Bakri said that the meeting aimed at benefitting from administrative expertise at the governorate level, especially on decentralisation. 

AMMAN — A Canadian delegation, headed by Ambassador Peter MacDougall, on Sunday visited the eastern military zone where they were briefed by zone commander Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bani Yaseen on the tasks and duties of the personnel in controlling the Kingdom’s borders and preventing any infiltration or smuggling attempt, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Bani Yaseen stressed that the army has the capabilities to prevent all forms of threat, noting that the zone’s personnel enjoy “high levels of morale”. MacDougall said that the visit aimed to offer the latest equipment to the army. The delegates praised the efforts of the personnel in safeguarding borders.

AMMAN — With the aim of unifying voices of working women  to obtain equal rights in the work environment, a conference was held in Amman on Sunday.

  Titled “Building Partnerships to Develop Gender Platforms: Mosawa Network as a Case Study”, the conference was organised by the Arab Women Organisation (AWO) in collaboration with the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ).

 The conference aims at enhancing the cooperation and networking between women’s associations in Mosawa Network, which includes some 100 associations, according to a statement from the organisers.

The goal of Mosawa is to unify women associations’ efforts to obtain equal rights in the work environment, the statement said.

At the opening of the conference, AWO President Randa Qsous said that the organisation managed to enhance the capabilities of women candidates for municipal and provincial councils held over the summer, and that “the results turned out very well, which boosted us to move into improving partnerships”.

For her part, Yasmine Saadoun, representative of the GIZ, said:”The agency considers that gender support is an important factor in achieving sustainable development in societies. And the German government is keen on supporting gender equality by supporting women in 160 countries around the world.”

She added that, through partnerships with civil society organisations, they managed to empower women in local communities with various training programmes and implementation of micro-funded projects to support women, which also helped in ensuring a gender-sensitive environment.

“Two-hundred-and-fifty municipal council members were trained on leadership skills and 1,000 women participated in activities to raise awareness through debates about gender and decentralisation,” she added.

One of the conference’s recommendations focuses on the capacity of female leaders in women’s associations in the governorates, stating that it should be further strengthened by intensifying training on various productive and cognitive skills.

The recommendation also stressed the need to work with community leaders and officials to promote women’s rights by building cooperative relationships with the press and the media.

AMMAN — Seven people, including four Egyptians, were killed and three others were critically injured on Sunday in two traffic accidents in Azraq and Tafileh governorates, official sources said.

The first accident, which claimed the lives of five people, involved a mini-bus and a trailer which were heading in the same direction on the Azraq Highway on Sunday morning, a senior traffic official said.

“The driver of the bus attempted to overpass the trailer but decided not to afterwards and, when he tried to return to his previous lane, he hit the back of the trailer,” the traffic official told The Jordan Times.

The impact caused the mini-bus to “spin in front of the trailer and was run over by the larger vehicle then the two vehicles skidded some 10 metres and slammed into two parked vehicles on the side road”, the official added.

“All five passengers, including four Egyptians, were killed instantly and our traffic officers who rushed to the scene ruled that the mini-bus driver, who is Jordanian, was at fault,” a second official source said.

The bodies were taken to a nearby hospital for autopsy, the second source said.

On Sunday night, two people were killed and three were critically injured when two cars collided in the Eis area in Tafileh, according to the Civil Defence Department (CDD).

The three injured were rushed to Prince Zeid Bin Hussein, and the bodies are expected to be referred to the National Institute of Forensic Medicine for autopsy, the CDD said in a statement.

According to Public Security Department  statistics, there were 10,835 road accidents in 2016, resulting in 750 deaths and 17,435 injuries. 

AMMAN  — The Lower House on Sunday endorsed its reply to His Majesty King Abdullah’s Speech from the Throne, which he delivered at the opening of the 18th Parliament’s second ordinary session on November 12.

Under the Constitution, the two Houses of Parliament must submit their replies to the King’s Speech from the Throne within 14 days.

An ad hoc committee comprising 21 lawmakers was recently formed to draft the reply. Deputies on Tuesday elected MP Fawzi Tuaimeh as head of the committee to reply to the Speech from the Throne.

The Senate is expected to meet on Tuesday to finalise its reply to the King’s Speech from the Throne amid speculations that the two Chambers’ replies will be presented before His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday. 

Also on Sunday, the Lower House formed five of its 20 permanent committees during a session that was chaired by its Speaker Atef Tarawneh.

The House usually forms its committees at the start of each ordinary session, but if no consensus is reached, members of the committees will be selected through a secret balloting.

Each permanent committee has to have a minimum of five deputies and a maximum of 11 and no MP is allowed to be a member of more than two committees. 

During the session, deputies named members of the House’s legal, finance, economic and investment; and education and cultural committees, while they elected members of the foreign affairs committee, the Jordan News Agency, Petra,  reported.