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AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya, president of the Royal Scientific Society, on Thursday called for unified efforts to create an environment that encourages more girls to join the ICT sector, which contributes about 14 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product.

Addressing scores of female students majoring in a variety of ICT specialties at a ceremony marking Girls in ICT Day 2014, the princess said talented girls in the field have great opportunities for employment, especially since there is ongoing positive growth in the sector.

“There is a need for more efforts by the public and private sectors as well as academia to encourage innovation among students in this regard,” she added.

The ICT sector employs more than 80,000 individuals directly and indirectly, around 26 per cent of whom are women, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology.

The princess called on female ICT majors to come up with innovative ideas for projects.

 “The ICT sector needs skills and talents and little investments and resources and this is an opportunity for all in the field.”

In a speech at the event, Mohammad Taani, chief commissioner of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, said women play a key role in the ICT sector, and their role and participation should be increased.

Taani said the government is going ahead with implementing a project to secure employment for ICT graduates in the private sector, calling on female ICT majors to apply for the Graduates Internship Programme.

Since its launch in 2009, about 2,000 graduates have benefited from the scheme.

Under the initiative, fresh graduates in various ICT-related specialties, or those who have not been employed in the sector for up to two years, can compete for private sector jobs by submitting their CVs to the programme’s website (www.gip.gov.jo).

Selected applicants receive 18 months of training and are secured employment at a private sector firm with a JD300 monthly salary as well as social security and health insurance coverage.

The government subsidises 50 per cent of each beneficiary’s salary, while the rest is paid by the companies that train the students.

“This year about 600 students will benefit from the programme,” Taani said.

Around 6,000 Jordanians graduate annually with ICT-related degrees.

AMMAN — Efforts should be geared towards improving the workplace environment in order to increase women’s participation in the labour market, academics said on Thursday.

The recommendations were announced at a workshop organised by the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs titled “The importance of women's participation in national development”.

University of Jordan (UJ) Professor Amal Kharouf, of the women’s studies programme, presented a paper on female employees in the local labour market.

Citing Department of Statistics figures, Kharouf said “females constitute only 14 per cent of the labour force in Jordan and the unemployment rate for women is 21.8 per cent, compared with 11.8 per cent for males.”

Some of the challenges that women face in the job market include long working hours, wage differences in favour of men and lack of awareness of their labour rights, according to the professor's paper.

Kharouf recommended making part-time work optional, applying policies that would eliminate any discrimination against women such as wage differences and other benefits, and providing low-cost crèches at the workplace.

UJ sociology professor Majdeddin Khamesh presented a paper on Jordanian women’s situation in the labour market and the importance of gender-mainstreaming in the strategies of national institutions.

He pointed out that unemployment among female university graduates stands at 76 per cent, compared with 26 per cent among male graduates.

“This is based on Department of Statistics studies, and I believe it is the responsibility of the government and civil society to work on reducing this figure,” Khamesh told the gathering.

Rami Wreikat, secretary general of the Political and Parliamentary Affairs Ministry, delivered a speech on behalf of Minister Khaled Kalaldeh, who said that women in Jordan are “a strategic partner in the development process”.

“Women are a main pillar in the country’s development, reform process and democratisation,” the minister said in the speech.

AMMAN –– Several regions in the Kingdom witnessed heavy rain that caused floods as the country was affected by unstable weather conditions on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The Southern Ghor received the most rainfall over the past two days, according to Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) Director Mohammad Samawi.  

"The recent rainfall constituted 74 per cent of the general seasonal average in the Southern Ghor area, with Ghor Safi receiving 53.7 millimetres of rain," he told The Jordan Times on Thursday.

Ghor Safi usually receives an average rainfall of 72.6 millimetres, Samawi said.

He added that the city of Maan, some 220km south of Amman, received the greatest amount of rainfall among towns in the southern region. 

"During the past 24 hours, Maan received around 19 millimetres," he said. 

Samawi noted that Jordan previously has witnessed such weather conditions during this time of the year. 

"The years 1967, 1982, 1985, 1992, 1993, 2001 and 2007 witnessed similar weather conditions in May."  

Meanwhile, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said no injuries were reported during the unstable weather. 

"The southern region was the main area affected by the rainfall, but no one was injured," a source at the CDD told The Jordan Times.

On Thursday morning, a Royal Jordanian Air Force helicopter rescued a family in Maan Governorate's Jafer region upon the directives of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The family had been besieged by flood waters since Wednesday night. 

Students were unable to go to their schools in Maan on Thursday, according to city residents.

Ministry of Education officials were unavailable to confirm this despite several attempts by The Jordan Times to reach them.

Also on Thursday, the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) announced a state of medium-level emergency to deal with the prevailing weather conditions, Basem Tarawneh, Amman deputy director for districts and environment affairs, said, according to Petra.

GAM began its preparations 24 hours before the unstable weather conditions started, he said, adding that the municipality is promptly dealing with the cases it receives.

Later on Thursday, the Public Security Department (PSD) said most of the Kingdom's roads were open, except for a few in the south.

The Petra-Um Saihoun, Wadi Musa-Tafileh, Rajef-Ras Al Naqab, Karak-Ghor Safi, and Tafileh-Ghor Safi main roads were closed on Thursday, a PSD statement said, adding that several side streets in Tafileh were also closed to traffic.

The department urged motorists to exercise caution, drive slowly and keep away from floods and valleys. The PSD receives emergency calls on 911 at all times.

The impact of the unstable conditions are expected to ease starting Friday, when there will be a slight chance for rain in the morning and the weather will be cloudy, according to the JMD website. 

Temperatures in Amman are forecast to reach a high of 22°C and drop to a low of 13°C on Friday. 

A slight rise in temperatures is forecast for Saturday, with mercury levels in the capital ranging between a maximum of 24°C during the day and a minimum of 15°C at night.

AMMAN — Lower House Second Deputy Speaker Mazen Dalaeen on Wednesday met with a number of military retirees now working for the Awqaf Ministry, who staged a sit-in in front of Parliament.

The protesters demanded that they be placed on the monthly payroll of the ministry.

They said some 1,000 army pensioners were hired by the Awqaf Ministry during 2007-2008, adding that only 700 of them have been appointed as full-time employees so far.

Dalaeen said House committees will look into the protesters’ situation.

AMMAN — A parliamentary delegation, headed by Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, on Wednesday left for Cyprus for a several-day official visit in response to an invitation from Yiannakis Omirou, the speaker of the Cyprus house of representatives.

The delegation is scheduled to meet with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades and Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides.

The deputies are also scheduled to meet with members of the Jordanian- Cypriot Friendship Committee.

MANAMA — HRH Prince Hassan, president of the Arab Thought Forum, on Wednesday concluded a visit to Bahrain during which he participated in a conference on inter-civilisation dialogue in Manama.

The prince also met with Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa and several other senior officials.

Prince Hassan met on Wednesday with Manama Governor Sheikh Hisham Bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa who thanked the prince for his efforts in naming Manama as the Arab Capital for Entrepreneurship.

AMMAN — Romanian citizens in Amman can cast their vote for the European Parliament elections at the embassy, #35 Medina Munawara St. on May 25 between 7am and 9pm, according to an embassy statement.

A valid ID/passport is required, the embassy said.

RAMALLAH — Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Wednesday praised the Hashemite role in safeguarding Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem during a meeting in Ramallah with Awqaf Minister Hayel Dawood.

Hamdallah also commended Jordanian-Palestinian cooperation.

AMMAN — The Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities (HCD) is committed to cooperating with the Labour Ministry, the Civil Service Bureau and the private sector to provide equal work opportunities for people with disabilities, its president said Wednesday.

Attending a ceremony to honour partners who employ people with disabilities, HH Prince Mired said job fairs organised to secure work opportunities for persons with disabilities contributed to raising awareness on the need to encourage them to look for jobs that suit their qualifications.

Labour Ministry Secretary General Hamada Abu Nijmeh said more than 450 persons with disabilities have found jobs through the national employment campaign.

AMMAN — Jordan Customs Department (JCD) personnel, in cooperation with security bodies, on Wednesday thwarted an attempt to smuggle around 7,500 cartons of different brands of cigarettes, according to JCD Director Maj. Gen. Munther Assaf.

He described the attempt as the largest in the history of the JCD.

The cigarettes entered the Kingdom in nine container trucks that came from the Jabal Ali area in Dubai and were said to be containing cement.

The smuggling attempt was discovered at the Wadi Al Yutum customs checkpoint.

While the driver of the first truck ran away, the others were detained in Aqaba.

The violators will be fined over JD7 million, Assaf said.