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AMMAN — The Public Sector Development Ministry on Sunday started the training of 60 women working in the civil service sector participating in a programme to build leadership capabilities, according to a ministry statement.

The programme is implemented in cooperation with the USAID Takamol Gender Programme and the Jordanian National Commission for Women.

During the inaugural ceremony, Public Sector Development Minister Khleef Al Khawaldeh said the programme trains women in various fields including leadership, strategic planning and human resources management.

He said, upon completion of the training, a total of 180 participants will have been trained and a similar number will start in 2016 with support from USAID.

AMMAN —  Palestinian film “Sataer Al Atma”, which depicts the brutality of Israeli prisons, was screened for the first time in Jordan on Saturday on the occasion of the 10th annual Jordanian Detainees Day, marked on October 20. 

The film follows the story of Amer, a Palestinian detainee who undergoes five years of interrogation and torture at a prison run by the Israeli occupation. 

It is based on Palestinian author Waleed Al Hodaly’s novel by the same name, which translates to “The Curtains of Darkness”.

According to the film’s director, Mohammad Farhan Al Karmi, Hodaly incorporated experiences from his own 12-year detention in Israeli prisons into his novel, as well as stories told by other Palestinian, Jordanian and Arab detainees. 

“The film tries to depict the horrific reality of how the Zionist occupation deals with Palestinian captives. We tried to portray the gruesome methods of torture in Zionist prisons and their ways of inflicting emotional and physical pain onto Palestinians, as described by the author,” the director said.

Karmi mentioned that the location of the film set, at Al Faraa Prison, held special significance for the film’s cast and crew, given that some of them had been detained by the Israelis there. 

“Most of the actors in the film, including myself, have been detained for a period of time in Zionist imprisonment,” he noted.

The one-hour feature shows examples of the tactics practised by Israeli wardens in order to pit prisoners against each other and get them to confess to their alleged crimes. 

This “unavoidable and prevalent” aspect of the prison system led to some prisoners being referred to as “birds” or spies who get insider information from prisoners and pass it on to prison wardens, according to the director.

The film screening comes as part of a project called “In Our Detainees’ Service”, which seeks to raise awareness of the “inhumane methods of torture and suffering” that detainees face in occupied lands, said Karmi. 

He added: “We have to keep in mind that our land is worth fighting for no matter how many martyrs we lose and how many detainees suffer torture and humiliation.”

The event was organised by the Jordan Engineers Association and the Association for Jordanian Detainees in Zionist Imprisonment.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday approved appointing Mohammad Saudi as secretary general of the Jordan Academy of Arabic. Saudi holds a PhD in Arabic language and literature, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) personnel on Sunday foiled an attempt to smuggle 1 million narcotic pills, the Public Security Department (PSD) said.

Information on a suspect who reportedly prepared the huge quantity near Irbid led to a raid, during which the suspect tried to escape in his vehicle.

He was followed and AND personnel shot his vehicle’s tyres, arresting him without injuries.

In a raid of his house, an accomplice was arrested and both suspects were referred to the State Security Court prosecutor general, according to the PSD.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 122 Syrian refugees during the past 72 hours and transferred them to shelters and camps allocated for this purpose, an army source said Sunday.

Royal Medical Services cadres provided necessary healthcare services and medications for the sick and injured, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Jordanian Businessmen Association (JBA) President Hamdi Tabba met on Sunday with Iran’s Ambassador to Jordan Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour and discussed ways to boost economic cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors.

At the meeting, Tabba expressed the JBA’s readiness to arrange a visit for a trade delegation from Iran, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — Jordan Chamber of Industry President Ayman Hatahet on Sunday welcomed a decision by the Iraqi government to cancel a 5 per cent reconstruction fee that was levied on Jordanian exports to the Iraqi market.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Irbid Chamber of Industry board meeting, he said the decision can help the Jordanian industrial sector as many neighbouring markets are closed, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — One man died and another was injured on Saturday night when their vehicle overturned on the desert road.

Civil Defence Department (CDD) personnel administered first aid to the injured man and took him to Maan Public Hospital where he was listed in critical condition.

Also on Saturday in Muwaqqar, seven people were injured in a two-vehicle collision where South Amman CDD cadres administered first aid and took them to Tutanji Hospital.

They were listed in fair condition, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. In Amman, seven people were injured in a two-vehicle collision.

They were taken to Al Bashir Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, visited the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) Command on Sunday.

His Majesty was received by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben, who is also the King’s military adviser.

The King was also received by HRH Prince Feisal and the RJAF commander, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the visit, King Abdullah was briefed on the flow of training and operations at the RJAF.

The King commended the distinguished level and the high morale of the members of the force.

AMMAN — The national Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS Jordan) movement has called on Jordanians to maintain a stance against the Israeli occupation by intensifying boycotting efforts and rejecting all means of normalisation with the “apartheid system”.

A statement issued by BDS Jordan on Tuesday said the current era marks a “decisive” moment in the history of resistance against the “Zionist entity”, with a new generation of Palestinians rising up against Israel’s “brutal occupation, settler colonialism and apartheid”.

The movement urged Jordanians to boycott Israeli products and reject all types of normalisation with the state, especially the Wadi Araba Peace Treaty and the gas deal with Israel.

It also called on the Arab Potash Company to reconsider its decision to purchase gas from Israel in a $771 million agreement signed last year.

BDS Jordan stressed the need for boycotters to carefully examine the country of origin of products purchased, particularly agricultural produce, calling on traders, farmers, importers and businesspeople to “prioritise their conscience” and reject dealing with Israeli products. 

In addition, the movement underlined the need to withdraw investments involved with the occupation, such as G4S, a British security company that provides equipment and services to Israeli prisons in which Palestinian political prisoners “are held without trial and subjected to torture”.  

The company, the statement added, has established the only “Zionist” police academy in Jerusalem and is responsible for graduating thousands of officers who are killing and oppressing Palestinians. 

The movement urged companies and international institutions, mainly the UN in both Jordan and around the world, to terminate their contracts with G4S until it ends all relations with the occupation. 

BDS Jordan stressed the need for civil society organisations, academic institutions and social movements to entrench the boycott culture in all areas in support and solidarity with the Palestinian people who are taking to the streets and risking their lives to live in dignity, freedom and peace, read the statement.