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AMMAN — Irbid police on Sunday found the body of a man on the roof of a building, an official source said.

The man, born in 1977, was found seemingly sleeping on a mattress placed on the roof, the source said, adding that there was no foul play suspected, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The body was referred to the forensic medicine centre in the northern region for an autopsy, and an investigation was launched into the incident.

AMMAN — The Jordanian field hospital in Cairo, dubbed “Egypt 13”, has begun its operations in the Egyptian capital, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

The hospital’s new staff was dispatched to Egypt upon the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army.

“Egypt 13” will provide healthcare services to the Egyptian people and work to ease the pressure on the Egyptian medical sector, according to Petra.

In the past few years, Jordan dispatched several military field hospitals to various conflict and disaster zones, such as Afghanistan, Libya, Gaza and the West Bank.

AMMAN — The Passport and Civil Status Department office in Mafraq Governorate has issued a total of 5,267 birth certificates to Syrian children in the last nine months, head of the directorate Abdullah Zayadneh said on Sunday.

The office only issues birth certificates to Syrian children upon requests submitted by their parents at the liaison office in the Zaatari Refugee Camp, Zayadneh told the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Border Guards have received 178 Syrian refugees in the past 72 hours, an army source said Sunday.

The Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps while Royal Medical Services’ cadres treated the injured.

AMMAN — The Rakhaa Expo 2015 activities are scheduled to commence on Monday at the Amman International Motor Show, lasting until October 15.

Jordanian, Arab and international companies will participate in the expo, according to  Khaled Belbeisi, president of Al Rakhaa Businessmen Cooperative Association.

Belbeisi said the expo is aimed at expanding economic and commercial cooperation, giving businesspeople the opportunity to meet, sign agreements and business deals.

AMMAN — Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji on Sunday met with Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, president of Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone board of directors, who is currently visiting the Kingdom.

Sheikh Saud is visiting the Kingdom to promote investment opportunities in Ras Al Khaimah and boost commercial cooperation between the UAE and Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Biltaji outlined the Greater Amman Municipality’s efforts to prepare an investor-friendly climate in the capital.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Agriculture does not allow olive exports by more than 1 per cent of domestic production, in order not to affect the amount of locally produced oil, Ministry Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said Sunday.

He also underlined the importance of maintaining export markets for Jordanian products, noting that the ministry does not intervene in the export destination as this contributes to increasing investment and improving farmers’ incomes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Owners of rent-a-car businesses based at King Abdullah I Park in Amman held a sit-in on Sunday after the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) closed down their offices.

The municipality is planning to revive the park by carrying out investment projects, opening restaurants, cafés and holding entertainment activities.

Placards carried by the protesters accuse GAM of giving priority to foreign investors at the expense of local businesspeople.

AMMAN — Ayah Al Fawaris is a computer engineering graduate, but her passion for nature has turned her into an internationally recognised green energy professional.

In 2014, she was named the “Young Energy Professional of The Year”, an international award from the Association of Energy Engineers in Washington DC.

She was also a runner-up in Masdar’s Blogging Contest for Describing a Sustainable City in 2030, for which she chose her home city of Irbid, 80km north of Amman.

In the blog, which was featured on The Huffington Post, she envisioned how Jordan’s second-largest city could be transformed into an ideally efficient and sustainable place to live through the use of green energy as the main source of power.

Fawaris was also called recently to participate in a Global Superhero initiative as part of Project Everyone, a UN project to showcase young people working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, which come into effect on January 1, 2016, replacing the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000.

Finally, she is the founder of a blog called “Lady Solar”.

In an interview with The Jordan Times, the award-winning young conservationist gave credit to her family, which she says has a history of caring for nature, for the success she has achieved in the clean energy industry.

Family

Fawaris said her environmentalism and passion for renewable energy stem from interaction with nature at a young age.

“I grew up in a family that taught us to preserve resources, reduce our waste, and plant trees”.

“My father always recycles plastic and metal waste into useful products that we use either at home or at the farm, and my grandmother is the queen of grey water and fertilising,” she said.

“She is 85 now and still uses household wastewater to water the plants and organic waste to fertilise them,” the 27-year-old energy professional continued.

Family support, combined with participation in several international conferences on green energy and climate change, encouraged her to think globally and act locally, Fawaris said.

At the One Young World Summit in Zurich in 2011, Fawaris and other activists from various countries decided to launch an international project named “Wake Up Call”, in which each of them urged a government entity or a decision maker in their home country to make one change to improve national life.

“By that time, Jordan was sinking in debt because of its energy bill and climate change was becoming a hot topic in the international media. I did some research and found out that while Jordan is located within the solar belt and has one of the highest solar irradiances in the world, the government hadn’t taken serious steps to develop renewable energy. My choice [to receive the wake-up call] was Jordan’s minister of energy,” she said.

Clean energy as a profession

In 2011, after her graduation from university, Fawaris said she was offered an appealing job opportunity at a company in Abu Dhabi.

The previous year, she had completed an internship with an IT company in that city, during which she worked on computerising all of the procedures of the Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority.

However, Jordan passed the Renewable Energy Law at the same time, and Fawaris felt that she “couldn’t decline” another offer to work for a solar energy company in Amman.

“I chose to follow my passion and it turned out to be the right thing to do, especially since I don’t see myself sitting behind a computer all day. I figured out that it’s not who I am or who I want to be. It was too late to change my major, but I didn’t allow this to limit my ambition. And I was very lucky to find a company that believed in me without my having a certificate in that field.”

She has since worked on several clean energy projects, such as the first solar-powered mosque in Jordan and the first solar-powered church in the Middle East, both located in Amman.

She has also participated in several energy projects in other countries in the region.

A message to decision makers

Fawaris urged the government to develop an incentive programme for underprivileged households to help them install solar energy systems, instead of subsidising their bills for electricity generated from fossil fuels.

She also expressed her optimism regarding the outlook for green energy in the Kingdom.

“The renewable energy future in Jordan is very promising. Our government has realised the importance of renewable energy and its addition to our energy mix. International investors find Jordan very attractive due to its geographical location, the private sector is very competitive with a great number of opportunities, and finally regular electricity users find renewable energy economically feasible.”

AMMAN — A Jordanian medical team at Irbid’s King Abdullah I University Hospital successfully performed their first endoscopic decompression of the fifth cranial nerve.

The recent operation on a female patient with trigeminal neuralgia (compression of the fifth nerve in the brain) was carried out late last month by Bashar Abu Zayed, head of the medical team, and another resident neurosurgeon, in addition to nursing and anaesthesia staff.

Neuronavigation-guided endoscopic technologies allowed the procedure to be performed through a two-centimetre-long wound and reduced the need for painkillers, Abu Zayed told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview.

He said the endoscopic method allows patients to return to their normal lives within only two days.

“The duration of both the traditional operation and the endoscopy is around an hour to an hour-and-a-half, but there is a great difference in the post-surgery recovery,” the surgeon added.

Fully endoscopic decompression of the fifth cranial nerve has spread in the past few years in hospitals in the US and elsewhere.

Trigeminal neuralgia usually occurs due to the pressure arteries place on brain nerves, Abu Zayed explained, adding that the surgery seeks to separate them to ease the pressure off the nerve.

The condition can result in facial pain, since the fifth cranial nerve is responsible for providing sensation to different parts of the face including the eyes, the cheeks and the jaw.

“Prior to the endoscopy, the patient tried all non-surgical options, including medications and facial fillers, to get rid of fifth cranial nerve pain, but none were effective,” the 37-year-old physician said.

Abu Zayed expects an increase in the use of endoscopy for the same purpose now that the procedure has been performed “successfully” — an accomplishment that will add to the prestige of Jordan’s medical sector, which is recognised for its quality regionally and internationally.

AMMAN — Colourful textiles, traditional crafts and seasoned foods from all over the world were showcased in the 51st Diplomatic Bazaar on Saturday.

The proceeds of the annual event, which took place at Al Hussein Youth City, are entirely allocated for supporting Mabarrat Um Al Hussein, a home for orphaned and underprivileged boys established in 1958 by the late Queen Zein Al Sharaf to provide them with an environment of welfare.

Over 50 diplomatic missions in Amman exhibited products of their home countries, mostly handmade items, to thousands of citizens and members of international communities in the Kingdom with interest in both cultural diversity and philanthropy.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, HRH Princess Basma highlighted the annual contribution of several diplomatic missions in the event as an embodiment of “shared humanitarian values” that help provide better lives for boys at the mabarrat.

“The bazaar represents partnership and collaboration among accredited diplomatic missions in Jordan, and it is an integral pillar of supporting the aims and activities of Mabarrat Um Al Hussein and the families in need,” she said.

In a tour of the bazaar’s booths, Princess Basma also commended the role of Jordan’s private sector in supporting the full-day activity.

Representative of the Moroccan mission to Jordan Lahssan Abdul Khaleq said the “wide” participation of diplomatic missions in the country is part of their commitment to social responsibility, commending the mabarrat’s role in protecting children.

Meanwhile, Dalia Dahdaleh, bazaar coordinator, cited the event as a means for developing services to orphan children, adding that the magnitude of participation is a reflection of participants’ passion for helping those in need.

Representing Turkish participants, Fulia Abdul Hamid said the bazaar is a chance to take part in a “good cause” and to introduce some Turkish products to local consumers.

She said silverware, handmade ceramics, tea kettles and textiles were the most popular products from Turkey.

Meanwhile, the booth of Peru showcased several types of foods, including cakes, cookies, herbs and pickles.

“These are typical homemade foods in Peru,” said Riva Sharpain, who represented the South American country.

The exhibition’s spacious hall and the outdoor food court were packed with visitors.

Visitor Mohammad Musa said the bazaar is “the kind of event you want to mark on your calendar and make sure to show up”.

For the past four years he has been keen on bringing his wife and three children to the bazaar, he told The Jordan Times, adding that there is “something for everyone”.

For Samantha Lewis, an American studying Arabic in Jordan, Lebanese jewellery and South African flowers were the highlights of her visit.

“It would be a great idea if more diplomatic missions could participate,” she said.