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AMMAN ­­— Security and civil defence apparatuses on Thursday carried out operations in Irbid to "cleanse" the area in which Tuesday's anti-terror raid took place, according to an official. 

Irbid Governor Saad Shihab said the operations are meant to "clean up the area", denying news reports that clashes started again in Irbid. 

“The security existence in the area where Daesh affiliates were raised is a precautionary and routine measure to ensure that all traces of weapons are cleared out,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Thursday. 

He underlined that peace was restored and life went back to normal in the northern governorate.  Seven armed men killed in Irbid during a raid by specialised security forces were Daesh affiliates who were planning to carry out attacks on military and civil sites in the Kingdom.

The General Intelligence Department (GID) said that it foiled a terror plot by thorough intelligence, adding that ahead of Irbid operations, 13 members of the group were arrested.

Security forces identified the location of the other seven members, who hid in a residential building in Irbid. They refused to surrender and opened fire with automatic rifles, prompting the specialised forces to respond and kill the entire cell members.

During the clashes, Captain Rashed Zyoud was killed and five other security officers injured, in addition to two civilians who happened to be in the area.
The seven terrorists were wearing explosive belts, according to GID, which said that weapons and explosives were seized from the location.

On the other hand, Irbid governor noted that bodies of three out of the seven outlaws were identified as Jordanians, while the rest were “unrecognisable”.  

“The bodies were taken to Al Bashir Hospital forensic unit to reveal their identities, but only three were identified due to the wounds and burns sustained,” he said. 

Shihab was quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, as assuring area residents that there was nothing to worry about, asking them to go back to their lives as usual. 

Security personnel did not find any weapons during the search and they did not raid any houses in the neighbourhood, he added.

AMMAN — Jordanians nowadays are more aware of issues of mental health and illnesses related to it, psychiatrists said, adding that the number of people who visit psychiatric consultants has been increasing over the past few years. 

“People have changed their views on mental illnesses and consulting a psychiatrist nowadays, it is due to the information available on the Internet and educational books,” psychiatrist Mohammad Dabbas told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview.

Around 25 per cent of people who go to psychiatrists in the Kingdom suffer from depression, Dabbas noted. 

The side-effects of depression, according to the psychiatrist, include constantly suffering from a “bipolar mood”, losing interest and enjoyment in surroundings, a need to sleep more, losing or having more appetite and losing concentration. 

“People suffering from depression also have feelings of guilt and believe that life is not worth living; they sometimes have suicidal thoughts as well,” he explained.

If one suffers from the first two side-effects of depression for two weeks or more, Dabbas recommends visiting a psychiatrist. 

“Ignoring the side-effects of depression or any mental disease can lead to more dangerous consequences, and depressed individuals could eventually commit suicide, self harm or harm the people around them,” he said.

For women in Jordan, the percentage of depression ranges between 10 and 20 per cent, while for men, it is around half that percentage, Dabbas added.

“Women have more hormonal changes, especially during pregnancy and menstruation,” he said.

The therapist continued that one other factor that could be blamed for the higher rate of mental illness among women is the social pressure on them in general. “Any mistake a woman makes is criticised. Men’s actions are justified, but women’s aren’t, which means they are more likely to experience symptoms of depression.”

According to therapist Falah Tamimi, the number of patients suffering from such cases increased due to political and economic crises in the region. 

He also listed panic attacks, anxiety, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and bipolar disorders as other common illnesses in Jordan.

Bipolar disorders cause serious shifts in mood, energy, thinking, and behaviour, Tamimi said, adding that it can lead to serious consequences at the social level as well. 

According to the US National Institute of Mental Health, people who suffer ADHD are inattentive, hyperactive and impulsive, and it can affect children’s education. 

Experts said anxiety disorder is not the feeling people get when they are nervous about a certain event; it is a confusion that lasts for no less than six months and needs to be addressed by taking medications. 

Mental illnesses are more likely to be found among people between the ages of 15 and 40, who do not feel confident or financially stable.

Currently, suicides in Jordan are more common among people between the ages of 20 and 40, Dabbas said.

“Our youths suffer from several issues. They are under a lot of pressure these days. They have more complicated emotional issues, and a higher alcohol intake,” he noted.

Experts urged the public to avoid buying medicines and anti-depression pills from pharmacies without a medical prescription, because of their addictive nature.

A full course of depression treatment using pills goes for about six to nine months, and around six more months as a “post-therapeutic period”, the therapists said.

Dabbas said the medicines prescribed by specialists are “safer” for patients and do not put the physical and mental health of patients at risk in the long run.

“As insurance companies do not cover these expenses, some people read online and think they have a certain disorder and treat it with the wrong medication, which might impact their health negatively,” he said.

AMMAN — What makes Taj Express - The Bollywood Musical, different is that it gives the audience a glimpse of India in the style of Bollywood, according to the female leading actress of the performance, Tanvi Oke. 

She will be among a number of Indian dancers performing the musical in Amman on Friday and Saturday.

“Taj Express is a fusion of the east and west, which includes electrifying dance numbers like the Lavni from Maharashtra, the high energy bhangra of the Punjab, [and the] beautiful and elegant yet fast paced Gujrati Garba,” Oke told The Jordan Time in an e-mail interview.  

The performance, which will be held at Al Hussein Youth City’s Cultural Palace, “incorporates all these various dance forms together along with [around] 2,000 sparkling costumes and lavish sets”, the performer said. 

“I am so proud of Taj Express because the energy you witness on stage is contagious, which will leave you mesmerised and thrilled,” she added.  

The show, organised by Friends of Jordan Festivals, combines modern pop and Bollywood culture, with deep-rooted centuries-old Indian traditions, and features “over 1,500 extravagant costumes, 2,000 glittering accessories, and foot-tapping music”, the organisers said in a statement. 

“India is a land of dreams which has one of the richest and most vivid history and heritage. It is the most culturally diverse country in the world. From east to west, north to south, the languages, religions, architecture, food, dance, music and costumes differ,” Oke added. 

Tanay Pinglay, one of the male dancers, said the dances of Taj Express were chosen and choreographed to the famous numbers of Bollywood movies, keeping the storyline in mind.

The performance — “a colourful presentation of Indian culture” — will feature “12 kinds of Indian dance styles”, with each song and dance representing a different culture of a particular area in India, the organisers said. 

AMMAN — By intensifying inspection campaigns on violating bakeries and wheat mills, the Industry, Trade and Supply Ministry saved around JD214,000 in 2015, a ministry official said on Thursday.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Yanal Barmawi, said the campaigns aimed at eliminating waste and ensuring that bakeries do not use subsidised flour “unlawfully” such as selling it to merchants or using it to produce other unsupported products with liberalised prices.

The official said a technical committee of specialised engineers at the ministry will re-evaluate the needs of all bakeries across the Kingdom and change the allocated quantities of subsidised flour accordingly.  

“The ministry will also employ a system for electronically tracing the load of wheat-and-flour-laden trucks,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone.    

In 2015, the country’s consumption of wheat exceeded 900,000 tonnes, with the cost of wheat flour subsidies reaching around JD160 million, Barmawi said, expecting the cost to increase in 2016 to JD163 million due to the increase in consumption.    

He cited a 20 per cent increase in Jordan’s consumption of wheat over the past five years, a matter he attributed to the increase in population over that period, particularly the influx of Syrian refugees.

The latest population census puts the Kingdom’s population at 9.5 million, of whom 1.26 million are Syrians.

Barmawi said there will be no changes to subsidies in the near future, adding that any means for providing subsidies will not increase bread prices over 16 piasters per kilogramme for Jordanians.

Prices for non-Jordanians will not be altered anytime soon, according to the official, who noted that several studies and visions for other support mechanisms have been under negotiation.

Stressing that the ministry will continue its “intensified” inspection campaigns, Barmawi said Jordan’s reserves of wheat and barley cover the country’s needs for a year.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, accompanied by 11 ministers, visited Wadi Araba on Thursday to meet with representatives of the local community and inaugurate development and service projects.

During the field visit, Ensour met with residents of Rahmah, Ghweibeh and Maamora areas, inaugurated the new Risheh well project and checked on irrigation projects in Rahmah and Fidan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The premier stressed that the 2,300-square-kilometre Wadi Araba area holds a lot of promise, noting that it boasts various resources and represents a major linking point in the Middle East.

Underscoring that “these field visits” are not implemented as “mere protocol”, Ensour said the Dead Sea-Red Sea Water Conveyance Project will pass through Wadi Araba within 40 to 50 months, providing tens of millions of cubic metres of freshwater.

The project, he added, will provide “thousands” of job opportunities and will facilitate the implementation of several industries.

Moreover, a railway project connecting Aqaba and the Dead Sea area will pass through Wadi Araba in the Kingdom’s south, the premier noted, adding that the government will work with the Arab Potash Company to implement the project.

The government, he said, put Wadi Araba under the jurisdiction of the Jordan Valley Authority (JVA), which has experience in reviving Jordan Valley areas, after the area did not receive enough attention under the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority’s jurisdiction.

Ensour urged the JVA to take “bold and real” decisions to develop the area.

Speaking during the ministerial team’s meetings with local communities, Aqaba Governor Fawaz Irsheidat said the poverty rate in Wadi Araba is around 71 per cent, while the unemployment rate is 23 per cent.

Southern Badia Deputy Deifallah Saeedin called for lowering water prices for Wadi Araba residents and distributing 30-dunum agricultural lands to each family for cultivation and development.

For her part, lawmaker Shaha Abu Shosheh stressed the need to build housing units for area residents and implementing income generating projects, in addition to a textile factory to employ women.

She also stressed the need to improve education and health services.

Mayors of Rahmah, Qatar, Wadi Araba, and Qriqra and Feynan called for supporting municipalities, commending the decision to have the JVA supervise the region.

AMMAN — Six people were injured on Thursday in a three-vehicle collision in Irbid, a Civil Defence Department (CDD) statement said.

CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Princess Basma Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition. In Tafileh, three people were hit by a vehicle.

CDD personnel took them to Prince Zeid Military Hospital, where they were reported to be in fair condition. Also on Thursday, four people suffered shortness of breath in a house fire in Areinbeh area. CDD cadres administered first aid and took them to Al Nadim Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — Issuing work permits for Syrian workers is limited to professions that are open for guest workers only and within the allowed ratio, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted Labour Ministry Spokesperson Mohammad Khatib as saying.

He said that hundreds of permits were given this year to Syrian workers who met the conditions of working without violating the Labour Law. The ministry’s inspection teams have started making the necessary plans to track violating institutions and companies and deal with them in accordance with the law, Khatib added.

AMMAN — Social Development Minister Reem Abu Hassan on Thursday formed a committee to investigate the escape of a minor on Wednesday from a juvenile centre. The ministry’s media centre said the committee started investigating the incident, adding that it is following up with relevant authorities to find the juvenile and return him to the centre.

Juvenile centres are not completely closed and allow their inmates to practise activities such as vocational training, sports and trips, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. The amended Juvenile Law has granted more rights to juveniles and replaced penalties with community service activities.

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) Director Maj. Gen. Atef Saudi on Thursday met with Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Pan Weifang and discussed boosting bilateral relations in different security and training fields.

Saudi described Sino-Jordanian ties, especially at the police and security levels, as “distinguished”, expressing the PSD’s keenness to benefit from China’s police expertise, according to a PSD statement.

The Chinese diplomat praised the PSD’s experience and the “remarkable development” it has achieved.

AMMAN — Fifty per cent of participants in a 2015 Zarqa Vocational Training Centre training programme on selling in retail shops who were looking for jobs succeeded in finding employment, according to a study released Thursday.

The study showed that 79 per cent of graduates are satisfied with the training programme provided at the centre, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

After five months of graduation, 31.6 per cent of the graduates managed to find jobs. Also on Thursday, the European Training Foundation, the Employment-Technical and Vocational Education Training Fund Council and the Vocational Training Corporation released the EU-funded “Governance for employability in the Mediterranean”, which covers nine countries of the region including Jordan.

The report presents the outcomes of a mapping, analysis and self-assessment of vocational education and training in Jordan. The study recommended engaging more with social partners and civil society to improve the alignment of vocational training supply with labour market demand.