Local

AMMAN — Aiming to guide and inspire people battling cancer, British author Lucy O’Donnell, who was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer in 2011, documented her journey, highlighting the personal aspect of life battling the disease.

O’Donnell on Monday held a book signing ceremony for her work, “Cancer is My Teacher.”

“When I was diagnosed I found that there was no information whatsoever about… the practical, emotional, physical, spiritual sides, and all those are very important components to getting well again,” she told The Jordan Times.

O’Donnell said it was this that inspired her to write her book, which offers and shares advice from and to cancer patients. 

“I think in Jordan… until recently, there has been a taboo about cancer… husbands have found it hard to support their wives… that’s why I wrote the book — to help other people from my experience and what I learned from the journey,” the author added.

The book focuses on the emotional and practical aspects of navigating the medical side of cancer treatment and aims to promote optimism among cancer fighters, according to O’Donnell. 

HRH Princess Ghaida Talal said the fact that the book is written by a young mother of three gives hope and inspiration to thousands of women around the globe in their fight against the disease. 

She said O’Donnell “decided to write a book to help the thousands of women from the first [until the last] day of diagnosis”, challenging the technical and frightening answers of doctors and the Internet. 

“It is not a story of sadness; it is a story of joy and happiness,” she added, noting that cases such as this will help cancer patients address their fears and acknowledge that cancer is not “an automatic death sentence” but is something that can be conquered.

The event was also attended by HH Princess Dina Mired, alongside a number of cancer patients and other women. 

All proceeds from the book will go to the King Hussein Cancer Foundation and Centre.

AMMAN — Amman has won the 2015 UNESCO Learning City Award, which UNESCO launched this year to honour cities developing knowledge and expertise in the daily lives of their societies.

Samer Kheir, the Greater Amman Municipality’s (GAM) cultural department director, received the award from UNESCO Assistant Director General for Education Qian Tang during the second conference of “learning cities” held last week with the participation of 85 countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Amman won the award alongside 11 cities, out of 1,000 cities classified as “learning cities”. The capital received this award for the project implemented between GAM and the Arab Thought Forum aimed to transform Amman into a “learning city”.

AMMAN — Jordan on Tuesday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the government headquarters of the Saudi-led coalition, in the Yemeni city of Aden, killing 15 persons including four Emirati soldiers and one Saudi.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani said that terrorism is increasing daily and it is a shared responsibility to eradicate the rising phenomenon.

Momani  vowed Jordan’s support to Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Yemen, and extended condolences to the families of the martyrs.

AMMAN — Medics at Jordan’s field hospital “Gaza 38” have treated more than 2,300 patients during their first three days of work, Col. Khalil Al Mansi, the hospital commander, said Tuesday.

The field hospital’s cadres include physicians and pharmacists, Ahamd Tarawneh, the hospital director said. He added that they conducted five major and minor surgeries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The Public Security Department (PSD) on Sunday intensified campaigns to detect sellers of smuggled fuel derivatives across the Kingdom, the PSD media centre announced Monday.

The campaign — implemented in cooperation with the Gendarmerie Department, the Jordan Customs Department and municipalities — is aimed at apprehending people “who jeopardise their safety and that of the people around them”, a PSD statement said.

On the first day of the campaign, 27 citizens and 14 Arab nationals involved in smuggling and selling these derivatives were apprehended, while 83 stalls were removed, and 4,820 litres of smuggled oil derivatives and three vehicles were seized, mostly in the southern region and Amman. 

AMMAN — Jordan’s exports of vegetables and fruits in September stood at 66,500 tonnes with a 15 per cent decrease compared to September 2014.

The drop is blamed on recurrent heatwaves this summer, Salah Tarawneh, the Ministry of Agriculture’s assistant secretary general said Tuesday, quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Tarawneh said vegetable exports constitute 82.5 per cent of the total agricultural exports, adding that 97.8 per cent of the shipments headed for Gulf countries, whereas the rest went to Europe, Israel and other countries. 

AMMAN — Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation (AHSF) celebrated Monday night its cinema programme’s silver jubilee, according to a press statement.

At the opening ceremony, Valentina Qussisiya, CEO of AHSF expressed the commitment of the association in collaboration with the cinema committee in promoting a cinematic culture and supporting arts and literature in Jordan.

The foundation has organised around 70 events in collaboration with over 20 entities, attended by more than 150,000 viewers, and screened 1,400 films from nearly 120 countries.

This ceremony will be followed by screening of prominent Arab films, starting Tuesday to Thursday at 7pm at the Rainbow Theatre.

AMMAN — The Jordanian consulate in Jeddah organised an open meeting for a delegation from the Social Security Corporation (SSC) with the Jordanian community in Tabuk, an SSC statement released Tuesday said.

The meeting was attended by the representative of the consulate and 200 members of the Jordanian expats in the Saudi town, who were encouraged to apply for optional subscription to the SSC and were familiarised with social security’s benefits and features. 

AMMAN – The 10th Korean Film Festival opens in Amman at Al Hussein Cultural Centre, in Ras Al Ain on Sunday.

It runs until October 13, according to a statement by the embassy. Since 2006, the Korean Film Festival has played a meaningful role in providing the Jordan audience with an opportunity to better understand Korean arts, culture and social life, said the embassy.

This year, three special films will be screened.  As Korea is observing the 70th anniversary of the division of the Korean Peninsula, two films are featuring this theme, according to the statement. 

AMMAN — Security personnel on Monday night apprehended six wanted people, seized three stolen vehicles and an amount of narcotics in Maan, some 220km south of Amman, announced Col. Omar Khudeir, chief of Maan police on Tuesday.

Khudeir added that the six suspects were being interrogated prior to transferring them to judicial authorities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.