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AMMAN — The eighth annual forum for Arab investigative journalists opens in the capital on December 4.

More than 250 Arab journalists, editors and media academics will attend the three-day conference, which is organised by the Amman-based Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ).

The theme of the conference is “Arab Media: Surviving under Censorship”, reflecting a growing crackdown on free speech and worsening media polarisation, an ARIJ statement said.

“The regional forum is taking place in Amman despite the clear retraction on press freedoms,” the statement quoted ARIJ Chairperson Daoud Kuttab as saying.

“Despite the increase in... censorship we are committed to training and applying the highest professional standards in our print and video investigations,” Kuttab added.

The forum will feature over 30 panels and training sessions on topics including the personal safety of reporters in conflict zones, offshore financial fraud, advanced writing skills and verification of user generated content, according to the statement.

Speakers will include renowned journalists such as Yosri Fouda, whose primetime show on OnTV was forced to close due to deteriorating media freedoms in Egypt; Lina Attalah, chief editor of “Mada Masr”; Hamza Belloumi, presenter of Hiwar Tunis’ flagship political TV talk show “Eight PM”; and Sheila Coronel, director of the Toni Stabile Centre for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University in New York.

“Investigative journalists are a weird mix of cynics and optimists. We know things are going wrong. What motivates us is a sense that the wrongs have to be exposed, and that by exposing them, they can be changed,” the statement quoted Coronel as saying.

The conference will end with a gala dinner to honour 2015 ARIJ investigations featuring “gutsy undercover work, dogged tracking of corruption, and careful documentation of pollution and health problems”, the statement said.

Founded in 2005, ARIJ has trained 1,642 journalists and nearly 100 media professors in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, Bahrain and Tunisia, according to the statement.

It is funded by the Copenhagen-based International Media Support, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Norwegian foreign ministry and the Norwegian embassy in Amman, and the Open Society Foundation.

AMMAN — A facility located in Marka District is giving children from underprivileged backgrounds a new lease on life.

With official figures estimating that some 30,000 Jordanians between the ages of six and 15 are school dropouts, the Social Support Centre is providing a leading example as an incubator for children who are out of school.

Rudaina had to drop out of school when she was in the fifth grade, which has left her illiterate.

“The difficult financial situation of my family made it impossible for me to continue to go to school,” the 17-year-old said during HRH Princess Basma’s visit to the centre on Monday.

After enrolling in the support centre, Rudaina managed to learn to read and write “in a short period”.

“The centre was definitely a turning point in my life. It helped me regain my self-esteem,” she said.

A graduate from the facility, Rudaina is now receiving training at a vocational centre and hopes to join the labour market soon.

Established by the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD) in 2008 in cooperation with the Labour Ministry, the Marka Social Support Centre now accommodates 282 children, including 114 girls, between the ages of seven and 18.

The main aim of the facility, along with two other branches in Mafraq and Maan, is to help school dropouts rejoin formal and non-formal academic or vocational education and provide them with counselling and recreation.

In addition, the centre, in cooperation with the Education Ministry, offers students a certificate that equals 10th grade to enable them to join formal vocational training programmes.

During the visit, Princess Basma toured the centre’s facilities and listened to students’ experiences.

She also checked on the Goodwill Campaign’s medical activities — which include mobile dental and ophthalmology clinics — that targeted the centre’s students.

Also on Monday, the princess listened to a briefing on the “Safe Home” initiative, which is implemented by the Goodwill Campaign and the Jordan Engineers Association.

The first phase of the initiative entails renovating the houses of underprivileged families in Maan, Mafraq and Madaba.

AMMAN — Police arrested a wanted suspect late Monday night in a raid of a furnished apartment in an east Amman suburb, official sources said Tuesday.

A police unit stormed the premises and arrested the 38-year-old suspect without any major incidents, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

“We received a tip that the suspect, who is classified as dangerous and has been served with four criminal subpoenas, was hiding in a furnished apartment, so our forces stormed it and arrested him,” Sartawi said.

He added that the suspect was referred to the criminal prosecutor for indictment.

A second source told The Jordan Times that the suspect is the brother of Ziad Rai, an individual police described “as one of the most dangerous men in Jordan.”

Rai was killed in August 2012 during a police shoot-out in the Hashemi Shamali suburb that left another wanted suspect dead and eight others injured, including two police officers.

The local press depicted Ziad Rai as a gangster who was involved in alleged protection rackets. He was pictured in several YouTube clips firing automatic rifles at weddings and while walking in the streets of his neighbourhood.

AMMAN — Amman Prosecutor General Rami Tarawneh on Tuesday ordered the detention of Tareq Abu Ragheb, a TV presenter at Al Haqiqah satellite channel. 

Abu Ragheb said on his Facebook page that his detention for a week was over a post that he shared on the social media website which was viewed by the authorities as “non-objective and full of libel and slander”. 

He did not specify which post he was detained over, but an informed source told The Jordan Times that Abu Ragheb, also a lawyer, shared several posts over the past weeks that included criticism and harsh words against local and Arab entities. 

The broadcaster was sent to Marka prison, according to a Facebook post he wrote on Tuesday afternoon. 

The lawyer, who presents a talk show to debate current domestic issues, described the government as “an enemy of free speech”. 

The source said Abu Ragheb was detained for violating the Electronic Crime Law by making “abusive” and “provocative” remarks against a religion that could be seen as promoting hatred and threatening coexistence in the Kingdom. 

Last month, Osama Al Ramini, the chief editor of Al Balad news website, was detained for violating the same law. 

He was supposed to be detained for two weeks but was bailed out after a day.

The Jordan Press Association has criticised a recent decision by the Law Interpretation Bureau ruling that slander on news websites and social networking sites is covered by the Electronic Crime Law, which allows for the detention of media practitioners.

The ruling, which stated that Article 11 of the Electronic Crime Law applies in cases of online slander, was made after Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour requested an interpretation by the bureau on whether the Press and Publications Law or the Electronic Crime Law could apply to such crimes.

AMMAN — The Korean language was not what Yasmeen Awwad planned to study when she first entered university five years ago. 

Awwad recalled that she wanted to study English, but her General Secondary Education Certificate Examination score qualified her only for a joint Korean-English language degree. 

She was planning to change her major during her first week at the University of Jordan (UJ), but ended up falling in love with the Korean language and culture. 

“The first things that attracted my attention were the culture and how teachers treat me in a respectful way, so I became interested in learning more about Korean history, lifestyle and food,” she told The Jordan Times.  

Awwad is among a number of Jordanians for whom studying the language has increased their appreciation of Korean culture. 

There are 158 Jordanian students currently studying the Korean language as a bachelor’s degree, 61 students have been accepted this year, according to Ahmad Al Afif, head of the Asian languages department at UJ. 

Afif said Korean is among four foreign languages with dedicated bachelor’s degrees, which indicates the popularity of the language among the younger generation.  

University enrolments, however, do not reflect the full number of Jordanians with a passion for all things Korean. 

Around 1,750 Jordanians attended the Korean activities that were held in the capital this year, according to figures from the Korean embassy in Amman.

Some 700 people attended the K-Pop World Festival; 350 visited the Korean Film Festival (though fewer than the 600 visitors last year); 300 attended the Korean speech contest and 400 watched a performance by the music group Coreyah, according to the embassy.  

Korean Ambassador to Jordan Choi Hong-ghi said these events contributed to popularising the Korean culture among Jordanians, leading them to develop enough fondness for it to learn the language. 

“The Korean embassy has organised cultural events on a regular basis, particularly since last year. In the past, the events were organised from time to time, and last year I brought them together under the umbrella of a cultural week,” Choi told The Jordan Times at the Korean embassy.   

He noted that Jordanians’ interest in Korea has been supported by many aspects in common between the two cultures, especially the respect people show towards the elderly, which is a basic element of Korean life. 

The diplomat also credited an exchange programme — agreed between the governments of Jordan and Korea in the fields of education, tourism and culture, which is renewed every three years — with raising awareness of Korean culture.

Around 20 Korean volunteers are active in Jordan and work in several fields, including music and education for Jordanians wishing to learn about Korean culture. 

Yeongsuk Yi of the Korean International Cooperation Agency, who teaches the language at UJ, said many young Jordanians’ fascination with Korea’s traditional garments and cuisine has boosted enrolment in language programmes. 

“We have a lot of activities at the university, like cooking Korean food and wearing traditional Korean costumes, and these activities help the students learn more about the language and the culture,” she told The Jordan Times. 

The professor recounted that many students she has spoken to believe that Korean is the easiest Asian language to learn.    

The Korean ambassador said films and TV series are important tools that expose Jordanians to his country’s culture.   

“Movies and series have a really interesting way of storytelling and they can easily [influence] people’s emotions and feelings. They make them interested in the culture — this is the starting point and they can understand the way of life through movies.”  

Noting that two Korean series — dubbed into Arabic — were broadcast on Jordan Television in the past, Choi said he aims to help arrange the broadcast of other series if financing is available. 

Learning about the language and culture has sparked ambitions in the university students to bring the two countries closer together. 

Awwad said she wants to continue her studies in Korea, and hopes to be able to offer language lessons at affordable prices so that everyone can learn it.  

Shaden Mustafa, another Korean-English language student, expressed her desire to create opportunities for cultural exchange between the two countries.

“I want to implement my experience and knowledge about the Korean language and spread it in our community and also make Koreans aware of our culture,” the 21-year-old said.  

Afif said UJ’s Korean language department does not have any Jordanian teachers yet, so he is looking forward to having graduating students return to the university to teach the language.   

Awwad’s passion for Korean culture, however, has taken her in another direction.  

“I want to open my own Korean restaurant in Amman because I really love the food and want to introduce Jordanians to Korean cuisine.”

AMMAN — Border Guards on Monday foiled an infiltration attempt by two people who tried to cross into Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, quoted a military source from the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army as saying on Tuesday.

The Border Guards dealt with them, in accordance with the rules of engagement observed under such conditions. The two persons, one of whom is a foreigner, were arrested and referred to the concerned authorities.

AMMAN — Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Tuesday discussed ways to enhance military cooperation and coordination in light of the latest developments in the region.

These discussions took place at a meeting between King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben, and a Saudi military delegation headed by Saudi Border Guards Director Maj. Gen.

Awad Bin Eid Al Balawi. HRH Prince Feisal and senior military officers also attended the meeting, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Tuesday met separately with US and Hungarian ambassadors to Jordan Alice G. Wells and Csaba Czibere to discuss regional issues and bilateral relations.

Tarawneh reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian issue, calling for a just and permanent solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Discussions also tackled the war on terrorism, the Syrian crisis and Jordan’s role in helping refugees.

Wells commended the Jordanian stance on different regional and international issues. Czibere, for his part, highlighted the importance of a unified European stance to reach a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis and support countries hosting refugees such as Jordan.

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian on Tuesday diverted an Amman-Madrid flight to Athens airport to save a passenger’s life.

The pilot requested permission to land at the nearest airport in order to provide treatment for a 52-year old Jordanian woman who suffered breathing difficulties, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

After a 40-minute delay at Athens airport, the plane resumed its flight to Madrid. The airline said the Jordanian woman was in good condition, adding that her flight to Miami will be rescheduled soon.

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad met on Tuesday with Australian Minister for Immigration and Border Protection Peter Dutton and discussed means to boost Australia’s assistance to Jordan in dealing with the large numbers of Syrian refugees.

The two officials examined the possibility of resettling some Syrian refugees in Australia.  Also on Tuesday, Hammad met with Frédéric Fournier, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Jordan.

Discussions covered the needs of Syrian refugees, especially during winter. Fournier commended Jordan’s efforts in dealing with the various burdens of hosting refugees.